Ever since the late seventies when I saw a Jensen Interceptor passing me by on my bike, on my way to school, I knew this was my dream car.
Of course I had been reading about it in the magazines but it was unreachable, like a Jaguar E-type or a Maserati or such exotica. I would admire these at classic car shows or museums.
Only later when I learned the Interceptor used rather ordinary Chrysler V8 engines, I became really interested.
Exactly the same Chrysler V8 was used in a lot of Chryslers (and Dodges/Plymouths). Jensen used the 383 cubic inch (6.3 liters) version for its early Interceptor, later versions used the 440 ci (7.2 liters). Most had the Torqueflite 727 auto transmission which suited the engine very good but there were a handful of cars with an agricultural 4-speed manual gearbox too.
Jensen used the Chrysler pack (engine and transmission) first in the Interceptors’ predecessor, the C-V8. Although a fine car on many accounts, it lacks the jaw dropping lines of the Interceptor.
Excellent for getting the groceries!
Something different to modern cars.
I knew there were three versions of the Interceptor. Mark One (1966-69) had a low front bumper, pointy overriders, a very sixties dashboard and slim rear lamps. Mark Two (1969-71) had a more modern dashboard, different seats, the front bumper was fitted higher – just below the grille, square overriders, larger rear lamps and amongst other changes the front suspension received ball joints instead of king pins. Air conditioning was now an option. Mark Three (1971-76) had once again different seats, new (unique for the Interceptor) aluminum wheels, a larger engine and air conditioning was a standard fitment.
After Jensen went bust in 1976, the tooling was saved. Most original tooling was sold to a Jaguar parts supplier, which still can supply many Interceptor parts including new pressed panels (hood, fenders, doors).
Seat belts with the old style Jensen script.
A nice thing about Jensen is that it was a small factory specialized in making their own bodywork and interior. Jensen earned their money by assembling Austin Healeys, yes every Austin Healey was “produced” by Jensen. This gave Jensen the money to make / hand built their own cars (541, CV8, Interceptor, Jensen Healey and GT). For these they had to make use of many available generic parts. You might recognize parts from Austin, Triumph, Jaguar, Chrysler. For me as a DIY maintenance guy this is a positive thing because these parts generally are easier (and cheaper) to come by. The fact that the Interceptor basically is of a simple construction (rear suspension is a big rear axle with leaf springs, there are no fancy electronics, all bodywork except for the outer skin are straight panels) made me realize an Interceptor was a car I could take on – provided I could find one good and cheap enough.
At a recent car show.
Extra points for those who can identify the green car!
Comparing the three Marks, which objectively is an impossible task because every newer generation always has improvements over the older one, I chose the Mark One as the most attractive.
So I started looking, summer 1999. For months I looked in car magazines and online ads. Internet has only just begon and there were few online ads to be seen. Not on Ebay or other big automotive selling sites. From earlier visits to the UK I knew there were local ad papers. I asked a UK friend to send me these papers now and then. Then they started displaying their ads online which made checking much easier.
I was in no hurry, did not want to make a wrong buy.
I made a spreadsheet with all more or less affordable Interceptors I could find. Mark, left hand drive or right hand drive, location, visited by myself?, asking price, minimum price, registration, description. During the two or three years I was looking I even found a few Left Hand Drive Mark One for sale, these are very rare – no Mk1 cars were exported to the USA and only a handful LHD in Europe. All cars in the Netherlands or Belgium were more expensive compared to prices in the UK. It made no sense to me. So I turned back to the UK ads.
In October 2001 I saw this LooT ad for a car in Manchester:
Jensen Interceptor MK1 tax free and MOT, stunning condition, lots of new parts fitted, sell or swap what-have-you, £6,000.00
Interested and curious – there were no pictures in LooT – I fired off an email.
A few days later I received a long reply. Bill, the seller, said he had owned the car for five years while he restored it. It had received many new panels (wings, doors, rear hatch, valances, bonnet), rubbers everywhere (suspension, hoses, doors), overhaul of the king pin suspension, bumpers were rechromed, new carpets, new stainless steel exhaust system and the car had a new yearly inspection ticket. With the car came (from a scrapped car) extra wheels, rear axle, radiator, rear hatch, glass, interior. He sent many pictures showing the welding to the car has been done to a pretty high standard, panel joints were lead loaded as were done originally by the Jensen factory.
