Jonn has been adjusting the carb mixtures of our 1956 Jensen 541. He left the air filter housing in place and removed the brass jet covers from underneath and adjusted each jet in turn.
He then refitted the brass caps, jacked up each corner of the car and checked the brakes.
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.
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.
Our 1956 Jensen 541 is coming toward the end of its restoration here at Bridge Classic Cars. It has been a long process but now, technician Paul is starting to put the last few pieces back together. Although the car will still need testing and other minor bits, it’s safe to say that it is now looking very close to its finished form.
Paul has now assembled the doors and fitted the rear bumper and rear side windows. While he was doing that, Lydia made and fit the door cards as well as the boot chain covers.
Paul has been continuing his work on our 1956 Jensen 541.
He has now fitted the nearside and off-side doors before he started to assemble the window frames. He then had to modify the door frame to make sure that the glass didn’t rub.
The door window frames were then fitted.
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.
Our 1960 Jensen 541R has continued to make progress. Various parts have been painted and the wheel tubs are being looked at to see what their shape is like.
Paul fitted the springs to the subframe and prepared the engine mounts for paint too.
Paul has been preparing the front suspension and brakes of our 1956 Jensen 541 ready for assembly.
Workshop Manager John has been fitting a Spiyda calibration unit to the tank gauge of our 1956 Jensen 541. This is to match the sender to the gauge.
Tony recently collected the wheels for our 1956 Jensen 541 from Wheelworx and brought them back to the workshop.
Paul has been working on our 1956 Jensen 541. He fabricated a cover to protect the wiring to the fuel pump and checked over the engine.
He removed one of the runners from the glass and repaired it before he started assembling the door chrome work and fabricating a bonnet support.
Paul then built up the door windows and quarter light before drilling the doors ready to fit the mirrors.
We also had our friends from Coltec in the workshop as they were setting up the engine of this rare classic.
New window regulators have been fitted on our 1956 Jensen 541. Before they were fitted though, Paul had to modify the new regulators and the doors to ensure the perfect fit.
Paul has continued his hard work on our 1956 Jensen 541. Here are his notes of what he has been up to:
Fabricate throttle pedal stop and fit cable,fit trim to door apertures, fit speakers in parcel shelf,find and match parts for doors chrome etc.
Prepare window chrome for chroming,fit heater hoses and fabricate mounts,cut perspex rear windows using template.
Fit front grill and reshape to fit,fit rear side windows,fit front bumper and measure up for spacers,prepare trim for window for lydia, modify air box to take return spring.
A lot of progress has happened with our 1956 Jensen 541. Paul has continued his work and has completed a lot of tasks. Here are his notes:
Fit propshaft,check rear axle alignment, fit fuel line at tank,fit n/s door catch captive plate,fit gearbox tunnel, Prep manifolds ready to fit,fit drive shaft,connect pedals to master cylinders,fabricate water bottle mount.
Fit washer bottle and wire in,make loom for electrics to heater fan and wiper motor,fit exhaust manifolds,fit oil feed pipeto gauge,and fabricate mount for flex oil fed pipe,fit clutch and brake pedal pads,fit brake servo pipe.
Fit spare wheel carrier, top up gearbox,engine and differential oils, add fluid to brake and clutch systems and bleed through,fabricate hand brake rods and modify fittings,fit vacuum pipe for brake servo.
Fit brake pedal return springs,wire in loom for bonnet ,fit headlights in bonnet,start fitting bonnet air flap.
To allow Paul to work on the bonnet, Tony transported it from our storage facility to the workshop.
Both Paul and Lydia have been working on our 1956 Jensen 541.
Once Paul had changed over the rear suspension leaf springs to the correct ones, he carried on fitting the door trim.
Lydia then made a glove box for our classic Jensen. It’s small in size as it has to fit into the dash around an air duct and wiper motor linkage. Lydia fitted the box she had previously made, then covered the front panel with red leather.
Unfortunately, due to the unique nature of the Jensen, the passenger seat didn’t fit next to the tunnel. Because it was made so long ago before the tunnel was ever fitted, we could not envisage this problem occurring. Lydia has test-fitted the seat into the vehicle and made alterations so that it will no longer fall on the gearbox tunnel, even when it is in its most forward position.
The door surrounds were then finished and the dash and extra wiring were also fitted for the fan motor and screen washer pump.
As our 1956 Jensen 541 continues to make good progress through its restoration journey here at Bridge Classic Cars, Paul has been assembling the seat runners and drilling the mounting holes for these. The seat belt mounts have been fitted to the gearbox tunnel and the work has begun on fitting the door trim and the fabrication of a cage for the striker plate bolts.
Paul also fitted the chrome trim to the roof edge and aligned and pre-drilled the rear window hinges. He then went on to fit and align the front side panels before fitting the rear side window hinges. He also started fitting the aluminium ground panels.
Paul has continued rebuilding our 1956 Jensen 541. He has modified the clutch and started making the mounts for the seat belts.
