NOTE DATE CHANGE: OUR NEXT VCB EVENT IS JANUARY 8! Randy Schultz Workshop, 13076 Crescent Road, Surrey (Whiterock) - wood and metal restorations of and musical instruments

A BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE VANCOUVER COAST BRANCH OF THE OLD ENGLISH CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

NovemberNovember----DecemberDecember 2018 Volume 23, Number 6 oecc.ca/vcb

Photo by Les Foster Chairman’s Welcome Walter Reynolds, VCB Chairman Hello Everyone, Well here it is, my final Chairman’s Welcome. My two years as your Chair is up. At times it’s taken a long time to get here, but somehow the two years seems to have flown by. Alan Inglis takes over as Chair on January 1, 2019, and I move into the Immediate Past-Chair position which will be vacated by John McDonald. So I will be following in the footsteps of past greats like the afore- mentioned John McDonald, and Gerry Parkinson, Fred Bennett, Bart Shaw and many others. My thanks to Bernie Miles for his work keeping track of our finances over the last 5 or so years. Also, my thanks for the help and support of the other members of our Executive Committee: Alan Inglis, Steve Hutchens, John Chap- man, Lorna Hoare, Alan Miles, Bart & Audrey Shaw and John McDonald. As mentioned above, Alan Inglis moves up to Chairman, Tom Popovich joins the Executive as Vice-Chair and Mal- colm Tait also joins the Executive as Treasurer. The balance of the Executive remains as this year. At the Branch Executive level, we have “tickled” the topic of how we can attract more members, especially younger people, keeping in mind that the average age of the current membership is, at a guess, around 60, so the term ‘younger’ doesn’t have to signify people in their 20s, but then it could! More work will be done in the future. AT THE WHEEL At our annual Christmas Dinner and Social last night we welcomed brand-new members Chris and Alayne Chairperson : Walter Reynolds [email protected] | 604-463-6305 Brutt-Tompsett, owners of the ex-Chapman Morgan Plus 4. They saw how the Branch operates at least at the Vice-Chairperson : Alan Inglis [email protected] | 604-737-0044 Christmas function and witnessed the ‘changing of the guard’ so to speak. Past-Chairperson : John McDonald [email protected] | 604-942-8223 Talking about the Dinner, Lorna once again demon- Treasurer : Bernie Miles (membership renewals) strated her skill at taking an instruction, “Organize us a [email protected] | 604-943-0535 Christmas Dinner & Social event” and turning it into 207-4753 River Road West, Delta, BC V4K 1R9 something glorious for us to enjoy and remember. Secretary : Steve Hutchens Since the last Roundabout, we’ve celebrated the 2018 [email protected] | 360-483-6873 “London to Brighton Commemorative Run” which was Event & Meeting Coordinator : Lorna Hoare the 23rd annual running of the event. You can read more [email protected] | 604-584-2564 about it later in the Roundabout. Robert Follows gra- Membership Coordinator : John Chapman ciously allowed us to use his 1933 as the centre- (new memberships and correspondence) [email protected] | 604-590-3749 piece for the group photo. 7923 144A St., Surrey, BC V3S 8C1 To get something on paper, here are three significant Communication Coordinator : Alan Miles future dates for us to be thinking about that require re- [email protected] | 604-272-2145 cording: Roundabout Editor : Steve Hutchens 1) 2020: Circa June-July: The OECC Annual General [email protected] | 360-483-6873 Meeting is scheduled to be hosted by our Branch; Webmaster : Alan Miles [email protected] | 604-272-2145 2) November 1, 2020 (the 1st Sunday in November): the Good & Welfare : Bart & Audrey Shaw 25th annual running of the London to Brighton Com- [email protected] | 604-946-4700 memorative Run (previously known as the Ladner to Bel- Regalia : Position Open lingham Run).

