Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we’ve built a reputation for being one of the leaders in the restoration of the Jensen 541 family. The latest of these that is just beginning its journey is this 1956 Jensen 541.
This car came to us as a semi barn-find. After pulling it into the workshop, our in-house restoration technician Scott began to separate all the associate parts that were left inside the shell. This is an important part of any ground-up restoration as it gives you a clear view of what is going to be needed and its availability.
With the body and chassis of the Jensen, Scott has been going through to assess what parts can be refurbished and what will need to have replacements made. Carefully Scott has been removing, cataloguing and storing the various fixings and components which can be fully inspected at a later date by our in-house restoration teams.
Expect to see more about the restoration of this 1956 Jensen 541 on our Blog very soon.
Our 1960 Peony Red Jensen is having its newly built dashboard fitted by Tom and the chrome adjusted by Paul.
Kath has continued with the door side panels and had now completed the passenger side. She has screwed in the panels for the air vents, added carpet fasteners and was then ready for Tom to work on the dash and Paul to work on the chrome.
Earlier in the week we got delivered this 1961 Jensen 541S that had been the victim of a crash, and is looking a little worse for wear on the front end.
The incident occurred when the bonnet flew up on the motorway and smashed the windscreen, tearing the fibreglass bonnet in the process. This was a result of the bonnet catches not being done up properly.
We are currently working alongside the insurance company to assess the damage to see what exactly needs to be done.
Our 1957 Jensen 541R/S is having some final adjustments to its engine and mechanics. We’ve just fitted heat protection to our plug leads, made a bracket to secure the alternator, made a gear leaver and re-bled the clutch and breaks.
Paul has fit the heat shield into the engine as well as the front grill and badge into our 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S. Every day our Peony Red is starting to resemble a real car more and more as it makes exciting developments daily.
Recovering the rear side panels and rear side window surrounds included cutting out dark blue leather to cover the wood and glueing them to the front of the wood followed by wrapping around the underneath, trimming to shape and glueing down.
Making the new sideboards on the front squab seats for the Jensen included sewing up the corners first to fit over metal bars, stapling them onto the seat around the back, gluing the front of each sideband onto the foam, trimming away the excess leather and then the process is repeated for the other squab.
Our stunning custom build Peony Red Jensen is really taking shape now. Thanks to the continuous hard work from our skilled classic car technicians, this classic is looking more and more like the beautiful motor it was meant to be. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Ady has almost completed fitting the engine back together after its full re-build, part of which was done here and part of which was done at Scholar.
The engine was originally stripped down and inspected for issues when Ady found that the engine needed to be re-bored to suit new pistons. The crankshaft was also reground and new bearings were fitted. Ady also fitted new oil pumps, rear seal conversion on the rear of crankshaft, new core plugs, new timing chain and new camshaft followers. The cylinder head is currently at Coltec, having an unleaded conversion and a reface.
Lydia has started on remaking the headlining on the lilac Jensen project. She first cleaned up all the metal poles that go into the loops across the headline and then inserted the poles inside the loops.
Lydia has also been working on the front seat squab. She began by marking it up so she would know how the pieces go back together, beginning by taking the back of first and then the front covers and adding in 3mm of foam. She then glued in some calico onto the back board to strengthen it when sewing. Lydia then made and added piping to go around the back board and covered the front of the backboard with new white leather. She then glued and sewed the piping in place. She then started making the pocket by drawing around an the original one onto the new leather, sewed the elastic in the top and tacked the folds in place at the bottom. Lydia then folded the edges under and glued the pocked onto the backboard.
Brian has also been working on this Jensen alongside Lydia and has bade the rear seat centre section of of the new leather. He begun by marking out the fabric, adding in extra foam and gluing the cover over the centre, pulling tight the leather over the sides. He’s also re-glued the foam back in place for the front seat squab which was done after he removed the old foam. Brian then made the new wood section for the bottom of the seat frame and added new foam to the side sections. New foam has been added to the middle section for the back of the squab.
Our 1957 Jensen 541 R(S) is currently being worked through its snag list, which is essentially a list compiled of areas that need to be checked and tweaked before its finished.
John is going through all the electrics to check that everything is live and works, and modifying wiring as he goes. He is also readjusting the bonnet lift lever as traditionally it would sit a little too close to the throttle peddle.
Kath is modifying the boot lid trim as the rubber and material is causing some irritation against the metal sills. Kath is currently taking the material off the metal to modify.
Scott is altering the bonnet pin so that the screw fits in tighter as the hole is currently slightly too small as the screw is getting caught mid way.
Due to the V8 Corvette engine that was fitted in Boston in the 1960’s, the owner of this Jensen has decided to have his own personalised model tag fitted to this Jensen that describes it as a 541 R S as it has features of both models.
