Building Suspension…
The front suspension has been finished and fitted back in. The brakes have also been bled.
Tom has been working on rewiring the rear lights, indicators and front lights too.
Tag Archive: classic jensen
Silver Jensen’s modified brakes
Our lovely silver 1959 541R Jensen brake pipes have been refurbished, as well as the kingpins and bushes rebuilt by our technician Paul.
To Chrome Or Not To Chrome
The process of restoring a car is rarely linear, but that’s all part of the car’s journey. The plan for the 1957 Jensen 541R was to have original chrome pieces installed onto the side of the doors however our client decided that he didn’t want these pieces and to leave them off for now. We’ve welded the holes closed and will begin to paint over them. It’s crucial for us that our clients have the ability and freedom to pitch in ideas and change their minds, after all, these restorations are all bespoke for a reason!
Navy Jensen Renovations
Paul has been working on some of the mechanisms in the navy 1961 541S Jensen. He’s stripped down the front suspension ready for new parts.
He’s also sorted through the hand brake components which are now ready for assembly. The new brake pipes have been made and fitted to the rear brakes and run from the master cylinder to the rear.
Peony Red Jensen Bodywork Continues
Parts of our 1960 541S Jensen are sat in our paint bay whilst Chris works on them. The door hinges have been sandblasted, the door frames and door skins have been painted, and the boot, front bumper part and wheels are ready for primer. The black part for the boot rubber has also been painted.
Can’t Catch A Jensen Brake!
Its Jensen central here in the workshop! Our other Navy Jensen is currently undergoing some more work after the owner gave us the go-ahead to continue their restoration.
Paul has cleaned the brake discs, removing existing grease sat on the elements. Paul has also taken apart the disks and taken out some other debris that had sat in there. We’ve also fitted new brake lines and callipers on the back. The brake pipes have been redone, as well as the kingpins and bushes replaced. The front brakes have be been upgraded and the new brake lines have been fitted.
So Close Yet So Far
This lovely 1958 Jensen 541R will soon be up for sale with us however there are a few issues that need attending to first.
First of all, the Dynamo needs to be refurbished as although it technically works fine, there’s a small charging fault with it.
There’s an issue with the water pump which has a severe leak meaning it will need rebuilding.
Black Jensen Paint Touch Ups
Our 1960 Jensen 541R is currently in the final, final stages. It is currently sat in the paint shop for some minor corrections as we believe that perfection is the only option when it comes to our restorations.
On its road test, our Jensen performed well and only showed small teething issues but otherwise its ready to go!
Grey Jensen Door Shimmy
The Grey Jensen is having some small alterations made to its doors. Currently, as they sit, the doors are slightly too wide to fit into the B-post, so we have managed to make some subtle alterations to the door and the aluminium trim to allow the door itself to fit more comfortably into the body.
New Doors, New Opportunities
Our lovely Grey 1967 541R Jensen has had some alterations done to the doors. We have cut the lip of the nearside and outer-side doors so that the door cards will fit. We’ve then re-welded and re-fitted the outer-side door chrome and made sure the door closes and opens, and the windows slide up and down.
Peony Red Bodywork
Our Peony Red Jensen has been masked and primed and is now ready for paint.
New Doors For Our Peony Jensen
Brian from our trim shop has been working on creating more interior fittings for our 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S. The first steps in creating new door panels were to remove the old metal from the door panel board and make new panels from hardboard. The metal has been cut out and riveted, ready to be put in place. Brian then glued some foam to the door panel, cut out new leather and glued the sewn door panel to the leather panel. Once the parts were fixed together, Brian then turned the edges over. The next step was to then cut out the leather for the infill panel and glue that to the door panel.
A new armrest has also been fitted to the door panel. Brian removed the old cover from the armrest and made a new one, including new foam and a new pocket. Fresh piping has been fitted to the top edge of the pocket and foam support added. Chrome has then been added to the armrest trim.
Chris has removed the door skins from the door frames ready to have the paint taken off sandblasted. This is to combat the corrosion found inside the doors. Once this is completed, epoxy primer is applied inside and out. The bonnet and boot have been lined up and rubbed down as well. Holes have been marked out on the boot and are ready to re-drill.
