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New to me '71 Vixen 2500 and the start of many questions

escoboy

Freshman Member
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greetings all. to preface this, i have spent most of my life in British cars - repairing, restoring, racing - to earn my living w/ side trips working for the San Diego Communications Dept as well as at DEI designing car audio (spent a few years at La Jolla Audio prior) as well as building choppers and working for TORO as their field tech - fun job, i was on a golf course every day, just not playing golf 🫤 my daily driver a '72 Jensen Interceptor MkIII and stashed away on the property are 2 Jags, 2 MG's, 1 TR6, 1 BMW 630 Cs, 3 older Volvo's, 2 Toyota's - a 1st gen 4Runner and a 22RE p/u, plus other assorted cars.

i recently acquired a 1971 TVR Vixen 2500 #1982T. it has been updated (some would say bastardized) by the installation of a Chevy 327 and WC T5 5spd trans. I have yet to dig into it as the Jensen is getting a new rad, + oil/trans cooler, water pump etc so it comes first. It is looking like the 327 is possibly an L79 (350hp) but more on that l8r - my TR6 is a 1971 model so a swap would be EZ. so far, i find the cooling system badly designed so i will be fixing that promptly (i would like to drive it a small amount b4 deciding whether to pull the 327 and swap in the TR6) but I have a couple of questions:

1: this has heim jointed upper inner a-arms as well as heim jointed ends on the steering rack. i am told "not stock". they don't appear to be kludged (correct spacers on the a-arms and no extensions or oddities on the track rod ends) so i wonder were these perhaps a purchase as a "race" part maybe offered by an aftermarket supplier?

2: the brake master is a Nissan branded item (not correctly TR6) and would appear it was installed at the same time the car had its body off "restoration" as there are 3 brake lines connecting to it - 1 rear and each front having its own hard line. it appears the booster is a stock TR6 piece, however there is a ~1/2" piece of plywood between the body and the booster. is that normal? lots of brake fluid wrinkled paint on the booster and fluid below the booster on the body - so that will need resolution chopchop.

once i get it up in the air, i will report back on what i find, but i expect to find stock TR6 diff and axles 🙁

Hola Rocky! is it as windy over there as it is here?? i did see your posts on all the rear end stuff you recently machined - very nice work!

best to all,
escoboy
 
Would ditch the v8. Will more than likely no work well in so cal temps.
Rod ends are aftermarket. Metalastic bushings where OEM.
Yes woodspacer was factory….usually press wood.
 
thanks darth, poking around further i find the front uprights have ball joint uppers and lowers - no trunnions. the steering arms are part of the upright. my memory sez both TR6 and Spit had lower trunnions and separate steering arms... maybe when i pull the wheel off tomorrow, getting a closer look + caliper inspection _might_ offer up some clues...
 
so, it looks like Ford front calipers and rotors on a maybe a Ford upright?? and Afco coilovers... grateful for any thoughts as i do not recognize any of these components other than Afco - who I also use...

LF suspension.jpg


LF caliper view facing rear axle.jpg


vented rotor view from car front.jpg
 
Factory upper wishbone modified to suit ball joint.
Agree they look like a Ford component. Don’t know why they change everything, as factory set up works fine if maintained.
That’s going to get warm with the exhaust ruining like that.
 
Dumb previous owner using 'racy' parts unsuitable for extended use on a street car - I'd remove the heims and replace with conventional tie rod ends, but a warning - check to see if the steering arms have been drilled out to a parallel hole instead of a tapered one that takes a stock tie rod end. If that is the case you'll have to buy new steering arms - which are likely NLA so you'll need to source good used ones.
 
thanks billspohn, i am aware that the steering arms are likely drilled straight thru. unfortunately the steering arms are part of the uprights so... i am not a huge fan of heims on the street. lack of "give" tends to transfer into the frame and leads to things cracking/breaking... Ford branded single piston sliding caliper using a vented rotor on a ball jointed upright using a Nissan master cylinder... Pinto maybe... have to dig at some point just so i know, but most of my life spent in Brit rides so little Big Three knowledge.

not gonna worry about exhaust etc until cooling system set up correctly (SB done tomorrow) and determine if it will actually survive... mommy sez i gotta finish my jensen then finish the turbo 740 - big turbo, 400 hp - build for my son. so that will leave plenty of time to think. many things to do to make this right... rear end, headliner, gauges/switches, wipers, turn signals...

appreciate the replies
 
not gonna worry about exhaust etc until cooling system set up correctly (SB done tomorrow) and determine if it will actually survive... mommy sez i gotta finish my jensen then finish the turbo 740

Yes, I am putting a Jensen Interceptor back on the road after a decade sitting - lot to do, Just had to rechrome the rear bumper - made of quite thin metal and very hard to ship a new one so resorted to refurbishing at a cost of several thousand - got it running and almost right away the fuel pump (mechanical) died . Mine has a 383 - had to look as far away as Saskatchewan to find one - probably sitting on some tractor delares shelf for years.

On the tie rod ends, I have run drilled arms and Heims on the track but wouldn't like to on the street. What front suspension does your car have? I thought they were Triumph, but they had separate steering arms - yours certainly are unitary design.
 
no clue as to what the front susp is... yes, should be TR6. but isn't. i have pics of the "restoration" and i can see original susp then l8r on, what is there now. so i know it isn't some oddball ex race car.

my '72 Interceptor MkIII is a 440 car. it's undergoing a rad replacement which led to oil/trans/pwr steering coolers getting installed, milodon oil pump plate w/ -10AN fittings instead of Jensen -8AN, different remote oil filter w/ integral thermostat installed NOT upside down, flowcooler h2o pump, drive belt alignment corrections, properly rerouted a/c lines, brake master replacement to eliminate leaky remote reservoirs, and more small things underhood

REAR LEFT QUARTER.jpeg


kudos for getting your Jensen back on the road and ALIVE!
 
I've owned four Jensens - a 76 Interceptor, a 74 Interceptor convertible, the 71 Interceptor and a 65 CV8, I did a bit of custom work on the CV8 with a sixpack 383 engine.

76
76int3.jpg


74
inconvertsm.jpg


71

71int.jpg


65

cv8.jpg
 
Very peppy sixpack engine

cv8eng.jpg



PS - my 71 had the vinyl roof like yours but also what I call 'sideburns' that covered the panel behind the rear side windows - didn't like them so removed them when I had the car painted.
 
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