The Healey Jensen Connection

[witkowski]

lovely "Jensen" logo!

[Frankoid]

Another lovely logo, 100/1083..with COL Chrysler N0 61

[felixkk]

francis, what a lovely, lovely car you have got! unfortunately nothing new in the 541 V8 matter- it was worth a try! see you in stratford (-UPON-AVON)!?

felix

[Frankoid]

Yours is also a lovely car of great historical importance.

[Frankoid]

Yours is also a lovely car of great historical importance. SEA 770, the 541"R" V8 prototype. 541/222 was an experimental chassis from 1958 fitted with a Chrysler Hemi V8. The steering column was adapted to fit around the engine, among other changes including a full 541R speck body. It was used by Richard Jensen and is mentioned in the minutes of a board room meeting. Donald Healey would have known this car, probably drove it and must have been very keen on it too. Jensen Motors planned to put it in production for the American market and probably when USA V8 engines were easier to import for the home market too. Like the 3 EXP 541S prototypes, it left the factory with an Austin 4 litre engine. However it remains an elusive one-off. Cant wait to see it in its full glory.
Has anyone got photo's of this car in its original in"car"nation particularly with the bonnet up showing the engine? Any information would be gratefully received!

[felixkk]

SEA 770 , 541/222 was an experimental chassis from 1958 fitted with a Chrysler Hemi V8. It was used by Richard Jensen and is mentioned in the minutes of a board room meeting. The steering column was adapted to fit round the engine, among other changes including a full 541R speck body. Like the 3 EXP 541S prototypes, it left the factory with an Austin 4 litre engine. Has anyone got photo's of this car in its original in"car"nation particularly with the bonnet up showing the engine? Any information would be gratefully received!

thanks for the plug, francis. as francis mentioned an original picture of the engine bay w/ the hemi (which you had viewed in the eighties) would be worth its weight in gold (or more). I think I've exhausted most avenues. the one person I haven't contacted yet is ian orford. you had mentioned him, and len drake had contact with him concerning joerg's hemiceptor. I also read in a JOC magazine that he was a member of the hemi association.

I had once joked with jane and dave turnage that only once the car is completed more information will turn up. and... my fellow jensenites here in switzerland have said that with the 541 V8 ready, I will be needing the body moulds frequently.

[Frankoid]

Hi Felix.
I have amended the Jensen Motors experimental chassis data table to include 541/222, amongst others. It is interesting to note the adjacent 2 chassis to 541/222 were retained as spares. I wonder what became of them. I cant help but to think that Jensens had V8's in mind for these cars too.......The adjacent chassis to Donald Healeys 100/1121, 100/1122 was also retained as a spare.

[Frankoid]

These cutaway diagrams are from period motoring magazines showing the Jensen CV8 FF peripheral chassis frame. Note the slanted radiator not carried over to the Vignale FF.
The passenger seat of the FF is about 2" narrower than the drivers seat, giving another obstacle for conversion to LHD.

[Nick Maltby]

I am delighted that my original post has generated so much correspondence even though most of it has not been on the title subject. In fact the theme of most of the correspondence has been the development of the FF model. This has been most interesting and very informative.
There are couple of points I would like to raise:-
1. Amongst the List of Exp. Chassis numbers etc. that Francis submitted, there is an entry which says '1960 Jensen appoints Kevin Beattie as Chief Engineer'.
I think this should read 'Chief Chassis Engineer'. You might think that I am being pedantic in making this distinction but at the Carters Green factory the chassis and body drawing offices were located on opposite sides of the factory and were very distinct. Kevin was based in the Chassis d.o. and Eric Neale, the chief body engineer, was based in the body d.o.
If anyone was to have the title 'Chief Engineer' it would be Eric . He had been at Jensen much longer than Kevin, had made a significant contribution and was close to the Jensen brothers. I hope that you can now see why I challenge the entry in the records. If it is a verbatim record then what did that make Eric?

