Going to look at an Alpine

[polarbase]

I've come across a shell of a 1960 Alpine that a fella is looking to sell. The price is cheap and I am looking for a project for me and my son (just turned 14yrs). I've only seen a few pictures of the car and have yet to kick the tires. No engine so I was thinking of going v6 Jose's route, has the removable hard top, not sure on the floors. The lower front valance is bent in. Looks like one of the seats is missing. Any advice on troubles you see or what to look for?
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/polarbase/alpine.jpg

 

[Cactusmasher]

Alpine seeker

It's not a 1960 Alpine.....has to be '64 thru '67 model because of the rear fenders. Alpines rust in a number of places so thoroughly look it over for rust. If it has been sitting out in the open for any length of time ( your photo looks like it has been outside for considerable time ) you will likely find the floors rusted through from sitting water. If it was on the road anywhere salt is used to melt snow on the road you will find rust in the wheel wells, bottoms of the doors and if you find rust on the rocker panels under the doors BEWARE. Those rocker panels have three layers to them and if the outer skin is rusted through you can bet your next paycheck the other two panels underneath are rusted badly. All of this can be fixed by a competent body shop and several of the panels are still available. The trunk floor is another usual rust area. Again, if the car has been sitting out in the weather, the rubber seals are more than likely shot and allow water to enter. If it is rusty all over you can figure on spending serious cash to fix it unless you are a metal man or own a body shop. Most any parts can be located through this forum's members and there are a number of sources that sell all sorts of parts. Forum members can be very helpful with any problems you might run into because all of us have encountered various problems during our builds, whether restoring a stock Alpine or doing a Jose conversion. Good luck and I hope you find this car to be a good project.

 

[Cactusmasher]

Polarbase.....Alpine finder

I just went to the Craigslist section of our forum and saw the same photo you posted only with more photos. The listing stated $500 for the car with the factory hardtop. If that hardtop is in decent condition, without rusted through holes and all the parts are there to it, it's worth the price of the car because the factory hardtops are one of the most difficult pieces to find and can be very pricey. Have seen some online asking as much as $2500 for one. A really nice one with all the parts on it can easily bring $1000 to $1500. I have personally purchased 3 hardtops in the $400 to $500 range and all of them had serious rust issues. My most recent one was $400 and I drove to California to get it ( plus gas and groceries and a motel stay ). After $600 worth of metal work to restore it, a new headliner and all the rubber pieces, and rechroming of the latches etc. I am into it for $1200 and it isn't even painted body color yet. If Fort Worth wasn't so far from Arizona and gas prices so expensive, I would have already left with my trailer to go get this car. Even if it's too rusty to build, you could part it out for a lot more than $500 and build your project funds up for another one down the road. Again, good luck.

 

[polarbase]

Thanks for the advice. It's a Texas car, so other than rust from standing water there shouldn't be any salt damage. It does have the top on in other pictures, I think he just had the top off on this one to show it was a convertible but from the look of it it has been sitting out in the weather for a while. I'm hoping to get it for $300-$400 so again cheap. I think the city has been hassling him about the cars pictured so he's ready to see it go. I'll take a good look at those rocker panels though. Thanks again

 

[polarbase]

LoL, I thought I was being sneaky. Good detective work. I'm heading over with the money tomorrow. I hope I don't have to fight off 20 of your guys once I get there

 

[MikeH]

That Volks Wagon Square Back would be a nice find, too.

 

[polarbase]

Just a follow up. I saw this car. Very rough. It's taken a pretty solid impact to the front end. Whatever it hit it took it low (high curb?). It's full of leaves so the floorboards have issues. I don't think it will ever be what it was again, but that doesn't mean it can't be an interesting and fun project for me and my son albeit an expensive one. If nothing else, if I find I can't do it I think there is still enough car there to part it out and at least not lose money.

 

[polarbase]

That Volks Wagon Square Back would be a nice find, too.

He had a type 3 fastback and the type 3 station wagon. If you can get to Fort Worth he would probably sell. The city is after him to get rid of his cars.

 

[Alpine 1789]

If nothing else, if I find I can't do it I think there is still enough car there to part it out and at least not lose money.

How is the hard top? As indicated earlier, if it is at all decent it will probably be worth more than you paid for the car. It will fit any S3, SIV or SV, so you might want to hang on it in in case you end up buying a more solid one for your project.

 

[polarbase]

How is the hard top? As indicated earlier, if it is at all decent it will probably be worth more than you paid for the car. It will fit any S3, SIV or SV, so you might want to hang on it in in case you end up buying a more solid one for your project.

The top is surprisingly rust free. Just the kind of dirtiness you see all over. The one problem is that there is a dent on passenger side. It looks like someone put a rim down on it at one time (why the hell, I'll never know) It can probably taken out with a little work I could do.

