15x14 - 1974 Jensen Healey

[bunniefuu]

Some words are always meant to be together.

Jenson Healy.

A classic British sports car from 1974.

What is an average British sports car?

In my opinion anyway.

Average British sports car.

With all the classic
British sports car problems.

Are you kidding me?

I'm not kidding you.

Upper ball joint's gone, the
upper bushes have gone, the inner

bush has gone, the lower ball
joint, even the track rod end's gone.

And there's the small matter of getting
that Lotus engine running properly.

That's nice.

Then people will be knocking down our
door to get a chance to own this beauty.

Music to my ears.

Now that sounds like a Jenson show.

I'm just outside of San Francisco.

Famous for the Golden
Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and

the hippie movement
that started here in the 60s.

And when people were still recovering
from whatever they took in the 60s.

Over in England, the West
Midlands in fact, there was

a little company making
cracking little sports cars.

Now the Jenson Healy is
a car that's made up from

different parts, from
different manufacturers.

It's got a Jenson coachwork, it's
got a Lotus engine and it will have

suspension components from GM or
as we know them, Vauxhall in England.

And we're kind of relying that all
these components work together.

Now the Jenson Healy is on the cusp of fast
becoming a really collectible little car.

So when I see one advertised
by a chap called Larry, it meant

that I was urgently trying to
get here to come and buy it.

And the car was only
advertised for just over $5,000.

So that's quite cheap.

But I'm hoping that this car
is still going to be a proud little

Brit waiting for this proud little
Brit to come up and rescue it.

These cars can safely
fetch five figures from people

looking to experience some
quintessential British charm.

You sir, must be Larry. How are you doing?

Good to meet you.

Very nice to meet you too.
Thank you for letting me come to

your lovely neighbourhood,
lovely part of the world to come to.

Thank you.

And come and see this amazing car.

Absolutely.

How long have you had it?

I've had it for about three years.
I've been using her for a daily driver.

Very reliable, fun car.

I mean, looking at the engine
bay, it looks remarkable.

The firewall looks really clean.
The inner wings are nice and sharp.

The slam panel at the front
here is all nice and original.

However, there's a crack in the bumper.

Correct.

And I can't help but
notice, it's catching my eye,

these two dents that are
up here on the bonnet.

What happened there?

She got backed into at a
supermarket and left its Mark.

What a shame.

Yeah.

What a shame.
It's like the little car's been in a fight.

It is.

I'm amazed by the amount of
rust-free bodywork on this car.

Nice and square, door
shuts, that's very good.

No rust under the rear
wheel arches as well.

Can we get into the trunk at the back?

Wow, look at that floor.

It's almost like seeing a unicorn.

Right.

It is. It's like, you know, it's
a rust-free Jensen Healey.

Well, listen, I really like the car.

I mean, it looks arrow
straight, but I really want to

get it out on the road
and see what it drives like.

Do you mind?

Highly recommend it.

Top man.

Yeah. Ah, here we go.

For me, it's been, well,
quite a few years since

I've been behind the
wheel of a Jensen Healey.

I reckon it's decades, in fact, and
when you think about this car as a whole,

it's a combination of some famous British
names, Jensen, Healey, Lotus and Vauxhall.

Every one of those manufacturers is playing
a part in this car one way or another.

We've got, obviously,
Donald Healey's influence.

He's the one that
needed another car to go

to the market after the
success of the 3000.

I did a deal with Jensen and
then we ended up with this car,

but they needed an engine from somewhere.

The engine, well, that's come from Lotus.

Now, that engine went on
to be in the Esprit, the Eclat.

It's a very famous little
engine and it's highly

tunable, even used in
many, many race cars.

But when this car was new, this car
used to leak on the showroom floor.

And why did they put an oil
pressure Gauge in this car?

I don't know, because they
were just asking for trouble.

The interior is pretty sharp.

The dashboard has got no
real evidence of cracks in it.

There's a little Mark up here,
but it's not enough to bother me.

The gearbox is so woolly and the suspension
just needs kind of tightening up.

So for me, this car is just overpriced.

