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Mini project pics....


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Got the front of my Jensen apart, going to do a little cleanup and upgrades, I'm dropping the front end around 1 1/2", getting the brakes and suspension up to snuff and cleaning things up in general....

Icky front end initial pic....

passbrake.jpg

Just starting the cleanup....

step1.jpg

I want the front end lower because my car came with taller springs to attain a North American legal front bumper height. I want a level car though.....

jensen_front.jpg

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I wonder how many Jensens have these....?

lol

jentrouble.jpg

Yeah, call me stupid.....

The CH28 intake is easy to find, but I hunted down a set of ceramic coated S&S / Delta Motorsport Jensen Interceptor headers...

Still collecting parts, but more to come!

Edited by CMG
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Sorry about the crappy pic.... but I went with the widest tire possible while remaining the correct height.

Factory Interceptor tires were the equivelant to a 205/70/15. The best matchup I could do while getting the widest tread possible was 235/60/15 tires.....

rearjentire.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm loving this car.... those headers, with their

Siamesed inner pipes, look awfully pedestrian.

(like the ones on my '68 Camaro's ZZ350)

More, MORE, MORE!

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I'm sure the Jensen purist/elitist won't like the mods, but I want more performance. I'll keep the mods more or less to the powertrain, I've got more pics coming. The front end was disgusting, I've been media blasting and cleaning for days, and it's just to get the car on the road. It will come back apart completely when I redo the body, I might end up powdercoating the stuff I paint for now, depends how my wallet looks...

I'm going to try for a fairly mild 500hp-ish drivetrain for now, and I'll see what brakes! ;)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Holidays and a couple feet of snow caused a bit of a break for me as far as car stuff goes, but I'm picking away still.....

I've got the manifold past the shaping stage, and have it about halfway polished I figure.... hopefully another 4-8 hours more and I won't have to be black and stick anymore! ;)

jenduals1.jpg

jenduals2.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I want a ride.

Haha! If ya lived close.... :AH-HA_wink:

Hopefully I can get somebody in the passenger seat taking a video when it's up and running and on the road. I wanna see if I can wrap the speedo... it's a 140+ mph car stock so it will take a bit of engine work, but I'm hoping!

More pics to come, it might not be a showroom flawless looker but it should be a performer, if all goes as planned....

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  • 2 months later...

Slowly but slowly.... LOL

Well, I've had to rip out more than I thought, wiring here and there, battery cables buried deep and half melted, all sorts of funny stuff.

I can actually close my hood on the intake setup, air cleaner and all, which saves me from reskinning a hood...

Here's what I mocked up, the intake fits, the waterpump housing will work and everything should attach, now I have to pull off everything, polish the waterpump housing and start final assembly....

I have polished valve covers and some other shiny parts, but the mockup shows what it will look like basically........

mockup3.jpg

Edited by CMG
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  • 1 month later...

Well......

I tore the stinking engine entirely apart, and I'm glad I did. It was a mess to say the least. A NEW mess, but a mess... lol

I upped my compression, it is now 446 cubic inch, 9.35 to 1 compression (measured) with a 270H Comp Cam. I ported the heads and deshrouded the valve bowls, redid a few things done poorly/wrong, and hopefully will have a stout engine now. The camshaft in the engine that started the whole teardown was measured at .250" lift, which was .375" lift at the valve. Pretty pathetic!

I'm tossing it back together, this is what I started with at 12:00 noon today...

start.jpg

This is where I quit, in the middle of making my leads. LOL

after.jpg

after2.jpg

Back at it tommorow!

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  • 3 months later...

Well....... I wasn't slacking off.... I bought a puppy who is in very bad health and I've had not much time at all.... but I finally got the Jensen back up and running.

It isn't tuned, it has the stock exhaust crammed into an H pipe I bought with my headers, but it starts, runs, and idles pretty good for an untuned dual quad car so far...

Idle.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbvxIVJqBE

jensentop.jpg

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  • 5 months later...

Long time since the last update... LOL

I've got the car running well enough to be looking for solutions to serious traction problems! It will not grab from 10-20mph even at 3/4 throttle, it starts to go violent quickly. I have a feeling the rear springs might be weak and wrapping up or? It's only got 235/60/15 tires on the rear which doesn't help, but something tells me it's a case of finding out what isn't working properly as much as it is overwhelming the tires....

I changed the exhaust, it now has 4 mufflers and Delta Motorsports headers, we made a custom mandrel bent 2 1/2" system all the way through to the rear, which was actually harder than I thought. Not much room under an Interceptor! The factory exhaust was 1 3/4"!

