Jensen Interceptor Mk3 YYY691M

[SilverHarrier]

Hello! Some of you may recognize this Jensen from pictures I posted previously in the Classics left to die thread after I came across the car in a basement car park.
Thought id give a quick update on the car for anyone's that interested..
I first noticed the car in late 2015 in the basement of a block of flats I was doing a job in and thought it looked like it hadn't moved in a while.
Often wondered if it was still there but never had a reason to go back and car park was a secured area so left it at that until I got called back there in May this year. I asked the customer I was working for if they had noticed an old car in the car park and they confirmed there was one down there but didn't know who owned it but didn't mind letting me go down and take a look. It was still there unmoved and looking a bit worse off than the last time id seen it so I took a few pictures and posted them in the other thread.
Kept thinking about the car over the next few days and wondered why it was left down there and assumed that the owner had probably died and widow had probably just left it there.
I'm always up for buying any old wreck I come across (last one was a Vauxhall Chevette!) but never came across an Interceptor before..
So, with nothing to lose I write a letter to the flat that the Jenson was parked in and didn't expect to hear anything..
Less than a fortnight later I get a phone call from the owner who was alive and well after all and he explained that he'd received my letter and was considering selling the car.
So we have a quick chat and I arrange to go and take a look.
Come the weekend we meet up and Im laid in the puddles with a torch looking underneath convincing myself that it didn't look too bad!
One thing leads to another and we've just made a deal that means I've got to spend the money we've been saving to get the kitchen replaced.
This has all happened a lot quicker than I thought but I couldn't back out as it was me that approached him after all. So I've gone and done it, bought a car that I know nothing about (I normally buy Mk3 Escorts and the like) so could potentially be well of my depth!






Collected this Friday, pulled it out at a snails pace behind a mates Ranger. Nothing was seized, it moved freely straight away.
Underside of the car genuinely looks pretty good although its had work in the past and is heavily coated in underseal.
Bodywork has started to suffer though as the carpark it was in was right on the seafront. Tailgate is the worst area with the lower edge pretty much crumbling away.

Previous owner appears to be genuine enough and assures me the car ran and drove fine when he parked it up 6 years back.
He was a little vague as to why he stopped using it but did say that he lost his wife a few years ago so I'm assuming it could be related to this.
He bought the car from Cropredy Bridge Garage in 2006 and had some major work carried out on it by them over the next couple of years, stopped using it until 2011 before putting it back on the road for a year then parking it up.
The car has a reasonable history file and the previous owner recovered copies of build sheets etc from the owners club. He also got the previous owner history from DVLA which is nice as they have recently stopped this service due to data protection.
The car was first registered in February 1974 to a Travel Agent from Slough with a personalized registration TRY24.
Looking through the copies of old logbooks from DVLA, second owner was The Hon John F Anderson of London, whos that I wondered? Quick google search and it turns out to be Lord Waverley! He has his own website so I might drop him an email!..
Third and forth owners were husband and wife who had the plate UGE7 on the car. Another more recent owner had the car registered to a boat in Southampton called Lady Beryl. Quickly googled the boat and looks like it might have belonged to George Formby once upon a time.
All tenuous stuff this and hope everyone that's read this far isn't too bored but I love reading through old car history.

Anyway, the car is now at a friends garage so I will get down there in the week and take some better pictures and post them up..

Thanks for reading!

[SilverHarrier]

Thanks for all the positive comments, nice to know that people are interested!

A few more pictures here, nothing too exciting..









Certainly not falling apart underneath, much better than I expected! Had a bit of patching on the floors over the years as expected!

Best part though;.. It Runs!

Not trying to get ahead of myself but certainly thinking about getting it roadworthy in the next few weeks if we don't come across anything terminal..

I'll update again as soon as I get chance
Thanks for reading,
Rich

[SilverHarrier]

Hello All! Not much really to update but again, thanks for all positive comments and suggestions..
A few pictures taken today;

Motor was running when I took this. Was a little lumpy when first fired up so plugs were changed and is lovely and smooth now.
All it needed after being laid up was fresh fuel, battery charged and up it went. Battery has even held a charge!




Interior is in pretty good order although it obviously needs a good clean, unfortunate fag burn on rear seat..



Tailgate is the worst area found so far..


Noticed the vinyl roof has been painted, can just see the original tan in the corner..



There are a few electrical issues to sort, nothing major- bad earths, washers not working, heater fan etc.
Brakes are very spongey but no obvious signs of leaks anywhere. Fluid looks all stewed though so will get changed and all bled up and see if it improves.
As suggested by a previous poster, will probably try and get it MOT'd shortly and if successful get it on the road as it is and just run it around locally for the rest of the summer!

Thanks,

Rich

[SilverHarrier]

The Jensen now has an MOT and I will hopefully be collecting it tomorrow!
Didn't really need much doing, a few electrical niggles and master cylinder replaced and through it went.
Previous owner told me that it hasn't been converted to run unleaded so looking for advice on fuels and additives to run? Guessing super unleaded and some sort of lead replacement additive so any recommendations greatly appreciated..
I'm also going to have to get a cover as its going to be kept outside for a while so again if anyone can recommend a decent outdoor cover to go for?
I'll get some more pictures up once I've picked it up..

Thanks,

Rich

[SilverHarrier]

underwhelmist said:

Great car, good luck with it. With that registration I assume you’ll be calling it Delilah?

Ah Yes! When I first went to view the car the previous owner said straight away the car had a name!.. I try not to think about it too much as the tune gets stuck in my head for days!


There are probably a few more Delilah's running about as it looks like the YYY series was issued to a series of imports and re reg's around the same time. I think when Cropredy acquired this car it had the plate UGE7 so that was probably sold on for a good few pounds and the car issued with this. I was looking through some owners club magazines that were passed to me with the car and this car was advertised for sale by Cropredy in 2006 along with a LHD US import that wears the plate YYY695M so they must have registered both at the same time.
I also had a look on DVLA and 692, 3, 4 etc were issued in 2006 to a selection of VW's Merc and Lambo!


As a coincidence I seem to recall a barn find Interceptor going through auction (possibly Anglia Classics) earlier this year also with a YYY plate and that had apparently been off the road since the 80s so could well have had that plate since new..

[SilverHarrier]

As usual, thanks for all comments and suggestions!

Car is now road legal so went out last night for our first run with my 11 year old son who's been nagging for weeks to go for a blast!
Only put about half a tank of fuel in as I didn't plan on going too far and was half expecting a breakdown as its been laid up a few years..
Only out for an hour or so and stayed reasonably close to home but did about 40 miles and absolutely loved it!
I cant believe how well this car drives, a great experience and my lads not stopped grinning since!..
Car didn't play up at all, runs like a dream, good oil pressure, steady temperature. Gaining confidence in this..




Not even cleaned it yet, been so busy with work and just wanted to get out in it!


I expect that's a common sight of an Interceptors petrol gauge! However, this one isn't working at all so i'll try and fix that asap..

Anyway, I finished work this afternoon and as soon as I walk in the door my boy appears, "Are we going for a drive dad?"
So I went out for fuel and noticed fuel dripping as i was filling up. Rubber hose between filler neck and tank is badly perished and leaking bad so that's that for now, straight back home.



Will get one ordered Monday and update soon..

Thanks,
Rich