My Next Project: 1965 Sunbeam Alpine

[UNSTUCK]

At this point I'm pretty far into this build, so I'll play a bit of catch up. This build could also be called one of those "way over my head builds". I know Jeeps very well and they are kind of my bread and butter. This car build is a whole new game for me. Though looking back over the last 3 months I can see how fab work is fab work and a lot of the principals are the same. I just don't need parts that are as strong. No 2" x 1/4 wall tube here. Half that size, in fact.

I didn't even know what a Sunbeam Alpine was when I took on this build. This car belongs to my brother-in-law. He just finished having a '67 camaro built for him, now his wife (my wifes sister) wants a fun car to follow him around in and run around town in. So he brought the car to me and all he said was that he wanted an LS1 in it. That's where I got in over my head. I had no idea just how small this car was until he brought it to me, all the way from Phoenix.

For what ever reason, he had it painted a year or so ago, then just let it sit for that long. They drove it up their road one time and hated the power of it. That's when he started thinking about the idea of the bigger motor.

As a bit of cool history for you, as I understand it, Carroll Shelby's carrier took off with these cars. He was taking a few of them and putting in a Ford 289 and doing a few other things to them. They were renamed a Tiger and became the "sports car" model. That was going great for him for a while, until Plymouth bought out Sunbeam. Well Plymouth wasn't about to put a Ford motor in their new line so Shelby separated from them and decided to build his own car. The Cobra was then born.

So here it is the day it was dropped off. My daughter had to test drive it. I thought I was just doing the drivetrain, but was told I needed to do the entire build. To, "make it like a new car". Yikes! We were joking around a bit and I asked John what he wanted to call it. After all it would no longer be an Alpine, being so heavily modified, and it wouldn't be right to call it a Tiger. I joked and said, "Liger". Well John fell in love with the name and it has stuck. In fact he even wants to stitch LIGER in the head rests of the seats. We'll see about that...

 

[Rot Box]

Cool! A friend of mine has a couple Sunbeams including an original 260 Tiger. Neat cars looking forward to seeing this one come together.

 

[UNSTUCK]

So I brought it in and started getting it cleaned up and removed everything. I started looking for a good motor and trans. I ended up finding a "good" one on ebay from a pretty reputable seller. A nice LS1 from a 2002 Camaro. I also purchased Corvette covers for it as well. I had Fastenal ship it for me. If you haven't used them for shipping, they should be considered, simply because they are dirt cheap. Unfortunately I have had two bad experiences with them but they are good to make things right and treat you like an actual customer, unlike any other shipper.











I started cutting out the tranny tunnel. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I want to mount the transmission. I'll get into that a bit later.



The damaged package. I assume a forklift fork caught the corner of the engine. A few parts got damaged that will need to be replaced as well as the wiring harness got some wires cut. Wires that may or may not be reused. Don't know yet.







The two engines next to each other. The pictures doesn't do them justice, but the size difference is HUGE!

 

[Kevin B.]

So what's that, 350ish HP in a 1500 pound car? I'm not sure that's enough power.

 

[UNSTUCK]

So now it was time to get down to business. We knew the engine would have to be set way back in the fire wall, it was just a matter of how to do it. The LS is much shorter than the original motor we I though about cutting out the firewall and leaving the cowell in place. The LS could slip in right under it. That would have left half the motor covered and out of sight. I didn't like that so I ended up cutting it all out. I will simply square up a new firewall around the back of the motor.











Now that I had the depth in the engine bay that I needed, it was time to work on making it wider. This is a unibody car, but still has a "frame" attached right to it. That frame curved way in on both sides of the stock engine losing about 4 inches in width. I needed that four inches back. Now the suspension bolted to the frame in that same spot. I knew we were going with a new front end so I wasn't worried about that. I would make the new suspension work with the new frame sections.... or so I thought. I welded in new frame sections that were just straight, giving me (just barely) enough room for the engine.

 

[UNSTUCK]

With the frame ready I was dying to test fit the engine. So in it went.





It was still super tight between the new frame rails. I thought for sure I would have to have custom headers built that went outside the frame rails and I didn't really like that idea.





Then I found these bad boys. They are actually a rebuild of the 2010 camaro manifolds. Hooker makes these. Jeggs had them for a smoking garage sale deal so I got them for a test fit. They worked pretty good, although I'm already sorry for the exhaust builder on this job.



While all this was going on, I was spending a TON of money at ChassisWorks getting a whole new front suspension and most of the rear and rear axle. I went with them because they had the only set up that I could find that would maintain a 51" wms to wms distance. Everything else out there is based off of Mustang II parts and come in at 56" to 60".
So this is where I had my first "Oh shhhhhhhhhh......." moment. I read all the install instructions twice, but never comprehended the height of the new crossmember. It needed to be set 4 inches above the floor at ride height, which is fine. But the overall height of the crossmember was not tall enough. And I never realized that until I got way into the install. I started notching my new frame rails and all that good stuff, just like I was supposed to, then went to install the crossmember.





