Our workshop team have been busy working on the driveline of our 1960 Jensen 541R as it begins the next phase of its restoration journey. Our technician Paul has been working on the pair of 541’s which are currently being restored by our workshop.
This time, Paul has been working on the brake system for the 541R. With the calipers in place, Paul could begin to map out and bend up the hardline needed to connect the brakes from the front, all the way to the back to complete the circuit when ready.
December 11, 2024 12:50 pmPublished by Nick Skinner
Our workshop are a bit of a dab hand when it comes to Jensen’s – it is without doubt the most frequent car that we have restored in nearly 20 years. The most recent 541 which our team have been working is this beautiful Grey 1956 Jensen 541.
Most recently, Jon has been working on tuning the classic GT car to run perfectly. To do this, Jon stripped down the intake side of the engine by removing the air filter box and housing to gain access to the carburettors. Carefully, he removed them and stripped them down on the bench to remove the pistons and suction chambers, from there Jon could accurately measure the jet depth for each individual chamber, lowering each one slightly in order to richen up the air/fuel mixture, while apart it gave Jon the opportunity to thoroughly clean up the pistons and suction chambers before refitting back onto the car.
With everything back together, Jon could run up the straight-six and begin by firstly tuning the carburettors by ear to get them roughly into the right area before the team deep dive into tuning the car completely. The keys were handed over to Big John, our workshop manager, to perform the road tests.
While out on test, Big John made some notes about some small changes and areas which Jon would need to take a look into once back at the workshop. With the car back at our Suffolk HQ, Jon got the 541 back onto the ramp. From there, he could slacken off the exhaust clamps and apply a small amount of sealer before refitting the pipework back together, and whilst under the car he could adjust the clutch arm to give it more clearance.
November 21, 2024 9:45 amPublished by Nick Skinner
The progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 is flying along as the car heads towards initial road tests very soon around the area of the Bridge Classic Cars HQ. Before then, the team still have a bit of work to do. This time the team have been working on the inside of the classic GT car.
The team have fitted up the steering wheel, the passenger seat and the door card ends into place.
Our workshop is well versed in all things Jensen 541 – having restored over a dozen of these classic GT cars (with 2 more in our workshop currently going through their restoration journey). So, when it comes to getting this beautiful 1956 Jensen 541 back up and running the team were eager to jump in.
Our technician Jon has been working on this particular car. He has been stripping down the interior in order to gain access to the gearbox as part of the team prepping for a clutch replacement. Jon has carefully gone through the systems to make sure that everything is undone as well as assess each component for its condition and operation.
As part of the clutch replacement, Jon has also serviced and inspected the car thoroughly which involved a repair to a HT lead and new spark plugs for the straight-six. While the car is up in the air, it gave Jon the chance to remove all of the wheels to inspect and strip down the brakes. All of the brake shoes were due for replacement, so they have been removed and are off to be refurbished. This exposed the backing plates for Jon to take a closer look at, cleaning up the units and repainting areas which had bare metal exposed.
The gearbox for our 1960 Jensen 541R project is back in the building. The transmission had been with a trusted specialist for a rebuild as part of the project to get this incredible classic GT back on the road.
Our Carriage Green 1956 Jensen 541 is getting closer to the end of its restoration here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. Paul, the technician heading up the project, has been making amazing progress in the past couple of weeks.
Today he’s been fitting up the washer jets into the car before plumbing them into the pump. Then he moved onto fitting the air filter to the airbox for the triple carburettor set up currently fitted onto the 541 and finishing it off with the fabricating the front grill vents to finish off the look of this incredible 1950’s GT car.
Our paintshop have finished work on our 1975 Jensen Interceptor here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. This car has had a considerable amount of work done by both our fabrication team and our paint and body team, each and every hour poured into this car perfectly illustrates the skill of our team.
Finished in a stunning shade of Bronze, this classic Jensen will be heading back to its owner who has chosen to finish the restoration themselves and we are so excited to see the finished car hopefully very soon.
