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Hi all, now then, this may get a little long winded, but bear with me, I hope it will all be worth it....................
I started out in motorsport in a Talbot Sunbeam TI, that I built myself, this was the catalyst for a love affair with these cracking little cars. Firstly I was doing sprints, I soon got bored with that, and got into stage rallying. The Sunbeam inherited a 16Valve XE, and was used a few times until it was rolled into a ball at Binbrook. Luckily, I was working on an "Evo 2" shell at the time, and along with a substantial power hike, the running gear found it's way into the new shell. I used the car again, a few times in this guise, then things got silly, a guy was badgering me for the XE lump, so I sold that, and fitted a 6 cylinder, 3.2 BMW M3 Evo engine, which, I will solemnly confess, ruined the car, yes it was fun, but it had far to much power, also, life was moving along fast, and with the imminent arrival of Children, the Sunbeam, and all the masses of parts I had aquired over the years were sold, and I turned my back on the little car for something German, i.e, stronger..........
Then, life had another twist, due to the loss of my parents in fairly quick succesion, I inherited the family home, my home, so I did what had to be done, sold all my toys in order to restore and renovate the house, so me and my family could live where we belonged.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I find myself i need of a project, that is where the Rover SD1 project came in, initially a long term project, that I am glad to say, I am still plodding on with.
So, Earlier this year, I find myself in the fortunate position of having some spare cash about, and lookig for a toy, stumbled upon DAC28Y, a genuine Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which had been off the road for a huge amount of time, now, I have to confess, this was originally bought to "titivate" and sell on at profit, to allow some more to be spent on the Rover, but when I sat in the car, a wave of something passed over me, and it just felt like home. So, needless to say, I bought the car, and got her back home, with the idea of when my new big garage is built (not long now!), it would be my first project, however, call it fate, or whatever you want, but a little trip up to R.A.C.E to see my good mates Phil and Mick, turned out to be a little more expensive, but massively rewarding the other day. I entered the yard only to see a clean looking, unarched Sunbeam rally car hiding in the corner, and to truncate this story, I bought it. End of.
So, what now, the car is great, lovely, rot free shell, new seats/belts/extinguishers/Logbook etc, so, if I so desired, I could go do a rally in her tomorrow, but she does need some attention, just little details, but nothing major. Long term, I hope to build her into a full, works(ish) spec Historic car, with alloy arches, door skins and bonnet, proper lump etc, this may mean me having to sell the Rover, but for now, I will se how that goes, as I know I will take a huge kicking on that.
Anyway, some piccies for you.....................
Watch this space..................
I started out in motorsport in a Talbot Sunbeam TI, that I built myself, this was the catalyst for a love affair with these cracking little cars. Firstly I was doing sprints, I soon got bored with that, and got into stage rallying. The Sunbeam inherited a 16Valve XE, and was used a few times until it was rolled into a ball at Binbrook. Luckily, I was working on an "Evo 2" shell at the time, and along with a substantial power hike, the running gear found it's way into the new shell. I used the car again, a few times in this guise, then things got silly, a guy was badgering me for the XE lump, so I sold that, and fitted a 6 cylinder, 3.2 BMW M3 Evo engine, which, I will solemnly confess, ruined the car, yes it was fun, but it had far to much power, also, life was moving along fast, and with the imminent arrival of Children, the Sunbeam, and all the masses of parts I had aquired over the years were sold, and I turned my back on the little car for something German, i.e, stronger..........
Then, life had another twist, due to the loss of my parents in fairly quick succesion, I inherited the family home, my home, so I did what had to be done, sold all my toys in order to restore and renovate the house, so me and my family could live where we belonged.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I find myself i need of a project, that is where the Rover SD1 project came in, initially a long term project, that I am glad to say, I am still plodding on with.
So, Earlier this year, I find myself in the fortunate position of having some spare cash about, and lookig for a toy, stumbled upon DAC28Y, a genuine Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which had been off the road for a huge amount of time, now, I have to confess, this was originally bought to "titivate" and sell on at profit, to allow some more to be spent on the Rover, but when I sat in the car, a wave of something passed over me, and it just felt like home. So, needless to say, I bought the car, and got her back home, with the idea of when my new big garage is built (not long now!), it would be my first project, however, call it fate, or whatever you want, but a little trip up to R.A.C.E to see my good mates Phil and Mick, turned out to be a little more expensive, but massively rewarding the other day. I entered the yard only to see a clean looking, unarched Sunbeam rally car hiding in the corner, and to truncate this story, I bought it. End of.
So, what now, the car is great, lovely, rot free shell, new seats/belts/extinguishers/Logbook etc, so, if I so desired, I could go do a rally in her tomorrow, but she does need some attention, just little details, but nothing major. Long term, I hope to build her into a full, works(ish) spec Historic car, with alloy arches, door skins and bonnet, proper lump etc, this may mean me having to sell the Rover, but for now, I will se how that goes, as I know I will take a huge kicking on that.
Anyway, some piccies for you.....................
Watch this space..................
shame it all came to an end on ss2 or 3 with an engine problem ,dig a photo of the beast out and post it mate ,that was the best sunbeam ive ever seen ,,,you must pop up and see the new car lee mate
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