1974 Interceptor Convertible Restoration Project

[Dino Fritz]

Hi everyone,

Well, with much thanks to Andy and Brooks and Mark Donohue, I've now joined the rarefied ranks of multiple Jensen ownership. And to make it worse, I must have forgotten the pain of restoring my first Mk III Interceptor, and bought another project car.

2340/9501 is an early 1974 Mk III Interceptor Convertible, which has been a significant project for the previous owner, and now I'll be attempting to restore and complete the car.

Whilst the car arrived two months ago, my focus for 2022 will be completing our home extension and restoration, and in the meantime, I'll be going through the parts that came with the car and trying to identify the parts that I have, and the parts that are missing. So in the coming months, be prepared for several posts looking for some information / advice / parts for the car.

I may double up on some posts both here and on some Jensen Facebook sites to see which ones work the best, but in the meantime here are some photos of the car, both in the UK in 2021 and here on its arrival back in late February.

Wish me luck (I'm going to need it on this one....)

Dino F
Adelaide, South Australia

[Series3Jensen]

Dino

Very good to see you undertaking another project
It looks like the previous owner has completed much,if not all of the bodywork

This is an interesting car as i have it recorded, in its earlier life, as being stolen and not recovered in 08.1981 - see JOC Magazine 47 01.1982
Original Registration No WLO 111 M
The last Logbook was issued 30.04.2003
The car reappeared with a JOC Owner in Bridgenorth in circa 2009

Enjoy the journey with this car and look forward to seeing updates on its progress

Jim Smith
Mem No 1639
136/8791 RJF 17 Owned since September 1978

[kenny38]

Oh, Dino, Dino! you promised your missus. You could have bought Roger imrie's convertible in excellent well kept condition via DudleyProudfoot for $130K. Really how will that done price compare with the end price on this once was lost and now am found car (there's a song there some where) together with all the pain associated over next .....how many years? The house comes first and then the hoovering. Go well. You are a lovely optomist and eventually Heaven has a place reserved for you in the main dining hall seated with Morris Minor tragics. Are you going to the national rally? kenny38

[RockyUSA]

Dino’s efforts will result in one more Jensen Marque car on the road, and at car shows and not deteriorating.

I applaud him.

Will be watching for updates!

You Go, Dino!

[Dino Fritz]

Oh yes the house extension does come first for 2022, and unfortunately I don't do anything by halves (here are some photos for Grant 'cos I know he loves timber frames). The carpenter is calling it "La Chiesetta" (which is "Little Church / Chapel" in italian).

And as luck would have it, in the middle of planning (and starting to pay) for all of this last year, the opportunity to buy the convertible came up.

KHB, I'd love to be coming to the rally this year, I really, really, really would, but next week they'll be breaking the ceiling in the existing kitchen and meals area and I envisage the missus would hit the roof when she sees the resulting mess (just think of me at the rally next week - I could have been there with you all to avoid the aftershock ).

And Jim, yes, you're right about the car's history - almost all of the parts are there and I'm going through all of the boxes Vs the parts manual cataloguing what I have and what I'm missing. I suspect I'll need to source some parts from a std Mk III (like headlight bowls, town and air horns, fuel flap, chrome strips surrounding the front door trims, etc.), plus some of the rarer convertible trim parts (latches, interior lights, some boot panels, etc.), but that will be the focus for this year. I'm really going to be leaning on any convertible owners out there for photos and information, so if you car is apart, please take some photos now?

The good news is that we have run the paint thicknesser over the body, and the prep work on the body seems to be VERY good - we got <1.5mm thickness readings almost everywhere (especially on the doors and the lower panels, which is a promising sign), but there is some filler cracking evident near the boot, some light bubbling of paint on the boot, and patches of the clear coat started to peel off when we removed the plastic and tape covering at the back of the car, so the plan is to strip the boot and the rear of the car next year to improve the bodywork here, and to see if any dreaded rust has started to make it's way through the bodywork in the next 6 to 12 months (due to our warmer climate).

Dino

[Dino Fritz]

Hi everyone,

I've gone through the Convertible supplement and the Convertible parts manual in detail, and I haven't found some information that I was after. Could someone please help me with the following questions:

- Interior lighting - I read somewhere that the convertibles had three interior lights, but they're not shown or listed on the parts manual. From photos, I know that two are located just above the interior rear wheel arch, but does anyone have any photos of the third light (is it in the centre console)?

- Rear window switches - I've seen photos where some convertibles have switches for the rear passengers to operate the rear quarterlight windows (I assume???), but once again they're not shown or listed in the parts manual. To confuse things further, some photos of the last of the S4 convertibles don't even have these switches installed. What switches are these (I assume that they are exactly like the front window switches, without any labels), and why were they deleted from the S4's (should my car, 2340/9501 have them)?

- Hood cover fasteners (tenex screws or turnbuckles) - here's another difference between earlier and later convertibles. The parts manual lists tenex screws and fasteners for the hood cover, but I've seen photos of the S4's that use turnbuckles (see attached photo and https://www.holden.co.uk/c/hardware/fix ... za&view=18). I gather that the tenex fasteners are original for my car, but does anyone know the reason for the change for the later S4 convertibles?

- Front latches (hood rail to windscreen) and handle - does anyone have any photos of this area?

I hope that someone can help?

