Jaguar MkI - Shannons Club TV - Episode 17

I owned the grey (Mk I) 3.4 in the photos for a short time and a (Series II) E-Type some years before that. From owner experience, there is no comparison between the manual gearboxes in a Jaguar fitted with the early Moss gearbox and the later cars that came with the new Jaguar all synchro gearbox. Early E-Types had the same Moss gearbox as my Mk I and it operated like the vintage gearbox that it was and even sounded like one so I can relate to MBnut's experience. The narrow track E-Types are a very different handling proposition to the wide track Series III and I can remember being equally circumspect in applying too much grunt going around corners in the Series II until I was sure of the surface beneath me. As for whether a 3.4 is a Mark One or not, I do say in the above segment that it was applied retrospectively. This is often brought up by those who are well aware that all literature at the time referred to it as a 2.4 or 3.4 - yet Jaguar's naming of the later version as the Mark 2/II by definition is a clear indicator that the company regarded its predecessor as the Mark I. Using the same logic, there is no such model as an MGA Mk I, MGB Mk I or E-Type Series I or for that matter, a GT-HO Phase I. I don't believe it's unreasonable for enthusiasts to refer to the earlier version of any Mark II, Series II or Phase II as a Mark I, Series I or Phase I if the manufacturer by default has included that model as part of the series. I also like the way that some models are given the term Series I 1/2 or Phase 1 1/2 by owner groups to highlight critical running changes that can make a real difference in value and desirability. In this case, when there are so many other 3.4 Jaguars, the use of Mk I is a very clear and succinct identifier for the only Mk I version that could have preceded the factory Mk II.