Jensen Interceptor restoration
Discussion
dpp said:
P5Nij said:
dpp said:
This is the model my wife bought which was a great inspiration whilst looking at a rusty shell.
The colour does change depending on the light levels which is nice.
Info please Sir! I can just see one of those sitting on the mantlepiece... ;O)The colour does change depending on the light levels which is nice.
For models try this site
http://neoshop.replicars.nl/detail.php?nr=149387&a...
My lad got me the Daimler Conquest ( a previous car of mine) and it is a gem, and worth every penny. I have just had an email from them that they are now doing a Silver Spirit, but its a Spirit I and LHD. I will send a pic of mine and get them to do a Spirit II in RHD and Royal Blue with parchment hide.... you never know!!!!!
Seriously I am not responsible for the time you will spend on this site
And one for te OP, Will you be doing a Wheeler Dealer type costing when it finished, or dosn't the good lady have the full picture?
Great Thread just found it
silverfoxcc said:
And one for te OP, Will you be doing a Wheeler Dealer type costing when it finished, or dosn't the good lady have the full picture?
Great Thread just found it
I have a full costing for all parts and labour from when I started this project and these include everything unlike a wheeler dealer costing. I haven't allowed for my time as this is for fun and not profit as I intend to keep the car for many years . Great Thread just found it
The only other thing not included in my costing is all the new tools I have bought and I started this job off with a reasonable amount of tools but you can never have too many tools and they will come in handy on my next project.
When the car came back from paint I started to record my time spent working on the car and this is now 640 hours in the last 12 months and that doesn't include all the time ordering and collecting parts. I would also think I spent a similar amount of time before the car went for paint as this was about 12 months again.
My wife looks after all the finances and knows exactly what the cost is but has been great not complaining about the cost or the amount of hours I spend working on the car.
I have an agreed insurance valuation which covers me for everything I have spent (less two years of my life) and this was with the car in bits so hopefully it should be worth more than I have spent when completed. I can then justify this as an investment for my retirement and with bank rates so low I'm probably doing better than leaving it in the bank anyway and having all the enjoyment and satisfaction that a project like this brings and in a few months I will be able to own and drive a car that I wouldn't be able to afford if I hadn't done it myself.
dpp said:
I have a full costing for all parts and labour from when I started this project and these include everything unlike a wheeler dealer costing. I haven't allowed for my time as this is for fun and not profit as I intend to keep the car for many years .
The only other thing not included in my costing is all the new tools I have bought and I started this job off with a reasonable amount of tools but you can never have too many tools and they will come in handy on my next project.
When the car came back from paint I started to record my time spent working on the car and this is now 640 hours in the last 12 months and that doesn't include all the time ordering and collecting parts. I would also think I spent a similar amount of time before the car went for paint as this was about 12 months again.
My wife looks after all the finances and knows exactly what the cost is but has been great not complaining about the cost or the amount of hours I spend working on the car.
I have an agreed insurance valuation which covers me for everything I have spent (less two years of my life) and this was with the car in bits so hopefully it should be worth more than I have spent when completed. I can then justify this as an investment for my retirement and with bank rates so low I'm probably doing better than leaving it in the bank anyway and having all the enjoyment and satisfaction that a project like this brings and in a few months I will be able to own and drive a car that I wouldn't be able to afford if I hadn't done it myself.
And THIS makes it priceless. Well done dpp, good on you.The only other thing not included in my costing is all the new tools I have bought and I started this job off with a reasonable amount of tools but you can never have too many tools and they will come in handy on my next project.
When the car came back from paint I started to record my time spent working on the car and this is now 640 hours in the last 12 months and that doesn't include all the time ordering and collecting parts. I would also think I spent a similar amount of time before the car went for paint as this was about 12 months again.
My wife looks after all the finances and knows exactly what the cost is but has been great not complaining about the cost or the amount of hours I spend working on the car.
