1959 Jensen 541R
Rebuilding A Jensen 541R
March 21, 2023
Classic car technician Rob has continued his work on our 1959 Jensen 541R. He has made and fitted the bulkhead heat shields, as well as
Highlights Of A Paint Job
February 20, 2023
Our 1959 Jensen 541R has recently been painted green. While the car looks great in its painted state, it’s always exciting to see some of
Good As New
January 10, 2023
Our friends at Wyatt Polishing recently completed some restoration work and zinc plating for a number of seat runners and bonnet struts for the Jensens
A Brief History Of The Jensen 541
October 4, 2022
The Jensen 541 was a car produced by Jensen Motors. Each one of these cars has an individual story to tell, but the story of
Best in Show – The 1959 Jensen 541R ”TEA 541” Wins Big at Jensen Show
June 17, 2022
The 1959 Jensen 541R which was recently in with Bridge Classic Cars for some work has won several trophies at a large Jensen show it
Bolted Down Tight – Seatbelts Installed on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 25, 2022
The workshop team have fitted and secured the new seatbelts into the mounts for the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R at our Suffolk HQ. Dave, one
Key Features – Work on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 17, 2022
The workshop restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on completing several jobs on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in with us. The
Progress – Update on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 10, 2022
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in our restoration workshop. Firstly the team began by
With The Current – Fitting a New 12 Volt Power Supply and New Float Arm on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 4, 2022
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working through the jobs on the 1959 Jensen 541R in with us. This time, it was
Progress – The Restoration Team Begins Inspecting and Working on the 1959 Jensen 541R
April 28, 2022
The restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have begun work on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for its owner. The team have started
This Just In – 1959 Jensen 541R
April 13, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ have welcomed this beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for our teams to carry out a series
Rebuilding A Jensen 541R
March 21, 2023
Classic car technician Rob has continued his work on our 1959 Jensen 541R. He has made and fitted the bulkhead heat shields, as well as bolting the rear axle and front suspension cross member into place.
The engine of this rare Jensen is now also back with the car. Rob actually came up with an innovative new way of getting the engine back into the car and this is something the whole team will look to implement going forwards.
As we are well-known for some of our restoration work on Jensens 541Rs, it shows that the experience the classic car technicians, like Rob, have is allowing them to come up with new ways of restoring these cars and keeping them on the road for as long as possible.
We will certainly be delving deeper into the new engine fitting process very soon but, for now, it is exciting to see our 1959 Jensen 541R coming back together nicely.
Highlights Of A Paint Job
February 20, 2023
Our 1959 Jensen 541R has recently been painted green. While the car looks great in its painted state, it’s always exciting to see some of the steps in more detail that led to the finished paint job.
Classic car technician Al took some photos during the process and, as you can see from the photos below, his hard work and skill have led to a job well done.
Once Al had finished painting our 541R, he went through the process of flatting using a 1500 trizact followed by a 3000. The car was then polished and cleaned ready for fitting up very soon.
Good As New
January 10, 2023
Our friends at Wyatt Polishing recently completed some restoration work and zinc plating for a number of seat runners and bonnet struts for the Jensens currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
When components like this look as good as they now do, you can tell that the fully restored cars they become a part of will be as beautiful as ever.
A Brief History Of The Jensen 541
October 4, 2022
The Jensen 541 was a car produced by Jensen Motors. Each one of these cars has an individual story to tell, but the story of the Jensen 541, in general, is one that many car enthusiasts should be keen to hear.
If you want to know more about these truly iconic classic cars, then this brief history of the Jensen 541 can give you a good idea of how special (and rare) these cars really are.
October 1953 – The Launch Of The Jensen 541
At the Earls Court Motor Show of 1953, the Jensen 541 was shown to the public for the very first time. It would be another eight months before production properly started but, this was the date when the world was officially introduced to the 541.
Up until the 541, Jensen had mostly been using aluminium for the bodywork of their Interceptors (there were restrictions on the use of steel still in place as the world recovered from the second world war). When it came to making the boot lids of the Interceptors though, Jensen played around with a new material of the time – fibreglass.
When working on the idea for the 541, Jensen wanted to do something big, so they decided to make a lot more of the car from this new wonder material.
June 1954 – Production Begins
In June of 1954, production of the Jensen 541 began. At the time, you could buy your very own 541 for £2146.
October 1956 – Say Hello To The 541 Deluxe
A little over 2 years after production of the 541 began, the 541 Deluxe was introduced. As this was a more luxurious car that featured all disc brakes, the price of the car increased to £2626.
Only 53 Jensen 541 Deluxes were made in total.
October 1957 – Here Comes The Jensen 541R
A year later, the 541R was introduced. When first released, these were fitted with Austin Princess (DS7) twin-carb engines, and an overdrive gearbox. The price tag for a 541R, at the time, was £2866.
January 1958 – No More Original Jensen 541
At the beginning of 1958, the very last Jensen 541 was made.
October 1960 – From R To S
Two years later, the Jensen 541R was pulled from production too. At this point, less than 200 541Rs had been made. Jensen had now moved on to the Jensen 541S which had a larger interior, and automatic transmission as standard. Due to these upgrades, the 541S cost £3195.
January 1963 – The End Of The Road
At the beginning of 1963, production of the Jensen 541S ended. Less than 150 had been made before being replaced by the Jensen CV-8 which had been introduced the previous year (1962).
Bridge Classic Cars And The Jensen 541
Jensens have had a strong presence in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for a long time. Our team of classic car technicians have restored multiple 541s and some of our current projects include a few more too.
