Positive experience of using a true specialist mechanic

[Mark1Stu]

Over the last 20+ years I've supported all the main Jensen specialists. To my mind, Jim Smith who runs and advertises only on Facebook as 'Jim's Autos' (he shares the premises known as J&S Automotive with his friend Steve) based in Stourport on Severn is another specialist I would recommend to Jensen owners. Not only is he a Mopar man (he's owned a '70s 440 Dodge Challenger for over 20 years which easily puts out 500bhp, yet is still tractable on the road), he also worked with Ian Orford for 20 years immediately after his time heading up Jensen Parts and Service.

Anyhow, I recently presented Jim with my MK3 Interceptor fresh out of body restoration with a severe engine vibration. The car had only driven 200 miles in over a decade, and had had numerous mechanical parts reinstated during its recommission (carb, J series engine pulleys, modern air-con upgrade). Thus Jim had a number of mechanical variables to assess, including the engine's history of a replacement crank. Jim's genuine love for his work and knowledge of big block Mopars led him to systematically narrow down the causes of the vibration to deliver a sweet running, strong pulling engine which exceeded my expectations on test drive. Basically: the engine was scavaging fuel on one bank at low revs due to a block jet, which in turn caused one of the Champion plugs to cook and occasionally drop out of spark (Jim often finds this with Champions thus prefers NGKs), the autobox mount was shot (Jim reuses the stronger original metal bush mounting bracket rather than use the thinner grade aftermarket examples), the nearside engine mount was loose on both the crossmember and engine side, and the offside mount was also past its best. He also checked all the ancillary pulleys were flat and serviceable, and ran the engine without belts momentarily to rule out substandard replacement parts as the cause.

On reflection, I'm convinced a less scrupulous or competent mechanic would've quickly taken me down the road of an engine rebuild (given the engine's history). OK, I was lucky in the root cause of the problem, but more importantly for knowing Jim, his high standard of work, and for finding a slot in his busy schedule to take on my car.
If any fellow Jensen owner is reading this post with either a sick or under performing car, I urge you to give Jim a call. Not only is Jim a true American engine specialist and enthusiast, the cost of his services are in the real world too (do read his Facebook business profile) - so also paying to have my car transported to his premises didn't break my overall budget.

[Keith]

I thought I was looking at Matthew Green's car there Mark, and that's definitely a compliment!

Excellent recommendation. Jim has also obviously spent time with you explaining exactly what the problems (and solutions) were.

[Mark1Stu]

Thanks Keith. Matthew Green's car is an all time favourite of mine - having seen it at a number of Internationals over the years.

As an aside, Matthew should've won a trophy for sartorial elegance whilst participating in concours. I can still see him polishing his car wearing grey flannels and navy double breasted jacket with handkerchief poking out of the breast pocket. A true gentleman owner.

Stu

[Mark1Stu]

I spoke to Jim today for advice. Helpful as always, he asked whether I could clarify my original post above (which I've now done) to ensure people are directed to Jim's sole advertising medium, which is Facebook - search Jim's Autos. Reason: some Jensen owners initially search for J&S Automotive, which is the website his friend Steve uses to advertise his separate business.

Apologies for any confusion.

Stuart

[mojo]

who runs and advertises only on Facebook

This is not intended as negative commentary on the company in any way, but... it's odd that a business should choose to have a presence on Facebook only. There must be lots of potential customers who do not use Facebook (in my case by deliberate choice), who will never find out about his services. IIRC, the last basic website that I had set up (for a club that I'm a member of) cost £50 to create and almost nothing in hosting costs per year!

[Mark1Stu]

I agree. Jim deserves his own web-site. I think as a sole trader sharing a business unit he's simply too busy and gets enough work from his existing customers, word of mouth, and from Facebook. And when he's got spare time, he's either tinkering with his Dodge Challenger (which will be hurtling down Santa Pod this weekend) or playing in a band.

He is contactable via the business card number though.

[mojo]

That's a fair point - if you're busy enough and don't have any desire to be busier, then why make life harder for yourself? So perhaps it's his own way of controlling his own workload!

[BrummieJay]

I would highly recommend Jim to service any Jensen and also any American muscle car. He is a very highly skilled mechanic and knows his way around a Jensen inside out.

This is the first time in 25 years that the car has been serviced and worked on (prior to this, car was dry stored in a garage). Jim has gone thru with in detail and has outlined all the issues with the car and give me a list of things that needed to be fixed. He has also managed to fix numerous issues that i could did not notice in the first place.

To cut a long story short. He knows what he is doing on these cars and would trust him on any Jensen or American Muscle engined car to work on. Also helps that he worked on the Jensen factory in the 80's, so his knowledge is extensive, to say the least. He is also passionate about these cars and takes great pride in what he does.

Also. He had another customer who brought his car in for work that needed to be carried out. He found numerous issues with that vehicle, which was given a clean bill of health by a previous mechanic.

2 Red 383 Jensen interceptors in the same garage at the same time.... at the same garage.. Cannot go wrong.

[Mark1Stu]

Glad you also had a positive experience of using Jim Smith’s services. Jim certainly knows how to tune a Jensen….and fix all their mechanical maladies…..including dealing with previous bodgery by others.