Vehicle Description
1967 Sunbeam Alpine
Secret agent "86" pulls up in front of a ubiquitous government
building in his Sunbeam Tiger (big brother to the Alpine), proceeds
to get out and go inside through a series of doorways eventually
leading to a phone booth which will give him access to CONTROL HQ,
for whom he, Maxwell Smart, works for. This bumbling secret agent
series was made for TV during a time when James Bond films were
popular in the mid 60's and featured various technological spy
inventions that were ultimately used to fight KAOS, the supposedly
Russian spy agency they were trying to thwart.
Not associated with the cold war other than having the same
manufacturer, this consignment brings us a wonderful little Sunbeam
Alpine. The little sister of the Tiger, she has a bit less power
and a smaller engine but retains all the good looks. Several new
parts were added on in the restoration including some Tiger side
moldings, rear Roots badges on the quarters, and a completely
rebuilt engine which has clocked less than 200 miles on it since
the job was completed. Excuse me for 1 minute, my shoe phone is
ringing.
Exterior
Courtesy of the Roots Group who produced the Alpine, this car was
designed for the North American market specifically and has all the
trappings of the Triumph which was selling like hotcakes in the US.
A front end that somewhat reminds us of the early T-birds it uses
the "pony car" theory being that of a long hood and short rear deck
with an overall low profile. This example is a Mark 5 Alpine which
would be the final version offered prior to the acquisition of the
company by Chrysler. Our version has a sleek chrome trimmed oval
shaped, and horizontal bar center grille, large turn signal lights
on either side mounted above the polished bumper and a single
headlight on the corner of each front quarter. Original rust-free
steel panels come together very nicely with well minded gaps and
create the sporty form for the exterior. All bathed in red, and it
is a good paint job, you can run your hand over it and feel nothing
but smooth! A nice black canvas convertible top covers the
passengers if you wish, or you can lower it and it sports a nice
covering to have it seamlessly melt into the remainder of the car.
On back are slightly finned rear quarters, with thin vertical oval
taillights on either side of the trunk deck. Another bumper is
below and on all 4 corners are knock off wire wheels. A note about
the quality of this restoration where the Roots badge is attached
to the rear quarters at the end of a very nice trim spear with
Alpine script breaking it up on the front quarter is nearly perfect
in the red field. For the interior description we will be utilizing
the cone of silence.
Interior
Black vinyl covers all the interior surfaces including the simple
smooth door panels, and showroom quality bomber style low back
curved buckets. Coco mats protect jet black carping underneath and
this carpeting floods the entire cabin floors. A beautifully
constructed and restored dash which sports an impressive lineup of
black faced Jaeger gauges with white numerals and orange pointers
is peppered within the faux leather textured dash front. A large
steering wheel fronts this dash and appears to have been once
covered with a leather lanyard tie wrap that has since been taken
off. A padded rimmed open glove box is in front of the passenger. A
shout out to the trunk for this well showing sportswear, where a
spare tire is wrapped in a black vinyl covering nestled in the
forward part of the trunk. The trunk is lined with a near perfect
black lining. No rust here folks! Would you believe, all looking
good here?!
Drivetrain
A forward tip of the hood and it reveals a pristine engine bay
which contains our newly built power plant. This is in 1.7 liter 4
cylinder form, is made from a new short block, and a restored top
end with new oil and water pumps. It is fed by 2 recently rebuilt
sidedraft Stromberg Carburetors. All near perfect black supple
hoses and wiring is snaking throughout this engine bay and
definitely no corrosion is seen anywhere. On the back is a 4-speed
manual transmission. The rear axle weighs in at 3.89 ratio.
Undercarriage
Some spotty surface rust is noted but all unremarkable as to the
stability of the frame and floorboards. A heavy coating of
rustproofing abounds and has started to peel off particularly on
the rear of the framing. Independent coil springs are on front, and
leaf springs bring up the rear. Disc brakes for the front and drums
for the rear.
Drive-Ability
With less than 200 miles on the engine it starts right up as
expected, and idles and runs smoothly. This car ran fine and came
to a safe stop. Nothing like driving an open top roadster on a nice
sunny day.
New short block, rebuilt top end, new oil and water pump, a new
clutch kit, rebuilt carbs and a new battery. Straight nicely
painted steel in red, and a like new interior. "Well Mr. Smart
because I'm a sportsman I'll let you choose the way you want to
die". Smart replies: "Uh, Ok how about old age?"
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.