With just over 600 produced between 1954 and 1962 it can t be said that the Jensen 541 was built in huge numbers. In my 45-plus years of older car enthusiasm, I can say that I have seen four Jensen 541s, and with pleasure have driven two of them. My secret is out, of all the British cars of the 1950s and early 60s, the Jensen 541 was and remains my favorite coupe of the period.
During the early 1950s Jensen Motors was on a financial roll, having just been awarded the contract to produce the new Austin-Healey 100 in engineless form. Such an arrangement provided Jensen with sufficient financial resources to commence the development of its own Grand Touring car that became known as the 541.
Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen
After being apprenticed with Serck Radiators, Alan Jensen went to join brother Richard, who had served his time first with Wolseley Motors and later with Joseph Lucas. It was the late 1920s, and with the help of their father they pooled what small amount of cash they had and bought a 1923 Austin 7 Chummy. Later that evening they had it in pieces. Soon it was transformed into a two-seater sports that they called Jensen Special No. 1, and it wasn t long before it was sold for £120 or nearly twice what they paid for it.
It wasn t that they were interested in the profit, more that they wanted to make cars to their own design, and another Austin 7 soon followed. That too soon became a two-seater, and a chance meeting with the Chief Engineer at Standard led to an offer of building a similarly styled body on a Standard chassis.
Soon the brothers were offered positions in a small company called Edgbaston Garages where they set about establishing a coachbuilding department. Specials built around the Wolseley Hornet of the day followed, but the brothers fell into a disagreement with the owner and left.
They were not unemployed for long, soon being asked to join the long-established firm of W.J. Smith & Sons, at West Bromwich, as joint managing directors. Smiths were primarily making delivery vans, but did the occasional coachbuilt body as well. It was the Jensen brothers role to reorganize the business under Alan s expertise, and establish sports car production under Richard.
Jensen Motors
In a period of just three years the company s name was changed to Jensen Motors Ltd. They were offering bodywork conversions on Standard, Ford, Singer, Morris and Wolseley chassis, but soon found themselves in opposition to another like manufacturer called Swallow that was under the leadership of William Lyons. Wisely, the Jensen brothers decided that they really couldn t compete with the Swallow-bodied Austins and Wolseleys and went up market.
The future for Jensen was set by the use of the Ford chassis, and especially the new V8 engine that was first released in the U.S. in 1932 and not long after in the UK. Jensen had been offering re-bodied smaller English Fords for a few years, but the larger V8 chassis provided the brothers Jensen the higher end of the market they were seeking.
Jensen offered three new bodies on the Ford chassis, and wasn t backward in letting the world know by taking out full page ads in the motor press of the day. Of the three bodies, the centerpiece was certainly a rather handsome four-seat, close-coupled drophead coupe that was listed for £460. There was also a four-door open sports for the same money, but if you wanted to spend a little less, at £385, Jensen offered a four-seat open sports. However, not long after, the prices dropped a little and the four-door open sports was listed at £380. Whether this was a coincidence or not, the new Standard six-cylinder-powered SS Jaguar was listed at £385.
One such Jensen-bodied Ford was built for American heartthrob actor Clark Gable. It was a large, open four-seater with long flowing front guards. Jensen exhibited the car at the 1934 Ford Motor Show at London s Albert Hall where it was a sensation. Actually, two were built and both sent to the U.S. Jensen used the Gable car for promotion purposes, but it wasn t long before the actor bought a Duesenberg. Both Jensens were sold by a dealer.
The White Lady
In 1936, the brothers introduced what could really be described as the first true Jensen. Using a lengthened and modified version of the earlier Ford chassis and powered by the ubiquitous Ford flathead V8, they produced a car that was known in-house as The White Lady. Production versions were available in both left- and right-hand drive, making them salable on either side of the Atlantic. So close was the connection between Jensen and Ford that Edsel Ford visited the Jensen works in 1935.
A variation appeared at the 1938 London Motor Show in the form of an even longer version that was powered by a 4.2-liter, straight-eight from the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. It featured dual ignition with 16 spark plugs and drove through a Nash three-speed gearbox and a Columbia two-speed rear axle. Another version featured the Lincoln Zephyr V12 engine. While roadcar production continued apace, Jensen Motors at the same time was also producing quite a range of commercial vehicles ranging from delivery vans, heavy freight lorries, tipper trucks and even fire engines.
