Upper Middle Petrol Head Drives John Regis' Jensen-Healey and MGB Racing Car (with bonus video!).

Welcome to the second instalment of the Upper Middle Petrol Head Drives ... series.  This time, our intrepid writer, photographer and editor-in-chief gets behind the wheel of not one but two exciting classics:  John Regis' 1974 Jensen-Healey, and his 1978 MGB racing car that once belonged to the late Geoff Dodge of MG Car Club fame.

John is a long term classic car tragic, having owned many, many magnificent vehicles over a half century or so in the hobby, not the least of which was the very first steel bodied, right hand drive Jaguar XK120 ever built (the first 242 were wooden framed with aluminium panels).  The history of that car - chassis number 660059 - is comprehensively described by Bonhams Auction House in the footnotes to the car's auction in 2008, accessible via this link: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16250/lot/218/.  

Not content with merely collecting cars, John is an active member of the Jensen Car Club of Australia, races his MGB at club-level events in his home town of Hobart, Tasmania, and is a regular motorcyclist.  He also has a number of automotive restorations on the go. 

Owner JR and video man GlamRock.

John's Jensen-Healey - an early Series 2 with the chrome and black bumpers - has been a key car within his collection for more than thirty years, having been bought locally.  It's in wonderful, unrestored condition, drives well and shows no signs of crash damage or structural problems.

The 1973cc Lotus 907 twin-cam, four valve per cylinder engine starts readily and soon settled into a reliable idle.  John explained that the slanted block was actually a Vauxhall product on which Lotus' Colin Chapman fitted the all alloy cylinder head and, in the case of non-USA markets, a pair of twin-throated Dell'Orto DLHA side-draft carbies.  This is mated to a four-speed 'box from Chrysler, as used on “their” (actually the Rootes Group’s) Sunbeam Rapier.  

The suspension - double wish bones with coils at the front, and a live rear axle on coils and trailing arms for the rear - was also derived from a Vauxhall, as was the steering.  So, too, were the rear drum brakes, while the front discs came courtesy of Girling (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jensen-Healey, accessed 13 MAY 23).

The driver sits low in the J-H, looking over its long, sloping bonnet, held in place by a not overly-bolstered yet supportive seat.  The steering wheel is large for a sports car but is nicely contoured and comfortable to hold, and allows a good view of the instrument cluster.  There's a long, flat centre console that initially seems intrusive but actually complements gear-shifting because the short-throw only requires wrist movement to work through the cogs.

Once underway, the J-H proves to be surprisingly tractable, pulling easily up moderately steep hills from 2,000 RPM and not demonstrating any real need to exceed 4,500, even if the Lotus 907 engine has a redline of 7,000.  The gearbox is a delight to use, not only by virtue of its short throw but also its snickety feel and nicely spaced ratios.  The steering is well weighted, giving good feel whilst not being too heavy.  However, it's not a particularly quick rack.

At reasonable pace, the J-H becomes very enjoyable as the rorty induction sounds combine with its barking exhaust bouncing off the foothills of Hobart's Mt Wellington.  The engine and gearbox work in harmony, especially when heel-toe blipping the nearly perfectly spaced and height aligned brake and throttle pedals on downshifts.  The brakes are reassuringly solid but do require some Blunnie to activate.

At times, the rear suspension felt a little harsh - never jarring, mind you - but did seem reminiscent of a leaf spring setup.  It did, however, keep the car nice and flat whilst negotiating some of the mountain road's better surfaced curves. 

As another British roadster from the 1970s, you might think that the MGB was going to be quite similar to the J-H.  But you'd be wrong!  The 1970s comparison's a total misnomer, the original MGB predating the J-H by a full twelve years and it's not like there were huge advances in the model's spec, either.   

In fact, the MG is positively archaic by comparison, sporting an old school B-Series 1800cc pushrod engine with a reverse flow cast iron head, the origins of which date back to 1947 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_MGB, accessed 13 MAY 23), and twin Skinners Union (SU) carburettors first patented in 1906 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SU_carburettor, also accessed 13 MAY 23)!  Compare that to the J-H's 16 valve twin-cam, the likes of which wouldn't become mainstream until the mid- to late-1980s when multivalve engines started appearing in Toyotas and other (mainly) Japanese marques.  

Adding to this is that, as an ex-California car, John's 1,542 mm wide MG with its leaf-sprung live rear axle appears to be sitting on stilts when compared to its lower J-H cousin with its width of 1,600 mm.  This visual effect is exacerbated by the rather tall roll bar on the 'B, which, in turn, would seem almost certain to affect the car's roll centre.  At least the weighty rubber bumpers have been ditched.  

Comparing the two cars with their widely differing levels of engine and suspension sophistication is, therefore, an apples versus oranges proposition.  Or is it?  

The first thing the driver notices when clambering into the MG - apart from it being left hand drive, and need to negotiate over the side intrusion bar and into the snugly fitted race seat with its five-point harness - is that the car feels very tall, open and sparse.  This feeling is heightened by the lack of windscreen (there's only a very low perspex wind deflector forward of the cabin), while the spartan nature of the interior is, of course, pure race car.  There's an original rubberised MG steering wheel, stock gauges, a kill switch, an aluminium gear knob and not much else!  

Even at idle, the B's quite loud, the corollary of a race-spec engine and not much sound deadening.  It doesn't take much to turn up the volume, either; the throttle is super sensitive and easily blipped - on purpose or not!  

On the road, the real difference between the two roadsters became very apparent, very quickly.  The immediacy of the throttle response and the way it it thrust the aged 'B forward was really quite surprising!  The engine - built alongside the rest of the car by local Dave Dugney - runs larger valves, a mild cam and extractors but still maintains good low down torque; there was no of feeling malaise at lower revs, making it very drivable at all speeds.   

Everything about the car felt light and responsive, including the steering, gear shift and brakes - which, whilst unboosted - were positive and provided good feel.  It was significantly spritelier than the J-H.  

The initial feeling of tallness was soon dispelled, too; the car felt agile and seemingly didn't suffer from its US Federally-mandated ride height at all, remaining flat and planted on bends.  This is good for John, as he races in a historic division and maintains the original spec to remain competition eligible.     

This wasn't originally meant to be a comparison piece and the inclusion of two cars probably had more to do with the impracticalities of simultaneously getting three blokes all out on the road in one two-seater car .  However, considering the way the day panned out, it does seem necessary to somehow deliver a verdict of sorts.

It therefore seems fair to say that both JR’s machines are great cars in the best of the British roadster tradition, and that the entire UMPH team agrees that either would be a fabulous addition to their respective garages.  The unanticipated raw energy of the MG's mildly race-prepped engine and the car's overall lightness and balance does, however, win the day, even if the J-H is the more civilised of the two.  

A sincere thank you to both John and videographer GlamRock.  A great day out indeed!

Here's a video of both the Jensen-Healey and the MGB, filmed during the

drive:  https://youtu.be/lmIwpUxHE60.  Please forgive the editing!  There are worse productions out there but that's not to say this one's stellar.   

This link will take you to the first in the Upper Middle Petrol Head Drives ... series, showcasing Phil's Fiat Abarth OT 1600 Replica.  If that sounds like something you'd also like to read, you can find it here: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2020/01/upper-middle-petrol-head-drives-phils.html.

Did you enjoy this article?  If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site?  There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance vehicles featured, as well as stacks of car shows and motorsports events.  Even better, you can follow either the 'blog itself or do so via Upper Middle Petrol Head's Facebook page.  And please do feel free to like and share!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Photos by the author.

Video by GlamRock.