green but brave..'63 restore

[John W]

Wanda: Because of the one piece design, your Sunbeam is the easiest car you could have picked to restore. The Alpine is a very simple car. You could probably get it in working condition via this board and posting photos of the engine etc as you progressed. Who knows how long the body might last no matter what kind of condition it's in. You might get a blast driving this car just the way it is.

 

[Wanda]

Wanda: Because of the one piece design, your Sunbeam is the easiest car you could have picked to restore. The Alpine is a very simple car. You could probably get it in working condition via this board and posting photos of the engine etc as you progressed. Who knows how long the body might last no matter what kind of condition it's in. You might get a blast driving this car just the way it is.

LOL. Thanks for the encouragement... but this car is a looooooong way from driving. You know? Even if I can't get her on the road...I am learning alot. I know absolutely nothing about engines or cars for that matter. I can check the oil and fill the windshield wash and gas tank. I managed to change a set of spark plugs once. Sorely inexperienced. But just by doing inventory of parts, I know the difference between a water pump and a gas filter. Now the generator and the starting motor...different story.haHa. I bought a couple of books and downloaded the manual from the site. tricky stuff.... picking up a part...not even knowing what system it is from... going through the manuals and ordering catalogues to see what it might be. time consuming. but I am down to my last crate of unidentified parts. I will tool around with the beast for a while. Maybe see if I can get the engine back together and running. Worst case scenario? I'll ship her down to you for parts. She's not pretty, but there is a lot with her.
Thanks buddy. I'm not licked yet.( Plus the longer she is in my garage, the more excuses I will have to sneek away be myself for the afternoon.

 

[Alpine 1789]

Wanda: I just took another look at your pictures again, hoping that this time the car wouldn't look as rusty and that I could then offer some words of encouragement. It is a little hard to tell from what is there, but I suspect that our original assessment was correct. The most frightening photo to me is the one that shows what looks like the trunk floor sitting beneath the rear end of the car. If that is what we are seeing, it is probably an indication that the car is too far gone.

But, I did notice something else: unless my eyes are deceiving me, the last picture shows a Cal Custom hood scope that was recently discussed in another thread. http://www.sunbeamalpine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18709&page=2

As noted in that thread, one of those recently sold on eBay for $190. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cal-Custom-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec0f37842&vxp=mtr Take good care of that!

 

[John W]

Wanda, Guess I should add I can't really see any of the photos well. How bad can it be. Sounds pretty bad. O well.

 

[Wanda]

Wanda: I just took another look at your pictures again, hoping that this time the car wouldn't look as rusty and that I could then offer some words of encouragement. It is a little hard to tell from what is there, but I suspect that our original assessment was correct. The most frightening photo to me is the one that shows what looks like the trunk floor sitting beneath the rear end of the car. If that is what we are seeing, it is probably an indication that the car is too far gone.

But, I did notice something else: unless my eyes are deceiving me, the last picture shows a Cal Custom hood scope that was recently discussed in another thread. http://www.sunbeamalpine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18709&page=2

As noted in that thread, one of those recently sold on eBay for $190. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cal-Custom-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec0f37842&vxp=mtr Take good care of that!

Hey Jim.
I think that you are correct about the scoop. The bonnet that it is attached to is in pretty good shape as well. I like the look of the "smooth" bonnet and was not sure if I was going to use this part or not. Might look like all of my goodies will be on the chopping block. Still on the fence, though. Thanks Jimmie!
Wanda

 

[Gitnrusty]

Hi Wanda.
Id hate to see you get too discouraged by comments above when its so difficult to really tell condition from the photos. Were the car mine and I was lacking in expertise, call in a general mechanic to do an inspection of chassis saftey. Spring to body mounting points on the rear especialy and rocker panel rust out. If the doors open and close without the car sagging it might be savabale. If it passes muster there cosmetics are less important to make a fun driver.
We can see its not a Calf.or Ariz. rust free car but you may learn a great deal with it that can be put to good use on a better example next time, and if youre going to make mistakes better to do that on a less than perfect car. My lifelong interest with cars started with some pretty ratty exanples, but I enjoyed the learning process.
Just dont pour toooooo much money down a rusty rat hole.
Good luck!

 

[Wanda]

Hi Wanda.
Id hate to see you get too discouraged by comments above when its so difficult to really tell condition from the photos. Were the car mine and I was lacking in expertise, call in a general mechanic to do an inspection of chassis saftey. Spring to body mounting points on the rear especialy and rocker panel rust out. If the doors open and close without the car sagging it might be savabale. If it passes muster there cosmetics are less important to make a fun driver.
We can see its not a Calf.or Ariz. rust free car but you may learn a great deal with it that can be put to good use on a better example next time, and if youre going to make mistakes better to do that on a less than perfect car. My lifelong interest with cars started with some pretty ratty exanples, but I enjoyed the learning process.
Just dont pour toooooo much money down a rusty rat hole.
Good luck!

Thanks! I appreciate ya! In the meantime... I have an ex-military co-worker who wants to come take a look. He said that he has a lot of experience and wanted to give me " the local perspective". Since this guy lives here and has done some of this work himself he can give me a better idea of of what I can realistically manage using the relatively local resources. He talks a good game, is not looking for money or favours of any sort and I know him to be a straight shooter. If she is beyond our abilities, he will surely let me know.
Peace Gitn,
Wanda