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Frank Schwartz Member
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Hving come froma car show where my Inteerceptor was put in a class with three very nice Jensen Healeys, I took first in that class. M<y personal opinion is that the Jensen Healeys and the Interceptor should be in different classes..as the Interceptor has more chrome and "shiny" than the Jensen Healey. My son and I discussed this and both agree that the JH's need more "bling" (new word...I like it)...so does anyone have any ideas as to how to make these cars "shine"??? The steel bumper, even when polished, adds very little to the overall presentation of the car... |
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NigelK Member
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Hi Frank The tried and tested route for adding more bling to the J-H would be to follow the same approach that Jensen did with the J-H Mk 2 i.e. blacked out headlight nacelles, chrome around the front indicator apertures, black/chrome coach line strip on the wings and doors, and chrome strip on the sills (sometimes). The advantage of doing this is that there are plenty of photos of J-Hs with this factory trim level, so you'll know whether it's bling enough before you spend any money. The GT took the bling a little further, with a thin pinstripe (colour depended on the paint colour) just below the coach line strip. You can just about see this pinstripe in the GT brochure photo. Best wishes, Nigel |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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I don't think Jensen did themselves any favors by painting the "Mag" wheels black, just my opinion. Brett |
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Randallclary@icloud.com Member
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I recently painted my 1973 Jensen Healey as part of my restoration and painted the bumper as well as the rest of the car "Lexus Silver Lining". The color brings a little "Bling" to the car. Although the car is not complete yet and it is not restoration original, it has some more creature comforts with most of the charm of the Jensen Healey still there. I will post some more pics here as well as in my project posting for "New Restoration Project Started - 13046 - Riverside, CA" |
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NigelK Member
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Hi Frank The other item of bling that Jensen added was a chrome finisher strip on the trailing edge of the bonnet. I've never seen this strip on a J-H or GT in the flesh, so I don't know whether it's the same strip as can be found on the tops of the doors on the later J-Hs, or whether it's more like a door edge trim and wraps around the trailing edge of the bonnet. Does anyone have a picture of this finisher? Best wishes, Nigel |
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gmgiltd Member
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Hi Nigel, My GT never had the chrome on the rear edge of the bonnet, but I added some of the door edge strip to the leading edge to protect from stone chips - leading edge is pretty vulnerable. If you want to go for the full "handbag" effect then the following should be taken into consideration (if you are really bored or slightly deranged). Louvred bonnet Wing vents ( Interceptor style) Side pipes or quad 4 inch pipes Picnic table type spoiler at the back Rally Escort wheel arches Wide wheels Lowered suspension but watch out for Marlboro packets. Gordon |
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NigelK Member
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I did some research on the bonnet trailing edge finisher, and found out that it is made from the same trim used on the sills and seams of the classic Mini. The Mini part number is GZF107. It's a little tricky to fit, but I think the finished result is worth it. A before and after shot of the bonnet trailing edge on my GT is below... Last edited on 01-11-2016 05:08 pm by NigelK |
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Frank Schwartz Member
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Looks really good, and I plan to do the same...I recently worked on a lady's JH. It was painted pearl white and had neat dual pin stripes down the sides in light blue and pink and the pinstriper did some nice zizzyboos around the door handles, the front hood ornament and also the trunk lock. I had pictures somewhere...and all that really did the car up nicely...but I have to say that your blue paint job is very good and shows up great. Frank |
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dbeliveau74 Member 
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JMHO! I would have to say I'd go the other way and de-chrome the car! The clean lines of these cars do not need accents and pin striping to enhance their appearance. A good paint job, nice polish and good quality wax and let the sun show off the lines. The great thing about cars is there are so many choices. If we all had the same tastes all cars would look the same how boring would that be! Cheers and happy motoring, Dan |
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NigelK Member
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Indeed! What looks good on our cars is a very subjective thing. By the way, what does "JMHO" stand for? |
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Screenplay Member
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Just my humble opinion? |
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NigelK Member
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Thanks! I thought it might stand for "Jensen Man Hates Ornamentation"... |
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NigelK Member
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Dear forum users I have finally completed the up-blinging of my GT. It now has all the exterior trims that were fitted when it left the factory.  I know the side mouldings divide opinion, but I'm very pleased with the look. I found these mouldings (http://www.dawn-ent.com/72426-K-OEM-Pro ... de-Molding) are a better match for the factory mouldings than those sold by Cowles or Trim-Gard.  I also applied a silver pinstripe just below the side mouldings, which was factory fit according to the brochure pictures. I took measurements from the collection of images of the very low mileage GT recently sold by Motoexotica (http://www.motoexotica.com/inventory/listing/1976-jensen-gt/) which is a really useful reference for what is hopefully a relatively unadulterated example.  If any is interested in fitting / measuring instructions for the side mouldings, please let me know and I'll write up a summary. Best wishes, Nigel |
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rovohn Member 
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Wow! She's a beauty Where did you find the Jensen logo for the rear? Cheers,John |
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NigelK Member
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Thanks John! Which of the 3 logos are you referring to? The "J" badge at the bottom of the rear screen and the "JENSEN GT" script on the rear bumper were already on the car when I bought it. The former is the standard J-H front wing badge (without the prongs, I think) and should be available from the usual suppliers. The bumper script you should be able to source from Rejen here in the UK. The "Jensen" script on the lower right just below the tailgate is the same as the script fitted to the C pillar on the Interceptor. I got mine from Appleyards here in the UK. Hope this helps. Best wishes, Nigel |
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Bfitz241 Member 
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That is one good looking car. Good color. Good luck with it. |
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dbeliveau74 Member
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Cracking nice GT! Keep em on the road! Cheers, Dan |
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noomg Member
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I like the bling free look of the Jensen-Healey. The elegant, simple, uncluttered, lines of the car is what originally appealed to me. That GT looks really nice though. |
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dbeliveau74 Member
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I agree. I painted mine silver. Look much better IMHO. I also removed the trim from the front park indicators and painted th front bumper body colour. I like the look better! Less bling! Attachment: 20230802_211520.jpg (Downloaded 47 times) Last edited on 08-03-2023 01:18 am by dbeliveau74 |
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