includes many rare NOS spares, Moto Lita ,lear 8 track

 This auction is for a 1973 Jensen Interceptor Series 3. This Jensen is noteworthy for a number of reasons. It has been hidden away and stored in my father's garage since about 1990. I believe he is the second owner. He purchased the shortly after a couple friends and I found it for him in Southern California. Newport Beach. specifically. Four of us had Interceptors and we used to take them on club events and trips up the California coast. Wonderful machines. We sold our cars years ago and only my Dad held on to his. He initially placed his Interceptor into storage to address a couple of issues with the car-a leak in the heater core and the desire to add relays to the headlight system. Those of you with collector cars can guess the rest-work and other interests took precedence and the Interceptor sat. Fortunately. it was safely stored in my Dad's garage so it was never exposed to the elements-the bain and cause of many a Jensen's demise. A few items were replaced during its slumber. but for the most part it just sat in the garage. Recently. my Dad turned eighty years old and decided he'd just purchase a new Corvette rather than revive his old Interceptor. He asked me to help it find a new home.
This Jensen is also quite unusual in that it has never been rusty or damaged. The body is in fantastic condition and quite possibly still wears its original maroon paint. I'm not certain. but I know it wasn't painted after the late 80s and I don't see any signs of a repaint. The Wilton wool carpets were replaced not too long ago and look great. The front seats were re-trimmed in factory leather in about 1990 and look very nice. The rest of the interior is original-it may have been redyed at some point. The dash is very nice and the wood looks good too. It is currently fitted with a very nice Moto Lita wood steering wheel and alloy hub with the Jensen insert(a very costly item). The front and rear bumpers were re-chromed and are in very nice condition. The vast quantities of stainless and alloy trim are present and in good driver condition. The original headliner is intact and looks good. Original factory "pillow"head rests included in very good condition. All the shut lines and gaps are factory original and as good as you'd expect from a coach built. bespoke luxury GT. The Interceptors were every bit as exotic and exclusive an automobile that an Aston Martin. Maserati or Bentley were. The boot is equipped with the factory inflator. ack. ool roll and of course. the spare is present. All the factory alloys are in nice condition as well. The tires look new and are not cracked. however they are quite old.
Looking underneath the Jensen we find dry. unrusted floors and frame. All the lower and inner fenders are also rust free and undamaged-really rare on a Jensen.
Under the hood. the original Mopar 440 Magnum engine is still there as is the dual snorkel High performance air cleaner and Jensen alloy valve covers. Everything under the hood is original. So often. these cars have been seriously cobbled together and modified with cheap aftermarket speed shop "fixes". Not the case here. All the factory glass is present and intact. The expensive cast alloy grill and headlight surrounds are in excellent shape. The grill is fitted with an original Jensen Owner's Club badge an the front Jensen enamel badge is as new.
This Interceptor has always been a Southern California car and has a clear title of course.
As an added bonus. we are included a very difficult and expensive parts stash with the car. The car has an cassette stereo fitted. It isn't original but the console plate it is fitted to is sized for a DIN head unit. rather than the big gap found when folks removed the original lear 8 track. Included with the car is an original Lear 8 track unit. the plastic trim surround and another console radio fascia plate sized for the larger 8 track.
The original steering wheel. in good condition. is included. An impossible to find pair of original stainless steel exhaust tips are also included! These are NOS and I've never seen another set. Another very rare item is a complete NOS set of factory shock absorbers-again. difficult to find.
There is also a complete NOS switch panel. with switches. included. These switches are every expensive and tend to wear over time. No worries here as you'll have a complete set of them. A couple shift knobs. some spare body panels(not needed-just part of my Dad's spares) and two complete door panels are also part of the goodies. Another neat item is a set of custom exhaust headers. When we all had our Jensen's. we prototyped the first set of headers built specifically for Interceptors. They make a big power difference and sound great. My Dad never installed his set.   These spares alone are worth a couple K.  
In short. this is a wonderful old Interceptor that needs to be set up for road use again. Most available. have serious rust or damage issues and have been butchered. Not this car.
While it is a fantastic Jensen. obviously it has a few issues after such a long hibernation. It is not ready for road use as it sits. When we attempted to properly revive the car. we removed all the plugs. oiled the cylinders and turned the engine by hand. It spun freely without issue. The old fuel was drained. radiator flushed and a light clean up was done.   The car did fire up and runs without smoke or strange noises. The trans engages properly and works in all gears. The brakes work. The power steering works. At this point there are no leaks.
The carb probably needs to be rebuilt. The Jensen runs roughly. although it seems to be getting better as we run it more. The tires are old and seem to be flat spotted-they should be replaced. The wiring should be thoroughly checked out. Jensens need to have relays installed on the headlight circuit as they run too much voltage through the switch from the factory. This is a well documented fix and easy to do. We have not attempted to operate the headlights or windows. The wipers do work and the door open safety lights operate as they should. Running lights operate. A new battery is fitted.
 The heater core still needs replacement-a new factory heater core is included. The paint looks better in the pictures than it is-there are numerous little flaws-chips. crapes. tc. No body damage at all though. The hood was repainted due to heat cracking and while nicely done. the color doesn't quite match. The original vinyl top is lifting in a number of spots. The leather is somewhat stiff in a few areas and would benefit from treatment.
The car still presents very well. however. I'm certain the AC will need to be gone through-it is all there and original.
This car deserves a full restoration in my opinion as its one of the best starting points for an Interceptor that you could hope to find. Values of Interceptors have been on the rise along with other coach built exotics and this car is a good one. Consider the spares package included with this Interceptor and you really have a great opportunity. Sold "as is" with no warranties implied or otherwise.
Thanks for looking and good luck bidding.

Also published at eBay.com

Want to buy this car?