Considering only a few hundred of these classic cars were made, we love seeing them in the workshop. We love working on them, and we love getting them back on the road for everyone to enjoy.
Best in Show – The 1959 Jensen 541R ”TEA 541” Wins Big at Jensen Show
June 17, 2022
The 1959 Jensen 541R which was recently in with Bridge Classic Cars for some work has won several trophies at a large Jensen show it was due to attend.
The team here at Bridge Classic Cars are always immensely proud when a car we have worked on gets recognised for its acclaim. So, when the owner sent us over a photo of the car with the Ron Smith Cup and the Members Trophy from the show which turns out was its first show ever!
We had done some set-up, interior and mechanical work on the Jensen in the run-up to it making the trip to the show and we also organised the car to be professionally valeted and cleaned ahead of its competition debut.
Bolted Down Tight – Seatbelts Installed on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 25, 2022
The workshop team have fitted and secured the new seatbelts into the mounts for the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R at our Suffolk HQ.
Dave, one of our technicians, has been busy preparing the classic Jensen to have the brand-new seatbelts fitted into the 1950s GT car. Before, the team worked on replacing the threaded amounts throughout the car to make sure that the fixings that secure them can be properly tightened and torqued down to spec.
With this completed, the team ran the various belts through the openings in the interior pieces of the car and check their latching to ensure everything operated smoothly and properly for the car’s owner.
Key Features – Work on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 17, 2022
The workshop restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on completing several jobs on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in with us.
The first job that need completing was to get the moveable front grille working again. The front grille of the 541R is moveable to vary the airflow into the radiator of the car. This whole mechanism is cable operated and needed to be replaced and tensioned in order to get the system working exactly as it should.
Next, the team turned their attention inside the classic 541R. The team had been tasked with replacing the seat belt mounts in the car. These are a vital safety feature of any car so their mounts must be secure, stable and flat in order to have the belts fixed properly into place. Each of the mounts was removed from the car and replaced by the team. The key mounts go through the gearbox tunnel of the classic Jensen, which were cut out and replaced then painted in rust proofing.
Progress – Update on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 10, 2022
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in our restoration workshop.
Firstly the team began by removing the seats in order to correctly fit the centre console of the classic Jensen. For some reason, it had been previously fitted backwards. So, the team removed the seats to get access and then reinstalled the piece in the right orientation.
Next, the team began work on replacing the rear windows of the car. These are plexiglass pieces which have been made specifically to fit the 541R, the team carefully refined and worked them into place.
The team have also gone through the fuel system of the car. Upon inspection, they found an issue with the several filters and pipes leading from the fuel tank to the carburettors. Our technicians noticed the main feed line had a severe kink in it which was causing a fuel flow issue and along with that, replaced the in-tank fuel filters (both primary and reserve) to make sure the big straight-six is getting all the fuel it needs.
A request by the owner of the car was to fit a new steering wheel to the classic Jensen 541R. For this the team also went into some of the switches and selectors to service and clean them out. Then, they could begin to remove the original steering wheel. Uniquely, the 541 steering wheel is actually riveted to the boss. The team carefully drilled out each individual rivet to separate the steering wheel from its boss. Then, working in reverse with the new steering wheel the team reattached the wheel and got it back into the car.
And while they were working on the interior, they have replaced the handles with new pieces which really set off against the grey/blue inside of the classic 541.
With The Current – Fitting a New 12 Volt Power Supply and New Float Arm on the 1959 Jensen 541R
May 4, 2022
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working through the jobs on the 1959 Jensen 541R in with us. This time, it was fitting a new 12-volt power supply and fixing the issue with the fuel gauge.
Dave fitted a new auxiliary power supply underneath the dash of the classic Jensen for the owner.
Along with this, Dave has worked on resolving an issue with the fuel gauge. Upon inspecting the float arm inside of the fuel tank, he found it had a previous repair carried out. Once he removed the sender from the tank, the old repair actually fell apart in his hands. The issue was that the arm had actually seized in the sender unit and not giving the gauge reading. So, Dave got some new copper pipe and bent up an exact replica of the original and fit it into the sender.
Progress – The Restoration Team Begins Inspecting and Working on the 1959 Jensen 541R
April 28, 2022
The restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have begun work on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for its owner.
The team have started by addressing an issue the car did on its way to our restoration workshop. On its way, the bonnet of the 541R came loose and flew up. Unfortunately, this damaged the stays in the struts which hold the one-piece fibreglass clamshell up during any work. So, our technicians managed to release them in order to remove them from the car and inspect them.
Our technician Dave noticed that the stops/catches had broken and were out of shape. These had to be repaired and rewelded in places in order to get the bonnet to both hold open and remain closed. The team will also be looking into how the bonnet managed to open from the clips that keep it tightly shut.
Along with the work on the struts, the team have been looking into the reported issue with the fuel gauge on the classic Jensen. The issue is believed to either be with the gauge or with the sender unit within the fuel tank itself. The team did find the arm for the float level was broken so that has been repaired and are currently looking at, inspecting and investigating the rest of the fuel system in the car to narrow down the root cause of the issue which includes the wiring to gauge itself.
This Just In – 1959 Jensen 541R
April 13, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ have welcomed this beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for our teams to carry out a series of jobs for its owner.
Apart from its stunning colour combination, this is a beautiful example of the 541R and the teams are looking forward to sorting out a few niggles on the car which the owner has highlighted. Due to our long history of working on and refining the 541 family, the car will be gone through by our restoration teams to update certain aspects of the car and to also make sure its original features work perfectly and look perfect.
Keep an eye out here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates on the 1959 Jensen 541R.