James has removed both Aluminium door skins from the steel frames to work on the corrosion too. We will be using modern materials to avoid corrision occurring in the future rather than the original strips of canvas fabric to act as a barrier.
Here you can see the conditions of the door panels which are showing serious signs of corrosion and rust damage, including a series of holes appearing along the edge.
Another Jensen In The Workshop
We weren’t kidding when we said we’re Jensen specialists! We’ve welcomed another beautiful Jensen into the workshop this week. This 1959 Silver Jensen 541R has come in for a diagnosis on the engine.
We’ve assessed the vehicle and have discovered a list of faults including the need for new core plugs, new rocker shaft and for an oil leak to be corrected. We’re are glad to find that the engine starts despite the faults. We are currently in conversation to see if the client wants the engine to be taken apart and refurbished or not.
After speaking to the client, we’ve decided to start addressing the faults without carrying out a full engine rebuild as this car will soon be used as an everyday car. Ady, out engine specialist, has had the car up and running as well as removing the old core plugs, cleaning the waterways and fitting new core plugs/
Check-In For The Navy Jensen
The 1961 Navy Jensen 541S is up and running for now however we are waiting on the client to see if they would like any more refurbishments done as this Jensen has been their own project which we’ve helped out on. It currently doesn’t have any brakes and there are a handful of other components missing that need fitting. Watch this space!
Much like our Jaguar MKVII, Ady had to link the battery to the coil to get the Jensen started as there was a diagnosed wiring fault between the ignition and the coil.
Carburettor Corrections
Our 1958 Navy Jensen 541R has recently been up and running however we noticed that there was a petrol leak in the float of the carburettor as well as a leak in the clutch pipe. Once these elements have been repaired, we can take this Jensen out onto the road to see how it drives. This beautiful Jensen will soon be up for sale so keep your eyes peeled!
Last week Darren focused on polishing and correcting the body panels of the Jensen, ensuring that the finishing paintwork is perfect.
James has been welding the underside of the Jensen, fixing a hole in the exhaust. This has been done by making and welding a seal over the hole.
Black Jensen’s Final Tweaks
Our stunning 1960 Black Jensen 541R is on its final leg of its restoration journey and will soon be returned back to its owner. The recent additions include the oil filter which has recently been re-fitted, the start motor was installed along with a new exhaust. All the components are currently being put back into the car before it has its final paint correction and can then be road tested.
A large part of the final tweaks in a restoration project is reassembling all of the elements after parts have been fitted, which is usually the last stage before the road test.
Peony Red Jensen Developments
Our 1960 Peony red Jensen 541S is making good progress in the workshop. Here are the latest developments.
Fabrication Bay
Our technician Chris has been working on the Jensen body in the fabrication bay. He’s been ‘gapping’ the doors so they look and fit the same around the sides. He’s also cut and ground both sides, added fibreglass to the bonnet to close the gap up and made a boot catch plate. Finally, Chris has marked the holes and tapping them up to make sure all the bolts fitted.
Trim Shop
Brian has been making a new door panel board from hardboard in the trim shop. This has been done by removing the armrest from the pocket section, removing the metal trim and old cover from the armrest and then making a new pattern for the cover.
Once a pattern has been made, Brian can cut it out from leather, sew on the new cover and fit it to the armrest by glueing and stapling it in place. Brian has also added metal trim to the armrest and cut leather out to make a pocket section. This was then glued in place.
The edges have been turned around to neaten the cover and new piping has been sewn in. Brian then needed to glue the inner metal to the foam, and fit the metal in place. The next step was to then glue the rest of the foam to the inner side of the pocket and fit the armrest to the pocket section. Once fitted, the armrest has been secured with screws and riveting support bar to the back.
Kath has also been working on the Jensen. She’s taken off the old cover from the dashboard and removed the old glue as well, ready to the rub down the front and back in preparation for new material.
