Jaguar has begun manufacture of exact reproduction blocks for its 3.8-liter XK engines, common in the 1950s and 1960s. These blocks were found in cars ranging from the XK150, through Mk2 and E-Type, many of which have seen competition use.
Sourcing engine components for historic race cars can be tricky, with builders having to balance the needs of originality against the demands of reliability and potentially destroying rare (possibly matching numbers) parts.
The new blocks are cast iron, as per the originals, and Jaguar will also match serial numbers to an existing unit, with an asterisk added to denote it is a new part. Jaguar notes the new blocks replace the following castings: C16020, C17567, C17200/1, C19292, C19983, C22290, C20012, C22250.
