RE: Cropredy Bridge Jensen | PH Meets
Discussion
Many years ago I helped a mate who had an FF ; he'd used Cropredy Bridge to sell his car on commission and I picked up the balance . Weep now - it was £5000...
Mind you the bloody thing was a liability - it was suffering from many ailments , great when it was all working but 10mpg on a good day and ..ummm ...5mpg on a bad one . He bought my Golf GTi from me and saved a fortune at the gas station.
Mind you the bloody thing was a liability - it was suffering from many ailments , great when it was all working but 10mpg on a good day and ..ummm ...5mpg on a bad one . He bought my Golf GTi from me and saved a fortune at the gas station.
As a car mad boy in the ‘60s, the Interceptor was my absolute favourite - though also a huge fan of the E-type, DB5 and Cobra. Going to the Earls Court motor show in those days, it was part of the annual pilgrimage to visit the Jensen stand and just ogle the cars. Few visitors were ever allowed on the stand and as a kid you stood no chance. Then one year they actually allowed limited numbers of the plebs onto the stand, and I got my first and only chance to see an Interceptor up close, to actually sit in one, and to work the electric windows (having never encountered those before)! That just reinforced my infatuation.
Perhaps it’s my age, but I think the Interceptor and certain other cars of the ‘60s were a high point in automotive design and are largely ageless. Modern cars are technologically light years ahead in most respects, but I would question just how many will still look good in 50 years.
The Interceptor epitomised the concept of an elegant brute of a comfortable grand tourer, allied to a monstrous American V8 with its intimidating soundtrack and (relative) reliability. From that era, perhaps the short-lived Gordon Keeble GK1 is the one of the few other would-be UK rivals I can think of. I’m just glad to hear of any company that is seeking to restore and maintain such glorious examples of UK motoring history.
Perhaps it’s my age, but I think the Interceptor and certain other cars of the ‘60s were a high point in automotive design and are largely ageless. Modern cars are technologically light years ahead in most respects, but I would question just how many will still look good in 50 years.
The Interceptor epitomised the concept of an elegant brute of a comfortable grand tourer, allied to a monstrous American V8 with its intimidating soundtrack and (relative) reliability. From that era, perhaps the short-lived Gordon Keeble GK1 is the one of the few other would-be UK rivals I can think of. I’m just glad to hear of any company that is seeking to restore and maintain such glorious examples of UK motoring history.
I know someone with a garage queen - last time it came out was about 15 years ago! He still has no intention of getting rid, whatever they may be worth.
It gets 10mpg and caught fire in a petrol station at one point, but when it’s working what a place to be in! Definitely one to tastefully restomod.
It gets 10mpg and caught fire in a petrol station at one point, but when it’s working what a place to be in! Definitely one to tastefully restomod.
Back in the early 80s I was proud of my MK2 Granada 2.8 Ghia, then a work colleague turned up in his MK2 Granada 2.8i Ghia. 
Anyway it turns out his older brother had owned a succession of American Muscle Cars, and less than a year later my colleague turned up in a Red Jensen SP! But the next day he arrived in a rear-engine Renault (not sure if it was an 8 or a 10) because he couldn't afford to commute in the Jensen!
But I've always thought they were stunning cars, and I would still have one in my "lottery garage"!
At least higher values mean those that are left are getting saved now.
Funnily enough I saw one last Sunday, but it was at a classic car meet.
Anyway it turns out his older brother had owned a succession of American Muscle Cars, and less than a year later my colleague turned up in a Red Jensen SP! But the next day he arrived in a rear-engine Renault (not sure if it was an 8 or a 10) because he couldn't afford to commute in the Jensen!
But I've always thought they were stunning cars, and I would still have one in my "lottery garage"!
At least higher values mean those that are left are getting saved now.
Funnily enough I saw one last Sunday, but it was at a classic car meet.
Oh, nostalgia! I was given a lift in an FF from Cheltenham to Stroud in 1968 and have never forgotten the smell, wafting elegance, and sheer beauty of the thing; what a fabulous design, they were a real work of art .... and the best way I can imagine to become bankrupt if you do more than park one in thje garage!! But, what the hell, I'd just love one!!!
Robocop2 said:
From that era, perhaps the short-lived Gordon Keeble GK1 is the one of the few other would-be UK rivals I can think of.
