OK, I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for looks. A car could have a reputation of guano but if I like the visual, I’ll at least consider it. And that’s the case with the Jensen-Healey such as today’s 1973 discovery. While I’m not that familiar with this marque, I’ve always dug the styling and that alone was enough of a reason to investigate this resident from Ohio’s Queen City of Cincinnati. Oh yeah, and then there’s a little matter of an engine switch… Let’s dig in and see what this one’s all about.
The story around Jensen Motors is a bit complicated as it involved various buy-outs, sales and changes in control. Formed in 1934 by the purchase of an automobile body manufacturer, the Jensen brothers built their business building car bodies for other auto manufacturers as well as for their own models, often using running gear from yet different, established manufacturers. The Jensen-Healey was a short lived collaboration between Jensen and Donald Healey, partly with the thought of filling the void created by the discontinuance of the Austin-Healey. Only offered between ’72 and ’76, about 10K copies of the two-seat open sports car were produced in West Bromwich, England. Economic conditions, safety regulations and labor troubles all conspired to kill the Jensen-Healey in 1976. This stew of problems actually killed the entire Jensen company though it did resurface in the late nineties only to be knocked off again about ten or twelve years later.
Jensen didn’t build their own engines, they contracted with more established manufacturers to handle that end of the business and in the case of the Jensen-Healey, that meant utilizing a 144 HP, Lotus, DOHC, 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine. Well, you can say good by to that thought as our subject car is sporting a 2.8 liter Chevrolet, 60 degree V6 powerplant – yes the engine that saw use in GM front-wheel drivers such as the Chevrolet Citation. The seller tells us, “It starts, runs, drives, shifts, handles, brakes and sounds great.” It seems like an unusual choice but I’ll have to give him a tip of the hat for figuring out how to make it fit. He further adds, “The car now has the best of both worlds – with its foreign design and its American Chevrolet 2.8 liter, V6 and automatic transmission.” Which automatic transmission is not stated but I can’t help thinking that a manual gearbox would have really upped the fun quotient.
We’re also told that this J-H has been pampered and garage kept and it will say that it is quite smart looking (again that visual thing that I have). The body panels all align, the finish has nice depth and even though that five MPH federal bumper standard was in place in ’73, J-H was able to put it off until mid ’74, thusly no jutting jaw or black bumpers that would be more fitting attached to the hull of a tugboat. From what can be seen of the folding fabric top, I’d say that it’s good to go, no worries there.
As nice as the exterior presents, the interior continues the theme. OK, the driver’s seat does have a split seam but that should be easy enough to remedy. The interior has a black leather all business vibe about itself but it’s not primitive in say the way an early ’60s MG is. It would seem that this two-seater hasn’t spent too much time in top-down mode – the upholstery doesn’t look cooked and that’s always a concern with a convertible.
Cool? Yes, I’d say so but I would be curious to know how the driving characteristics differ between the Chevy/auto. trans lash up and the original Lotus/manual transmission version. An adverse impact to value? Probably, but I doubt it really matters at this point. Take a look at this unusual conversion, it’s listed here on eBay where it’s available for a no reserve bid of $2,358 with 34 bids tendered so far, and let me know what you think; a hit or a miss?
Many years ago i owned one. This is crazy cheap at the moment, a automatic is a bit step back. Nice color too.
Interesting choice of engine, thankfully they didn’t go down the LS path.
I would have gone with the BOC 3800 V6 supercharged engine, but then again, I’m a hoon.
Manual box equals more fun.
Finally, the perfect sports convertible for the wife that never learned to drive a standard. Too bad she left after the Morris, Vette, Camaro, and the Wood boat.
Oh well. I would have had to install another lift to get it in the garage anyway.
A car club member 30 years ago had one of these. It was a fun driver but had a punky yellow paint color. The Lotus motor and manual trans did its job as a driving sports car. I do like this color, though. The Chevy motor is an ok conversion to me but not an automatic transmission! It ‘kinda’ takes away the the feel of driving a 2 seater sports car! (My opinion only!) Not many people know this car and bidding numbers are low with that amount of bidders. The final number will be interesting.
Quite a reach for the gas cap.
Odd the colors of the side marker lights are incorrectly switched.
Very surprised to see door vent windows that do not open up.
Seems like the same gas tank set-up that my Spitfires had . . .
Weeeeeelll, it’s an improvement, albeit, a half baked one, I happen to think the 2.8 was the absolute worst V6 on the rock, but you decide. I doubt any power gain over the 4 cylinders, My ex ruined 2 of them in my S10 Blazer, and why they didn’t go with the 4.3, a much better motor, is always a mystery. It probably is a nice swap, but a better motor could have been used.
Okay, so I’m not figuring out how you operate the automatic transmission… clearly, the manual stick is still there, and I dont see anything on the column. Also, it looks like the backup lights are on, too.. oh well. I would have left the original engine and transmission in place, but hey, that’s just me.
I had an x11 Citation it had 10 more hp than the regular Citation, I beat that car for 11 years with no engine problems. For what it was it was pretty quick.–2.8-
I had a friend who had a white one just like this one. It spent more time in the repair shop than on the road.
An automatic with the look of a manual…..I have to admit that’s a first for me.
I’m assuming it’s got a standard 70s console automatic layout in it, so it’s just pull it back and count the clicks. Still, a strange choice to make.
Myself, I’ve always thought that the motor and transmission out of a Honda S2000 would find a good home in one of these J-Hs.
With no pictures of the floorboards or underside, one should investigate further. These were notorious for rust in those places, as well as the fender wells.
A highly under-rated car, cheap to buy even in great condition, but the engine swap and automatic transmission take away half its value. A friend had one, and we had fun in it. Even new, they should have used the 215-ci aluminum Buick-designed V6 that went into Land Rovers and other British cars. If you want a Jensen-Healey, excellent ones can be had for around $15,000.
215 cu.in. aluminum Buick was a V8
215 cu.in aluminum Buick was a V8…. And would be perfect for this J-H
If I remember correctly.They design the engine bay with the 3.5 in mind. I don’t remember why they did go with it. BL never could make enough of them.
“nbcgibbs” – Barn Finds favorite EBay seller. They manage to get an auction featured here once a week.
The 2.8 V6 put out 120hp, so a net loss of 24hp from the stock Lotus 4. Then use a slushbox auto? Don’t plan to do any sporty driving in this!
Odd how close to the inner edge those thin whitewalls are – hard to see them.
Sold $6,551. 57 bids.