Is is what the crossmember looks like at "4 inches" above the floor. It was clear at that point that my new frame rails were too high. Not only that but they were too wide. Left that width, the the shocks wold hit them. Now where did I put that sawzall?

 

[UNSTUCK]

I cut out the new frame rails and started from scratch again. This time I placed the crossmember where it needed to be and tacked it in place. I didn't take pictures of this step, but what I did was weld temporary crossmembers in front of and behind the suspension crossmember. I then welded supports from those members to the suspension member. These held it in place while I built the new frame sections. I'm very happy with how it all turned out. It looks much more fabricated now than before with just the straight tubes in place. I haven't finish welded it yet though, just in case. I did get the engine mounts built and installed and like how everything looks up front now.









Most of you know I just got a new toy, in the form of a forklift. With all the little stuff I have done with it, it has already paid for itself. I removed this rear axle faster than any I have ever done before. Everyone should own a forklift!



My next project was to built a rotisserie. I have never built one before so I did a bit of reading on them. Seemed simple enough, and it was. Just two engine stands modified a bit. It's not super stable, but should work just fine for this build. I don't think I would use it for a full size car without more bracing. But, man, is it awesome to have! I can roll the car over now and work on the bottom while standing up.










This is where I'm at now. I need to sandblast it, but am having difficulty finding a place that will do it. Any ideas? Once that is done I can start on the rear suspension. It will be a triangulated 4 link. I found out the hot rodders just call it a 4-bar suspension. It should give me a pretty impressive 4" of suspension travel. I wonder what my RTI score will be?

My biggest issue right now is deciding how to mount the transmission. The frame makes that nice X right where it needs to sit. The old transmission mounts just in front of it with the tail shaft going into a tunnel right above the cross. It can be dropped out the bottom of the car if needed.
For strength, I really don't want to mess with the cross at all. In fact the trans will sit up high enough that I think I can notch a spot for the tranny pan and have it sit above the cross. The problem will come when it's time to remove the transmission for a rebuild or whatnot. It would have to come out the top. Meaning pull the seats and doghouse, heater box, and anything else in the way.
My other option is to try to figure out how to make the cross removable so the trans can drop out the bottom. I don't like this idea as much. That would be a ton of work to make it work. Mostly I just like the idea of it staying one piece. Any thoughts on this?

I wish this build was going as fast as writing it up. I think it will speed up for sure once the rear suspension is done and the trans mount worked out. I dread the thought of building the interior and all the creature comforts. The things that are not important in a go fast jeep. For example, my sister-in-law is a huge Sonic fan and has to have her route 44 drink with her all the time. So of everything I do to this car, that cup holder will be the most important.

Stay tuned...

 

[blznnp]

this will be a fun car. if you havnt, maybe call armor coatings, if they cant, they might be able to suggest someone who can. I am sure they get stuff that is pretty big and have some idea who can do it if they can't

 

[Caleb]

Instead of sandblasting, why not consider soda blasting? I think most shops that do that would do it for you (I may be wrong though )

 

[sawtooth4x4]

nice! love those cars. i think the V8 is a bit overkill. but with 2 foot wide rear tires, all should be well. love it.

 

[rustyoljeep]

Looking forward to seeing this do some wheelies.

 

[UNSTUCK]

I'll be ready to blast it for sure tomorrow so I need to find someone to do it ASAP. I need to blast the underside and inside footwell area. Nothing that has already been painted. Should I look into soda blasting or does it matter?

 

[gahi]

I was spending a TON of money at ChassisWorks getting a whole new front suspension and most of the rear and rear axle. I went with them because they had the only set up that I could find that would maintain a 51" wms to wms distance.

Is this something they offer, or custom? I would like to figure out an even narrower setup using MII components

 

[UNSTUCK]

This was their narrowist crossmember. I guess you could cut it and remove a section but then you run into issues mounting the rack. Better off using a wheel with more back space. How narrow are you trying to go? 51 is pretty narrow.

 

[Greg]

That is going to be insane Josh! The frame fab work is over the top, looking forward to seeing the frame & suspension come together! Any plans for a small roll bar behind the seats, for safety sake?

Thanks for posting and sharing, love seeing this!

 

[Bart]

Love, love, love the Sunbeams. Very cool build.

 

[Pile of parts]

Contact Justin (801) 870-8636 at Stewart Specialty Services for Soda Blasting. Their shop is located pretty close to you and they are fellow RME guys. Tell him Jason sent you.

 

[UNSTUCK]

It's kind of a funny build. It's not a racer by any means, according to john but it will have a lot of race parts. He sat in my jeep suspension seats and has to have them in the car. It will get a basic hoop behind the seats. I'll post up two of the cars we are modeling this on off of when I get to my computer.

 

[sixstringsteve]

sweet project, and nice work! My dad had a couple tigers and my brother had an alpine last year, but had to sell it. I'll be watching this one closely.

 

[CobraNutt]

My step brother was building a Sunbeam for his son several years ago...I wonder if he still has it. His son passed away in 2002, and I know the car just sat in the garage for a few years after that... Cool little beasts if you can keep em running!

Sent from my mystical handheld gizmo.