Sunbeam

GB, 1899 – 1937, 1953 to date

(1) John Marston Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1899 – 1905

(2) Sunbeam Motor Car Co Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1905 – 1935

(3) Sunbeam Motors Ltd, London W.11, 1936 – 1937

(4) Sunbeam-Talbot Ltd, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, 1953 – 1970

(5) Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, 1970 to date

John Marston’s tinplate and japanware firm, which had been making bicycles since 1887, built its first 4hp belt-driven prototype Sunbeam car in 1899, followed by another machine with a twin-cylinder engine in 1901. The first model Sunbeam car to see series production was, however, the diamond-formation and allegedly skidproof Sunbeam-Mabley voiturette with 2¾hp De Dion engine, a number of which were sold for £130 in the 1901-1904 period. More conventional was the 12hp Sunbeam car marketed under T.C. Pullinger’s direction in 1903, which was based on a Berliet design and had a flitch-plate frame, chain drive with Sunbeam cars patent oil-bath chain cases, and a 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine with automatic inlet valves. A 3.6-litre 6-cylinder Sunbeam car was on the market briefly in 1904, but Sunbeam cars soon progressed to Shaw-designed T-head fours, though another short-lived six Sunbeam car appeared in 1907. Sunbeam cars great years started in 1909 when Louis Coatalen joined the Sunbeam car firm from Hillman. In that season the Sunbeam car company was offering three L-head fours with chain drive, and capacities of 3.4, 4.5 and 6.3-litres, plus an odd 3.2-litre twin-cylinder Station Cart Sunbeam car. Coatalen’s first effort was a T-headed 14/18hp Sunbeam car, available with either shaft or chain drive. This Sunbeam car was followed a year later by a 2.4-litre 12/16 on similar lines, but with pressure lubrication and on overdrive gearbox, while overhead valves were tried out on a racing Sunbeam car, the Nautilus, at Brooklands in 1910. An improved 12/16 Sunbeam car of 3-litres’ capacity with monobloc engine ran in the 1911 Coupe de l’Auto race, foreshadowing an immensely successful touring development which Sunbeam car sold initially for £375. This Sunbeam car had an L-head engine and was made up to 1921. In 74bhp racing guise the Sunbeam car scored 1-2-3 victory in the 1912 Coupe de l’Auto, following this up with a 3rd place in 1913. In 1914 Sunbeam car company built Henri-inspired twin-ohc 4-cylinder racers both for the Tourist Trophy and for the French Grand Prix, and at the outbreak of World War 1 the Sunbeam car range consisted of the 12/16 in standard and sporting forms, a 4-litre 16/20 Sunbeam car of similar general design, and a 6.1-litre 6-cylinder Sunbeam car rated at 25/30hp, all offered with electric lighting. The Sunbeam car company concentrated on aero engines during the war years, though a 4.9-litre twin-ohc 6-cylinder Sunbeam ca  was sent to Indianapolis in 1916 and took 3rd place, while Rovers took over production of the 12/16 for the Flighting Services. Renamed the 16, this Sunbeam car reappeared in civilian form with full electrical equipment at £790, along with a smaller vesion of the pre-war 25/30 Sunbeam car powered by a 4½-litre engine.

The Sunbeam car company amalgamated with Talbot and Darracq in 1920 to form the STD combine, and the next five years saw an energetic racing programme of Sunbeam cars. Twin-ohc 108bhp straight-8 Sunbeam cars were made for the 3-litre formula of the immediate post-war years, followed by some unsuccessful 2-litre fours, and finally the twin-ohc 6-cylinder ‘Fiats in green paint’, designed by Bertarione, which won the French and Spanish GPs in 1923, and this Sunbeam car ran supercharged in 1924, as well as having a long and distinguished competition career in later years. Chassagne won the Tourist Trophy on a 3-litre straight-8 Sunbeam car in 1922, while one of the regular 3-litre sports Sunbeam cars finished 2nd at Le Mans in 1925. Sunbeam cars took the World’s Land Speed Record five times in the 1922-1927 period: Lee Guiness started with 133.75mph on the 350hp V12 sprint Sunbeam car, a figure which Campbell subsequently raised, first to 146mph on the 4-litre V12, a Sunbeam car which was also used for road racing, and the following year he became the first man to exceed 200mph on land with the twin-engined chain-drive 45-litre Sunbeam car. Sunbeam cars last record car, the Silver Bullet of 1930, was unsuccessful.