New sills, door panels, wings…
… welding at the front …
… lead loading the joints
Nearly finished.
Well, that sounded promising. But the asking price was a too high, and transportation would be a big problem. Manchester is a long, long drive from the ferry ports of Dover, Hull or Harwich. I did not dare to drive an unknown car to me for such a long distance, and then there were all the spare parts. I replied I was interested but it would be too expensive to get transport arranged.
Months passed. I checked the ads weekly but not many other interesting candidates appeared. I checked LooT often as well, the asking price of the Manchester car had gradually gone down to £4,000 seven months later. I phoned Bill that I would come over to check out the car. A flight was booked for the next week and I was picked up by Bill. The car was as advertised, Bill was a gentle and honest person.
My first sight of the car.
That’s me on the right. I cannot remember who took the pic.
He explained the car was hard to sell because it was not good enough for those looking for an as new restored car, and too expensive for someone looking for a cheap car. It still needed work, under the hood it looked old and needed detailing. The interior was good but it had cheap carpets, the electric windows were hard to close. The chrome was pretty good but the glass surrounds ideally would need a rechrome. The water pump leaked a little. And so on, it was definitively not a perfect or 100% car. I made an offer of £3,500 and we had a deal.
Big and long!
A friend owned a big J20 Jeep and offered to go along. We hooked a car trailer and invited another friend, and off we went, taking the ferry across the North Sea. Loading up the car in Manchester, we needed all the space there was in the huge pick up because of the mountain of spare parts and wheels. The Interceptor followed on the trailer. It was quite a sight!
The M62 motorway from Manchester to Hull at one point is the highest point for a motorway in the UK. While the Jeep on flat roads could cope well with the maximum weight in the pickup area and towing a heavy car, it did slow down markedly on the long slope to the top. But no bad words to be said for the 25 year old Jeep, it did its work admirably. I could have hired a big van but this was getting a stylish car in style!
At home, in my old garage.
Next to my daily Triumph 2500 Mk2.
In my new garage.
To be honest, the Jensen really was bought at a bad time. I lost my job, and found another one but had to travel for it. We had decided to build a bigger garage and extend our house. To save on costs I did much myself. This resulted in very little time for cars, and even that time was needed to keep the road going cars on the road. The Jensen stood and stood.
I made some progress, the under bonnet area is so much better now. New Hardura lining was fitted to the inner wings and bulkhead. The heater box was removed, de-rusted and painted. Same for the relay box. Jensen in their wisdom did not put a lid on the relay box, although older versions did have a lid. I wanted a lid so I made one from aluminum. Much of the under bonnet wiring was renewed. I fitted a heavy duty Mitsubishi alternator and made a new bracket for this. The fans were overhauled, cleaned and painted. I replaced the ignition points with electronic ignition (Mopar orange box).
Timing gear missing half of its nylon coating.
There they are! Found in the engine sump.
The water pump was replaced and I changed the timing chain. The timing gears were found to be still of the original nylon-dipped type. This is a known weak point for these engines. When new, the nylon gear wheels were introduced to make less noise. Over time the nylon degraded and pieces broke off into the sump. I guess I was lucky that no real damage was done to the engine.
The exhaust pipes hung too low, they were cut and rewelded so they hung closer to the underside of the car. The trunk compartment was cleaned, de-rusted and painted. The whole underside of the car was scraped, de-rusted and painted.
At a friend’s garage, still on the old tires…
… old tires are VERY dangerous!
In the mean time, to keep up momentum, I sometimes drove the car on borrowed garage plates. This helped to keep me going as it seems there was no end to the work that needed doing to the car.
