NEWCOMERS WELCOME!

If you're a Club member, you'll probably know all about the annual International Weekend.   But what if you are just browsing, thinking about buying a Jensen or perhaps remembering one that used to be in your family?   How can you possibly get an invitation?  The answer is to simply TURN UP!   There is no admission charge, the hotel usually lets you park nearby if there is enough space, and if you want to speak to anyone just walk up and ask them (although not concours entrants before 10am on Sunday, who will be very busy preparing their cars).

So if you are undecided about getting involved with Jensens and the Friendly club,  put the 2012 JOC International Weekend in your diary.
Located in the Midlands, the Weekend will be on 8th - 10th June at a large Hotel named Chesford Grange, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2LD.   Rough timetable will be:
• 8th June Meet and greet.
• 9th June AM - AGM
John Lane (0151 9249621)
general-john@joc.org.uk
• Followed by classic run or shopping
• 9th June Evening - Dinner/Dance
Tony Davies, (01270 761444).
international@joc.org.uk
• 10th June Concours
Richard Streeter (07717 674670)
concours@joc.org.uk

This year, the Concours will again be part of the International Weekend; more details on how to enter will be available later.

WEBSITE GLITCH

On the 1st of February there was a short loss of service to jensen541.com for unexplained reasons. I am sorry if this affected you.
It also prevented me from loading the February News section on the first day of the month.

LATCH PROBLEMS

Last Autumn, Keith Lee reported that his early 541 had a problem with the door latch: "This has gone "wobbly" which results in it only half catching..." Repairs have failed and he is now seeking a replacement. Can anyone help him?



More on the Forum (login reqd.)

GOOD HOME REQUIRED

This isn't an offshoot of AutoTrader, so I usually resist small ads for cars, but I made an exception for the following as it sounded intriguing

John Pym told me:

I run the South West Area for the JOC.
A retired gent has a 541R that hasn't been MOT'd since 2001, when it failed on the handbrake (suprise!) After around 40 years he's thinking of selling it. It's white with black interior , but has been resprayed from Red. He hopes to make it roadworthy before advertising it. It's garaged, started every fortnight, and the tyres are kept inflated.

Any bona fide enhusiasts can contact us. It's worth bearing in mind that JOC Members can usually get in touch with the Registrar who sometimes knows of cars that are coming on the market.

REGALIA

Guess what I got for Christmas? The amazing "All the Models" by Richard Calver. It does what it says on the cover, and has many surprises especially in the pre-war and commercial vehicle pages. Most of the 541 story is already known, so don't expect too many revelations, but look out for the period photo doctored to show the proposed Austin-Healey with a Jensen 541 front! It may seem a little expensive at first, but it's about YOUR favourite minority interest car, it's impeccably researched and packed full of facts and photos you've never come across before.

What price can you put on that? Well, £80 actually, or a cool £165 for a hardback Leatherbound version with a matching slipcover, which will stand up to the hard use this book should be receiving from any Jensen fan.
Buy yours via this Link to Regalia.

FIVE AYES

Not some sort of insult for spectacle wearers, but the repsonses to the request to place orders for 541 & Deluxe silicone radiator hoses. A minimum order of 5 is required, and now 5 people have said "aye!" the hose will go into production. Future buyers can just ring up and order as the dimensions will be held on file. The price has been quoted at £93 for a set (Top & Bottom) excluding carriage; the bottom hose will be one-piece.



Join us on the Forum to find out more:
JOC 541 Forum (log in required)

PLATE HUNT

Put your deerstalker on and start sleuthing!   We are looking for a Mercedez Benz, 2498cc, white coloured and manufactured on 12th May 1967,   first registered in Yorkshire. The catch is that the DVLA say it has not been on the road since before 1978 and bears a voided number. Why would you bother looking for this wreck?
Because it carried the reg number 750 CEA, as seen below, taken from the prototype 541S automatic when it was sold off by Jensen in 1963.


The car now belongs to new JOC members Chris and Jenny, who would love to locate the earthly remains of the Mercedes, perhaps in a barn or garage.
Contact them via the Forum

As you may realise, the "EA" registration was local to West Bromwich and most Jensens bearing those letters have an especially interesting story to tell, often involving the Press.