Larry's going to have to get a
bit more realistic with his price.

I need to get this more like three
grand, three and a half grand.

So wish me luck as I go back
and see if I can score myself a deal.

Right then. So how'd it go?

Well, good news and bad news, really.

You want a British sports car
to feel like a British sports car.

And unfortunately, the gearbox, although
it's got that nice Gertrag 5-speed,

no matter what gear you're
in, the gearbox, you can

stir it around like a big
stick in a bucket of porridge.

A little loose.

It is a little loose, so that's
going to need some attention.

The suspension on
this car is stuck in 1974.

It's incredibly tired.

What is the very best
you would take for it?

Would you do 45?

It's a good price, but I'd be so comfortable
if we could do a deal today at $3,500.

And I think for $3,500, I've got a
chance to do the right thing by this car.

It's a little lower than I was hoping for.

But honestly, you guys are going
to do the right thing with this car.

And she deserves it, and
I'd like to see her fixed up.

Top man.

And I've just bought
myself a Jensen Healey.

I know Ant's going to love working on it.

He loves the Lotus engine.

He's born for those things.

He won't be out of
weight to delve deep

inside the engine and
extract a bit more power

and tune it up a little bit because it
is a bit farty as it goes down the road.

Just show me the car.

I will do. I will do.

You know I'm really
good at finding European

and British sports
cars here in America.

Well, ready?

Look what I got for us.

Hey, look at that.

It's a Jensen Healey.

Come on, it's more than that.

This is a Jensen Healey.

Get in some, drink it up.

This 1974 interior.

How cool is that, eh?

Well, it is an average British sports
car, but it is a British sports car.

An average British sports car.

It's got the words Jensen and Healey
facing you on the steering wheel.

This is the best of what we had
to offer in 1974, and it's of a period.

Look at it. It's got vinyl seats.

Who wouldn't want vinyl in their seats?

Vinyl door cards.

It's got teak running across the dashboard.

Right, well this is a 70s British sports
car, so I'm assuming none of this works.

Well, funny enough, you'd
be assuming correctly.

Think about it, right?

This is a British sports car.

So what you want is you want the
roof back, you want the wind in your hair.

You're on the way to the pub.

You love the air, country lanes.

You want the car to be
sure-footed and fancy-free.

Well, this one...

Right, okay, so suspension's done.

Yeah, suspension's done.

And of course you want to be snatching
through those gears and enjoying the ride.

Are you kidding me?

No, I'm not kidding you.

Tell me if you can find a gear.

Is there a gearbox?

I'm not too sure if it's even
attached to the gearbox.

Okay.

Okay, so step out.

I'll tell you what, if you lean
under there, you'll find the lever.

Pull that lever.

That's it.

You might want to
try and find a gear to

leave it in because
it's going to roll away.

I can't.

Try to ignore the few little
dents and nicks on the car.

Mike, what is that?

Well, it's a big dent.

And don't worry about the
other ones down the back as well.

Unfortunately, there's
one on almost every panel.

The light buckets they need to...

Well, all right, stop it, stop it.

I said keep the enthusiasm going.

All right, I'm trying.

You'll like this.

Yeah, it's like moving
a fridge across a room.

Look, you have to do that.

It's good, isn't it?

But underneath, you'll find that.

It's one of your favorite little motors.

Yeah, that is the Lotus-inspired 907.

That's probably the
best thing about this car.

Yeah, they use that in
the Eclat and the Esprit.

Now, how's the oil pressure?

Well, it's got an oil pressure Gauge.

Yeah, but how was it?

Well, the union between
the oil pressure Gauge

and the engine isn't
one that's cohesive.

What does that mean?

Well, it basically means the
oil pressure Gauge is willing.

It sort of goes, and
then it doesn't give in.

So, I know, I'm sorry.

So is the oil pressure in the engine
up the spout, or is it the Gauge?

Well, I thought the engine
performed quite well.

What is the Gauge?

One of the other things
as well I found really

difficult to set up the
Strongbird carburettors,

but I think we should do
something about changing those out.

You want to swap the carbs?

I think so, yeah.

I just don't like them.