The right hand (driver’s) door window was difficult to close. This is one (of many) of the hard things to do on a Jensen. Being coach built, it means adjustment is possible in all directions. Which is fine but there is no starting datum point. The door window frames should sit against the aperture rubbers, not too tight, not to loose, not too much forward or too much backwards. At the door top the glass should sit not too far inside or outside. And, important, the glass should be able to slide free in its frame runners. In all, not a job done in a couple of hours. I removed the motor and tried another (spare) but that also could barely make the window close. So I replaced the motor and sliding system with a modern Jaguar system – it took some fabrication and welding but I got it working and it does get the job done easier.
Leather seats are original and still very lovely.
The interior lamps were not working, I replaced all the wiring. I wanted to fit door mirrors but was unsure what type to fit. Back then, they were not fitted by the factory which is the reason you see Mk1s fitted with wing mirrors (various kinds) or door mirrors (various kinds). There is very little room inside the door to tighten nuts for the door mirrors so, you guessed it, it is not a 10 minute job. A remote door locking system because the door keys are tiny and I did not want the risk breaking them. Also, an Interceptor is quite wide which makes (un)locking the other door from the inside a bit hard.
At the test station for getting a Dutch registration.
Original chassis number location.
The inspection for getting a registration was not too difficult. The inspector could see a lot of attention was done to the car and had no problem assigning a new registration. I had to convince him the plate containing the chassis number was a factory welding job to the bottom cross member of the chassis. It does look a bit like an amateur job but it is not. As precaution, I brought many pictures of other Interceptors showing their chassis number plates welded in the same location.
Since then, tires have been replaced and the Carter carburetor replaced. After a few months running, I got fed up with the huge fuel bills so installed a LPG system. The engine runs great on LPG and the fuel bills have been more than halved.
Excellent excuse for getting out, walking the dog.
Owning a Jensen is nice. I lost count being asked what kind of car it is. Jensen? Most people have never heard of the make. Most people, even younger who usually are not interested in old cars, like the car. Which is no surprise because what is not to like? Long hood, big rear screen, beautiful inside and out and the subdued growl of a V8 from its big exhaust tips.
The Jensen community is great. One of the first things I did after buying the car was becoming a member of the Jensen Owners Club (UK). This really is an excellent club, even for people like me not living in the UK. They have a very active forum online, a nice glossy bi monthly magazine and are active on social media. People are friendly, not snobbery (I have had some bad experiences with a Jaguar club) and helpful. For such a small defunct car company, there is a wealth of information available.
My car at the red arrow. Chassis number, engine number, original registration, body colour, interior colour, accessoires (Power Assisted Steering, SunDym (tinted) glass, WhiteWall tires, Quartz iodine Fog and Spot lamps), date of delivery, country of delivery, last known location (Netherlands).
A fascinating and huge book has been published by a Jensen historian which lists EVERY individual Jensen car made, by their chassis number. For months he was at the car factory after it went down but when they still had all information. The book is the result of years of digging deep into the factory and tracing cars in the last decades.
In all the years I have the car, it was always garaged. In spite of this the paint has degraded. When I bought the car, it had been painted two years before and it looked very good (to my then amateur eyes). Not an original colour, although a buyer of a new Jensen could specify whatever color he wanted, but a modern BMW color (Alpine blue). If you look closely now you can see scratches below the surface everywhere. Also, the panel gaps are not the best.
However, I know these are shortcomings an owner has to live with. Less than ideal panel gaps, bad paint, scuffs in the leather, pits in the chrome, a scratch in the glass. I try to embrace the faults because I know I would hate the “proper” solution even more: dismantling, restoring, repaint, re-leather, rechrome. More months, maybe years not driving. The faults are just small parts of the car’s history. Does it really have to be like a showroom example? Not for me.
The car still looks pretty damn good (from a distance). I just should not park it next to immaculate Interceptors!
So what are the future plans for it? Well, to use it a lot more. The car has some minor niggles which could be improved. The cheap home made carpet set should be replaced by a better quality. I will replace the wheels (now from a Mk3 Interceptor) to the original, refurbished chromed Rostyle wheels. If I like it enough I might even consider switching the steering wheel to the left.
This was the final COAL from me. I have enjoyed writing these! Searching for old pictures and remembering anecdotes. By publishing the stories on Curbside Classic I did get many reactions which I liked a lot.
