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Introduction. New Member

mrbht69

Donation Time
Hi Everybody,

Just joined the site, but have been lurking in the background for quite some time.. I am from Queensland , Australia..

Late last year, I came across and, after a long search, a Harrington LeMans, here in Aus, few of you know the car. Imported to Aus in late 2012 from CA.

Silver, AC stripes and currently running a V6 modification,.. unfortunately the original drivetrain has gone, sigh.

However,... The little Harrington holds that conversion nicely, and is an absolutely very well mannered little car with amazing performance.. Will try and log some photo's when i can down downsize from my current size and format.

The other vehicle I am fortunate to be the custodian of is a HT, 350 Manual "Bathurst" Monaro,.. an Aussie muscle car icon... All is matching numbers and in magnificent condition. Used regularly on club runs etc.. My Avatar pic.

Hope over time to get to know everybody, I think I have been in touch with Jan on occasions?, and have also just recently joined The Queensland Sunbeam Club . Hopefully a few Australian owners drop by from time to time..?? I think there is 4 -5 LeMans here?????

Best wishes and Cheers MrBHT69..
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
Welcome to the sunbeam family, did you want the original motor for the sake of having all the original parts of the car together or are you considering returning it to rootes group power?

Did you purchase it through the healey factory?
 

mrbht69

Donation Time
Hi Alpine_64

Thanks for the welcome,... Yes that is the car,.. ex Healey Factory..

Ultimate goal would be Yes to restoring her back to original spec,.. would love to track down the original # matching drive train.. chances would be ultra slim.. Hey , but you never know, fingers crossing..

Plans, are to enjoy her as a club car over the next few years, and will start and complete a concours finnish on the Monaro before 50 year celebrations. 2018.. and to help keep her mileage down.

Then will start the tear down of the Lemans and contemplate the next move based on original parts collected over the next couple of years... Hoping there hasn't been touch modification to allow the current driveline.. making life that wee bit more challenging..

Hopes your enjoying the weekend down there.... Cheers S
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
Your Harrington was a well known car stateside and was known to cat club. Jan can probably put you in touch with the owner/ builder of it who can fill you in on spec and details... Maybe also original parts.

Car was brought down here in 2012 iirc by peter mcdonald .. Seemed to have flipped it after about a year or so.

As for original hlm bits the car has quite a bit of customisation but things like dash and interior panels are not to hard to reproduce
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Rebuilding the HLM dashboard is not that easy since the wood style cover material is no longer available. Furthermore it came with silkscreens...
 

Harrington Jan

Donation Time
Lost engine

To find the original engine will be almost impossible. When Robert Carpenter bought the car there was no engine. Before him the car was owned by Jann Helzer, Bruce Davies and before him Stoney Barnes, CA (early eighties). There is a possibility to find any of those in any of the Sunbeam Clubs register. My guess is that the engine is broken therefore the car was empty. (Ian tried to find Stoney years ago, without success.)
Steve, take a look in an original HLM and you will find many things missing and all are very hard to find. Enjoy the car as it is and meanwhile search for those missing parts.
 
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mrbht69

Donation Time
Hi Bernd_st,.... and Hi Jan...

Thanks for the welcome and replies..

I so, wish, I could track down the same type of information on, owners,.. etc for the Monaro GTS , unfortunately... so much information has been lost,.. over the years.

The build process, the sale, and also, sigh, now, tracking history, is impacted by the privacy of information act, etc,... making movements and documentation rather challenging to track during this manufacturing era of Holden in Aus..

Thanks Jan, and the crew,... the registry and your enthusiasm for the Harrington Sunbeams.. is very much, appreciated...

The registry and background / movements of the HLM's, is fantastic... again, Thankyou,.... This little Le Mans, has certainly seen some interesting places during ownership and of her travels.

Ooooh, so lucky,... She came with a lot of information, old receipts, etc, etc,. and, very fortunate to have received a lot of the communication, between the owners, and phew,.. subsequently, these documents were then, forwarded to each of the new owners.. inc, some original old photo's, in Carnival Red and..... 8-( ....... engine less, many, years ago.... and some awesome restoration photo's into her current build status...