 

[Cactusmasher]

Looking at an Alpine

Can we assume you bought it??

 

[polarbase]

Can we assume you bought it??

I sent him a note that yes, I want to buy it. I am trying to sort out transporting it today and hope to have it once all the details have been worked out. He knew the worth of the car's parts and really wanted it to go to someone that would put her back on the road again.

My son and I are giving ourselves about 2yrs for the project. I've restored a 66' Mustang before so I've got some experience doing most aspects of resto work. How is the after market part supply for Sunbeams? I've given it a cursory look, but I am going to replace all the interior's soft pieces (cushions/upholstery/carpet/soft top/etc) Also I will have to replace 2 front fenders/lower valance/front floor boards. Any recommendations on sourcing these kinds of parts?

 

[polarbase]

Oops! Just got word he's sold it. I guess one of you guys bought it out from under me. I should have been faster on the draw and let him know before I got back into town. Best of luck whoever bought her.

 

[Cactusmasher]

Looking at the Alpine

I look at it this way....someone just saved you a lot of money and work to put that one on the road. I would suggest you look for the best example of an Alpine you can find for the money you want to spend. It may take a while but the hunt is half the fun. There is a lot of suppliers for Sunbeam parts....Sunbeam Specialties (Rick) in California, Classic Sunbeams in New York, Victoria British near Kansas City, and a lot of smaller shops you can find them all on the internet. You can even get some of the harder to find stuff from England if you don't mind the higher prices and hassles of international shipping. There is always Ebay.....you can generally find just about anything you need on their site.

I suspect someone wanted/needed a hardtop and bought the car for that alone. Sometimes posting on the forum of intentions to buy or go look at a car can backfire as it apparently did in this case. I wish you good luck in your quest for an Alpine.

 

[polarbase]

I look at it this way....someone just saved you a lot of money and work to put that one on the road. I would suggest you look for the best example of an Alpine you can find for the money you want to spend. It may take a while but the hunt is half the fun. There is a lot of suppliers for Sunbeam parts....Sunbeam Specialties (Rick) in California, Classic Sunbeams in New York, Victoria British near Kansas City, and a lot of smaller shops you can find them all on the internet. You can even get some of the harder to find stuff from England if you don't mind the higher prices and hassles of international shipping. There is always Ebay.....you can generally find just about anything you need on their site.

I suspect someone wanted/needed a hardtop and bought the car for that alone. Sometimes posting on the forum of intentions to buy or go look at a car can backfire as it apparently did in this case. I wish you good luck in your quest for an Alpine.

No worries. My son is more bummed out than I am, but not overly so. Mostly an "Aw MAN!" then he went back to playing his Xbox, lol. The car was certainly a basket case but it was more about working on something together anyway and it certainly was an impulse buy. I wouldn't have considered buying it at all if I hadn't chatted about it on the forum, so it was a known risk. The way I look at it I did learn what to look for in the future in a Sunbeam and when I say best of luck I really mean best of luck to whoever got it. I'll keep looking for something local. Thanks again for your advice. I'll just be sneakier next time

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hi Polar,

The advice Cactusmasher gave you is very good. Even when you buy the best example of an Alpine you can afford, you will have plenty of work restoring it to share with your son. What you won´t get, is a money and work pit. You will be able to enjoy driving it sooner too.

These cars are over forty five years ols, and anyone who has loved one, can attest to the fact that you´ll constantly tinkering with it. That is the enjoyment you´ll have for years.

Enjoy the search too.

Jose

 

[Alpine 1789]

Just one more thing to consider and ease your mind: Alpines and Tigers share a lot of parts, especially trim and interior parts. Because Tigers are worth considerably more than Alpines (I always used about 5 times, but that is just my own estimate), the parts in common command much higher prices. Thus, mechanical parts for the Alpine are fairly reasonable, while interior and trim pieces are quite expensive. It sounds like this car had the affordable bits and needed all of the expensive parts. Maybe next time you will find the opposite.

 

[polarbase]

Thanks guys. I'll keep looking. I'm one of those people that always seems to stumble onto things other people don't so here's hoping. This car being a prime example. It had been buried for months and I just had it come up by accident. In the mean time I'll post what I see pop up in Texas on the Craiglist finds part of the forum. Just noticed some wheels come up today.

Later.

 

[Alpine 1789]

Stay active here, too. There have been some great buys posted in the For Sale section over the years.

Good luck!

 

[Alpine 1789]

I don't know how you feel about the earlier cars, but this isn't too far from you and looks like a pretty good starting point. You have to be careful about a car that has been primed like this, but the fact that the floors appear solid is comforting. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Othe...1902149?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a2a83b945