Tony Cope - Interceptor MKII
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:27 am
I thought it would be good this month to hear from an owner and see photos of a car in Australia. So, I asked Tony Cope if he would share and he agreed. Below is his submission. Many thanks Tony.
A few years back in the JOC Magazine I mentioned, I first saw a Jensen Interceptor at the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show as a 13 year old living in the UK while my father was on sabbatical from South Africa. I knew I had to own one of these stunning machines in due course - and in 2000 I finally became the proud owner of 123/3957 in Sydney.
123/3957 left the factory on 16 November 1970 and the first owner was the Chairman of Cabinet Industries in London - the registration being ELY 27J. It was only one of two white Mk2's that left the factory with a painted black roof (vinyl only became available on Mk3's) and was also optioned up with a Voxson 8 Track, Sundym glass, town & country horns, and airconditioning.
Side View
In 1973 the Chairman then traded the Mk2 for one of the new fangled Mk3's and my car was bought by an Australian who shipped it to Melbourne in 1974. For some time it was driven by the wife of the owner of a national tyre chain who repainted the roof in his corporate colour of mid blue - before it was bought by a Sydney owner in 1987. The Sydney owner had some paintwork done including painting the roof white, and then prepared the car for racing in the Targa Tasmania. The engine was rebuild with a warmer cam and headers, a 750cfm carb installed, the gearbox rebuilt with a shift kit, and a 2.5" large bore stainless steel exhaust system plumbed in underneath. But this work took time and the regulations for Targa got stricter and stricter, and when mandatory roll cages were introduced the owner rightly did not want to install one so the car was on the market to prequalified applicants. Fortunately the seller was a Range Rover enthusiast so when I turned up in my 1994 Classic Vogue SE I passed the pre-qualification test and a deal was done!
Front View
It is hard to believe I have owned the car for 20 years when so many other cars have come and gone. When I first acquired the car I alternated every three weeks using it and the Range Rover as daily drivers, and when I went offshore to work in Malaysia and the UK for many years the Interceptor was not only kept in storage but kept fully registered so that I had a runabout on my infrequent Australia visits. The car has been driven all over Australia on various JCCA Rallies and holiday/business trips, and it has only failed to proceed twice both times when I underestimated how much fuel I had left!
While I am a stickler usually for originality when I bought the car it came with Minilite wheels that are not only period but suit the car well - so they were retained. And I could not bring myself to get the roof sprayed black when the car was totally resprayed in 2006 - the reflective white roof suits a hot country well. When I relocated back from the UK a few years back I had the air-conditioning upgraded to a rotary compressor and modern refrigerant - and my cool car is now a lot cooler!
A few birds taking a good look
At the moment it is partially stripped down as I am getting the front bumper and trim around the rear windows re-chromed.
Rear View
A few years back in the JOC Magazine I mentioned, I first saw a Jensen Interceptor at the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show as a 13 year old living in the UK while my father was on sabbatical from South Africa. I knew I had to own one of these stunning machines in due course - and in 2000 I finally became the proud owner of 123/3957 in Sydney.
123/3957 left the factory on 16 November 1970 and the first owner was the Chairman of Cabinet Industries in London - the registration being ELY 27J. It was only one of two white Mk2's that left the factory with a painted black roof (vinyl only became available on Mk3's) and was also optioned up with a Voxson 8 Track, Sundym glass, town & country horns, and airconditioning.
Side View
In 1973 the Chairman then traded the Mk2 for one of the new fangled Mk3's and my car was bought by an Australian who shipped it to Melbourne in 1974. For some time it was driven by the wife of the owner of a national tyre chain who repainted the roof in his corporate colour of mid blue - before it was bought by a Sydney owner in 1987. The Sydney owner had some paintwork done including painting the roof white, and then prepared the car for racing in the Targa Tasmania. The engine was rebuild with a warmer cam and headers, a 750cfm carb installed, the gearbox rebuilt with a shift kit, and a 2.5" large bore stainless steel exhaust system plumbed in underneath. But this work took time and the regulations for Targa got stricter and stricter, and when mandatory roll cages were introduced the owner rightly did not want to install one so the car was on the market to prequalified applicants. Fortunately the seller was a Range Rover enthusiast so when I turned up in my 1994 Classic Vogue SE I passed the pre-qualification test and a deal was done!
Front View
It is hard to believe I have owned the car for 20 years when so many other cars have come and gone. When I first acquired the car I alternated every three weeks using it and the Range Rover as daily drivers, and when I went offshore to work in Malaysia and the UK for many years the Interceptor was not only kept in storage but kept fully registered so that I had a runabout on my infrequent Australia visits. The car has been driven all over Australia on various JCCA Rallies and holiday/business trips, and it has only failed to proceed twice both times when I underestimated how much fuel I had left!
While I am a stickler usually for originality when I bought the car it came with Minilite wheels that are not only period but suit the car well - so they were retained. And I could not bring myself to get the roof sprayed black when the car was totally resprayed in 2006 - the reflective white roof suits a hot country well. When I relocated back from the UK a few years back I had the air-conditioning upgraded to a rotary compressor and modern refrigerant - and my cool car is now a lot cooler!
A few birds taking a good look
At the moment it is partially stripped down as I am getting the front bumper and trim around the rear windows re-chromed.
Rear View
.. Many thanks for sharing.. I love Mk2's