The build,.. Prior to Import to Aus, is beautifully done, driveline, performance, handling, the ride, seats, interior etc, just seem, to make this little HLM Shine...

I am, really looking forward to what I, consider, my ideal club run, special interest styled car.. She's.... To be.... Driven,. not hidden.. fingers crossed, for many a year.

There will be those that will be disappointed, presently in her current form,... and then ,. there will be those that believe in, her present style.... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,... the rest is neither..

In reality,.... Sigh<.... bringing her back would be a super challenge,.. I am impressed, and so, looking forward to enjoying her, over, hopefully, quite a few years as she currently stands..

However,. I'll always, be on the look out for those impossible pieces to track down, fingers crossed, n, maybe? and,.. possibly, moving forward on a non-matching # driveline, Harrington / Rootes spec type re-build... Hmmmm. finances dependent,... eeeek... possible and very easy to lose 30K in that adventure..

I am currently striving on one build at the moment, with hopes for the return to a concours level with the GTS Monaro before 2018. 50th year celebrations.. Over the past 15+ years, some the rarer pieces have finally, been tracked down to complement the final touches :cool:

The LeMans as she currently stands,. will be very well maintained and given the respect this little Harrington, deserves,.. and well into the future..
Do like this little car, I do...

Great learning and meeting you gents, thanks , for the replies... Cheers S.

Psssst,... do have any of those rarer type pieces... ?? Mmmm,...
> Harrington Fender Badge, ?
> Arrow, n Trim work, ?............etc, etc..
 

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
Hi mrbth69,

First of all, congratulations on your purchase of this car.

I understand the reason for wanting to restore it to original, because of the value it would have then. Unfortunately, unless it has the original, numbers matching drivetrain, the purists will not accept it as being original. The value will not be where it would be of all the numbers matched,

I think you´ll be very happy with the Harrington after you drive it to it´s full potential. You´ll find that it is reliable and will give you many years of fun. I like your assertion that you will be driving it rather than garaging it. That is where your little gem will shine; in actual use.

As far as finding the side spears for it, I think you´ll be another guy looking for them and not finding them, because if you look back n the Harrington threads, you will see that several guys are looking for the same hens teeth. I would have them graphically painted on the side of your Harrington by a professional. It will break up that vast expanse of the bare side.

Since I now know that it, at one time, resided in the States, I know that it will have the U.S. spec 2.8 V6. It is a great engine and will give many years of great service.

Jose
 

65beam

Donation Time
member

your car has a unique paint job. the stripes impressed me the first time I saw it. it's a very well built car. we have three LeMans and one of them is the only right hand drive in the states. it's currently a bare shell and is in the paint shop. the LeMans specific parts such as the side trim and many other parts were not available here in the states when the cars were young. that's the reason my red one does not have the side trim. I know the original owner and one of the front pieces was damaged in the mid 60's and it was NLA at that time so the trim was removed. our RHD car will have many things different from stock which will make it different from others. as jose said, your car is very drivable and there are many out there hunting long lost parts so drive it as is and enjoy.
 

RootesRooter

Donation Time
I recall Jann Helzer showing me the HLM in the back of his auto parts store (Sports & Imports) in Tacoma, WA in the early 80s. Sunbeam parts were a big part of his business in the 1960s and early '70s. He also raced Alpines at tracks around the Pacific NW.

The HLM did not have an engine when I saw it. I believe Jann said he had recently repainted it - the same bright carnival red that was on it when Rob Carpenter bought it from Jann's estate roughly 12-14 years ago.

I hope you're able to come up with a pair of the missing chrome arrows.
 

65beam

Donation Time
member

if you want to see a "work in progress" check out the Harrington photos from randy willet on the CAT site.
 

mrbht69

Donation Time
Thankyou Everybody,... for the warm welcome into the community, and for being able to share so much history on her travels throughout the US.. please anyone's info / history is greatly appreciated..

Thanks Jose, 65Beam, RootesRooter, Jan, Bernard, Alpine64...
It is awesome being able to run through the info that I have on hand and :) smile,... the information your kindly sharing.. it's slowly helping piece her status, condition, movements, timeframes etc, etc,.. against documents.