Brian has been working on the door cappings for our 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S. He began by fitting metal brackets to the rear door capping and then glueing in the wadding. Brian then glued the leather cover to the door capping and turned the leather over onto the back to neaten up the corners and pull taught the material.
Paul and Ady have recently fit the engine into the Jensen which is arguably one of the key milestones in a restoration. With this now in place, engine refurbishments and adjustments can be made to ensure its up and running.
The assisted power steering pump has also been prepared and fitted into our Jensen.
We’ve been working on securing the 1959 Jensen 541R’s rear axle frame. New rear axle straps have been manufactured by hand in the workshop and bolted in place to avoid unwarranted pressure being applied to the shock absorbers. This also ensures that the rear axle doesn’t move. Our Jensen didn’t originally have these so we’ve had to remove the exhaust lines to fit the straps.
The new front suspension springs have turned out to be too long so we’ve resorted to fitting the old ones back in be recomissioning them by painting and sandblasting them so theyre back to working order.
We’ve also discovered a hole in the front axle which has been welded and fixed before this classic Jensen swiftly leaves us this week.
The bonnet, boot and internal components have been painted for our 1960 Jensen 541S. The parts sat in primer and a base coat before having their iconic Peony Red paint applied. The internal parts and engine block have been painted black to keep them uniform with the rest of the internal elements.
Paul has been working on the mechanical elements for our Jensen, which has included fitting the rear section boot floor, new hand brake cables, and re-manufactured the bolts on the rear axle half shaft.
Ady has been working on refurbishing the engine by attaching a new rear seal conversion and replacing the bolts that hold it in and fitting a new cylinder head with new valves spring and valve guides. The engine has also been rebored to take new pistons, the crankshaft has been reground and new bearings fitted. A new timing chain, cam followers and gaskets have also been fitted.
Ady and Paul are have also been working on fitting the re-conditioned gear box to the engine.
We’ve also fitted the rear lights this week, ready to be wired in.
Our 1961 541S Jensen was having issues with over-heating, but luckily, our classic car technician Paul, put his mind to investigating the issue. He found that the wax seal in the thermostat had gotten stuck. To address this he applied a freeing agent that was left overnight so that he could ‘un-stick’ the seal the next day.
The thermostat opens to allow the engine coolant to flow through when it heats up, allowing for the cyclical movement up to the radiator, down through the radiator and round to the thermostat again. With the wax-seal seized closed, hot coolant couldn’t run through the engine, meaning it was overheating.
The thermostat works by regulating the engine temperature. As coolant flows around the engine, it collects excess heat. On leaving the engine, it travels to the radiator, where that excess heat is removed. It then makes a few more stops along its way through the cooling system and finishes back in the engine.
February 12, 2021 11:19 amPublished by Craig Ranson
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/
Some drama in the engine workshop! All was seemingly well with the engine re-build however, unbeknown to us, the dipstick tube had previously broken off inside the cylinder block. If Ady’s keen eyes hadn’t noticed, this would have led to a total engine strip and rebuild in the workshop later down the line!
Luckily he noticed and managed to remove it before it did too much damage. A new one has now been fitted.
The Peony Red Jensen 541S has had its engine refurbished by our engine specialist. A new steel tube has been installed as well as a distributor, water pump and oil filter housing.
November 24, 2020 10:49 amPublished by Craig Ranson
More work has been done on our 1960 Peony red Jensen 541S. The latest instalments are the seat covers and pockets that have been made by our trim shop. This involved marking out the leather for the seats, sewing the piping and side bands on, making and sewing on the skirt, and then creating the pockets. Once all these elements have been carefully created, that can be put together.
Our engine specialist, Ady is in the process of rebuilding the engine. So far the bottom end is done and its awaiting the cylinder heads to be attached.
November 20, 2020 9:06 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Our specialist technicians have been working hard on the 1960 Jensen 541S restoration. The latest refurbishments include smoothing and correcting the doors by filling any holes, taking out rust and installing custom made metal pieces.
Our engine specialist Ady carried out a full engine rebuild and has modified the piston holes by making sure the edges are bevelled at an angle rather than a sharp 90 degrees angle. This ensures the pistons fit in neater.
The rest of the engine rebuild has included the rocker fingers being refaced and re-boring with bigger pistons
November 12, 2020 12:07 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Ady, Bridge Classic Cars’ engine specialist has begun work on our Jensen Engine restoration. He’s stripped down the engine ready for cleaning, refurbishing and then rebuild.
Having completely restored several Jensens in recent months, we’re very familiar with these wonderful classics.
Does your Jensen need restorative works? Get in touch to see how our Jensen specialist mechanics can help.
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