Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

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Dino Fritz
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Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Dino Fritz »

As the beginning of a new year approaches, I thought it was time to add another survivor to these pages.

Back as a teenager, I remember telling my friends that I?d love to own either a Holden WB Statesman, or a Jensen Interceptor. Fast forward to 1989 (I was 21), and a friend contacted me to say that a 1974 Mk III Interceptor was in their crash repairer, had been assessed as a write off and was I interested in buying it.

Three months later, and it was a quiet week at work, so I thought I?d track down the car to take a look. Several phone calls later, and it was being assessed (and written off) a third time due to a fire in the engine bay, but what surprised me was that it was all original and all there (yup, even with the air cleaner, the battery heat shield and the fire extinguisher on the drivers seat). When I met the owner he wanted to get the car repaired, but having been turned down, he thought about buying the write-off and having the car restored, but realised the scale of the undertaking was too big for him. A fair price was negotiated for the car, and I thought that the restoration would be a 12 to 18 month undertaking, with me farming out the sub-components to several specialists to undertake the work.
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But you all know the story ? the half respray and restoration plan identified that the fire had burnt out the wiring in the engine bay, and damaged the loom behind the dash, so more than half of the car was stripped. The front leather was a crisp as cardboard, so the decision was made to strip everything and turn it into a full on restoration, with my brother undertaking the mechanicals, his good friend the painting and another friend the interior.
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Fast forward almost eight years later, and you have the final result.
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I?ll be posting some more photos soon on the current upgrade I?m undertaking (17 inch rims and big brake kit).
Jensens.........when does it ever end!
cannonball
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by cannonball »

That is very nice,,
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PaulMcElhinney
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by PaulMcElhinney »

That's a very impressive "at home" restoration.
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AH1951
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by AH1951 »

Looks perfect, great colour combo, & more desirable then an R or S.
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by SKW 4084 »

What id give for that size garage
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Dino Fritz
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Dino Fritz »

Yup, that garage. The very same month that Dad was planning the build, he asked my brother and I what we wanted. My brother designed the pit and "I" beam for the block and tackle (oh, so easy to get the engine and transmission into and out of the car with this, especially with a 4m high ceiling to really angle the engine and trans assembly into the engine bay. The transmission extension housing drops into the pit, and the person below tilts everything into position from under the car), and I remember reading the latest Classic and Sports Car magazine which recommended a garage at least 3x the size of the car when doing a restoration. The VERY best piece of advice that I ever obtained.

Oh, and here's the engine bay shots:

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Cheers, Dino
Jensens.........when does it ever end!
Kieron
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Kieron »

looks awesome
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Arcnewal
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Arcnewal »

That engine bay looks fantastic.
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Per
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Per »

Lovely car, and now to enjoy :D
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Dino Fritz
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Dino Fritz »

Well, I finally fitted the 17 inch wheels and the upgraded brake / rotor package in the past week. It was all going so smoothly (umm, a little too smoothly) until I went to fit the brake lines 2 days before the car display, and found them to be 9 cms too short. But that's another long story!

Enjoy the photos,
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Dino
Jensens.........when does it ever end!
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VFK44
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by VFK44 »

It LOOKS lovely! Did you get it moving in time?

The back has dropped since the 'before' pictures; can you raise it about an inch?
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Dino Fritz
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Dino Fritz »

Yes, that's the rear spring sag that I need to correct next (another winter job!). I reckon that the full tank of petrol in that photo is responsible for 1/2 inch of that sag, but the sagging spring is responsible for the other 1/2 inch!

More work to follow,

Dino
Jensens.........when does it ever end!
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by taximan »

Goodyear F1s a nice grippy tyre, are you planning to paint the wheel inner sections as the 15s were? spoke definition so much better me thinks. Nice car.
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DaveAK
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by DaveAK »

Where did you get the calipers from? I like them! Did you get rears too?
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Dino Fritz
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Re: Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III

Post by Dino Fritz »

The 6 pot "Monster" Hispec calipers were sourced from Andy, but I filled the Hi SPEC MOTORSPORT engraving with a high temp epoxy (JB Weld), sanded them back and repainted them. Then I had the high temp vinyl stickers printed, stuck them on the calipers and had the calipers clear coated.

Backs are still the standard calipers, but I had them repainted and added a smaller sticker set to match the fronts.

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If I had to do it again, I think that you can order the 6 pot calipers as blanks (without writing), but Andy has been in touch with HiSpec and gone one step further, discovering that they can engrave the JENSEN lettering onto the caliper.

HiSpec also build a rear caliper with an integrated handbrake which looks like a promising upgrade for the rear brakes.............
Jensens.........when does it ever end!
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