1957 Jensen 541R

Good As New

Our friends at Wyatt Polishing recently completed some restoration work and zinc plating for a number of seat runners and bonnet struts for the Jensens

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Running Smooth

Our 1957 Jensen 541R/S is having some final adjustments to its engine and mechanics. We’ve just fitted heat protection to our plug leads, made a

Read More »

1957 Jensen Update

During testing we established a fault in the steering however we have since rectified the fault. Due to the Corvette engine, the manifold previously went

Read More »

Reunited after 52 Years

Owner of our 1957 Jensen 541 restoration project, Joerg has sent us this handwritten note from Sarkis Najjarian. Sarkis was responsible for origianlly putting the

Read More »

Happy Customers

Joerg Huesken, the owner of our lovely 1957 Jensen 541R and the 1960 Jensen 541R has recently shared some photo updates on Facebook and we’re

Read More »

2020 In Reflection

It goes without saying, 2020 has been tough for everyone but there have been some positives! Bridge Classic Cars turned 16, we welcomed in more

Read More »

Good As New

Our friends at Wyatt Polishing recently completed some restoration work and zinc plating for a number of seat runners and bonnet struts for the Jensens currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

When components like this look as good as they now do, you can tell that the fully restored cars they become a part of will be as beautiful as ever.

Our 1957 Jensen 541R Returns (Briefly)

We recently welcomed our 1957 Jensen 541R back into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

It was only a short visit but our team of classic car technicians was still able to resolve a couple of issues the owner was experiencing.

Classic car technician Dave turned his attention to resolving a rattle coming from the driver’s door of this rare classic car as well as investigating and resolving an oil leak.

Dave resolved both issues and, as quickly as it arrived, our 1957 Jensen 541R was leaving us once more. As you can see from the photos below though, its owner, Jeorg, was very happy with the quick turnaround.

Having any Jensen in the workshop is something we thoroughly enjoy, but having one as beautiful as this one is extra special and we hope to keep updated with its adventures in the future.

A Brief History Of The Jensen 541

The Jensen 541 was a car produced by Jensen Motors. Each one of these cars has an individual story to tell, but the story of the Jensen 541, in general, is one that many car enthusiasts should be keen to hear.

If you want to know more about these truly iconic classic cars, then this brief history of the Jensen 541 can give you a good idea of how special (and rare) these cars really are.

October 1953 – The Launch Of The Jensen 541

At the Earls Court Motor Show of 1953, the Jensen 541 was shown to the public for the very first time. It would be another eight months before production properly started but, this was the date when the world was officially introduced to the 541.

Up until the 541, Jensen had mostly been using aluminium for the bodywork of their Interceptors (there were restrictions on the use of steel still in place as the world recovered from the second world war). When it came to making the boot lids of the Interceptors though, Jensen played around with a new material of the time – fibreglass.

When working on the idea for the 541, Jensen wanted to do something big, so they decided to make a lot more of the car from this new wonder material.

June 1954 – Production Begins

In June of 1954, production of the Jensen 541 began. At the time, you could buy your very own 541 for £2146.

October 1956 – Say Hello To The 541 Deluxe

A little over 2 years after production of the 541 began, the 541 Deluxe was introduced. As this was a more luxurious car that featured all disc brakes, the price of the car increased to £2626.

Only 53 Jensen 541 Deluxes were made in total.

October 1957 – Here Comes The Jensen 541R

A year later, the 541R was introduced. When first released, these were fitted with Austin Princess (DS7) twin-carb engines, and an overdrive gearbox. The price tag for a 541R, at the time, was £2866.

January 1958 – No More Original Jensen 541

At the beginning of 1958, the very last Jensen 541 was made.

October 1960 – From R To S

Two years later, the Jensen 541R was pulled from production too. At this point, less than 200 541Rs had been made. Jensen had now moved on to the Jensen 541S which had a larger interior, and automatic transmission as standard. Due to these upgrades, the 541S cost £3195.

January 1963 – The End Of The Road

At the beginning of 1963, production of the Jensen 541S ended. Less than 150 had been made before being replaced by the Jensen CV-8 which had been introduced the previous year (1962).

Bridge Classic Cars And The Jensen 541

Jensens have had a strong presence in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for a long time. Our team of classic car technicians have restored multiple 541s and some of our current projects include a few more too.

Considering only a few hundred of these classic cars were made, we love seeing them in the workshop. We love working on them, and we love getting them back on the road for everyone to enjoy.

Watercolour – Artwork of our 1959 Jensen 541R From Helmingham

Local artist Paul Seymour has sent us in this beautiful watercolour painting of our 1959 Jensen 541R that he sketched at our stand at this years Helmingham Hall Classic & Sports Car Festival.