During World War II production at Jensen Motors was completely given over to the war effort, with a wide range of vehicles produced ranging from ambulances to numerous ordnance trailers. The factory also produced an innumerable number of bombs, and even converted Sherman tanks for amphibious use in the lead-up to D-Day. Unfortunately, one of the Jensen facilities was damaged in a German bombing raid, and much of the historical material retained by the factory was lost.
Post-War
Being a small organization, Jensen Motors was able to move quickly toward the closing stages and immediately afterward WW2. July 1946 brought the release of their PW Sedan, which featured a traditional coachbuilt body of ash and aluminum, but for an engine there was a choice of a Meadows or Nash straight-eight. Commercial manufacturing commenced about the same time, with power being provided by 4.7-liter Perkins six-cylinder diesel engines driving through Moss five-speed overdrive gearboxes. There was also a range of smaller Ford 1,172-cc, four-cylinder commercial vehicles called Jen-Tug that was marketed as a vehicle suitable for horse replacement.
The late 1940s presented a problem in that the Nash straight-eight engine had been discontinued in the U.S., and therefore caused some servicing difficulties. While the PW Sedan was seen purely as a stop-gap model, before a completely new post-war vehicle could be designed, they did not have a suitable engine.
Austin
Jensen did manage to resolve the problem on a suitable engine, but whether it actually happened this way, may or not be true, but at least it s a good story!
Richard Jensen was travelling to London with his five-year-old son Martin. They were travelling in a Jensen PW and Martin suddenly exclaimed that he saw another Jensen. Richard looked and realized that it was actually a newly released Austin Sheerline that bore a striking resemblance to the PW. Richard remembered that Austin managing director Leonard Lord had paid close attention to the prototype PW when it was on show at a post WWII motor show.
The story goes on that Richard Jensen was suitably peeved with this and sought a meeting with Lord as he was concerned that Austin was producing a car similar in design to the PW. The meeting did go ahead and, of course, it was well known within the close-knit British automotive industry that Jensen was a manufacturer without an engine. To appease Richard Jensen, Lord offered to supply the smaller company with the Austin four-liter, straight-six engine.
At 3,993-cc, the Austin engine was reliable, modern and delivered the reasonable power of 130 bhp. Plus, it was also economic to buy and actually allowed Jensen Motors to reduce the price of the PW by £100.
Interceptor
In 1946, Jensen Motors took on a new recruit to the drawing office. His name was Eric Neale, a man who had previously seen service in a number of coachbuilding companies and manufacturers, including Gurney Nutting, Mulliners, Daimler, Wolseley and Austin. It was both Richard and Eric s belief that while the Austin engine was suitable for the more pedestrian PW, it was actually an engine looking to be fitted to a suitable sporting car. So was born in 1950 the initial Jensen Interceptor.
The new Jensen Interceptor was built on a modified Austin A70 chassis readily supplied by Austin, but with another proviso. That was if Austin was to supply the four-liter engine and chassis, then Jensen was also to build a smaller car based on the Austin A40 chassis. Of course, such an arrangement would boost the cash flow to Jensen considerably.
Eric Neale produced designs for both cars that included components that could be produced on the same body jigs. Leonard Lord liked what he saw and alongside 88 Jensen Interceptors built, there were also over 4,000 Austin A40 Sports built. To show the close collaboration between Jensen and the much larger Austin, there were also 8,700 pickup bodies built for the Austin A70 Hampshire at the same time.
Such collaboration continued in 1952 as mentioned earlier, when Jensen was given the contract to build the new Austin-Healey 100.
The 541
Early in 1953 it was decided that Jensen should produce a new sporting car that while smaller than the Interceptor would still be a four-seater. It was agreed that the car would have a new Jensen-designed and built chassis while incorporating Austin suspension and the four-liter engine. With the chassis and body designed by Eric Neale, one such car was produced with an alloy body, which when fitted with the triple-carb version of the engine allowed the car to accelerate easily to 110 mph, making it the fastest sedan produced in Britain at the time.
