Kath has made a boot carpet for out 1960 Jensen 541S. She begun by inserting rubber grommets in the holes, made templates and then cut out the patterns. When she had cut out the carpet, she could bind and shape the edges.
Kath has made a cover for the metal plate Paul made as part of the windscreen air vents.
You may have seen last week we sent our two Jensen’s along with an Interceptor, back to their owner over in Germany. We’re delighted to see they’ve arrived safe and sound, and reunited with their owner.
Our beloved 1957 Jensen 541RS and 1960 Jensen 541R have been collected by Russell’s and sent back to Germany to be reunited with their owner. Russel’s double story lorry came to collect the two Jensen’s and inside had a Jensen Interceptor, also belonging to the same owner. The double story lorry is an epic contraption in itself, with raising levels and ramps to make for easier loading.
After 3 long years of dedicated restoration, we’re both happy and sad to see these two cars leave us after they arrived looking totally different. We’re excited to see them as finished cars, ready to be loved and enjoyed as classic spectacles of British engineering.
Our 1960 Jensen 541S has had new chrome fitted around the door as well as ‘weather strips’. Paul has been working to apply the smaller chrome details.
Paul has also fitted a new dynamometer.
After the client came to see his two Jensen’s, he’s asked for some small modifications which has included changing the yellow Jensen badge to blue, adding mesh grills into the front side vents and we’ve noticed a few places where we wanted to touch up the paint. This Jensen will be leaving us very soon after its long restoration journey with us.
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.
Tom has been working on building up the dashboard for our 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S. A keen eye for detail and a steady hand is needed to build up dashboards as it is a tricky job.
Brian has been adding wood to the front door to make the capping fit correctly. He’s then covered the door capping and new board for the side panel and added in a seat belt slot. Lastly he added the pipping between the side panel and rear quarter panel and glued it all in place.
Our friend and client has had both of his Jensen’s with us for the last 3 years as we’ve been tackling the mighty project of their full restorations. He flew over with his son to finally see his finished beauties; a 1957 Jensen 541 RS and a 1960 Jensen 541R. We’re delighted at how happy he was when he saw them. After a thorough inspection and a test drive of each, we got the verdict and the small list of one or two minor tweaks. Once complete, they can be shipped over to Germany to start a new life overseas.
Both of these Jensen’s have been made with a keen eye for detail and the owner has had a strong involvement over getting both original and bespoke parts for these two classics, which will be added to his ever-growing Jensen collection.
Our client has a large collection of Jensen’s including this Interceptor which is undergoing restoration elsewhere.
Kath has been laying sound deadening in the Peony Red 1960 Jensen 541S which is starting to look more and more complete.
Kath began by covering the section of floor she was working on, with leather and then started to lay the sound deadening, being careful to check how each piece fitted and glue them securely in place. She then went over the sills and added the carpet under the rear seats and bound the ends. Then Kath started laying the carpet in the passenger footwell, around the side of the centre tunnel and bound the edges.
Kath has continued on the 1960 Jensen 541S Peony Red headliner by bolting in the screws in the front header rail. She’s then covered the B posts in leather and added 3mm of foam to the rear. Kath has then covered the back parcel shelve in the same headliner leather and then followed it up by fitting the panels along the top of the head liner.
Next up, Kath made a pattern for the rear pocket sections and then glued it in place. She then removed the seat belt to fit the rear quarter panel. She then modified the rear quarter panel to make it fit better. Kath then attached the rear door capping and rear panel as well as fitting the seat belt back in place. She then repeated this process on the driver’s side.
Once everything was covered and fit, Kath could lay the rear seat in place to make sure it all fits. Next up is the sound deadening and carpet.
Our 1960 Jensen 541R is undergoing some fibreglass repair in our paint shop. Matt is currently working on the boot lid that needs to be repaired with filler, shaped up and smoothed down.
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.
The owner of our Peony Red custom 1960 Jensen 541S took the decision to get the badges painted in a diamond red as he didn’t like how the silver looked. Here’s the before and after:
Kath has also fit the headliner for our Peony Red Jensen. She begun by attaching the metal rods to the edge of the car and then attaching the leather around the windscreen. The next step was to attach the front header rail and then screw it in place, lining up the holes.