This will not be the last piece you will see from me on CC. There will be the odd piece now and then, but not weekly like the previous 20 weeks. See you next time!
My previous COALs can be found here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/author/dion/
Further reading on Jensen and the Interceptor. David Saunders has an excellent article:
Curbside Classic: Jensen Interceptor – The Handsome Anglo-Italo-American Mashup
Tatra87 did a thorough history on Jensen:
Jensen also built the Sunbeam Tiger and for a while, the Volvo P1800 – the on screen rides for Maxwell Smart and Simon Templar!
However, Volvo were not happy with the quality and terminated the arrangement. The Swedish built cars were re-labelled P1800S.
A dark blue 1988/9 Interceptor was driven by Simon Dutton when he played Simon Templar in a revival of The Saint.
Thanks for all your articles.
Nice to hear you liked my series.
Much of the blame for the P1800 quality issues were the less than perfect body stampings coming from Pressed Steel. Jensen had a hard time fixing these.
A blue Jensen Interceptor was also used around 2003 in the Inspector Lynley Mysteries TV series.
Officially there was no such model designation as “P1800S” (nor “P1800ES” for that matter), as only the early Jensen-made bodies had the “P” prefix, then when production was taken fully in-house at Volvo it became the 1800S (sans “P”, with the added “S” indicating production in Sverige/Sweden), then the 1800E (with fuel injection), then the 1800ES (shooting-brake/wagon body).
and the green car is – Rover p5B
These are hand built cars so even brand new panels require a lot of cutting and leading to fit and is beyond your back street spray shops ability to finish properly.
They are worth silly money in the UK now
Very good!
Correct, if there is any bodywork needed on an Interceptor then it will cost. But we are lucky most panels are still available.
Green car is a P5 Rover, but I noticed several newer Rovers too.
Handsome car the Interceptor and, at the time, that big rear window/hatch was quite a thing.
What a car to finish on! And at £4000 (back then), a real good deal. I mean, it’s crazy how expensive these have gotten in the past ten years. Thank you for the tour (though a shot of the dash would have been cool) and may your Jensen keep on living and being driven! Showroom condition is for museums, millionaires or Japanese enthusiasts.
Oh and I’m betting the green car is a Rover P5.
Thanks Tatra87!
Yes, I have been lucky to find a car back then when the the value was not as inflated as is nowadays.
Green car is a Rover P5, These interceptors are quite a car huge performance from the Chrysler V8 massive fuel consumption to go with the performance though compared to modern cars not really all that fast, but if you buy one you know all that before you buy. Nice car
Thanks Bryce.
Modern electric cars, even cheap ones, are much faster. But luckily that is not the only or main factor why the Interceptor is appreciated.
These were quite something when they came out, especially that big, hatchback rear window. It does look good in the pictures; not being Concours it must be easier to enjoy day-to-day.
Yes, a P5 Rover, 1965-73, given the chrome trim all the way to the indicator. I noticed a couple of other, newer Rovers too. Even the facelifted 800s like that are a rare sight now.
It was at a meeting form our local BL/BMC car club although other makes were welcome as well.
Any Rover on the street is becoming a rare sight now that the last ones were produced 17 years ago.
True. Just over three years ago now, the start of a certain pandemic, I snapped the three last generation models in a local supermarket car park. Even three years is feeling quite a while ago now. Will I ever catch all three again in close proximity outside of a show?
I remember seeing magazine ads for the Interceptor in the early 1970s, and was smitten. I loved the styling (which seemed to have more than a few hat-tips to the Avanti) and the idea of a sporty English tourer with a big Chrysler V8. It has been ages since I have seen one, but I still get a tingle when I do.
A car like yours (which I count as lovely) in “tweener” condition would make for a great hobby car. It is presentable and capable of being enjoyed. I wondered about the switch to left-hand drive – it would be a chore, but all the parts should be out there.
I am going to miss this series on Sunday mornings. Your cars have been mostly things I have been unfamiliar with, but your stories ooze with experiences and sensations that are universal among those of us who love cars. And rather than going out with a COAL whimper as most of us do (with a modern car) you unveil the grand finale!
