Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; in the current ownership for 35 years; vast
history file; last on the road in c.2019; a much-loved Sunbeam in need of
sympathetic recommissioning and refurbishment; loads of character; lots to
like!
Launched in
1948, the Sunbeam-Talbot 90 was a sporting car built by the Rootes Group in
Ryton and was the last car to bear the Sunbeam-Talbot name.
Available as a four-door saloon or two-door drophead coupé, the
saloon featured a ‘pillarless’ join between the glass on the rear door and the
rear quarter window and went through three versions before production ended
in 1956.
From 1954, they dropped the
double-barrel name and it became simply the Sunbeam MkIII, although the badge on
the front called it a Sunbeam Supreme. Power from the 2,267cc
four-cylinder went up to 80bhp and the cars were good for 94mph - well into
sports car territory. They were very successful in international rallies, driven
by Stirling Moss, Sheila Van Damm and Jim Clark amongst
others.
First registered in Devon in September
1955, this Sunbeam MkIII comes with an original buff logbook showing that it had
just four West Country owners up until May 1991 when it was acquired by the
current owner.
It comes with a large history
file extending right back to the early 1960s which will keep the next owner
happily engrossed for hours. This includes many invoices for upkeep plus no
fewer than 25 old MOTs from 1963 (when the MOT test was first introduced on a
voluntary basis) to 2013. These imply that the current mileage of 65,818 is
almost certainly correct.
Photos and invoices
show that the car had a major mechanical overhaul in 2009 (at around 63,700
miles), including what looks like a rebuilt engine, although as the owner did
much of the work himself it is hard to be sure. The engine was definitely taken
out of the car and looks good as new in the photos taken at the time (as
pictured).
On offer here from a deceased estate,
we aren’t sure when it was last driven but it was probably just over 5 years ago
as the log of journeys made in the car by the owner stops at that point and the
last invoice is for a new radiator core and various coolant hoses in November
2019.
It comes with a huge amount of technical
literature, period brochures, road tests etc, plus dozens of old issues of the
club magazine, Stardust – no doubt this very car is featured in some of them, as
it also attended many club rallies over the years, with various plaques and
photos to prove. Sundry useful spares are also included.
This has clearly been a much-loved car and, with any luck, it
shouldn’t take much to get it running again. It looks reassuringly straight and
solid, both above and below. Yes, the leather on the front seats needs some
sympathetic TLC but the fixtures and fittings are all top quality with lashings
of lovely white bakelite, original HMV radio, super original headlining and
carpets that look virtually new.
Kept in nice dry
storage since the owner passed away, we have purposely left it covered in
dust so the next owner can have the satisfaction of seeing how it polishes
up.
On offer at no reserve, this is a
really genuine old Sunbeam, with few owners, tons of history and very low
miles for the year.
The icing on the cake is the original Devon-issue
number plate, TDV 204, which is transferable according to the V5C, and no doubt
has a value of its own.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com