I have an agreed insurance valuation which covers me for everything I have spent (less two years of my life) and this was with the car in bits so hopefully it should be worth more than I have spent when completed. I can then justify this as an investment for my retirement and with bank rates so low I'm probably doing better than leaving it in the bank anyway and having all the enjoyment and satisfaction that a project like this brings and in a few months I will be able to own and drive a car that I wouldn't be able to afford if I hadn't done it myself.
dpp,the good lady remark was a bit tongue in cheek ( hope no offence)
She goes ballistic when the Royce goes in for a service, but doesnt blink when the V70 gets a bill for 1000 last year and 700 this, as 'its the everyday car'!!!!
She isnt in the inner sanctum for the other hobby, model engineering, most stuff is small, but pricey, but as it comes with the postie, and more often than not, through the letterbox, it MUST be cheap. Little does she know.
Got to come clean when i get the new mill/drill though.
Oh and if anyone wants a s/h Warco minor mill/drill for 250.00, it MAY need two new bearings for the quill,(£20.00) cant be arsed to do them myself and the motor pulley fractured but has been loctited and no further probs,another £20.00, then i am your man!!!
Great thread up to 2am reading and re reading it, My lads two Dollys are in need of a bit of TLC, and whilst i dont mind doing the mechs and electrics,(only 2 fuses, heaven) its up to him for the bodywork. Your thread should give him the kick up the arse he needs
if you ever take it out to meets etc, can you give fair warning, would love to see it 'in the flesh'
May do a similar type log for the loco
She goes ballistic when the Royce goes in for a service, but doesnt blink when the V70 gets a bill for 1000 last year and 700 this, as 'its the everyday car'!!!!
She isnt in the inner sanctum for the other hobby, model engineering, most stuff is small, but pricey, but as it comes with the postie, and more often than not, through the letterbox, it MUST be cheap. Little does she know.
Got to come clean when i get the new mill/drill though.
Oh and if anyone wants a s/h Warco minor mill/drill for 250.00, it MAY need two new bearings for the quill,(£20.00) cant be arsed to do them myself and the motor pulley fractured but has been loctited and no further probs,another £20.00, then i am your man!!!
Great thread up to 2am reading and re reading it, My lads two Dollys are in need of a bit of TLC, and whilst i dont mind doing the mechs and electrics,(only 2 fuses, heaven) its up to him for the bodywork. Your thread should give him the kick up the arse he needs
if you ever take it out to meets etc, can you give fair warning, would love to see it 'in the flesh'
May do a similar type log for the loco
Trying some different methods of applying wrinkle finish paint without baking off in an oven because I have some larger pieces to do which will not fit in the oven.
The sample on the left was best when applying less paint than suggested
I dropped the gearbox in to give the car a better balance on the lift as it was getting heavy at the rear and because my new crane had arrived. The gearbox and torque convertor have been overhauled by a specialist.
Finally some progress on the engine some months after starting the strip down I have decided what to do with it, I have been busy with other things but also wanted to measure the wear myself as I have built engines before but let the machine shop measure them. The machine shop confirmed my measurements and will polish the crank for new standard size mains and big ends, a rebore to +30, the heads will be converted to unleaded with hardened seats a new cam and lifters will be fitted because they are so cheap and a high volume oil pump.
This kit is only $700 from the states and that was with the option of branded components.
The engine had had a timing gear failure a few years before I owned the car and a mechanic had fitted new timing gears and chain but failed to remove the remains of the old gear from the oil pick up, and all the valves had touched the pistons and he refitted bent pushrods.
The sample on the left was best when applying less paint than suggested
I dropped the gearbox in to give the car a better balance on the lift as it was getting heavy at the rear and because my new crane had arrived. The gearbox and torque convertor have been overhauled by a specialist.
Finally some progress on the engine some months after starting the strip down I have decided what to do with it, I have been busy with other things but also wanted to measure the wear myself as I have built engines before but let the machine shop measure them. The machine shop confirmed my measurements and will polish the crank for new standard size mains and big ends, a rebore to +30, the heads will be converted to unleaded with hardened seats a new cam and lifters will be fitted because they are so cheap and a high volume oil pump.
