Jonn continued work on our 1956 Jensen 541 by tidying up the wiring around the fuse box and under the bonnet. He identified the function of each wire, trimming them back as necessary before connecting and testing each circuit. Once all the lights were confirmed operational, he finalised the wiring at the fuse box, leaving the layout neat and orderly. He then moved the car onto the ramp to carry out a mechanical appraisal.
In the boot, Jonn tidied the wiring further, drilling and securing the connector block in place. He also drilled a hole in the boot floor to route the fuel tank breather pipe, allowing it to vent outside the car. All grease points were then fully lubricated.
With the front wheels removed, Jonn inspected the brakes, as both sides were found to be binding. He delipped the drums and checked the wheel cylinders, which appeared in acceptable condition, before refitting the drums. Despite this, the brakes remained slightly engaged. Suspecting the servo was the cause, he released pressure by cracking the nipples on the cylinders, which allowed the brakes to rotate freely by hand.
All four brakes were then bled, resulting in a solid pedal feel, though the brakes still showed signs of dragging. Jonn fabricated and installed a new brake pipe to bypass the servo and secured it in position. After bleeding the system again, the brakes were functioning correctly, with the wheels turning freely by hand. The handbrake was also operating as expected. A pressure test revealed no leaks, and the reservoir was topped up before the area was tidied.
With the braking issue resolved, Jonn investigated the brake light wiring. He tested whether the lights had been rewired due to the brakes previously remaining engaged, causing the lights to stay on constantly. He disconnected the bypass wire and reinstated the original connection, which had been taped up next to the switch. Locating the matching wire in the boot, he disconnected the bypass circuit and reconnected the original wiring. Testing confirmed the brake lights now functioned correctly, so the bypass wire was removed from the car and the boot carpet refitted.
Attention then turned to the fuel system. Jonn replaced the pipe from the tank to the pump, trimmed back the pipe running from the pump to the engine, and secured both. The lines were cable-tied neatly and checked for leaks, with none found.
With the mechanical and electrical work complete, John finished refitting the grille. The car was taken outside and started. While it initially misfired and ran unevenly, it began to settle towards running on all six cylinders as it warmed up, although not entirely smoothly. The car reversed without issue when cold, but once warm, it struggled, suggesting a possible issue with the overdrive remaining engaged, which will require further investigation.
