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What did I just do?

C

CThompson

So, I'm here because impulse got the best of me. Buy it now is a harsh mistress.

I'm now the owner of:

A 1965 Sunbeam Alpine

Which may or may not include a 2.8L and a transmission.

I was looking for a project car, below $500. I've always loved british cars, I owned a 73 MGB roadster for a while that sat, unfixed, in my garage for four years.

Now the real problem is, how to tell the wife.
 
skywords

skywords

Donation Time
I think you did just fine. My first sunbeam purchase was over twice that money and for Captain Nemo's anchor. More fresh air coming from beneath than from overhead. Looks as if this fella has put some effort into the car and at least seems to care about it.

Good Luck

Half the fun of these cars is working on them.:)

Rick
 
Nickodell

Nickodell

Donation Time
Tell her it's for her!

That's what I did back in 1984. It's the same psychology as buying the model railroad set for junior, who rarely gets to play with it.
 
Series6

Series6

Past President
Gold Level Sponsor
You did fine!

From what I see, you have little or no rust so that's a good thing.

WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE YOUNG CT...... :D
 
Rsgwynn1

Rsgwynn1

Silver Level Sponsor
Looks like a good deal. I did the same thing about a month ago. Driving to VA to pick it up and haul it back to TX in a few weeks.
 
M

Mod_Squad!

Bronze Level Sponsor
It looks like it has the cool Porsche 924 alloys on there. I almost went that route. They look pretty good. I think the rest of the guys are right, you did well. I paid around $650.00 for my 'it was running great when we pulled it fronm the car' V6.
Have fun!
Bryan
:)
 
C

CThompson

Time will tell. I'm struggling to figure out how to get it from Detroit to Cincinnati, since the trailer I was going to bother has a bad wheel bearing.

The scary part is, the most advanced car work I've done before this is changing oil. I've read, A LOT, and watched more "Powerblock/SpeedTV" than I care to admit. I realize that there's nothing like hands on, so I may have to take it slow.

My goal here is to build a car in time for October's GrassRoots Motorsports $2007 challenge. We'll see if I can make it driveable for, um, $1557.

Be prepared to be buried under an avalanche of newbie questions :)
 
C

CThompson

Oh, and the wife is OK with it, because she gets to buy a new digital camera. Not how I would have handled it, but hey, women.
 
6

66Tiger

Donation Time
Son of a gun, I drive by that car nearly everyday, I always meant to stop in at the shop it's behind.

Let's just say it's rough...real rough.

Paul
 
65beam

65beam

Donation Time
tell the wife

it's real easy to tell the woman of your life that you bought a sunbeam.let's go back to 1978.i had a series 4 in the garage that none of us had driven for a few years. i had just started to date this young lady in her early 20's.i told her then that i had a sports car in the garage and she said we should go look at it .when she first saw it ,her first words were: WHAT IS IT? i didn't know that she had dated a guy in high school who's dad had an XK120.anyway i told her what a great car it was and convinced her that she would like riding in it.you have to be a confident sales person to tell the woman of the family that you bought the sunbeam.or let her have a new camera.or do what i did until two years ago.stay single and live in two separate towns 40 miles apart.now when she comes home on weekends she asks what i bought that she should know about.of course nothing is said if it's SUNBEAM parts for one of the many cars that she owns.
 
M

mikephillips

Donation Time
Once you get it home to Cincinnati don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. There's a number of us, including me, who live in the Hamilton county area.
 
C

CThompson

@66tiger, I'm OK with "rough". What I'm really looking for is an excuse to be out in the garage away from screaming kids :)

@65beam, I have no doubt that once the car becomes driveable, I'll lose it. She'll claim ownership. What's mine is hers, and what's hers is, um, hers.

@mikephillips, Fantastic. I'm out east in Owensville. OK, WAY out east. about 14 miles east of eastgate mall.
 
6

66Tiger

Donation Time
I looked at the car, and talked to the owner...it's a parts car...any money thrown in to it would be a waste. Every panel has issues needing major re-working or replacing. The passenger side looks better because of Bondo, Bondo, and more Bondo...I thought the spray foam insulation and various screws and pop rivets were a nice touch.

I didn't look underneath since the ground was too wet...didn't need to, I saw enough.

With this car, your wife will be able to buy 40 or 50 real nice digital cameras.

Also If you want a project car you shouldn't look north...head south (or west)...I have seen a number of decent cars in the under $1,000 category over the years that could be brought back to life. Up here all you will find is rust, rust and more rust. My good Alpine was from Colorado and I drove to Kansas to get my Texas Tiger, I restored one too many Michigan cars (if only I could get that money back).

Also you said you have done nothing more than change oil in cars so I would recommend saving your money and buying a running car and truely decide if you want to get into Sunbeams.

Paul
 
C

CThompson

Guys,

Thanks to all for the help over the last week.

What I was looking for was something that I could tinker on in the garage. Something under $500. I wanted something I'd have to do some body work, some welding, etc. I wanted it as a learning experience.

Based on comments, I was feeling nervous. 66Tiger made the decision easy.

I've emailed the seller and told him I won't be buying it.

So that car, with 2.8L Ranger engine, minus exhaust manifold and carb, the auto trans from the ranger, and a "Jeep Rear End" which I assume is a Dana 44, will be going back up on ebay.

The engine/rear end might be worth the $450 buy it now.

Now I need another project, but don't think I can afford one of the nicer shells out there. The goal was to get it in garage cheap.

There's a chance I might be getting my MGB back from the guy I sold it to, so we'll see.

Again, thanks.
 
6

66Tiger

Donation Time
I thought to cut the front nose off and make a desk...then cut the rear tail off and make a big easy chair.

Paul
 
C

CThompson

Jay,

You tell the guy "I'm not buying it, and not sending you the money".

To prevent the guy from leaving me a bad review, I've offered to pay his ebay fees.
 
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