Jensen Interceptor MKIII £54,950

Lightly used but clearly cherished, this Interceptor is straight, true and ready to thrum the miles away, says Paul Hardiman

First registered as RWP 515L to Newbury Motors Ltd of Halesowen, not far from where it was built in West Bromwich, this Interceptor MKIII is straight and clean, and has obviously been looked after over the years. The owner trace includes all 13, including one from 1987 until 2006, when Bob Cherry of Jensen specialist Cropredy Bridge Garage acquired it. Old Mots confirm the mileage was 51,128 in 2011, and it now stands at 57,304. It’s been wearing the numberplate 187 JBC since at least 1978, the date of the earliest registration document copies on file.

The older repaint in graphite – it was originally grey, presumably a lighter shade – is still good, and the alloys are unscuffed. There are no stone chips in the nose. Structurally it looks good and the sill joints are sharply defined, with just a hint of surface corrosion on the left sill lip and evidence of some new metal being let in along the outer edges of the floors.

There’s a £1350 bill for a little more bodywork in 2017 including rear quarters and sanding out scratches on the roof. The boot floor and hatch seal are good.

Bumpers are straight, though the plating to the door handles is lightly pitted, which is normal, and there are a couple of tiny dings in the sill finishers.

Silencers and their skids look new, with big-bore tailpipes, and there’s little wear to the Pirelli P4000s. Their date of 2001 confirms how relatively unused the car has been in the past decade, though there are stickers for Spa Classic in 2017 and Le Mans the year before that – along with Cropredy Bridge stickers, a sign of enthusiastic ownership. The spare is an older SP Sport on a lightly corroded wheel.

Inside, the leather and carpets are newish and headlining is excellent. The veneers have been refinished and are still very good. The dash is OK, with one small star crack in its top. There’s a Moto-lita wheel and modern Kenwood stereo.

The bonnet has been louvred, with a repair noted on that bodywork bill of 2017, though the stays are weak. The air filter casing has been refinished, under which the Carter Thermo-quad carburettor looks clean – it’s said to have been rebuilt. There’s a new master cylinder with a slight overflow from a full reservoir, evidence of a brake overhaul – the discs don’t look very old and the calipers are clean, though again there’s no bill in the file. There are new plugs and leads too, and the belts are said to have been changed. Coolant looks OK, transmission fluid is pink and the engine oil is cleanish and mid level.

It starts easily, drives well, with a supple chassis, nice brakes and decent kickdown – and plenty of go, of course. Volts read 13, temperature just below ‘N’ (the fans cut in promptly when you stop) and oil pressure at least 40psi, all within normal range.

The left window is a bit sticky and the driver’s door window switch is inoperative (there’s another on the centre console) and currently the clock and air conditioning don’t work, though the electric aerial does. Will be sold with a new MOT if requested.