Interceptor MKIII - 129/5640 - Complete restoration

[Catolard]

Hello everyone.

First of all, thank you for your acceptance. I'm french living near to Dijon.

Not here by chance, as I am in the process of becoming the proud owner of a 1972 JENSEN INTERCEPTOR III. The 14th of 14 in LHD with the 6.3l.
Number 129/5640.

A car that I don't know a lot of things about, but which immediately appealed to me after seeing it for the first time in Wheelers Dealers UK a long time ago.

Then I saw this ad and thought - it doesn't cost anything to find out. And then I thought it's very far away (Toulouse and I'm near Dijon) so given the state of the yard (yes, I'm coming back to that) the probability is less than 10%. And then I said to myself - it's a lot of money, I'm not going to take the risk.

And then I found out that the car was at the french specialist Fred Mary's location, and I went to see the car and him too, and then ... I signed!

Well, now we're talking about my madness. I'm not a mecha, even though I've already restored 1 car and a tractor from A to Z. The car for a friend of mine passed the CT without a hitch, and was thoroughly inspected, so I must admit I'm a little proud. It's my hobby, and the desire to do things myself has to be satisfied.

So the project is going to be for Fred Mary to finish the bodywork and paintwork (because I don't touch that at all), and I hope that I'll be able to do the rest myself, not without your invaluable help of course, but that's where the challenge lies. I have no interest in having a project with nothing to do.

Isn't life without madness too dull? We'll see.

Below is a photo of what it looked like BEFORE, and 3 photos of what I bought! (yes, everyone tells me I'm crazy, but that's okay).

All that's left is to tackle the repatriation and ... get to work.

She'll be matching color as well as matching number. On your good advice, I'll make the changes I want all reversible, it's important.

Modifications envisaged without having dug of course for the moment, cooling, power supply (another carb or injection if I understood correctly), alternator I thought I read too.

Sorry it's a bit long but here's my presentation.

I'm crazy, I know!






Catolard

[Martin R]

Welcome to the wonderful world of owning a Jensen
I wouldn't say "crazy" but that word is possibly close to all of us ! It's a sort of addiction I guess, but a good one
I'm sure you'll find plenty of people who are very knowledgable and able to help with the many questions you WILL have
It looks like you have a very good basis for your project and yes, carb' Vs injection, alternator, cooling upgrade etc are all good ideas.

[Catolard]

Many thanks for this kindly message.

I'm confident ... with the support I'm sure I will have from Jensen's community.

Catolard

[slotcarone]

WOW is all I can say besides Welcome. Not sure what other car you have restored but I will bet this one is a lot more complicated. I hope you actually have all of the parts for this car. It is basically a bare shell right now. I suggest getting an original parts book and service book. They both will help you figure out how things go back together. Also if there is another Jensen locally you will need to take many pictures of that car for reference.

[Catolard]

I know ..

The last one was in the same condition ... completely dismount .. but it was a old Fiat 500 ... so clearly easier of course.

Yes I will buy this 2 guides and I have the chance to live at less than one hour to Frédéric MARY which is THE french specialist of JENSEN car's .. The car is at his garage currently. He done all bodywork job and will do the paint also.

Catolard

[johnw]

Welcome and what a fantastic project. That sounds like a good plan to get all the paint done first.

I really like this version of the Mk3, and have often thought what I would like to do to an LHD one for driving in Europe!

The Mk3 you have is said by many to be a most practical and well sorted Interceptor variant! Fast, good brakes, economical, fantastic engine noise! The Girling brakes are very good if well serviced, modern brake pads give a performance improvement over originals, and you have the vented discs all round! A new FAG brake master cylinder is very cheap and a good investment! Stainless pistons and new seals for the old calipers will make them perform like new and they will last longer than when new.