We brought along the 541R which is in the early stages of its restoration with us.

We’ve even got some photos of Paul at work while he roughed out the sketch which you can see below and head over to his website and check out some of the other amazing artwork he has done and the tuition courses he offers.

Jensen Journaal – July 2021

It is lovely to receive a copy of the Zomer 2021 Jensen Journaal in the post this week.

Several of our Jensens that we have restored have been featured in this month’s copy of the Dutch magazine, Jensen Journaal! https://jensenholland.nl/ It’s an absolute privilege, so thank you.

The magazine talks about our 1957 Jensen 541R, the 1958 Jensen 541R, the 1960 Jensen 541R and the 1960 Jensen 541S (The Prototype).

Here are our website links to the cars that were featured to find out more information on each of the restoration projects.

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/category/projects/completed/1958-jensen-541r-navy/

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/category/projects/completed/1957-jensen-541r/

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/category/projects/completed/1960-jensen-541r-01/

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/category/projects/completed/1960-jensen-541s/

Bespoke Jensen book bag!

We call it the Jensen bible and in order to protect it Kath has made a bespoke leather book bag.

Jensen Genome Richard Calver July 2019 Edition

She started the process by drawing, measuring and working out the dimensions and design for the bag. Black leather was cut out to the required shapes and measurements and then mounted onto 3mm foam. She then sewed around the edges of the mounted pieces to make sure they were secure.

The first step in putting it all together was to sew a zip between two pieces of mounted leather with a zipper foot. Red topstitching went down either side of the zip as a finishing touch. Kath attached the zip and sidebands with clips onto the front of the book bag, to make sure it all fitted together, before sewing in place. She checked the book fitted inside, before sewing the back of the bag on. Red topstitching running around the outside edges of the front and back matched the zipper.

Behind The Scenes: Double Jensens

The marketing team went up with Workshop manager, John last week to photograph the two Jensen’s that have just left us. Whilst Ellie shot the main visuals, Freddie worked on a behind the scenes video.

The final photos, shown below, have been sent on to the client and will feature online.

Jensens Home Safe And Sound

You may have seen last week we sent our two Jensen’s along with an Interceptor, back to their owner over in Germany. We’re delighted to see they’ve arrived safe and sound, and reunited with their owner.

Double Jensen Send-Off

Our beloved 1957 Jensen 541RS and 1960 Jensen 541R have been collected by Russell’s and sent back to Germany to be reunited with their owner. Russel’s double story lorry came to collect the two Jensen’s and inside had a Jensen Interceptor, also belonging to the same owner. The double story lorry is an epic contraption in itself, with raising levels and ramps to make for easier loading.

After 3 long years of dedicated restoration, we’re both happy and sad to see these two cars leave us after they arrived looking totally different. We’re excited to see them as finished cars, ready to be loved and enjoyed as classic spectacles of British engineering.

Final Adjustments On Our Grey Jensen

After the client came to see his two Jensen’s, he’s asked for some small modifications which has included changing the yellow Jensen badge to blue, adding mesh grills into the front side vents and we’ve noticed a few places where we wanted to touch up the paint. This Jensen will be leaving us very soon after its long restoration journey with us.

A Visitor From Germany

Our friend and client has had both of his Jensen’s with us for the last 3 years as we’ve been tackling the mighty project of their full restorations. He flew over with his son to finally see his finished beauties; a 1957 Jensen 541 RS and a 1960 Jensen 541R. We’re delighted at how happy he was when he saw them. After a thorough inspection and a test drive of each, we got the verdict and the small list of one or two minor tweaks. Once complete, they can be shipped over to Germany to start a new life overseas.

Both of these Jensen’s have been made with a keen eye for detail and the owner has had a strong involvement over getting both original and bespoke parts for these two classics, which will be added to his ever-growing Jensen collection.

Our client has a large collection of Jensen’s including this Interceptor which is undergoing restoration elsewhere.

Grey Jensen’s Radiator Issue

Our 1957 Jensen 541R/S is having issues with its radiator as well as an oil leak. The radiator has been removed so we can address the issue.

Radiator Trouble Resolved

We’ve had some issues with the radiator in our 1957 Jensen 541R/S which has now been resolved as has the issues surrounding lagging oil pipes.

Running Smooth

Our 1957 Jensen 541R/S is having some final adjustments to its engine and mechanics. We’ve just fitted heat protection to our plug leads, made a bracket to secure the alternator, made a gear leaver and re-bled the clutch and breaks.

Grey Jensen Paint Touch Up

Chris has been working to re-apply the black raptor paint that was applied on the underside of the wheel arches which is used as a sealant. He has also been fixing a few cracks in the fibreglass where the rubber was too thick for the boot door and closing it had caused some stress cracks.

