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#19670 (the VIN of this car, indicating it was the 9670th of the 10501 cars built) was purchased new in 1975 in California. It was last registered for the road in 1984 in New Hampshire. After that it sat in a junkyard until 1997, at which time the previous owner bought it as a restoration project. The first thing he did was take it 2/3 of the way apart and put the parts in bags, cans, buckets and boxes. I must say he did a reasonably good job of labeling the parts that he removed. He also pulled the engine and sent it out to a machine shop to be rebuilt. I think after that was done he realized that he was in way over his head and the car sat in his garage for another six years. Fast forward to spring of 2003. I run an auto body shop (but am not a body man, just a car nut) and thought that I would get myself a project car to keep myself busy on those days when there wasn't much for me to do. My brother in law is a retired factory certified Lotus mechanic, so I took him with me on the 4 hour drive to check this car out. It was in really rough shape, but mechanically it seemed sound, and having a body shop, I was in a better position than most people to bring this thing back from the dead. Once I got it to the shop, my wife came down to check it out. Her first reaction was to turn to her brother and say, "Why did you let my husband by such a piece of shit?" After that, all I could do was roll up my sleeves and get to work, to prove to her that there was a diamond under all that rust. For an overview of the restoration of #19670 and pictures, click HERE
Arggh! (no, I'm not a pirate) While debugging the overdrive on the TR6 I had the car up on the lift (about a foot off of the ground) and let the car idle while in 3rd gear to test the OD unit. The tranny was making a lot of strange noises, but I wasn't sure if it was something wrong, or if it was just the fact that there was no load on the rear tires and the noise was just drive line lash. Quick answer, it was something wrong. I drained the brand new synthetic gear oil out and along with the oil came 6 pieces of metal that look like roller bearings. My guess is that they came from an exploded input shaft bearing. So now I'm pulling the tranny out and its off to Kim's shop to rebuild it. I'm starting to doubt whether this car ever wants to be driven again. I'm guessing that it has grown accustomed to being a garage potato over the last 30 years of being off the road.
Here is a little table that I put together to show a comparison between the 1974 Jensen Healey and the 2004 Mazda Miata. It may not seem that the JH is a screamer, but if you consider the technological developments in the automotive industry over the course of 30 years, you should be able to appreciate what a true performance car the Jensen Healey is compared to one of its contemporaries, the Triumph TR6.
| 1974 Jensen Healey - JH5 | 2004 Mazda Miata - MX-5 | 1974 Triumph TR6 | |
| Engine | Lotus type 907, inline 4 cylinder inclined at 45 degrees | Mazda inline 4 cylinder | Triumph inline 6 cylinder |
| Horsepower | 140 bhp @ 6500rpm | 142 bhp @ 7000rpm | 101 bhp @ 4900rpm |
| Torque | 130 lb/ft @ 5000rpm | 125 lb/ft @ 5500rpm | 128 lb/ft @ 3000rpm |
| Camshafts | Twin overhead camshafts, dual inlet and exhaust valves | Twin overhead camshafts, dual inlet and exhaust valves | single camshaft, pushrod operated single inlet and exhaust valves |
| Bore & Stroke | 3.75in (95.2mm) X 2.73in (69.3mm) | 3.27in (83.1mm) X 3.35in (85.1mm) | 2.94in (79.7mm) X 3.74in (95mm) |
| Displacement | 120.5 cu. in. (1973cc) | 112.2 cu. in. (1839cc) | 152 cu. in. (2498cc) |
| Compression Ratio | 8.4:1 | 10:1 | 7.75:1 |
| Crankshaft | Fully balanced 5 main bearings | ||
| Lubrication | Sump capacity 12.3 pints (7 liters), full flow oil filter | Sump Capacity 10.8 pints | |
| Fuel System | Twin Zenith-Stromberg carburettors | Fuel Injection | Twin Zenith-Stromberg carburettors |
| Fuel Capacity | 13 gallons US, 50 liters | 12.7 gallons US, 48.7 liters | 11.4 gallons US, 43 liters |
| Transmission | Getrag close ratio 5 speed | 5 speed overdrive | 4 speed (optional electric overdrive in 3rd & 4th) |
| Gear Ratios | 1st 3.368:1, 2nd 2.16:1, 3rd 1.58:1, 4th 1.24:1, 5th 1:1 | 1st 3.14:1, 2nd 1.89:1, 3rd 1.33:1, 4th 1:1, 5th 0.81:1 | 1st 2.99:1, 2nd 2.10:1, 3rd 1.39:1, 4th 1:1 |
| Differential | Hypoid rear axle. Ratio 3.45:1 | Ratio 4.30:1 | Hypoid bevel gears, Ratio: 3.7:1 |
| Suspension - Front | Independant, double wishbone, coil springs and telescoping dampers | Double wishbone, gas shocks, anti-roll bar | |
| Suspension - Rear | Live axle, four links, coil springs and telescoping dampers | Double wishbone, gas shocks, anti-roll bar | Semi-floating axle shafts |
| Brakes - Front | Disc - 10in (254mm) diameter, Swept area 194 sq in (1250cm²) | Disc - 10.6in (269mm) diameter | Disc - 10.9in (277mm) diameter |
| Brakes - Rear | Drum - 9in (229mm) diameter, Swept area 99 sq in (640cm²) | Disc - 10.9in (277mm) diameter | Drum - 9in (229mm) diameter |
| Steering | Rack and pinion. 3.16 turns lock to lock. Ratio 16.3:1 | Power assisted rack and pinion. 2.7 turns lock to lock. | Rack and Pinion, 3.25 turns lock to lock |
| Turning Circle | 32 feet (9753mm) | 30.2 feet (9205mm) | 34 feet (1040 mm) |
| Wheels and Tires | 13in (330mm) cast aluminum, 205/60 HR13 | 16in (406mm) cast aluminum, 205/45 WR16 | 15in (381mm) Steel Disc, 185SR15 |
| Length | 13ft 6in (4113mm) | 12ft 11in (3945mm) | 13ft 7in (4155mm) |
| Width | 5ft 3½in (1508mm) | 5ft 6in (1678mm) | 4ft 10in (1470mm) |
| Height - Soft Top | 3ft 11½in (1210mm) | 4ft 4in (1228mm) | 4ft 2in (12705mm) |
| Wheelbase | 7ft 8in (2337mm) | 7ft 5½in (2265) | 7ft 4in (2240mm) |
| Track - Front | 4ft 5½in (1354mm) | 4ft 7½in (1415mm) | 4ft 2¼in (1276mm) |
| Track - Rear | 4ft 4½in (1332mm) | 4ft 8½in (1440mm) | 4ft 1¾in (1264mm) |
| Ground Clearance | 5in (127mm) | 4in (102mm) | 6in (152mm) |
| Weight | 2116 lbs (960 kgs) | 2447 lbs (1110 kgs) | 2624 lbs (1190 kgs) |
| Head Room | 35in (889mm) | 37.1in (942mm) | |
| Leg Room | 42.5in (1080mm) | 42.8in (1086mm) | |
| 0-60 | 7.8 seconds | 8.1 seconds | 10.7 seconds |
| 0-100 | 24.7 seconds | 23.2 seconds | 39.0 seconds |
| Quarter Mile | 16.2 seconds @ 85mph | 16.1 seconds @ 85.3mph | 17.9 seconds @ 77mph |
If you'd like to learn more about the Jensen Healey try these sites: The Jensen Healey Preservation Society, Richard Calver's Jensen Website
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