Once cleaned down, Kath can mark out the new material and glue both surfaces to stick the material in place. To neaten it up, the material is turned over the edges and the dash holes are trimmed around so that the new cover sits comfortably. Once both sides were done and had followed the same process, Kath then glued along where the two pieces of material meet.
The dash top also needed to be refurbished. For this, Kath removed the two old covers and cut out new material ready to cover the dash top element. Once the material had been marked around the top, it could then be glued along one edge, the material turned over and the corners neatened up.
Lydia has also been working on the Peony Red Jensen interior. She’s been focusing on rear squab by measuring out all the leather, assembling the pieces together and sewing it all up. Lydia then prepared for the fitting of the cover on to the foam and board. She marked out new plywood to replace old worn out original. The next step was to then add wadding to the original foam so it maintains a nice shape. After all this was done, it was time to fit the cover over the squab.
Suspension Building For The Jensen
Our 1958 Jensen 541R is currently having its suspension fixed and rear suspension bolts replaced as the previous bolts had no locking facilities, meaning they could come loose.
The rear axel straps also need to be fitted but these will be made in our workshop first and then added. We like to make our own elements for the cars as much as we can to make sure the parts fit perfectly onto each vehicle. This ensures that every classic goes away with parts especially made for them.
Suspension Concluded On The Navy Jensen
The front suspension is back together on our 1958 Jensen 541R. The modifications have concluded with the brake flex pipe has been relocated to avoid touching the wheel.
The suspension spring strength had to be reduced to allow work to be done on it to ensure the component wasn’t under too much pressure.
Suspense Builds For Jensen
The suspension on the front of our 1958 541R Jensen is currently being tweaked. The bushings need to be reamed and resized so they fit better. For this, we’re sending the parts away to be completed.
Black Jensen’s Clutch Retouch
The clutch pedal had worn where the clevis pin goes through which allowed for too much movement on the pedal, so the clutch was not releasing as it should.
The remedy was to weld up the elongated slot and re-drill it to the correct size, unfortunately, the whole pedal box had to be removed to do this operation.
The next step is to test the clutch and check its ready to hit the road again!
1957 Jensen’s Trim Additions
Our 1957 Grey Jensen 541R has had its dash pad rail, roof pad and boot refurbished by our specialists in the trim shop.
Brian has removed the old cover of the dash rail, added more foam and wadding, glued on a new cover, added leather around the brackets and fit it all back onto the dash board.
The ceiling pad has also been refurbished. The old cover has been removed, as have the brackets and vinyl. New wadding has been glued into place over the original foam. Fresh vinyl has been cut and glued on, the edges folded over and the brackets refitted. Once these steps were completed, the ceiling pad was fitted back in again.
The boot lid has had new foam added into its indentations. The carpet has been glued onto the boot lid, leaving holes for the boot support rods and latch.
Gordon’s Jensen Gets New Metal Work
Our director Gordon, Craig’s father, also has a car in with us at the moment, however it doesn’t look much like a car currently..
This is a 1960 541R Jensen which will, when reassembled, be painted a two tone purple.
So far its been welded and hand crafted in our fabrication bay. The rear arches and floors have all been hand fabricated.
We’re expecting to see the completion of this Jensen by the end of 2021.
Gold Jensen Ready To Go
Our beautiful Gold and Burgundy 1962 Jensen 541S is now finished and will return back to its owner this weekend. We’re delighted at how shiny and new this Jensen looks again!
Our Jensen empire, once standing at a grand total of 8 is now beginning to decrease again.
Black Jensen’s Up And Running Again
The Black 1960 Jensen 541R is now up and running for the first time. Our workshop manager, John, took it out for a quick spin to see how it runs and determine what needs to happen next.
After taking it for a spin, all that’s left now is to fine tune the clutch, set up the carburettors and ensure the coolant flows well. This beautiful Jensen is nearly completed and we’re all very excited to see it finished and on the road.
On The Home Straight
Our 1958 541R Navy Jensen is almost ready to leave again. We’re currently waiting for the wheel to come back after being cleaned as its currently sitting in overspray. We also have a few paint corrections to finish and polish as well as road testing it.