Touring Sunbeam carss of the 1920s were cars of great refinement if not outstanding performance. The basic 16 and 24hp types Sunbeam cars were redesigned with push-rod overhead valves in 19222, ohc sporting versions being also listed, while a more modest 2-litre 14hp Sunbeam car with unit gearbox was available at £725. Front-wheel brakes arried on the 6-cylinder 16/50 Sunbeam car in 1924, and were optional also on the 14/40 Sunbeam car which replaced the 14hp model. An impressive 3-litre 6-cylinder twin-ohc sports Sunbeam car with dry-sump engine was made in small numbers between 1925 and 1930, but the Sunbeam car was ‘too fast for its chassis’ as well as being expensive to make and buy. A big straight-8 Sunbeam car with a push-rod engine, available in 4.8-litre and 5.4-litre forms, was introduced in 1926 at prices from £1.295 up and front-wheel brakes became standard on all Sunbeam cars. All Sunbeam cars had the V-radiator by 1927, when the fours were dropped, and the standard touring sixes were the 2-litre 16hp at £550, the 2.9-litre 20hp Sunbeam car at £750, and the 3.6-litre 25hp at £950, all with plate clutches, spiral bevel final drive, and cantilever rear suspension. Thereafter Sunbeam car design changed little, and sales of Sunbeam cars declined though quality was maintained. Semi-elliptic springs were found at the rear of the smaller 1930 Sunbeam carmodels, in 1931 the Sunbeam cars acquired hydraylic brakes and radiator shutters, and the 16’s engine was enlarged to 2.2-litres. The 1932 Sunbeam cars’ silent-third gearboxes gave way to synchromesh on 1933 16 and 20hp Sunbeams. That year there was also a 2.9-litre Speed Model Sunbeam car with crash box at £745, though its main competitor was STD’s other fast tourer, the Talbot 105. The old Sunbeam car firm’s last new model was a ponderous 1.6-litre ohv four, the Sunbeam Dawn of 1934, with preselector gearbox and independent front suspension. This Sunbeam car was offered again in 1935, along with the 20, the 25, and the Speed Model, but the collapse of the STD combine brought receivership and purchased by Rootes, and an ohv Roesch-designed 4½-litre straight-8 Sunbeam car announced for 1937 never went into production. There were no Sunbeams in 1938, and when the Sunbeam-Talbot range was announced for 1939 the Sunbeam car was based on the later Rootes Talbots.