They just don't work.

I think we should go for something
a bit more fruity, a bit more reliable.

Well, you know what I'm thinking?

Weber's.

Same page.

Make all the difference.

Same page.

It will open this engine up and make
it breathe and perform a lot better.

It's really, really clean in here.

Ah, you've said something positive.

See?

Well, I am positive.

I'm positive because you've
brought a British sports car.

What's not positive about that?

Yeah, but you said something nice about
it, which is very nice of you to say so.

It's red as well.

It's convertible.

Yeah, well, hold on a minute.

Convertible's got a few problems as well.

Ah, stiff to get up, and
once it does come up,

it's all, yeah, it's a
little bit of a mess.

What did you pay for this?

What do you mean I paid for it?

What we paid for it?

Well, no, unless it's a really good
value, you've bought this, not me.

Okay, I see where you're going.

How about if I told you it was just
three and a half thousand dollars?

Like two and a half grand?

Two and a half grand, English.

I'd say that we have just
bought a Jensen Healey.

Okay, well, it's not my favourite
British sports car, but the

Healey did go on to be Jensen's
biggest selling car of all time.

And that didn't happen by accident.

People love this West
Bromwich built roadster.

Now, bear in mind, the
sports car market back then

was littered with popular
choices like MG and Triumph.

And if you were in the market,
this became a viable option.

Thing is, though, like
all British sports cars on

British roads, which, let's
be honest, aren't the best,

they all suffered similar
problems, some worse than others.

Now, something under here is not right.

The thing is that all suspension and
steering needs to be tight and solid.

Any play and it's going
to upset the handling.

The trick is, though, to highlight
which areas need attention.

I work my way from one
side of the car to the other,

checking each joint
and component in detail,

feeling for any amount
of movement and play.

Now, this front end is in really bad shape.

I mean, look at this cross member
outrigger. It's wobbling all over the place.

My guess is, is that inside
there, there's supposed

to be a rubber bush and
it's completely perished.

But that's not the worst bit.

In fact, everything on
this car needs doing.

The upper ball joint's gone, the
upper bushes have gone, the inner

bush has gone, the lower ball
joint, even the truck rod end's gone.

And it's the same on the other side.

This whole front end
needs a total rebuild.

New bushes, new joints,
everything needs doing.

We are now proud owners
of our very own piece

of classic British


And it's been untouched since the 70s,
which means there's work to be done.

Now, suspension like this works because
it's basically loads of really strong

solid metal bits moving in unison over
all the bumps and curves in the road.

And what allows those
parts to move are the joints.

In some cases, the ball joint or
areas that are protected by rubber.

Without them, you've basically got
a load of metal bits wobbling around.

Now, the problem is, is that our
front end needs a complete rebuild,

which means keeping all the solid
metal bits and replacing every joint.

From the top, I'm fitting a cross brace
to support the weight of the engine.

By doing this, I can
unbolt the engine mounts,

which are attached to
the front cross member.

By doing it this way, it means
that I can drop the whole front

cross member, including all
the suspension, as one big lump.

I've given my front end
a really good clean up.

I've lost the wheels and I've mounted
it on a bit of old tube just to secure it.

And whilst doing that, I noticed that the
engine mounts, they're completely broken.

They would go there, they've fallen apart.

In fact, every single bit of rubber
on this front end is dead and

needs replacing, which means
I've got to take all of this apart.

Now, be really careful when taking
Springs off a car because they're

under so much compression,
they can literally take an eye out.

If you're a geek like me, it's
called elastic potential energy.

Now, you can avoid the danger by
using a spring compressor like this.

This compressor tightens up to pull
the spring together to hold it in place.

Once secure, it allows me
to remove the spring safely.

You can buy a budget set for around $30.

That's only 20 quid.

One down.

Right now, our Jensen
is fitted with factory

bushes made from good
old fashioned rubber.

But things have moved
on and so has Mike, who's

brought me into this
world of polyurethane.

Now, the great thing about polyurethane
is it lasts longer than rubber.

Rubber can deteriorate over time.

Also, it's a firmer material.