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 2 3) 2022: 30th Anniversary of the creation of the than may meet the eye. We need volunteers to look Vancouver Coast Branch of the OECC (as far as after the Branch records, do the finances, organize can be gleaned from OECC records). events, maintain membership records and keep the This year, 2018, has been a special year in some Branch on a level road with the Club H.O. regards. We held our 5th annual car show which was Our members have every right to be proud of the the first running of the “British Invasion Motor Show” volunteers who keep the Branch ‘ticking along’. Noth- that we’ve fully sponsored ourselves (previously co- ing would happen without the volunteers. The volun- sponsored with the Two Lions Pub in North Vancou- teer’s time is the lifeblood of our Branch and the over- ver). In addition our “London to Brighton Commemora- all operation of the OECC. The opportunity to volun- tive Run” was one of the best attended, especially in teer, and the opportunity to show your appreciation to recent years with 64 cars and 89 registered for lunch. the volunteers, occurs every day of the year. Don’t From these two events, we were able to donate $1,300 miss the opportunity. At a minimum, the more people to local charities – not too much in the big picture who volunteer take some of the load from those who sense, but a great step forward for our Branch. Well are already volunteering. done! And that’s it from me. Merry Christmas and Happy To the members who have never been involved as New Year from Linda and me. As usual, drive just fast a VCB volunteer, there is more to running our Branch enough to stay ahead of the rust. See you around!

The Old Editor’s Rambles Steve Hutchens, Editor

OUR B ACKGROUNDS AND I NTERESTS P ROVIDE F OCUS Each of us bring unique interests and backgrounds to our enthusiasm for old English cars. Perhaps because of my background in marketing and busi- ness and my interest in history, I seem to have a special interest in the busi- ness history side of the automotive world. In my files are over half a dozen articles about the history of the British auto industry. Few of these are written by car enthusiasts. Most are based on research by business academics and look in depth at the competitors in the industry dur- ing the demise of British-owned manufacturers. They focus on the managers and the decisions they made in light of the competitive environments they faced. It was unavoidable that international competition and world events impacted these decisions as they struggled to survive. Businesses were operating in an increasingly complex and competitive world which is a long way to say that it was all quite challenging. Which brings me to the central article of this issue, Walter Reynolds’ article “The Commercial Vehicles of Jen- sen Motors” (see pages 10-17). Walter’s background gives him an ideal base for writing articles like this and in this article he gives us a glimpse inside the commercial division of , something I wasn’t even aware of. While little has been written about the commercial products side of the British auto industry, almost nothing has appeared in print about Jensen’s role. Historically, Jensen’s commercial side began just before World War II and Walter traces their product line as it evolved to meet the changing needs of post-war Britain. Ultimately, one by one offerings became obsolete in the changing business environment and they were no longer able to compete. DENNIS N ELSON R EMEMBERED In closing, I’ll reminisce a bit about the cover photo - Dennis Nelson’s 1960 Triumph TR3 parked in front of the East Delta Hall at the Celebration of Dennis’ Life on Nov. 3. Dennis was a class guy, a Triumph TR3 enthusi- ast first class, and a serious photographer. He enjoyed driving his TR3 on mountain roads and for many years organized a spirited run to Artist Point on Mount Baker. I was fortunate to be on his last run on Sept. 7 when Scott, his son, lovingly drove the TR3. Dennis’ smile and enthusiasm will be long remembered!

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 3 2019 Vancouver Coast Branch Calendar of Events

OECC Regalia Walter Reynolds

We have a limited quantity of screw-on OECC Grill Badges! We ordered 15 for VCB members and now have no more than 9 avail- able at $20 each. If you want to purchase a grill badge, you can pick it up at our January 8, 2018, event. To reserve a badge, please send me a cheque for $20 made payable to “OECC-Vancouver Coast Branch” (120 - 22514 116th Ave, Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X 0N8), call 604- 312-9015, or email ([email protected]).

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 4 Sunday, November 4, 2018 London - Brighton Commemorative Run - The 23rd! By Alan Inglis

The sun rose on a beautiful day in Delta….. And a strong turnout of 64 British cars cele- brated the running of the London to Brighton run in . The new gathering point at the Delta Heritage Air Park was a successful change following the closure of the Delta Town and Country Inn. Maureen and Alan Inglis staffed the registration desk, Pat and Bernie Miles staffed the member- ship renewals and regalia desk and, new for this year, Barbara and Malcolm Tait staffed a lunch pre-order desk .This innovation was introduced to speed-up delivery of meals later at the Fox and Fiddle in Langley. Amongst the cars ready for the off were: 12 MGs, 10 Jaguars, 9 Triumphs, 5 Rovers, 3 Aston- Martins, 2 Austins, 3 Austin-Healeys, 2 Bentleys, 2 Fords, 2 Lotus/Catherhams, 2 Morgans, 2 Mor- ris, and one each of Jensen, , , Sunbeam Alpine and Talbot. Most drivers had local club affiliations with OECC at 27, LAMB at 10, Triumph at 5, and Rolls Royce (RROC) at 2. Derek Carr as Lord Winclelsea reads the proclamation