Thanks JP!
What a great, eclectic collection of COALs.
Each of these vehicles is special, but for all of them to be in one person’s COAL series, well that’s very impressive.
Well done!
Thanks!
Interesting read. The Interceptor still looks good to me, I don’t think I’ve seen one on the road since the 70s.
You certainly like a challenge with the old British cars, what a great series.
The M62 is very familiar to me and worse when travelling from East to West when the crawler lane becomes an exit and you have to change a lane to the right. I’ve had some moments on there trying to keep up to 56mph (90 km/h) which is what the trucks do in a Citroen 2CV or diesel VW T3 (Vanagon).
Last time I drove that way in VW T4 diesel the strain blew a hole in the front silencer, the noise scared me, I wondered what had blown up!
Thanks Hummel.
I never thought of old British Cars being a challenge – I just liked them. And in my experience they are not that hard to keep on the road, the maintenance is very much in the DIY domain.
Have thoroughly enjoyed your COAL series! You have great taste in cars. And us readers appreciate, that you have documented so much history, and maintenance, on your cars. It reflects your passion. Nice, you now have your collection captured on the web, for all to enjoy.
Gorgeous Interceptor. It was a ’70s dream car for many kids, here in North America as well. Excellent colour choice. When I was a young teen, there was a moderately successful pop/rock band here in Canada, unusually called ‘Jensen Interceptor’. Jensen being the surname of two group members. 🙂
Thanks Daniel.
Interesting to see JensOn – spelled with an “O”. This is a mistake often made. Years ago I got some spare parts cheap because the seller also misspelled Jensen and the advert presumably did not get the amount of attention he was expecting!
You are right. My spelling mistake as well, as I was wondering for a few moments, how the band avoided copyright issues. The car was ‘Jensen’. The band, was ‘Jenson’.
Would that really cause problems when you use a car make and type as the name of a band? I do not think anyone sane would think the band has a firm link to the car.
Good question. I agree. Those were less litigious times in the UK, and Canada. The band did not have a profile beyond Canada, and pre-internet, may not have even been noticed by Jensen Motors. They were not big here, mostly Alberta. Their home province.
As Kodak originally had issues with Paul Simon’s ‘Kodakchrome’, they later appreciated, the positive image it gave of them. A decent rock band could only bring good publicity to a discontinued car, on another continent.
There was an American rock band, Galaxie 500:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxie_500
The Ford Galaxie 500 was history by the time they got toigether.
There is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, called ‘Econoline Crush’. This tune was a big hit in Canada. Very cool song, well represents the 1990s.
Dion, what a splendid ending to a fab COAL series! I was so happy when you volunteered, given what limited information about your cars I had gleaned from some of your comments. Your enthusiasm, energy and dedication to your cars (and this series) has surpassed any expectations I might have had. I am very inspired by what you have accomplished with your cars.
These were reasonably common in Southern California when I lived there in the 70s and 80s, and I had a major soft spot for them. Jensen hit on a niche in the market that they managed to exploit for longer and more successfully than others, except for Bristol. Your Interceptor is beautiful, and I am happy to see it be used as you do, minor flaws and all.
Once again, thank you so much for this series. It’s been some of the best reading here ever. If I’m ever in the Netherlands, I will look you up!
Thanks Paul!
Please be welcome whenever you are here in the Netherlands – would love to have a good talk with you.
You have been an inspiration to me with regards to writing the articles. Strange as it may seem, your non-automotive stories prompted me to put in more personal stuff in my stories as well.
Dion, Paul’s comment makes we wonder: have you ever fancied owning a Bristol?
Very interesting quirky cars. Regrettably these were and are always a bit outside my price range.
Loved this!! Great account of a beautiful car, and may you enjoy it for years and years to come. Life can throw curveballs, and I’m glad your job situation didn’t derail your ownership. I’ve loved the Interceptor even before I knew what it was called, thanks to a low-fi film from ’77 called “Speed Trap” in which a beautiful Interceptor (which I thought of as an alt-world Avanti when I first saw it) was stolen and promptly thrashed. Sad fate for the car, but intrigue and love for this model was born.
