The Jensen-Healey was conceived as a replacement for the Austin-Healey but the car was plagued from the outset by poor decisionmaking. Donald Healey chose Jensen Motors – a partner in the production of the Austin-Healey – to manufacture the bodies. Jensen’s finances were thinning by the day, though, thanks to the fuel crisis and labor problems. Rushing the J-H bodies off the line did not do wonders for build quality. Furthermore, somehow the initial concept of the car didn’t include a notion of who should supply the motor. Several engines were rotated through the platform before the newly developed Lotus 907 was chosen. The four-cylinder twin-cam was an exciting performer at higher revs, but wouldn’t hold up to regular use, routinely flinging oil leaks, water pump failures, timing belt issues, and overheating at hapless owners. By the time the car reached its next iteration in 1973 (Mk II), many of its problems were alleviated, but it was too late, and only 10,453 convertibles were sold. Even fewer survived bouts with the tin worm and owner neglect. Here on eBay is a 1974 Jensen-Healey Mk II convertible bid to $2500, with no reserve. This project car is located in Rockwall, Texas.
This car has not been started in ten years (plenty of them ran yesterday and don’t start today, ha!), so expect to engage in mechanical fiddling before roaring off into the sunset. The 2.0 liter twin-cam, 16-valve aluminum block four-cylinder engine was improved for the Mk II, but it is still an interference engine – so watch those belts. It made about 140 bhp in European trim. This one is equipped with two Stromberg carburetors as was normal for US cars, knocking the output down to about 125 hp. The odometer reads 52,000 miles, total mileage unknown. The car’s suspension was derived from Vauxhall, and the gearbox was initially a Sunbeam Rapier four-speed with later cars receiving a five-speed Getrag. Perhaps experience with overheating explains the new-in-the-box aluminum radiator shown in the parts pile that comes with the car.
The interior is needy. The seats may have been upholstered in a restoration attempt; they look nearly new. The gauges are present, the glass looks decent. That’s an after-market steering wheel but the factory wheel is with the car; an after-market stereo is crammed into the console. Other photos show the top bows (installed), the original interior panels, a tonneau, and a new carpet kit (black).
Here’s another parts repository in the trunk. Photos show sheet metal panels, an extra console, trim, and brand-new dash sections. Rust isn’t mentioned, but none is readily apparent. The paint and chrome look quite nice, and the Minilite-type wheels have been refinished. Running, driving Mk IIs sell in the low teens, slightly more for the five-speed, so there’s not a lot of headroom for expenditures here. On the other hand, a buyer could get lucky: nurse the engine to a start, replace the brakes, grease her up, take advantage of all those parts, and end up with a great little car.
I had one of these, and a early Europa too. Click on sellers other items to see the same, another red one without the black stripe.
About five years ago my landlord had one of these in his garage in mint show condition. In the space of one year, rats, mice and raccoons totalled it.
Gorgeous body, love the offset power bulge and small bumper, kind of reminds me of a Triumph Stag in the rear quarters? Are the bonnet straps original?
Those bonnet straps are not original, but I like ’em!
Don’t remember any Healey with bonnet straps and a bonnet bump. Perhaps the straps are there to hold the wings together?
Look like Weber side draft carbs?? Nice upgrade for a Lotus engine.
Another fine buy my headache. You can’t get any car that day a long time cheap enough. By the time you can even get it started. Then stop all the fluid from puking… Scrap
These were nice looking pieces of junk, that someone will think they’re stealing, with that low price. Good luck!
One word of advice … RUN … Do not walk.
This is actually a fantastic car with some attention and care any convertible requires, which buyers of this did not do by and large. The sector of drivers who might take good care of these were Lotus afficianados who wanted something a little more roomy than some Lotus offerings. And do take note of the mention of INTERFERENCE ENGINE. High revving these engines is how they were intended, but I believe the timing belt service recommendation was either 20k or 30k. Think about today’s cars. Back then, it was VERY NORMAL on high revving motors to do timing service early. No engines were expected to last 100k just doing oil changes (save Volvo 4cly), so it wasn’t that unusual. But buyers of this Jensen Healy ignored the recommendation and since they weren’t driven as primary cars in many cases, long exceeded warranty in years when the timing belt failure resulted in engine failure with bent valves and worse. In another recent thread, whether true or not, allegedly the Ford Focus DOHC 2.0 bolts directly on this bell housing, but verify before you make any buying decision based on that. These are underrated cars. The neglected and abused examples were more common. This is actually a decent foundation to do anything with.
I’m thinking that unless you’re a total purist, slam a Toyota Corolla engine into it and be on your way.
Looking at the comments, I thought I should jump in to alleviate some concerns.
The original Lotus engines came with NO WARRANTY as Colin Chapman said they couldn’t produce as many as Qvale thought they would need in a year(you can still hear Chapman laughing in his grave over that one!!)’
The main thing to look at in any J-H is rust in the lower fenders, the floor, and the rockers, as these are monocoques (small pieces welded together), and difficult/time consuming to repair. Using POR15, KBS, or MASTERCOAT, will take care of any rust issues.
However, the suspension and engine parts are readily available and fairly easy too fix for the DIYer.
Bob is correct in the carbs not being the original Strombergs but aftermarket Webers(the European ones came with Dellortos).
The performance and handling were very good for their time and have won quite a few SCCA Championships.
If the body is “decent” on this, then the rest is fairly easy to repair(have worked almost exclusively on these for 40+years; used to own over 26 of them + parts buy-outs)
absolute pile of rubbish
So was the 1969 Porsche 912 I bought used in 1976. Sold it to some sucker in 1986!