TPX 212 - The Early Years
Chassis Number 24 left the factory in West Bromich on the 22nd of August 1955 and was registered 2 days later as TPX 212.
The first pictures of the car we have found were taken at Silverstone on the 8th of August 1959 when the car was racing.
There are several examples of 541s racing in the late 1950s. One well documented example is that of John Woolfe in a race in June 1959. (John Woolfe was sadly killed at Le Mans in 1969).
"At last, with darkness approaching, came the final race of the day, the Motor Sport qualifying race for the Silverstone Trophy. Butcher's Singer had a lap start plus 15 seconds and he led the race for three of the five laps before the pack began to catch up. Lewis' A35 took the lead on lap four, with Campbell's Minx and Wolfe's Jensen 541 coming through the field. Wolfe normally drives a C-type Jaguar but this car not being ready the Jensen was pressed into service. Its speedo shows over 55,000 miles. But as these three went along the straight Gordon Lee's Jaguar could be seen streaking into Woodcote. The pack was closing right up and it looked as if there would be a real traffic jam at the finish, thanks to Charles Bulmer's excellent handicapping. As the leaders appeared once again, Lee was indeed in the lead, with the Jensen in second place and Lewis holding grimly on to third place, with Campbell's Hillman in fourth spot. These four all qualify for the Final at the North Staffs M.C. Silverstone meeting on October 3rd."
source : www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/july-1959/45/eight-clubs-silverstone
The first pictures of the car we have found were taken at Silverstone on the 8th of August 1959 when the car was racing.
There are several examples of 541s racing in the late 1950s. One well documented example is that of John Woolfe in a race in June 1959. (John Woolfe was sadly killed at Le Mans in 1969).
"At last, with darkness approaching, came the final race of the day, the Motor Sport qualifying race for the Silverstone Trophy. Butcher's Singer had a lap start plus 15 seconds and he led the race for three of the five laps before the pack began to catch up. Lewis' A35 took the lead on lap four, with Campbell's Minx and Wolfe's Jensen 541 coming through the field. Wolfe normally drives a C-type Jaguar but this car not being ready the Jensen was pressed into service. Its speedo shows over 55,000 miles. But as these three went along the straight Gordon Lee's Jaguar could be seen streaking into Woodcote. The pack was closing right up and it looked as if there would be a real traffic jam at the finish, thanks to Charles Bulmer's excellent handicapping. As the leaders appeared once again, Lee was indeed in the lead, with the Jensen in second place and Lewis holding grimly on to third place, with Campbell's Hillman in fourth spot. These four all qualify for the Final at the North Staffs M.C. Silverstone meeting on October 3rd."
source : www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/july-1959/45/eight-clubs-silverstone
Using the known ownership history of TPX 212 from the original logbook, our research showed that when the above photographs were taken, TPX 212 was owned by its second owners, S. & W. Motors Ltd. of Abington Street in Northampton who were an Austin dealership. Further research of the ownership of S&W Motors told us that renowned racing driver David Stanford Shale, who raced in the mid 1950s, was associated with S&W Motors. He is known for racing an Austin Healey 100S which has recently been sold via Bonhams (http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21906/lot/331/).
With S & W Motors based relatively near to Silverstone in Northampton, it is thought that they took our car to Silverstone for David Shale to race. Subsequently we were able to get in touch with Tristan Shale, David Shale's grandson. He was able to tell us that although David Shale has sadly passed away in 2012, his grandmother, David Shale's wife, very much remembers the car. It was actually David Shale's everyday car and on the 8th August 1959 he took it to Silverstone and raced it. They have diaries of the event and these say that TPX 212 started well but unfortunately did not finish the race. We are hoping to meet David Shale's family in the future and hope to find out more about the racing history of TPX 212. However, there is no doubt TPX 212 was raced at Silverstone in 1959 by David Shale!
