1959 Jensen 541R
A Brief History Of The Jensen 541
October 4, 2022
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
Jensen Journaal – July 2021
July 27, 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
Bespoke Jensen book bag!
July 14, 2021
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
1959 Jensen 541R Completion
March 11, 2021
Our lovely silver 1959 Jensen 541R has been completed and is leaving the workshop today. Although that’s one less Jensen in our workshop, we have
Silver Jensen Gets New Straps And Springs
March 10, 2021
We’ve been working on securing the 1959 Jensen 541R’s rear axle frame. New rear axle straps have been manufactured by hand in the workshop and
Twenty Twenty: The Year Of The Jensen
March 1, 2021
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
Silver Jensen Wiring Issues Diagnosed
February 25, 2021
Pictured below is the Silver 1959 Jensen 541R recent wiring ammends. John had found that when wiring up, the overdrive didn’t engage. After an investigation,
Silver Wirings
February 17, 2021
Tom has been working hard to finish the wiring looms on our silver 1959 541R Jensen. He’s linked the main loom to the dash loom
1959 Jensen Re-Wiring Continues
February 12, 2021
Tom has been concentrating on re-wiring all the wiring looms in our 1959 Jensen 541R. Currently he is working on the rear and middle looms,
Silver Jensen’s New Wiring
February 8, 2021
Tom has been working on re-wiring the wiring looms in the 1959 Jensen 541R. He’s recently completed the lights and has now started on the
Building Suspension…
February 2, 2021
The front suspension has been finished and fitted back in. The brakes have also been bled. Tom has been working on rewiring the rear lights,
Silver Jensen’s modified brakes
January 28, 2021
Our lovely silver 1959 541R Jensen brake pipes have been refurbished, as well as the kingpins and bushes rebuilt by our technician Paul.
Another Jensen In The Workshop
January 13, 2021
We weren’t kidding when we said we’re Jensen specialists! We’ve welcomed another beautiful Jensen into the workshop this week. This 1959 Silver Jensen 541R has
Sparking interest
January 5, 2021
The work on this beautiful silver 1959 Jensen 541R will be commencing in the coming weeks. It’s going to be a full re-wiring of the
2020 In Reflection
January 4, 2021
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
Friday Snapshot
December 4, 2020
Another busy week was flown by again, with lots of new drop-offs to the workshop and big progressions on current projects! Grey 1957 Jensen 541R
A Brief History Of The Jensen 541
October 4, 2022
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.
Jensen Journaal – July 2021
July 27, 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!
July 14, 2021
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.
1959 Jensen 541R Completion
March 11, 2021
Our lovely silver 1959 Jensen 541R has been completed and is leaving the workshop today. Although that’s one less Jensen in our workshop, we have plenty more still to be worked on.
Silver Jensen Gets New Straps And Springs
March 10, 2021
We’ve been working on securing the 1959 Jensen 541R’s rear axle frame. New rear axle straps have been manufactured by hand in the workshop and bolted in place to avoid unwarranted pressure being applied to the shock absorbers. This also ensures that the rear axle doesn’t move. Our Jensen didn’t originally have these so we’ve had to remove the exhaust lines to fit the straps.
The new front suspension springs have turned out to be too long so we’ve resorted to fitting the old ones back in be recomissioning them by painting and sandblasting them so theyre back to working order.
We’ve also discovered a hole in the front axle which has been welded and fixed before this classic Jensen swiftly leaves us this week.
Twenty Twenty: The Year Of The Jensen
March 1, 2021
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.
Silver Jensen Wiring Issues Diagnosed
February 25, 2021
Pictured below is the Silver 1959 Jensen 541R recent wiring ammends. John had found that when wiring up, the overdrive didn’t engage. After an investigation, John found it was because the solenoid had overheated and melted the terminals, meaning a new solenoid was fitted.
A new stoplight switch has also been fitted because the old stoplight had seized and wouldn’t turn off.
Silver Wirings
February 17, 2021
Tom has been working hard to finish the wiring looms on our silver 1959 541R Jensen. He’s linked the main loom to the dash loom and connected up the front loom.
