Gareth’s sustainable Sunbeam shines

[OUR CARS] 1961 Sunbeam Alpine Series 2

Since you last heard from me, I’ve been through quite a journey with the Alpine. The ‘pop’ I heard at Thruxton (with accompanying smoke) at the end of my last report turned out not to be the head gasket as first feared, but actually the speedo pinion shooting out of the gearbox. This explains the blue-ish smoke (the Rootes gearbox and Laycock overdrive use 10w50 engine oil), and also why a compression test showed even results across all four cylinders.

My friend and MG specialist Phil Cornut machined a lovely bung for me, because it’s best practice not to drive around with a gaping hole in the gearbox… particularly if you like keeping oil in there.

He also gave me his brother’s Moto-Lita steering wheel from his old MGB, and this was a huge upgrade in driving terms. Previously I had one of the firm’s thin wooden wheels, and it was too big and too thin for racing. The smaller leather one was a direct replacement, and even took the Sunbeam horn button.

And then it was on to Silverstone, not once but twice. The first was for a Fiscar race at the Bentley Drivers Club event, in which I ran the car on Sustain 80 – a drop-in fuel made from biomass waste that comprises 80 percent sustainable content. Pleasingly, I had to make no changes to the car to run this.

My carburettors were jetted for BP Ultimate, and Sustain felt, performed and sounded exactly the same. Thrilled to be the first person using it in the Fiscar championship, I do hope the price drops. At £4.65/litre it makes you wince, albeit in the context of racing, where literally everything costs more than you expect.

However, I only managed fourth in class for this race, because my overdrive wasn’t working. The gap between third and fourth ratios was just too wide for me to remain in the power band, and try as I might, the speed just wasn’t there.

Back to the workshop, and Phil noticed some bolts missing from the overdrive solenoid. We topped up the oil, replaced the bolts, put the spare wheels on – I’d snapped spokes on the wire ones last time out – and test drove the car in time for Silverstone Festival, where I’d entered it into the Pre-’63 GT Tourist Trophy race.

This hour-long, two-driver event was a real test of the car. My friend Simon went first, handing the Sunbeam over to me in the pits after 20 minutes. I secured my harnesses and went to select first, but it wasn’t there. Starting in second, I completed the race with an ominous crunch every time I selected fourth, and an occasionally slipping overdrive. But we finished, and even took home a trophy for third in class! I was delighted.

You can probably guess what happened next. I spoke to John Roseby, an authority on Rootes gearboxes, who took the ’box to bits and showed me the damage, and some concerning previous bodges. The input shaft wasn’t salvageable, and I ended up taking a perfect-condition replacement home. Expensive month.

Subscribe to Classic Cars today. Choose a Print+ Subscription and you'll get instant digital access and so much more. PLUS FREE UK delivery. Get 6 issues for just £19.99 with our festive offer!