GT 30071 (aka Man-shed)

[NigelK]

Dear Forum Users

After 8 months of ownership, expenses incurred on parts and labour well in excess of the original purchase price, countless trips to Halfords, 100s of hours Googling how to resolve various technical mysteries, the achievement of under-dash body contortions I did not think were bio-mechanically possible, and the asking of innumerable naive questions posted here and on the JHPS forum, I have finally achieved nirvana.

Yes, everything (and I mean everything) on my GT works. And it doesn't leak. OK, admittedly the PO had done all the hard mechanical and bodywork yards. My role was, by comparison, going through the punch list and remedying defects. But this is not to say it was not time-consuming. Indeed, as a result of the number of times I have furtively disappeared down to the garage over the last few months, my partner has christened the car "Man-shed" (pronounced as in Manfred Mann).

The process has been frustrating at times, but I have learned a great deal. Enormous thanks are due, in particular to Lewi and Patrick at Pale Classics, to Jason and Alison at Rejen, to Keith Jackson at Martin Robey, and to Andy Brooks at Appleyards. And also to all of you who have provided invaluable help and advice over the Forum and by email. I hope my more naive questions have not been too irritating and that, by sharing my experiences (and mistakes) I have given something back. I feel lucky to be part of the Jensen owners' community. It is great.

The question now is what to do next? Get out and enjoy the car is at the top of the list. I shall perhaps also perform some sort of rain dance / chant mantras to keep the Prince of Darkness away. Oh, and then there's the 2.2 litre conversion next month...

Best wishes,
Nigel

[Han Kamp]

Well done ! I am sure you will enjoy driving the GT

Han Kamp
former owner of 30405

[Chris_R]

Pictures?

[NigelK]

Yes! To be honest, I am rather sheepish about posting photos, a) because I am cr*p at taking them (see below), and b) because to the untrained eye there is not much to show for 8 months of work and expenditure. But then again we're all trained eyes here, and I thought it would be helpful to add a list of major works actually done regardless. So here goes:

Exterior
• Front and rear window weatherstrips replaced
• Door seals, secondary seals and hinge seals replaced. B pillar seals replaced
• Tailgate hatch and tailgate seals replaced. Tailgate glass refitted and resealed
• Windscreen refitted and resealed, header seal replaced
• Front wing GT badges refurbished and installed. Rear valance Jensen badge installed
• Replica Carello front indicator repeaters installed
• Tex wing mirrors fitted
• Factory fit 185/70 R13 tyres fitted

Interior
• Factory fit steering wheel refurbished and installed
• Tailgate lift struts replaced. Tailgate hinges refurbished. Rear screen demister grid replaced, correct switch fitted
• Rear screen washer bottle / pump replaced
• Javelin radio/cassette player converted to AM/FM/MP3 player and internal antenna installed
• Heater core flushed, blower motor circuitry repaired, correct fan boost switch fitted
• Kienzle clock refurbished
• Air vent and clock surrounds repainted silver
• Rear window weatherstrips replaced
• Courtesy light circuitry repaired

Under the Bonnet
• Timing belt, distributor cap, spark plug leads and plugs replaced
• Accuspark points replacement unit and high performance coil fitted
• Radiator re-cored and refurbished, hoses replaced
• DHLA40E carburettors rebuilt, engine tuned
• Replica Lucas 9H high and low note horns fitted

Other Mechanical
• Spax adjustable shock absorbers fitted front and rear
• Front coil springs replaced, n/s front coil spring packer removed
• Rear suspension bushes replaced

The above excludes a lot of cleaning and degreasing, especially the interior (me) and under the bonnet (Lewi and Patrick). The latter is apparent below.

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I think the GT looks best from this angle. Note the (waterproof) seal around the tailgate.

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The seat corduroy looks better here than it really is, and the driver's seat foam is nearly shot. Once I've found the right fabric, the seats will be sent to Rejen.

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[NigelK]

I removed the Lucas square 8 driving lamps, because they weren't wired correctly and kept blowing the headlight fuse. The headlight surrounds are cracked and need to be repaired, I'll also get the inner surfaces painted satin black, and improve the fit of the front wing beneath the surround.

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Replacing the front coil springs and removing the packer fitted to the n/s front coil spring only (??) has improved the car's previously noticeable lean to the o/s. It's not perfect now, but it is a lot better than it was.

