Jensen Cooling System
November 12, 2024
Technician Jonn has been looking at the cooling system of our 1956 Jensen 541. He drained the system and removed various hoses to allow the
1956 Jensen 541
Jensen 541 Brakes
November 4, 2024
Technician Jonn has been working on the brakes of our 1956 Jensen 541. Here are his notes: Started by reassembling the rear brakes, Fit rear
1956 Jensen 541 work continues
October 30, 2024
We secure all the bolts and tried the clutch and it feels good. Re-fit oil filter housing and new filter. Fill with oil and run
Jensen 541 Clutch
October 28, 2024
Once our 1956 Jensen 541 was up on the four-post ramp, Jonn was able to chock the engine and remove the gearbox. He then cleaned
Working on the 1956 Jensen 541
October 21, 2024
Our workshop is well versed in all things Jensen 541 – having restored over a dozen of these classic GT cars (with 2 more in
Assessing A Jensen 541
October 14, 2024
Jonn has been appraising our 1956 Jensen 541. Here are his notes: Grease all points. Remove all wheels and strip and check brakes. Wash down
Jensen Cooling System
November 12, 2024
Technician Jonn has been looking at the cooling system of our 1956 Jensen 541.
He drained the system and removed various hoses to allow the system to be flushed with water. Once the flush had finished, Jonn ran a hose through the radiator. He opened the blocked drain and let everything drain away.
The heater matrix and head were flushed until the water ran clear before the engine was blown off. Jonn then checked the vacuum system to look for any signs of a loss of the vacuum. He then topped up the antifreeze and radiator and ran the car up to temperature.
Jensen 541 Brakes
November 4, 2024
Technician Jonn has been working on the brakes of our 1956 Jensen 541.
Here are his notes:
Started by reassembling the rear brakes, Fit rear shoes and refit drums. Rears locked up once drums refitted. Unable to pump brake pedal to centralise as no shoes on front axle yet. Refit rear wheels and swap over to front axle. Refit front shoes and drums, all ok. Refit wheels. Pu,p brake pedal to settle. Go back to rear brakes. Found new brake linings fatter than old shoes. Going approx 1mm from the heel of each shoe and refit drum. OK now so repeat for other side. Carry out minor adjustment and refit wheels. Pump pedal and operate handbrake. Final adjustment to be made once car driven.
Take outside to check clutch and brakes. Carry out road test but broke down 1 mile up the road. Eventually managed to get it started and drive back on idle speed as it dies when revved. Investigate misfire/running issue. Found engine only running on 2 cylinders. Remove number 3 carburettor float bowl lid to find no petrol in carburettor. Pump priming handle on lift pump and fuel came out of feed pipe to carb. Refit float bowl lid and continue to prime pump. Put in 10ltrs fuel and start. Runw fine again. Leave to idle for 5 mins and then repeat road test. Same thing again, cut out and won’t rev. Get back to workshop on idle again. Check fuel filter. Has fuel I side but remove and replace with piece of pipe. Found fuel filter had not been manufactured correctly and I don’t know how the car even managed to run. Replace fuel,filter with a correctly manufactured one and repeat road test. All ok now. Clutch feels OK. Brakes OK. Return to workshop and adjust rear brakes.
1956 Jensen 541 work continues
October 30, 2024
We secure all the bolts and tried the clutch and it feels good. Re-fit oil filter housing and new filter. Fill with oil and run up. We’ve then topped up the oil.
Tested clutch bite point on the ramp before refitting interior and the bite point seems a little high. We’ve adjusted the arm to the thrust bearing, re-test and all is now ok.
Refit tunnel, carpet and both front seats.
Then we’ve back on to the service items. Stripped and fitted new points and condenser but can’t get them to spark.
Removed and isolated the base plate with fibre washer and tested but still not insulated.
Remove contacts and isolate with fibre washer and test. All is now ok so we’ve set the points to 0.016″ and refitted cap and rotor before retesting. Starts and runs ok.
Fitted a new inline fuel filter underneath. Remove and blow out air filters and clean casing. Refit and secure.
Jensen 541 Clutch
October 28, 2024
Once our 1956 Jensen 541 was up on the four-post ramp, Jonn was able to chock the engine and remove the gearbox. He then cleaned the bell housing and fitted new thrust bearings.
Once this was done, Jonn cleaned the flywheel and fitted a new clutch and refitting the gearbox.
Working on the 1956 Jensen 541
October 21, 2024
Our workshop is well versed in all things Jensen 541 – having restored over a dozen of these classic GT cars (with 2 more in our workshop currently going through their restoration journey). So, when it comes to getting this beautiful 1956 Jensen 541 back up and running the team were eager to jump in.
Our technician Jon has been working on this particular car. He has been stripping down the interior in order to gain access to the gearbox as part of the team prepping for a clutch replacement. Jon has carefully gone through the systems to make sure that everything is undone as well as assess each component for its condition and operation.
As part of the clutch replacement, Jon has also serviced and inspected the car thoroughly which involved a repair to a HT lead and new spark plugs for the straight-six. While the car is up in the air, it gave Jon the chance to remove all of the wheels to inspect and strip down the brakes. All of the brake shoes were due for replacement, so they have been removed and are off to be refurbished. This exposed the backing plates for Jon to take a closer look at, cleaning up the units and repainting areas which had bare metal exposed.
Assessing A Jensen 541
October 14, 2024
Jonn has been appraising our 1956 Jensen 541.
Here are his notes:
Grease all points. Remove all wheels and strip and check brakes. Wash down engine and gearbox areas. Refit all brake drums. Start up and check clutch bite point. Confirm bite point high.
Finish inspection. Run for a further 10 mins. Oil pressure ok. Temp upto 70 degrees. Brakes appear to all work. Switch off and inspect for signs of oil leaks. Findings… Anti freeze content low. No sun visors fitted. Exhaust downpipes hitting engine. Oil leaks, nothing serious just a few drips. Fuel filter black in bottom. Slight blows from exhaust system in various places. Play/knock in steering idler offside. Both steering idlers very close to chassis rails. All tyres starting to perish. Front brakes binding slightly. Front brake shoes glazed. Handbrake requires adjusting. Rear brake shoes worn. Rear diff sweaty. Drivers door panel loose at top edge. Clutch bite point high. Fuel guage not working. Runs not too bad but would benefit from service and tune up. Engine side covers, nearside wet and oily at bottom edge. Body and chassis all appear OK. Not run up to full temperature to check engine running hot as car inside workshop, but coolant will require changing as anti freeze content low, so will carry out a system flush at the same time.
