Some people hesitate to take on an unfinished restoration project. This attitude is easy to understand because sometimes such projects will house some nasty hidden secrets. That doesn’t appear to be the case with this 1963 Sunbeam Alpine. The owner has done much of the heavy lifting, leaving the buyer to add their finishing touches. With the panels and paint complete and a freshly rebuilt engine under the hood, this looks like it could be a rewarding project. Located in Dallas, Texas, you will find the Sunbeam listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has hit $6600, but this figure remains short of the reserve.
When the owner located this Alpine, it had been sitting in a classic British restoration shop as an unfinished project. Its panels wore grey primer, but he shipped it home and inspected the vehicle thoroughly to ensure that it was rust-free. He confirmed this, and then employed a professional to apply a fresh coat of Seacrest Green paint over laser-straight panels. The Alpine hasn’t seen active duty since this work was complete, making its lack of flaws or marks in the paint no great surprise. The panels and paint were not the only areas to receive the owner’s attention because he treated all the exterior chrome and trim to a polish. It now holds an excellent shine, with no physical damage. Its appearance adds much to this classic’s charm. He also has a new soft-top still in the box and includes this in the sale. The glass is in good order, so finishing this exterior will be an easy undertaking.
Once the owner had this Alpine safety tucked away in his workshop, he pulled the engine. It was shipped off to a professional for a complete rebuild. While it was out, he had the engine bay repainted to a factory-fresh state. With the engine slotted back in, the carburetors came in for similar attention, while he also undertook many other drivetrain restoration tasks. These included rebuilding the radiator, installing a new starter, fuel pump, alternator, water pump, and stainless steel exhaust. When you add a new clutch, master cylinder, and various suspension parts, this little Sunbeam should be in a sound mechanical state. The 1,592cc four-cylinder engine would go close to producing its original 77hp, allowing this Alpine to cover the ¼ mile in 19.8 seconds. Since the rebuild, the owner has coaxed the engine into life, but it hasn’t run for long. The buyer will face the task of sorting some of the wiring, but once again, this shouldn’t be a major undertaking. It seems almost certain that the buyer won’t need to spend much money returning this classic to a roadworthy state.
One area where the buyer may need to spend some time and effort will be on this classic’s interior. The owner has installed a new trim kit, carpet, and various switches. However, the next owner has a few rough edges to address. These include some loose vinyl on the dash. I believe that they could glue this back into place, and the carpet will require attention due to a poor fit. It appears that the buyer only needs to purchase a new center for the steering wheel and maybe a few small hardware pieces. The dash and gauges looked good, with no apparent major dramas or flaws. Once again, this is an area of this Alpine that will probably need more time than money to present at its best.
This 1963 Sunbeam Alpine shows plenty of promise as a project car. With so much work already completed, adding the finishing touches should be easy and relatively inexpensive. Once complete, there is no reason why it shouldn’t command a value beyond $20,000. It isn’t clear where the reserve might be, but if you are searching for a classic British sports car, it might be worth watching this auction closely.
In the words of Jimmy Buffett –
“Fins to the left,Fins to the right”.
I know it’s easily fixed,but I hate
those headlights.They look like something
from JC Whitney.
To give those headlamps a nice upgrade, there are two things that can be done: A) Put in a set of PL 700 tri-bars B) Chrome the headlamp surrounds–which does so much for all Alpines and Tigers.
While some people prefer the less finned Alpines from the latter ’60s, possibly because they are hard to tell from a Tiger (?), this Mk II has something they don’t have: the distinction of having been a Bond car in the first 007 film Dr. No. Remember Sean Connery driving the blue Mk II Alpine very aggressively to avoid that huge old black hearse that he eventually sent down a cliff?
Yep, that was pre Aston Martin.
Is it not a MKIII with fins and quarter light windows? Nice car for someone.
Those headlights will shoot a 3 mile beam when lit. I’d be inclined not to use them until I rewired the engine compartment which looks like someone threw a grenade into it. Don’t care much for the early fins but they are nice driving cars.
So good to see the series 1 getting some respect these days. I drove a red 61 back in my misguided youth when the student parking lot was full of muscle cars. Who ever is lucky enough to get this little Alpine will be rewarded with a roomy interior and unique look you don’t see much even at all British meets. My suggestion before it gets put back together is source a overdrive and hardtop and enjoy.
Nice but the body work is not finished….ie left 1/4,left fender needs work and maybe left rocker
Agreed.
Based on the photos, the panels are not all “laser straight”.
This is an unfortunate situation for the seller to be in. Likely the expenditures on the paint and engine rebuild came to the amount of the high bid the auction drew. I can’t fathom being involved in car restoration for years, and not at least learning how to address electrical needs, especially from a time long before electronic controls.
The seller will have to bite the bullet one way or another. He can learn and finish, or pay someone else to do it. In either case, he’ll probably still be underwater.
$8300. reserve not met, This seller really is kind of in an upside down bind. Not talented or well off enough to finish this car. Gonna have to bite the bullet one way or another. Lose on what you’ve got into it or pay somebody to sort it out (not cheap) either way. We’ll see when it gets relisted in the Spring.
The engine runs, but not for long. I cracked up reading that line, aside from that, that ¨feature¨ was standard equipment! The seller should thank his lucky stars there´s someone willing to buy this. Take the money and run like a thief in the night!
Ended at $8,300, reserve not met.
so what with those atrocious wing and door gaps!!!
This has the whiff of an amateur restoration attempt, with all those body gaps and the mish-mash of repairs that have and haven’t been done. “Nice” paint doesn’t hide the flaws, it magnifies them.