Tim Waller - Interceptor MKIII
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 8:47 am
Car of the month belongs to Tim Waller. I am continuously astonished by the time and dedication that owners of our cars put into their vehicles. As an owner myself I am fully aware of the challenges and heartaches that ownership entails. I met Tim Waller and saw his fantastic car a few years ago. I asked Tim if he would give an update of his work as his car was featured before on our site. Over Christmas and in January, Tim has produced a fantastic piece that follows below. Apologies for the size of the photos, however, I have included links to Flicker and Dropbox for those wanting to see more.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fyvl535p4sff ... pFDwa?dl=0
https://www.flickr.com/gp/105796573@N05/43915v
1973 Interceptor - 6 Year Update
When Karan asked me for a ‘small write up with photos’ as an update to my 2013 article in the JOC magazine about completing a restoration, I thought maybe a page or two. It is good to keep a log and take lots of photos to be reminded of the effort it takes to keep the beast alive. Much of the list was not anticipated as apparently the clock runs out on a number of things at around 70,000 miles or 45 years. With no restoration background, I was saved by a lot of fine people who share their experience and expertise on our forum and in person and other skilled tradesmen who enjoy the challenge of a rare find like a Jensen.
So here are the highlights from six years after the restoration:
1. After my last Fleetwood Mac tape tied itself in a knot, I replaced the Lear-Jet with an Alpine head unit and Kenwood amplifier with new speakers and big subwoofers jammed into the rear quarter panels. New walnut console veneer by Madera in California.
This is not the best use of restoration money if you also have a loud exhaust…
2. Removed and recolored all the leather and replaced carpet to match the ‘dark graphite metallic’ paint. Leather paint was SEM Sure-Coat water based ‘midnight black’, carpet was ‘dark slate’ from AutoMat in Hicksville, New York. Leather painting is not difficult, just average attention to detail and fear of failure is needed. I had never considered doing it myself until the guy I hired quit, then showed me in detail how to do it. There are still genuinely great people you can be lucky enough to find!
3. Added StreetWires ZERONoise sound deadener (the cheaper alternative) all around and Luxury Liner/38 dense foam to floors under carpet. Can still hear the deep rumble of the tailpipes, but comfortably quiet with the windows up.
4. Added keyless entry with left door solenoids and brackets from Appleyards and a VIPER 211HV controller.
Really nice to have and works fairly often.
5. Changed fan controller from a Derale on/off to the Autocoolguys 50A PWM noBuzz controller. What a name! It uses 12V pulses of varying lengths to control the fan speed. Gets rid of current surges and blown fuses. Runs off the temperature of the radiator water exit pipe. Removing supports for the old brake fluid reservoirs left room to hide new busy fan controller box behind the servo on the firewall.
After using it for 2 seasons, have found a design issue that may plague other PWM systems. It needs to also know the engine temperature, not just the radiator’s, to better control the fans. Looking into an add-on circuit to correct these problems - more on that later.
6. Replaced radiator with a 2 row aluminum clone of the original made by Griffin Radiator with bigger tranny fluid connectors – big improvement. It’s the nicest looking thing in the car that you can’t see.
7. Replaced the 4 Zirgo radiator fans after 10,000 miles as 2 had died. A most unimpressive fan, actually. Looking for a quality alternative.
8. Replaced original front springs with a MK2 springs to drop the front one inch to the old spec. Too many iron-to-aluminum performance replacements made it look ready to launch. It would dart noticeably in the wind over 60mph. Before and after shots:
9. Replaced/restored most all of the lights - the interior and non-driving lights with LED - the headlamps with new Koito’s, on 3 new relays.
10. Adjusted idle solenoid and idle speed. I had forgotten about these with all the other changes made. The alternator was not effective at 650RPM idle set at the shop, and needed to be at 850RPM. At idle with the AC running it cut out totally. The idle solenoid is very easy to adjust so the idle RPM stays higher, 1100RPM in my case, to provide enough voltage to keep the fans running on a very hot day to keep the engine cool enough not to overheat and split the heater matrix if you put the wrong pressure cap on the radiator overflow tank...it’s all connected, as they say.
11. Speaking of the heater matrix - thanks to D. Robinson’s y2015 post on the JOC site, Mike Johnson, owner of Iron Mike’s Garage, was able to do the replacement from the engine bay side.
12. Replaced all rear axle and differential bearings that failed 400 miles from home. In the Jenseney way, it insured that we would not fully enjoy the beautiful spring drive in the mountains with friends. Hopefully the new ones will outlive me. After destroying the expensive wheel puller he borrowed from a friend, a vexed Mike at Iron Mike’s needed to torch and press the rear wheels out with 20 tons of air pressure. He politely mentions this on each return visit. Sometimes he works in something about the heater matrix affair.
13. Powder coated the 2 side vent panels and headlamp surrounds, easier to clean.
14. Replaced the hardened leaking plastic fuel hoses between the tank and the expansion tank with standard fuel hose. Everyone should check these, please, along with the plastic return hose from the engine!
