I purchased the Sunbeam in July 2020 – she’d been in long term storage since, I believe, 1978.
A full restoration from bare metal was needed so the car was taken to the restorers. The front end of the car when stripped back was found to be incredibly sound, with some previous repairs carried out to the inner wings. The car came with new wings on the front, these were removed to gain access to the inner wings to allow for cleaning and inspection. The front panel & valance also looked like these had been replaced at the same time as the wings, making it an incredibly sound front end.
The original seats had suffered badly during storage and needed to have repairs to their frames, springs replaced and re-covered.
The dash was all original – a mix of Jaeger and Lucas parts and with 38,941 on the clock when found. The restorers made a new dash, using the original as a pattern and a veneer was skilfully applied.
The chrome trim sadly was in poor condition – only one grille end was found with the car and the door handles needed to be replaced.
When we looked at the steering and suspension, we found that the previous owner had overhauled many parts. New coil springs had been installed and new shock absorbers have now been added. The engine was stripped and cleaned as previous work had been carried out including new pistons at 0.020 oversize.
The front suspension was stripped and found to be in excellent condition with many of the parts having been previously replaced allowing most of the parts to be stripped back and painted. New brake discs fitted and callipers previously, these were cleaned up & new stainless steel pistons installed along with all new hoses. The callipers also had new Lockheed kits fitted. A NOS brake master was found along with the rear wheel cylinders & again new kits installed. Copper brake pipes were fabricated and the system was filled using silicon brake fluid.
The wiring and electrics were checked over and any faulty parts were replaced. The main loom was still in good order and reused, the front to rear loom was not so good and has been replaced. Replaced electrical items include – New Lucas starter motor, new solenoid switch, brake light switch, heater blower (missing part), new rear lights, new headlights & sidelights NOS Lucas flasher unit and all bulbs replaced with new. A missing courtesy light switch was also acquired.
The roof frame was stripped back and painted, making sure all hinges moved freely. Luckily the original wooden fixing trim was in good order, some minor repairs were carried out and stainless steel fixings were used when installing the wooden trim back on the shell.
Underneath the car, most areas were very solid – just some very minor repairs were needed. The completed underside was painted in body colour and all box sections Waxoyled. The exhaust on the car was a NOS unit and was cleaned and painted. The rear leaf springs were also NOS with all new rubbers. The gearbox is also believed to be NOS, we just changed the rear oil seal just in case.
Underlay, carpets and genuine crossply 15” whitewall tyres were bought and fitted and a NOS hood cover was found in the US and shipped to the UK for fitting.
Finally the car was back on 4 wheels and ready for the road – a successful MoT and she’s now a real pleasure to drive!
Submitted by: Steve Godden
