My First Sunbeam Alpine

[AlpineWrench]

Hi everyone. I have been hiding in the wings for a while, asking questions and learning. I am 16 and just got my license. My Dad found a local neglected Alpine, and we figured out a way for me to sell some stuff (my race kart) and to buy it. I picked up my project today. It is a 1964 type IV Sunbeam Alpine. It is my goal to restore this car and make it look as nice as possible. I took some pictures of it for show and I believe there are some part of value on the car such as the knock-off wire wheels and the Stromberg Carbs the car came with. I am new to the Sunbeam community and any help dealing with the pricing of the parts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
AlpineWrench

 

[SIVAllan]

Nice car, congratulations!

 

[Mark B]

Welcome! Great looking SIV.

Mark B

 

[Tom H]

Looks nice. First step is to see what you have. You said Stromberg carbS. Note that Series IV had a single Solex carb on a 1592 engine. Looks like you have either later carbs and manifold or later complete engine. Look at the serial number on the flat machined area just above the fuel pump, just below the side cover on the block. Then look in the Technical Data section here to identify the motor. From the factory the motor number matched the VIN number so you can see what series it is, when it was made, and what block it is.

Welcome.

Tom

 

[Alpine 1789]

I believe there are some part of value on the car such as the knock-off wire wheels and the Stromberg Carbs the car came with. I am new to the Sunbeam community and any help dealing with the pricing of the parts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
AlpineWrench

Welcome to the community Wrench. You should find answers to every question you could possible have here, although you will also find disagreements as to what is correct. As for your first question, Stromberg carbs, whether original to your car or not, generally do not have a great deal of value. They were apparently great carbs in their day, but most are worn to the point where they are difficult to keep balanced and in tune. As a result, many have replaced them, most often with a Weber 32/36. eBay is your friend here. Used Stromberg 150s show up pretty regularly and you can search completed listings to see what they sold for, if they even sold. Now, if you happen to have relatively new carbs that are not worn out, then there is probably some value in them, but still probably not great.

Wire wheels are also something that many are getting rid of. They look great and give the car a wonderful 60's look, but are high maintenance and subject to wear on both the hubs and the wheels. You can get new wheels and hubs, but unless you replace both at the same time the result will be rapid wear of the new part. Just to give you an idea of the value, a few years ago I traded my wire wheel hubs plus $50 for a set of bolt on hubs.

Now, all that said, it looks from the photos like your wheels are chrome (which was not stock) and fairly new. If so, I am sure they do have some value, depending on their age and wear. (Same could be said for you hubs, if they are relatively new.) The only company I know of who makes wire wheels is Dayton and there is a new set on eBay at the moment: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dayt...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories One thing that helps with wire wheel value is the fact that MG Midgets used the same wheel, so that increases the number of people who would want them. I generally figure a good used part should go for 50-60% of new, so that should give you some idea.

Good luck and again, welcome to the world of Alpine ownership.

 

[Alpineracer8]

Hey, Wrench:

That looks like a pretty decent little car!!!! Congratulations on your acquisition and welcome to the forum. These guys are right; you'll find a lot of help and advice on here, so don't be afraid to ask any questions at all. Always remember...the only dumb question is the one not asked!

You stated in your post that your goal was "to restore this car and make it look as nice as possible." Probably one of the first questions you'll need to ask yourself if how stock do you want to keep it, or are you more interested in modifying it to your personal tastes? Either way will work, of course; the main thing is that there will be another Alpine saved and on the road. But, answering this will help you determine the scope of your project. If you are like I was at your age, the available money to do your work may not be as much as you would like, and that may help determine just how far you can get into a restoration. For instance, I was 17 when I bought my first Alpine, a Series II. It was mechanically a Series V (1725 cc engine and all-synchro transmission) but was still very much a Series II in the body and interior departments. Since I was more interested at the time in being able to drive the car, I left the 1725 in there and concentrated on the aesthetics of the car. It got a respray of (I'll never forget this...) 1978 Corvette Pace Car silver and we did the interior back to it's original configuration in black vinyl with silver piping. When it was done, it looked and ran great!! I wasn't too concerned with originality but, as I got older and had more money to spend on car projects, I began to change my ways and started paying more attention to what was original.

