I was a typical broke USAF Staff Sgt stationed in the UK in the mid 70's who by chance teamed up with another Staff Sgt who came from a very rich family and was doing a bit of "slumming" with us. He bought one of these Jensen Interceptors just for something to drive. We made many a pleasant road trip from RAF Alconbury to London in it and I will never forget the experience. I just happened to stumble onto this episode late one night. Thanks Jay!
Your staff Sgt salary in the US military was higher than the normal salary at the time in the UK. In the UK any car above a 1.3 liter displacement was considered a premium car in the 1970s. You could have had a Mustang, Charger or Corvette in the US for a lot less than a Jensen car was in the late 60s or 1970s.
@@bighands69 The thing about engine size is an American thing . Most of those 60's & 70's American 5 & 6 litre V8's were woefully underpowered and most European cars with 2 to 3 litre engined were more powerful and better engineered. Still the case today and the build quality is superior (still).
@@philipmccarthy6175 You are living in a fantasy if you think a European 2 litre was more powerful than an American 5 litre. A Mustang GT with a 5 litre engine produced 225 hp a Jaguar Mark 2 produced 120 hp from a 2.5 litre engine. A 3.8 litre MK2 had 190 hp. Those cars were twice as expensive as the Mustang and did not produce the same HP. If you are talking about larger vehicles it was not the horsepower that matter it was the torque and the application of power that made them very smooth to drive. A boxy little 1 litre engine that was very unstable was not as nice to drive.
That was one of the most genuine and comfortable dialogues yet between Jay and an owner. Also, I love the family inputs with the restoration of this car. It doesn't get more honest. Neat episode.
doogaltube true. We had the Gill family near us, the leisure clothing line family. They had one. It was a sight as he drive out his gravel drive. Just oooooooozed style and prestige.
As a kid growing up in England I got to experience first hand what they were like when the rear end stepped out in the wet - I can still remember that vividly to this day. I can also remember the stereo which had an 8-track player. This was like some kind of alien technology that no other british cars had back then.
My dad (in Brighton) had not one but two (sequentially, not at the same time). He was constantly frustrated with their unreliability but he LOVED driving them when they worked.
@@kennethtyree4770 the J-interceptor was ugly back then and still is. The 60's cars, for the most part, are still cool and getting cooler. Todays cars are as ugly as my naked butt. Dig, 4770 ken?
Hooligans. Jay Leno is an unaffected, naturally funny guy. Two relaxed individuals talking knowledgeablely about an automobile built in small numbers for a small market. This episode is a classic. The exhaust cutout is a classic. Way to go,thanks and Merry Christmas, Jay.Ya done good.
I was thinking it would nice if Jay took him to dinner or did something else with him, the guy drove 3000 miles, it would be cool to just hang out in the shop for a few days looking at everything, maybe lend a hand.
A 1973 Jensen Interceptor was featured as DI Thomas Lynley’s car in the BBC One series Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Around the third season Lynley traded the Jensen for a 1969 Bristol 410. Perhaps they were competing against Inspector Morse' iconic Mark 2 Jag for the classiest car on TV?
i like it when an owner does his own restoration and mods, and is knowlegable about the make history, Mark thanks for making the trip. super nice car! though you did look a little nervous when jay was driving.
Back in 1971, I worked for a short time at an Opel dealership in Dublin, Ireland. The place was in the city centre and in a fairly old building. Opel had just introduced its Ascona and the sexier Manta. One afternoon, a large lump of ceiling dropped smack onto the roof of a lovely metallic blue Manta sitting on the showroom floor. The rest of the car dusted off clean but the roof was in a sad state. One week later, a blue Manta with a black vinyl roof and a slight increase in price sat under the repaired ceiling. Always loved the Interceptor. Thanks for sharing your passion.
The Manta and Escort MK1 were sort of copying the likes of Dodge chargers and Mustangs and they were beautiful in their own right. Opel today is a sad shadow of its previous designs.