Our paint and body team have been hard at work moving forward on bringing our 1960 Jensen 541R back to life. Chris, our body and paint specialist, has spent a lot of time working the fibreglass on the classic GT car to get it not only structurally sound but in the best position to be worked later.
The fibreglass contained lots of small cracks, holes and imperfections which Chris had to reglass by hand before allowing them to cure and then be sanded back and rechecked, before the hole car and all panels taken into the booth to have its first layers of epoxy primer laid down.
Meanwhile, our fabricator (also called Chris) has made up a new set of bonnet stay brackets specifically to work with this chassis.
Our 1956 Jensen 541 has been making good progress in the finishing room at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. Paul, our technician heading up this project, has been working his way through the list of jobs that need doing to get this classic GT back on the road.
Firstly, Paul worked on making sure everything was fitted up correctly before making the new fuse box cover for the car to help protect the electrical components. Then, Paul could get to work on fitting up the number plates which required custom brackets to be made in order to fit up the front number plate.
Then, Paul turned his attention to the cooling system of the car with wiring up the new electric pull through fan to help cool the freshly rebuilt 4-litre straight six and begin work on getting the speedometer cable fitted into the car.
Our technician Paul has been moving forward at an incredible rate on our 1956 Jensen 541. To begin with, he’s fitted up the fuse box cover under the bonnet of the classic Jensen. He could also fit up the speedo cable into the car, refit the dashboard and secure the throttle pedal into place.
During its initial build up, Paul noticed that the high/low beam switch was faulty so had a new one placed on order. It has now arrived so he could install it into the car and then after removing the wheels (which have been sent away for refinishing) he could adjust the brake drums.
Our 1959 Jensen 541R, which was recently restored, came back to our Suffolk HQ for its first check up after being used and enjoyed by its new owner.
Along with a check up and oil change, the team had to do a couple of little revisions for the owner. But, after being given the green light by the workshop – our transport team loaded the car into our enclosed trailer and took the classic GT car back home for its excited owner.
Paul, one of our restoration technicians, has been working his way through the list of finishing jobs on our 1956 Jensen 541 project. With the car now moved into the finishing room of our workshop, the team are full speed ahead on getting this classic GT back on the road.
To begin with, Paul has worked on getting some of the wiring sorted behind the dashboard. Then, he could move on to reworking the drain plug for the gearbox. Along with having to reprofile the position, Paul also had to repair several threads in the gearbox case with a helicoil.
Our workshop team have been steadily making progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 which is in the finishing workshop here at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.
Our technician, Paul, began with working on test fitting the rear window catches to line up correctly with the stunning interior built by our in-house trim team. Once checked, Paul could fix them securely in place. Then he moved on to getting the drivers side door test fit to work out the gaps and line up through carefully adding and taking away specifically sized shims. Once he was happy with the doors fitment, Paul went under the bonnet of the classic GT car.
To begin with, he fabricated the new battery mount for the car specifically to work within the confines of this specific chassis. And finally, Paul could test fit the radiator into the chassis to begin working on radiator mounts for the car.
Our 1959 Jensen 541R, which was delivered to its new owner a few weeks ago, has been collected by the Bridge Classic Cars transport team to make its way back to our Suffolk HQ for a routine check up.
As with all of our ground-up builds, we like to see the cars back after completion to double check everything is as it should be. The car will make its way back to our Pettistree workshop for the team to take a look at the car.
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been making progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 which is being built up at our Suffolk HQ at the moment.
First off, our painter Chris painted the door hinges on the car as soon, the doors will be test fit onto the car and the team begin to align the pieces onto the car to get the best fit possible. Meanwhile in the mechanical workshop – Paul has been working on getting the various systems in places and working properly with eachother.
This includes fitting up the fuel line to the carburetors and running the new throttle cable from the carburetors to fabricate the throttle cable mount and removing the dash in order to measure for the new speedo cable.