1957 Jensen Test Drive

Our classic 1957 Jensen had it’s test drive today and came back with the all clear. John just wants to bleed the brakes and clutch but otherwise its running smoothly! Just listen to that exhaust note from the V8 Corvette engine…

Grey Jensen’s New Speedo

Our lovely 1957 Grey Jensen 541R/S now has its new speedo fitted into the dash. It’s also had its steering centralised. John is now going to start it to see how it runs and to see if there are any teething issues which he will correct accordingly.

1957 Jensen Update

During testing we established a fault in the steering however we have since rectified the fault.

Due to the Corvette engine, the manifold previously went over the bell housing however when we removed the exhaust to gain access to fit a new modified oil pipe, we changed the manifold to go under the bell housing.

Grey Jensen Snag List

Our 1957 Jensen 541 R(S) is currently being worked through its snag list, which is essentially a list compiled of areas that need to be checked and tweaked before its finished.

John is going through all the electrics to check that everything is live and works, and modifying wiring as he goes. He is also readjusting the bonnet lift lever as traditionally it would sit a little too close to the throttle peddle.

Kath is modifying the boot lid trim as the rubber and material is causing some irritation against the metal sills. Kath is currently taking the material off the metal to modify.

Scott is altering the bonnet pin so that the screw fits in tighter as the hole is currently slightly too small as the screw is getting caught mid way.

Due to the V8 Corvette engine that was fitted in Boston in the 1960’s, the owner of this Jensen has decided to have his own personalised model tag fitted to this Jensen that describes it as a 541 R S as it has features of both models.

Reunited after 52 Years

Owner of our 1957 Jensen 541 restoration project, Joerg has sent us this handwritten note from Sarkis Najjarian. Sarkis was responsible for origianlly putting the Corvette engine into the Jensen back in 1969 when in a previous life our Jensen was over in America.

It’s wonderful to hear Sarkis has seen the restoration work we are doing on the car now and thank you to Joerg for sharing this lovely piece of history with us.

Corvette Jensen’s Last Tweaks

We’ve entered the finishing stages for our 1957 Jensen 541R. John is currently carrying out a thorough wiring check as we’ve had to modify the wiring to compensate for the V8 Corvette engine. We’re assembling the last bits such as the fuel pump which we’re waiting to arrive before we carry out a last service and test for teething problems.

Twenty Twenty: The Year Of The Jensen

Some of you may remember we mentioned our busy Jensen workshop last year, and it hasn’t slowed down in 2021. We’ve become the Jensen Specialists of the UK with a constant set of Jensen 541R and 541S projects passing through our doors on a regular basis. With projects ranging from full nut and bolt restorations to small fixes and services, we’ve been inundated with Jensen’s, and we love it!

2020 saw 8 Jensen’s in at the same time, which led to this amazing shot of them all lined up. Our technicians are now well versed in Jensen mechanics, electrics and bodywork as we’ve still got 6 of them in the workshop plus another stored at Bentwaters waiting to find a new home.

With only 193 Jensen 541R’s ever made and 127 541S’s made, and even fewer still on the road, we’ve had a large quantity of them in the workshop.

The Oldest Jensen’s Door fix

Our oldest Jensen, the 1957 541R has had some issues with its left side front passenger door. We’ve been working to modify it to allow it to sit more comfortbly in line with the rest of the body. With the alignment sorted, we also needed to address the ill fitting door car before it could be dressed.

One of our engineers has worked on making the inside of the door frame deeper so that the door car could fit inside.

To Chrome Or Not To Chrome

The process of restoring a car is rarely linear, but that’s all part of the car’s journey. The plan for the 1957 Jensen 541R was to have original chrome pieces installed onto the side of the doors however our client decided that he didn’t want these pieces and to leave them off for now. We’ve welded the holes closed and will begin to paint over them. It’s crucial for us that our clients have the ability and freedom to pitch in ideas and change their minds, after all, these restorations are all bespoke for a reason!

Grey Jensen Door Shimmy

The Grey Jensen is having some small alterations made to its doors. Currently, as they sit, the doors are slightly too wide to fit into the B-post, so we have managed to make some subtle alterations to the door and the aluminium trim to allow the door itself to fit more comfortably into the body.

New Doors, New Opportunities

Our lovely Grey 1967 541R Jensen has had some alterations done to the doors. We have cut the lip of the nearside and outer-side doors so that the door cards will fit. We’ve then re-welded and re-fitted the outer-side door chrome and made sure the door closes and opens, and the windows slide up and down.

Happy Customers

Joerg Huesken, the owner of our lovely 1957 Jensen 541R and the 1960 Jensen 541R has recently shared some photo updates on Facebook and we’re delighted to have the shout out!

Click here to see his post!

