Car SOS – Jensen resto
Car SOS is back for a new series – and Fuzz takes us behind the scenes of each car’s resto. This week, resurrecting a ‘terrifically tired’ Jensen Interceptor
‘Every now and then, the opportunity arises on Car SOS to take on a car from one’s own bucket list, and for me the Jensen Interceptor was one such vehicle because I’m something of a Jensen fan.
‘I’ve owned a 1959 Jensen 541R for 12 years now, having bought it in a state of extreme degradation from its long-term resting place in a Lincolnshire chicken shed. It took me nearly ten years to get it on the road and it’s not totally completed even now. We certainly didn’t have anything like that sort of timeframe for the SOS Interceptor.
‘The Interceptor is perhaps the best production muscle car that the Americans never made – a ripped superhero in a beautifully cut suit, with just a hint of a Black Country accent for character.
‘This particular example, a 1969 MkI, carrying a “G”-suffix Wolverhampton issued plate, had seen use at some point in the past decade, which was surprising, as the car was as peculiarly rotten as most patched-up Jensens are. Jensens have a particularly strong tendency to oxidise at a rate that must surely make the process audible.
‘Rust had taken a strong hold in the front valance, flitches, front wings and arches, A-posts, sills, floor, inner and outer rear arches, rear quarters and valance, bonnet leading edge, roof and tailgate mounting points. And, of course, the tailgate itself.
‘The problems didn’t end there, though, because once we were able to take a first proper look at the car it became apparent that something was not quite right with the nearside front structure and suspension, as the corresponding wheel was displaying an alarming amount of negative camber and associated tyre wear. The problem, we found, had originated in an apparent front nearside collision, the evidence of which was found in some particularly poorly executed repairs that had left the substantial front axle/ crossmember bent upward on the left-hand side. Heat and a substantial amount of grunt remedied this problem without the need to cut any of the steel, after which a check with a digital camber/caster gauge showed that the assembly was back within factory tolerances.
‘The 6.2-litre Chrysler V8 engine was terrifically tired, with major bore and bearing wear, confirmed by the results of a laboratory engine oil analysis.
‘The carburettor was no longer functional and the gearbox, when bench tested, displayed its need for a thorough re-build.
‘The braking system, unused for years, required new seals, pipes – in fact most everything – and the leather interior, though charmingly patinated, had reached the consistency of overcooked bacon.
‘In short, the car required a budgetbusting restoration, for which I felt a bit of heat as, admittedly, I may have first inspected it while wearing my favourite rose-tinted spectacles, despite my own previous experience with one of West Bromwich’s finest. It was just as well that we had plenty of assistance from SOS chums, Rejen – the Jensen specialists – as well as MJA Automotive Engineering, Bromsgrove and Aldridge Trimming.
‘Re-painted in the Pistachio Green of its latter days, the car looked every bit the 1960s icon when revealed to Hampshire builder owner, Nick, a fabulous guy who will no doubt be out and about in his dream car whenever a suitable excuse arises.’