Though less well-known than the likes of E-Types and Austin-Healeys, a properly sorted Jensen-Healey can be a very competitive sports car. Under the bonnet you’ll find a 2.0lt twin-cam 16-valve Lotus inline-four, otherwise known as the Lotus 907.
In this case it’s running twin Dellorto DHLA carburettors (similar in concept to side-draft DCOE Webers) and claims 144hp. American-market cars ran twin SUs. The transmission is a four-speed Chrysler unit, as used in the Sunbeam Alpine. MkII Jensen-Healeys ran a five-speed Getrag.
Much of the chassis was adapted from the Vauxhall Firenza. It ran double wishbones with coil springs up front, and a live axle with trailing arms and coils on the rear. Braking was a disc/drum combination. Steering is rack and pinion.
It was a lively performer for its day with a lot of competition success in the USA.
Before we got married I had a Datsun 1600 Sports – I always liked my sports cars. After we got married I needed another sports car. I couldn’t afford an E-Type Jaguar, but I could afford a Jensen-Healey. It was only five years old when I bought it and had low mileage. It had originally been imported to Perth and then shipped across to Sydney.
I used the car sparingly and had a number of other cars, including a BMW company car.
The BMW dealer I used in Sydney, Kurt Keller, used to be a Healey dealer. So whenever I went in for a service I could talk to them about the Jensen-Healey. They would loan me the manuals and spare parts books. I bought all their new-old stock – for example I got a brand-new hood for my car and a new centre console.
Eventually I decided to restore the car professionally. I used to work as an electrical engineer, building telecommunication systems here and overseas, and I’m a perfectionist – not a bad trait for a restorer.
Restoring the car meant I could be a perfectionist and actually enjoy it! In 1984 I dropped a nut down into the engine while doing the tappets, and so I pulled the engine out.
Once I got that far I decided I might as well restore it completely. I was working on it continually until 1995, when it went back on the road. I’ve kept working on it from time to time since.
It was initially a nut-and-bolt rebuild. Then, once it was on the road I kept working on it as a rolling restoration, doing things such as rubbing back the paint and getting that right.
The car has been kept standard, except I changed the ratio for the diff. It was too low, with the engine spinning at 4000rpm at 100km/h – it was way too loud. Now it’s doing about 3000rpm, which is far more civilised than it used to be.
The car’s had a bad reputation from the beginning. It’s now very reliable and everything has been attended to.
They had poor quality rust control, poor paint work, the engines leaked oil – all of those things have been ironed out. Those issues contributed to the company going bankrupt. That’s all history. Every panel that could be removed was electro-zinc-plated so it can’t ever rust again.
I did much the same with the chassis. It was dipped and all the paint removed. The tedious part was getting underneath and removing all the tar that had been applied to it. Once that was done it was given a zinc phosphate treatment, with a lot of attention to cavities. That was hugely time-consuming.
When the body was being prepared for paint, I spent weekend after weekend at the body shop removing the emulsion that had been used to fill gaps.
Everything that came off the car went through a caustic bath to clean it, then run a wire brush over them and then send them off for electroplating. I carefully bagged and labelled everything before I took it to the platers, so I would drop off the box with everything carefully catalogued. When I went to collect it, he pointed at a pile of parts and then at a pile of empty bags …
Every nut and bolt on that car is the original. It’s now built to a much higher standard and, of course, when you’re doing a restoration you find the time and resources to do it. Much of that wasn’t realistic for a production car.
The original colour was a very pale green, which was a bit insipid. I changed it to a darker colour, a Jensen colour called Oakland Green – similar to British Racing Green in a Jaguar.
Chasing parts has been intriguing. You find yourself sourcing parts from Toranas or Hillmans that are common to this car. I photocopied the parts manual from Kurt Keller. On each page you would find a Jensen part number, then there would be a Vauxhall number, or Lucas part numbers – that was sometimes challenging. You soon learn what is interchangeable. For example I found wheel bearings at a Holden dealer.
I’ve managed to collect a series of brochures for the car, including colour charts and manuals. I’ve also kept a photographic record of every component, which I’ve digitised and make available to car clubs.
Bernie Haehnle, the former Formula Vee champion, is a friend of mine and helped on the engine. He’s an excellent mechanic and ensured everything measured up correctly. The crankshaft was fine, so we fitted new bearings, honed the bores and fitted new rings. Everything was like new when it went back together. We had a look at the transmission, which was in good condition.
Getting parts was a mixed experience. Some undercarriage parts you could get locally as Vauxhall spares. Engine parts and the like you need to go to England and retailers like Martin Robey and Cropredy Bridge Motors.
As part of changing the diff ratio, I had to get a new gearbox hand made for the speedo so it was reading correctly. That was a $1000 exercise.
I’ve had MG TFs, MGB GT V8 and this car compares well. It’s peppier than all of those. Their main issue was that when they were built, they weren’t put together properly. Once you fix that, they’re a brilliant car to drive.
A lot of money was spent on restoring that car. But the way I looked at it, this was my hobby and something I enjoyed.
ED’S note: Peter has sinced decided it was time to part ways with the Jensen-Healey and it was sold via Donington Auctions’ June event for $23,200.