Our trimmer Lydia has been working on getting the interior pieces in place to our 1956 Jensen 541. At this point, she has installed the bespoke carpet set into the car which has been made specifically to fit the contours of this particular chassis to make sure that it fits perfectly. So well in fact, that it is held in place with press studs which have to be aligned to make sure that each piece sits perfectly in the car.
Mechanical:
Alongside Lydia in our trim shop, our technician Paul has been handling the mechanical side of the classic GT car. Continuing his work under the bonnet, Paul has installed the wiring harness and secured it in place before routing the connectors and wires to the specific areas, such as the headlight buckets and other lighting. Paul has also fabricated and installed the mounts and brackets to hold the horns in place.
With the core of the interior now in place and the wiring loom ran to the headlights, Paul could fit the foot operated high beam switch into the footwell of the Jensen and wire it into the harness. From there he began work on modifying the exhaust heat shields, fabricating support bars for the radiator and fitting up the carburettor overflow pipework in the engine bay.
Our 1975 Jensen Interceptor project has made massive strides forward in the last few weeks. The classic V8 coupe has been in the talented hands of our paint and body technician Chris who has worked on getting the car to take its first steps into colour.
Firstly, the team completely stripped the car of any paint or surface rust and then cleaned down the entire car before take the shell and parts into the paint booth to be put into epoxy primer. Then, the team could begin work on levelling the panels with the use of filler and the first stage of getting the car ready.
After all the panels had been perfectly leveled, Chris could then get the car back into the booth and begin to seal the car with another coat of epoxy primer. Once this had flashed off and settled, Chris could go back with the polyster primer to make sure that the panels were even straighter and level.
Paul has been working on assembly and refit of our 1956 Jensen 541 which has had a full ground up restoration by the Bridge Classic Cars team here at our Suffolk HQ.
Paul worked on getting the front clam shell onto the car to begin getting the wiring harness fed through and to check for correct fitment onto the car. Whilst on the car, Paul could then get the bonnet catches mounted into position to make sure that when secured the bonnet sits square and true to the body lines of the car.
At this stage, he has been working on the front end of the classic British GT car. Next Paul has got the radiator fitted into the car with new mounts fabricated to fit the chassis, with each of these cars being entirely handbuilt there are variations which means that many of the mounts and fixings have to be fabricated bespoke to each car. Like the radiator mounts, the cars bonnet stays have also been made bespoke for this particular chassis before heading off to the paint team to be finished in gloss black and the radiator sent out to a local specialist to be rebuilt.
Our technician Paul has been making good progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 project. Recently, Paul has been checking that the various brackets and auxiliary parts fit up where they should.
To begin with, Paul tested the fitment of the radiator into the car to make sure its brackets were correctly placed on the frame before the moving onto the bump irons etc.
Then, he worked alongside of fabricator Clinton to begin getting the exhaust for the classic GT started and in the right place before it’s production is started.
The fabrication team at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been working their magic underneath the Ferrari 246.
Several spots in the cars space frame had rusted and deteriorated to the point where they were no longer supporting the structure of the car how they should do. So, our fabricator Chris has worked his magic to sympathetically repair this handmade sports car with individually fabricated gussets to get the strength back into the car.
With the team here at Bridge Classic Cars always working on something, whether that be the restorations technicians in the various departments, the marketing team or the leadership teams, we are all focused around our incredible workshop.
We’re all incredibly lucky to be able to be surrounded by these cars on a daily basis and every day is different as each project is unique and individual.
For example, the cars which are currently in the workshop – span nearly 115 years between them. From our 1905 Riley 9HP which Steve has been preparing ahead of its first drive all the way up to our 2022 Bridge C-Type which is also being readied for its maiden voyage in its period-correct trim. In between those extremes, is our 1939 Jaguar SS100 which Julian has been working on reassembling after a spring change and our 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 (which was recently removed from a local barn) is being recommissioned and shown a bit of TLC.
