The friday night ritual of driving to Derbyshire was particularly troublesome yesterday. The car decided to run hot all of the journey. I stopped a couple of times to let it cool down. No other symptoms other than a high temp gauge. The heater was working ok, electric fans were on, so I was confident that the coolant was circulating, "coolant" is probably a bit of a misnomer at the moment.

Worst case scenario was to breakdown at the side of the M1 on a Friday of bank holiday weekend. (although the RAC does seem to come out quicker for the Jensen than I can recall for my more mundane daily transport)

Strange that the temperature should be lower when stationary that at speed. I did manage to complete the journey, but after Leicester I switched to the B roads through Market Harborough joining the A14 about 1/2 way along.

I've been on a day trip to London today so not been able to look at the car, but I've been racking my brain as to possible causes. Faulty temp sensor or gauge, blocked radiator, blown head gasket......anyway I had a eureka moment today........the thermostat sticking!...it seems to fit all the symptoms....just need it to stop raining to prove the theory....I'll keep you posted.

I'm a bit miffed...the parts ordered from Cropredy didn't arrive today!

I haven't driven the Jensen for for 2 days, away with work, in any case it needed a rest after the hard driving at the weekend.

I had a few hours to spend on the car tonight. The noise from the engine, suspected water pump, is definitely the alternator. I took off the fan belt and span (spun?) the pulleys on both. Strange because I had it refurbed about 10 years ago!

While I was oiled up I had a bit of a root around:

• Handbrake, it was a bit loose, the culprit was a missing pad.
  
• Suspension, a cracked rubber on the track rod end....about time to replace.
  
• Probably due for an oil filter change as well.

I'll call up Cropredy tomorrow with a bit of a shopping list......I hope it's a sunny weekend!

Mileage 177,407

Just got back from a round trip, 90 miles to the Lincolnshire coast (Huttoft Beach) fishing with my brother (nothing caught), followed by a 120 mile sprint across to Southwold on the Suffolk coast ( again, twice in 2 weekends) and back home.

All done in temperatures in the mid 70s. No problems, great drive from Lincs to Suffolk, mainly single carriageway and lots of overtaking. Too many cameras!!

Saturday 15th May....road trip to the coast, Southwold and back via Framlingham Castle. ~200 mile round trip, car ran a bit warm for most of the journey, slightly above normal, but kept its cool. The temp wandered up a bit in traffic but the fans did their stuff.

Picked up some fresh fish from the quayside, some sea bass and plaice....very tasty, followed by a plate of fish and chips and a pint of Adnams.

The dog took a liking to my fish and chips.........

.............but sensibly kept away from my beer.

We called in at Framlingham Castle on the way back, a very interesting site steeped in history, notable for being owned by the Howard family. Thomas Howard, the 3rd Duke, married 2 of his nieces off to Henry VIII. Any takers for which of Henry's wives they were? Clue...they were both beheaded ... you'd have thought he would have learnt his lesson after the first decapitation!

Targa Tasmania 2009 Mt Claude Jensen CV8

need some serious work to be able to drive mine like this.....one day maybe!

So...post election, doom and gloom for house prices, the economy, shares, the pound.......twaddle...life will go on the same, taxes will rise (because they have to). The only interesting bit is the current horse trading between the parties to get a government together, puts a lot of power in the hands of the minority parties.

Another week in the Jensen completed successfully, a bit of a temperature spike on the way to work on Friday but think it was a blip from the sensor.....heating, fans etc were all behaving themselves. Another trip to Derbyshire on Friday night, took it a bit steady and kept to the speed limits where possible.

Weekend weather is rain, rain, rain......no chance for the water pump investigation, have to be one night after work next week. The noise has got no worse.

Mileage now 176,199.

Here's a few pictures from Woburn, howling gales, hail and torrential rain didn't dampen the spirits, although the weather was apparently better than yesterday (some sunshine!!). A good turnout of Jensens, 2 CV8s, 5 Interceptors, 3 JHs and a wayward pink (technically "rose") 541.

Some nice other cars, Triumph Italia, couple of DB6s and a few Mark 2 Jags caught my eye. First prize has to go to the WWII ambulance, immaculate, excellent attention to detail and fully equipped.

Bank holiday Monday and it's ............raining. Road trip day today, Jake (the dog), me and the Jensen off to the Bedfordshire Classic Motor Show at Woburn Abbey.

I spoke to Derek, the local Jensen Owners Club contact and he says I should be able to get on the stand by buying my way in on the day. Obviously I didn't tell him about the state of the car, just hinted that it was my daily transport and that it wasn't concours condition :-). I did wash it this morning, just getting rid of the frostbite enough to type!

Given the weather and lack of garage, I've only managed to cure the exhaust noise (had to as grounding the car on a speed bump made it a lot worse - see separate blog for rant on speed bumps). Good news though it was as I suspected the smaller gasket between the manifold and the down pipe causing the problem, the new copper manifold gaskets are holding secure....well worth the exta £££s.