Every time our Jensen Healey is on the street, someone asks, "Where in the world did you find it?" It is true that as a rule Jensen Healeys are rare cars, even more so in rural Western Kentucky where we live. Indeed the region is hardly a hotbed of British sports car activity. I learned that in the early 1970s when I was the only person in the county with a British car--especially when I walked into the local NAPA store and asked for a set of points for a 1959 MGA. Along with the blank stare, I usually was asked, "Who makes it?" and "A 59 GMC?" It was a lonely road (literally) for a 16 year old, but I made it--and learned how to rebuild SU carburetors, synchronize by ear, adjust points, etc., etc.

Now, 25 years later, I am putting my eldest son in the same situation. However, we are now living in a less rural county that I did at 16. Again, the question, "Where did we find it?" Actually, we found 13057 on a used car lot, and I’m not talking about a purveyor of "previously owned" luxury and exotic cars. We’re talking mobile home office, gravel lot, one street light, look HARD at the odometer, used car lot.

We spotted the car on a Saturday night, and were apparently the only folks to take more than a cursory look at the car in the 2-3 weeks it had been on the lot. I jotted down the tag number and called the courthouse early Monday morning to investigate. The previous owner referred me to the owner before him and that’s when the story of 13057 began to come together.

In 1976, a pilot for TWA--we’ll call Ed, living in southern California spotted 13057 in a salvage yard while looking for parts for his wife’s MGB. She had hit a dog and, as he put it, done more damage to the MG than the dog. The Jensen Healey was sitting nose up, indicating the engine was missing, so Ed, inquired about the car. Apparently the previous owner was military and had purchased the sports car new. Whether financial woes over came him or some of the Mk.1’s troubles overwhelmed him, he and a buddy chose to sell the engine, transmission and seats, then abandon the car in the Chocolate Mountains around San Diego and reported the car stolen.

This salvage operator saw the virtue of keeping the car intact, at least for a little while. Ed, called a friend and confirmed that he had wrecked his Jensen Healey and yes, the car was for sale for parts or fixing up. Ed bought the wreck, stripped it clean of all usable parts and then returned for 13057. With a 1974 engine, transmission, rear end and seats, the mustard roadster became the prize of Ed’s automotive collection. Shortly after he and his wife put the Jensen Healey back on the road, he got a call from another friend asking him if he would be interested in a hard top for the car. Another wrecked Jensen Healey was bought and stripped and added to the spare parts inventory.

Ed and his wife drove and maintained 13057 from 1976 until 1996, after he had retired from TWA and moved to the lake country of Western Kentucky. As she said to me, "I’m a grandmother and I just got tired of crawling in and out of it." She also described the car to me in such loving terms that she left no doubt that it was, indeed, her favorite car of all time. In the spring of 1996 Ed mentioned to a lake neighbor that he was interested in selling the Jensen Healey. This fellow and his wife liked the idea of an "old convertible" like some of their other neighbors had and bought the Jensen Healey.

It is my contention that many people who dump or quickly cast off British sports cars never understood what they were getting into in the first place. Having lived with a 1959 MGA, a 1969 MGC, and a 1974 Midget on a daily basis, I understand many of the peculiarities of the British car. Unfortunately, many people don’t and the result is a lot of moaning a groaning and hand wringing that us more experienced "British car nuts" accept as no problem and go on.

This is what happened to 13057. The new owners didn’t realize all that went with owning a British sports car. They thought it was going to be as fun and easy as a 65 Mustang or a 56 Chevy. Almost exactly 6 months after buying 13057, they sold it to a man who occasionally helped a friend with used car sales. He would run cars to and from the auction, clean up, occasionally take part interest in a car and split the profits with the owner of the lot. Whether his thoughts were to drive the car or sell it, I don’t know, but about 4 months after buying it, he persuaded his partner to buy the car for what I consider an outrageous price.

His proposition to his partner was that the Jensen Healey was a rare car (true), an expensive car (somewhat true) and that they could speculate on it and make much more than they paid for it (maybe in Los Angeles or Miami, but not in Western Kentucky). They were hoping to get between $7500 and $10,000 for this car!

