Jensen Interceptor - scratch needs itching!

[anonymous-user]

dpp said:

If the urge takes you then do it, the only downside to these fantastic cars is the damage to your bank balance.
Owning a Jensen for me has been a very rewarding experience the club and other owners are a great bunch and I have had a great time restoring a wreck.

My advise buy the worst you can and then rip it apart to make a car you know exactly the condition of.

I bought a car and the welder did this for starters



2 years later and Im now through the worst and have this which I am looking forward to using next year when its finished

Wow, I really like that colour, more pictures and a thread are needed!

[yosini]

My advice would be just do it! I've had my Mk 1 for about 7 years now, and it has been brilliant - in fact I was driving it just last night & this morning and it always makes me smile. Weirdly, even though I used to (and often still do) commute in it, in London traffic, it always makes me feel calm driving it - power steering that is perfectly weighted, servo brakes, amazing visibility and spacious cabin, oodles of comfort, and the torqueflight box where you don't even notice the gear change. And then there is the power - it will burble happily, but even if you just press slightly it will push you effortlessly, and if you boot it then whoa! I always describe the power as if you are on a plane taking off - the acceleration doesn't feel much, but it is unlimited and actually remarkably quick.

As people have mentioned before there are a few wise updates, I've upgraded to a high torque starter (starts first crank every time, even after being sat for months), electric fuel pump, electronic ignition, alternator. And Andy at Appleyards is a star (he also used to own my car)

I'd go for the Mk 1, as they look the prettiest internally and externally (IMHO), they are also the lightest and feel the quickest (maybe are?), but they are quite rare now compared to the later models so command a premium price.

I keep thinking I should sell mine, as it only now gets used once or twice a month, but each time I drive it I change my mind!

Good luck with the search, and you won't regret it!

Joe

[anonymous-user]

What a lovely car. The paintwork looks spiffy. The interior of a Mark I is very Italianate and classy, although I like the "Federal" dashboard of the Mark II and III, which no doubt looked very modern in 1969.

I assume you have the whacky rear window fans, and the slightly thinner wheels.

[dpp]

CoinSl0t said:

Wow, I really like that colour, more pictures and a thread are needed!

Thanks there isn't a thread running on pistonheads but you can follow this link to a thread on the restoration on the JOC website if you have a spare hour.

http://www.joc.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=17&am...

[V8 Fettler]

vixen1700 said:

Keep it stiff said:

Just don't try this. (See 1.25 min in)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQs2fpU1eI

Did some poor bugger have to write the risk assessment for that?

[Keep it stiff]

V8 Fettler said:

Did some poor bugger have to write the risk assessment for that?

I'm not sure about a RA but I'm sure they would have written a report or two after!

I remember watching it at the time, this You Tube clip is an edit, this was a live TV event and the image I remember most was the engine & box from the Interceptor bouncing down the tarmac without the rest of the car. Very much a stunt that went wrong and given the near-miss with the first car that ran all the more surprising that alarm bells had not rung.

[SV8Predator]

Breadvan72 said:

although I like the "Federal" dashboard of the Mark II and III,

That's interesting Breaders, I've never heard it referred to as "Federal" before. Where did that come from?

[storminnorman]

vixen1700 said:

Keep it stiff said:

Just don't try this. (See 1.25 min in)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQs2fpU1eI

I don't know what's worse, the Jensen crash or Mr. Nunn's comment below the video

[anonymous-user]

SV8Predator said:

Breadvan72 said:

although I like the "Federal" dashboard of the Mark II and III,

That's interesting Breaders, I've never heard it referred to as "Federal" before. Where did that come from?

From the Goshdarn' Fed'ral Gummint. The dashboard was redesigned to conform to new US crash regulations. It is padded and does not have switches sticking out of it.

[V8 Fettler]

storminnorman said:

vixen1700 said:

Keep it stiff said:

Just don't try this. (See 1.25 min in)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQs2fpU1eI

I don't know what's worse, the Jensen crash or Mr. Nunn's comment below the video

I didn't read the comments the first time round, I now wish I hadn't

[JCW]

This is interesting as on one hand I have developed a taste for restoration but am far too fastidious for the good of my wallet, but on the other appreciate the finished article which has been paid for by someone else!

[SV8Predator]

Breadvan72 said:

From the Goshdarn' Fed'ral Gummint. The dashboard was redesigned to conform to new US crash regulations. It is padded and does not have switches sticking out of it.

But the Interceptor II was introduced in 1969.

[dbdb]

I have always regarded the mk II and III dash as a Federal thing too. I'm beginning to wonder why I do now. Perhaps it is a long held (and wrong) assumption which has gained the status of "fact" for me! Perhaps it was introduced early in anticipation of regulatory changes in the USA?

The original dash is a classy looking thing, but I prefer the space age later one. It suits the car. The late walnut job looks posh, but oddly, I'm not so keen on it. It's all relative - any Interceptor is beautiful.

Edited by dbdb on Monday 16th December 22:55

[anonymous-user]

SV8Predator said:

Breadvan72 said:

From the Goshdarn' Fed'ral Gummint. The dashboard was redesigned to conform to new US crash regulations. It is padded and does not have switches sticking out of it.

But the Interceptor II was introduced in 1969.

Er, yes, but the Feds had rules and stuff even then. The later Interceptors were much burdened by anti emissions rules that started to come in, especially in California (State rules, not Federal in that case), in the early 1970s. You may recall also that the Interceptor convertible got a boost because for a time it was one of the only drophead zoom-mobiles on sale in the US, as other manufacturers had incorrectly assumed that open cars were to be banned on the grounds of OMGROLLOVERDEATHKAOS, as product liability litigation in the US started to become a national hobby.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 17th December 07:51

[anonymous-user]

Motor Magazine (UK) Oct 1969 - "New 'American safety' dashboard - and a collapsible steering column."

Road and Track (US) April 1970 - "The interior layout, restyled for 1970 around federalizing redesign..."

Motor Magazine (UK) September 1970 - "Yet to meet the ever tightening American Federal Regulations... Jensen were obliged to bring out a revised version of the FF at last year's London show... Most of the changes - which have also been built into the FF's stable mate, the Interceptor - are to the interior styling and safety, like the facia padding and collapsible steering column."

[Dr Interceptor]

Breadvan72 said:

had incorrectly assumed that open cars were to be banned on the grounds of OMGROLLOVERDEATHKAOS, as product liability litigation in the US started to become a national hobby.

...and the reason why the Stag was engineered with its T-bar setup, as Triumph believed they would be banned, and the T-Bar was supposed to get around that.

[anonymous-user]

Ditto the Lancia Beta Spider* (targa not T-bar), to complete the collection of our cars!



* Zagato in American.

[Dr Interceptor]

Breadvan72 said:

Ditto the Lancia Beta Spider* (targa not T-bar), to complete the collection of our cars!



* Zagato in American.

Ooh, I didn't know you had one of those... My uncle had one when I was a young'un! Always lusted after a Montecarlo myself.

[anonymous-user]

I nearly bought a Montecarlo, but could not find a good one. They really needed the Volumex engine to add pep. The single Weber two litre twin cam in the Spider is lovely. When the second choke opens up at 4000 rpm, it's like a poor man's turbo.

[anonymous-user]

Piccies taken outside the seller's house last year. It looks much the same now, apart from a new hood, new mats and a bit of rust on the rear valance.