We’ve created a simple video walk around for our client to see his almost finished Jensen. As he lives in Germany it means that it isn’t very easy for him to pop over and see his car. We thought it would be easiest to send this in-depth video so that he can see what’s been done, what’s left to do and if there are any adjustments he wants to be made.
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.
Our lovely silver 1959 541R Jensen brake pipes have been refurbished, as well as the kingpins and bushes rebuilt by our technician Paul.
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!
The black Jensen has had a series of road tests, edging it closer and closer to being completed. We’re working our way through what John likes to call the ‘snag list’ which is ultimately a list of any teething issues that are highlighted in being driven. On the list is aligning the steering wheel, modifying the rear heater fan and heater motor.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
The restoration to the Peony Red Jensen’s doors continues. James is working on correcting the corrosion damage by welding and fabricating new parts to replace the corroded elements. Both doors are bespoke and custom to the car, so James, one of our classic car specialists, is having to make all his adjustments bespoke and unique to the car.
You can see the process here:
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.
Our Peony Red Jensen has been masked and primed and is now ready for paint.
Gordon’s (soon to be) Lilac Jensen 541R is currently being prepped for paint. Trevor is smoothing out any bumps and cracks as well as applying spray on primer and filler before the first layers of paint is applied.
Joerg Huesken, the owner of our lovely 1957 Jensen 541R and the 1960 Jensen 541R has recently shared some photo updates on Facebook and we’re delighted to have the shout out!
Click here to see his post!
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.
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/
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.
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.
Our 1960 Peony red Jensen 541S is making good progress in the workshop. Here are the latest developments.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
The Peony Red Jensen 541S has had its engine rebuilt. Our engine specialist has been working to refurbish and rebuild the old engine.
No one ever claimed that rebuilding engines were easier, nor pretty… Ady cleared out this huge sludge ball from the Peony Red’s engine. This rather dubious-looking ball of sludge is made from hard water and dirt caught up in the engine. Its all part of the job…
Our 1962 Gold and Burgundy Jensen 541S has had its cylinder head reconditioned after multiple cracks were discovered that was causing water and oil to mix.
The cylinder was removed and sent off for a pressure test at Coltec where the cracks were discovered. The cylinder head was then unleaded and replaced.
The clutch on the 1960 Jensen 541R hasn’t been working properly. So, our expert technician Dave has built his very own easy-bleed component to get it back up and running.
“You can buy these parts online.” Dave explains, “but I’ve made my own so I can do the work sooner and not wait for parts to arrive”. A great example of the proactive attitude our team have here at Bridge – awesome job Dave!
September 1, 2020 10:44 am
Dave has started work on our beautiful 1962 Jensen 541S. The vehicle is in for some small, remedial tasks. A new front grille is on the list to be fitted and here at Bridge Classic Cars we have manufactured the tooling to replicate the S grille and have been one of the main suppliers of the Jensen 541S grille.
The bonnet latches also need adjusting and the engine is not running anywhere near as beautifully as it should be.
