JENSEN INTERCEPTORS - READ ONLY

17 messages, Last post on Dec 10, 2001 at 12:37 PM

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What is this discussion about? Coupe

HELLO - I'M NEW HERE. I WANT TO KNOW IF ANYONE HERE REMEMBERS THE OLD JENSEN INTERCEPTORS SERIES III

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#8 of 17 by jay_75 Sep 25, 2001 (5:04 pm)
could someone post a picture of this car, or maybe a link to a picture? I'm curious to see what it looks like
#9 of 17 JENSEN FF UPDATE by jensen99 Sep 25, 2001 (6:23 pm)
INCIDENTALLY, THE FF MODEL WHICH WAS NEVER LEGALLY EXPORTED TO THE U.S. WAS A FORERUNNER TO THE AUDI TT OF TODAY. BACK IN 1966, IT HAD A VERY POWERFUL ENGINE, FULL TIME FOUR WHEEL DRIVE FERGUSON FORMULA (HENCE THE FF DESIGNATION) AND MAXARET ANTI LOCK BRAKING. FOR A 35 YR OLD CAR, THESE WERE AMAZING INNOVATIONS. BY THE WAY, I KNOW OF NO WEB SITE FOR JENSEN PHOTOS. I HAVE ONE I SNAPPED IN A SHOP CTR PARKING LOT BUT I DONT HAVE A SCANNER.
#10 of 17 Here's a pretty good link... by andre1969 Sep 25, 2001 (6:24 pm)
http://home.hiwaay.net/~tjhiggin/hwystar.html . To me the thing looks like a cross between an Avanti and a '64-66 Barracuda. I kinda like it though...maybe I'll add one to the collection when I'm rich and famous
#11 of 17 by speedshift Sep 25, 2001 (7:13 pm)
Yes it also reminds me of the Avanti, another "gentleman's express" that sells for less than I would expect--very individual styling that's a little awkward but still appealing.
#12 of 17 by northstart Dec 08, 2001 (12:26 pm)
I live in the North of England and was very lucky to spend nine months working on a Jenson Interceptor back in 1982 at the tender age of 17. I came straight out of school and landed a job with a local restoration company. This upset a number of the other guys who worked there (most of whom were in there early 20’s), as they wanted to work on the car. However, on opening the hood I was the only one to recognize the Chrysler V8. Added to that I had spent most of my early teenage years building my own car a 62 Ford Zodiac (has similar lines to a 57 Chevy) which included a completely rebuilt and detailed Ford 302) so as no-one else had even seen an American V8 before, the engine work was handed to me. The engine was a 383 with a single 4-barrel Holey, although this was not an original carb as it should have had a Carter. The engine was rebuilt to factory specs and Produced 340 BHP 4615 rpm. Unfortunately, the company ran into financial difficulty and closed before the car was completed so I never got to see it finished.
#13 of 17 A few other interesting facts about. by northstart Dec 08, 2001 (12:29 pm)
The interceptor had a cooling system for the brake fluid. Shock absorbers could be adjusted by the driver to suite the road conditions. The original concept car used a De-Dion rear axel/suspension set-up where-as in final production a conventional live axel was chosen. Ferguson Formula also produced a limited production Mustang based on the same components as the Jenson FF. However, power came from Fords superb 427 Over Head Cam (Cammer) motor. I read a road-test on a restored Mustang 427 FF last year. Although the owner of the car wouldn’t allow the magazine to do any quarter mile tests or to push the car to anywhere close to its limits, he did allow some trial 0-to-100 runs against a Ferrari Testarossa and the Mustang FF was over a second quicker to 100 mph. One quote was that the amount of traction the FF 4 wheel drive system, give the car was phenomenal. And if they had been allowed to run the car to, its full potential then who knows just how fast the car would really be. As for the styling of the Jensen, I have to admit it takes some getting used to! Admittedly, I’m not a fan of European sports car styling of that period, (I’m much more a muscle car fan myself) but still the back is a bit bizarre! PS Here are a few links to Jensen web sites http://www.british-steel.org/ http://www.jensen-cars.co.uk/ http://www.jncohen.net/page7.htm
#14 of 17 by ndance Dec 08, 2001 (7:33 pm)
The Jensen Interceptor convertibles are really (I think) kind of nice looking. Probably why there worth 2x as much. OK. So on the SOHC Mustang I'm thinking, what in the heck?, I'll look this up. Do a web search on 'Ferguson Formula' and... FERGUSON FORMULA 361 hemorrhoidal ointment shows up about 1 million times. Are we talking 'Ford' Mustang here? It would suprise me if a SOHC would fit anything but a Boss 429.
#15 of 17 by ndance Dec 08, 2001 (7:35 pm)
Just to be totally off topic. Has anybody ever seen any pictures of that mid-engine Boss 429 engineering prototype. Pretty darn interesting car (engine was bolted to a kind of C6 transaxle deal if I remember correctly). I have no clue what happened to that thing. I expect it was converted into a 1 cubic yard chunk of steel.
#16 of 17 Jensen Interceptor convertibles by northstart Dec 09, 2001 (8:41 am)
Yer!I think they are better looking than the standard car
#17 of 17 Mid-engine Boss by northstart Dec 10, 2001 (12:37 pm)
I asked a friend of mine who’s a bit of a Mustang nut, and he thinks he might have seen something about it years ago in a British magazine called Street Machine. Although, he was under the impression that it was something some-one had built themselves although he couldn’t be sure.