Great episode Jay and a real blast back to my teens. When I was 16, my very first job was as a trainee at a local resto shop here in the UK and I'd only been there for a few days when a guy brought in a 71 Interceptor for work. The car in question only had 270 miles on the clock. It had been bought new, unfortunately the original owner passed away shortly after purchasing the car, so it had been left sitting in a damp wooden garage which eventually collapsed onto the car. Well roll forward to 1983 and it came into the shop with for bodywork etc. The car had never been run in all that time so there was work to be done, obviously I wanted to be involved with it. At that time I'd already built my first car on the drive at home, a British Ford Consul powered by a Ford 302, furthermore I'd spent a lot of time hanging around with a friend of the family helping and working on his cars. He owned both a 69 Ford LTD 429 and a 70 Chrysler 300 with the 440 so felt confident enough to tackle a Jensen's 440, but the older guys there would have none of it. Anyway long story short they couldn't get it to fire up, however I had already spotted the problem. They had the plug wires hooked up as if for Big Block Ford, and I knew the 440's were different. I tried telling them but I was 16 and hand;'t even been there a week so I was ignored. Well during lunch I went out to the car and was just standing looking at the engine when the owner of the shop walked in. He asked what I was doing and I just said looking, Any we begin chatting, like me he was a huge American car fan, at that time he had a 70 Cougar and a 75 F250, actually I think that was why I got the job in the first place. However, as we talked I mentioned I thought they had the plug wire on wrong so he just said, well put them right. So I did and it fired straight up. Obviously;y that did not go down well with the older guys at the shop, one of whom did everything he could to make my life hell from that point on! Thankfully, a couple of the other guys were cool and I ended up working on the car with them for over a year. Sadly the shop went out of business before the car was completed so I never got to see it finished, but, I did drive it a few times on the country lanes around the town. You know just to be sure things were working correctly, but it was such a cool experience!
Thanks for sharing this. In the 70s, a young friend (maybe 20 at the time, looked younger) and his cousins were out looking for possible project cars. They stopped at a junkyard to ask about one they had seen in the yard and found three middle aged guys including the business owner around a Chrysler cussing it profusely. Cranking it was not working. The young guys were into Mopars, and my friend started trying to explain about the distributor. The older guys glared at him and the owner said that if he was so smart, he'd sell the car to him for $100 on condition it was out of his shop in 15 minutes and off his property by closing time. $100 and a title exchange later, they pushed it outside, my friend loosened the distributor and turned the symmetrical shaft 180 degrees and set it back in... and cranked it up. The fellows inside looked out and glared again. And the young Mopar dudes drove it away.
At 11:19 Jay's belt can be seen not going through the loop on his jeans on his left side. At 12:53 this is rectified. I guess they cut that bit out. Hollywood.
I remember back in 1974, because of the "oil shortage" the gov came out with a list of cars and their proposed m.p.g. (miles per gallon). The Jensen Interceptor had the honor of having the worst rating. I believe it was about 5 mpg. Of course, it instantly became one of my favorite cars.
What a memory! A fellow student took his dad's to school one day (Danvers MA), must have been 1975, and that car ripped around campus all day. Bravo keeping it alive and beautiful all this time!
Interesting. I had a 5 ton motorhome with a 440 and it got 5 to 6 mpg initially, and 9 mpg highway after Z-Max engine and transmission treatments. Most applications in cars are geared too low. 440s will launch a 2 ton car very well with the tallest differential gears you can put behind it.
@@larryjohnstone6260 It wasn't a fake scandal, it was a real scandal! Of course if they had shale oil, fracking, deep-water drilling, and all the North Slope and other harsh environment wells, plus a few decades in well drilling and extraction improvements, there would never have been an OPEC - created shortage. Now OPEC is crying in their beards, o boo hoo we are running out of oil please Mr USA don't push the prices down again... The idea of peak oil was true, except it failed to anticipate the new tech that found so much more oil that could be extracted. We will still reach a peak oil point, sometime in the future, but no one is worried about it today.
They just rusted away in the UK so its great to see one being used the way it should be used and being wonderfully looked after into the bargain. What a treat to watch, thank you Jay and Mark
Absolute CLASSIC classy car from back in the day.....The guy did a fantastic job restoring this beauty and big respect to his Mum and sister for taking care of the interior........ Awesome.
One of the best episodes in a while. Mark seemed like a real stand up guy and he was realistic with the car. He likes the nostalgia, but isn't afraid to improve the car with modern/better parts.
When I was a kid, I had a Matchbox Jensen...had never seen one before that. Loved the design for that time period. I really like the rear roofline and window.
Have a look about and search "Corgi Whizzwheels Jensen" and you may well find a miniature 2"/3" version of the Interceptor. I have one intact and another I'm tidying up, it just needs new wheels that will give it a decent low ride look....
@Squirmin Herman the one eyed German That's called OC for Obsessive Compulsive. What good are the little cars sitting in the box? They were made to zoom around the floor on imaginary roads, or in a kid's hand driving on the back of the couch, or even run through the plastic roads in a kit. At least buy two, and let some kids play with the spares. Geeezz.