Photo by Steve Blake

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 5 In fine weather and under a cloudless sky, Derek Carr again took on the role of Lord Winchelsea and duly tore up a symbolic red flag. Robert Follows lovely Talbot provided a centre piece for photographs. And by 10:20 a.m. cars were heading off in an orderly procession through the Delta farmland, along Panorama Ridge and across 176 St (wait for a gap!). A rendezvous and comfort break at Campbell Valley Regional Park was cut short because the parking lots, even the overflow parking lot, were full as more people took the opportunity to get out and about in the fine November weather. I think we would have had the lot to ourselves if it had been raining! Malcolm Tait, John Hoare and Alan Inglis made up the organizing committee, Lorna Hoare organized the coffee and muffins at the air park and Walter Reynolds gave the Langley Advance an interview. You can read the interview at: https://www.langleyadvance.com/home/london-to- brighton-commemorative-run-from-south-delta-to-langley John Hoare and Malcolm Tait’s route then led us through some fine country roads in south Langley and almost into Aldergrove, before we could pull up into parking lot of the Fox and Fiddle Pub. The beverages were good, the food was fine, but the service was not acceptable – in particular, the wait time to receive meals was too long. Suggestions are welcome from the membership on how 80 people can be fed on a Sunday lunch-time in a timely manner at a reasonable cost. Volunteers are needed with new ideas and to plan next year’s event – please don’t be shy! Those in-

From: Walter Reynolds To: OECC Members Date: Nov 21 at 7 : 34 PM

Hi all,

Linda and I delivered the $700.00 cheque to the Delta Hospice Society this afternoon. I’ve attached a photo. The people there had a promo cheque made up and made a photo of the hand-over. In the photo I am with Laurine Kelly, Associate Director – we’re just having too much fun! The staff there were most gracious of our donation and even gave us a tour of their sup- port facility – the hospice building itself being off limits for obvious reasons.

They will be putting a notice into the Delta Optimist newspaper along with a copy of their photo. In retrospect, it would have been bet- ter if we had stood at either side of the large cheque – you’ll understand why when you look at the photo.

Along with the cheque and covering letter, I also gave them a copy of the group photo that Steve Blake took and a brochure of the OECC. I’d also included a copy of the 2018 run flyer but they already had one.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 6 terested should contact me at [email protected].

A Breakdown on the LBRun Lorna Hoare How does it take six men to fix one clutch cable?? With three different toolboxes, and ot one having the exact size spanner needed?! And when all was said and done and the cable sorted, there was a need for lubricant or grease — so I came to the rescue with handy dandy Chapstick!! Job complete—— and soon we were on the way to enjoy lunch, while Lotus headed home. I’ve heard that Lotus stands for ... Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious!!

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 7 Tuesday, December 4 The VCB Annual Christmas Dinner It was another great holiday celebration orchestrated by Lorna Hoare with Walter Reynolds, our Chairman, and Alan Inglis, our Chairman-elect, playing starring roles flawlessly. At best count, there were 37 VCB members there to celebrate the holidays with their friends. It was a huge success!

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 8 Tuesday, December 4 The VCB Annual Christmas Dinner Lots of door prizes with winners drawn by members. It was a great event … plan to be there next year!