This kit is only $700 from the states and that was with the option of branded components.
The engine had had a timing gear failure a few years before I owned the car and a mechanic had fitted new timing gears and chain but failed to remove the remains of the old gear from the oil pick up, and all the valves had touched the pistons and he refitted bent pushrods.
dpp said:
The engine had had a timing gear failure a few years before I owned the car and a mechanic had fitted new timing gears and chain but failed to remove the remains of the old gear from the oil pick up, and all the valves had touched the pistons and he refitted bent pushrods.
BOGGLE! 
OvalOwl said:
dpp said:
The engine had had a timing gear failure a few years before I owned the car and a mechanic had fitted new timing gears and chain but failed to remove the remains of the old gear from the oil pick up, and all the valves had touched the pistons and he refitted bent pushrods.
BOGGLE! 
mechanic should be in inverted commas!G
I think I would also have to either put in a better slushbox (even a 4-speed one with a lockup top would be a huge improvement for overall performance and fuel consumption) or ideally a manual Tremec, if you can get a suitable bellhousing.
But that's just me: I do also see the argument for originality, so would never criticise anyone else for opting for the original equipment, especially when doing such a fine job on the other aspects of the car.
But that's just me: I do also see the argument for originality, so would never criticise anyone else for opting for the original equipment, especially when doing such a fine job on the other aspects of the car.
Lowtimer said:
I think I would also have to either put in a better slushbox (even a 4-speed one with a lockup top would be a huge improvement for overall performance and fuel consumption) or ideally a manual Tremec, if you can get a suitable bellhousing.
It's a lot of work and buggering about to fit a 4-speed auto (see previous posts on this thread)Fitting a Tremec would likely be even harder and more work, as you may need to buthering/cut-out the whole transmission tunnel of the Jensen if it's not big enough for the Tremec.
I have no idea if you would need to do that on a Jensen as I don't know how much clearance there is around the Torqueflite?
You have to cut out the tunnel and fabricate a new one on the late 60's E-body Mopar musclecars to fit a Tremec in place of the factory 4-speed or Torqueflite auto's as the Tremec is physically much bulkier than the original 'boxes, which is why you it's not a common thing to do.
There are a couple of conversion bellhousings to do it, but rigging up a suitable clutch/flywheel isn't an easy off the shelf task either.
In my mind a Jensen isn't a car to be 'hot-rodded' to that extent, not when a decent performance buildup of a Torqueflite from a specialist is such a fab tranny to sit behind a RB motor
The heads had hardened valve seats fitted for unleaded use and all valves recut here they are awaiting reassembly.
With the heads now assembled the engine could be completed, although im still waiting on the pulleys being replated and some s/s bolts.
I really enjoyed building the engine as my daughter helped me from stripping it down to rebuilding it, she wanted to help with the car but having limited time available I thought it would be better for her to concentrate on one part instead of bits everywhere and at 17 she can say she's rebuilt a V8 engine.
With the heads now assembled the engine could be completed, although im still waiting on the pulleys being replated and some s/s bolts.
I really enjoyed building the engine as my daughter helped me from stripping it down to rebuilding it, she wanted to help with the car but having limited time available I thought it would be better for her to concentrate on one part instead of bits everywhere and at 17 she can say she's rebuilt a V8 engine.
dpp said:
dbdb said:
That's superb - it really adds to the car that your daughter helped you rebuild the engine. This car is turning out marvellously!
Hopefully it should be something she will remember for a long time.benjj said:
Lovely. I try to involve my two young daughters in all my car stuff. They're both very young but are starting to appreciate subtle differences between all of our cars and both love going out for a razz. I'm currently teaching my eldest (5 yrs old) to navigate a rally car properly, one day I hope we'll compete together.
That's great.Not quite the same thing but I did get my three boys into playing rugby and once the youngest hit 17 it was quite special for the four of us to turn out one Saturday to play in the same game!
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