Cheers, Dino

[Peter Rothery]

Hi Dino. The third interior light is unique to the convertible range and is situated at the front of the centre console cubby box as below:

int light.JPG (79.68 KiB) Viewed 2201 times

The switches are NOT for passenger control of quarter windows as these do not operate independently of the hood position unlike a Rolls Royce Corniche for example.

int light2.JPG (76.24 KiB) Viewed 2201 times

They operate the interior lights and passengers are allowed to play with them.....but don't leave the lights on unnecessarily!

This car (a project car) is a bit blocked in the garage at the moment. What aspect of the header rail and latches are you looking to see? Having spoken to Steve J about the car a decade ago, I understand 9501 has been missing the roof latches for many years and unfortunately they are made of pure unobtainium...but could be duplicated with some perseverance!

I don't know why hood cover fasteners were changed but note that Rolls Royce also tried different methods over the years. The later type maybe easier to use but look ugly whereas the early type can be difficult to attach with a tight hood cover and can be less "positive" and prone to popping open.

[Dino Fritz]

Peter,

Thank you so much for the centre console light photo - that explains what I have (see photo).

And light switches at the rear? Wow, I didn’t see that one coming - I thought that the light’s plastic bezel was the rocker switch (mounted on a pivot I assume). Guess I know now why they were deleted on a S4, but I might just check the wiring diagram to confirm whether there was a rear window switch or not?

Regarding the front rail, I really want to see what the handle and the hood latch look like - some people tell me that the LHS and RHS latches are the same, others tell me they are different (a mirror image of each other), so I’m curious to see what the consensus is?

Cheers,
Dino

[Peter Rothery]

Dino

The lights fitted to the Jensen had a fixed glass but I know the type of fitting that you are referring to. I believe they were fitted to the Jaguar XJS and the glass (or plastic...not sure) acted as a rocker switch to turn them on manually.

Again, from a fading memory, the latches are both the same (part number 50085) but the "claw" is on a threaded section which adjusts to the slightly different curvature of the screen rail either side. I will try to take a few pics over the weekend....

[Peter Rothery]

Borrowed from a facebook site:

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hood latch 2.jpg (125.55 KiB) Viewed 2183 times

hood latch3.jpg (135.8 KiB) Viewed 2183 times

hood latch4.jpg (105.6 KiB) Viewed 2183 times

[Dino Fritz]

Peter,

You're right about the latches - on the parts manual, there seems to only be one part number for both. And I did locate a used one several weeks ago and was horrified at the price being asked, so I hope I could obtain a latch from a local club member and have a pair recast (or CNC machined from billet aluminium) for less than the amount that I was quoted!

I checked the wiring diagrams, and you're right about the rear interior lights and the switches (OMG those lights are expensive new -may need to visit the local European car wrecker and hope to salvage a good pair at a reasonable price).

Thanks so much, more questions to come shortly (I think I'm missing some trim and panel parts around the rear seats, I'll try and grab some photos in the coming days).

Cheers,
Dino

[Peter Rothery]

Dino

More pics for you. The first is a bare header rail with the fibreglass cover panel (usually covered in headlining material) in front of it.

IMG_6020 (2).JPG (233.31 KiB) Viewed 2153 times

IMG_6021.JPG (231.54 KiB) Viewed 2153 times

And the grab handle:

IMG_6022.JPG (83.39 KiB) Viewed 2153 times

And the latch itself which comprises more than just the caste parts - a spring, roll pins or rivets and a couple of connecting brackets etc. Not easy to understand how it works from the pictures so getting hold of a pattern may be the best option.

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IMG_6029.JPG (95.39 KiB) Viewed 2153 times

IMG_6036.JPG (95.94 KiB) Viewed 2153 times

[Grant]

Hi DinoMan..Many thanks for the mention and drawing my attention to the new timber framed addition to your house, how wonderful and yes I admire it very much, You are correct in my affection for timber and timber structures..a very versatile material with a warm feeling and always a beautiful smell no matter which wood it is..the bloody stuff keeps moving though!!..Glorious with it,
What a beautiful Convertible you have there Dino, Missing parts is always a problem though and with a convertible even more so, but I see Peter is helping you along nicely there though, good stuff Peter And Peter..What F.B group are you in that posted that pic of the latches then please? I don't want to be missing any info in my short little life I/We have left!!
I do have also have a Convertible Dino, so if you need anything looked at please feel free to ask, mine is a early car much like yours "Was". Yours is really lovely with that S4 interior though, so cool, I just love Recaro seats and love that Cubby in the rear seat divider too, I have never noticed that before in an S4 Convertible.. really cool touch
Dino, I have a friend over here in the Uk and he also has a place in Florida USA..I helped him with some bits for his Convertible, I loaned him my Hood Cover to have another one made and the trimmer came down to me here and took various measurements and made some templates etc, anyway he offered me a new Blue Mohair Hood, not the framework but the tailor made cover, I did actually see it for sale on F.B before he bought it, anyway he doesn't want it now and nor did I as my car is Copper Bronze, I believe he still has it but it's in Florida, but maybe closer to Aus that the Uk is?..I just thought I would mention it to you incase your hood needs replacing and it wasn't expensive from memory?
Dino I love your Convertible..Nice project Dino..Enjoy the brain churning away to get it done..We all need these brain bending projects!!! Also known as Marriage Breakers!! ..Keep intouch sport and ask what ever you need to Ok..Here's a pic of our one here although I couldn't help removing the paint!! then to be sidetracked with building a 40ft swimming pool and never finishing either!! >>
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As always ..Grant

[Peter Rothery]

Grant - Jensen Interceptor Convertible Group on Fb.

[Grant]

Grant - Jensen Interceptor Convertible Group on Fb.

Peter "My Ole Fruit"