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 9 THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES OF JENSEN MOTORS By Walter Reynolds

1. Background

The Jensen brothers, Alan and Richard were born in Moseley, Birmingham, England; Alan in 1906 and Richard in 1909. On their journey to make Jensen Motors the success that it became they made limited-run luxury sports cars – cars designed to appeal to sporting drivers like themselves, rather than to the general motoring public. They eventually made several relatively high volume models (at least in Jensen production terms), spe- cifically the C-V8, the Interceptor, including the FF, and the Jensen and its derivative, the Jensen GT. However, before they reached that juncture in time, and to fill their order books thereby generating funds to build their own-designed cars, they had to take the business in other directions. One such direction was to build bodies for other manufacturers, for example, the Sports, the Austin Healey and its subse- quent variants, the Bug-Eye Austin Healey Sprite, the and the Triumph TR8, to name but a few. A different and earlier direction that the brothers took was to build commercial vehicles; some of their own de- sign and some for other manufacturers, for example Austin Vans and the Austin Champ and Gipsy “jeeps”.

This article follows the commercial vehicle side of Jensen Motors – much having been written about the auto- mobile side.

2. The Jensen Commercial Vehicles

Little has been written about the era of Jensen Motors’ commercial vehicles, probably because of its lack of glamour when compared with the other vehicles they have created of their own design or built for other car manufacturers.

In 1931 the brothers joined W. J. Smith & Sons of Carter’s Green, West Bromwich (near Birmingham), a well- known coach builder whose business dated back to 1899. The company was still using the same, old tech- niques, materials and machines that were used to build horse-drawn carriages and coaches.

The energy and enthusiasm of the young brothers convinced the Smith management to bring in new produc- tion methods. These methods ensured that the build quality and dimensional correctness of the Smith- produced vehicle bodies was drastically improved. Profits also soared. So successful were the brother’s techniques that within a few years they were full partners and in 1936, the company was renamed Jen- sen Motors Ltd.

The premises at Carter’s Green were quite large and the commercial vehicles being built included buses, vans and lorries. Chassis came from a variety of manufacturers.

Along with the wood and steel used to produce the vehicle bodies, Jensen started using lightweight alu- minum paneling which they bought from Reynolds Tubing of Birmingham. Coaches being built up at the Carter’s Green works before the war.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 10 Jensen Motors built a number of Bedford- chassis lorries for Reynolds which were used to transport voluminous but light aircraft components. In cooperation with Reynolds, the Jensen brothers came up with an innova- tive idea to avoid the then mandatory 20 miles per hour speed limit for lorries over 2 ½ tons; lighter vehicles were allowed a 30 mph maximum. This was a big difference to trans- portation companies meaning a lorry at 30 mph could do, for example, four transports per day instead of two or three. The second of three Jensen Lightweight Commercials for Reynolds Tube. The The Reynolds project in 1938 created a new photo was taken at the entrance to the Carter’s Green factory, just on the lightweight aluminum chassis. The lorry was outbreak of war in 1939. originally powered by a Ford V8 side-valve en- gine. This was later replaced by a Perkins P6 diesel engine built by F. Perkins Ltd. of Peter- borough. The engine was based on the Invicta engine for which Perkins had bought the rights in 1932. The Perkins P6 diesel range was started in 1937 and allowed the Perkins Com- pany to make its first year’s profit in that same year. The original Invicta-based Perkins engine was first used in commercial vehicles. With the Perkins engine, the lorry was considered a success and Reynolds com- missioned Jensen to build two more light- Jensen-built fire engine built in conjunction with the James weight lorries. The picture below is of the sec- Bereford Fire Engine Company of Birmingham. ond of the three lorries for Reynolds.

The success of the Reynolds lorries and the knowledge and experience gained from them enabled Jensen to develop their own JNSN Commercial Lightweight Series of lorries. (JNSN stands for “Jensen”, of course!)

Brochures and test reports often refer to these vehicles as “oilers” due to the use of Perkins diesel engines. One such “oiler” vehi- cle was the Jensen-built fire engine built in conjunction with the James Bereford Fire En- gine Company of Birmingham.

The outbreak of World War 2 meant an un- wanted temporary hold for the promising A Typical JNSN 6-ton lorry in BRS livery. JNSN line of commercial vehicles and Jensen This style is often called a ‘furniture van’. cars. Like many British manufacturers, Jensen

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 11 Motors found themselves under contract to the government to build a variety of vehicles and other ‘materials of war’. During the 1939 – 1945 war years Jensen built hundreds of fire engines, ambulances, rescue vehicles, trailers and armoured vehicles. Non-vehicular Jensen contracts including manufacturing bomb- racks, ammunition cases, rocket launchers and much more.

