The Jensen Owners' Club

Dear Members,

Greetings for Los Angeles !

I went to the storage to install the MK 2 rims and tires to my MK 2.

The car was painted about 5 years ago in BMW Oxford green and it is a descent paint job.

Unfortunately, there were large cracks in the paint on the roof and a large crack on the drivers side fender !

Maybe a tree branch fell on the car, as the previous owner lived up in the mountains of Northern California.

Anyway large paint pieces began to crack and peel off the roof, see photos( nice reflection of the palm trees on the roof )

Also there must have been an accident to the fender as there were now thin fender cracks in the paint.

So we starting pressing on the cracks and a whole piece of bondo just broke off !

So we need to take all the bondo off the fender and fix the roof paint and paint the car.

If it becomes to much work then instead of painting the damaged Oxford Green paint , then I paint the car the color of silver ?

Here is a photo of a silver MK 2 which I like !

Anyway idea's and sarcastic British comments welcome !

Cheers Steven.

Hi Steven,

Ouch - that’s not a nice thing to find, especially as it was in storage.

If I were a betting man, I’d say that your problem was that whoever painted the car didn’t prep it correctly, so after a few years, what you’re seeing is the primer coming off the metalwork.

Have a chat with a good painter, and they may be able to confirm / deny my thoughts.

If the guy who painted the car is still around, I’d be having a word with him too!

Cheers, Dino

Here’s what my body & paint guy said after he saw the pictures....

I said...

Doesn't it suck when all your Bondo cracks off at the same time!

He said...

It does suck. A lot of wanna-be painters and body guys around.

Looks like they didn't prep the surface properly. Looks rusted.

There are a few guys around that work out of their garage. No license, no paint booth, they don't pay taxes, etc.... People want cheap.... These guys deliver.

Onto the color.... I have a silver car, that one you posted looks good, it’s silver roof really changes the look.

But there are lots of silver Interceptors (or gunmetal grey) in the US these days!

If I didn’t have such a nice paint job, and it wasn’t such a project, I might take my car back to the original tangerine, or some other bright ‘70s color.

Why not? That was the look back in the day, and these cars are intended to make a bold statement!

Actually I thought the green looked good, too!

Dear Dino and Rocky,

Thanks for your comments !

Should I peel the whole paint off the roof and just repaint the roof in Oxford Green for now ?

My brother said just glue the fender piece back on the car and just enjoy driving it for now ?

I would rather work on the interior and mechanical stuff, than spend the time and money on
the paint right now, the overall paint is not bad.

I found one painted in a similar color in Europe here is the photo ?

With all this cracking etc, if may well take stripping the whole paint with a sand blaster down to
the bare metal and start again.

Still a great car !

Cheers Steven.

Your car does look nice, especially with the new wheels. I don't think you have much choice, you really do need to strip it down to bare metal, as it will be hiding some other nasties which can all be addressed properly. Get the interior and mechanical stuff done first so as not to risk damaging new paint, but don't do anything with the headliner, as this will need to come off to address that roof dent. So for now, treat the rust and patch the bits up so it looks presentable and then use it whilst mending it. I think these cars look good in dark greens and blues and as Rocky says the 60's/70's psychedelic colours.

Hi Steven.

I don't have any answers, but certainly feel for you. That's a real shame -but fixable.

The last photo you posted is from an annual car show in Sydney Australia, and yes that's a nice Mk.2.

I like the look of the tire profile on your car - are they 225/60/15 ??

Best wishes to you, and I hope your car is repaired and back on the road soon.

Kind regards,

Matt

I think I agree with your brother. Make the car look presentable at minimum cost, and ensure the mechanicals and electricals operate properly.

Enjoy the car while you are doing that.

(In my opinion). The car is going to need a complete, down to the metal preparation when it comes for painting. Painting will be a big project.

Don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to do too much all at the same time. It looks good - drive it until you’re ready to lay it up for a major painting project.