I could listen to him teach us all day long . And I dropped out . He is teaching , not just saying “I know everything “ . Never thought much of Jay Leno , but I love Jay Lenos Garage :)
Worked at a Rolls Royce dealership in West Palm Beach back in the mid 70's. We also sold these. I loved these. I was a 18-19 years old mechanic. They had great seats and the best Lear 8-track going. I got to drive them every week or two.
Now that's a proper car! ...in the best colour too, really love the Jensen Interceptor, got to not only be one of the best looking cars of the 60's/70's but also the one with the best name - thanks for sharing it with us Jay and Mark. By the way (I'm English) and bought petrol [gas] today, it's currently $5.43 per USG...so a little cheaper than you thought...a bargain ;0) !!!
You bought petrol over here for $5.43 a gallon? I think you need to redo the maths mate. £1.30 a litre and hour gallons are bigger than their gallons and its $1.37 to the £ today.
Thanks to Jay and Mark. This car is vaguely familiar and I think I might have seen one once or twice in a lifetime pre-adolesence in the US or France. What a beautiful car. By the way excellenct photography from the people doing the filming on the drive. IT was at this time that I realized the beauty of the rear glass hatch. Thanks again to Mark for Driving and Jay for hosting what is a unique vehicle and interesting part of British automotive history.
I remember the summer I was 14, my dad got a call from someone who needed towing and repair (I didn't know it a the time, but the vehicle in question was an Interceptor in dark blue metallic). My dad ordered one of the mechanics to take our sturdy Land Rover Defender 110, to go pick up the Jensen, and I was going along as a 'chaffeur' (solely for steering and applying the brakes (when needed!), getting the towed car back to our garage. This happened on an island at the coast of Norway in the late sixties, at the time there was only gravel roads all over the island, and the story went like this: An English couple had driven all the way from somewhere in England, they was to visit family on our island, and in an attempt to get up to the farm they were headed, the car hit a big rock protruding up from the middle of the old farm road, knocking a considerable hole in the engine's aluminum oil pan (the owner obviously assumed there was 'enough' of a clearing to pass over!) . . . By the help of a tractor, they had maneuvered the Interceptor back down to the main road, where it was waiting for us. The mechanic attached a solid piece of chain between the two (British!) cars, and so we started our journey back, a distance of about 20 km (12,5 miles). The trip went well, but I was sweating like a pig at the end, and my right foot was almost _cramped_ from braking the heavy car all throughout the towing! . . . I remember that the oil pan had to be sent to the closest city for to be properly mended (welded). It took a few days, and when it was at last fitted back on the car, the proper amount of oil filled, and the same (totally car nut!) mechanic started it up, he of course _had_ to 'test' that all was ship shape: I will _never_ forget 'throaty' roar from the powerful engine and the *_HUGE_* amount of gravel that was spun out from under the rear wheels - as he accelerated along the stretch of road in front of our garage! . . . . Funny how some things will stick with you . . .😄
I used to sell these in the 70”s...just put them behind the wheel..turn up the eight track player and cruise through the hills...instant sell. Love it....and you should see it as a convertible....wow
@@bighands69 funnily enough, I heard they had the pricetag and maintenance costs, but commanded none of the glamour purely because they weren't a Jag, AM or Bentley. Pure nonsense if you ask me, this car is miles ahead.
Daytona 6263 Probably not at Jensen as they were a small company. Leyland, Ford and Vauxhall (GM) were infiltrated by Union shop stewards who were literally officers in the KGB. They would strike for the slightest thing, regularly, and this, plus some very underwhelming design at Leyland, later Rover cars, slowly killed them. Ford built better cars but still moved major production to Germany. Vauxhall, by some miracle, are still going. They didn’t bother infiltrating the smaller businesses like Jensen, Morgan, Panther, Lotus etc.
Daytona 6263 It’s probably prettier than most Ferraris. There are a LOT of ugly Ferraris. The Interceptor is actually classic Italian design, like the TR6.
@@SvenTviking Actually Ford built the worst cars in the 1970s in the United States. Ford was having alot of issues with the "Brain Box", our first automotive computer that controlled emissions, fuel pressure and ignition voltage. Chrysler was having issues with the Torqueflite transmissions and the porcelain emission control valve. GM's issue was they went overboard on their Catalytic Converter filters and they were plugging up very quickly and their electronic carburetors not feeding or overfeeding fuel to the engine.
The convertible style is much better looking! My friend's mom had one back in high school, and I remember riding in the back! We took it out once, and got it up to 90 mph in first gear; he was driving!!! You could be going 65 mph and only turning over at 1700 rpm!!