You get that real firm,
responsive feel at the steering

wheel, which on a car like
that is exactly what we're after.

Lastly, it's really easy to fit, which
for a home mechanic is great news.

Now, the problem is
these old rubber ones,

these can be a bit of
a nightmare to remove.

So to help me out, I've knocked up this
homemade tool here, and it's really simple.

It's basically a little bit
of tube I've welded a lid

on and then a bolt that
passes through the middle.

Stick that through the bush, Chuck
my washers on, and then do it up.

And then the tighter I
do it up, what it actually

does is it draws the
rubber bush out for me.

I'm going to do this for the
upper and lower suspension arms.

And also deal with the ball joint.

And these are the two metal bits that
I'm going to keep, but it is only one side.

I need to tackle the rest of it and then
give these a clean up and paint them.

I'm not a savage.

Whilst anti-merces himself
in the Jensen suspension,

I'm back in the
motherland to visit family

and maybe take a little
detour to somewhere special.

I can almost guarantee
no matter what car

you've got or wherever
you are in the world,

you'll find a small
engineering shop or a

manufacturer that can make the parts
you need to get your car back on the road.

And I'm going to see an old
company that I'm familiar with.

They're called Martin Roby Engineering.

And they reckon they can supply
any part I need for our Jensen Elite.

And if they haven't got
the part, well guess what?

They can make it.

Hey!

How are you doing, mate?

Nice to see you.

You're looking well.

And yourself. How are you doing?

It's been a few years, hasn't it?

It has, yeah.

Wow, what's happened for the business?

It looks busier, it looks like you've
expanded, you're doing body panels.

Yeah, a lot of expansion since
the last time you've been here.

You've been really busy
to keep up with demand.

So yeah, it's been fantastic.

I haven't come to the Jaguar E-type parts.

I've got something a
little bit less than that.

It's that 1974 Jensen Healey I
spoke to you on the phone about.

I do need some parts for it.

Can you help me out?

Not a problem.

Lovely. Perfect.

So what is this department down here?

That down there, Mike, is the panel beating
shop where we metal finish the panels.

And also if you need we can
bespokely make a part that's

not available from a flat
sheet of metal if you need it.

That's brilliant, isn't it?

In the world of classic car restoration, you
always come against these problems if somebody's

got a panel that they need restoring or repairing
on the car and it's simply not available.

You're saying they can come
here and you can make it.

Absolutely, yeah.

That is brilliant.

And then of course down here, we've
got this industrial sized engineering.

Look at the size of that
machine, that's fantastic.

Love it.

Whoa!

On one press.

Hey presto, if you pardon the pun.

And it's done.

That is brilliant.
How many tons of pressure is that one?





Correct me if I'm wrong,
but I recognise that.

Ain't that the door of the heli, like mine?

Correct, yes, that's right. That's the
door skin for the heli. Handmade here.

This is the Jensen department
where we metal finish the panels

that have been pressed before
they can go out into the store.

Well listen, you've
tantalised me and teased me.

I think it's now time
for me to get my credit

card out and let's go
and spend some money.

Now I'm not suggesting
people make transatlantic parts

runs as places like this exist
on both sides of the pond.

But they are lifesavers.

I'm walking away with
a gearbox linkage kit,

carburetor overhaul kit
and a brand new soft top.

Job done.

Well for me anyway.

And still got loads of work to do.

We've got ourselves a true British
gentleman, a 1974 Jensen heli.

Ants already ripped out the front end
and begun work restoring the suspension.

While I made the most
of a trip to England to pick

up some well needed
parts from the horse's mouth.

Brit parts from a Brit supplier.

I think it's now time
for me to get my credit

card out and let's go
and spend some money.

Lots of work still to do though.

I've cleaned up and now painted
the front subframe assembly.

Now while all that's drying I'm
going to tackle the engine mounts.

Now I've not gone for polyurethane.

I've gone for the good old
fashioned rubber because

I want the vibrations of
the engine to be softened.

Now taking the mounts
off is actually quite simple.

It's only these three bolts here
and the whole bracket comes off.

First up, give this a clean.

