Case histories
We test the classics that you can buy
JENSEN INTERCEPTOR III
Year of manufacture 1974 Recorded mileage 6606
Asking price £74,950 Vendor Cropredy Bridge Cars Ltd, Oxfordshire; 01295 758444; www.cropredybridge.com
WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £6744.06 Max power 330bhp Max torque 350lb ft 0-60mph 7.2 secs Top speed 135mph Mpg 12
This Interceptor is well known to Cropredy Bridge throughout the firm’s many incarnations and ownerships – bills with Cropredy go back to 1983 – and it has had plenty of recent fettling work there, on top of what was likely a fuller restoration in the past. Around £15k was spent through 2015-’16, including a repaint, an engine rebuild and various troubleshooting.
It’s solid underneath, with lots of grease around the wishbone joints, new rear springs and good exhausts, mostly stainless-steel. The repaint is still very presentable, smooth and shiny, with just one bubble now showing on the bonnet. The chrome is slightly bloomed in places, and there’s a small nick in the roof vinyl in one corner of the sunroof aperture.
There are a few upgrades including new fans, plus Fosseway Performance brakes, Spax adjustable dampers and H4 headlights, plus 17in alloys shod with Westlake SV308S. The spare is the standard size, bearing an older Michelin.
Inside, the leather – possibly original and recently cleaned – is only lightly creased, and the door cards are in good shape. The headlining is smart, the carpets slightly grubby. The eyeball vent nozzles still have their chrome and there’s a newish Moto-lita wheel. The vast ‘goldfish-bowl’ hatch has good seals and operates easily, under which we find good boot carpet and tools.
At the other end, the 7.2-litre Chrysler V8 shows no obvious leaks and the oil is fairly clean, though the transmission fluid is a bit old and discoloured. It starts easily and drives well, with a light touch to the steering making it feel younger and smaller than it really is. The gearchanges are smooth, it tracks and brakes straight, and it’s plenty fast enough if you tramp on it. The oil-pressure gauge shows a healthy 50psi at 3000rpm, with the temperature gauge registering in the middle of the dial, and the fans cut in readily when you stop. Inevitably, not quite everything works: the electric roof does, but the clock and left window don’t, and the air-con tries its best – you can hear the compressor engaging, at least. It’ll be sold with both windows working and a fresh MOT.