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Where can I find a front end  Rating:  Rating
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 Posted: 01-10-2007 01:29 am
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CMacksey
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I am looking for a front end for my car.



A replacement for about that much of the car. Does anyone know where I cound find a front end, or does anyone have a parts car that I could buy the front end from?

Thanks,
Chris

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 Posted: 01-10-2007 03:43 am
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Art DeKneef
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I might depending on what all you need. Where are you located?

Art

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 Posted: 01-10-2007 02:56 pm
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Judson Manning
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Chris,

I did graft the front end of a Jensen GT to the rear of a 74 roadster as the basis for my E-prod car, but I can't really suggest doing that for a road car.  My concern is the stressed monocoque construction doesn't lend itself well to being rebuilt in such a manner.

For a race-car that makes use of a full cage, it's not a problem.  However, what I'm afraid you may end up with is a car that has very little torsional rigidity.  At the least, it won't handle well, worst case, it could become a very dangerous ride.  Besides, getting all the body panels to fit and look good could prove to be a real challenge.

Forgetting about all the effort it takes to do what you are suggesting (which really is where ALL the fun is!), would it be more practical to start off with another complete car?

Judson

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 Posted: 01-10-2007 07:51 pm
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CMacksey
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Art DeKneef wrote: I might depending on what all you need. Where are you located?

Art


I'm located in southwestern Vermont


Thanks for your concern. I rebuilding the entire frame with retangular and 2.5 inch tubing. Fully customized. We will in fact be building a race car =P. We'll be doing a lot of research before we build the frame to be sure that it's safe but overall the car's integrety is still intack minus a few spots. In the end, the only the Jensen will be the body, front end and basic suspension.

I'm making a list of the body parts I need and I'm thinking I need to get the panel that the hinges for the hood are located on.

Boys this is going to be a long thread =)

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 12:54 am
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Art DeKneef
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I should have mentioned I am in Mesa, Arizona. That's just a hop, skip and a jump away, right? Interesting project.

Art

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 01:42 am
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Ron Earp
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Another JH race car is a good thing.  What type of racing do you intend to do with it and with what sanctioning body?

Best,

Ron

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 03:28 am
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Paul Koehler
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Contact me off line re your front end. I'm in northern NY

PK

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 01:17 pm
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Judson Manning
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Chris,

Thanks for clarifying your intent.  The passanger side frame rail on my Solo I car actually bent upward about 3" after a few hot-laps Roebling Road many years ago.

http://jhppg.com/gallery/JH-GA/Image1

The 2-1/2" replacement frame-rail idea is exactly along the lines of what I had to do to get some torsional rigidity back into the car.  SO much better now!

Best of luck with your project.

Judson

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 04:27 pm
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Mitch Ware
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I know of a guy here in Albany, NY that wants to sell his E-prod JH. He's been bugging me to buy it, but since I have free use of an E-prod MGB its tough to get she who must be obeyed to agree to the expenditure.

 

Mitch Ware

#19670

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 07:26 pm
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CMacksey
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Ron Earp wrote: Another JH race car is a good thing.  What type of racing do you intend to do with it and with what sanctioning body?

Best,

Ron

Well I'm still on the fence, but I'm thinking I will be putting a RB26DETT most commonly known as the Skyline engine. If I can't get than kind of money together than I'll be buying something like an SR20DET, which you find in a bastardized 240SX drifter.


Judson, did you just strengthen your existing frame or did you completely rebuild the frame? I'm thinking I'm going to have to completely rebuild it, but right now the middle of the frame is non-existant...

Do you have a diagram of your frame?


Why do the quotes suck so much?

Last edited on 01-11-2007 07:35 pm by CMacksey

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 08:21 pm
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Judson Manning
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Chris,

I'd be lying if I told you my first thought wasn't to transplant the KA24 from my 240SX into my dead JH back in 1993.  First problem is height, then I found a myriad of other reasons to keep with the 907 and eventually going with the 912.

Your project is ambitious indeed, my only reservation is there are WAY too many half-completed project JHs out there.  I can say both Ron and I must have a screw loose trying to make the JH competitive in a field of modern cars.  I guess it keeps us out of bars....

About the only advice I can give:  Strive in maximizing your fun-to-dollar ratio.  While there is fun in building, there is MORE fun having the car actually on the track. 

I'm doing the E-prod build because I have so many spares it's costing me basically zero to do it (thanks to Sander and others for their donations!).  It won't be that competitive, but I'm a certified JH nut, and have no other choice!

Honestly, if I had to do it all over again (i.e. 15 years ago), I would have bought a Miata or stuck with my 240SX.  There are just SO many more parts available off the shelf that we are forced to develop on our own with the JH.

With regard to the frame rails, all I did was pound everything straight then weld in a some 1" angle-iron supplimented by 3/16" steel plate at the p/u points.  I used 18ga sheet steel to fabricate a new floor.  Check back issues of the JHPS monthly.  A few months ago, a JHPS clubber was kind enough to share sheetmetal dimensions for making replacement floorpans.

Best of luck.

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 Posted: 01-11-2007 09:13 pm
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CMacksey
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I can understand where you're coming from, this is deffinatly going to be a long, strenuous and expensive job. But in the end it should be worth it.

I'm hoping to turn this into a full show car, and a summer car, so it should be interesting. I'm about to go buy some insulation for my shop since... well... it's rather cold out here in vermont.

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 Posted: 01-14-2007 11:33 pm
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CMacksey
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It looks like I am going to need to expand my search to fenders, front and back as well. Anyone know any links to places where I can find them?

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