Welcome back! We’re up to the letter J in our alphabetic celebration of crappy cars, and today, the British are coming. Only this time, it’s two by land. Or, unfortunately, two by tow truck, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Wow, you all really hated that lifted Amigo yesterday. That’s the most lopsided vote we’ve had in a while. It actually did worse than that poor Bitter SC we looked at back at the beginning of the alphabet. Guess you’d all rather play GI Joe with that Canadian military truck.
Fine by me; I’ll take the big Tonka truck, and you can’t play. I’ll be doing donuts in a field while listening to the appropriate soundtrack for this vehicle. Correct grammar be damned; sometimes you really don’t need nothin’ but a good time.
Now, you might think, this site’s editor-in-chief being who he is and all, that I would have a mandate to feature two Jeeps when I got to the letter J. But I do what I want. Therefore, I am subjecting you to two very cool, very derelict old British cars. They’re priced a little higher than some other non-runners we’ve looked at, but shitboxes are shitboxes still, no matter the price.
1961 Jaguar Mark II 3.8 – $7,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8 liter dual overhead cam inline 6, four-speed manual w/overdrive, RWD
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Odometer reading: 70,000 miles
Operational status: “It used to run great but we haven’t driven it in years”
“Grace, Space, Pace” was the tagline used by Jaguar for its sedans (or rather, saloons) in the 1950s and 60s. These cars were stylish, comfortable, and legitimately fast – 0-60 in eight and a half seconds, and a top speed of 125 miles an hour, with leather and wood all over the interior, and a smooth ride thanks to a fully independent suspension. Jaguars may be something of a punchline these days, with their pink concept cars and weird advertising, but back in 1961 they were a force to be reckoned with.
That performance comes courtesy of Jaguar’s XK inline six, the same engine found under the E-Type’s long bonnet. Here it puts out 220 horsepower, and drives the rear wheels through a four-speed manual with electric overdrive. The seller has owned this example for thirty years, but they haven’t driven this car in ages. It ran great when they parked it, so they claim, but now it will need some work to get it going again.
And that’s not the only work it needs. The wood in the interior is in rough shape. The leather seats look all right, but they’ll need gallons of that reconditioner stuff. The carpet is MIA, but that just means you don’t have to remove it before you get to work on patching up the rusty floors.
Actually, the seller says the rust “isn’t bad,” and I agree, at least based on the photos. The floors need some work, and the ad mentions the battery tray, but the rest of the body looks good. It was originally maroon, the seller says, but it came to them in this green and tan combination. I like it, personally, and I bet it would shine up well.
1972 Jensen Interceptor MkIII – $13,750
Engine/drivetrain: 440 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
Odometer reading: 55,000 miles
Operational status: Not running – I think it has been sitting for years
European automakers in the 1960s had a love affair with American V8 power. Italian maker Iso used Chevrolet V8s in their grand tourers, DeTomaso chose Ford power for its Mangusta and Pantera mid-engine sports cars, and AC in Britain, after the success of the Cobra, chose Ford power for its short-lived Frua 428. Jensen chose the smallest of the Big Three, Chrysler, to provide power for this car, the Interceptor.
This ’72 Interceptor is powered by a Chrysler 440 cubic inch V8, with a four-barrel carb and a Torqueflite automatic. This standard Interceptor is rear-wheel-drive, but Jensen made an all-wheel-drive version called the FF, years before Subaru or Audi added AWD systems to regular passenger cars. You won’t find one of those for sale, though; only about three hundred were built. This Interceptor is for sale at a dealership in Beverly Hills, and all they say about its mechanical condition is that it is “not currently running.” But that’s the nice thing about a common American V8 drivetrain – parts to get it going again are available anywhere.
It doesn’t look too bad inside, except for the carpet and some cracks in the vinyl. The front seats look nice, and the back is all right except for a popped seam. The wood on the center console could use a little help as well. But I certainly wouldn’t call it trashed. It has air conditioning, but there’s no way to know if it works until you get it running again.
It needs some help outside. The paint on the roof is trashed, and the hood appears to actually have holes in it. But what’s weird is that it looks like it rusted from the inside out. I’m not sure how that could happen in the middle of the hood. Honestly, I’d be tempted to just leave it; call them “speed holes” and make the folks at car shows deal with them.
You’d have your work cut out for you with either of these, and I’m not sure either one is worth more than a mechanical restoration to get them running, and then enjoy them as-is. They’d be conversation-starters, that’s for sure. I mean, when is the last time you saw an old Jaguar saloon or a Jensen Interceptor, let alone a ratty one? Mechanical parts aren’t a problem for either one, so it’s just a matter of which one you’re more willing to work on.
Juicey jazzy jolly Jensen just jumps jiggered jumbled jalopy Jaaaggggg
I think the Jensen would be cool to black out and go a bit mad max with it. You can get a lot of fun sounds from a 440. Run a scoop and the exhaust out of what is left of the hood.
I suspected a Jensen v. Jag. just not 2 this bad. Both are way too much for having sat for years. The Jensen seems to have a engine/transmission combo that would probably be easier to get running in this country.
If I’m going to make an extremely poor financial decision with one of these I’m going interceptor, I’ve always loved them.
Interceptor just for the name and look at that rear glass.
Do you prefer to learn metalwork or the upholstery trade? I’m going Jag on this one. You can’t just buy a hood for a Jensen anywhere.
I think that Jag is hiding a LOT of rust. At least you can see it on the Jensen.