Now swapping the engine
mount out itself is really simple.

It's just one bolt.

You can see how bad the old one was.

It's completely broken in two.

I'll just place the new one in.

And it really is as simple as that.

One end of this mount
attaches to the frame of the car.

The other end of the
mount bolts to the engine.

The rubber bit between the bolts isolates
the engine vibrations from the car.

Now I can't believe how
good this front end's come out.

With a bit of paint it looks brand new.

Plus, I've fitted the new
polyurethane bushes into the subframe.

And they were really easy.
They simply pushed in by hand.

The bushes on the upper
wishbones, however, they're a little bit

trickier because there's this
metal sleeve around the outside.

So to fit these I'm going
to need a bit of force.

So I'm turning to my
homemade pulling device.

I'm going to use it in the opposite way.

I'm going to draw them in nice and slowly.

Now do yourself a favour.
Go and invest in a press.

Now entry level ones start around £100.
This one's a bit more expensive.

But it's a fantastic bit of kit
to have around the garage.

And it's really useful for loads of things.

Now this will very simply
press in nice and easy.

And that is it.

You know, that really wasn't that bad.
And the end results are fantastic.

Every single bit of rubber
on our car was shot to pieces.

But now it's replaced
with modern polyurethane.

It's going to transform the ride
and feel of this perky little Brit.

Perfect.

How are you doing, son?

Hey, how's it going? How was England?

England was hot.
What's up with the exhaust?

Oh yeah, it was cracked. And this
doesn't look big enough for a new one.

No, I haven't got you a new exhaust.

But I have got you a
box of parts for the gents.

And carried all the way
from our nice sunny England.

So what's been going on?

Right, well I'm actually
starting the suspension job.

And when I took the subframe off I realised
that the manifold itself was cracked.

The rest of the exhaust is dead.

So we're going to have to sort that out.

And I'm going to reuse and
make use of the front end.

But this doesn't look big
enough for an exhaust.

No. Well, I don't think
I could get an exhaust

on an aeroplane if I was
to be honest with you.

I don't even think it's legal to
carry an exhaust on an aeroplane.

So is this like a British care
package full of tea and biscuits?

No, I'll see where you're going with this.
You want me to make you a nice cup of tea?

Yes.

I have got some hobnobs inside it for you.

Ooh.

Now removing the front suspension
revealed that the manifold was cracked.

But I've managed to save it.

And I've welded up the front.

For the rest of this exhaust...

...is junk.

So from the manifold back, I
want to replace the whole lot.

Now the good news is I've
managed to get a tail section,

which includes the sil*ncer,
and the middle section.

So all I have to do is keep the
manifold and build from here backwards.

Now I'm not looking for
any performance upgrades.

I just want the gasses
to escape from the

engine as quickly and
efficiently as possible.

Which means this collector here is going to
have to go in the bin because it's a bodge.

In fact it's just a piece of rubbish.

And I'm going to make the best. Retain the
manifold that I've kept, keep the middle section

that Mike's got me, the sil*ncer that Mike's
got me, and just build a new one of these.

Now I'm going to start
my exhaust at the rear

with the sil*ncer and
then work my way forward.

I'm just going to put a little tack
on here and hold it all in place.

Now the back of the exhaust
is pretty straightforward.

This is the piece that I care about.

The way it goes from the
manifold at two pipes into a collector

and then joins the single
pipe for the rest of the exhaust.

And that's the bit I'm going to make
myself using some pre-bent tube.

I've got hold of a standard step-down.

This is going to slide on my existing
exhaust, join up the manifold, and this way I

can separate the manifold from the rest of
the exhaust with a simple clamp round here.

And it's just a case of
tacking that all in place.

See, now it's a nice, smooth,
free-flowing collector from two into one.

Much better than this old Frankenstein.

Now sitting in a car like this,
you interact in three main ways.

You have your feet on the
pedals, your hands on the

steering wheel, and the
gear levers within reach.

It's the ergonomics of driving.

And if any one of those three are off,
it makes the car feel kind of average.

The thing is, though,
there's drivers all over the

world that aren't willing to
compromise the steering.