The name of Sunbeam cars did not reappear until 1953, when it was given to a sports two-seater Sunbeam car of the 2.3-litre ohv 4-cylinder Sunbeam-Talbot 90, the Sunbeam Alpine, which sold for £1.269, and this Sunbeam car collected four Coupes des Alpes in that year’s Alpine Rally, following this up with a Gold Cup (for Stirling Moss) and a Coupe des Dames (for Sheila Van Damm) in 1954. In 1955 the basic 90 saloon Sunbeam car was marketed as the Sunbeam MK III, and further laurels included the Malling/ Fadum win in that year’s Monte Carlo rally. The type Sunbeam car was listed until 1957, being joined in 1956 by a Hillman Minx-based sports saloon, the Sunbeam Rapier, with a 1.4-litre square 4-cylinder 62bhp engine, unitary construction, and overdrive as standard equipment, at £986. This Sunbeam car did well in subsequent Alpines and Monte Carlo Rallies, as well as winning its class in the 1956 Mille Miglia, and by 1958 the Sunbeam car had grown up to 1½-litres and 68bhp, acquiring a less Hillman-like grill in the process, though overdrive was now an extra. A sports two-seater Sunbeam car, another Alpine, with integral construction, was listed for 1960, and subsequent evolution was on regular Rootes lines: diaphragm clutches in 1964, with the option of automatic on the Alpine, all-synchromesh gearboxes in 1965, and 1.7-litre 5-bearing engines in 1966. 1964 brought two new developments of the basic theme Sunbeam car, an Italian-bodied Venezia sports saloon based on the Humber Sceptre, and the Tiger Sunbeam car, which was an Alpine with rack-and-pinion steering and a 4.3-litre, 164bhp Ford V8 engine, this despite the Rootes-Chrysler conncection. In 1966, the Rapier V, Alpine V, and Tiger comprised the Sunbeam car name. A 51bhp Sunbeam car-version of the Imp was available in the home market in 1967, and this Sunbeam car was followed by the more sporting Stiletto coupé for 1968.

An entirely new Rapier Sunbeam car on Hillman Hunter lines was announced for that year, its fastback styling inspired by Plymouth’s Barracuda. It had an 88bhp engine, a close-ratio gearbox, and overdrive as standard.

During 1968 the old Sunbeam Alpine was discontinued (the Tiger had already gone), and the Rapier range was rounded out, first by the H120 of 1969 with twin-carburettor Holbay-tuned engine giving 105bhp and Rostyle wheels, and then by the Alpine, a simplified version of the basic theme introduced for 1970. These three fastback Sunbeam cars were still being made in 1973, along with the Sunbeam Sport based on the Imp saloon. The Stiletto was discontinued during 1972.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Hillman

GB, 1907 to date

(1) Hillman – Coatalen Motor Car Co Ltd, Coventry, 1907 – 1909

(2) Hillman Motor Car Co Ltd, Coventry (1910 – 1946); Ruton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire (1946 – 1970); Linwood, Glasgow (1963 – 1970

(3) Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd, Ruton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire; Linwood Glasgow, 1970 to date

The Hillman car was originally known as the Hillman-Coatalen, the first cars being the work of Louis Coatalen, who designed a 25hp 4-cylinder for the 1907 Tourist Trophy. Pre-1914 production of Hillman cars was on a small scale, and consisted initially of big sv machines with separately cast cylinders (a 6.4-litre four and a 9.7-litre six) and shaft drive. The traditional shape of Hillman car radiator emerged in 1908, and continued on all Hillman car models up to 1930. Neither a little-known 1.8-litre 2-cylinder of 1913 nor a very small six of 2 litres’ capacity in 1914 made much impression, but much more successful was the 9hp Hillman car, a monobloc 1.357cc sv four, selling at £200. This Hillman car was brought up to date with electrics after World War 1, and progressively developed until 1925, by which time it had grown to 1.6-litres. A sports version with a V-radiator, outside exhaust, and polished aluminium bodywork was raced quite extensively in the early 1920s and Raymond Mays served his apprenticeship on one of these. All 1923 – 1925 Hillman cars came with drophead bodywork and winding windows. A conventional sv Hillman Fourteen with a 4-speed gearbox and magneto ignition was the only Hillman car model offered from 1926 to 1928, and production of this was stepped up after Rootes took over in the latter year. In 1929 prices started at £295, and ‘Safety’ versions were fitted with safety glass and servo brakes. Less happy was a companion to the Hillman Fourteen, a 2.6-litre ohv straight-8 with coil ignition. However, Hillman moved into the mass-production class in 1932 with their excellent 1.185cc sv Hillman Minx car at £159. This Hillman car was progressively developed up to the outbreak of World War 2, with 4-speed gearbox and the options of free-wheel and radio in 1934, all-synchromesh boxes in 1935 (these were dropped again in 1939), integral luggage boot in 1936, and unitary construction in 1940. The underslung Hillman Aero-Minx sports model of 1933 formed the basis for the Talbot and Sunbeam-Talbot Tens which resulted from Rootes’ acquisition of the S.T.D group, and there was even a luxury Hillman car Minx-based Humber Ten, though this was marketed only in New Zealand. Alongside these there were also some sv 6-cylinder Hillman cars, 1936 and later versions having transverse independent front suspension, but they gave way to another sv 1.9-litre Hillman Fourteen, sold with hydraulic brakes by 1940; these were not added to the Hillman Minx until the Phase II Hillman car models of late 1947, which also featured steering-column change.