I didn't consciously pick up the sniffing, but his mannerisms, speaking style (and yes the sniffs) reminds of actor James Woods acting style. I like Woods and I'm not anal-retentive so I kept watching. Simon I hope my grammar and punctuation had some vex worthiness.
Very enjoyable episode! Love Jay's relaxed manner and sense of humor. I was in stitches when he was ribbing the owner about the work on the car done by all his family members, and when he did his impression of a Mercedes air conditioning unit kicking in compared to a Caddy. Guys love cars. Thanks Jay.
These are beautiful cars. When I was young, I remember drooling over one in the show room of a local British car dealership here in Canada. If I can remember correctly they cost about $7600 CDN. This was in 1974. More than I could afford. I bought an MGBGT instead for $2700. Still have it!
I bought a bgt in73 still got it when I was at school American Air Force personal used to go past our gate from upper heyford just had to get one did it when I was21 new from the factory my aunt who worked in the factory must have done some of the upholstery on it
Joyce Miller similar story for me too. I envied the young lady (bosses daughter) who owned a new BGT when I was working a summer job in 1967. I bought a brand new B in 1970 hours after getting my first job. Fast forward a few years and my new wife declared she was not going through another Canadian winter in that car. So the only solution was a BGT. New 1974 BGTs were very rare then as they stopped importing the GTs for some reason. I found a 73 GT that had been purchased in England and imported to Canada. They had a tax dodge system going then where you could drive it around the UK on holiday and then the dealer would export it for you. Still have it and still enjoy it. A happy wife is a happy life!
I just wanted to give you a big thanks Jay, every Monday morning i head in to work and it always brightens my day going into the break room for lunch and enjoying a new episode and learning new things. 👍
Glad you mentioned that. His sister did an AMAZING job restoring that leather and it must have been a horrible job so I hope he paid her well and didn't just take advantage of his family like some people do.
I was born 72 from England loved these cars as a kid would love one now nice looking car my favourite classic mat busby owned one remember seeing him in it Manchester United manager beautiful car.
Jensen Interceptor one of the best designs from Europe. Jay again shows off his vast knowledge. This dude is very nice to allow someone to really open up the engine on the drive. Very cool car. Thanks!
Ame Hurnik If I recall correctly, I read in a feature article in Classic Cars magazine that the AWD FF was an attempt to improve performance & handling.
I don't know what it is with this show, whether online or CNBC, but there's a whole ton of aliasing and moiré going on. It's like it was recorded on an older interlaced system and converted to progressive, or somewhere else in the production workflow some conversion happened. That, or Jay's saving his megabucks by using cheap video equipment/production values!
Buddy of mine had an Interceptor in the late 70's. He was enormously proud of it and kept it spotless, inside and out. He was giving a lift to one of his our mutual pals one day when another car ran hard into him from the side. Of course, this was in the era before anyone wore seat belts as a habit. The passenger ended up upside down in the seat, legs up in the air. My buddy turned to him and snarled, 'Get your feet off my dashboard!'
Beautiful car! This mix of tan upholstery, deep English green body and metal/chrome inserts everywhere is an eye magnet. Such a high quality restoration job, too... Bravo!!
This is about the 7th time I've watched this video, god I loved the Jensen Interceptors. Even as a kid I knew what it was a mile away and they were brand new back then. Such a beautiful vehicle!
As a kid, I worked in a small petrol station in the mid seventies as a pump attendant. One hot summer’s evening a well spoken chap pulls up in an Interceptor III in deep metallic orange/bronze. “Fill her up ol boy and check the oil” After a long time pumping petrol - they took some filling! I went to check the oil; I lifted the bonnet and will never forget the heat hitting my face!- that motor was glowing hot - I then had to reach in for the dipstick ; I nervously removed the stick and could just see some oil on it. “Is she ok he said” “yea, I replied” I replaced the dipstick, shut the bonnet and he went on his way. I sometimes wonder how much oil was in it and why anyone with a car like that would expect or trust a 14 year old lad to do such an important check. Those Chrysler engines ran very hot indeed and I’ll never forget that experience. Awesome cars 👍
A few thoughts come to mind. Cool guest, great car, one of the best episodes yet. A pressure switch from a grocery store meat display case? Why not? :) A little trivia: Jensen assembled all the production Sunbeam Tigers.
I really liked the owner's approach to modding his car and involving his family. He put modern port fuel injection and a GearVendors overdrive on it to make it a highway cruiser with nearly modern capabilities. No wonder he volunteered to drive it out from Massachusetts; he wanted to experience America's wide-open spaces in a car that he built. His sister did the upholstery, and his mother sewed the headrest bolsters. Very crafty family.
