Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Rod Alford - Mk 1 Interceptor - 115/3227
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KaranMK2
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Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by KaranMK2 »

Rod says:

This restoration has been a labour of love, frustration, sweat and tears – not to mention money. As many Jensen owners can attest to. However now that it is up and running and sounding great – it has all been worth it. I first saw this car on Ebay around 6 years ago. My wife Jan had always loved the Jensen Interceptor after seeing 3 of them parade around the Sandown Park racing circuit in Melbourne back in 1969 to showcase the car – not to race it. We would see one very occasionally on the road and she would comment “I love to have one of those”. Well she got her wish even though she had to wait until 2015 to get one.

1. Exterior Bodywork and painting preparation.jpg
1. Exterior Bodywork and painting preparation.jpg (76.56 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
2. Interior _upholstery.jpg
2. Interior _upholstery.jpg (93.36 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
3. Interior _upholstery and front dash.jpg
3. Interior _upholstery and front dash.jpg (97.33 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
4. Center Consol and dash.jpg
4. Center Consol and dash.jpg (95.96 KiB) Viewed 3662 times

The car was originally Californian Sage with Green trim from the factory. Believe only 13 were built in that combination. Sometime in the late nineties, the previous owner had it painted red but went no further with restoration. It sat in the back of a warehouse for 20 odd years until it was finally offered for sale on Ebay at $9000. It only showed I picture of the car on a trailer and mentioned 95% complete with just surface rust. This was too steep for me at the time. No one made a bid and car just disappeared. Thankfully it reappeared 2 weeks later for $7000 and we won the bid. Jan was very happy.

So began the full restoration process. Engine came out first. No carb or dizzy. Previous owner had put all pushrods in oilpaper underneath inlet manifold. Glad I did not try to turn it over.

Over the next 6 years we rebuilt engine, replaced front and rear axle bearings. Replaced all brake lines, shaved rotors, new pads, new shockers, dampers and recored radiator with more powerful Calibre electric fans. Auto trans fully overhauled. After water blasting, the body showed a large number of deep scatches and dents which needed a lot of body shop work. Utilised Rejen for all new rubber kits, all new floor carpets plus sunvisors, roof fabric and too many other items to list. Ross Hockley down in Sydney was also a great help with new taillights, bearings and indicators. Wheels are 15 x 7 Sprint Masters which closely resemble original wheels in looks. Decided on an exterior color called Prussian Steel matched with bone leather trim. Everyone comments on the color. Made up our own headrests which match the seats very well. Also being in a hot climate here in Queensland I made up hybrid style aircon system. The Mk1 does not make it easy to have Aircon and hide it behind dash, but with a bit of internal metal surgery I was able to adapt it to have evaporator fit into original heater box and flow through 3 main front vents. Works pretty well.

5. Aircon.jpg
5. Aircon.jpg (94.39 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
6. Engine bay.jpg
6. Engine bay.jpg (115.08 KiB) Viewed 3662 times

Finally on our first trip out on the road with high expectations and visiting some friends suddenly 10 kilometres down the road smoke started to come through the dash. Everything stopped. Had the vehicle towed back home. Sometime later discovered bare wiring had touched side of alternator. Had to replace part of main wiring section right through the dash. That was almost a year ago. Since then we have had other wiring upgraded so hopefully those problems are now behind us and we can enjoy the car.
7. Exterior Painting and Polish.jpg
7. Exterior Painting and Polish.jpg (81.21 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
8. Exterior _ ready to drive.jpg
8. Exterior _ ready to drive.jpg (147.18 KiB) Viewed 3662 times
User avatar
slotcarone
Posts: 1797
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:38 pm

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by slotcarone »

Beautiful car and a great story too! Now you both can enjoy it!! :)
1972 Interceptor III
133-5612
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Martin R
Posts: 6100
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: Chipping Norton, & Sydney Australia

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by Martin R »

It looks fabulous!
I love the idea of the air-con being incorporated and with cool air coming through the dash vents.
It must have been a heart stopping moment on that first drive, when the smoke came into the cabin and everything stopped though...
Well done. 8)
FF MK1 119/100
Interceptor MK3 136/8514
JOC Member 8905
Mark1Stu
Posts: 2579
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:30 pm

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by Mark1Stu »

Lovely looking car. Congratulations.
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RockyUSA
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:10 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by RockyUSA »

Interesting wheels in the first picture of the unrestored car.

Great selection for "Car of the Month"!

Rocky
‘71 TVR Vixen 2500 - (M Series Tribute)
'72 Interceptor III - 133/5597
'73 DeTomaso Pantera
'74 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40
'95 Jaguar XJS Convertible
rta50car
Posts: 280
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:57 am
Location: Arundel (Gold Coast), Queensland, Australia

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by rta50car »

Everyone - Thanks for your kind comments. Rocky - the wheels on the car when I won the auction were popular but now quite rare alloy Globe wheels 15x7. Fitted to Ford Falcon GT and others. Interesting same pcd as Jensen.
1969 Mk 1 Jensen Interceptor Chassis number 115/3227
1951 FX Holden
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Dion
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Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 2:00 pm
Location: Tilburg, Netherlands

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by Dion »

A stunning result.
Love what you did with the air con.
The future ain’t what it used to be.

Interceptor Mk1 LHD & RHD
GT LHD
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73nrceptor
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Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:27 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by 73nrceptor »

Beautiful result and an inspiration to us all!
Tim Waller
73 Interceptor III 140/8836
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Delboy
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 10:17 am
Location: Cheshire

Re: Rod Alford - Mk1 Interceptor 115/3227

Post by Delboy »

Great work Rod.
Still in progress with mine.
Love the wheels. Also headrests.
The aircon also amazing. Ive been trying to get some idea how to install in mine. V cleaver solution and neat.
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