They're not willing to compromise the pedals,
but they do compromise the gear lever.

And I know you know what I'm talking about.

You jump in somebody else's car and it
needs a little nudge to get it into first,

or you have to really
push it to get it in reverse,

or maybe even rev it
loads so it goes into fourth.

And I'm telling you, it
doesn't need to be like that.

It certainly doesn't have to be like this.

Now the gear stick's
connected by rods and linkages,

and those rods and linkages
are protected by bushes.

The thing is, over time,
those bushes can wear out.

And you can feel that wear immediately,
and of course, so will any potential buyer.

Now if I look up here, this is
where the gear stick comes

through the transmission
tunnel and joins to the gearbox.

Actually, I can see straight
away that that's a little bit wobbly.

I need to remove the rear transmission
crossmember to access the driveshaft.

I unbolt the front and
rear of the driveshaft,

and lower it out of the way.

And now remove the shifter
linkage so I can change the bushes.

And this is our issue, this linkage here.

And it splits into two
parts. There's this barrel and

pin section, and then
there's this linkage and bush.

And it's really wobbly. In fact, all
these little plastic parts are worn away.

So it's a case. I'm popping these pins out.

That loses the barrel.

And then this just pushes through.

And that loses the plastic.

The good news is, Mike
brought back a replacement

kit, and it's really
easy to sort out.

Already they feel firmer.

Nice and tight.

Red collar.

Got nice stainless pins now.

Everything's going
together really positively.

I can feel there's absolutely
no play in that whatsoever.

That's going to make a massive difference.

I need that, and that, and that's it.

And it's as simple as that.

Now, the linkage kit's actually
quite expensive. It's $155.

It's 120 quid.

But if it transforms the driving
experience, it's going to be well worth it.

Oh, yes. Now what a difference that makes.

See, now I've got my pedals, my
steering wheel, and finally, a gear stick.

Yeah, this is as good as solved.

Now, Mike was complaining
that the power felt a little

bit hesitant, and he suspected
it was the carburetors.

So I've taken the Liberty of
removing it so I can have a closer look.

Now, these are Stromberg carburetors
from a company called Zenith.

And I think it's fair to say that
Strombergs have a bit of a bad reputation,

especially compared to other
carbs in the market like SU Weber.

Mike and I did have a conversation
about swapping these out,

but in fairness, I think I'd be
doing these a bit of a disservice,

because when these are running
right, they're really, really great.

Trick is, though, to get them
running right can be a bit of a mystery.

Now, the simplest way
to describe a carburetor

is basically like a tap
that mixes air and fuel.

The more you open the tap, the more
air, the more fuel that goes through,

which means the engine gets more power.

And to get all that working,
they have very few moving parts.

Now, one of those moving parts
is this diaphragm inside here.

It creates an airtight seal between
the upper cavity inside the cap

and the lower cavity inside
the body of the carburetor,

while still remaining
flexible enough to move.

So when you press the
accelerator, it opens up

a butterfly within the
body of the carburetor.

As the air rushes into the carb, it
passes this tiny little hole inside.

That creates a venturi
effect, and it's that change

in pressure that lifts the
diaphragm up and down.

To work, it relies on an airtight seal.

I can see here...
Actually, this one's ripped.

Now, attached to the underside
of the diaphragm is this big piston,

and then attached to the piston
is this tiny little needle here.

And you can see, if you look closely,
that the needle tapers down to a point.

And it's deliberately
shaped like that because

it sits within this brass fitting
inside here, and that's called a jet.

Now, because this needle's
tapered, the further it

comes out, the larger the
gap is around the needle,

which means more fuel
can pass through the jet.

It's basically like a tapered plug.

Now, inspecting it, the needle
itself actually looks really good.

The jet's also the same.

All I'm going to do is
replace the broken diaphragm,

and that's really simple.
It just comes off.

Right, I want to keep that part,

and this bit goes in the bin.

Now, I've got a new diaphragm
out of the carb rebuild kit,

and before you fit it, it's
really important that this

little key here fits into the
corresponding hole here.

So make sure that lines up.