A. The Jensen JNSN Light Commercial

All government contracts were cancelled im- mediately on the cessation of hostilities, ne- A JNSN standard platform (flatbed) lorry. cessitating a return to the business of making a profit. Jensen returned to the production of the JNSN Light Commercial brand of lorries. They initially concentrated on two versions, a short chassis and a 30 foot chassis, both sometimes referred to as flatbed lorries, oth- ers as furniture vans, but both with a cab- forward design.

Jensen’s advertising of the JNSN in the early 1950s emphasized that the Company was a A 30 foot long JNSN complete with a double-deck trailer used by Raymond pioneer of “light alloy chassis and body con- Way Motors of London. struction”. One of the JNSN brochures showed The load consists of 11 Reliant 3-wheel cars. a photo of a light commercial lorry, licence number 1 AEA, which was a works vehicle.

The JNSN radiator grill panel with its distinc- tive logo was designed and patented by Alan Jensen. While opinion of the day fell into ei- ther the “like it” or “don’t like it” camp, most observers agreed that it made the lorries eas- ily identifiable. The JNSN grill panel was fibre- glass and was easily removable allowing easy fitting and removal of the engine. The remov- able panel and easily removable engine were two maintenance features that were widely promoted. Like the grill panel, the design of the easily removable engine sub-frame was also Alan Jensen’s creation.

The engine sub-frame enabled mechanics to remove both the engine and gearbox as a sin- gle unit. The removal took 30 minutes but the A complete engine unit being wheeled into position. The fiberglass ‘JNSN’ branded radiator cover would simply be fitted up at the end. re-fitting of a replacement took 2 ½ hours.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 12 This ingenious piece of engineering reduced downtime and cut operating costs.

According to the U.K.’s Jensen Museum, approximately 600 Jensen Light Commercials were built in various guises, with only a few examples surviving. The Museum considers that most of these lorries were scrapped at the end of their useful life; their relatively valuable alloy chassis being melted down for other uses.

B. The Jensen Light Passenger Coach

In Jensen’s there had been a long tradition of building passenger coaches, but on other manufacturer’s chassis. With the advent of the Jensen Light Commercial, the Company also developed a lightweight bus chassis. On these chassis they built a series of small Light Passenger Coaches. Other coach builders were so enthusiastic about the lightweight chassis that they bought them and built their own bodies on them.

By 1947 it was decided that the Carter’s Green premises had become too small for all the work Jensen had on their books. As such, the commercial vehicle activities were temporarily moved approximately 37 miles north- west to Stoke-on-Trent while a new factory was built in Kingswinford, itself about 9 miles south-west of Carter’s Green. All Jensen commercial vehicles, the JNSN Light Commercial, the Jen-Tug (more on this later) and Jen-Tug trailers were built in Stoke-on-Trent.

A coach-built Jensen bus in skeleton form, before the A Jensen-built bus in daily service. outer bodywork has been fitted.

C. Jensen Jen-Tug

At the end of World War 2, Jensen recognized the need for a smaller but more versatile commercial vehicle. The Jensen Jen-Tug was the result. The Jen-Tug was a classic case of the right product at the right time. An- nounced in 1947, the Jen-Tug was described as a “horse substitute vehicle”, although the following year, and

A Jensen works Jen-Tug in use transporting Austin A40 Sports. Jen-Tug with trailer being used for making coal deliveries.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 13 with increased mechanism in the commercial vehicle segment, that marketing phrase was dropped. The Jen-Tug was simple and versatile and also used an en- gine-removal system similar to the Jensen Light Com- mercial lorry range.

Several Manufacturers introduced a “mechanical horse” as alternatives to the Jen-Tug. One in particu- lar was the very popular 3-wheel Scammel of which at least 30,000 examples were sold. Another similar ve- hicle was the 3-wheel and this too was a big seller. A system that enabled one man to attach and detach the trailer was common practice in these vehi- cles and not unique to the Jen-Tug. The distinguishing design feature in the Jen-Tug’s favour was that it was a 4-wheel vehicle with a very narrow rear wheelbase (allowing it to fit between the trailer landing gear).

