There are a few cars that make our restoration team purr with delight. We’re talking about a bona fide classic here, the type of vehicle you see out on the road and it immediately brings a smile to your face. The Jensen Interceptor that we had in our bodyworks shop recently is a prime example.
Sleek, sporty and with that 60s/70s feel to it, the Interceptor is a fairly rare classic on the road nowadays. While you can pick up a bargain in need of renovation for under £2,000, finding the replacement parts can be an issue.
It’s throaty V8 engine meant it was pretty advanced back in the day and it was certainly popular with plenty of TV and film stars including Tony Curtis and comedy great Eric Morecombe. Handmade in Birmingham, for ten years the Interceptor was seen as halfway between the Jag and the Aston DB6, a car that made a big statement but wasn’t overpriced.
This particular mean machine came to us for a renovating paint job and a bit of repair work for dings and dents. By the time we’d finished, the car looked as though it had just come off the assembly line.
About the Car
Jensen was a specialist car manufacturer that operated out of Birmingham and had been producing cars since the late 40s. It wasn’t until 1966, however, that this incarnation of the Interceptor came onto the market with a design that made it look more like a sportscar than a family saloon. Powered by a 6.3 V8 engine, it had plenty of kick for the not inconsiderable £3,700 price tag.
The car was also innovative for its time, incorporating the Ferguson Formula four wheel drive technology. While it was seen as cutting edge, the FF was not without it’s problems and suffered from reliability issues, meaning it was all but abandoned by 1971. Future models were given quirky gimmicks to help them sell. In one version a built-in typewriter was installed in the glove compartment and the later models were some of the first cars to include a radio telephone.
One of the big problems with the Jensen Interceptor was its thirst for petrol. In truth, it was never the most economical car on the market. Some say that the energy crisis after war in the Middle East was the big nail in the company’s coffin and the car went out of production in 1976, only producing spare parts after that.
It’s one of the more agile classic cars you can hope to drive and when you sit down behind the wheel you know you’re in a vehicle with a whole bunch of style. The fact that the cars were handmade means they’re a vintage vehicle enthusiast’s dream though they are a lot rarer than models from the same era and original parts can be hard to source.
Our Restoration Work
As with any paint job on any car, preparation is key. The first thing we needed to do with the Jensen Interceptor was make sure that we got rid of any little dings and dents and repaired the areas that needed it. Our next job was to match up the paint properly so we could return the car to its original stratosphere blue.
The end result was a car that looked as if it had just come out of the Jensen factory, ready to hit the road. At White’s Bodyworks, we take pride in using the latest spray paint technology and techniques to ensure your car gets the professional finish you are looking for.
Contact our team today on 01273 933633 for a quote.
