Saleofcar.com :Other

Other Makes Sunbeam Alpine (1959)
for sale

Price: US $1,075.00

Description:

Hello,
I'm am selling this car for the owner who is a very good friend of mine. He has moved out of state and left this beauty behind. I will tell you the brief bit about the car that I know, and then include his story of the car below.
A couple months ago I went with my friend George (the owner) to the shop/classic car storage facility where he has been storing this car for the last couple years. The pictures posted in this listing are the ones I took that day. These pictures represent the car in its current and honest shape. The car was not at all cleaned up for any of these pictures - so no surprises to be had for the buyer.
The car apparently needed some work to the distributor and oil pump, so we towed it to the mechanic who has been working on the car for as long as my friend has owned it. There we found out that in addition it also needed a head gasket and the top-end work that goes along with that. $3, 000 later the car is running excellent, and ready to be driven away.
For anyone seriously interested in bidding on this car, I would recommend contacting the shop who has done the recent work and all the other work on this car for the better part of 20 years to get their two cents on it. I would happily connect whoever is interested with that shop.
So now, since I'm fairly new in the picture, I will let my friend George take it away and tell you all he knows about this car he's given so much of his love to since '97.
- - -
Head turning 1959 V1 Sunbeam Alpine in great condition.
The owner prior to me had a full restore done by Norman Miller at Roote Group Dept (now Rootes One) in San Carlos, CA. The result was a blindingly beautiful car - immaculate paint, restored glass turn signals, even a pristine hammer with one side bronze and one side wax to take off the central nut holding on the wheels. The only part not restored was the hard top - but this was a car meant to be driven with the top down, and so she was.
I purchased her around 1997, the first car I owned in San Francisco. I would drive her up and down to my job in Palo Alto when I was in town (about 1 week out of six). During that period I got to iron out all the mechanical little nits that go with a car this old and unique, and was fortunate to find Johns Jaguar in San Francisco who poured their heart into this car, as I poured my wallet into them :-). I've kept the bills, so you can see the work done.
It soon became clear that this was a special occasion car - and so Grace (as she was known) took up residence in a full time garage in San Francisco with the car from Ferris Bueller to keep her company.
She was driven only occasionally, but is nothing less than a blast to drive on each outing. Weber downdraft carburetor keeps the 4 cylinders ticking along, the over-drive means she can cruise at fairly high speeds with ease. No syncromesh on the first gear means the car should be at a stand still before engaging it - and double declutching is always appreciated by the gearbox. But she starts easily, has tons of heart, responds well on corners and never fails to put a smile on your face within a block or two of driving. And the smile won't be just on your face.
The fortunate new owner of this car is due to get a lot of attention. Wherever Grace goes she gets, deservedly, unabashed stares, lots of questions, lots of requests to look under the hood. And who can blame folks? Some cars look beautiful, but never get driven. Others get driven, but look battered. Grace looks elegant, from her dashboard, to her red piped leather seats - her proportions are stunning. But she can pick up her hems and fly if she has to. Driving her puts a huge smiles on driver and spectators face alike.
I should confess I've not done a full heritage check on this car by tracking down all the engine labels - I was told she was a 1959 Version 1 and I took that at face value. She looks very similar to the car James Bond drives in Dr No - here which came out in 1962. Later Sunbeams didn't have the beautiful rear fins of this early version - but there are a fair number of stubby rear ended Sunbeams.
In 2006 I had my first kid who had special needs, and that was when I really stopped driving this car. Two more kids (completely healthy) followed and then a move to Austin, Texas in 2011. I'm in denial, but it makes no sense to garage this car (expensively) in San Francisco. And with kids, I really don't want to drive this around Austin. She, very sadly, has to go. But hopefully she will find a great home, an excited owner and get back out and about on the roads - she wants to please.
I've poured tons of love and money into this car, as did the prior owner. She's pretty special and unique. This is not a pure racer like a Tiger - the engine is smaller. But perfectly poised and balanced in my mind. I never did get the hard top restored, but it comes with the car. As does the tonneau and a pretty much unused soft roof, which has a few nicks and tears here and there but is pretty great condition. My buddy took a ton of photos so you can see exactly what you're getting.
My request would be that please only bid on the car if your intention is to treat her right. If she got thrashed and destroyed, it would be a crying shame to lose such a great car and piece of history.
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ok thats it. Now I'm going to pour myself a whisky and have a bit of a cry.
George
_{update: 2015-07-30}