At that time, Richard Jensen had read in a number of trade magazines of the introduction in the U.S. of fiberglass in the manufacture of low volume body panels. It was then decided that the new Jensen would be fitted with a fiberglass body. It was Neale s wish for the lowest drag possible so he designed a horizontally swivelling front intake panel that was also useful during the depths of an European winter. This panel is now seen as a distinct feature of the model.
The fiberglass-bodied version was to be released in 1954, simply called the Jensen 541 as it was the first design of 1954. Fitted with an Austin four-speed gearbox and optional Laycock de Normanville overdrive, the initial 541 stayed in production until 1959 with a total of 226 built. While the 541 was a quick car, more than capable of 120-plus mph, it was still fitted with drum brakes all round.
The lack of effective stopping power was addressed with the release, in 1957, of the 541 Deluxe fitted with four-wheel disc brakes as an option over the base model. Four-wheel discs were fitted as standard from 1958 on the Jensen 541R, which also used a more powerful engine, Moss four-speed and optional Laycock overdrive. Some 193 examples were built.
The start of the 1960s brought the last variant of the 541 in the form of the 541S, a model that also saw a Jensen first an automatic transmission. Built by Rolls-Royce, but actually derived from GM s Hydramatic, the auto was standard fitting while the Moss box became an option. The body was also slightly wider and taller, while the distinctive swivel intake gave way to a conventional lattice grille. Just 127 Jensen 541S cars were built through to 1963.
While Jensen was manufacturing the early Interceptor and 541, the company continued on with the contract to make the Austin-Healey bodies, while also picking up the contract to produce the Volvo P1800, which history tells us was a little troublesome. They also were very much involved in the conversion of the Sunbeam Alpine into its V8 Tiger form. Plus, for something completely diverse, Jensen became involved in the manufacturing of the German-designed Tempo light chassis that was fitted with a number of different body styles such as mini-bus, crew-cab and truck, all equipped with a BMC 1,500-cc engine.
As for Jensen Motors itself, it was placed under the control of the Norcros Group in 1959, allowing the brothers Jensen to concentrate fully on vehicle work. Following several disagreements, Alan Jensen retired as Executive Director in 1963.
American V8
Following on from the 541 in 1963 came the Jensen C-V8 which as the name implies was fitted with a V8 engine, in this case from Chrysler, an association that lasted for some years.
While the C-V8 is another story, the car goes down in history as luxurious, being fitted with walnut veneer, full leather and even a first-aid kit. Capable of 136 mph, it was also quick. It was with the C-V8 that Jensen undertook its first developments for a four-wheel-drive car that also included anti-lock brakes.
History tells us that in 1966 the C-V8 was superseded by the Italian Touring-designed Interceptor, which also received Chrysler power. The initial use of Italian coachbuilder Vignale caused some concern and that same year Richard Jensen retired as Chief Executive and Chairman.
The future for Jensen was not rosy by 1969 with the loss of both the Austin-Healey and Sunbeam Tiger contracts, as well as Brandts Bank taking over the financial reigns from Norcros. Then, in 1970, Norwegian-born U.S. businessman Kjell Qvale (recently deceased) became a major shareholder of Jensen and brought in Donald Healey as chairman. The Jensen-Healey soon followed, which while showing great promise, didn t generate the desired income, especially when compared with the amount of rectification work that had to be undertaken on early cars. Sadly, Jensen Motors was no more by May 1976, but there have been a number of endeavors to reinvent the Jensen Interceptor name, one of which as recently as 2003. However, the name of Jensen lives on with the proposed release of a new Interceptor in 2014.
Our 541
Perhaps not quite ours, but it is the one that I managed to warm its driver s seat a little. It s a 1960 541R, which means that it has the more powerful Austin four-liter engine, Moss four-speed (with overdrive) along with disc brakes all round. As happens after warming the seat for a time, I sat down with its owner, Stephen Knox, to find out more about why he is so interested in Jensen 541s and in particular the car he recently imported from the U.S.
I remember seeing a 541 when I was young. Stephen answered. I lived on the northern beaches of Sydney and a neighbor was the writer John Cleary who lived in a very nice house, and parked in his drive was a Jensen 541. As a young bloke, I thought it was the best thing I had ever seen. I suppose an equivalent today is a younger person being really taken by a Lamborghini.
The sight has stuck with me ever since, and I would go looking for photos of them in various older car magazines. As far as I knew there were no others in Australia, so it actually took 47 years before I saw another one. That was in 2005 when I was at the Goodwood Revival with my son Matthew, and in the carpark we saw a dark blue 541. Needless to say I got my camera out and took its photo.
In 2011, I reached a stage in my life that I felt it was time to do something about a 541. So I joined the Jensen Owners Club in the UK, and in particular the 541 Register. For a short time I thought it would be really nice to find John Cleary s car, but no. However that has recently turned up in Western Australia, almost restored.
I then joined the Australian club. Stephen continued. I was told not to hold my breath as the 541 represented just three precent of total Jensen production, but within two weeks of joining the club I found out that one had come up on eBay in the U.S. I went onto the site and found the car, but the auction had finished without bidders. It was right-hand drive and I thought that no one would want a right-hand drive car in the U.S. I also thought that no one would know what it was as it was almost an orphan in a foreign country.
So I wrote to the vendor noting that the auction had finished and asking how much he wanted. He responded that there had been an error with the ad which had been withdrawn and had now been relisted. So I found the new ad and after just two days into the auction it had attracted 14 bids. I thought that was the end of that.
Consoled
With all hope gone I consoled myself. Stephen added. I bought myself a copy of a 1956 Australian Wheels Magazine with John Cleary s car on the cover. However, I kept thinking about it especially as it was an R model, fully restored at someone else s expense, silver in color which I liked, plus it had wire wheels.
It was just too good to miss, so I worked out what I wanted to pay. The auction finished on a Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., and it was a freezing morning. As my computer is in the garage I went out in my dressing gown and confirmed the bid with 45 seconds to go and got it!
The previous owner in the U.S. was a real Anglophile, and had bought the car and had it restored in the UK before taking it to the U.S. It s been restored in its original silver color, but added the wire wheels and red trim instead of the original blue. After it was restored, the car was sent to Connecticut in 1997 where it stayed until I bought it. The car received very little use and spent most of its time in a heated garage under a car cover. I bought it totally sight unseen, and the vendor was totally honest.
I had the car shipped to Australia. Stephen added. This took a little time to arrive and it finally got here some eight weeks later. I went with the tow truck operator to pick it up, and can remember vividly seeing the car for the first time. I was elated, and it was everything I hoped it to be and since then, it s been even more so. It still had its English plates from when it left the UK.
I have since been in touch with the bloke who had restored it in the UK. I liked how the car was, as while I admire concours cars I never want to own one as you always think twice about using it when the conditions are not perfect. The car when it arrived was as good as I would like a car to be. There was and is nothing wrong with it, but it s not concours and is just the way I like such a car to be. Things like the SUs are not polished and I ve done things to the suspension that can all be put back.
Things Done
I had no problem getting the car registered for our roads. Stephen added. The first thing I had to do was to change the radiator as it was leaking and beyond repair. The front brakes were done with the rotors skimmed, plus there was a problem with the hand brake that s been put right. There has also been a crack in the intake manifold that I fixed, plus a faulty overdrive relay switch. None of which was serious enough to stop me from driving it.
One of the things about the car was that it was very advanced for its time, plus I just love cars from small manufacturers. As much as I think E-Types are beautiful, I don t desire one. I would prefer a TVR or a Turner. I have had an Australian-built Bolwell that came from a company that I can almost understand how they worked.
After the Corvette, it was the second fiberglass car built, and I think the best fiberglass body built. It was the first four-seater production car that had four-wheel disc brakes. In 1958, the 541R was tested by Autocar as the fastest four-seater production car at 127mph. It s a long-legged Continental touring car. Things like the swivelling flap at the front is just clever, and there are lots of other little things that only a small manufacturer can do.
Yes I have changed the suspension a little. Stephen admitted. While it s a tube chassis it s still Austin suspension on all corners. I found that it felt quite floppy that easily grounded, plus the tires squealed on corners. At the front, the lever arm shocks were drained of oil and fitted adjustable Koni shocks. The old lever arm shocks have to remain as they form the top section of the suspension. New Konis have also been fitted at the rear. The car has really been transformed and is a pleasure to drive.
Since then we have used the car for a few runs with the Jensen Club along with other clubs. I am more confident with the car now than when I was when the car first arrived. The overdrive wasn t working and I expected many dollars had to be spent on it. I m pleased to say that it was just a relay switch, which I managed to find a new old stock item complete with a sticker that has Overdrive Relay printed on it.
Now I am more than happy to drive it anywhere. I like having an old car, and it certainly attracts quite a bit of attention, which is nice. However, I think that despite it being an old car it has modern performance, especially the brakes. A very usable older car in modern traffic.
Driving a 541
What struck me most about the 541 was the effortless power from its Austin four-liter engine. No, nothing like a highly tuned V8 or overstressed DOHC four, as the Austin straight-six doesn t force you into the seat at 7Gs like an ejector seat. The engine is much smoother, with the power coming on strong over what seemed like an inordinate amount of time. It just has so much torque at very little revs.
Weighing in at just under 3,000 pounds, the 541R isn t a heavy car for the 205-lbs/2000rpm amount of torque. Yes there is a first gear, but with that much torque I reckon I could have started in top. I didn t try of course, but there is so little need to change gear.
I did take the car through the gears and the pulling power was impressive to say the least, but a long expressway would be the best place for such a test. Stephen assures me that doodling along at 2,000 rpm in overdrive top is more than enough to gobble up the miles quite quickly. He also assured me that 3,500 rpm in overdrive top is good for 105 mph. That s license-losing territory in Australia.
The Moss gearbox! Well, I can t say that I see eye to eye with such creatures, but after a time it soon knows who is in charge even when it comes to finding reverse. I can understand why it has such a fitting, as Austin didn t have a suitable manual gearbox at that time. The four-speedfitted to the Austin-Healey of the same period, still carried its sedan heritage and had its gearstick coming from the side.
The brakes? Just great! I always talk about confidence building and if you have ever driven a car with poor brakes you will know what I mean. The four-wheel discs suit the car perfectly, and you know that when you press the pedal it s going to stop providing you are being sensible of course.
The shape? Frankly, I just love it. Quirky! Individualistic! Eccentric! All three and any other synonym you can think of. That it s made of fiberglass just adds to its charm, although it should be mentioned that the doors are aluminum over a steel frame.
I drove the 541 through one of the busiest areas of Sydney during the middle of the day. It was easy and enjoyable. It could have been better only if I was driving on the open road and letting that relatively slow-revving engine have its head.
Looking back, The Jensen 541 was born at a time when the hostilities of WWII were still fresh in everyone s minds and rationing of such basic foods as meat was still in place within Britain. Despite this, the British motor industry was still sufficiently diverse to support small manufacturers producing not much more than a handful of cars each month. Cars that were dimensionally opposite than those being offered by the larger manufacturers.
It has always intrigued me why the bulk of the world s sporting cars of the period came from a small island west of Europe. With their narrow roads, hedgerows and not the best of climates, why was it so? Surely when released, the Jensen 541 was one of the most stylish cars of the period, and is one of those designs from the days before opinion panels and computers that could have only come from a creative designer s mind that was unbound by financial constraints and government legislation. A lovely motor car!
SPECIFICATIONS
Body: Fiberglass coupe, two-door, four-seat body
Chassis: Tubular with side tubes and crossmembers
Wheelbase: 105 inches
Track: (F) 51.875 inches, (R) 51.375 inches
Length: 178 inches
Width: 63 inches
Height : 53 inches
Weight: 2,968 pounds
Suspension: Front: Coil springs with lower wishbones and upper lever dampers. Rear: Live axle with semi-elliptic springs and hydraulic telescopic dampers
Engine: Cast iron, OHV, in-line six-cylinder
Displacement: 3,993-cc
Induction: Triple SU 1 Ω carburettors
Power: 150 bhp @ 4,100 rpm
Transmission: Moss 4-speed and reverse synchro on 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes on all four wheels
