I'm very excited today because I was reunited with my Jensen interceptor which I haven't seen since I moved to the UK over 3 years ago! I thought I'd start a restoration thread which some of you might be interested in... Ok I know this isn't a Fiat Coupe, but it does have 2 doors, and it is Italian designed

This Interceptor is a late MK1 from 1969, originally sold in the UK and exported to Australia in the late 70s. My link to this particular car goes way back to 1986 when my uncle sold his E type jag and bought the interceptor as a replacement from a South Australian copper. My uncle, who was a GP, used this car to do house-calls on the sunshine coast in Queensland until the mid 1990s, but by this time the car was in pretty rough condition and the dreaded tinworm was starting to appear in the usual places...

So my father and I took ownership of the car in '97 and spent some time restoring her mechanically. This included a new starter motor, fuel pump, brake calliper refurb, suspension overhaul etc. She was running pretty well and the rumble of that big american V8 was sounding

The resto stalled a bit when my parents moved to the UK in 2003 and I kept the car at my place in Perth where I was studying, but I didn't have much time or money to spend on the old girl. When I moved over here at the start of '06 she was left with a friend who kept her in a shed on his farm and took her for a drive every so often to keep things ticking over.

Now, finally after all these years we've decided to return the beast back to her former glory and have her completely restored here in her country of origin. So back in April she left Sydney on a cargo ship bound for Felixstowe which is where I picked her up from today.

Here's a pic from this morning of her sitting in the warehouse in Felixstowe looking a bit sad (note the tow rope attached!)


And another shot from the rear


I was really looking forward to hearing that V8 roar into life but it seems as though the fuel was drained out of her before she left, and there wasn't enough left in the tank to get her started

So we had to winch her onto the truck..



She has now been transported to a mechanic in Essex who, in Fiat coupe terms, is probably the "poweritalia" of Jensen Interceptors, so we're feeling pretty confident that within a few weeks she will be purring like a kitten once again.

Here are a couple of shots taken from the coupe while we were following



There is a fair bit of work needed. She needs a new steering rack, the brake pedal feels pretty spongy so I think the master cylinder is leaking. Not sure what condition the callipers are in but they might need a recon too. The engine and transmission are pretty much bomb proof on these, so hopefully they are still OK (fingers crossed!).

Here she is at the mechanic's lockup this arvo:


The plan is to get the mechanicals sorted first so she can be registered here (she's still wearing her Aussie plate at the moment), then get the body completely restored and a full respray.

So I'll update this thread once we get a full report from the mechanic...

Right - it feels like an eternity since my original post last summer! But the old Jensen lives!!!

My father and I finally had a chance last weekend to go and see the mechanic to discuss exactly what needs doing in order for the car to pass an MOT and get back on the road. We were both feeling somewhat nervous as the initial impressions from the mechanic were not very promising, particularly as he had detected a strong burning smell inside the car when it was first moved into his lockup (and the smell was still lingering on Saturday!) Turns out the ignition had been left on, possibly my fault, which had caused some overheating in the wiring behind the ignition barrel. Luckily nothing too drastic had occurred!

So we had a good look over the car in a methodical fashion, and to our surprise (or should I say delight???) the car is actually still pretty decent mechanically. She's going to need the following:

- Brake master cylinder
- Reconditioned steering rack
- Reconditioned carb, although we will probably go for a brand new Edelbrock replacement with electronic choke
- Rear shocks
- Possibly reconditioned brake callipers, although we won't know until he's had time to inspect them further
- Uprated alternator
- high torque starter motor
- new tyres (the current ones are at least 15 years old)
- Plus any incidentals (likely to be plentiful!)

Mechanically these are simple beasts, but the bodywork is likely to cause a few headaches. Initial inspections suggest:

- New tailgate required
- sills are surprisingly solid and should pass an MOT, but driver's side might need replacing soon
- rear wheel arches rusty and full of bog
- Chrome has deteriorated and we'll need to source some replacements (not cheap - new rear bumper is £1000!)

So all in all there's plenty to keep us busy, but with any luck we'll have her back on the road by late winter/early spring - ready to go into the body shop

Oh, and we did manage to start the engine... just needed some fuel and a bit of aero-start squirted into the carb and VRRRRROOOOOOOOOOM RUMBLE RMBLE RUMBLE. Brought back lots of good memories

Just a quick update...

- steering rack has been reconditioned and is back on the car.
- Edelbrock carb has arrived, small mods required to make it fit but should be done shortly.
- suspension is in fine condition, now has new shocks all round.
- brakes are ok, but an uprated master cylinder is being put on as the standard one is shot, and are a known weak point in these cars.
- Someone has bodged the wiring in the past, so some work is needed to make sure the car doesn't spontaneously burst into flames. Should be sorted soon.

I've managed to trace some history on the car. It turns out it was owned by a Jensen club member in Devon until the late 70s, then after this it was exported to Australia. After some digging through club records I've found out what the original registration number was, so hopefully we'll be able to reunite the car with its correct rego.

Should be ready for the MOT in a few weeks, then we'll have a chance to give it a bit of a shakedown to see if there are any other niggling problems. Then it's off to the body shop where the real fun begins...

Another quick update:

Went down to Bournemouth on Saturday to collect a second hand black leather interior from a Jensen forum member. Really nice guy too, showed me around his car and we had a good chin-wag about all things Jensen related.

The leather is a bit tired but should respond well to some conditioning:

It has been a while since I last updated this thread, so for anyone who's interested...

The car passed its MOT a couple of months ago and we were driving it regularly until the cold weather set in. It's now tucked away safely in the garage until after Christmas when it will be off to the body shop for a full restoration.

In the last couple of months we've fitted a custom exhaust and replaced one of the balljoints that was slightly worn, as well as replacing the anti-roll bar bushes. Also had the wheels refurbished in a dark anthracite colour with polished rim which I think looks great

She's running very nicely now. Can't wait for the respray!

Here's a couple of shots taken today in the snow