Now, granted 13057 was an exceptional car. According to Ed and his wife, it had never been driven in the rain. They might have gotten caught out in a shower, but if it was raining, they left the Jensen Healey in the garage. The first thing I did when I saw the car was to get on all fours and crawl around it pecking with my knife for rusty spots--there were none. Then I looked inside and commented to my wife that it must have been recently restored to look this good. The factory fiberglass hardtop was on it so I couldn’t see how the ragtop fit, but everything except the paint looked exceptionally good. When I went back to look at it later and raised the hood, I was astounded by how clean the inner fenders, firewall and engine were. The odometer showed 54,000 miles which I assumed mean 154,000.

The paint, it seems, had suffered the most. Called "Mustard" by the factory, my son promptly renamed it "booger green" and I came up with several unflattering names for it myself. A nick here, a ding there, and a scrape along the side, did nothing for the little Jensen Healeys appearance. New paint of a different color would be on the top of our list. The bolt-on Dunlop chrome wire wheels also made for a more classic look.

After initial conversation and the beginning of a serious haggle session, I talked to Ed again. He confirmed that the car actually had less than 54,000 miles on it. The speedo in the car went with the engine in it, the previous speedo had only 48,000 miles on it when he removed it. He gave me the history of the car and referred vaguely to the "spares" that should be with it. Throughout the course of the haggling, the used car dealer kept referring to the spare parts also. Of course, parts are parts, and the quantity and quality of them I could not be sure, neither could he because he knew nothing about the car.

Finally, a week after we first spotted it, the deal was consummated. My 15 year-old son and I climbed in and proudly headed home in the only Jensen Healey I had ever actually seen. We motored home, both grinning, until about 2 blocks from the house when the engine cut out and made a peculiar noise. Our faces fell, he looked at me and said, "Dad, that didn’t sound good." I agreed and shifted gears and it didn’t sound any better. The engine shuddered and quit. Then I heard it, a lonesome, yet relieving sound--the sound of an SU fuel pump sucking air. "We’ve run out of gas!" I laughed and thankfully it was downhill to the house, so we coasted all the way in. My son was incredulous, "But the gauge says we’ve got a 1/4 of a tank." I said, "Yes, and that’s the last time you’ll trust that thing." Now he religiously fills it up between 100 and 125 miles on the odometer.

Then I got around to asking where all the spare parts were. When they got to listing them, parts were scattered literally over 2 counties and 4 households. The spare engine, two spare transmissions and the spare rear end was in a barn about 2 miles from my work. The nine wheels and tires, tops (one frame only, one complete), spare seats and 12 boxes of parts were in another barn, the manuals and engine stand were lost somewhere in the shuffle! Before it was over, I had made three trips in my full-sized van and one in a pick-up to round up all the spare parts. Ed, whom I refer to as the "original owner" called and said I could have all the old AJO White Ladies he had. After I clarified what kind of white ladies he was referring to, we went and picked them up. Several months after our purchase of the car, the second retired couple called saying they were cleaning out some cabinets and ran across the workshop manual, parts manual and a set of sheepskin seat covers for the Jensen Healey!

My inventory of spare parts includes a distributor, both carbs, oil cooler, radiator, heater core with fan and controls, gas tank, and on and on and on. While I didn’t bargain for it, I got more than my money’s worth in spare parts. All I need is another body tub and some suspension and I could build another Jensen Healey. Somewhere on this site you will find a listing of parts for sale from this collection.

Well, there you have it. That’s how we, in Western Kentucky, came upon an almost pristine 1973 Jensen Healey Mk. 1, with no rust, low mileage and a boat load of spare parts!

I hesitate to call what we’ve done to 13057 a restoration, but it is a mild form of one. First we made sure she was safe and sound. Replacement of battery and radio were next, along with high performance speakers and a trunk mounted CD changer (this is a teen’s car, remember). She responded well to the kind treatment we gave her, always starting and never letting us down on the road. Based on my experience with British cars, this Jensen Healey was very unusual in the fact that every device affixed to it worked--even the clock kept accurate time! Well, occasionally the tach got tired and laid down for a while, but that was the only hitch in her get-along.