15. Much fiddling with the boot latch to make it work smoother.
16. Repair of loose hatch support arm to stop cutting into boot side vinyl.
17. Many applications of viscous wicking sealant for windscreen after new seal installed, still defiantly leaking.
18 Added a fine mesh filter from Year One to the fuel intake pipe that is reported to pick up more of the remaining fuel when the tank is near empty. Who knows if it helps. Not an exciting project, but feeling mildly better for having done it.
19. New optima red battery, MSD high torque starter. I miss the Chrysler signature whine.
20. New radiator overflow tank cap with Stant 11229 13lb. Could the prior 19lb cap have contributed to the cracked heater matrix?
21. Disassemble and cleaned various switches with fiberglass pencil, lube with NO-OX-ID A-SPECIAL R-3266 L1 per JOC posting; toss the conductive or graphite silicon – pure garbage – hardens over time!
22. Repaired cracked header pipe following exhaust collision with speed bump.
23. Cracked spring pan repaired – see what appears to be missing gap welds in originals (see paper).
24. Added headlamp spacers and the missing bezels for the “JENSEN” insignia on the pillars.
25. Replaced 100A alternator with Tuff Stuff Performance 130A and added required heat shielding between its built-in voltage regulator and the nearby headers.
26. Replaced the rusted-out aerial/motor with a new style Hirschmann 5061. The old metal body acted as ground, so there was no return ground wire. Not so with the new plastic bodied one. You can use the original switch to deal with this by shorting pins 1 to 8, 2 to 7, and 3 to ground.
27. Replaced leaky brake fluid reservoir setup with NOS Wagner 1991 VW Fox that fits master cylinder. No leaks now!
28. Modified the tail pipe hangers with a bolt all the way through the rubber. The glued-on plates snap off after a few years of shaking.
29. Replaced speedo pinion seal and O-ring, windshield wipers, starter solenoid, steering coupler, sill plates, deteriorated wiper motor mounts, valve cover gaskets, fuel filler neck, oil pressure sender, and brake light and emergency brake light nylon switches.
A question is - do I enjoy the car more after all this? Oh heck yes! Forget the maintenance – that has to be done. Anything making it better sounding, quicker, nimbler, better looking, more reliable, and looks reasonably original is all good! The leather re-color, fan controller, aluminum radiator, brake reservoir, and front springs were the best of the lot.
Other than the ever-growing maintenance list, a future change might be the Silver Sport Transmissions (SST) adaptation of the Trimec 4 speed GM transmission for replacing the Chrysler A727. Better acceleration and overdrive that just “drops in” (really?) – what’s not to love!!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fyvl535p4sff ... pFDwa?dl=0
https://www.flickr.com/gp/105796573@N05/43915v
1973 Interceptor - 6 Year Update
When Karan asked me for a ‘small write up with photos’ as an update to my 2013 article in the JOC magazine about completing a restoration, I thought maybe a page or two. It is good to keep a log and take lots of photos to be reminded of the effort it takes to keep the beast alive. Much of the list was not anticipated as apparently the clock runs out on a number of things at around 70,000 miles or 45 years. With no restoration background, I was saved by a lot of fine people who share their experience and expertise on our forum and in person and other skilled tradesmen who enjoy the challenge of a rare find like a Jensen.
So here are the highlights from six years after the restoration:
1. After my last Fleetwood Mac tape tied itself in a knot, I replaced the Lear-Jet with an Alpine head unit and Kenwood amplifier with new speakers and big subwoofers jammed into the rear quarter panels. New walnut console veneer by Madera in California.
This is not the best use of restoration money if you also have a loud exhaust…
2. Removed and recolored all the leather and replaced carpet to match the ‘dark graphite metallic’ paint. Leather paint was SEM Sure-Coat water based ‘midnight black’, carpet was ‘dark slate’ from AutoMat in Hicksville, New York. Leather painting is not difficult, just average attention to detail and fear of failure is needed. I had never considered doing it myself until the guy I hired quit, then showed me in detail how to do it. There are still genuinely great people you can be lucky enough to find!
3. Added StreetWires ZERONoise sound deadener (the cheaper alternative) all around and Luxury Liner/38 dense foam to floors under carpet. Can still hear the deep rumble of the tailpipes, but comfortably quiet with the windows up.
4. Added keyless entry with left door solenoids and brackets from Appleyards and a VIPER 211HV controller.
Really nice to have and works fairly often.
5. Changed fan controller from a Derale on/off to the Autocoolguys 50A PWM noBuzz controller. What a name! It uses 12V pulses of varying lengths to control the fan speed. Gets rid of current surges and blown fuses. Runs off the temperature of the radiator water exit pipe. Removing supports for the old brake fluid reservoirs left room to hide new busy fan controller box behind the servo on the firewall.