Whatever you decide, you can rest assured that this Alpine, since it was your first one, will always be the Alpine that you'll remember the most. Best of luck with it and, remember, please don't hesitate to ask questions. Everyone is here to help.

Take care,

 

[AlpineWrench]

Hey! Thanks for all the replies I'm glad to find so much support in the Sunbeam Community. The car is currently running a 1725 engine with Weber Single-Downdraft Carbs, the strombergs came extra and I was planning on sending the strombergs to a shop in Denver to get them re-brushed. The previous owner of the car converted it from a 6 volt battery to a 12 volt battery. At the moment my goal for this car is just to get it driving which means going through the braking system and tightening up the brakes as well as the emergency brake. My dad also suggested putting a rolebar in the car (which we can find or make ourselfs( and if anyone has any leads on a rolebar in the Denver area I would appreciate the help.

Anyways thanks for all the warm welcome to the Sunbeam Community!!
AlpineWrench

 

[Ken Ellis]

Allow me to join the parade of old guys weighing in on your new wheels... An Alpine was the first car I bought, also at 16. Drove it all through HS, all weather. Great fun -- hope you have the same.

Installing a roll bar is a reasonable plan -- the windshield won't help you much. If you adopt a defensive driving style, like you're on a motorcycle, that'll help, too. (Might want to run with your lights on all the time, too.) Nothing will protect you from trucks and SUVs, so take every opportunity to stay away from them. You won't always be able to, but limiting your exposure improves your odds.

Owning an Alpine now is much easier than it used to be. Internet, credit cards, and AAA Gold membership would have been handy "back in the day"!

Oh, and buy a fire extinguisher, or two.

OK, preaching is done. Go have fun!
Ken

 

[Series6]

Welcome aboard Wrench. A great concern in the classic/antique/collector car community is the lack of younger members. From the sound of your posts you have the knowledge to be, not only a member but an asset to SAOCA. We're glad you're here.

I couldn't keep my car on the road without this group. Ask away.

 

[RootesRacer]

Hey! Thanks for all the replies I'm glad to find so much support in the Sunbeam Community. The car is currently running a 1725 engine with Weber Single-Downdraft Carbs, the strombergs came extra and I was planning on sending the strombergs to a shop in Denver to get them re-brushed. The previous owner of the car converted it from a 6 volt battery to a 12 volt battery. At the moment my goal for this car is just to get it driving which means going through the braking system and tightening up the brakes as well as the emergency brake. My dad also suggested putting a rolebar in the car (which we can find or make ourselfs( and if anyone has any leads on a rolebar in the Denver area I would appreciate the help.

Anyways thanks for all the warm welcome to the Sunbeam Community!!
AlpineWrench

Skip the strombergs, they neither make more power nor add any level of reliability to the engine (over the weber 32/36). At best they yield better mileage in between tweaks of the main jets.

The car never had a 6v (alpines were ALWAYS 12v), likely the previous owner converted from positive ground to negative. If you dont have an alternator consider this the next important addition.

 

[dtbaker61]

Looks pretty sweet!
you might wanna hook up with CATO. Denver-based Tiger/Alpine guys. They used to meet once a month, and very helpful...

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hi Wrench,

Welcome to the Alpine world. My first Alpine was a 1964 Series IV too, and I loved it. Yours is in much better shape that mine was, so you have a better piece to start with.

Putting an effective roll bar in your Series IV will be a bit hard, because of the folding hard covers for the soft top. An effective roll bar would get in the way of the covers opening fully, so that you could unfold the soft top.

You were fortunate to locate such a good example for your first Alpine effort. I know you´ll love it as much as I did mine. Good luck on your project Alpine, and the best part of owning one, is dreaming about all the things you want to do to and with it. Welcome to the club.

Jose

 

[Eleven]

Welcome! Great looking car! My first was a 1959 Volvo, unfortunately it was NOT a classic when I bought it!!!
My only two pieces of advice are to 1- Listen to the answers you get here, most, myself excluded, know what they are talking about and
2-This is the big one. You are 16 and have or will learn to drive in a modern car. Modern cars are a marvel of engineering and safety, your Alpine is a product of 1950's auto thinking and is neither as sophisticated or as safe as anything else you will drive. Your brakes are good but NOTHING like whatever your Dad drives. Leave big distances, keep your head on a swivel and be very conservative. Old sports cars sound fast but the soccer mom down the street will light you up in her Dodge Caravan!!!!

