Jensen Interceptor MKIII - Restoration
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the 440ci is a 7.2L engine, they were strangled by emission control for the US market, this is being removed from this build.
The colour is horrendous, yes, it's unlikely to be sprayed that colour again
glad to hear it
i rememebr they did a nice dark blue or a carmine red with that interior or a dark burgundy would look real nice methinks..
and what price a rear glass from autoglass i wonder ???
As promised, updates!
Having removed the old engine from the body we were left with a bit of a mess, the area was washed down with degreaser and all the parts not normally accesible when the engine is in were refreshed.
The heat-proofing material was replaced and the torque converter checked for issues.
The engine was lowered back in and mated to the gearbox
The heads/front cover/manifolds were then bolted on
That's all for the moment, more updates soon!
Having removed the old engine from the body we were left with a bit of a mess, the area was washed down with degreaser and all the parts not normally accesible when the engine is in were refreshed.
The heat-proofing material was replaced and the torque converter checked for issues.
The engine was lowered back in and mated to the gearbox
The heads/front cover/manifolds were then bolted on
That's all for the moment, more updates soon!
Soldato
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Associate
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Yes yes yes!!! Thread full of win. My step dad has the 7.2l interceptor now in a lovely metallic blue (was an awful orange colour) that he has has kept in great condition over his 20+ years of ownership. You seem to know what you're doing but anything you want to ask let me know as my step dad is like an encyclopedia of knowledge on these things now and may be able to help. Otherwise i look forward to future updates, crack on dude.
Soldato
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Looking good, what a worthy car for a restorartion.
Progress has been made on the Interceptor in the past few months
The engine has been completed;
Steering rack and column has been refurbished and the front suspension is nearing the end of a rebuild along with the front brakes;
The engine has been completed;
Steering rack and column has been refurbished and the front suspension is nearing the end of a rebuild along with the front brakes;
So, looks like I haven't updated this thread in a while, updates are as follows. Hopefully in the correct order and I haven't missed anything, I don't have photos of every step but need to get my Dad to send them over!
The Interceptor ran for a months as it was but had a terrible knocking noise which we couldn't diagnose, shortly after which it lunched the gearbox.
Uprated replacement gearbox was fitted, knocking noise continued.
The knocking noise continued so we pulled the engine and replaced it with the other block that had been in the car originally and used the stock pistons rather than the after market ones. Knocking noise stopped! The after market pistons could be rocked back and forth by hand and this is where the noise had been coming from.
Then, disaster, on a run back from a local Jensen parts suppliers the car cut out at the top of my parents drive (whilst my mum and dad were in it). My dad coasted it down through the gates and then noticed flames coming out from under the bonnet. My parents evacuated and my dad hosed it down while my mum watched from a safe distance.
Engine was stripped down *again* and we found that, among other things, the adjustable pushrods had wound themselves open. We purchased these from Summit Racing through Real Steel in an attempt to diagnose the knocking noise and were no longer required, so the old ones were put back on. Turns out to have been caused by an exploding coil.
For the past 5 months the car has been in prep for painting, the more eagle eyed among you may have spotted it floating about in the back of the MGB photos in various stages of primer. The body prep took a long time but this weekend the colour was finally sprayed on;
Carpets are on order for an interior refresh and once the paint has cured it will be flatted back and polished up.
Will upload more photos when they come and will take some more photos once complete.
The Interceptor ran for a months as it was but had a terrible knocking noise which we couldn't diagnose, shortly after which it lunched the gearbox.
Uprated replacement gearbox was fitted, knocking noise continued.
The knocking noise continued so we pulled the engine and replaced it with the other block that had been in the car originally and used the stock pistons rather than the after market ones. Knocking noise stopped! The after market pistons could be rocked back and forth by hand and this is where the noise had been coming from.
Then, disaster, on a run back from a local Jensen parts suppliers the car cut out at the top of my parents drive (whilst my mum and dad were in it). My dad coasted it down through the gates and then noticed flames coming out from under the bonnet. My parents evacuated and my dad hosed it down while my mum watched from a safe distance.
Engine was stripped down *again* and we found that, among other things, the adjustable pushrods had wound themselves open. We purchased these from Summit Racing through Real Steel in an attempt to diagnose the knocking noise and were no longer required, so the old ones were put back on. Turns out to have been caused by an exploding coil.
For the past 5 months the car has been in prep for painting, the more eagle eyed among you may have spotted it floating about in the back of the MGB photos in various stages of primer. The body prep took a long time but this weekend the colour was finally sprayed on;
Carpets are on order for an interior refresh and once the paint has cured it will be flatted back and polished up.
Will upload more photos when they come and will take some more photos once complete.
Do you do the painting yourself Task? I had a go on a Land Rover but wasn't overly successful, but i'll blame that on the matt green paint I was using. I just wondered how easy it is to get a semi-ok finish with a gloss paint?
We do our own spraying, it's not crazy difficult but you need a lot of time, patience and the correct tools for the job.
We spray in cellulose which arguably is the easiest of finishes. Spraying takes a lot less time than the actual prep, for example the MGB took me 7 solid days to prep for paint and it took one morning to lay down the colour. Once it's cured it will probably take one or two days of cutting back and polishing to finish on each of the cars.
High-gloss thinners helps to get a decent gloss from the gun but to get a proper professional finish you need a paint booth really, just too many imperfections from dust and other contaminants. Having said that they do shine up OK
Soldato
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You can join our MGB gang on OCUK
hah, we should have one of these "are there any MGB drivers" threads in Motors
Soldato
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I think we might have too 