Inspecting a car.
Professional advice is a great idea. Cropredy Bridge inspected my FF, and
provided a written report of two pages outlining faults and suggesting
how my ownership and maintenanceof the car might best be undertaken.
This is especially usefull to someone who wants to service the car themselves.
Cost was around 100 pounds or so plus VAT, in 1996. Normal Long carried
out the inspection for me on No 11. This is especially important given
the premium price that a good FF can fetch. Even a complete wreck can hide
suprises....
As far as mechanical problems go, look for oil leaks from worn or perished
bushes, accident damage, dry universal joins in prop and drive shafts,
worn bearings, rubber bushes, decomposing transmission oil, old hoses,
etc... If you are happy, call in your Jensen expert (not me!) for a proper
checkup...
Serious rust problems can occur on most 30 year old cars that
have been neglected. Here are some of the most common places to look for
poor repairs and future problems:
Once fettled, even a car like the one featured below can often be driven
(though not on a public road!), much to the suprise of the new, if not
the old owner...
Corrosion along the leading edge of the bonnet
is quite common.
The bonnet is quite an expensive part to replace. Careful maintenance is
essential. Should the car be used with the front mud flap missing inside
the front wheel arch, corrosion can form from the inside like that around
the front headlight above.
Corrosion at the bottom of the door A-Post is quite common too, as this
poor fitting rear flap under the drivers side front wing shows:
The lower section of the doors, front and rear valance are also possible
rust traps:
The rear valance and rear wheel arch area can also rust badly if poorly
maintained and exposed to salty winter roads...
However, the biggest problem area of all is the outer chassis tubes that
hide behind the outer sill. Because these are enclosed they are often badly
maintained. The amater may need to cut off to paint the outside of the
tubes properly...
Because these outer tubes are used as vacuum resevoirs, the slightest
pin-prick hole causes loss of brake servo power.
Many enthusiasts have different views as to how to tackle the common,
potentially expensive task of replacing, repairing, or as Jensen Motors
themselves in their later days did, ignoring the pin prick holes...
Jensen would typically fit an additional servo tank behind the radiator,
and ignore "minor" perforations in the tubes:
In more serious cases, the rot threatens the structure and road worthiness
of the car. However, even the most severe
rust is unlikely to cause the car to collapse in half (provided it
is not driven) prior to restoration. FF 36, pictured on this page, has
rotten front floors. Once these are fixed, I hope to remove the tubes and
replace them, after carefully supporting the frame of the car. It is important
not to cut off every rotten panel before starting welding. Some FF's have
had to be scrapped because their DIY owners tried this, and then gave up
as the panel alignment problems compounded.
The front jacking point is a particularly vulnerable area, as this shot
shows:
The door A post above looks pretty poor too!!!
However, rust is not confined to the ends of the tubes, but can occur
along the whole lenght of the tube and bottom of the car, as the following
shot shows:
Another spot where localised rust can occur is the point where the front
seat support member joins the tube. Usually this rust occurs only on the
inner side of the tube. However, the following shot shoes this on a car
where the outer sill and then the outer tube have rotted away, leaving
the rotten cross member visible, along with the superb stainless exhaust,
which survived it all intact:
Need I say that water in the bottom of a door causes problems???
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