Diary of a 1974 Interceptor Mk III
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:15 pm
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.
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.
Fast forward almost eight years later, and you have the final result.
I?ll be posting some more photos soon on the current upgrade I?m undertaking (17 inch rims and big brake kit).
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.
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.
Fast forward almost eight years later, and you have the final result.
I?ll be posting some more photos soon on the current upgrade I?m undertaking (17 inch rims and big brake kit).
