Classic Car Show Awards
For so many years these Jensen cars have
not been expensive by comparison with any other classics of the period. Very
strange really when one considers that, at most of the important classic car shows in the
past, Jensen have won all the best awards.
Up against all the well known prestigious makes,
the Jensen Owners Club, together with Dave Horton's famous CV8, have won;
'Car of the Show', or
'Best of the
Master Class'
and
'Best
Club Stand'
and so on. There can hardly be a worthwhile classic
car award that has not been won by a Jensen!
Pioneers
These awards are not really so surprising
as the Jensen brothers based at West Bromwich made extremely fine hand built
cars. They were also pioneers; the first to provide disc brakes all round;
first with four wheel drive (on a CV8); one of the first to use the wind tunnel for body
design.
They were also well known and respected for
their advanced ideas on safety. The 541S was the first car with seat belts, as
standard, they also provided very soft padded areas above and below the
dashboard. Door handles, and window winders, were all in recessed panels out
of harms way.
They won the silver medal for coach work at
Earls Court, and with the 541R, in 1957 according to tests by 'The Autocar' they had
produced the fastest four seater car of the day.
Over the years their glass fibre and polyester
resin coach work has stood up to the test of time remarkably well.
Maintenance
Service and maintenance of these cars
proves a lot easier, than with many other classics, and this statement applies to some of
the more modern cars. There is a very enthusiastic owners club that provides
valuable technical information. Most spare parts are also not too difficult
to find through the Jensen Owners Club.
The chassis is built like a tank and the glass
fibre body cuts out all those rust problems.
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High
Power
The well proven straight six 4 litre engine is in a
class of it's own, set with triple SU large carburettors and linked to the Jaguar Moss 4
speed synchromesh gearbox, with overdrive, add to this, servo assisted Dunlop disc brakes
all round. - Provides one hell of a lot of motor car!
The CV8 is an even more powerful car still, but
not a British thoroughbred as it has a Chrysler V8 engine. There are certainly
not many cars from the early '60s that can still be used as a daily car some 35 years
later.
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