As many know, we have become somewhat of a Jensen 541 specialist. But today, was a special day at our Suffolk HQ as our very first Jensen 541 project made its way back to our workshops for the team to begin work on.
This 1961 Jensen 541S was the one of the first, if not THE first, restorations of the unique and rare sports car which was undertaken by our team in 2015, back in our original workshops in Deben Road, Ipswich.
This car, which played such an important role in the early history of our work, will be carefully assessed and then worked on by our talented team very soon. So, keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for updates very soon.
December 15, 2023 3:53 pmPublished by Nick Skinner
Over the last few weeks, a lot of progress has been made on the restoration of our 1959 Jensen 541R. Both the interior and the exterior of this beautiful classic car are looking very different now and are getting closer and closer to being completely finished.
Classic car technicians Brian and Lydia have been working on the interior of our 541R. Carpets have been fitted, the headliner has gone in, vinyl installed, and the rear seats have been fitted too. Other interior work included the dash, glovebox, door panels and more.
While Brian and Lydia were working on the interior, classic car technician Rob has been working on getting the exterior of our Jensen 541R back together. As you can see from the photos below, he has made extremely good progress. His most recent work has involved fitting the bonnet flap operating mechanism, installing the window latches, and building and fitting the front seat runners.
Classic car technician Monty has been completing more repair work on our 1975 Jensen Interceptor MK3. This time, his attention has been on the floor, the inner sill, and the doors.
Repairing the metalwork of our classic Interceptor has been a long and challenging process but, both Monty and Christian have been doing a great job of keeping things moving in the right direction.
As the restoration of our 1975 Jensen Interceptor continues, we are looking forward to seeing the improvements being made until it is eventually ready to leave us and get back out on the road.
Work to rebuild our 1959 Jensen 541R has continued recently with classic car technician Rob building up and fitting the front suspension. Along with the suspension, Rob also got the engine back into the car.
The heater motor was built and installed before Rob went on to install the rear shocks too.
A new fuel tank and brake servo were fitted to our classic 541R and the new floors were made and installed as well.
With the rebuild of our 1959 Jensen 541R continuing, it keeps getting better and better to look at and is getting to be more car-like with each passing day.
Classic car technician Rob has continued his work on our 1959 Jensen 541R. He has made and fitted the bulkhead heat shields, as well as bolting the rear axle and front suspension cross member into place.
The engine of this rare Jensen is now also back with the car. Rob actually came up with an innovative new way of getting the engine back into the car and this is something the whole team will look to implement going forwards.
As we are well-known for some of our restoration work on Jensens 541Rs, it shows that the experience the classic car technicians, like Rob, have is allowing them to come up with new ways of restoring these cars and keeping them on the road for as long as possible.
We will certainly be delving deeper into the new engine fitting process very soon but, for now, it is exciting to see our 1959 Jensen 541R coming back together nicely.
In the latest edition of the Jensen Owners Club magazine, you will find an article that talks about some of the classic Jensens that we have at Bridge Classic Cars.
As we have restored and worked on so many Jensens in the past (and still currently have some in the workshop), it is great to have an article published by the JOC.
Our 1959 Jensen 541R has had more interior work completed by Lydia over the last week. She has now finished putting the new covers onto the two front squabs. Lydia has also finished covering the two front base tubs too.
Now that new covers have been made and fitted, Lydia has turned her attention to making the new foams for the rear squab and the rear base frames.
While Lydia was working on the interior of our Jensen 541R, Chris was continuing his filler work on the body. Several panels were removed in preparation for their final checks and so that they were ready for primer.
Classic car technician Al has also been working on our 541R. He repaired the off-side A post before masking up the body ready for its polyester primer to be applied. Primer was applied and, as you can see from the photos below, things are looking good!
Now that the primer has been applied to our classic Jensen, it can move on to the next stage of its restoration journey and be another step closer to being back out on the road.
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