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I don't like the way the wheels have been painted, and will get them properly refurbished to the original factory appearance in the Spring. I will install the black/chrome body side molding in 2016 after I've had the car resprayed. The current paint job looks OK from a distance, but close up it is pretty horrible with lots of micro-blistering and a few runs. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed the lack of a spare wheel under the car - I managed to find an original but very rotten spare wheel carrier at Rejen and yesterday delivered it to my local welding shop for repair / fabrication of an identical replacement.

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[Chris_R]

Well, since I asked for them, let me be the first to say "very nice". The pictures are just fine and the car does indeed look nice. Yes, you may have some other things you want to do but it's substantially all there and all OK.
Almost makes me want one (if I had the space). Thank you for putting them up.

[Han Kamp]

Looking fine already! You will encounter problems finding the correct fabric for the interior though, at least I did several years ago.....

Found a way around it that looked pretty nice, see photo.

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[NigelK]

Hi Han

Yes, that does look nice! I know the name of the fabric (3.5 wale upholstery corduroy) and it is still being made, albeit in China with a 1000 meter minimum order. More than enough to re-upholster all of the existing GTs worldwide, most likely! At some point in the next few weeks I'm going to visit Goldhawk Road in London, which is THE place to go in the UK if you're searching for rare fabric. If they can't help, then the next option will be to ask Rejen to bleach some of the remnant blue corduroy they have, and then dye it to the correct beige colour (assuming this is possible)...

That gearstick gaiter is unusual - did you convert to the Toyota W58 gearbox?

Best wishes,
Nigel

[NigelK]

Thanks Chris! Can I add you to the small but growing group of Interceptor/SP/FF owners (Zac, Russell Johnson) who are closet GT fans? It's OK to admit it!

[Chris_R]

Thanks Chris! Can I add you to the small but growing group of Interceptor/SP/FF owners (Zac, Russell Johnson) who are closet GT fans? It's OK to admit it!

You may, but for me there are 4 missing cylinders in the engine compartment.

[Lotus Mike]

looks fantastic .Well done.pictures look great enjoy .Mike

[Han Kamp]

Hi Han

That gearstick gaiter is unusual - did you convert to the Toyota W58 Gearbox?

The gaiter was fitter by the previous owner, the car had the stock Getrag gearbox.

[NigelK]

Dear Forum Users

I got up at sparrow f*rt this morning to take Man-shed 85 miles up the Fosse Way to LotusBits for installation of a hybrid 907/912HC engine and big bore exhaust system. This was by some way the longest journey I'd ever driven in the GT. I was quietly confident that I'd make it in one piece, and my confidence was not misplaced. But the Prince of Darkness did throw a couple of spanners in the works, one of which was decidedly inconvenient. Even though it was a dry and crisp morning, there was enough crud coming up off the road and off other vehicles to cake the windscreen pretty quickly, so inevitably the front washer pump decided to stop working.

This necessitated stops at every service station on route (and there are not very many on the Fosse Way) to wash the screen by hand. At the first of these stops, I (lazily) decided to adjust the n/s wing mirror from the driver's seat through the passenger's side electric window. Which then promptly decided it didn't want to close completely. Faced with the prospect of freezing in a blast of cold air while struggling to see the road at all, I applied some elbow grease and managed to get the window to close eventually. First job when I get Man-shed back is to apply teflon spray liberally to the window channels.

Everything mechanical worked just fine. As did the heater. When I got to LotusBits, Mike Taylor showed me a 2.2l engine he's just completed for a J-H owner, and it looked sensational. As did the stainless big bore exhaust he's had fabricated, complete with a rear silencer box almost identical to the factory fit version. Mike also dug up a replacement washer bottle from an Elite/Eclat which is exactly the same as the NLA square Tudor bottle/pump fitted to my GT, but without the integral pump on the side. It even fits into the same bracket, unlike the one I bought to replace the rear washer/pump assy, which failed earlier this year (funny that...). A separate pump mounted on the bulkhead battery bracing below the bonnet hinge will complete the installation.

Mike took me for a drive in Man-shed and reckons the engine is a little down on power and too tight above 4000rpm. He's taking it to the rolling road next week before the engine rebuild and it will be interesting to compare the before and after bhp and torque curves. He quite liked the Getrag 235 box (although not so much that he'll ever prefer it to the W58 box) but thought the steering rack might be worn. Possibly another job for later this year.

