Sunbeam Rapier Fastback Resto

[pryantcc]

Wow! Brilliant wheels!! Little did they know what the alloy wheel was to become!

[paul]

A post on both sides is a bit of a state:

[paul]

[CologneV6]

Fond memories !
My 1st car was a 1973 Alpine fastback which belonged to my dad - head gasket had gone ( again ) and he gave it to me for my 16th birthday in 1978. I fixed it up and drove it around for a few years before selling it to a chap near Rye in Sussex aound 1986/7.
I put a Holbay engine in it and fitted an H120 bootlid and badges and Rostyle wheels with 185/70 x 13 tyres...but ran it with the single carb due to insurance people not liking the idea of an 18-yr old fitting the twin 40's.

Good luck with the restoration, saw one at a show last year, can't remember that last time I saw one on the road.

[CologneV6]

Fond memories !
My 1st car was a 1973 Sunbeam Alpine Fastback.

Good luck with the restoration.

[paul]

Thanks for the kind comments, if only I had a Holbay lump lying around.

Done the "A" posts both sides, new metal grafted in and nicely sealed from the worst the UK can throw at it:



and

[paul]

Wings on

[paul]

Front Valance repaired

[tractorman]

Another person with fond memories. My late father bought one on a dark and wet evening. It was supposed to have had an engine rebuild and just needed new outer sills. I was having Chemotherapy at the time (must have been early 1979) and spent several weeks trying to weld the underside - and rebuild the engine!

It ended up going to a breakers as there was more rot than car! I think we were both broken-hearted as they are great cars (one of my favourites).

I hope yours isn't hiding as much tin worm! Looking forward to the continuation of the story - one other little memory was the look on the consultant's face when I went back for a between-treatment check up with a badly sunburnt head (you forget how much hair protects your skin!).

[paul]

I love hearing the owners stories, although they always seem to be about welding / rebuilding them

I've just popped the final top coats on, but was encouraged to pop some photo's on telling the story so to speak. we had to pop a fair bit of metal back in, although it was pretty good on the whole

You must be a particularly brave man, facing chemo and a sunbeam rapier at the same time