Post-war Hillman Minxes continued the model’s reputation as a style leader of conventional mechanical specification. 1949 Hillman cars had full-width five/six-seater bodywork, there was a more powerful 1¼-litre engine in 1950, and a hardtop coupé version, the Hillman Californian, in 1953. In 1955 the Hillman car range was extended to include the Hillman Husky short-wheelbase station wagon, while de luxe Hillman Minxes acquired 1.395cc short-stroke ohv power units, and licence-production was taken up in Japan by Isuzu. The Hillman car model continued to keep abreast of the times with its cylinder capacity increased to 1½-litres in 1959, to 1.6-litres in 1962, and to 1.7-litres with a 5-bearing crankshaft in 1966. Automatic transmission became optional in 1960 with Hillman cars, hypoid final drive replaced the spiral bevel type in 1961, and later cars had front disc brakes. From 1957 onwards the Rootes-owned Singer company’s Gazelle had a Minx-type hull, and the Minx engine was used after 1959. A bigger Hillman Super Minx car joined the Hillman car range in 1962, and 1963 produced a challenger in the baby-car class, the Hillman Imp car. Made in the Rootes’ Group’s Scottish factory at Linwood, this Hillman car had an inclined, rear-mounted ohc 875cc 4-cylinder engine, 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, and all-round independent suspension. In 1966 Hillman Imps did well in the saloon-car racing, and Singer and Sunbeam versions followed, as well as a new Hillman Husky station wagon: the engine was used by a number of specialist manufacturers, notably Bond, Ginetta, TVR and Clan. It was also fitted to one version of the Greek Farmobil cross-country vehicle.

Chrysler acquired a majority interest in Rootes in 1964, the first consequences of the new management being the 1967 Hillman Minx car and Hillman Hunter car that replaced the existing Minx, and Super Minx types. Design was entirely new on these Hillman cars, though the 1.496cc and 1.725cc engines (now inclined in the ‘chassis’) were retained. These were assembled in Iran under the name of Peykan. Vehicles assembled in South-Africa used Peugeot engines. A Hillman Hunter won the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon. An entirely new shape from Hillman cars, the Avenger, appeared in 1970. Its suspension, by McPherson struts at the front and by rigid axle and coils at the rear, was similar to that of French Chryslers, there was a choice of 1.248cc or 1.496cc ohv 4-cylinder engines, disc brakes were fitted at the front, and automatic transmission was optional. Prices of these Hillman cars started at £765.

At the end of the 1970 season the Hillman Minx was dropped after an unbroken run of 38 years. Its replacement was a 54bhp Hillman Hunter De Luxe with the 1½-litre engine. Hillman Avengers went on sale in the USA as Plymouth Crickets. Two new Hillman Avenger cars were added during 1972: a station wagon and the twin-carburettor high-performance Hillman Tiger, a limited-production saloon with magnesium alloy wheels, capable of 105mph and retailing at £1.328. A 78bhp GLS Hillman car version with power brakes, radial-ply tyres and wide-rim wheels appeared in 1973, when the Hillman Imp was continued, and the Hunter line-up ranged from the basic Hillman De Luxe up to the 93bhp 1.7-litre GLS with twin Weber carburetors and close-ratio gearbox.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com