There was a time when I considered the Jensen Interceptor one of the more exotic and exciting British project vehicles you could buy. In fact, I can recall seeing some very strong money for pristine examples over the years, which seemed to suggest other enthusiasts felt the same way, particularly among British car fans. Like American muscle cars and vehicles from the Brass era that are slowly starting to fall out of favor, I see a similar future for project-grade cars like this that become less and less appealing to restore. This 1971 Jensen Interceptor listed here on eBay is a claimed 440 car fresh out of an estate.
The seller is asking $6,500 for this brutish grand tourer, which has clearly been standing for some time. In addition to the Interceptor being far more cherished a little over a decade ago than it is now, I can also recall a time that a genuine 440 car would command a premium. The Interceptor has always clung to the fringes of collector vehicles, as it had obvious merits but judgement call on whether to restore it or simply repair it was always a bit of a coin toss. Its Mopar-derived powerplant could mean an affordable return to action if it had been left sitting; however, the luxurious touches inside seemed to demand more than just a quick fluff-and-buff.
Offered with a variety of powerplants from Chrysler Corp., the Interceptor was certainly a brute in a suit, a precursor to future offerings from Aston Martin and Jaguar. The British makes seemed to have the formula down for a stately GT car that could rear up its haunches and boogie when called upon, all while emitting the familiar bark of a domestic V8. The seller’s car shows age and neglect from every corner, with the engine bay clearly in an pronounced state of decay. When equipped with the 440, the Interceptor was good for a robust 305 horsepower. Now, of course, the most desirable Interceptor is one with the rare six-pack set up, which would still command far more money even today.
You hardly ever see those upgraded 440 cars come up for sale, and even more rarely in project-car form. The bodywork on this Interceptor has taken some hits, and therein lies another area of weakness with old British iron like this: they like to rust under the best of circumstances but it’s a foregone conclusion when left outside or otherwise abandoned. Despite being with the same owner for 40 years, that provenance hasn’t spared the Interceptor from the perils of neglect, and it will take some time and even more money to bring this one back from the brink. Would you rescue it?
Drop this one back in the briny, after grabbing a few bits here and there.
I’m a glass half full kind of guy. I have always wanted one, and finally found one that I can afford! Unfortunately it’s probably yard art
Just by accident I have had several of these cars. I had a customer that loved them and I always ended up with them for one reason or another. The only thing about this one that I can think of is RUN, I can’t imagine any reason anyone would want it, its less than junk!
Will it run and drive x,xxx miles home? Seems a good candidate for that schtick. I like the looks and the idea of it, but the interiors are almost always fried.
Like American muscle cars and vehicles from the Brass era that are slowly starting to fall out of favor, I see a similar future for project-grade cars like this that become less and less appealing to restore. Copied and pasted. Thank you. I couldn’t agree more.This sadly is spot on.
Project grade is too optimistic. As cars without a strong following keep losing favor it won’t make sense to restore cars this far gone. The economics will dictate that. There are always people who preach “they should all be saved”, what they won’t say is they mean someone other than themselves should do the “saving”.
Steve R
I really like these but this is a mess. The exhaust is fallin̈g off tires are flat hood looks like it might not close right and the interior is disgusting It looks
like someone drove it here from England
But the unobtainium rear window is there. Worth buying as a parts car if you have one.
I went to the ad. It’s worse than I thought. The Interceptor always seemed a bit off to me in design. The rear hatch-which seems to be misaligned here- was too bulbous giving a fat butt look to the car. The convertible looked like it was done by some second tier conversion company. As an aside, the front seat color doesn’t match the rest of the interior. Some boneyard replacement?
I first saw one of these when a classmate drove his dad’s Interceptor to high school. He drove it like he stole it, and the hood wouldn’t stay closed after he jumped over train-tracks (at 80 MPH) on a back road. Dad was “away for a while”, doing time for some type of business fraud.
I wanted one in the 90s, and looked at several rusty project cars, but all needed way more than they would ever be worth…. Like this one.
While minty ones can get $50K+, decent drivers start in low $20Ks. Running, driving, clean (possibly worthwhile) projects start about $10K.
This one needs everything, and is realistically a parts car. Problem is, while the Mopar drivetrain parts are readily available, the Jensen parts on this car are mainly poor.
Unfortunately, even if the buyer has the requisite facilities and skills, this will quickly cross the line of “more money poured into it than it’s worth.” Sad end to a rare legendary GT. Seller should have let go of it a decade ago when it was still restorable.
I think the hatch window glass is worth more than the rest of this rustbucket. Take the hatch off and sell it separately. I suspect that somewhere there’s a Jensen web site/club where it could be offered. And the rest of the glass, too.
I had a,customer that brought his in for service. He had owned it since it was new. We got into a discussion about Interceptors in general. He had meticulously maintained his, but was now showing wear and tear. Being a Nevada car, there was no rust. But he was still lamenting the fact that a proper refurbishment was more than the car was worth. (And this was about 12 years ago.) His car was a 383 car and we went for a drive. The drive train was flawless, but the rest of the car felt slightly sloppy. It was still a wonderful driving car. But the 275,000 miles had taken its toll. I still like them, but not interested in marrying one.
Why these aren’t as highly regarded as a common RoadRunner with the same engine I’ll never know – a far superior car to the Mopar by most standards such as style, comfort, performance and just plain fun. I bet most of you naysayers have never even driven one and I’ll bet that I’ve driven more than you’ve ever just seen!!
I see a cool restomod project! Those are expensive anyway, and I have never seen one, so why not?
With all that rust, I see no way for that to be possible. And these things were (are) tanks. Nothing agile or supple about them.
I don’t remember, do these have a full frame? I hate disposing of something that might have value.
Yes, to the full frame, a ladder with Round Tubes front to back.
And while this one is too far gone, I’d like the Driveline and wheels. There’s always a place for a Chrysler Big Block with a matching 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission…BUT, the Jensen Valve covers would most likely be polished and mounted somewhere in my Man Cave.
Looks like a ‘Junker’ to me. Pity it sat outside for what looks like 39 of 40 years going to ruin!
The only real rust I see is on its ass. The doghouse appears in good shape. That has to be worth some money, so does all the glass and the vanity valve covers. I don’t know about the gauges. I recall a Top Gear episode where the big know-it-all discuss the Interceptor and mentioned that Jenson bought a lot of parts off the shelf like steering gear, etc. Head to the barrio to have the interior fixed, don’t be afraid to “restore” the running gear out of Pep Boys or U Pick ‘Em. Oh, forget it. I just went to Cars.com and they had a couple respectable looking ones for under 20k. They won’t get you to Pebble Beach but they’ll get you to cars and coffee or a fun drive up to Door County for a Labor Day fish boil… and just part this one out. Your best shot is finding soe guy who works on Interceptors who may want to stockpile soe parts.
One of the best road cars I have owned and driven. No need to be in this state if maintained. Real shame!
I’m surprised it is not located in Astoria, New York.
$1500 in salvage parts is all I see. Am I wrong?
It could cost you 8 to 10k in interior restoration along.
For a while in the early 80’s here in southern Ontario there seemed to be flurry of them for sale in Auto Trader. Never knew why. Thought they were pretty ugly, but the cool factor was upped with a big-block MoPar under the hood.
Too bad it looks like this was was exposed to the elements for way too long.