- Warren Classic Show September 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7433Oxl7g7c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWqVxYRsrvg
The house at the beginning of the second vid is Plas Dinam.
Any article on Jensen really should always mention the FFF-100 from 1972.
If only because it was fitted with a tuned Chrysler Hemi engine putting out 600bhp, with four wheel drive via the FF chassis and drive train, with the anti-lock brakes from the FF, and a fibre glass body by William Towns (of Aston Martin V8 fame among others).
The FFF-100 held the 0-100-0 record from 1972 until I believe with 1993 with the Mclaren F1. Article below suggests longer.
At the time of testing in 72' the record stood 19.7 seconds in the dry.
The FFF-100 recorded a 0-100-0 in 12.2 seconds in the wet.
That illustrates just how far ahead the FF's drive and braking were when launched. The FFF-100 then ran 11.5 in the dry, and this went unbeaten for at least two decades.
http://www.jensenmuseum.org/fff-100-gkns-four-whee...
If only because it was fitted with a tuned Chrysler Hemi engine putting out 600bhp, with four wheel drive via the FF chassis and drive train, with the anti-lock brakes from the FF, and a fibre glass body by William Towns (of Aston Martin V8 fame among others).
The FFF-100 held the 0-100-0 record from 1972 until I believe with 1993 with the Mclaren F1. Article below suggests longer.
At the time of testing in 72' the record stood 19.7 seconds in the dry.
The FFF-100 recorded a 0-100-0 in 12.2 seconds in the wet.
That illustrates just how far ahead the FF's drive and braking were when launched. The FFF-100 then ran 11.5 in the dry, and this went unbeaten for at least two decades.
http://www.jensenmuseum.org/fff-100-gkns-four-whee...
rudecherub said:
The FFF-100 held the 0-100-0 record from 1972 until I believe with 1993 with the Mclaren F1. Article below suggests longer.
At the time of testing in 72' the record stood 19.7 seconds in the dry.
The FFF-100 recorded a 0-100-0 in 12.2 seconds in the wet.
That record was a record for the MIRA test track (and therefore probably a UK record) which the accompanying period article actually states.At the time of testing in 72' the record stood 19.7 seconds in the dry.
The FFF-100 recorded a 0-100-0 in 12.2 seconds in the wet.
Shelby test driver Ken Miles had clocked 13.8 sec 0-100-0 in a 427 Cobra way back in 1965, which was the record for a 'production car' for many years.
Love that KB Hemi with the NASCAR cross-ram induction setup.........that engine alone today would be worth the best part of £50k+
I used my Interceptor to commute to and from my office in W1 for 5 years in the early 90s until the salt on the roads after a heavy winter took their toll on the bodywork. The guy who looked after it for me told me to stop using it to commute and get something more economical, so I bought a Series 3 Jaguar XJ6 and kept the Interceptor for weekends.
You could use the fuel gauge as a rev counter, as you could see it move, but the torque was immense and the sound from the 440 V8 was fantastic. It would explode into life when I pumped the pedal after a couple of turns to build up oil pressure. A friend who was standing behind my car ran when he first heard it fire up as he thought it had exploded.
I was lightly rear-ended in it three times on the Finchley Road sitting in traffic by people who were too busy admiring the back of the car and forgot to brake.
A friend convinced me to sell it to him a few years later, as I wasn't using it. He only kept it for a short while as he couldn't handle the running costs and I should have bought it back from him, but didn't. It's the only car I regret selling and I keep my eye out for it, it went through auction a few years ago, but my better half thought I should finish the projects I have before buying another.
You could use the fuel gauge as a rev counter, as you could see it move, but the torque was immense and the sound from the 440 V8 was fantastic. It would explode into life when I pumped the pedal after a couple of turns to build up oil pressure. A friend who was standing behind my car ran when he first heard it fire up as he thought it had exploded.
I was lightly rear-ended in it three times on the Finchley Road sitting in traffic by people who were too busy admiring the back of the car and forgot to brake.
A friend convinced me to sell it to him a few years later, as I wasn't using it. He only kept it for a short while as he couldn't handle the running costs and I should have bought it back from him, but didn't. It's the only car I regret selling and I keep my eye out for it, it went through auction a few years ago, but my better half thought I should finish the projects I have before buying another.
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