All-aluminium 5.3 and 6.0 litre V12 built from 1971 to 1997 for the E-type Series 3, XJ12, Daimler Double-Six and XJ-S. Almost none of it was painted: two JCNA judging guides record the block, heads, sump, timing cover and water pump as bare cast aluminium, with black cam covers the only painted castings on the engine. The commonest error is treating it like an iron engine and painting it black all over.
Also known as: Jaguar 5.3 V12, Jaguar 6.0 V12, V12 HE
Records
Bare cast aluminium
V12 5.3 and 5.3 HE · 1971–1991 · block, unpainted
Awaiting measurementB · Club verifiedLast verified 2026-09-20
Awaiting measurement
Not yet measured. The patch will appear once a spectrophotometer reading is recorded.
The two judging guides give the same answer for the cylinder heads, sump, timing chain cover, water pump and V12 inlet manifold, so no separate records have been created for them: on this engine they are all bare aluminium and only the cam covers are painted. The record's year range stops at 1991 because that is where the XJ-S judging guide stops; the engine ran to 1997 and the fetched sources say nothing about 1992 to 1997, nor about the 6.0 litre, and nothing has been assumed. There is a gap at 1975, between the end of the Series 3 E-type guide and the start of the XJ-S guide. A bare alloy block oxidises to a dull grey, which is why so many are found painted; the paint is a previous owner's, not Browns Lane's.
judging-standard:JCNA, XJ-S 1976 to 1991 Judging Guide, Engine Block, Head, Intake and Plumbing — Gives block colour as natural finish aluminium for all types, cylinder head colour as natural aluminium for all types, the timing chain cover as natural aluminium, the water pump as aluminium, and the V12 inlet manifold as natural aluminium; core plugs are cadmium plated rather than painted
community:Wikipedia, Jaguar V12 engine — Gives the engine's 1971 to 1997 span, the 5.3, 6.0 and racing 7.0 capacities, the cars and their years, and dates the HE head to 1981; says nothing about colour or finish
community:Ozcarnut, Rebuilding a Jaguar V12 — A published rebuild account that records inlet manifolds and cam covers being chemically stripped and powder coated satin black, and brackets and fittings painted and plated, without stating what the factory finishes were; useful as an example of restorer's choice presented without an originality claim
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-09-20 · Judging guide claims checked against the guides' own text; published
The semi-gloss reading comes from the Series 3 E-type guide only; the XJ-S guide says black and stops there, so the sheen is documented for 1971 to 1974 and carried forward here without further support. The ribs are bare brushed alloy, not silver paint, and only the background is black. The badging is the useful dating detail: a cast Jaguar name in the alloy is early, a gold-on-black decal is later, and the changeover on the Series 3 E-type falls at engine 7S.3905. Cam covers stripped to bare polished alloy are a well-known modification on the XJ-S and are not original.
Sources
judging-standard:JCNA, Series 3 E-type Judges' Guide, Cam Covers — Gives cast aluminium painted semi-gloss black with brushed aluminium ribs, four chrome dome nuts with copper washers at each timing chain bulge and twelve cadmium bolts along each body; records that covers up to engine 7S.3904 carried a cast brushed-aluminium Jaguar name and that from 7S.3905 a gold-on-black Jaguar decal was used instead
judging-standard:JCNA, XJ-S 1976 to 1991 Judging Guide, Cam Covers — Gives black covers with a stick-on Jaguar label at the front, chrome acorn nuts with copper washers on the front four studs until 1982 and cadmium open nuts with cadmium steel washers after; no sheen is stated
community:Jag-lovers, The XJ-S Experience in a Book: Cam Cover Decor — States that Jaguar V12 cam covers are black and that Jaguar used decals rather than cast insignia because the same engine went into Daimlers, which would otherwise have needed different castings; the author's own covers were bead blasted back to bare aluminium as a modification, not a restoration
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-09-20 · Judging guide claims checked against the guides' own text; published
Recorded because it is the difference from the six-cylinder E-type, whose manifolds were vitreous enamelled. The Series 3 guide gives the material and no coating at all, which is not the same as a source positively stating the manifolds were bare; it is the strongest reading available and is flagged here as an absence rather than a statement. The XJ-S guide is silent, so the record stops at 1974 and says nothing about the saloon and XJ-S installations. Finish recorded as gloss because no source states one.
Sources
judging-standard:JCNA, Series 3 E-type Judges' Guide, Exhaust System — Gives the exhaust manifolds as cast iron secured to the head studs with cadmium nuts and lock washers, with no coating stated, and the heat shield as polished stainless steel; part numbers change at engine 7S.8179
The one part of a Series 3 engine where a factory finish changed within the model's life, and worth having on the page because it is a small, cheap, visible part that is often replaced with whatever fits. The guide is candid that the change points are not documented and asks readers for evidence, so treat the sequence, polished then plain aluminium then black powder coat, as the order rather than as dated. Finish recorded as gloss because no source states a sheen for the powder coat.