Grey Jensen’s Re-alignment

Our 1957 Grey Jensen is progressing well in its restoration journey with the majority of its interior trim fitted. It still needs its windscreen and Perspex back windows fitted as well as the door panel trims but the current job in hand is to re-align the doors.

We noticed the inner panels of the door were not sitting correctly so decided to investigate and found that some of the elements need refurbishing.

2020 In Reflection

It goes without saying, 2020 has been tough for everyone but there have been some positives! Bridge Classic Cars turned 16, we welcomed in more unique and interesting cars, expanded the team and took new ventures.

2020’s Winners

This year we introduced our competitions back in May. With an uncertain year ahead of us, we wanted to provide some excitement to our followers, and what better way than to offer the chance of winning a car for less than £20! It wasn’t easy at first, but now with over 21 winners and up to 4 competition cars running at the same time, we’re doing better than ever. So far we’ve given away £561,197.00 worth of classic cars!

This week we’re delivering our latest winning cars, our 1974 VW Beetle that was won by Colin Knight and our 1995 Jaguar XJ6 who was won by Nick Nicola just before Christmas! We’re being careful to make the delivery as safe as possible, complying with tier 4 guidelines but we can’t wait to see Colin and Nick’s reactions!

1967 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Race Car Replica Completion

Its been a long restoration, but we were delighted to announce the completion of our very own project, our 1967 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Race Car Replica. Its come a long way from the decrepit shell we started with in 2017. Every detail, right down to the colour has been custom made and designed. This truly is a Bridge Classic Car. You can see it’s story here.

The Year Of The Jensen

We love every and any classic car and are in turn, we’re equipped to fix and restore any classic too, but 2020 for us was the year of the Jensen. We’ve had eight 541R/541S’s in this year, some of which are still with us being completed. With only 193 Jensen 541R’s and 127 541S’s ever made worldwide, to have so many in at all really is outstanding, let alone all at the same time.

The 541R models were manufactured between 1957 and 1960 when they were later replaced by the 541S that ran from 1960 to 1962. Whilst each car is incredibly unique with its story and bespoke restoration, they are also very similar, and as you can imagine, with 8 very similar cars in at the same time, it took a while to get our heads around which was which when referring to them.

Expanding the team

2020 saw the birth of the Trim Shop. Whilst we’d had individual trim specialists working with us before, we were yet to dedicate a department to it! Last year saw the creation of the Trim Shop, giving the speciality its own workshop and team which continued to grow throughout the year. Originally just Kath and Brian, we have welcomed a new face to the team recently. Lydia has now joined us and is another much-valued member of the trim shop. Having our own trim department allows us to continue keeping all our restorations under one roof, limiting the outsourcing as much as we can.

We’ve also had Ellie join this year, adding to the marketing department. Previously we had just Freddie, and briefly Charlotte doing our marketing, but as the company started to grow, we found the need to take on another set of hands for our marketing and visuals.

One of a kind – Chevron B20

We’ve had some very unique cars in this year, including this original 1972 Chevron B20. Its seen top racing drivers, international races and a big crash in its lifetime and nowWe’re selling this on behalf of the owner but in the meantime, we’re enjoying housing this incredible special car. You can find out more about its history on our blogs.

Introduction of editorial shoots

The latter part of this year saw us start shooting some of our cars in a more editorial and creative style. Whilst we’ve always organised high-quality shoots of all our competition and for sale cars, we decided to add models to some of the shoots to make them a bit different.

Now we have both Freddie and Ellie on shoots, it means we can also get behind the scene insights into our shoots.

Bespoke restorations; A tribute

Another interesting and heartfelt restoration this year was our 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 that we restored. In memory of their late uncle, the owner paid to have a commemorative plaque fitted by the handbrake. We also embedded one of their Uncle’s favourite cufflinks above it as well. As we always say, each restoration is special and every car carries its own stories, but this one was particularly special.

Car Show 2020

Last January, we had our open morning car show that proved to be incredibly popular. After having to cancel our 2021 January open morning show, we hope to organise one for later this year.

1957 Jensen’s Trim Additions

Our 1957 Grey Jensen 541R has had its dash pad rail, roof pad and boot refurbished by our specialists in the trim shop.

Brian has removed the old cover of the dash rail, added more foam and wadding, glued on a new cover, added leather around the brackets and fit it all back onto the dash board.

The ceiling pad has also been refurbished. The old cover has been removed, as have the brackets and vinyl. New wadding has been glued into place over the original foam. Fresh vinyl has been cut and glued on, the edges folded over and the brackets refitted. Once these steps were completed, the ceiling pad was fitted back in again.

The boot lid has had new foam added into its indentations. The carpet has been glued onto the boot lid, leaving holes for the boot support rods and latch.