Drop that one there.

Now, the diaphragm has a second key here,

which lines up with there, so it's important
that it goes in the right orientation.

Replace the little slinky spring.

Now, this whole diaphragm fix
has only taken a couple of minutes.

It's a job that can be done at home.

Now, a really cool feature on these
carburetors is this little black cap here.

If I unscrew it and take it out,

you'll see that there's this tiny little
damper, and that sits within a pot of oil,

so that when that's down and nicely tight,

the slide valve is now
pushing against the oil.

It acts like a mini shock absorber,

and that feels really good.

I can feel the resistance,
which means there's enough oil.

I'm going to replace the
diaphragm on the other one anyway.

It only takes a couple of minutes,
and I've got a spare one in the kit.

This one's low on oil.
There's hardly any resistance.

There's a specific oil
sold for the carburetors,

and it's just like a 20-weight 3-in-1 oil.

So much better.

Now, these are ready to go back on the car.

Now, I noticed when I
took the carburetors off,

there's a tiny little oil
leak at the distributor,

and now that I've got access,
it's a perfect time to tackle it.

The leak's coming from the
O-ring, which needs replacing.

I remove the distributor
cap and hold-down bolt.

Pull the distributor
out, and simply slip the

old O-ring off the shaft
and install a new one.

Reinstall the distributor in the exact
position it came out so the timing's correct.

Now, I've fitted a nice new gasket.

Right, crank over.

It sounds pretty good, but not perfect.

Now, to make sure it is perfect,

I'm going to use this flow meter.

What the flow meter does is it measures
the flow of air entering the carbs.

so I can get each one absolutely spot-on.

Now, what I'm going to do is
I'm going to adjust the idle screw.

so I can match.

That is now absolutely perfect.

The thing is, though, you don't always want
to rely on the science of the flow meter.

You actually get a sense of it.
You can feel it and hear it.

Now, that sounds like a Jensen shirt.

That sounds absolutely fantastic.

With a pair of properly breathing
carburetors dealing with the flow in

and that lovely flow in the
exhaust dealing with the flow out,

this Jensen now sounds as it should.

Top job!

We were lucky enough
to discover a true British

classic hiding in a
San Francisco suburb.

Look what I got for us!

This is a Jensen Healey. Get in, son.

That's right, a true British classic.

Well, it is an average British sports car.

It had a few minor
concerns needing a little TLC,

but one quick parts run to Blighty.

Now time for me to get my credit card
out and let's go and spend some money.

Plus some plastic
surgery on the suspension.

Now it's replaced with modern polyurethane.

A little carb whispering from Mr Anstead.

Now that sounds like a Jensen.

A custom exhaust.

And no more storing porridge for us.

Oh, yes.

But how much did it cost to
get us back to the best of British?

We bought the car for $3,500.

The suspension overall cost $1,255.

Refurb the exhaust system, $253.

Replace the carb diaphragms, $85.

Replace the gear shift linkage, $155.

Body work and respray, $3,200.

New soft top, $750.

That gives us a grand total of $9,198.

or around £7,300 and 29 man hours.

Do you know what?

Us Brits, we certainly know how to travel.

For us it's first class all the way.

Take two motoring gods, Jensen and Healy.

Separately they're
amazing but put them

together and you have
something really special.

Then add in a dose of yours truly
and the silver fox and what do we get?

We get Britishness squared or cubed.

Morning.

Ah, there he is, the
old silver fox himself.

Would you like a nice cup of tea?

Yes, please.

I see you bought the best
of Britishness with you.

That looks incredible.

Yeah, you like it?

I think it's lovely.

What's going on there with that bumper?

That looks incredible.

Well actually that bumper was
pretty much underneath there.

All I've done is put spotlights
on end caps and painted it.

Look at it, it looks glorious.

This one really is sharp.

Look what you've done down the back.

Her Majesty the Queen
will be very proud of us

right now with uni and
Jacks adorned in the rear.

Nice job.

Nice job.

Yeah, I'm really pleased
with how the outside

looks but the truth
is that the lion's share

of the work is underneath
and I've driven it here.