Great choice, have fun with it!!

 

[Bill Blue]

Wrench, are you sure the carbs are Weber? The factory dual carb downdraft setup used Zeniths. Over the years, several guys have talked of substituting the Zeniths with Webers, but to the best of my recollection, only one or two actually made the conversion. If yours really are Webers, please take the time to take some photos and tell us how they perform. A lot of owners still have the Zeniths, but would be interested in Webers if they knew they were a viable swap. The Zeniths are good carbs but do not age gracefully, becoming very poor performers and are terribly expensive to fix properly.

Welcome to the Forum. You will find a lot of good people here.

Bill

 

[RootesRich]

Wrench,
I'm located in Highlands Ranch and have a rollbar installed in my SV if you'd like to use that as a pattern. I doubt anyone locally will have one for sale off the shelf.
If you really want to swap your Weber for Stromies, let me know and I may be able to hook you up with a good used set to try 1st before you go through the expense of rebushing yours.
I'm also a member of CATO. Mark your calendar for the Colorado Conclave this summer (Google it for the date) and you can meet most of the guys.
Feel free to PM or e-mail me since I'm local; I'm happy to help.

 

[TulsaAlpine]

Hello Wench!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Sunbeam Alpines! So unlike most on this forum I got my Series IV GT when I was thirty something and it should of been parted out, but middle age and money to spend, it got restored not to original that cost way more then the car was worth, I still spend more then most would have. Stick with the Weber's, they are very reliable, keep the spoke wheels till you get it up a running good then upgrade. Just be careful your not going to find a large selection of rims that fit an Alpine. Old sport car to new vehicles is night and day, we get spoiled to those modern electronics, even A/C but the joy of cruising through town and having folks stop, point and wave is the real fun! Be very careful though old Alpines without air bags, OnStar and even no shoulder harness are NOT safe, but being a over cautious driver at all times will make a difference.
I would not have a drivable Alpine were it not for this forum, so ask all those questions.

Donna

 

[AlpineWrench]

OK! Today I put the car up on jacks and started working on the thing. So far I've accomplished:
Bleeding the breaks
Adjusting front hood latch
Remounting the bumpers(and straightening the mounting brackets)
Fixing the cracked turn signal
Fabricated attachment springs to keep the air filter on the the Carbs
and put on the air filter cover

During the work I came across some questions I wanted to ask you guys...

I bottomed out the emergency adjustment bolt and the car still roles forward with the brake on... do I just need new brake pads in the rear?

Can someone post a picture of the turn signal wand?

On the drivers side of the car their are holes for both the emblems(the Sunbeam IV) and the side mirror, but the passenger side doesn't have holes. Can someone post a picture for the correct holes for the passenger side?

Included with that does the passenger side mirror mount on the fender or the door?

Is there a handle of the hood release

I ID'ed the Carbs they are definitively Weber Carbs here is the number: 3236 DGV 5A 015J

I also included pics of the wire wheels and the entire process of today but im having trouble uploading them... ill get them up when I figure it out

Thanks,
AlpineWrench

 

[Ken Ellis]

I'd adjust the rear brakes first, then the e-brake cable.

Also, you have two 3236 DGVs?

Ken

 

[bashby]

Wrench, Welcome to the insanity of LBC's
Your first Sunbeam is far far superior to the Series IV I picked up (which ended up cut into eighths and scrapped)!
Best advice ever on this forum, read carefully and ask questions, the only bad question is one not asked.
I live in Broomfield and have a modified Series V. Get the brakes really working before you drive and make certain of the electrical (as much as you can with Lucas...)
Good Luck and happy motoring!
Bill Ashby

 

[kmathis]

Welcome, Wrench:

That is a nice straight looking car you have there, and with a little TLC and some elbow grease you will have it looking good in short order. I remember my first car and it was all I could think about every waking minute. (almost) Almost everything is still available one way or another and with the help of the people on this forum you will get the know how to do it all. Congratulations on your purchase and good luck on this project.