Hi from Bob Clevenger

[bobclevenger]

Hi,

My personal data is pretty boring. I've never been married. I live with a friend and his two grown kids.
I now drive a 1972 Jensen SP that is soon to get an A-833 OD gearbox, and after that a complete engine rebuild (with a few goodies ).
I'm typing this from Reno, NV. When I had a '59 SF I lived in So. Calif.

I don't have a '59 Plymouth anymore, but the first car I owned, right after I graduated from High School in 1961, was an orangeish-red '59 Sport Fury. I bought it from a used-car lot (with a little help from my dad) and I'm certain it had already been modified. It had no fake spare tire carrier on the trunk lid. It had a 361 Golden Commando engine. It had a 3-speed manual gearbox with a floor-shifter. There was no evidence of any column-shift parts having ever been installed. It had an Iskenderian RR-2 roller-tappet cam and dual quads with progressive linkage. The carb numbers were 2790S and 2791S and when looked up at a local auto parts store they were listed as carbs for a "1959 Dodge Super D-500". I soon discovered that the car ran better if both carbs opened at the same time and ran it that way as long as I had that manifold. I had the manifold until about ten years ago.

I broke the gearbox several times-- always the first gear. One time when we had it out and my college friend had the '39 Zephyr 'box out of his '40 Ford at the same time we compared the two. The gearset was identical -- even down to the same numbers on the individual gears! Needless to say she was slow off the line with a 2.12 low gear and a 3.31 sure-grip rear-end! It also put a LOT of strain on the driveline and the low-speed gear was the weak point.

So I talked my dad into getting a new B&M Hydro-stick since I wanted a really STRONG 'box. CT Automotive out in the San Fernando Valley installed it -- they really didn't know about early B engines! The adapter they used was for a '62 or later B engine and it almost fit -- emphasis on 'almost'. As the tranny was mounted about 3/4" too close to the crankshaft flange something had to give --and it did. She started vibrating badly and caught fire on my way to school one day. The FD saved the car from a lot more damage, but I had to have the upholstery redone along with new wiring looms.

Eventually, I got rid of the auto 'box in late '63 or early '64 and installed one of the first A-833 4-speed trannys. I had to have a spacer made to move the bellhousing 3/4" to the rear so that the '64 bellhousing would sit right.

I ran C/gas at Pomona drags and usually ran in the 14's.

I lost her when an uninsured idiot rammed the car behind me as we were waiting for the signal to change at the bottom of an offramp. He shoved the car behind me into me, and me into the car in front of me. Four cars involved and I was the only one to drive away under my own power. My insurance company declared it a total loss. I bought the car back from them for the engine, tranny and rear-end.

[Denver 59 Fin Convert]

Bob, neat story of your old 59SF, Boy your Memory is sharp! I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning.

At our local Mopar car show two weeks ago we had a couple weeks ago we had two Mopar powered Jensen's there, Both where the Intecepter models and both were 440 powered. What motor is in your Jensen?


John Q.

[big m]

Great story, Bob!

I had a repair shop in downtown Reno for 15 years, and visit there often.

---John

[bobclevenger]

Denver '59,
I can remember all sorts of UNimportant stuff --
Like the cam timing on the Isky RR-7000T that I changed to from the RR-2 was:
Intake ---- 39° BTDC and 77° ABDC
Exhaust -- 77° BBDC and 39° ATDC
It revved to 8 grand easily -- it spun rod bearings almost as easily
Now, important stuff is an entirely different matter!

My Jensen is one of only 13 left-hand drive SP models ever built. It came with the 440 Six-Pack mill and air conditioning from the factory --- and still has both. The Six-Pack engine is due for a complete rebuild soon; the A/C was converted to R-134a this Summer and still has a leak I have yet to locate.


Big M,
Next time you're in Reno get in touch ahead of time and we'll try to get together.

[Denver 59 Fin Convert]

Bob, Double Rare! 440-6bbl and with AC. Now we have to find you a 59 Plymouth again so you can go to the Hot August Night in Reno!
Thanks for letting us know about you and your 59 history.

John Q.

[bobclevenger]

I'd love to have a '59 again, but I doubt that finances will ever allow it.
My Jensen is qualified for HAN, and I hope to be a participant in a year or so.