A buyer of this Sunbeam Alpine will get something decidedly different. The clean-looking red GT roadster on Craigslist in Kennewick, Washington is powered by a “hi-po” B13 Mazda rotary engine with a five-speed manual transmission. The asking price is $8,600. Thanks to Rocco for this listing.
There’s not much Sunbeam left in the powertrain, since the rear end is a narrowed nine-inch (Ford?) unit. The car has front disc brakes, a factory hardtop (not shown), and redone seats with new custom wheels and tires, a custom exhaust with a header pipe, and a nice wood dash (with a missing glovebox). There’s a rollbar, too. It’s unclear if the car has a soft top, because it’s not shown. The body looks very clean, and these cars rust a lot.
“Runs and drives out great!” the owner says. “It was built and enjoyed by a guy in the Portland area for many years.” This Alpine was built during the hey day of the Carroll Shelby-engineered Tiger, which came with a Ford V8 like the Cobra (but was in its shadow until recently). Some people build “Tiger clones” from Alpines, but this owner had more imagination.
This Alpine might have a Tiger in its tank. The stock normally aspirated 1.3-liter B13, seen in the RX-7 and RX-8, produced around 160 horsepower, but they were quite tunable, even with twin turbos, and this one is supposed to be “hi po.” With one turbocharger it could put out 280 horsepower. The engine installation here looks very professional and nicely done.
Valuing this is tricky. A Tiger would be worth three times as much, but probably wouldn’t be three times as much fun. Hagerty puts a good 1965 Series IV GT roadster at $14,100. But this one is special, and maybe a bargain in terms of happiness per mile.
Interesting choice, Jim and neat find Rocco!
Looks well sorted out and anyone that remembers Rod Millen in the mid ‘70’s kicking the snot out of the Ford Escorts with the 12A motor in his his RX-3 can appreciate how much more potential is in the 13B motor. This setup looks very nicely done. Good price, good fun, and undoubtedly a little different.
A lot of fun potential per dollar here. If you’re not a purist, rotary power is a good choice for the tight engine bay, with low weight and ability to rev.
What a great engine and powertrain swap. I always forget about the rotary engines.
Are you sure that this is the 13B engine? If it is, the FI has been removed and a carburetor installed, as in the 12A engine. While slightly larger than the 12A, the 13B came with FI in the GSL-SE from at least 1984 on. The FI unit looked very different that what is shown here.
The owner says it’s the 13B, but it’s possible you’re right. He’s not the installer.
I’m fairly certain that the original 13Bs were still carbureted. Think RX4 and Rotary Pick-up. I used to play with the rotary when I worked at a Mazda store.
Having just inspected a fake Tiger yesterday. I appreciate this car alot! It would be alot of fun on an autocross course or on a track day!.
If I owned it I’d take off that huge rollbar and install a soft top, make it more civilized. But then I’m not a racing guy.
And speaking of 13-B motors, don’t forget that gray over red interior ‘78 5 spd RX-5/Cosmo I had, Wayne-the one that someone once asked “is that the new downsized Buick?”😆
IIRC it was on the back lot for wholesale at your Toyota dealership when Dave and I came by to do our daily pinstriping/body molding routine…
Yes. And they were rated at 135hp.
The answer to the question no one was asking.
“If I owned it I’d take off that huge rollbar and install a soft top, make it more civilized. ”
The car is a GT which in the Sunbeam world means no soft top, only a hardtop. They can be engineered to fit, but not as easy as you’d think…especially in a Series IV.
getting way over the 280 in some of these
(but U sate that) at the strip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAPEGBIkM54
never really made it in the daily world due to bein
a gas hog. Like Mr.Diesel’s nother german ideer
improved upon by the japanese…
In Reno we had a guy that installed a Rotary (12A I believe) in a Spitfire that he autocrossed. It scrapped the ground and had race tires. It was fast and fun to watch.
It’s one way to make an Alpine a real tiger! I like his choice and I bet it is fun to drive. The price seems really fair for the engine work that was done. The biggest challenge from the few people I knew who wanted to put a rotary in Spridget was the exhaust manifold and how to pipe it!
This car appears to have a 13B from the 1974-’78 era (RX-4, REPU, Cosmo), which was carbureted. Certainly the air cleaner looks like the one used on that pre-EFI version of the 13B. The carbureted 13B was rated at 110hp, though of course more was possible with mods. Looks like a fun ride!
The “chookcooker” engine would be the first go.