We’ve serviced it for some general faults too which we are waiting on approval or dismissal from the customer. These are faults we’ve found that don’t need immediate attention but could be corrected with a service.
Grey Jensen’s new trim
The grey 1957 Jensen 541R has had lots of small details added whilst in the trim shop such as the new carpets being measured out, glued in, the edge bound and fitted into place. A hole for the gear lever has been made as well as a gaiter to fit around the gear stick. The gaiter has then been sewn onto the main tunnel section.
Others fittings include the sills that have be bound and fitted, the rear matt has been made, and the boot has been marked out, bound and fitted.
Sound deadening has been applied to behind the pedals underneath the carpet.
The seat belt holes have been made and accounted for with the new carpet as well.
The final step on laying the carpets is to attach fasteners and studs to the flood panels and material to allow the carpet to stay fixed down.
Black Jensen bits and bobs
Many of the jobs that are done on our cars seem like very small insignificant elements but if you look at the bigger picture, every single detail is just as important as the larger parts.
The black 1960 Jensen 541R has recently had its spare wheel carrier lowering mechanism altered. The original it came in with didn’t function properly so we’ve lengthened the mechanism in the workshop today.
We have also replaced the fixing bolts on rear bumpers which had become faulty due to damage. We’ve welded in new bolts carefully, making sure we don’t damage the chrome and paint inside.
The Batmobile (AKA: Jensen 541R)
The interior of our 1960 Jensen 541R has had a visit to our in-house trim shop this week. The customer is going full-black exterior and interior. Kath and Brian, our trim experts, have been hard at work fitting all the interior trim right through the car.
First up, the sound deadening was glued and fitted to the metal body. This helps reduce the amount of road and engine noise while driving the car. Essential for classics, who’s engines are much loader than standard modern cars.
“I also made a template for the base of the seat” Kath explains “then glued that in and trimmed it up.” Kath also made templates around the foot well and pedals in a similar fashion. “First the sound deadening goes down” she tell sus “then I fitted the carpet in and glued it into position.” The carpet gets fitted all round the sides of the footwell so the edges are tucked away and look clean.
Carpet is also fitted around the handbrake gaiter. Kath’s also fitted the seatbelt eyes into position and cut the carpet to fit snug around them.
“I’ve then cut carpet for the foot wells and door sills.” Kath explains. The door sill carpet was then positioned and glued.
Kath then had to bind round the foot well carpets. Kath marked the position of the carpet fittings and fitted it into the car.
Leather is then fitted around the seat frame base.
The colour combination for our 1960 Jensen is black, on black, on black. Perhaps our customer is secretly a vampire, or maybe Batman? Who knows!
October 22, 2020 10:03 am Leave your thoughts
The Jensen Gets A Fitting Treatment
Class car technician Scott has been looking after our 1957 Jensen 541R this week. He’s been doing a bit of everything, working through a varied check list of parts to fit.
“I’ve put the rear 1/4 windows in” Scott explains “I figured out placement of the catches too, so they work with the window and then I fitted them.”
Scott then worked out the placement of the door wing mirrors. Once confident with their position, he then drilled holes and fitted them into place.
Scott’s also fitted the new Jensen horn. He’s then made a start on the windscreen system.
“Firstly, I worked out a suitable place to mount the screen wash bottle” he describes. “I fabricated a little mount bracket then fitted the screen wash bottle.”
Scott then marked out where the hole for the washer jet should go. Once happy with it’s position, he drilled the hole and fitted the washer jet component. Scott then connected all the screen wash pipework under the bonnet, securing the pipes in nice and tidily.
Scott’s then sorted some other jobs on the Jensen doors. “I fitted the chrome door trim” he tells us. “I’ve also fabricated a bump stop for the windows.” The bump stop is a small rubber part that acts as a cushion for when the widow is wound right down. This helps protect the glass and the internal mechanism from hitting into one another and causing damage.
All this little job help bring the Jensen to life, making the car user-friendly and comfortable. Great job Scott!
October 22, 2020 9:08 am Leave your thoughts