Although Jensen did not actually invent this type of transporter, they certainly developed it further – and made it easier to operate. The original design came from the drawing board of George Riekie of Latil In- dustries (see Sidebar A.). Only two of the Riekie- designed ‘tugs’ were built and this by a company called Lawrence (see Sidebar B.).

Sidebar A. Latil Industries were a French timber- hauling tractor and farm equipment manufacturer 1950s advertisement for the Jen-Tug – One Tug, lots of possibilities.

Jen-Tug chassis ready to receive its cab.

Jen-Tug receiving its engine unit.

where George Riekie ran the English Branch. This Branch had to close at the outbreak of World War 2.

Sidebar B. I Googled ‘Lawrence Manufacturing’ and came up with Lawrence David, a lorry body manufacturer in Peterborough, England. I emailed them to find out if they were the “Lawrence” company mentioned in the

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 14 Jensen Museum records regarding Riekie’s designed tugs. As of the publication of this Roundabout, no re- sponse has been received.

In 1946 George Riekie joined Jensen with his son, Colin. George was employed as General Works Man- ager and worked primarily out of the Stoke-on-Trent factory whereas Colin worked at Carter’s Green. As stated earlier, the Jen-Tug design came out of the idea to produce a small, manoeuvrable tractor with an automatic coupler. This vehicle was to be used as a replacement for horse-drawn vehicles for the short- distance haulage of a variety of trailers carrying loads of up to 3,400 pounds. Series production of the Jen-Tug started in 1947. The One of the many types of trailers built by Jensen Motors for the Jen-Tug featured an alloy cab which was designed by Jen-Tug. This one is parked outside the Kingswinford works. Jensen’s up and coming designer, . The ve- hicle was powered by an 1172 c.c. Ford side-valve en- gine producing 30 hp and coupled to a 3-speed gear- box.

The engine, transmission and rear axle were all mounted on a sub-frame towards the rear of the trac- tor unit and, as with the JNSN, could be removed quickly.

In 1951 a Mark 2 version of the Jen-Tug was intro- duced driven by the 1.2 litre, 4 cylinder Austin A40 One of the few Jen-Helecs in use circa 1950. engine. A four speed gearbox was fitted and the car- rying capacity of the vehicle was raised to 3 tons. Despite the fact that an unexpected large order from British Railways fell through (they chose Scammel), the Jen-Tug in its many forms proved to be a highly profitable venture.

Prior to the introduction of the Mark 2 Jen-Tug, Jensen offered a choice between 14 standard trailers from flatbed to soft-sided to hard-side box.

In 1949 an electric version of the Jen-Tug was developed in cooperation with Hindle, Smart & Company. It was called the Jen-Helecs. Unfortunately only a few dozen were ever produced.

In 1954, the Jen-Tug received a steel cab along with further technical improvements. As demand for the vehi- cle had slowed, the Company, to revive demand tried a diesel version, but this never reached production. A 1,489 c.c. petrol engine-powered version then followed but competition from Scammel and Karrier proved too strong and only a handful of Jen-Tugs were sold in 1957 and 1958. Total production of Jen-Tugs is estimated to be approximately 700 whereas the number of trailers sold is believed to be in the area of 1,400. The Company operated three Jen-Tugs on their premises well into the 1960s.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 15 D. The Jensen Tempo

Always looking for opportunities and/or a niche market, in 1958 Jensen contacted Vidal and Sohn, a West German manufacturer of contemporary vans (and a fierce Volkswagen competitor). The aim was to obtain a licence to build the Tempo in various specialist ver- sions like the one pictured above. The Tempo was a technically novel 25 hundredweight commercial vehicle. [One hundredweight = 112 lb, so the Tempo was a 2800 lb vehicle.] It was notable for its exceptional riding qualities over rough ground. The Jensen Tempo Camper Van / Passenger Bus. The Jensen brothers succeeded and obtained a licence for the U.K. and Commonwealth markets. Using their long-established contacts with Austin, Jensen developed a RHD version of the Tempo powered by the well-known and reliable Austin 1.5 litre engine coupled to a German ZF gearbox. The radiator was located in a novel position; above the forward-facing gearbox and the cooling fan being driven by a long extension from the dynamo. The Tempo also had 4-wheel independent suspension, front-wheel drive and a low-slung tubular chassis frame. A wide range of body options was available including a hydraulic lifting ele- vator truck, a 14-seat bus and a six-seat pickup, a camper van and even a Cherry 1958 advert for the Jensen Tempo Hydraulic Elevator Truck version of the vehicle. Picker.

