3.8s auto or manual

[ChrisC1961]

Hello
I’m sure the question has been asked many times before but I’m busy looking for a 3.8 S Type and have come across a lovely originalq example which ticks all the boxes except that it’s an auto.
The advice I’ve been given to date is to only look at manuals with overdrive but I wanted to garner some options from those who’ve run or are running 3.8s with the BW auto box as to what they are like to live with.
Thanks
Chris

[jerry_hoback]

Mine is auto, and has the DG250. It functions fine for me but had been a drippy mess until I sealed it up well. Its a quaint thing with reverse at the far right. It keeps me on my toes along with so much else about the car.

[cass3958]

When you say BW box are you referring to the DG250 or the BW35. The BW35 which was fitted to the later cars, 1967 and on is the better gear box. I have this box in my 3.4 which was built Sept 1967. Still only three speed but very smooth and does not leak as much as the DG250. All the gear boxes leak it is just the amount they leak that you have to be concern with. It was an old joke that Jaguar used to build the leaks into the gearbox and power steering systems as an anti rust method.
Rather than being concerned with either a Manual or Auto I would look at the year. A later post 1967 car is better equipped with the BW25 box if Auto or the all synchro Manual with O/D. The non synchro boxes were poor and without over drive you will always be looking for an extra gear on a long drive. They also have the better Adwest Variomatic power steering. The down side of the later cars is that some components became optional rather than standard like leather seats. Instead they came with a vinyl material called Ambla which looks like leather but is a lot better lasting as leather can become dry and crack with age if not treated. I have black Ambla and most people think is is leather so not a Biggy in my opinion and you can always recover the seats with leather if you want.
The biggest thing you need to look at is condition and by that I mean body and paint. If there is rust showing unless you mean to restore the car walk away. Once you break the surface to fix a patch of rust you will be there for a couple of months at least chasing it around like a naughty child. If some says it has been restored ask for photos. I must have over a thousand photos of the different stages of my rebuild. Check when the rebuild was done and if it was done by a garage go visit the garage and speak to them. Lastly don't fall in love with the first one you see. Go see a lot and compare them to one another. Buy with your head not your heart.

[NigelW]

My advice for what is worth is to look for a manual overdrive post 1966 to get the better gearbox (not Moss). I have a 1964 early S Type that came with a DG250 auto that was a loathsome contraption that leaked oil despite pulling it out and rebuilding it with all new seals and gaskets. By the way the clutch plates in side are the same as the ones used in the FX4 taxi if you are looking for any. It used to cover the exhaust with oil that burnt with smoke coming out behind and when I was pulling my caravan covering the front of it with an oily residue. I gave up with it after ten years and changed it to a manual with overdrive. It was a good day when the DG went in the skip. As Rob says go for condition first looking out for rust which killed off most of the cars back in the day. I don’t have a lot of experience with the BW35 but from what I remember it was a much better box and fitted to a lot of cars, my brother had one in his Ford Capri and were fitted to quite a lot of Fords. I think in the states you used to get a lot of tuning parts for them including modified valve chests with increased line pressure. The only problem these boxes are not really up to high HP engines.

[cass3958]

True Nigel. The BW35 was used by Triumph, Austin and Rover all part of the British Leyland marque. When Jaguar introduced the 4.2 420 they reverted to the BW Model 8 auto box as the 4.2 engine had more torque and the BW35 could not take it being an aluminium construction where as the Model 8 was cast iron.

[John Quilter]

And then the Model 8 became the Model 12 as used in the V12 Jaguars like the early XJS until they went with the very robust GM Turbo 400 but even this was only a three speed with no converter lock up feature. And then at the end of XJS V12 production the Turbo 700R which was a four speed with converter lockup.

[Orlando St.R]

My 1965 car has a DG250. It is certainly a charmingly old-fashioned thing. But I like it and it suits the way I like to potter about. It does leak and I'm sure it always will. But that leakage has probably kept the underside of the car free of rust and explains why it's still on the road. I've never thought about changing it to manual. It wouldn't be the same car for me then.

Also, in a world full of traffic, changing gear is one less thing to have to worry about.

As Rob says, condition is far more important when choosing one of these cars to buy.

[John Quilter]

Don't know where ChrisC is located (he should update his profile) but I do not believe there were any post 1966 S Types imported to the USA so all are 1964 to 1966 versions and thus, if automatics, would have the DG250. Having said that the BW35 is not unheard of in the USA as Volvo, MGC, Datsun 510, Triumph Stags and others all used that gearbox. I could be wrong but I do not believe any S Types came to the USA with the Variamatic steering, it was fitted to the 1967 420s however.