Preparation of the Jensen GT Travel Kit

The car is probably at least a few weeks away from being ready to drive home. The engine should be installed soon and the mechanic is just waiting for the arrival of a new header ( the original one has too many leaks) and 5 speed transmission kit which contains a box  with a new clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing. It didn't need the clutch parts yet, but the mechanic figured I only have about 10,000 more miles on the original, so I might as well replace the thing while everything was exposed and opened up.

In anticipation of my Dad and I traveling to pick up the Jensen GT, I started assembling the standard "Travel Kit" which all british car owners should keep with them. I learned about this from attending various Jensen meets and inspecting their trunks. I guess I have had it pretty easy in a sense with my Jensen Healey which was restored years ago. I never carried anything around but some extra oil and maybe a flashlight. my portable GPS was my best friend in the car. I drove around for years up and down the east coast and to western NY a bunch of times without much going wrong, but I figured I am flirting with disaster and at some point, I am just going to break down on the road.

I've learned quite a bit from other experts with Jensens at the various events around the northeast, so i took the time to organize my survival kit. The basic idea being...... it there is a small problem, I have a least a 50% chance of fixing it and moving on ( or at least have the parts on hand for someone else to fix). I bought a couple of storage containers at walmart measuring 17 inches X 13 inches with a sealable top.

I stuffed the following things in the two storage containers and plan to put it in the Jensen GT when I pick it up:

1) Flashlight w/batteries

2) 2 carb rebuild kits ( I shouldn't need these, but you never know)

3) socket/open end wrenches w/ screwdrivers

4) Duct Tape

5) Radiator hoses ( all 3 ) just in case.

6) Thermostat w/gasket

7) a Selection of fuses

8) various hose clamps

9) fan belt

10) disc brake pads

11) Voltmeter

12) connectors/wire strippers etc.

13) Fuel filter

14) Knife and various other tools

In another bigger crate:

4 Quarts oil ( vr-1 racing 20w/50) very hard to find in Maine. I usually buy it when I first see it in the spring, or just stock up in New Hampshire.

 brake fluid

50/50 mix antifreeze

As one Jensen owner told me at the Nationals this year........... "You Gotta carry Fluids with you, it's a British car, it tends to mark its territory more than a dog"

I didn't put in a spare fuel pump like I have in the trunk of my JH. My JH fuel pump is very easy to replace in the trunk and costs less than $50.00. It is very easy to replace and can be done in minutes on the road. The Jensen GT fuel pump is located under the car ( where the gas tank is located) and the cost of that fuel pump is about $250.00, so I may get a spare some day, but I definately won't be crawling around under the car to replace it on the road. The new one I put in this year should last a while.

Next...... final car preparations before the trip, interior shops and estimates,  and the adventure of driving it home from Salamanca NY.

 

 

  

It's a Great looking Jensen GT

I emailed Jim and received a quick reply along with some pictures of the car. He was in the middle of moving some things at his sisters place and the Jensen GT was one of his cars which he had stored at her house. He emailed me some initial pictures and described the condition of the car as best he could. The car looked beautiful and although it needed a bit of TLC, it was in much better shape than many Jensens which need restoration today. Jensens came from the factory with NO RUSTPROOFING applied to the car. My Jensen Healey which I restored in 2005, needed the usual mechanical systems rebuilt, but it also needed quite a bit of bodywork. Bodywork with my first Jensen Healey was something which started out as "minor" and ended up as "major"as more rust was discovered as things were inspected and slowly uncovered. Even the most knowledgable body man can not see the extent of corrosion to the naked eye. Jim was confident this Jensen GT did not have any rust and upon later inspection he was absolutely right.

Over the long storage time, the brakes had frozen to the drums, which made the car difficult to move. Jim needed the car moved off his sister's property with out delay, so I hired a tow truck with a flat bed to winch the car onto the deck and move it safely. I promised Jim I would restore the car to its original condition, and would start to work on it as soon as the car arrived in New York with my friends Jeff and Laura. It was a wonderful gesture to receive such a nice car, I sent down the biggest Maine Lobster Dinner I could find for Jim and his family. I thought it was the least I could do.

I received the car from the shipping company about three weeks later. I had it shipped to Salamanca Ny as my friend Jeff Peterson graciously agreed to look after the car as I planned the restoration from various providers in the Salamanca area. Since Jeff has fully restored 3 Jensens, he had access to a slew of people with Jensen experience. I figured I would come up and visit every few months and plan out each step of the restoration as my time and budget permitted.

Attached are some pictures of the car the day it arrived in NYC.