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.
We’ve recently welcomed this 1959 Jensen 541R into the workshop as a restoration project for someone to take on to turn into their dream Jensen. The beauty of retoration projects like this is that this Jensen is a blank canvas which can be made back to originaly and become a custom classic.
If you’re interested in purchasing this, you can get in touch via info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk
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 1960 Peony Red Jensen is coming along well. With the continuation of chrome fitting, Paul has been making an fitting seat belt strengthens to ensure safety. Originally only being fitted to the metal shell, Paul has made some enforced pieces of metal to make sure the seat belts are fixed in well.
Tom is also linking up the main loom to the fuel gage and reserve, as well a securing it in place so that it runs to the rear loom.
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.
Our lovely 1957 Grey Jensen 541R/S now has its new speedo fitted into the dash. It’s also had its steering centralised. John is now going to start it to see how it runs and to see if there are any teething issues which he will correct accordingly.
Tom has begun to catalogue the different wiring looms for our 1960 Jensen 541S. He’s started with the rear wiring loom, connected the rear indicators, brake lights, sidelights, number plate lights and the reverse light. Tom has also allocated the rear wiring loom in the rear junction box. He has then continued to install the bonnet wiring loom and has connected the headlights, indicators and sidelights wirings to the bonnet wiring loom.
Paul has also fitted the rear bumper.
Lydia has also taken apart the head lining. She’s started by laying out the old fabric to see what it looks like. Once she made the new version, she sewed in calico loops onto each headlining part while attaching the sections together.
Paul and Tom have been working on the Peony Red Jensen 541R today, both fitting more chrome to the body and fixing in place the underside bonnet clips.
Paul has been steadily getting through all the chrome pieces, fitting them to the body and ensuring they all sit perfectly. Tom has been fixing in place the clips which hold in place the bonnet rods and hinges that allow the bonnet to open.
Tom has also assembled the dash, fitted the boot and bonnet as well as fitting the indicators and chrome.
During testing we established a fault in the steering however we have since rectified the fault.
Due to the Corvette engine, the manifold previously went over the bell housing however when we removed the exhaust to gain access to fit a new modified oil pipe, we changed the manifold to go under the bell housing.
The chrome came back for our 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S last week and it is now starting to be fit by our classic car technician, Paul. A range of badges, sills, handles and other pieces of chrome is set to be re-fit, giving our classic Jensen that sparkle of life. These have been reconditioned by Tony from Wyatt Polishing.
Paul has begun to fit the window chrome back on, which as already made this magnificent classic look mighty again.
The trim shop have also been helping with our peony classic. Lydia has sewn together these circle inserts for Brian. She began by top stitching the edge of each insert after Brian has assembled them. She then sewed a flap round the edge of each one, which will eventually look like a bonded edge once Brian has finished gluing them onto the wood. Brian made these pieces by marking out the circular air vent measurements on hard wood, cutting them out and then marking and cutting the carpet out to go with the hardwood pieces. Brian then followed this by cutting out the leather for the air vent holes and made a skirt for around the edge of the carpet. He then glued leather around the edge and applied the carpet to the boards.
We’re steadily starting to part ways with our beloved Jensen collection as each project is finished and finds its way back to its owner. The most recent departure is our 1961 Jensen 541S that was collected today.
Although we’ve recently said goodbye to a handful of our Jensen’s, we’ve still got plenty to be getting on with as our Peony Red is progressing well, our Grey 1957 541R is almost out the door and its partner car, the black 1960 541R awaits it up at Bentwaters.
Our lovely 1960 Peony Red Jensen 541S is at the stage where we’re putting lots of pieces back together and fitting them in, meaning that day by day, its looking more like a Jensen. Paul has fitted the vacuum pipe for the carburettor manifold as well as working alongside Tom to fit the sills. With the doors now on as well, the body of the car is more or less recognisable.
Our lovely silver 1959 Jensen 541R has been completed and is leaving the workshop today. Although that’s one less Jensen in our workshop, we have plenty more still to be worked on.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we’re become Jensen specialists, meaning whether you have a Jensen to bring in or you’re just inquiring about, we can help. This gentleman was enquiring about a part for his Jensen.
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.
Owner of our 1957 Jensen 541 restoration project, Joerg has sent us this handwritten note from Sarkis Najjarian. Sarkis was responsible for origianlly putting the Corvette engine into the Jensen back in 1969 when in a previous life our Jensen was over in America.
It’s wonderful to hear Sarkis has seen the restoration work we are doing on the car now and thank you to Joerg for sharing this lovely piece of history with us.
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