1959 Jensen Re-Wiring Continues
February 12, 2021
Tom has been concentrating on re-wiring all the wiring looms in our 1959 Jensen 541R. Currently he is working on the rear and middle looms, laying down fresh wires to link the two underneath.
Silver Jensen’s New Wiring
February 8, 2021
Tom has been working on re-wiring the wiring looms in the 1959 Jensen 541R. He’s recently completed the lights and has now started on the dashboard.
There are 5 wiring looms in total. Two have been completed, two are partially completed (which are the two looms within the dashboard) and the last connects the front looms to the rear. Jensens are known for complex and sophisticated electrics, making the re-wiring a time consuming process.
Building Suspension…
February 2, 2021
The front suspension has been finished and fitted back in. The brakes have also been bled.
Tom has been working on rewiring the rear lights, indicators and front lights too.
Silver Jensen’s modified brakes
January 28, 2021
Our lovely silver 1959 541R Jensen brake pipes have been refurbished, as well as the kingpins and bushes rebuilt by our technician Paul.
Another Jensen In The Workshop
January 13, 2021
We weren’t kidding when we said we’re Jensen specialists! We’ve welcomed another beautiful Jensen into the workshop this week. This 1959 Silver Jensen 541R has come in for a diagnosis on the engine.
We’ve assessed the vehicle and have discovered a list of faults including the need for new core plugs, new rocker shaft and for an oil leak to be corrected. We’re are glad to find that the engine starts despite the faults. We are currently in conversation to see if the client wants the engine to be taken apart and refurbished or not.
After speaking to the client, we’ve decided to start addressing the faults without carrying out a full engine rebuild as this car will soon be used as an everyday car. Ady, out engine specialist, has had the car up and running as well as removing the old core plugs, cleaning the waterways and fitting new core plugs/
Sparking interest
January 5, 2021
The work on this beautiful silver 1959 Jensen 541R will be commencing in the coming weeks. It’s going to be a full re-wiring of the harness, meaning all the electrics are needing to be replaced and rewired.
2020 In Reflection
January 4, 2021
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.
Friday Snapshot
December 4, 2020
Another busy week was flown by again, with lots of new drop-offs to the workshop and big progressions on current projects!
Grey 1957 Jensen 541R
Our trim shop expert Brian has been working on our grey 1957 Jensen 541R. He’s been marking out the leather for the rear parcel shelf and then glueing leather.
When the fabric has been marked out and fitted, the next stay is to trim off the excess around the window edge. The leather for rear quarter panel pockets has also been cut out and glued into the pockets.
The same process has happened for the side window surround panel which included screwing the parts in place and fitting the ashtray.
Austin Nippy Engine works start
Our engine specialist Ady has taken about the engine on our 1934 Austin Nippy. We’ve identified that there seems to be an issue with the cylinder bores. After further inspection, Ady diagnosed the issue as possible broken or cracked piston rings. This is a relatively quick job and Ady told us he hopes it’ll be done in the next few days.
We often find that even after an issue is addressed, it may not be solved as it’s common to find teething problems afterwards. We hope this quirky nippy will be back to working order again soon!
Black 1960 Jensen’s TLC
Our black 1960 Jensen 541R has had another layer of fresh paint and imperfection corrections that it’s acquired from knocks and bumps in the workshop. Gaining imperfections like this are common when parts are regularly being fitted and moved.
Up close and personal with the Gold Jaguar E-Type
This beautiful gold 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 Series 3 had picked up some sort of contaminant that had rusted the inner engine and wheel components. Our skill technicians addressed the issue by applying acid rust killer and cleaning down all of the parts. They were then re-painted and reassembled. Some of the nuts and bolts were also completely replaced.
Morris Minor Pinstripe
Painted by hand by our bodywork technician Chris who taped the sides to guide his hand and carefully applied the red paint.
Two more new Jensen’s arrived
We’ve had two more Jensen’s arrive this week for restorations, adding to our already growing collection! We’ll be sure to let you know how these restorations develop!
This beautiful 1961 Navy Jensen 541S:
And this sleek silver 1959 Jensen 541R that’s in for some electrical works:
