The Worlds Fastest JensenThe Worlds Fastest JensenThe Worlds Fastest JensenThe Worlds Fastest Jensen
  • About The Project
  • The Car
  • Meet The Team
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Donate Now!
Next Previous

Back on track

Ian Northeast Ian Northeast 17 March, 2019

We are very pleased to announce that we will be making all preparations for a return to Bonneville in 2020.

With the lessons learnt last year we now have a list of things to change or repair and hopefully have all the information we need to reach our target speed of 200 mph.

As our regular followers will be aware, the gearbox was the weak link in our last attempt. Once the decision was made we began our search for a replacement uprated gearbox.

We intend to use a Tremec unit from a Dodge Viper, which as well as being a much stronger and more capable unit also has more preferential gear ratios to reach our top speed. More importantly these can be obtained in used condition within our budget. Apparently a lot of Dodge Vipers get written off with fairly low mileages.

Bruce, our Californian team member, has kindly agreed to search for the components we need, gather them all together and then send them all as one unit to reduce shipping costs.

We have also made contact with emerald in Norfolk to upgrade our EFI systems and perfect the engine tune with the turbocharger. They specialise in this sort of one off tune and are very excited to be involved in our adventure.

The next step will be to acquire a new set of tyres. When we went through tech inspection last year we were restricted to 200 mph. This was due to the tyres we fitted, after our interpretation of the rules, buying items that were not high enough spec.

So this time we are fitting some proper race tyres so that our target should be a bit safer as we get closer to 200 mph. This hopefully will increase grip and stability at higher speed. Our homework suggests that over 160 mph our rear tyres would have begun to spin up. Having had this experience at Pendine in May last year Ian has expressed an opinion that this is sub optimal.

Once the new tyres are fitted to the car, we then intend to lower the car and finish off our aero package. This will involve fitting a flat floor and rear diffuser, extending the rear wing and adding some ballast in the correct area again to improve high speed stability.

For the first time since we started this project we actually have a sensible time scale to achieve these targets. As the parts arrive we will begin fitting, adapting and fabricating the items we need with a hope to achieving a more reliable race car.

0c81977a-c531-4958-b1c4-b8066c661581
jensen-cv8-engine-stacked

Before we start the major stripping of the car we have a few ‘social functions’ to attend.

Having already displayed the car at the London Classic Car Show the next event on the calendar is to attend an event for our major sponsor and drivers business. We will have the car at Ian’s shop open day. Hopefully there will be live music, a bar, a barbecue and organised ride outs for those with a two wheeled penchant.

This will be on April 6th from 10.00 – 4.00 at
T Northeast Ltd
4 Station Road
Horley
RH6 9HL

It would be lovely to meet up with you and this should be a good opportunity for you to have a good look at what’s left of the car.

We have also received a personal invitation by the organiser of Brake horse power 2019 a charitable event held at Chelmsford horse race course at the end of July to raise money for the Sharon Dunster Foundation a very worthwhile cause. We have been asked to show the car and are hoping to use the event to raise awareness of our project and for this very good cause.

If you have interesting or unusual vehicles feel free to contact the organiser and bring along your machine. The more the merrier. If you want to attend the event just as a spectator please make the effort to find us and introduce yourselves. While we know many of you it’s always nice to renew friendships or make new ones.

Finally we have an opportunity that is open to all and everyone.

By far and away the most expensive single part of the project (car excluded) was the shipping of the container to and from America. The thing is, the price is pretty much fixed regardless of what is in the container.

What we are proposing for our 2020 visit is to get together with as many racers from the UK as possible and put as many vehicles in the same container as we can. As we write this we have one car and three motorcycles definitely confirmed with another car and five more motorcycles very interested. It is relatively cheap to prepare a motorcycle for this adventure, so if you want to live your own dream or would like to talk to us about the practicalities of the trip please contact us.

This is a serious invitation and we would all recommend this to everyone. It’s never going to be a cheap holiday but it will be probably one of the most memorable trips you could take.

Contact Us
Ian Northeast

Ian Northeast

Racing is not about how fast you get from the start line to the chequered flag. It's about the amazing people you meet, the fantastic places you go and the wonderful things you learn on the way.

More posts by Ian Northeast

Keep up to date with our progress

Categories

  • Bonneville 2018
  • Pendine 2018
  • The Beginning
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Room to Improve October 11, 2020
  • The Tin Worm Strikes Back July 20, 2020
  • Quarantine Progress May 8, 2020
  • Project Delayed April 16, 2020
  • Very Weird Times April 3, 2020

  • You may also like

    August 2017 Update

    Read now
  • You may also like

    New Brakes

    Read now
  • You may also like

    2017 NEC Classic Car Show

    Read now
  • You may also like

    November 2017 Update

    Read now
  • You may also like

    December 2017 Update

    Read now
  • You may also like

    January 2018 Update

    Read now
  • You may also like

    Early February Excitement

    Read now
  • You may also like

    Marching On!

    Read now
  • About The Project
  • The Car
  • Meet The Team
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Donate Now!
Copyright 2018 World's Fastest Jensen | All Rights Reserved
  • About The Project
  • The Car
  • Meet The Team
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Donate Now!
The Worlds Fastest Jensen