School me. Jensen Healey mid 70s

[sugarwood]

Lotus Other Convertible | eBay

My typically "big american kustom iron" friend liked this car.

I don't think I've ever been so knocked out by one of these. Is it me or
is this totally badass in a quiet, sophisticated way? New paint, engine
and leather interior for $8500??!!??

Are those wire wheels stock? (I see Lotus center caps)
That color feels period-incorrect color
So, this one reminds me of a hot-rodded Miata...
Are the hood and door seams off?

This particular one is a bit modded for my tastes, but an interesting car nonetheless.
What is the story with these cars?

[masraum]

Beautiful car except for the bumpers, especially the front bumper.

[petrolhead611]

These cars were the first use of the Lotus 4 cylinder twin cam engine, in 2 litre 140 bhp form. Jensen-Healey owners were the unwitting development engineers for Colin Chapman. The engine as used in the Elite, Esprit , Eclat were 160 or 180 BHP then later became 2.2 litre with more torque and Esprit was offered turbocharged. Engine also used in Sunbeam Lotus, a wizz on the rally circuit. J-H would rust, badly, in the UK climate

[URY914]

I remember the J-H SCCA racecar in R&T in '74(?). It looked cool with fat slicks and no windshield.

[Scuba Steve]

That's an interesting solution to a cracked dashboard!

[87911jon]

Snapped these last week in Germany

[scottmandue]

My friend had one in high school... I don't remember it having those ugly bumpers (perhaps you could do a backdate?) I would lose the wire wheels too (nothing wrong with wire wheels but they don't look appropriate on a car of that era IMHO.

Gorgeous car... a little underpowered but gorgeous.

If you are in this market might want to look at an Alfa too.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Are those wire wheels stock? (I see Lotus center caps)
That color feels period-incorrect color
So, this one reminds me of a hot-rodded Miata...
Are the hood and door seams off?

As best and I can remember (we are going back 30 years here) my friends JH did not have wire wheels.

More importantly yes, those door/hood/trunk seams look way off! Again IIRC my friends JH was a lot better/tighter put together than that example.

[patz]

English, runaway.

[speeder]

I worked at the British Leyland dealer in HS in the '70s and these were absolutely horrendous cars. Made the other Limey cars look like Toyotas in comparison. They used to say that the only way to fk a lawyer was to sell him a JH.

[herr_oberst]

My BIL had one. Not enough adjectives in Websters to describe how bad that car was. He ended up selling it for scrap; no one was sad.

[speeder]

It's hard to believe that anyone could make a car this bad. You'd have to really be trying.

[speeder]

Other than that, they're great!

[URY914]

I say buy it.
It'll be a great thread and give us all great pleasure in reading about your nightmare. We'll feel so smart that it's not us.

[scottmandue]

Add to all the negative comments that that looks to be a bad example of a not very good car to start with.

My other (best buddy) friend inherited his brothers 1966 Opel Kadet, we literally torn the whole car apart and rebuilt it with new everything. As young foolish men are sometimes known to do we would take late night fun runs on the SoCal mountain roads. One night we tailed along after my other friend with the JH... no matter how hard he drove the JH he couldn't shake the Opel.]

Just sayin...

[herr_oberst]



[gtc]

Tell him to go for it. $8500 isn't all that much to pay for a valuable life lesson.

[jorian]

If I was looking at English 70`s iron, I`d go for a TR6. Same money will get you a good driver. Similar performing car, better looking, lots of aftermarket for it. I had a 72`TR6 when I was young and didn`t know any better. Learned a lot of wrenching skills from that experience. JH was kind of a mash-up model after the fabulous Healey 3000.

[nzporsche944s2]

Originally Posted by patz

English, runaway.

^ that's funny! First time I glanced the phrase I didn't see the comma....entirely different meaning. Second glance noticed the comma - even funnier!

Should it be "English, run away"?

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by gtc

Tell him to go for it. $8500 isn't all that much to pay for a valuable life lesson.

I just spit my coffee all over myself!