Paul then went on to fit the wiper motor before finishing fitting the seat belts. He has also started fabricating new seat runner mounts ready to be welded in place.
Lydia has been looking at the boot carpet in our 1956 Jensen 541. She has templated and made the boot carpets, which are unique to each car. She has shaped and moulded the sides to fit the rear curves in the boot, and then completed it with a large over mat. She will finish glueing everything down when the wiring has been finalised.
Paul has also been working on our classic 541. He has made and fitted the earth cable, fitted the distributor vacuum pipe, cut a hole in the gearbox tunnel to make access to the speedo drive and fabricated a cover. He has also made and fitted the wiper motor mounting plate, and designed and made the seat belt mounts.
Here’s what Paul has been up to with our 1956 Jensen 541:
Finish and fit adjuster for dynamator
Finish wiring in engine bay
Refurb and fit tank sender unit
Fabricate engine breather pipe
Fabricate cover for fuel tank inspection cover inside boot
Modify brake pipe mounts and brake pipes to allow fitting of wings
Modify of wing to make room for the steering box,also modify steering box mount,fit engine breather pipe
He also fitted and aligned the o/s front wing,connect wiring to gearbox for over drive, fit gear lever and over drive switch,fabricate spacer for oil filter body and refit oil filter,fit clutch push rod.
Paul has continued rebuilding our 1956 Jensen 541. He has:
He also made and fitted the brake pipes to the servo, repaired the exhaust manifolds ready for coating, checked and balanced the carb mixture screws, replaced the bulkhead heat shield, made and fitted the king lead, and carried on with the electrics.
The rebuild of our 1956 Jensen 541 by technician Paul has carried on recently. Paul fitted the engine and gearbox to the car before cleaning and preparing the oil filter housing for paint. He modified the wiper spindles to take new fittings, before making and fitting the starter motor main lead.
Paul then started to prepare the carbs ready to fit.
The water pump was fitted and measurements were taken to machine pulley to size. Paul fabricated the starter motor cover before starting to assemble the carbs and making seals and gaskets.
Classic car technician Paul has continued his work on our 1956 Jensen 541. Here is a list of the work completed recently:
The heat shield on our 1956 Jensen 541 has been finished and the throttle pedal has been fitted. The vacuum valve and heater pipes were also fitted.
Paul removed the handbrake mounts before painting and refitting them.
Paul made a finishing strip for the rear shelf of our 541 to hide some holes where the suspension mounts poke through. Lydia used foam built up in layers to graduate the slope to the wooden bar. She also applied a very thin layer of foam to the shelf to smooth over any imperfections in the fibreglass. Next, this was covered with a layer of black leather.
Lydia recently covered the gearbox tunnel of our 1956 Jensen 541 with sound-deadening material. Paul has also made and fitted the brake pipes from the master cylinder to the main pipe connector.
Paul then went on to build up the engine bay ready for the engine and gearbox. He also fabricated the rear brake wheel cylinders backing plate and fitted it in place before fitting the gearbox tunnel, and bonnet hinges. He then cleaned and painted the servo valve.
Chris has applied dtm gloss to various components of our 1956 Jensen 541.
While he was doing this, Paul finished wiring the loom into the dashboard and fabricated a gearbox mount. He then went on to fit the floor boards and fuel line before cleaning the gearbox tunnel ready for repair.
Once this was done, Paul modified the old bumper mounts to fit the new chassis.
Our 1956 Jensen 541 has made a lot of progress recently.
Paul has finished the dash mounts and has started work on the wiring. After fitting the loom, he began work wiring some of the electrical components into it.
The headlining has been fitted on our 541 too. Lydia made it from a cream vinyl with an embossed pattern. New holes for the roof bars had to be drilled as the previous holes had been repaired and filled in. Lydia then heated the vinyl and pulled it into place, making sure to remove all the creases as she went. She trimmed the excess away and tidied up the edges to make sure that the rubber for the front and back windscreens fit as they should.
Lydia then moved on to the side panels. She first covered the panels in a layer of scrim foam as the fibreglass was very bumpy. This helps to smooth out the thin headlining material. She then covered them in headlining material.
Christian got involved in the recent work too by fabricating a steering column spacer.
Classic car technician Paul has been working on our 1956 Jensen 541. He fitted the heater box and fabricated various parts before fitting the handbrake cable and welding the bracket in place.
He then modified the chassis to enable the fitting of the wiring loom.
Classic car technician Paul has been continuing his work on our 1956 Jensen 541. He has fitted the brake pipes and rear shoes as well as assembling parts for the heater box.
Classic car technician Paul has manufactured brake pipes for our 1956 Jensen 541. After fitting these to the car, he then fabricated axle support straps ready for them to be painted.
Paul has been working on our 1956 Jensen 541.
He made and fitted the fuel tank before fabricating parts for the driver’s side footwell and welding these in place.
