Talbot sunbeam Q's

[Nick]

Hi guys,

i have the opportunity to buy a base model talbot sunbeam, i have always loved these cars and am hoping when i go see it that it won't be too much of a shed.

i have been led to believe it is the very basic totally povvo model. so how much is it worth?

assuming its original, solid but not road legal(ie no tax or test) howmuch should i look at paying?

any good sites for info on them?
what about engine swaps to get more grunt?

people use the sunbeam block on imp engines right? so would the same principal work the other way round use an imp head on the sunbeam block and make a little screamer, or would the sunbeam be too heavy for that idea to work?

whilst you mull that one over.

[lebowski]

The Avenger Sunbeam Owners Club (asoc) is a good place to start.

I would've thought an untaxed and untested base spec Sunbeam is worth very little (£few hundred or so) unless it's in really good condition.

Engine wise, I'd go for a 1600 iron block Avenger or Sunbeam engine, or a Lotus engine, or even a Brazilian 1850 (there is someone who imports them for about £600 I believe). Tuning the iron Sunbeam engines is a lot cheaper than tuning the 930 engine, and there's potential for a fair amount more power.

[briandamaged]

My mate's 'Beam...XE-powered, 235bhp and an absolute hoot to drive, it needs wipers on the side windows!!!!


Currently just about finished a total rebuild after a monumental shunt a couple of years ago, think there's something in the region of £20k gone into it in total.....rallying is not for those faint of heart or shallow of pockets.

[stealthstylz]

XE is the way to go for decent power. For cheapness a pinto goes in easily tho.

Matt

[penski]

v8 tbh.

*n

[Nick]

v8 doesnt seem like a good idea, besides the effort of fitting one, and then dealing with the extra weight (i hate rv8's before anyone even mentions them) i'd only have to buy lots more stuff and strengthen everything.

yellow xe powered sunbeam.. the guy who owns the one i am going to look at rallys a yellow xe powered sunbeam...mr damaged that one isnt owned by a guy called howard is it?

[briandamaged]

rearwheelnick said:

v8 doesnt seem like a good idea, besides the effort of fitting one, and then dealing with the extra weight (i hate rv8's before anyone even mentions them) i'd only have to buy lots more stuff and strengthen everything.

yellow xe powered sunbeam.. the guy who owns the one I am going to look at rallys a yellow xe powered sunbeam...mr damaged that one isnt owned by a guy called howard is it?

No, guy called Dean Whittington from Droitwich, it's red now.

This was after the first time he bent it at Caerwent in Wales. At another rally at Hixon Airfield near Stafford 3 weeks afterwards the steering rack snapped at about 115mph, he demolished half-a-dozen fenceposts and ploughed head-on into a ditch, destroying the entire front end.

[PhoenixC]

What engine is it 1.0 or 1.3. Any engine option is easy for sideways behaviour in those.
Avenger 1600 is a cheap option for a bit more power. Can cost a bit to get a lot of power out of them. 100bhp is about the limit before it starts to get a bit uneconomical, plus they start to loose torque and become a bit unreliable. But I have seen a couple of good ones putting out over 130bhp.
Pinto is a relatively easy swap. I might be wrong but I think you can use the existing prop with the ford box as well (although that could just be on avengers which are a bit longer).
I remember when we fitted a ford 4 speed to brother in laws 1600 avenger rally car. Other than a quick release bell housing everything was reused. That then got ditched for a 4AGE transplant at a later date. Not that much faster than the previous engine but loads more useable.

Excellent handling little cars though. Rust is the main concern on them these days, especially around the front chassis rails/jacking points.

Might as well post some pics of the Frankensunbeam pinto engined ugly fugga I briefly owned



MK4 escort front bumper, nissan micra back bumper, nissan silvia bonnet bulge, unknown arches and roof spoiler and a side exit exhaust ;D I`m not complaining though it netted me around £300 profit and I got around another £300 worth of spares from it.

[skamanfrank]

Sorry nothing usefull to add but- I LOVE these cars! WILL own one soon......!

[Sunloti72]

Got to say you are dam right,that is one hell of an ugly mother fugga.
Bastadized or what.

[v8lee]

As far as engine choices go the world's your lobster. There can't be many engines that haven't been fitted into these cars. Pintos, Xflows, V6s, V8s, Fiat Twin Cams, Vauxhall XEs, etc.
The rally boys have got most of them covered.
I'd probably go wit a 2ltr Pinto for spares availability and an easy transplant.

As for values, not much but a little bit of scene tax applies as these are well sought after for rally cars.