At the moment, I am tinkering away, on, anything that needs attention, n chasing any potential gremlins, just to ensure, if and when we do some of our larger local club runs, all will be fine , fingers crossed, ....... He He,.. maybe, they'll all have to keep up with the dear little silver HLM...

Guys, what would be considered, as, a safe run in period for a fresh 2.8 Cologne,. or,. (basically, any older "period" styled engine),. post rebuild,... currently, she sits at, (basing this on receipts , dates, etc, n some trust) 3900 KM. (with a ?) ... haven't taken her much over 4500 RPM,.. n. thinking, I, may have done approx 1000 km of that total mileage... lovingly, :rolleyes: on the correct speed limit's on rural roads, highway,.. with no start / stop city traffic. Will plan a rolling dyno tune pre-mid year when things are settled..

Jose,.. If, you don't mind me asking, ... What would be an average fuel consumption rating, basing Miss HLM on a approx a 10% city, a 90'ish % rural, n highway, consumption guidance figure??... And....He He,..... also basing in their "Thermo efficiency index" award... :cool:.

What sort of figures are current HLM, matching # vehicle's achieving nowadays? , with all the different fuel types on offer.. Is there much of a difference from the documented figures? .......

In Aus, we have regular unleaded, premium unleaded, Premium Ultra (@ 97 ? (brain fog moment)) RON, and an ethanol based mix at 10% (E10)......I am starting the Ultra in both the HLM and the Monaro, at the moment,... if all continues to run well on this formula, I, will start working out m / gallon... or km / L... and do update.. Any opinions on what sort of RON being supplies, and any wisdom?

Hmmm,... The combination of our fuel bowser nozzle design in Aus, with, the older styled fuel tank inlet. can make fill up "fun", might have to revise that at some point,.... Anyone else have "fun" too??

Thanks Jose, sounds like these little engines like to rev. (as per my post in the "modified" section) ... Eeeek,.... would be rather scary rev'n at 7000 rpm ?, or yaaay,... it also could be very,..impressive,.... All oils etc are up to date,... I, have plugs, belts, filters, etc ready for the next service.

Hopefully, with some time and with health permitting, she will have a good service within the next 600 KM, or, by, March end.. Will let my mechanic's guidance n wisdom, on to, which oil spec's would suit on this service interval. especially whilst living here in the tropics..

Again, Thankyou, everyone,.. and hopes this post finds everyone, all well, and enjoying their little bit of Sunbeam...

Best wishes and Cheers S
 

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
Hi mrbht69,

The mileage I got on my first V6 Alpine, on the freeway, was almost 24.0 mpg at an average speed of 75 mph. It will be hard to get more than that though, because you will have so much fun getting after it, that your mileage will suffer. I´m sure that you won´t mind, because you will have a big grin on your face. The Holley four barrel has smaller venturies than a stock two barrel, so if you stay out of the secondaries, you should do fine. I´m sure though, that after you´ve tasted the power under your right foot, you won´t worry about mpg.

Your engine is broken in after 500 miles, so don´t be afraid to buzz it up. if you are afraid to take it to 7,000 rpm, you can rest easy knowing that the factory says it is safe to 6,000, and the factory is conservative. If you don´t take it to 6,000, you won´t get the full benefit of the cam you are running.

Jose
 

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
Hello and welcome to the world of Harringtons. I will be coming to Australia in 10 days. I won't be up in Queensland, but, I will be at the Philips Island Vintage races/carshow and the Australian Gran Prix in Melbourne. If you were going to be at either event or in the Melbourne area I would be happy to give you a DVD with over 400 photos of my original Harrington Le Mans (HLM) before embarking on its complete restoration in 2003. In 2009 I completed the full restoration of my HLM. I must say having all of the original parts and doing 85% (15% by others) of the work myself was extremely settling. I cheer you on. It is very rewarding to view and drive a car you put your blood, sweat, and verbal expletives into. However, your mindset to return your HLM to its original glory would be a formidable one. Cruising, as is, may prove so satisfying that the effort vs reward may be a fleeting thought. Good luck and if you have any questions send me a personnel message (PM) on this site to exchange emails.

Cheers,
Jerry
 
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