You have to experience how this car drives.

It's on it.

Right, let's get it down the road.

Sounds epic.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

Let me just do that again.

Yeah.

I'm in that gearbox.

When I got the
car it felt like it was

stirring a wooden spoon and a bowl of
porridge but now it feels crisp and precise.

Yep, nice and slick
now and it had a problem

with the bushes but
it's all been stripped

down, now it just slides in
and out of gears nice and easily.

You like it?

Yeah, love it.

But that's not the only thing I can feel.

I really wanted the best of British.

I wanted it to feel like I was going to a
pub on a Sunday afternoon but unfortunately

the bit that made it British,
that nice little two-seater open

top sports car was lacking
because the suspension was dire.

If I was to have told
you that every single

rubber Vershawn mountain
on the entire suspension

was shot, in fact some were
so bad they weren't even there.

Seriously?

Sounds dangerous.

They vaporised, they
disappeared into the ether.

Plus now that they're
polyurethane they'll

probably last longer
than the rest of the car.

Added value for the new owner.

Exactly.

Fantastic.

Now I'm convinced the handling of this
car is so good it doesn't matter what kind

of scenery we throw at it, I know this car
will handle any road, especially that one.

Put my lucky mascot on the dashboard.

Oh yeah, Her Majesty.

Her Majesty up there.

There you go.

Now we're British.

Go, go!

Right son, buckle up.

I am buckled up.

Right now it's time to get serious.

I'm not sure I like that look in your eyes.

Oh no.

There is something about
being in a little British sports

car on windy country roads
that does just feel magical.

It's a completely different
car, it's been reborn.

Yeah, not only has the
handling improved, the

gear stick improved,
listen to the engine.

Oh it's so sweet.

Can you hear the difference?

Yes I can.

This car is now tuned beautifully,
so did you put the weapons in?

No, I sorted out the twins.

Twins?

What twins?

The Strombergs.

Alright, so you've just, what,
repaired the ones we got?

Well no no, they weren't tuned for a start
and the diaphragm was gone on one of them,

so they've had a little service, a
little upkeep, but what a difference.

You know we only give three
and a half grand for this car.

I know it is for nothing.

And we've only done some light fixes to it.

We haven't busted the bank.

I reckon we can sell it for
around ten grand this car.

That's about £8,000.

Do you know who's going to buy it?

It's going to be an Anglophile.

It's going to turn up looking like that.

Where's this fella from?

He always travels with me.

He's my little Anglophile.

Alright, well let's put him
there, guard him the queen.

Ladies and gentlemen,
cue the British music.

Lovely.

Perfect.

Our three and a half thousand dollar Jensen
Healey that I bought in San Francisco

has come an awfully long way, but I
had this one chap behind me called Peter,

who phoned me up, and guess what?

He's from England and he
wants to drive a nice British

sports car right here in
California, just like me.

So we've been out for a test drive.

He likes the way it drives, but let's
see if we can put a deal together.

So then, Peter, you like the car?

That's very good.

Yeah, very good. Excellent.

What do you like most about it?

It's nice English convertible.

It's perfect for California.

Yeah, it is, isn't it?

So I've advertised the car at $10,000.
What do you think?

Yeah, the interior just needs some love.

I'll be thinking around $9,000.

$9,000?

Well, look, you're a gentleman
and I'm an English gentleman,

and we don't like to get
into fights over these things,

so why don't we just be nice and gentlemanly
between us and meet in the middle?

$9,500 or 7,300 quid.

What do you say?

I prefer the lower number, but let's go.

$9,500.

Come on, have a deal with me.

Let's go.



Go on, then. Okay.

Hold out your hand.

You've bought yourself a Jensen Healey.

Thank you very much.

Top work. Well done, that man.

I set out to buy a
British soft-top sports car

and I landed this amazing
little Jensen Healey,

and it's going to live on in the hands of
an Englishman right here in California.

Plus, we made a little weenie bit of
profit, and you can't say fairer than that.

If you want to see more cars like this,

being turned around by me and Ant,

join us again soon on Wheel Of Dealers.

Ta-la.