2. The chassis frame line drawings, taken from the servicing manuals, submitted by Francis, have the wrong titles; the one on the FF drawing should be on the Interceptor drawing and vice versa. This error must have been on the original documents.

I can tell you that the subject of my original post - the Healey Jensen relationship, is still live between me and the Healey Museum Nl. The curators are very sympathetic to the idea and now accept how important Jensen was to not only the build of the A .H. 100> but also its development. Han Kamp's article on the Jensen - Healey has now been published by the Dutch A. H. Club and has also received an enthusiastic reception by the Healey Museum Nl.
Nick

[Frankoid]

Hi Nick.

Your comment on Kevin Beatties role as chief chassis engineer has been duly noted and corrected on the EXP chassis data list. Many thanks for pointing it out. He was appointed Deputy Chief Engineer on 01/01/60, in the days before new years day bank holiday. Your first hand experience in designing Jensens flagship model, the FF, is illuminating for enthusiasts to hear. What else is evidenced is that Jensen Motors and Donald Healey Motor Company benefited from their joint collaborations in their own marques

I have found this about Donald Healey on the origins of the Chrysler Hemi V8

http://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/2013 ... lverstone/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Healey Silverstone used the 4-cylinder 2,443cc Riley engine that Healey had been using in their earlier 4-place coupes and convertibles. This was the same engine that had been used by the successful ERA race cars in the late 1930s. These engines had hemispherical combustion chambers. In fact, the Chrysler engineers tested a number of engines in the early 1950s and found that the Healey engines were the most efficient of the engines available at that time. As a result of that testing, Chrysler decided to use the hemispherical combustion chamber in their V8 engine designs. Therefore the early Healey cars have a direct link to the famous Chrysler ?Hemi? V8 engines.

1957 Austin Healey 104 with Chrysler Hemi 331ci V8






I believe Donald Healey had a hand in Jensens decision to use Chrysler engines because of their shared cutting edge engineering reputations . The odd car was made in the 50's but soon Jensen was to become synonymous with Chrysler powered cars, starting with the CV8.
I too would like to find out more about Donald Healeys involvement with Jensen Motors, particularly his building of the 541S V8. I visited "Trebah", his home in Cornwall, and whilst they only had a small model of an Austin Healey in acknowledgement of his involvement there, as a garden alone it was worth a visit. As a Jensen "nut" I could not help but to notice the close proximity of "Trebah" to the small town of Portloe , where the Jensen 541S brochure is set. Did Healey have a say in this?

Francis

[Frankoid]

An article about the the first production Austin Healey being restored. The tag JM 4136 (sideways 1) 24 must refer to Jensen Motors. Is "JM 4136" a Jensen job number? On the second page Jensen is referenced.

http://www.acmefluid.com.au/larry/24.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Joerg]

Dear Francis

How did you know about the British registration number of INT 363464?
When the car returned from Canada we had no idea about it and today it is on an age related registration.
The gearbox is a heavily modified Austin Sheerline unit with overdrive, no Moss box, I had it rebuild over the winter and do the Hemi at present.

Best Regards

Joerg

[zacmarshall]

I am in the process of tidying up the scans of magazines done by John Lane and converting them to PDFs.

Given the comments about the C-V8 FF before I thought this page from issue 100 may be of interest

[Frankoid]

Hi Zac.

The CV8 FF, JM/EXP/110 was certified "scrapped".therefore not converted by Vignale.


. The magazine issue 100 shows pictures of JM/EXP/110, then the first Interceptor based on the CV8 chassis 104/2142.


Note the 541/CV8 wheels...
The details on the early transmissions is sketchy. The 541 Mk11 notes say "Moss Box". I will send jorge a PM

[Per]

Hello Francis
A year ago or more it was written that the CV8 FF still existed as a pile of parts. That does not tally entirely with certified scrapping? Do you have any more facts on this?