Thanks Joseph!
I always enjoy your stories, you are a great writer.
Yes, life sometimes can get in the way but because I have never invested lots of money in my cars there was never a need to sell.
Wow, Dion, the Jensen Interceptor (and FF) has always been one of my favorites (and Jensen is the middle name of one of my kids, with the others having Cooper and Riley in their names), and your series in particular has been excellent all around. Such a great variety of interesting British cars with excellent backgrounds and pictures, one of the great COALs here.
Thanks Jim!
Very nice COAL series and a grand finish.
In the early 90s I had the opportunity to sit in one of the few left-hand drive Interceptors. I thought, wow just the right vehicle for my father’s son. But the cost of purchase and maintenance put me off. (I don’t know what was going on in my head, because I then bought a Ford OSI – against which an Interceptor is a conservative risk-free investment).
Since then I have never seen an Interceptor again. Neither at a Classic Car Show, let alone anywhere on the road. It seems to be a really rare car. I wish you a lot of fun with it – from me there is a lot of envy and resentment on top.
Hi Fred, there have been many LHD Interceptors. It is just the Mk1 for which a LHD is very rare.
The OSI is an interesting car. I always think the lines are a little too long.
For me, the most amazing thing about Jensen and its Interceptor is that it begat the Jensen FF, which is generally regarded as the first AWD/4WD passenger car (i.e. not derived from a truck or utility vehicle) as well as the first passenger car fitted with ABS.
For a tiny little company, that’s really astounding, when I think about it.
For many the FF is the ultimate Jensen. About the time when I bought my Interceptor I also had the chance of buying a much rusted FF Mk1 for not much money – less than the price of my Interceptor. The costs of repairing the Maxaret (ABS) and rust put me off at that time. If I had the chance again now, I would take it – probably 🙂
According to Ate Up With Motor’s history of the Interceptor and FF, every FF transmission was essentially a hand-built prototype. Jensen sold FF’s only to owners living nearby, so the cars would be within reach of factory service. A number of celebrities approached Jensen about buying FF’s, but Jensen, fearing bad publicity, steered them to Interceptors. Evidently Jensen didn’t have much confidence in the FF’s reliability.
“According to Ate Up With Motor’s history of the Interceptor and FF, every FF transmission was essentially a hand-built prototype…”
HOW did I miss that?
Heading over to AUWM to read the Jensen article(s).
Dion, this has been an excellent series. It’s a lot of work to put together but hopefully you have experienced the payoff.
A Jensen is a terrific way to end the series. May you continue to keep it vibrant and best wishes on keeping your fleet in good service. I’m looking forward to hearing more from you.
Thanks Jason!
Well that’s the conclusion of a most epic series of COALs! Enjoyed every one even if I didn’t comment on every one.
At some point I also realized that an Interceptor was basically the cheapest big block Mopar powered car you could buy, anything from Dodge or Plymouth was double the price! I kept my eye out for one, but they are also ferocious rusters and I never saw a good one for sale.
I recognized the Rover fender right away, I watch these Cold War Motors guys in Edmonton Alberta fool with various old cars. Right now they are working on a P5
Thanks for this great tour of your life’s cars!
This is something that surprises me too. A Jensen often is cheaper to buy compared to a Mopar with the same engine. Good for the Jensen community. The Mopar owners do not know what they miss!
Thank you for a most excellent series ! I particularly enjoyed your coverage of the Imp, a car which deserved more success. Also admire the Triumph 2500 sedans, which I find very attractive, similar to the BMW “big six” of the same era. Some might say “heresy”, but I’d like a Triumph restomodded with a later BMW 6 cylinder engine.
Good to see someone who appreciates the Imp too! A fairly popular modern thing to do is to hang a BMW motorcycle engine (K100) in the back of an Imp in place of the original engine.
I am not a wild admirer of replacing original engines, but each to their own of course.
Additional cars and bands: Pantera, and Chevelle.