The compression is 9.5 to 1, it's 446ci, the heads are ported, two 500 Edelbrocks and an FBO ignition system. It pulls pretty hard but it's hard to stay in the throttle with the car doing it's own thing as far as traction goes....

The brakes actually work now. LOL It even runs around 185 while getting a beating.

I'm working on the wiring, I had ignition and not much else, I have lights, turn signals, all sorts of things everybody usually takes for granted.... but I've got a ways to go.

Pics/videos to come, it's gettin closer!

Edited by CMG
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  • 2 months later...

Wellllll......

Insured the Interceptor today! :jump:

NOW I am a happy camper! haha

I've done home renos for the last couple of years, got a car ready for my kid and insured it today.... so I figured I better insure the Jensen so I don't feel left out... LOL

Drives pretty danged good so far, corners flat, lots of power, I have a few bugs to work out I'm sure, and the body/paint needs to be done still, but it's a driver!

Hopefully have some video soon, my main gripe so far is there is a fair amount of drone at idle and certain cruising speeds, it's fairly loud considering it has four mufflers, but I can work on the exhaust and see what I can do with it....

Jensensmiley.gif

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I have no idea what a stock Interceptor should wear tire-size-wise.

What is correct & what fits aside... a 235/60-15 is a tiny tire- measures only 26.1" tall. Seems to me a 446-powered coupe needs more meat under the quarters.

There is what's considered a 'base' tire height (WRT traction/gearing for performance cars), but I cannot say for certain what that height is. I believe it's 27.5" tall for the era's porky, V-8, RWD performance cars.

When choosing/considering axle gear ratio, to be as 'scientifically correct' as possible WRT you car's 'formula', the gear ratio chosen is based on that 'base' tire height (OR needs to incorporate that height).... because anything markedly different changes the effective rear ratio.

In other words, your rear gears + those 26" tall tires may be giving you an effective numerically-higher axle ratio, which just burns the tires off. Could be a factor.

-- -- -- -- --

Hey- you've got forged A-arms- just like my '59 Buick! :cool:

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I have no idea what a stock Interceptor should wear tire-size-wise.

What is correct & what fits aside... a 235/60-15 is a tiny tire- measures only 26.1" tall. Seems to me a 446-powered coupe needs more meat under the quarters.

There is what's considered a 'base' tire height (WRT traction/gearing for performance cars), but I cannot say for certain what that height is. I believe it's 27.5" tall for the era's porky, V-8, RWD performance cars.

When choosing/considering axle gear ratio, to be as 'scientifically correct' as possible WRT you car's 'formula', the gear ratio chosen is based on that 'base' tire height (OR needs to incorporate that height).... because anything markedly different changes the effective rear ratio.

In other words, your rear gears + those 26" tall tires may be giving you an effective numerically-higher axle ratio, which just burns the tires off. Could be a factor.

-- -- -- -- --

Hey- you've got forged A-arms- just like my '59 Buick! :cool:

Stock tire size for a Jensen Interceptor is 205/70/15. That's 26.29" tall.

Which is why I chose the 235/60/15. It's not only the widest tire that will fit in the rear wheelwell, it also fits up front without rubbing, and 235/60/15s are 26.1" tall, which is as close to 26.29" tall as feasibly possible...?

I can change rear gears later, at any time. I am pretty sure the rear is Dana 44 interchangeable, so any Jeep gears on Ebay will do me fine, and for next to nothing really. I want to TRY to keep an "all around gear", as this will be my driver, and I want a decent highway speed ability and good highway cruising BEFORE hard acceleration. It's my driver. I hope. haha

I have to hook up the kickdown linkage still, so blipping the throttle is OK, but to accelerate I have to get my linkage fabricated...

It's noisier than in this video though, and it has four mufflers... :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NStpPLbRPL4

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Good all-around ratio, IMO. That's what was in my '64 GP- and that car used to overpower the open rear and do side-2-side burnouts on the bias plys at WOT (389).

You still might consider a wider, stickier tire for the rear (taller if it'll fit) if you are blowing them off.

That, or pull a spark plug wire or 2. ;)

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I'm not sure I can fit any wider of a tire. These cars were NOT made to fit very big tires, it's unbelievable.

I do have one spare rim, I'm looking for another.... and then a set of slicks for the track *might* be something I could live with.....

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Great job CMG.

I wish I had a project car. :(

I know where quite a few corvettes are resting...what are you looking for...

Valve spring keepers make me so angry! :angry::censored::hissyfit:

They are no fun...

Haha! Thanks guys!

And Dodgefan... you obviously do some pretty danged good work yourself!

:thumbsup:

+1

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