Our 1957 Jensen 541R/S is having issues with its radiator as well as an oil leak. The radiator has been removed so we can address the issue.
Our Peony Red Jensen has had its new chrome applied however we’d found that the rear window chrome wasn’t fitting properly so we’ve made an adjustment to allow the chrome to fit. This will be painted before fitting the chrome.
Ady has taken apart the lilac 1960 Jensen’s rocker shaft to be cleaned out and rebuilt to ensure it works as it should.
Brian has been gluing foam onto the front face of the rear quarter seat panels. He then stapled the cover to the top of the wood and glued the cover down over the lower mill board section. Once the rear quarter panel of the seat was finished, he could then get started on the others by following the same process. The next step was to glue the front flap to the seat base and add foam and wadding to the inside and outside of seat tub. By pulling the cover around the tub and gluing the edges, the cover can then sit taught to the seat, giving it a fitted and tight finish. The excess leather is then trimmed and the seat tub is finished.
Lydia has also been working on the lilac Jensen by cleaning up the metal frame for the front base seat and then covering the front of it in calico and wrapping it around the frame. She then drew out the flute line patterns for the front squab and the front base seats. Jensen’s don’t usually have fluting around the front squab and front base of the seats however this is something Gordon has requested. Lydia then cut out the leather for covering one of the front seat tubes. Then she clipped the front to the back for dewing and then she sewed all the pieces together.
Lydia has been working on the interior of the 1960 Jensen 541R which is Gordons restoration project and is fondly referred to as the Lilac Jensen as that’s the colour he’s chosen for the paintwork.
Lydia has made the second front seat backboard. First, she started by glueing white leather to the millboard, creating the piping to go around the curved edge and then glueing the piping in place around the underside edge of the board. She then marked out lightly where to place the pocket which she made before. Then she glued it into place around the curved edge. After sewing the pocket in place, she took apart the cover of the second seat tub. She marked out the tub which will help her recreate the cover for it. Once she’d taken apart the front base cover, Lydia took it all apart.
Paul has manufactured some new bonnet catches for our 1960 Jensen 541S. These components are crucial to keeping the bonnet closed and secure. Being made by hand, these catches have been designed and made to fit our Jensen perfectly.
David Turnage popped into the workshop today as he has manufactured the spare wheel carrier for our Peony Red Jensen. David arrived in his fantastic dual-toned green 1939 Alvis Speed 25. This spectacular green machine is in pristine condition and is David’s pride and joy. David is the 541 Registrar of the Jensen Owners Club.
“In the Alvis Speed Twenty–Five the makers have produced a car which will delight those who appreciate fast motoring with an ample margin of safety. A very quick response to the accelerator is matched by exceptional steadiness under heavy braking conditions, light and accurate steering, and road holding of that special quality which is so rarely encountered nowadays.” – George Butlin
This is the spare wheel carrier that David manufactured for us:
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.
Our Jensen 541R restoration project, currently owned by our director, Gordon, is currently getting new seats made by our trim shop. Most recently the tubs have been stripped to be recovered. All the old rails have been removed and old patterns have been measured up next to the tubs to see if they fit or if the designs need to be modified. Parts were then marked out in new white leather to cover the seats, including the seat skirts, side panels, and front section of the seat. Piping along the edge has been made and all the parts have been laid down over the tub.
Our 1960 541R Jensen is being collected next week however we’ve found it’s got some teething issues due to the throttle cable sticking. We think this could be due to the angle of the cable over the rocker cover. Ady, our engine specialist has been working to resolve the issue.
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.
We visited Jensen Service Limited in Winchester to take a look at this Jensen 541S. This classic Jensen would make the perfect restoration project…who’s in?
Chris has been working to re-apply the black raptor paint that was applied on the underside of the wheel arches which is used as a sealant. He has also been fixing a few cracks in the fibreglass where the rubber was too thick for the boot door and closing it had caused some stress cracks.
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!
Our classic 1957 Jensen had it’s test drive today and came back with the all clear. John just wants to bleed the brakes and clutch but otherwise its running smoothly! Just listen to that exhaust note from the V8 Corvette engine…
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.
