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Dr. F's Jensen quandary  Rating:  Rating
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 Posted: 03-16-2006 10:19 pm
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frankenstang57
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I'm new here, so hello! I'm also new to JH's as well. Over the years I've owned and still own several Triumphs, so I'm not new to British cars. I've also been competing in the GRM $200X Challenge for the last 5 years, with an extremely slow BB powered Mustang. Anywhoo, Here's what up. I recently bought a '73 JH from a local salvage yard. The car was donated to a charity in Ca. and the yard was acting as their agent in Co. They could not give me title with the car, but just a bill of sale stating "parts only." (I actually had the title in my hand, but they wouldn't give it up, sure happy to take my money tho!) Since the charity is out of state, the car would need to go to Ca. to be titled then brought back in order to be legal. So a 100% complete car is now taken off the road for good due to a @#$!~#! bureaucracy. As I said the car is complete, starts and runs, but has no oil pressure and most likely needs an engine rebuild. Now the story gets a little stranger... A friend of mine picked up another car for me, and dropped it off at my house while I was out of town.(in return of a favor) It's a JH5 minus the motor. It still has the 5spd though. I didn't get a title, but I should be able to bond for one with no problem.(it has Ca. plates on it!) I was thinking about removing the motor from the non-registerable car, using it in the JH5, and building a V-8 powered car for the GRM $2006 Challenge.(yes, yes, SBC are cheap, cheap to build, and fun to blow up!) What do you guys think? Any suggestions on registering the '73? The VIN has been entered into the system as being "crushed", so it's a dead number. I forgot to mention, both cars are rust free, and both are white with black interiors. Here's a link, http://evilallianceracing.com/ipw-web/gallery/Second-Jensen and http://evilallianceracing.com/ipw-web/gallery/album239?page=5

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 Posted: 03-17-2006 11:52 am
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smcmanus
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I would suggest that you transplant all of the parts of the new car onto your motorless car, if you can get a title for it.  You have to read between the lines a bit.

Good Luck

Steve

 

 

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 Posted: 03-17-2006 02:17 pm
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Judson Manning
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Ah yes the GRM $2000 Challenge....

As you've pointed out a significant number of entries tend to blow-up.  After pointing this out to my Solo buddy he stopped giving me so much grief about why $2k wasn't enough to make my JH competitive...

I stopped taking GRM once it grew larger than Car&Driver, but do remember a few years ago one of the winners had a LBC with a Cosworth Vega 16V engine in it?  If I remember the article correctly, he out-performed most of the 351 powered Mustangs?  Please correct my fading memory...

As I've dreamed about the GRM Challenge a lot, let me suggest some ideas that are practical, cheap and easy to adapt to the JH chassis:

Engine and Trans:  3.8L V6 Mustang w/ BW T5 trans

Rear Axle:  Chevy S10 4x2 p/u (55.5" wide, 225/50R-15 tires, & LSD)

Front Axle:  Nothing besides R-compound 205/60R13 tires on stock wheels

While Mr. Shelby proved it could be done, a 2,000lbs car with 300ft-lbs of torque isn't exactly easy to control on an autocross course or make hook-up on the drag-strip.  When it comes to the GRM Challenge....KISS

BTW, that 5speed has value to many club members.  You could probably swap it for a good used engine and a 4sp trans, and have your JH5 running in no time.

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 Posted: 03-17-2006 03:23 pm
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Brian Kelly
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http://www.its-titles.com/

You may be able to use a title service to get one titled. 

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 Posted: 03-18-2006 12:51 am
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Mark Rosenbaum
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For a car that'll spend its days on the track, I'd think a bill of sale would be sufficient.

For a street car, though, documents do seem to be necessary.  As Brian Kelly mentioned, a title service may be able to help.  And IIRC some states don't even issue titles for older cars, so you might be able to register the car in one of those states.  In any event, for the car with the Calif. plates, you can probably get a usable title if you have bills of sale that trace back to the last registered owner.  But it probably will be expensive.

I'll second Judson's comments, particularly about the 5-speed.  You might even be able to get a streetable parts car in exchange for one of those.

BTW, I believe the VIN on a JH appears in only four places: the metal tag on the driver's side top of the dash; the metal plate on the driver's door; the metal plate on the radiator bulkhead; and stamped into the top surface of the left chassis rail, in the engine bay about a foot back of the radiator bulkhead.  Wouldn't do to get things mixed up.


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