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WhatsUpDOHC Member 
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Hello everyone! Whelp, I did it. I'm starting to think I'm crazy but Jensen Healey Mk1 S/N 11214 is now in my possession. I searched the site and it doesn't look like this is a "known" car. Build date on the door jamb plate is 2/11/73. Yes, an early MkI but no real oil leaks...... I've already gotten the Martin Robey certificate and the build date on the car shows January 29, 1973. I'll find out more about this. The car has its original Mustard paint and original engine. The paint is in amazingly good shape for 48+ years old with only surface rust in the footwells and trunk: Little/Nothing at the rockers and wheel wells. The picture is from the previous owners - I haven't had a chance to take a picture other than the car coming in on the carrier. After a timing belt and bearings, rust is next on the list (among about 50+ other things). Perfect winter project car! The car has performance cams (unsure of the manufacturer/grind), 9.5:1 pistons, a header and sway bars (with Strombergs). The car is from an estate so receipts and history are scarce. There are some pencil written notes in a Delta catalog (This tells you how old *they* are). I did have the car reviewed by a local British car expert in Cleveland on a video conference call and everything checked out (compression tests showed 120 in all cylinders). The way the car was put together and cared for tells me that the previous owner knew what he was doing and hopefully did things right. I'm told that he had other British cars and other Jensen Healeys and this is the one he kept. Odometer doesn't work but last known mileage is 13,500. Can't be much more than this as I believe that the car sat since ~2014. The above mechanic flushed everything and performed a great deal of repairs/maintenance (clean tank/lines, new brakes, fluid changes, tires, U joints, exhaust, etc.) in July. Hopefully I'll get some nice (aka dry and salt-free) weather in the coming weeks! This site is a wealth of information and I'm looking forward to being part of the JH Community and LBC owners. Many thanks to those who responded to my posts! Shout outs to Randy Clary and Don Kuzma (Jh092) who have supported me through many email messages and texts while I figured out this and other cars. And, at 6'5" I fit in the car without any issues (I'll still move the seat back)!! Happy Thanksgiving to all! Mark Attachment: JH 11214 Pic.JPG (Downloaded 62 times) |
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discogodfather Member 
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Very nice catch, the GT lip spoiler is a nice touch and rare. I just spent a bit of time doing a rust prevention on my 73, here is what I learned: The main areas to really concentrate on are the box sections (semi enclosed structures): 1) One exists inside the passenger footwell and is notorious for trapping water. The front "kick panel" of the footwell is very thin gauge and sits about 1" from the actual main footwell body panel. You can see a small ledge that clearly identifies the "box" 2) The rocker panels- these have several 1/2" holes along the edge of the panel and have a seam weld where all the moisture gets trapped. People always jack the car up and bend the edges which makes the problem worse 3) The under car frame rails that are 2"x3" box sections that run from the front to the rear trailing arm pickup points. 4) A central frame rail of about 3"x4"that sits right in front of the gas tank and connects the back of the floor pan to the back of the interior panel. It has 2 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom as well for venting 5) 2 long 1"2" box sections that connect to the central rail that project backwards and ultimately run under the gas tank and make up the connection to the rear bumper 6) The "box" like section made up by the space in-between the rear passenger compartment and the rear fender (not really accessible) These are the areas to consider for rot, even if no outward signs of rust appear. I took a fiber optic borescope and looked through these areas and discovered that there was in fact rust in those areas, even if it was just surface. My solution was to clean it out with a rust cleaning and paint promotion chemical from Eastwood (a green liquid) and then use eastwood's frame rail paint. It's a rust encapsulater paint that comes in a rattle can and a vinyl tube with a special 180 degree spray pattern. I used two cans to coat the entire inside of all the above listed "box" sections. Of course if rust is too bad it won't work, and that's when cutting, grinding, and re-welding are required. But as long as its surface, this is the way to make sure it will not spread or get any worse. There are many specialists and custom shops that can do it with even better equipment and chemicals but for me it was on a budget as usual. For around $60 you can virtually ensure the rot will not continue- and there is ALWAYS some. I did have to just a section of the passenger footwell out, just about an inch by four inches and reweld a section in. Don't ever get these cars wet! Even when washing it's a nightmare, especially electrically. The best thing is to hand wash it with a bucket and control everywhere the water goes. |
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WhatsUpDOHC Member
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discogodfather - Sir!!! Thank you so much for this post. I've been looking all over for how to conserve these cars for their rust and to do it in keeping with originality. In fact, I was just reading a post from the Jensen Healey Museum on the subject of conservation (While watching Wheeler Dealers and the TVR Griffith and Landrover Series I episodes - British car immersion): https://www.jensenmuseum.org/jensen-healey-mk-i-uuu-692m/ I plan on spending a great deal of my time on my back this winter - Maybe my abs will get a good workout. Thank you! I'm really looking for conservation and rust mitigation tips. Too bad - I can't buy you a beer as you're in SF and I'm near Philly. Thanks!!! Mark discogodfather wrote: Very nice catch, the GT lip spoiler is a nice touch and rare. |
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noomg Member
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Mark, Looks like you found a very nice fairly original car. I really like the original mustard yellow paint, I'd keep that as long as possible. Looks like you've got your priorities straight, yes timing belt first. You should also check the date on the tires, if ten years old they should probably be replaced. Also I wouldn't put to much stock in that 13,500 being the original mileage. Why would someone rebuild a motor with such low mileage? More likely the odometer either turned over or at some point stopped working. While my J/H shows only 20,843 I was driving it when it turned over from 99,999 to 00,000. And if the odometer stopped working 13K then that happened a very long time ago since it would only take a year or two to put that kind of mileage on a brand new J/H as a daily driver. |
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WhatsUpDOHC Member
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Thanks noomg ! The tires are new so I'm good there. Also, the car will NEVER be re-painted. I'm going to be maintaining originality as much as possible. The odometer in the car reads 86.x miles (yes, 86) - I'm sticking to my story of 13,500 miles. This is what was on the title from the estate and the car sure looks like it - Not tired looking at all. I've been told that the former owner wanted to take it to Mid Ohio to have track days. To me, this makes sense as I've seen similar JHs modded the same way. Also, a rebuild and performance mods *may* have been performed to try to straighten out the early 907 *issues*. I'll keep digging on when/how the modifications were done. Thanks for the response! noomg wrote: Mark, |
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