Other than the two pictures taken at Silverstone in 1959 of our car racing, we do not have any other pictures of TPX 212 dated before 2012 when it was rediscovered near Bristol. However, we do have a comprehensive history of when it was registered and all of the previous owners.
As you will see below, the car was originally Green when it left the factory. The racing pictures from 1959 suggest it also had a white roof which we assume was how it left the factory. Many 541's wore two-tone colour schemes direct from the factory. During its life the car has been re-sprayed twice, first to Blue and then to the Red. It is our intention to return her to Green as part of the restoration.
At some point, the brakes were upgraded to all round Dunlop discs, although we are not aware of when this took place. All round disc brakes were not available from the factory until the deluxe cars in late 1956 into 1957, so these must have been a later upgrade. Also, the car now has wire wheels, which according to the records were not fitted to this car as an option when it was purchased, so again must have been a later upgrade. The car seems to have an overdrive fitted, which again was an option, but according to the records was not fitted to this car at manufacture. Therefore it looks like the car was up-rated to 541 Deluxe specification at some point, probably by the original owner, as all of these upgrades bring the car to Deluxe level. We believe it was not uncommon for cars to go back to the Jensen factory for these upgrades to be retro-fitted. The upgrade certainly happened before 1959 as the racing photographs taken in that year show the car with wire wheels which had not been fitted at the time of leaving the factory.
If you have or know of any pictures of TPX 212, we would love to hear from you - Please Contact Us.
With S & W Motors based relatively near to Silverstone in Northampton, it is thought that they took our car to Silverstone for David Shale to race. Subsequently we were able to get in touch with Tristan Shale, David Shale's grandson. He was able to tell us that although David Shale has sadly passed away in 2012, his grandmother, David Shale's wife, very much remembers the car. It was actually David Shale's everyday car and on the 8th August 1959 he took it to Silverstone and raced it. They have diaries of the event and these say that TPX 212 started well but unfortunately did not finish the race. We are hoping to meet David Shale's family in the future and hope to find out more about the racing history of TPX 212. However, there is no doubt TPX 212 was raced at Silverstone in 1959 by David Shale!
Other than the two pictures taken at Silverstone in 1959 of our car racing, we do not have any other pictures of TPX 212 dated before 2012 when it was rediscovered near Bristol. However, we do have a comprehensive history of when it was registered and all of the previous owners.
As you will see below, the car was originally Green when it left the factory. The racing pictures from 1959 suggest it also had a white roof which we assume was how it left the factory. Many 541's wore two-tone colour schemes direct from the factory. During its life the car has been re-sprayed twice, first to Blue and then to the Red. It is our intention to return her to Green as part of the restoration.
At some point, the brakes were upgraded to all round Dunlop discs, although we are not aware of when this took place. All round disc brakes were not available from the factory until the deluxe cars in late 1956 into 1957, so these must have been a later upgrade. Also, the car now has wire wheels, which according to the records were not fitted to this car as an option when it was purchased, so again must have been a later upgrade. The car seems to have an overdrive fitted, which again was an option, but according to the records was not fitted to this car at manufacture. Therefore it looks like the car was up-rated to 541 Deluxe specification at some point, probably by the original owner, as all of these upgrades bring the car to Deluxe level. We believe it was not uncommon for cars to go back to the Jensen factory for these upgrades to be retro-fitted. The upgrade certainly happened before 1959 as the racing photographs taken in that year show the car with wire wheels which had not been fitted at the time of leaving the factory.
If you have or know of any pictures of TPX 212, we would love to hear from you - Please Contact Us.
The Early History of TPX 212
Build History
Date Ex-Factory: 22nd August 1955
Date 1st Registered: 24th August 1955 Chassis Number: 541/245206 Engine Number: 1D10618MJEN Registration Number: TPX 212 Colour at Registration: Green Trim Colour: Beige Leather Factory Fitted Options: Heater, Windscreen washers |
Change of Ownership & Location
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Colour Changes
May 1968 - Blue
March 1971 - Red |