Sources
judging-standard:JCNA, Series 3 E-type Judges' Guide, Oil Filler Cap — Records an early aluminium cap with a raised rib projecting beyond the circumference and a later black powder coated one, and notes that the parts books list neither the very early polished aluminium cap with the serrated edge nor the change points, but that the early owner's manuals show the polished cap so it is correct on the earliest cars
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-09-20 · Judging guide claims checked against the guides' own text; published
Very little. The V12 is an all-aluminium engine and Jaguar left almost all of it as it came out of the foundry. The JCNA Series 3 E-type guide disposes of most of the engine in one line: block, oil pan, cylinder heads, timing chain cover and water pump, cast aluminium, unpainted. The XJ-S guide, covering 1976 to 1991, says the same thing in different words, "natural finish aluminum for all types" for the block and natural aluminium for the head, and adds that the timing chain cover is natural aluminium, the water pump aluminium, the V12 inlet manifold natural aluminium, and that the block core plugs are cadmium plated rather than painted.
That leaves the cam covers as the only painted castings on the engine. The Series 3 guide gives them as cast aluminium painted semi-gloss black with brushed aluminium ribs, held by four chrome dome nuts with copper washers at each timing chain bulge and twelve cadmium bolts along each body. The XJ-S guide gives black with a stick-on Jaguar label at the front, and does not state a sheen.
Exhaust manifolds on the Series 3 E-type are cast iron with cadmium nuts and lock washers. The guide gives no coating for them at all, which is worth stating precisely: it records a material and stays silent on any finish, which is not the same as a source saying they were bare.
What changed, and when
Almost nothing, as far as the finishes go. The engine ran from 1971 to 1997 across the E-type Series 3, the XJ12 and Daimler Double-Six, and the XJ-S, and the two judging guides that bracket it give the same answers at both ends.
The changes that are documented are in the details on top. On the Series 3 E-type the cam cover badging changed: covers up to engine 7S.3904 carry a Jaguar name cast into the alloy and brushed, and from 7S.3905 the name is a gold-on-black decal instead. Kirbert Palm's XJ-S book explains why decals rather than castings: the same engine went into Daimlers, and a cast Jaguar name would have meant a second set of covers.
The oil filler cap changed twice. The Series 3 guide records a polished aluminium cap with a serrated edge on the very earliest cars, then an aluminium cap with a raised rib projecting beyond the circumference, then a black powder coated one. It is candid that the parts books list neither the earliest cap nor any change points, and asks readers for documentation, so the sequence is known and the dates are not.
The XJ-S cam cover fixings changed in 1982, from chrome acorn nuts with copper washers on the front four studs to cadmium open nuts with cadmium steel washers.
Common mistakes
Painting the block. An alloy block that has been in service oxidises to a flat grey that looks neglected, and the reflex is to make it look finished. Every published rebuild gallery showing a satin black V12 is showing the restorer's choice, and one of them says so plainly enough if you read what it claims: the Ozcarnut rebuild records inlet manifolds and cam covers stripped and powder coated satin black without any statement about what the factory did.
Painting the inlet manifolds. On the V12 they are natural aluminium. Black inlet manifolds belong to the 3.6 six that shared the XJ-S engine bay, not to the twelve.
Polishing the cam covers back to bare metal. It is a well-known XJ-S modification and it looks striking. It is not original, and the author of the book that describes doing it does not claim otherwise.
Painting the ribs. Only the background between them is black.
Fitting whatever oil filler cap comes to hand. It is the one part on top of the engine whose correct finish depends on how early the car is.
What to buy
One tin, if any. The cam covers are the only painted castings on the engine, and the Series 3 guide gives them as semi-gloss black. A satin black engine enamel is the nearest finish sold, and it is listed on the cam cover record above. Mask the rib tops before you spray, and pull the tape while the paint is still soft.
Everything else on a V12 wants cleaning and no paint. Bare aluminium that has gone grey and chalky comes back with a degreaser, a soft brush and patience. If you paint it silver to tidy it up, the next owner, or a judge, will see at once that it has been painted.
Nothing, which is unusual enough on this site to be worth saying. Two judging guides, written by different chief judges more than three years apart and covering different cars, agree on every point where they overlap, and no forum source found contradicts either.
What exists instead of a dispute is a set of gaps. The sheen of the cam cover black is documented only by the Series 3 E-type guide, for 1971 to 1974; the XJ-S guide says black and stops. Neither guide covers 1975, between the end of Series 3 E-type production and the start of the XJ-S guide's range. Neither covers 1992 to 1997 or the 6.0 litre engine at all, so this page says nothing about the last five years of V12 production. And nothing found gives a finish for the saloon and XJ-S exhaust manifolds, only that the XJ-S manifolds sit behind a stamped metal cover.
Finding original paint on your own engine
On a V12 the question is usually the reverse of the usual one: not what colour the paint was, but whether there was any. Look for a witness line. Paint applied by a previous owner over an assembled engine stops at obstructions, runs into the gaps between fins, and sits on top of casting numbers and part numbers that a factory-finished part would show cleanly. Original black on a cam cover stops where the machined rib faces begin, and stops crisply.
Under the cam cover nuts and washers is the useful place to check on the covers themselves: an original black surface continues under the washer, a rattle-can respray usually does not.
If you have a 6.0 litre car, or anything built after 1991, this page cannot help you yet. A photograph of an unrestored late engine bay, or a scan of a late parts book showing cam cover finishes, would extend it, and we would like to see it.
Every record above has a correction link. Applied corrections are logged on the record and on the changelog with their source and date.