Vehicle Description
1964 Sunbeam Alpine
The third generation Alpine was launched in 1959. Styled by Kenneth
Howes, it was based on the contemporary Hillman Minx. It used the
floorpan of the Hillman Husky, a short wheelbase Minx estate car.
As launched, it used Rootes' 1494cc engine to Sunbeam Rapier
specification. Initially all Alpines were built by Armstrong
Siddeley. 11,904 Series I cars were made. The Series II Alpine of
1960 received a 1592cc engine and various detail improvements.
Production switched to Rootes' Ryton facility midway through the
Series II's life. 19,956 examples were built. 1963's Series III
model gained a new interior and a roomier boot. Two specifications
were introduced: Sports and GT. The GT came with a hardtop as
standard equipment, but no folding hood. The lack of a hood
resulted in a roomier interior and the engine was detuned for
greater comfort. The Sports meanwhile had a hood, while the hardtop
was optional. It also retained the sportier engine. Production
totalled 5,863 units. For 1964, the Series IV saw the tailfins cut
back. It received a new grille and optional automatic gearbox.
12,406 were built. The coachbuilder Harrington also produced a
number of coupe versions of the Alpine which were supported by the
factory and sold through their dealer network.
For consignment, a Carrol Shelby design inspired car retaining much
of the charm of the original but is ready to throw down at the drop
of a hat. This example, a 1964 Alpine is loaded with more goodies
than a Halloween candy basket. The consignor had a vision of making
it a Gentleman's Cobra, and upon finishing this read, I think
you'll agree in spades that this ride has enough chutzpah to make
Agent Maxwell Smart change up his opening credit ride. Trick or
Treat!
Exterior
A full rotisserie custom build, the car appears as nearly stock
save for the front air dam now installed on a body matching
seamless fabricated roll pan and helping to keep the healthy mill
cool. A single headlight on either front quarter, and a frowning
horizontal ribbed grille sans a bumper below just Corvette Blaze
Silver paint. All bodywork was smoothed, gaps minded to laser
perfection and any minimal chrome trimmings spit shined to
sunglasses status. On back are some nifty small fins if you will,
which house vertical oval tail lights that cant inward giving us
shades of the '57 Chevy of tri-five fame. The trunk lid is hinged
by polished exterior hinges and gently moves back on a slight
slope, eventually taking a dive down to the now integrated body
matching rear bumper. Big dual exhaust peeks out from the center on
the bottom, and I can say from experience it has a throaty sound
not unlike a cigarette smoking radio voice over announcer. Under
the red tonneau there is no top, so this car is a permanent
convertible rocket ship. 15-inch Billet Specialties wheels are
wrapped in front by 24x6R15Lt's and in back 275/50R15's all
recently mounted on. Excuse me, my shoe phone is ringing.
Interior
Upon slipping inside you will be bowled over by the overstuffed
usage of smoking hot red leather. This covers a custom dash which
features a driver's side located Racepak IQ3 digital dash. A
smattering of buttons and knobs are also in front of the driver,
and as the dash continues to the passenger, no radio and a red
leather pouch in front of the passenger for storage. The dash is
fronted by a Flaming River tilt steering column and wheel, with
Borgeson shaft and joints. For the seating, 2 low back overstuffed
bomber style buckets reside on wonderfully clean red carpeting that
covers the floors that have been sprayed in Rocket liner
underneath. In the center between the racy buckets is a custom
fabricated red console with a small glovebox and the shifter. 2
brushed aluminum cup holders reside just prior to being under the
dash, all on the hump. Door panels are also red leather and have
polished cranks and actuators. No back seat, just perfectly
carpeted storage which should include a pack of air sickness bags
based on the performance this car has. Agent 99, throw me my
gun!
Drivetrain
A flip of the bonnet, and you are treated to the totally
unexpected. Here stuffed in the pristine confines of the engine bay
is a GM 6.2 Liter LS3 8 cylinder mill fitted with Frankenstein 11
degree heads, a Comp Cams camshaft and 1.8 rockers. On top is a
FiTech sheet metal intake, and some FiTech EFI to feed the hungry
mill fossils. On back is a 6 speed manual T56 tranny complete with
a Monster clutch and a Tick hydraulic throwout bearing. Power goes
rearward to a Ford 8.8 inch 3.73 TracLoc rear pumpkin, that has
shortened Moser 31 spline axles. Our consignor states however with
nodocumentation that this mill produces between 500 and 600
tirefrying horses. The gas pedal is fly by wire, and a new GM
harness is in. An Afco radiator with a high volume Meziere water
pump keeps all cool under this baby. Ready to create KAOS (Tongue
firmly in cheek!)
Undercarriage
The unibody has been replaced by a 2x3 square tube double frame
rail, and now showing a Heidts Superride front end with shortened
control arms and coil over shocks, with a narrowed steering rack.
All sprayed with Rocket liner for easy cleaning and no rust
formation. On the back are QA1 rear shocks and custom made Caltrac
bars with leaf springs. A new 15 gallon fuel cell with a Holley hp
fuel pump feeds the LS3. For the exhale is a custom stainless steel
Flowmaster exhaust taking its due from headers attached to the mill
up front. Braking is Wilwood cylinders and calipers with stainless
steel brake lines. Woah!
Drive-Ability
Carol Shelby definitely shows up in this highly modded version of
the Sunbeam Alpine. I slipped into the red leather and just took a
pause at the luxurious comfort my butt was experiencing. A turn of
the key and the digital dash came to life as did the LS3, and I was
off to the track in hyperdrive. The car accelerates with the best
of them, stops on a dime, and handles like it's on train tracks.
Our consignor states the car has nearly perfect 50/50 weight
distribution, and a total weight of a mere 2300 LBS. The speedo
portion of the display read zero. " If I were in control you'd
already be dead...."
WOW just WOW, I'm speechless as this build speaks for itself. Worth
the price of admission and it looks mid 60's so cool. And the
inspiration of Carrol Shelby in the design and concept, and in the
hands of our consignor to take this car to the next level. " Ok I'm
not dwelling on this but that was some kiss".
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.