I will post photos and rolling road charts as and when I receive them. I have to admit that this is all rather exciting

Best wishes,
Nigel

[NigelK]

Dear Forum Users

An update. Progress with the 907/912 HC hybrid engine upgrade has been slower than expected, largely because the powder coaters took ages to redo the cam covers. Still, the engine arrived back at LotusBits last Thursday and looks very clean (see pictures), although I won't yet refer to it as a "slant-phwoar" (cheesy, but I couldn't resist it ) until the carbs (Dellorto 45s with the power jets) and other ancillaries have been fitted.

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As I've written elsewhere on the forum (http://www.joc.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... 0&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), I finally surrendered to the inevitable and had the Getrag 235/5 removed in favour of a Toyota W58 gearbox from a Lotus Excel. What made the decision for me in the end was the damage to the Getrag input shaft which Mike Taylor discovered - caused by an incorrectly installed clutch cover. I've had a bespoke leather gear knob made up with the Jensen GT badge, to replace the old one which has the wrong shift pattern it. Mike should be cracking on with the W58 installation next week - he'll need to convert it to cable clutch actuation, and fabricate a new gearbox mounting, gear lever extension and propshaft.

I'm not yet sure whether the factory fit 3.45:1 cwp diff will be too tall for the W58 gearbox (which is generally taller geared than the Getrag) notwithstanding there'll be more engine torque post upgrade. Different people have different views here, and I reckon it depends whether one's priority is off-the-line performance or quieter motorway cruising. I won't be able to decide until I've got the GT back and lived with it for a while, but as an insurance policy I've just bought a low mileage 3.73:1 cwp axle off a Healey and am tarting it up, and learning about half shafts and Lockheed drum brakes in the process. So I'll be able to swap out the axle if I want more acceleration off the line.

Aside from the engine and gearbox installation, Mike will also be fitting new front sub frame mountings (which will hopefully address the body lean once and for all), and also taking the GT back to Northampton Motorsport for another dyno run. I'm looking forward to a significant increase in bhp and torque, compared with the pre-upgrade dyno run which indicated the engine was rather tired (http://www.joc.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10483" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

I'm also looking forward to seeing the new spare wheel carrier on the car. Paul McElhinney fabricated it beautifully, using as a template a very rusty original which I picked up from Rejen.

I'm hoping to get the GT back towards the end of May, and then show it off at the Bristol Classic Car Show in mid-June. Fingers crossed!

Best wishes,
Nigel

[NigelK]

Nearly finished! I visited LotusBits this morning, and they reckon they're about 2 weeks away from completing the engine rebuild, which has turned into an engine rebuild / gearbox upgrade / major chassis repair job. The rebuilt 907/912HC hybrid is back in the car, the gearbox is installed with the custom gearbox mounting and shifter, the o/s rearmost sub-frame mounting in the chassis rail has been repaired and all the sub-frame / chassis bushings replaced so the car doesn't lean to one side anymore, and the big bore exhaust is trial-fitted.

Mike Taylor and his team have also had to replace the oil cooler which was shot and would have distributed metal particles around my newly rebuilt engine, and discovered that the original engine had 3x Lotus 9.5:1 CR pistons, and 1x Jensen Healey 8.0:1 piston fitted. I was wondering why the compression readings from one cylinder were a little low. They've also replaced the engine mountings, one of which was held together with silicone sealant. This, together with the incorrectly attached clutch plate which had destroyed the spigot bearing and damaged the gearbox input shaft, which was discovered when the engine and gearbox were first pulled at the start of the job, makes me relieved I decided to get all these major works done before putting some serious miles on the car.

I am particularly pleased with the new exhaust - it is custom made by LotusBits for the Excel (http://lotusbits.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11 ... steel.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) but they've also fabricated a version for the Jensen Healey / GT with two boxes (together longer than the original three boxes, so hopefully quieter), which looks pretty much identical from the rear of the car, but looks the absolute dog's b*ll*cks from underneath, as you can see from these pictures...

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You can also see the back of the Toyota W58 gearbox, the custom gearbox mounting (which still needs a little fettling) and the custom one-piece propshaft in this picture.

Hopefully works should be finished next week, and the following week Man-Shed gets his new MOT (fingers crossed) and returns to Northampton Motorsport for the post engine rebuild dyno run...