Love that car. I wanted an Interceptor, and a dozen other “dream cars” and never got the financial gumption to do anything about it.
Beware of that giant, beautiful rear window blowing out of the vehicle “at speed”. The Avanti also had that problem on early units, and–maybe–the ’64–’66 Barracuda. I don’t know when Jensen properly secured the rear window, but I’d be investigating the retention system because that glass cannot be cheap or easy to find.
In all the 30 years or so I have been reading about, and involved in, Interceptors I have never heard about the rear window being blown out. Seems Jensen got that right!
The Interceptor was one of my first automotive loves – even at a young age I was attracted the combination of European style, American power and an obscurity that ensured hardly anyone knew about it. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Interceptor except at car shows, and I’m not sure I’ve seen one in any color other than white or silver.
Your COAL series has been outstanding to read – I’ll miss the weekly updates. Thanks for all of the great reading!
Thanks Eric!
Childhood dream. It came out about the same time as the Muira and Iso Grifo and was there ever a better era for outrageously georgeous car design?
There is a great CC on its design roots which are clearly Avanti sourced.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/jensen-interceptor-design-hand-me-down-two-times/
Agree with you on the best era for car design. So much was happening in the sixties. My favorite decade is probably 1958 – 1968.
Dion did I see you driving your green Jag in Amsterdam recently? I was on a date in the city center and I’m pretty sure it was the same car.
Lovely Jensen by the way, I was familiar with them from an early age because my mom would always point at them and say “Look its a Jensen!”
Could well be. I had some appointments in Amsterdam in the past weeks 🙂
Well Dion, this has been a hell of a ride! You certainly like to go off the platgetreden paden. Many cars I knew very little about, thanks for this amazing series! BTW, I like your garage too, very huiselijk, with that bow entrance/exit.
Thanks Johannes!
The arched door was found on Marktplaats. I did not want an ordinary door so looked for something different. It was sold by someone who bought a newish Ferrari and found out this combination was not practical – the car could only just fit through the doors! He only had very little space both sides which of course would be very annoying if you use the garage every day. At my place it is not used ever to drive a car through, just the occasional trailer for garden plants and rubbish.
About 4 years ago I spotted a Jensen Interceptor in the parking lot of a Kroger near Atlanta GA. My first reaction was “huh??” because of the distinctive rear end and glass. As I was taking some pictures I got to talk to the owner who willingly popped the hood and I was looking at a Chrysler 440 ci engine, what my earliest dream car (’69 Charger) would have. I always thought the Interceptor had one of the cleanest front ends ever designed. The owner had had it about 4 years, and in so many words he said you had to be a masochist to own a Jensen. I hope he still has it.
Others above mentioned that Jensens are now super expensive. I wondered if that has anything to do with “Fast and Furious 6” (2013) coming out, Letty drove one (1971 Mk III) in more than one scene and it was easy to spot from the distinctive rear glass.
Thanks for the ride Dion – it’s been great and I suggest we start a fund to enable you to buy that Bristol or maybe an E Type to keep the flow coming though you still have a few in the garage (tours available soon?) to be able to offer some sequels.
For the record, Jensen assembled and painted the bodies for Austin Healey Six and 3000, but the final assembly was completed at Longbridge (initially and then at MG Abingdon. Engines and gearboxes came from Longbridge all the way through, and Jensen assembled the Sunbeam Tiger for Rootes as well.
That would be very kind Roger!
Before I had the Jensen, I once looked at buying an E-type. The cheapest one could find, rusty (but repairable), pretty good interior, awful paint and dented bumpers, but it was a 2+2 coupe. That just is not a nice car to look at in my opinion so I skipped that one.
Talk show host/actor Drew Barrymore owned an Interceptor convertible in the 1990s and singer Joni Mitchell owned an Interceptor coupe in the 1970s. (There’s a portrait photo of Joni sitting behind the wheel of her Jensen that appears inspired by Tamara de Lempicka’s self-portrait.)
Lots of celebrities have owned an Interceptor. Someone in the club is compiling a list. Each time he thinks the list is definitive, someone comes up with another VIP to be added 🙂