Rocky

Unfortunately, there's a lot of filler lurking under that paint, by the looks of it. I guess filler may have been used to get the lines of the car sharp (best case scenario but not practice) or to cover rust or accident damage.

Personally, while no body expert, Id get all the plop off it. Ideally the whole car, but perhaps limited to front end and roof panel and work it back up from there.

Good luck (still like the car!)

Typically a restoration USA style. We see a lot of this on USA imported cars of any make. The plasterers are absolute artists on working with bondo.
The only way is to strip the whole car to make an assessment of the damage and act accordingly.
I am sorry but there is no way around it. After all you want to be driving in a safe car.

Fit a full length sunroof? Black Vinyl roof? Both require the roof to be in reasonable shape, but not perfect. How bad is the roof, in terms of dents and ripples?? Obviously the wing will require stripping and full repairs at some point, but you could bodge it and enjoy a year or two driving around without worrying about damaging your paint. I do like the current colour.

>With all this cracking etc, if may well take stripping the whole paint with a sand blaster down to the bare metal and start again.

Never sand blast an Interceptor. You stand a good chance of ruining the car forever. By all means, soda blast it to get the paint off but, if the car has had a thick wipe of bondo all over, you will have to chip it off and fix the underlying issues. Grit blasting will cause so much heat warping that the only solution will be to coat it in bondo again, which is what you are trying not to do. These cars were file finished when they were built. Slabs of bondo is a sure sign that someone has been there since and taken the cheapest route to concealing something nasty.

Hi, Steve. I guess you may have been referring to me when you mentioned "sarcastic British" remarks. If so remember I am Aussie and a gentleman never offends without meaning to. However i think I some time ago I told you to not get involved with that car as life to short. I think, honestly, you should have the car rebodged and sell on to "another, but bigger mug". Many of the guys on our forum would "do" up Stonehenge as a home garage hobby. Whatever...good luck. Kenny38

That's certainly a bad spell of luck.
I really like those wheels & tyres.

A sunroof just does more damage in my book. Interceptor roofs are not available. I would rather buy a car and unexpectedly find bondo like you have, than have a sunroof or Webasto, and I do really like and enjoy having a Webasto on the cars. It is great in England 3 days a year.

For now I would check the chassis on a ramp for hidden damage or rot, maybe unlikely in California? Then keep driving while fuel is cheap.

Good morning from sunny Los Angeles !

Thank you for all your valuable comments.

I decided to show the damage to the roof and fender of my MK 2 to show that the car was not perfect and that
a fifty year old car may have had a few dents and body damage over the years.

I tend to look at the big picture when it comes to cars and am not going to let some mechanical or body
issues spoil my appreciation for a car. ALL ISSUES CAN BE CORRECTED WITH TIME AND MONEY !

I called the seller I bought the car from and he kindly gave me the number of the guy who sold him the car.

It turned out the guy was an English guy very nice and he was the one who gave my seller the MK 2 rims and a pair
of original very nice MK 3 front seats free of charge, which I now have, shown in a previous post.

The previous owner told me that he indeed damaged the drivers side fender and had it repaired with bondo and the roof
was given a coat before painting. Because of the damage to the fender,he decided not to paint it the original color again,
and to paint the car another color which was this BMW Oxford green.
This was about ten years ago and the paint overall still looks good.

So there we are not a federal case as many of the comments suggested !

I agree with RockyUSA I will just patch the paint damage and enjoy the car before I decide on a full paint stripping and repaint.
There will be no sunroofs,no sandblasting, no vinyl roof, no stripping and painting for now, I just want to drive it and enjoy it for what it is.

Thank you again Kenny38 " thanks mate "for your kind comments, unfortunately this is not the same car that was discussed in an earlier post.
This is my third Interceptor a MK 2, the other car was a 1974 MK 3, here is a photo of that car to remind you, I want to revive this car from the ashes of time.

Once again, I am happy to share my trials and tribulations of buying old Interceptors and want to show it is not all smooth sailing,
but still a pleasure being involved with Interceptors.

Have a wonderful week wherever you are !

Regards Cheers Steven.