Rare Sunbeam rebuilt: A 20hp Drophead back on the road

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Enthusiasts drive their cars. They tinker with them, occasionally break them, and eventually wear them out, so a car which has spent 60 years in enthusiast ownership hasn’t necessarily had an easy life. Take this 1931 Sunbeam 20hp drophead coupé – it was being enjoyed on the Vintage rally circuit in the 1960s, but it looked scruffy even then. When a new owner bought it in1985, he decided it was time for a rebuild. Sadly, after dismantling car, he became too ill to complete the project and it was left in a disorganised and deconstructed state until its saviour came along in 2019.

Apart from the problem of not knowing where to begin with a car that was all in pieces, and the inevitable fact that a few small but vital parts had vanished, the situation wasn’t all bad. The chassis, being of the best-quality steel, had survived practically in perfect condition, and the body panels were in fine order, too. The engine needed extensive attention, though, and about a fifth ofthe body timbers had to be replaced. The interior was also a mess, but after some reupholstering, painstaking marquetry work and some outside-the-box thinking for a modern Bakelite substitute, it has now reached a state befitting a luxurious prewar grand tourer.

The Sunbeam now looks the best it has done for 60 years at least, and drives like real thoroughbred. Zack Stiling tells the story of a superb restoration in the March issue of The Automobile, available now.

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