After using it for 2 seasons, have found a design issue that may plague other PWM systems. It needs to also know the engine temperature, not just the radiator’s, to better control the fans. Looking into an add-on circuit to correct these problems - more on that later.
6. Replaced radiator with a 2 row aluminum clone of the original made by Griffin Radiator with bigger tranny fluid connectors – big improvement. It’s the nicest looking thing in the car that you can’t see.
7. Replaced the 4 Zirgo radiator fans after 10,000 miles as 2 had died. A most unimpressive fan, actually. Looking for a quality alternative.
8. Replaced original front springs with a MK2 springs to drop the front one inch to the old spec. Too many iron-to-aluminum performance replacements made it look ready to launch. It would dart noticeably in the wind over 60mph. Before and after shots:
9. Replaced/restored most all of the lights - the interior and non-driving lights with LED - the headlamps with new Koito’s, on 3 new relays.
10. Adjusted idle solenoid and idle speed. I had forgotten about these with all the other changes made. The alternator was not effective at 650RPM idle set at the shop, and needed to be at 850RPM. At idle with the AC running it cut out totally. The idle solenoid is very easy to adjust so the idle RPM stays higher, 1100RPM in my case, to provide enough voltage to keep the fans running on a very hot day to keep the engine cool enough not to overheat and split the heater matrix if you put the wrong pressure cap on the radiator overflow tank...it’s all connected, as they say.
11. Speaking of the heater matrix - thanks to D. Robinson’s y2015 post on the JOC site, Mike Johnson, owner of Iron Mike’s Garage, was able to do the replacement from the engine bay side.
12. Replaced all rear axle and differential bearings that failed 400 miles from home. In the Jenseney way, it insured that we would not fully enjoy the beautiful spring drive in the mountains with friends. Hopefully the new ones will outlive me. After destroying the expensive wheel puller he borrowed from a friend, a vexed Mike at Iron Mike’s needed to torch and press the rear wheels out with 20 tons of air pressure. He politely mentions this on each return visit. Sometimes he works in something about the heater matrix affair.
13. Powder coated the 2 side vent panels and headlamp surrounds, easier to clean.
14. Replaced the hardened leaking plastic fuel hoses between the tank and the expansion tank with standard fuel hose. Everyone should check these, please, along with the plastic return hose from the engine!
15. Much fiddling with the boot latch to make it work smoother.
16. Repair of loose hatch support arm to stop cutting into boot side vinyl.
17. Many applications of viscous wicking sealant for windscreen after new seal installed, still defiantly leaking.
18 Added a fine mesh filter from Year One to the fuel intake pipe that is reported to pick up more of the remaining fuel when the tank is near empty. Who knows if it helps. Not an exciting project, but feeling mildly better for having done it.
19. New optima red battery, MSD high torque starter. I miss the Chrysler signature whine.
20. New radiator overflow tank cap with Stant 11229 13lb. Could the prior 19lb cap have contributed to the cracked heater matrix?
21. Disassemble and cleaned various switches with fiberglass pencil, lube with NO-OX-ID A-SPECIAL R-3266 L1 per JOC posting; toss the conductive or graphite silicon – pure garbage – hardens over time!
22. Repaired cracked header pipe following exhaust collision with speed bump.
23. Cracked spring pan repaired – see what appears to be missing gap welds in originals (see paper).
24. Added headlamp spacers and the missing bezels for the “JENSEN” insignia on the pillars.
25. Replaced 100A alternator with Tuff Stuff Performance 130A and added required heat shielding between its built-in voltage regulator and the nearby headers.
26. Replaced the rusted-out aerial/motor with a new style Hirschmann 5061. The old metal body acted as ground, so there was no return ground wire. Not so with the new plastic bodied one. You can use the original switch to deal with this by shorting pins 1 to 8, 2 to 7, and 3 to ground.
27. Replaced leaky brake fluid reservoir setup with NOS Wagner 1991 VW Fox that fits master cylinder. No leaks now!
28. Modified the tail pipe hangers with a bolt all the way through the rubber. The glued-on plates snap off after a few years of shaking.
29. Replaced speedo pinion seal and O-ring, windshield wipers, starter solenoid, steering coupler, sill plates, deteriorated wiper motor mounts, valve cover gaskets, fuel filler neck, oil pressure sender, and brake light and emergency brake light nylon switches.
A question is - do I enjoy the car more after all this? Oh heck yes! Forget the maintenance – that has to be done. Anything making it better sounding, quicker, nimbler, better looking, more reliable, and looks reasonably original is all good! The leather re-color, fan controller, aluminum radiator, brake reservoir, and front springs were the best of the lot.
Other than the ever-growing maintenance list, a future change might be the Silver Sport Transmissions (SST) adaptation of the Trimec 4 speed GM transmission for replacing the Chrysler A727. Better acceleration and overdrive that just “drops in” (really?) – what’s not to love!!