PLANNING 2012

Check the Events on the Forum to see what is on offer over 2012:

Open the JOC Forum Events Diary (new window)

Contact Zac to add to the list on the JOC Forum

Visit the
JOC & 541 Forum!
(opens in New Window -
register for free to see the 541 section)

Visit the
Jensen Owners' Club:
(opens in New Window)
For Everything Jensen!

If you've got an item about the 541, consider submitting it to the JOC Magazine, or putting it on the JOC Forum.


To contact the Jensen541.com webmaster :

Stephen Carter - email at: Jensen541.COM email link

A tribute to the website editor's cat, who passed away in January.
As you can see, she never showed any interest in the site.

ENFIELD PAGEANT OF MOTORING  25th to 27th May

As you can see, the CV8s and Interceptors were out in force last year. How about a few 541s to show them what it's all about?
There is often a dark blue 541 exhibited on another stand.
Not only are there lots of stands but plenty of parking and a cracking autojumble too.
Find out more on the Forum here.

LIGHTING SOLUTIONS    A DELICATE BALANCE?

Throughout the year I have noticed some intriguing solutions to the problem of providing lighting to meet the needs of today's roads without spoling the looks of the 541.
Here are a few that I particularly liked:

Part of a large Danish contingent at the 2011 International, this owner had slipped a period shaped repeater light into the gap between bonnet and side panel. Neat work! This light fitment was apparently popular in Scandinavia when the law was changed to require side repeaters.






Italian 541 restorer Massimo Bottoli (see Car of the Month, March 2011) has cleverly used the torpedo shaped Lucas sidelights, L516, with tinted lenses.     They actually add to the beauty of the rear view.






Finally, we see Poul Jensen's high mileage car. This has travelled all over Europe, so it needs to be very practical. You can see the indicators are tidy enough, hidden under the bumper bars. The cleverest part is the high-level 3rd brake light, integrated seamlessly onto the top of the rear numberplate.

NEW LOOK    FRONT END LIGHTING

I recently came across an old picture on the "Pistonheads" website of a very intriguing 541 in the 1970s. I made contact with the owner's grandson who was kind enough to supply some further pictures, and I am pleased to say he still owns the car and has no intention of selling this family heirloom. The distinctive headlights will not be changed, as they are part of the character of this car. Unfortunately, following a mechanical problem it has been garaged for many years and snow damage to the garage roof has caused extra work before it can be returned to the road. Nonetheless, I hope a visit to a JOC event may inspire him to set to work on it.

He describes it as:-
"My grandad's Jensen 541R in about 1970, just after my dad had repainted it. Note the Austin A40 headlamp surrounds - the only 541R I've ever seen to have them fitted. This was a brute of a car, my grandad drove it as it should be driven - I lusted after this car when I was little, and still do, one day it will be back on the road (been in storage for years!)
It gained a set of wheels from an Alvis TD as the spokes in the standard wheels kept breaking. My Grandad Ernest Hawcroft, founder member #21, went to Norway on holiday in it and used it hard; it eventually shed a wheel at fairly high speed on a motorway, he had it repaired but never really trusted it again, only recently I discovered that one of the repairs the garage did was to stick weld the bit of the hub that holds the brake caliper on back to the hub!!!."

The car has also lost the wingtop sidelights and original front bumpers; the owners have always suspected that this one had lost its bonnet when fairly new, then it was repaired the A40 surrounds were grafted in.

As a comparison, see the picture below of an Austin A40.

VIDEO CLIP: SOUNDS GOOD TO ME

A very short clip of the glorious early 541 rebuilt by Han Kamp from a complete wreck, and sold by him in 2010. Sadly, there is a less than glorious story behind it as the clip shows the car arriving for an acrimonious court case. You can read Han's story on the Forum here and here.

Picture credit: By Wouter Duijndam, from Flickr

CAR OF THE MONTH:

   ...this month - A handsome S!

Brian Philpott attended the JOC Concours in 2011 with 525 FBC and was thrilled to receive not just 3rd place prize in his newly acquired 541S, but also the 541 Registrar's Cup. The car was "completely restored" a few years ago.

... previous featured car pictures are stored in an Archive page.  Go to the "Toolbox" tab to find this.

PART OF THE MONTH:

   ...the 541 has many interesting and unique parts... here's one of them...

Orange "beehive" glass Lucas L594 indicator.

For use on the "C" pillar as rear indicator
Come back in a month for another obscure part!