Robert J. has been on a roll lately. After sending in the $1k Porsche pair, he found these two 1974 Jensen-Healeys for $500. The Jensen-Healey may be even more unloved than front-engine Porsches, but we think they can still make fun drivers. It was engineered by some of the greatest names in British motoring. Jensen, Healey, and Lotus all had a hand in its creation. Unfortunately, the timing was all wrong so production only lasted about four years. This one supposedly ran when parked so hopefully it can be made to do so again without too much effort. The other car is included for parts. Looks like a great deal for a fun project. Take a look here on craigslist out of Glencoe, California. Thanks Robert!
Here is the parts car. It is obviously full of rust, so we are hopeful that the red one is solid. The Lotus 907 engine is known to be temperamental, but with all the information available online, we are sure you can work the bugs out. It was Lotus’ first mass-produced engine so it did have a few teething problems. When it ran though, it was a sweet mill. So, is there anyone in the area who can go take a look and report back?
I once worked for guy who had one of these. Even driving across Sydney Harbour Bridge on a beautiful day, it was hard to muster much excitement for it.
Mostly because I was about to get fired.
These are great little cars once you get the wiring sorted out actually. The Lotus engine in them made them the Honda S2000 of their day. You did have to swap out the timing belt every 30K miles, but it is exposed so it is pretty easy to attend to, My personal take on the wiring is that tugging the whole harness out and swapping in a Painless harness will save headaches in the long run. Delta Motorsports is a Jensen Healey parts supplier in the US.
There is plenty of room for a Rover engine or a Ford 302 under the hood as well.
these cars have never been on my radar. but there are 2 for a very low price. does anyone know if the parts were used on other cars from that same time frame? are they worth the time/money to get/keep running. are they fun to drive and will they keep up at todays highway speeds?
At $500, it’s likely that the scrap value is more than the price of the cars so it’s hard to go wrong. They aren’t exactly pretty, but if the red one could be made to run for little cash outlay then it might be a fun beater to drive around in for a while. I imagine it would need new gaskets, seals and a timing belt, as well as some brake and suspension work, so the viability of such a project would depend on how rare and expensive parts are for these things. Still, if it could be done at an all-in price of around $1500 (parts and cars-labor being free) you’d have a very interesting driver for less than the price of most barely running cars on Craigslist.
“every drive in this car is an event!” – Oh I am sure it is good sir…..
Early examples were really a test bed for the Lotus 907 and are best avoided. The later mark 2 is really a rather good car. The 907 is infinitely tuneable and parts are available. These were quick, even in stock form.
Rather like the Stag, problems can be solved easily now- watch these climb in value.