It's been really great reading all of the input and suggestions from everyone (even the ones that tweak my mind)- thanks.
I think if this car had come along after I had learnt/honed/perfected my skills I would jump at the chance. Unfortunately, I haven't had that chance and the Jensen might be a little beyond me. That doesn't mean I have given it up - my mind is working overtime to try and figure out how to have my cake and eat. As I see it, there's only one problem - and she probably won't like being referred to as a "problem." The money is tight, but a $1,500 Jensen would be worth missing a lunch or two over, and some might say it wouldn't do me any harm to miss a couple of dinners as well :shock:
I have been back to look at the Jensen and I don't see it as being too bad. The interior is taken to pieces - but the chap that owned it was working on the wiring and I have been told that all the parts are present in the garage. The same with the interior.
There are a few troubling areas on the body, but having returned and looked at them again I think they can be put down to trapping moisture with an inappropriate car cover. There doesn't appear to be bubbling or rot around the windscreen and most of the body seems blemish free.
The major areas that are impacted are where the cover was in direct contact with the body - the roof under the vinyl is suspect, but that is an area that the cover was in direct contact with, so over time, whenever it rained you had a heavy, wet canvas cover holding moisture on the roof. The other area is the channel between the front of the bonnet and the body - again, this is an area where the cover is in direct contact, so when it rained the moisture was able to collect in the channel and sit there and do its dirty work.
I really am no expert, so anybody that has thoughts on the real telltale signs please let me know. There are places where the paint is chipped away - it seems to be really thick paint - is that usual? I know they are hand built, but would that lead to a skim of filler to account for the thickness, or is that a sign to turn tail and run?
The long and the short of it is that I am still trying to figure out a way to get my 3500S and the Jensen.
I had planned to make the 700 mile round trip this weekend to view and hopefully buy the NADA 3500S I found. Those plans have changed - the seller has a pretty extensive collection of cars and is now selling some of them off to make room and generate funds. The 3500S is behind several non-runners and he hasn't had a chance to get to it yet. They've had pretty foul weather in northern California for the last few weeks and he hasn't been inclined to crawl around in the rain trying to sort everything out - it gives me more time to make plans, but I am beginning to get impatient as I want to find out if it's as good as it looks, or if it's a bag of spanners - I want to end my search or continue it.
Anyway, more on the Rover hunt and the Jensen later...