The Tempo Hydraulic Elevator Truck was par- ticularly innovative in that it had a hydrauli- cally lowering and raising carrying platform. This allowed loading and unloading to take place at a variety of different levels, thus do- ing away with various loading docks and ramps.

The Jensen Tempo series of vehicles were ex- pensive and this undoubtedly led to a rela- tively low demand. By 1963, the building of Tempos had ceased, no doubt hastened by the move to the new Kelvin Way, West Brom- wich factory, and consolidating what the Com- Jensen Tempo Cherry Picker at Jensen’s pany wished to move forward with. 1958 Commercial Motor Show stand.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 16

3. The End of Commercial Vehicle Production.

Jensen’s commercial vehicle production gradually came to an end and the closing of the Kingswinford factory. The Carter’s Green factory also closed during the early 1960s, but that was due to the move to the larger factory complex that Jensen had built at Kelvin Way.

Although the Company’s own JNSN, Jen-Tug and Tempo manufacturing had ceased, Jensen was still involved in commercial vehicle building. Thousands of Estate Cars were built for Austin as well as occasional one-offs or prototypes for various clients. The 1960s were hard times for Jensen Motors, especially when the Austin Healey contract ended (due to strict U.S. safety regulations).

Earlier still, in 1959, Jensen was obliged to seek help from investors, and was now under control of financi- ers, The Norcos Banking Group. The reason for this was that BMC threatened to move production of the Austin Healey to their Abingdon facilities. While Nor- cos brought in their own Managing Director, he was replaced in 1963 by Norcos’ Michael Day. JSP (Engineering) Ltd. advert for the Stonefield. (Internet photo.)

The remaining workforce and energy at Kelvin Way was now aimed at the sub-contract work Jensen were well known for. Production of the Volvo P1800 and the were a few examples. Keeping the Jensen car tradition alive, they also produced the Jensen C-V8. Not all expertise in the field of lorries and trailers had been lost. Jensen Motors continued to design and build these. An example is the heavy car transporter trailer built for Cartransport (BRS) Ltd. This transporter could carry six big Jensen Interceptors.

In the early 1970s Jensen was involved in the development and manufacture of a versatile all-terrain vehicle, the Stonefield. This may have been a result of Jensen Motors’ huge experience with the Ferguson 4WD. The Stonefield vehicle was to have a V8 coupled to an Austin A727 automatic transmission along with a Ferguson unit. Jensen, amongst other things, was responsible for the cab design and was commissioned to build a number of prototypes, as well as a pre-production series of approximately 20 complete vehicles. After the demise of Jensen Motors in 1976, the Stonefield project was continued for some time by the subsequent company, Jensen Parts and Service.

Sources: In preparing this article, I received tremendous help from the Jensen Museum of West Bromwich, England who, through Museum Curator, Ulric Woodhams, allowed me unfettered access to the original Jensen Commercial article written by Dutch Jensen Historian, Han Kamp. That access included reproduction of numerous Museum photos. The Jensen Mu- seum can be contacted at www.jensenmuseum.org.

~ Jensen Museum, West Bromwich, England, www.jensenmuseum.org. Tel International: 00 44 1694-781354 ~ “The Jensen Healey Stories”, Motor Racing Publications Ltd., 1974 by Peter Browning & John Blunsden. ~ Wikipedia.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 17 Submitted by Les Foster: “I came across this image from the City of Vancouver Archives on Facebook. It’s the PNE in Vancouver. An Austin A30 advertises the daily draw for a free car.”

Mini E (for Electric) to Debut in 2019 (based on Internet research) A fully electric Mini, based on a 2017 prototype, will be introduced in 2019 with an estimated range of 186 miles, similar to the BMW i3 with which it will share a power train. Several design details will identify the electric Mini and set it off including the wheels and a yellow streak in the grill. Mini is promising that when it’s finished, the Electric will be even more enjoy- able to drive than petrol , thanks to the batteries lowering the centre of gravity. What car will be the first English electric to join OECC???

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 18