Parted For Forty Years
The T119-005 / 102-005 unit as found in its disassembled state.
It was way back in the 1970s when something went wrong with the transmission / Ferguson four-wheel-drive unit from Vignale made Jensen FF, chassis number 119/004. Typically Jensen Motors would pull the unit out, and exchange it against a re-built unit off the shelf. This is precisly what happened with 119/004.
T119 005 numbering to the centre section.
102 005 numbers to the rear of the transfer case.
Some decade or so later, the original unit from 119/004 (numbered T119-005 / 102-005) had been acquired from Jensen Parts & Service by the then owner of Jensen FF 119/059, and retained as a spare unit. By 1997, the FF had been through a couple more owners, and each time the spare transmission/FWD unit was incorporated into the sale. Nigel Hewitt became the new owner of Jensen FF 119/059 in 1997, and during his ownership, a specialist visited him to undertake some servicing work to the FF. Noticing the spare FWD unit, Hewitt was asked if it would be okay to take the unit apart, so the specialist could understand how the system worked. The unit was disassembled, but, unfortunately for Hewitt, the specialist could not work out how to put it back together again. Red faced, he made a fast exit much to the displeasure of Hewitt.
In 2009, Hewitt decided to sell the FF, and asked the Museum to undertake the sale. About a year later, the Museum recieved a telephone call from Hewitt. It transpired he still had various spare parts that had been accumulated for the FF, including the disassembled transmission/FWD unit. An agreement was reached, and the Museum acquired all the parts. The disassembled transmission/FWD unit arriving in various boxes, with smaller parts in plastic containers. A check of the unit’s numbers came as a surprise. It was none other than T119/005 / 102-005, the original unit fitted to the Museum’s Vignale FF 119/004.
Fast forwarding to 2016, the unit was given over to Duncan Watts of Crewe Racing Transmissions to be fully rebuilt. Eventually, the unit will be reunited back into 119/004.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If you have any additional information relating to this article, please contact us, archive@jensenmuseum.org or telephone +1694-781354.
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