Spring was time to paint. We searched through the body books, looking for just the right red. Each page we turned, each year we search out, one color kept jumping off the page at us--Chrysler’s Viper Red. They body guy said he’d do it the first week end in March. He paints custom cars and trucks at night and on weekends and works a regular job during the day. Between a production change-over and inventory it was the last week of May before he got to it. Changing colors on a car is no easy task and the closeness of the Jensen Healey to the ground made it no easier.

We did all we could do to make the job simpler. We removed the bumpers, all lights, trim, mirrors, snaps, even put on the factory wheels and old tires and stripped the trunk and engine compartment (as much as possible). A week later she came home all gleaming red. It’s taken us another month to clean and replace all the stuff we took off. We had the headlights blacked in like the later Mk. 2 models, which we thought looked really sporty. Our paint guy did an exceptional job. Unless you take off a panel, you won’t find any mustard paint on this car. The engine compartment looks great, as does the trunk and around the doors.

In the meantime, the Monza muffler  broke loose--it is rusted beyond saving and has since been replaced. Also new tires have been shod on the chrome wires. When we bought the car, two of the wheels had three wing spinners on them, the others had octagon shaped center caps. I only had to watch it drive down the street once and see the sunlight reflect off the spinners to know we needed two more. So I spent several winter hours searching the net for Dunlop wheel dealers that had spinners. There are none! Moss sells Dunlop bolt-on conversions for MG’s and such, but no spinners. Finally a friend recommended that I pick up a copy of Low Rider magazine. I thought it was for the pictures of the young ladies who are displayed with the cars, but it was for the wheel suppliers. They’ve got spinners beyond belief--three wing, twisted wings, five wings, lights in the wings, chrome, gold, neon, etc., etc.! A quick trip to my local custom wheel supplier satisfied the need for spinners. A pair of Jensen Healey decals from my inventory made them match the other two.

While all this was going on, 13057 made an impression on me. It appears to be a very well put together little car. Aside from a difficult access to the distributor, the car is very straight forward and easy to work on. Parts appear to be readily accessible, while not with a glut of suppliers, and owner support for the marque is phenomenal!

Pitted against it’s contemporaries the Jensen Healey fares well. The most obvious comparison is between it and the classic Austin Healey, where, by the way, the Jensen outperforms in every driving category. But, the Austin Healey is not the best comparison, in my opinion. A more even benchmark might be the Fiat 124 or an MGB. Park an MGB next to it and compare them side by side. Start with the trunk. In the Jensen Healey, the spare is slung under the body, giving more room and the trunk is finished with carpet all around. The size of the trunk is impressive. You can fit a couple of duffel bags with room to spare. Move on to the interior. Granted the gauge and switch layout is pretty LBC (little British car) standard, but the seats are vastly more comfortable and adjustable than the MG’s. Leg room is unbelievable and the three-point safety belt is reassuring. Behind the seat is a shelf, while interrupted by the roll bar, still provides ample room for parcels, speakers, etc. The console is nicely finished, the real glove box handy, and the leather wrapped steering wheel--with it’s thumb indents--is wonderful! Move on the to engine compartment. The incomparable Lotus-supplied 2 liter dual overhead cam engine is the heart of the car. Producing 140 horsepower, it propels the Jensen Healey to much higher performance than anything in it’s class. Yes, many will give the more traditional MG the nod on styling, yet it is the Jensen Healey that looks the most current.

Driving is the best way to become a Jensen Healey fan. It starts with the briefest twist of the key and the dohc four springs into raspy life. The growl it produces between 3000 and 4000 rpm is delicious. While feeling softly sprung, the car corners in true sports car fashion and gives a ride quality unparalleled in the LBC world. Early critics pointed to engine noise and poor ergonomics as low points, but the song of 13057 is not offensive at all--maybe it’s just my mufflers are so loud we can’t hear the engine noise. I find the level of gearbox whine more disturbing than the noise of the motor.

All in all the car is a delight to drive, both from the driving experience and from the audience it draws. Now that my son is 16 and driving independently, he affirms my opinion that if you pulled to a 4-way stop with the Jensen Healey in Viper Red, at least 2 more cars at the intersection would have to be on fire to draw attention from his car! Based on the crowd it gathers on the church, school and WalMart parking lot, I think he’s very pleased with it. I must say, I have rambled a lot, but that answers the question of, "Where’d you find it?"