Beautiful car. Refreshing to hear someone talking sense about tyre profiles. Some modern cars are super capable and have tremendous performance and when a kid lowers it and puts 18 to 22 inch wheels on it he literally cripples it. If he ever really was Vin Diesel and got in a car chase with police he'd be screwed. It's why 2 tonne 250 horsepower cop cars have been able to catch some 5 and 600 horsepower street machines. I get the aesthetic movement or car art angle like the "bozo" guys in Japan and that's cool by me because they're aren't going for performance but kids who think they're modifying for speed end up with a car that looks like a Hotwheels toy but also handles like one. I'm sure it'll be a part of "what were we thinking" car history that'll get a lot of shaken heads and laughs in years to come.
Worked on one of these ('74 also, maroon-ish in color) in the 80's. Very impressive car to drive for mid-70's vintage. Had a Chrysler "U" code, 440 HP with bullet-proof RB 727 trans. straight out of a period Plymouth or Dodge state police car. Saved the owner a lot of money when he found out that a lot of the drivetrain parts were readily available at most local auto parts houses, or the Chrys. Dodge, Plymouth dealership. It even had the Carter Thermo-quad carb. and the big orange dual schnorkel air cleaner like the police cars. Truly a real sleeper and a lot of fun to drive.
I disagree. I bought a Porsche 928 on eBay, flew to Rhode Island and drove it back to Chicago - about 700 miles, iirc. It was a great trip, and I remember being amazed how well that trans suited it. For something small, nimble and revvy (like my 944) a manual is great, but in a GT I'll take an auto.
The F1 world champion Jenson Button was named after this car by his Dad.....Mr Leno, you are a legend. I have seen so many cars in detail that i would never have otherwise...Fank ya kindly sir.
Great show Jay, i remember riding in the back seat as a kid in England when my dad went to pick up his new 1970 Rover 3500s, that he brought back to the US
The Ferguson Formula (FF) AWD system was also fitted to a number of prototypes, including some police cars for Chrysler in the US, and Ford in the UK. In the early 80s there was a rumour that a couple of the police cars were going to be auctioned, and a friend and I tried to find them, but we never did. They also developed the AWD system in the Jaguar XJ220, and the McLaren F1, so Jay has driven 2 FF derived cars! The Interceptor was one of the cars I always wanted, but could never afford. By the time the prices were in my range, they were too expensive to maintain. Today a good one is well over £100K. It was great to see this one looked after and loved.
Petrol these days is about $6 per imperial gallon (4.5 litres) that's why most car enthusiasts in England have a normal car and a fun car. Fuel isn't even expensive, it's tax that's ridiculous
***** It's not even expensive here, the price is mostly tax. 60% fuel duty and 20% VAT. You can get 'red diesel' which is about 60p a litre but you can't use it on the road
We have red diesel in the US, too. Much cheaper, also. Some run it on the road, but you risk a fine of thousands if you are caught, depending on where you live. Fuel tax keeps going up in the US, too, but nothing like across the Atlantic. I have a regular car and a fun car, too. Still worth it for insurance reasons.
I remember going to the motor show at Olympia in London back in 1975 when i was a boy and going up to the stand where the Jenson intercepter was and getting the pamphlets for it, whish i still had them now but what a great car.
Becomes? No. It doesn't become reliable. The better maintained a car is the more reliable it REMAINS. If work on the car makes it BECOME more reliable than it originally was that work is repair, not maintenance.
The Interceptor was surely the greatest mile eater Britain ever produced. Roll Royce levels of luxury, massive torque, Italian styling and that practical rear window. plus the FF version was I believe the first production car ever made with 4 wheels drive. Always loved that body shape!
It's the common greating from one motor head to another motor head... the thumbs up in appreciation of their fine auto mobile. The Jensen is a beautiful vehicle. I've always wanted to at least drive one. I had the chance once because a guy I knew owned one. But I never got the chance.
Great video, great car (I drive an SP). A couple of things, the most popular car Jensen built was the Jensen Healey, the FF isn’t the Interceptor FF as the SP was just the Jensen SP. Possibly one of the greatest range of cars ever built.
My brother had a 1972 Jensen with a 7400 ccm 394 hk on the rear wheels engine with 3 double carburetors. A carburetor type on normal drive it only used one, when you need acceleration the 2 other carburetor kicks in. It was accelerating like a rocket. it was quite rare only 274 models were build. The car were purely build on aluminium and stainless steel.