Right. With this level of rot on both these cars you will be doing a bit of fabrication. Personally I would use the old hood as a mold to make a fiberglass replacement. Fiberglass body parts would be a little more appropriate on the Jensen than the Jag imo. Could do it in carbon fiber if I wanted to really make it cool.
But why would you want to? It doesn’t need a hood, the Jensen looks perfect as is.
Do you know which forks and spoons to use when faced with a “proper” table setting?
Do you care?
Ever feel the urge to wear a straw hat?
What are your thoughts about the unwinding of the extractive British colonial empire; do you tsk or cheer?
If you’re a tsker, get the whiskers – the Jaguar is your huckleberry. It’s literally hide-bound and upright. An automotive stiff upper lip. Sure, mechanically sophisticated, neato. It’s stodgy and also in awful condition with a terrible paint scheme.
The Interceptor, on the other hand, while not being one of the bonkers Ferguson Formula (FF) models, is at least a car that’s optimistic about the future. We were putting people on the moon. The Beatles were broken up and the Boomers were starting their hard sell-out of their ideals. Stagflation had yet to bite, and the Yom Kippur war was a ways off. Things were looking up, and angular, and this was your rocketship to the future, powered by the same V8 family that made the Satellites go.
I’m always skeptical of Beverly Hills Car Club vehicles, and this definitely has needs, but it’s much cooler than the Jag, which has a great engine and neat suspension, but is basically tiddlywinks on wheels.
I remember reading about the FF in one of the car magazines of that era. 0-100-0 in something like 10-12 seconds. A very early automotive adopter of ABS, using a system I believe was developed by Dunlop for the RAF. Maxaret
They are both worthy. I’ll take the Interceptor since I’ve always wanted one.
Always like the Jaguar saloons since my Matchbox days and that’s how I’m voting today.
And you’re not fooling anyone, you still have a couple chances to work some old Jeeps into the mix when Kaiser and Willys come up in the rotation. DT will be appeased.
A choice between non-running British cars…. Can I pick… Neither?
I actaully like both of these, but based on my current skills and tools, I have a better chance at geting that Jensen running. The Jaaag would have to sit until retirement for me to have time to work on it, and would probably be completely gone to pot by then.
Going by what I see in the pictures, Jensen. I hate rust with a passion, but making that old Interceptor….uh…intercept again would be fun. Could be a good candidate for a restomod as Hellcat….I mean “well.”
Seriously, someone should do the Singer thing with these cars.
There already is a firm in the Cotswolds or some such does just that. They use LS V8s though, not Chrysler ones, which seems wrong.
Jensen. A/C and a V8 win over 1962 bathtub aesthetic any day.
I’d have to go with the Jensen, and in my typical fashion, I would pull the 440 and put a modern 5.7 or 6.2 Hemi in it, with a 6MT.
Hellcat swap obviously
Mark IIs are on my Top Five list of desirable Jaguars. Needs a heckuva lot of work, certainly, but the result will be stunning. They’re great to drive, too. Irrational, maybe, but I can’t help myself. I want it. And Job One would be getting it back to maroon.
I’m a bit prejudiced when it comes to Jensens. A neighbor had one, and I spent a lot of time watching it rot in his driveway. It ran pretty well, and drivetrain parts were cheaper than most Brit cars, but the amount of bodywork it needed was, well, terrifying. Other Interceptors before costly restorations I’ve seen weren’t much better.
No doubt one would face financial ruin when the Jaguar got its Grace and Pace back, but what a way to go!
In both cases, the rust you can see is likely the tip of the iceberg. One could probably get the Jensen up and running pretty easily, and hood is just a replacement away from being fine.
But look at that roof. Those are rust holes, I believe. Replacing a roof skin is a whole ‘nother bag of cats. Plus, that means water has been getting into other parts of the car’s substructure for who knows how long.
The Jag could just be a fluid change and fresh battery away from running, or maybe not. But it looks more solid to me. But sorry Mark, that paint job has GOT to go.
Jaguar for me.
I guarantee if you stomped hard enough you would put your foot through the floor of the Jag.
Jensen. The rustiest part appears to be the hood, which can be bolted on if it can be sourced. A lot of money for a car with the worm, but when we play this game if there is a car I like I will pick it. It’s not like I’m spending money.
I voted the Jensen is much cooler looking to me then the Jag so I voted that. Don’t know much about either of these though. Also not really can of that older rounded/bubble look of older English cars.
I really wanted to vote for the Jensen, but if the rust you see is bad, the rust you don’t see is worse.
5 figures for any non-running vehicle is too much for my penny-pinching soul.
Get the Jag running and try to flip it into better financial decisions.
Neither. No wet rusty english projects for me. Imagine the molden smell in one of those things!
But gave a vote to the Jensen because of the horrible color combination and ripped interior of the Jaguar. Engine room also looks better.
Also, I’ve never liked the Checker Cab bumpers of the MK2s. The later slim line ones from the late sixties, when it was renamed 240/340, are so much nicer!
AND it’s a nice aftermarket feature with the extra ventilation holes in the Jensen hood, they were always prone to overheating 😀
This was a hard choice, but I come across those Jags all the time and I rarely, if ever, see the Jensens. So I’ll take the Interceptor today.
For whatever reason, the Jaaaaag still looks cool in that condition, but the Jensen does not. I’ll be happy to get that 3.8 going again and drive it as is. OK, I’ll spruce up the interior a bit, too.
Both… They’d both look great as garage sculptures. I don’t have the means or ability to fix either.
Yeah the Jag is just too much of a project. The Jensen is easier to enjoy as you repair it.
That’s where I’m at too. If the conditions were reversed, I’d take the Jag.