And you know this how? I have owned and operated one for the last 14 years. It is a lot of fun to drive and isn’t that hard to keep running, considering it is now 40 years old and very original.
These are good handling nice driving cars.
JLS says horrible, but everything British Leyland touched got f-ed up.
The seller looks to have several Jensens. This would add the benefit of parts and advice. Today we can fix most of the problems in any car.
I would like to restore one and make a pro touring car with the parts car.
To be honest I think a novice could handle this.
These cars have no connection with British Leyland yet were still awful. Great fun WHEN they ran right, but that didn’t happen too often. I worked for one of the largest Jensen dealers when these were new. In 1989 I gave a Geoff Healy a ride from the airport in my Bentley and it was clear the Jensen Healy was the one car his family was clearly embarrassed by.
only 511 GT’s built, lotus motor, getrag transmission, good racing history and you get 2 for $2950. while these have not taken off in value yet this still seems like a good deal. very interesting.
hmmmm….. proof that rare doesn’t always equal desirable or valuable.
As a self-confessed fan of 50s/60s/70s British sport cars (perfectly willing to accept the compromises, the warts, the idiosyncrasies and all – that’s often what gives them character and makes them lovable…) I must admit I cannot get excited about Jensen Healeys.
It’s just weird. On paper, they should have been a runaway success, but nobody really seems to like them much. I’ve seen them come up for sale locally at very reasonable prices but I just can’t bring myself to want one….
As Mr Healey explained to me, when the project was first contemplated, they really wanted to used the BMW 2002 Tii engine – can you imagine what a dynamite car that would have been!!
Of course it still would have been saddled with that ugly body design and Smiths gauges and assorted Lucas electrical components that would certainly live up to (or die down to) their deserved reputation.
I’ll agree with the writer above, they seemed certain to runaway success and for the first few months there was a waiting list to buy – but then the word got out and the buyers disappeared and warranty claims sunk ’em.
These DID have some pretty bad reliability problems when they first came out: a cam timing belt that broke long before it was scheduled to be replaced, a cheap plastic “T” in the fuel line that broke and caused the engine to catch fire, some seriously antiquated oil seals made out of rope! All fixed before the GT even came out. Nowadays these are probably the most reliable of the British roadsters of that era, especially for the price. Nice opportunity, except I like the convertibles better.
they were horrible NEW!!
And you know this how? I have owned and operated one for the last 14 years. It is a lot of fun to drive and isn’t that hard to keep running, considering it is now 40 years old and very original.
These are good handling nice driving cars.
JLS says horrible, but everything British Leyland touched got f-ed up.
The seller looks to have several Jensens. This would add the benefit of parts and advice. Today we can fix most of the problems in any car.
I would like to restore one and make a pro touring car with the parts car.
To be honest I think a novice could handle this.
These cars have no connection with British Leyland yet were still awful. Great fun WHEN they ran right, but that didn’t happen too often. I worked for one of the largest Jensen dealers when these were new. In 1989 I gave a Geoff Healy a ride from the airport in my Bentley and it was clear the Jensen Healy was the one car his family was clearly embarrassed by.
Good candidate for a V8 restomod. The blue one isn’t included?
only 511 GT’s built, lotus motor, getrag transmission, good racing history and you get 2 for $2950. while these have not taken off in value yet this still seems like a good deal. very interesting.
hmmmm….. proof that rare doesn’t always equal desirable or valuable.
As a self-confessed fan of 50s/60s/70s British sport cars (perfectly willing to accept the compromises, the warts, the idiosyncrasies and all – that’s often what gives them character and makes them lovable…) I must admit I cannot get excited about Jensen Healeys.
It’s just weird. On paper, they should have been a runaway success, but nobody really seems to like them much. I’ve seen them come up for sale locally at very reasonable prices but I just can’t bring myself to want one….
As Mr Healey explained to me, when the project was first contemplated, they really wanted to used the BMW 2002 Tii engine – can you imagine what a dynamite car that would have been!!
Of course it still would have been saddled with that ugly body design and Smiths gauges and assorted Lucas electrical components that would certainly live up to (or die down to) their deserved reputation.
I’ll agree with the writer above, they seemed certain to runaway success and for the first few months there was a waiting list to buy – but then the word got out and the buyers disappeared and warranty claims sunk ’em.
I’d be down to take these brits on for fun & country
Small numbers, rare and valuable engines….good marque. I’m surprised this isn’t gone yet. If it was close to me me it would be in my garage.
These DID have some pretty bad reliability problems when they first came out: a cam timing belt that broke long before it was scheduled to be replaced, a cheap plastic “T” in the fuel line that broke and caused the engine to catch fire, some seriously antiquated oil seals made out of rope! All fixed before the GT even came out. Nowadays these are probably the most reliable of the British roadsters of that era, especially for the price. Nice opportunity, except I like the convertibles better.