In the "other expensive hobby" thread - I posted about my summer work "restoring" (I use the term loosely, how about, making roadworthy again), my recently acquired (from my father) 1963 Sunbeam Alpine. (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....ve-hobby/page9) -
Rather than clutter that thread up - I decided to make my own thread for the car.
You can see the car is it looked in late 2006 -
Unfortunately, not long after this the car suffered a brake line failure. And shortly thereafter, my parents decided to move and started restoring a farm house from the 19-teens. 10 years, two restored houses, two kids getting married, two new grand kids, and retirement later the car has been languishing, unfortunately, outside for the last two years. This languishing time means the car is in need of some serious maintenance to be roadworthy again. Starting with rebuilding the brakes and then focusing on known trouble points for Alpines (generally the rear axle and overheating issues). Fortunately, the Brits in Conventry built better cars than any other Brits anywhere (seriously), and these little cars tend to hold up and are overbuilt, especially compared to say an MG. Unfortunately, they are far less common than its British brethren which can make parts acquisition a...pain in the ass.
Well, thus far on my adventure, I have managed to rebuild the rear axle, fit an electric fan, get the brakes almost entirely fixed, and do a tune-up on the engine. Alas, like all things, I wait for the inevitable UPS deliveries that bring me parts from far away. In the mean time while waiting, for those parts. I've taken to working on other issues plaguing the car.
The old seats and seat belts were...hazardous. The seats would randomly unlock and fully recline while moving and the seat belt mounts were so rotten, when I crushed open the clips to remove them with a pair of channel lock pliers, the clips broke in half (me thinketh they would not survive a high g-force load...). So, a sourced pair of MGB seats, complete with head rests and clips for shoulder belts, allowed me to upgrade seats and seat belts by installing new 3-point seat belts.
You can now see the car and her shameless toplessness (warning: completely safe for work!!!) on jackstands.
My next task cosmetic task will be to paint and adjust the sheet metal covers that conceal the soft-top when it is folded and then fit them to the car. After that, the new soft top should be here and I'll start the install. When my hydraulic line adapters for the clutch and brakes arrive those systems will be complete. Which will be another safety upgrade with new Tilton master cylinders for the clutch and brakes, and a dual-chamber brake master cylinder at that.
In 10-days I intend to drive this car 200-miles from Dallas to Austin. In 12-days I intend to begin the trip driving this car 1400 miles from Austin to Chicago by way of Route 66. Wish me luck!
-Rob