The Beginning

The Beginning of J&S

The first mention of the dynamic J&S duo, Jeff Simmonds & John Jennens, in the motoring press, was made in the June 1958 issue of WHEELS magazine. Aged only 19 & 20, they had completed building a fibreglass-bodied "Ford Special" and this was reported on by Alan Gibbons.

Mr. Gibbons was duly impressed by "The Monster" as it was called and as it was essentially a shell on top of an unaltered 1939 Ford sedan chassis, room inside was not exactly a problem! No windscreen was included on the car at the time and it would appear that the luxury of doors was not a worthy consideration of the boys.

At the time of writing, the fate of the car is unknown, however, it obviously was the spur for the two to form a business specialising in fibreglass construction for motor cars on September 23, 1959.

Prior to this, it appears that Jeff Simmonds and John Jennons were already well committed to motor cars having built another special, a 1936 Austin 12 with a hand-formed aluminum body. One of his first jobs after leaving school was with Hastings Deering. According to an interview in SPORTS CAR WORLD magazine in Oct/Nov of 1985 "He was a post-war petrol head".

WHEELS Magazine June 1958 
Volume 9 No.2

"From any angle an eye-catching car, the special is perhaps most distinctive from the front. Bonnet-top blister is to house twin carburetors and permit intake of cool air"

'One look at the "monster" shows that the car is quite unique'