The only significant modifications I would recommend is a FenAir airconditioning system kit, perhaps some Bosch cooling fans operated with extra relays. I would keep the original radiator. For simplicity and reliability with good economy, I would fit a new Carter AFB type carb, as they work out of the box, and are so inexpensive. I would then consider restoring the original carburettor at my convenience once the car was running perfectly as this way it is obvious what faults are caused by me not setting up the old carb properly. The alternator upgrade could wait. I would fit the old Chrysler alternator with a new standard type alternator controller (these new ones have electronics to replace the relays in the old one).

I can't think of any other necessary upgrades. I like mild steel exhausts. If you have one with the car keep it and use it. They sound really good, different to stainless, perhaps because the mild steel used was thicker? I would clean and paint all the old parts and fit them back, because the quality of modern parts is not always good. It is such a good car that you can put it back to as it left the factory and not worry much at all.

[Catolard]

Hi John,

Many many thanks,

I read a lot of pertinent advices in your message and be sure that I will take that into consideration. I'm completely agree regarding saving the original part when it's possible.

I'm really impatient to start working on it .. Normally this week-end I start to transfer parts at home ...

Catolard

[Series3Jensen]

Hi

Welcome to Jensen ownership

A little information on your acquisition

Chassis No 129/5640
Ex Factory 01.03.72
Originally Reef Blue with a Beige interior
Factory fitted options included:
Sundym Glass
Air Conditioning
Town & Country Horns
Delivered new to Switzerland
Original Reg No BL 15910

This appears to be the 9th of 11 cars with a 129/ chassis prefix number

Kind regards

Jim Smith
JOC Mem No 1639
136/8791 RJF 17 Owned since September 1978

[johnw]

Thanks Jim, that makes it more interesting, presumably Edgar must have sold it in Switzerland!

Catolard,

The number 1 thing now should be to research the rest of the car's history! Try and find all details about the cars history, ideally get copies of old French and Swiss documents!

[Catolard]

Many thanks for all information.

I'll work on this.

One question. Can you explain me the signification of the first number (129) and the second one (5640).

Thanks.

Catolard

[Martin R]

129 = Series III, Left Hand Drive, G & H series for Europe.

Other examples; an SP would have been 132 series, 133 LHD G & H series (all other markets) Left Hand Drive Series 3, and 140 LHD, J Series, all markets.

5640 is the number in the chassis sequence, so the next LHD Series 3, G & H series car built after yours, would have been 129/5641

[Series3Jensen]

Hi

Just a slight clarification on Martin's response

The 4 digit number after 129/ or 132/ or 133 etc are continuous generally - although there are some gaps

Chassis No 133/5641 was the next chassis number after your car (129/5640)
This was a Series 111 LHD car exported new to the USA

The next 129/ prefix car after yours was 129/5642 and the next 129/ prefix car after 5642 was 129/5655

Kind regards

Jim Smith
JOC Mem No 1639
136/8791 RJF 17 Owned since September 1978

[Catolard]

Hi,

Many thansk for all informations shared.

I started yesterday to move element from Fred MARY's garage to mine. Next step in 2 weeks with the motor.

I bought the parts book and waiting for it in order to short all parts page per page ..

Catolard

[Catolard]

Hello,

Things are continuing to progress.

The specific tools for the English screw are OK.
All the necessary documentation too.
A second trip with the wheels, engine and gearbox with the rear window too.

I prepare a copy of all the "exploded views" in A3, and use it to start sorting all the parts, noting whether they're good for reuse, or not ... or maybe
I start dismantling some sub-assemblies to make sure I don't have any problems with recalcitrant nuts.

I finally decide to use one box per page, which will allow me to finalise the inventory and define what I need to buy? I'll do my best to reuse whenever possible.

Here are a few photos of the moment.

IMG_3657.jpeg (329.25 KiB) Viewed 194 times

IMG_3706.jpeg (260.25 KiB) Viewed 194 times

IMG_3707.jpeg (268.89 KiB) Viewed 194 times

IMG_3708.jpeg (340.22 KiB) Viewed 194 times

IMG_3709.jpeg (359.99 KiB) Viewed 194 times

Catolard

[RockyUSA]

What are those parts on the rack in the last picture behind the dashboard?

Looks like you use a lot of them!

Rocky