Calendar ................................................... 2 President's Message ................................. 3 Team Tiger Update ................................... 4 United Update ........................................... 6 Sports Car Art Print ................................... 7 Favorite Tool ............................................. 7 Last Alpine Prototype ................................ 8 New Members ........................................ 11 Brake Lights and Switches ................ 12, 14 Show Report ........................................... 13 Members Spotlight ................................. 16 Sunbeam Winners ................................... 18 For Sale ................................................... 19

IN THIS ISSUE:

Vol 45, No. 8 August 2018

(Continued on page 6)

Tom Patton Takes First Place (Story on Page 4)

Victory for Team Tiger at Watkins Glen

United XXXVII Update - Sy Block, United 37 Chair

We’ve planned three days of things to do and cars to see! Don’t miss out! This is the third of three articles highlighting events at this year’s United in Long Island, New York.

Early registration extended to August 20

Tech Sessions Announced When I purchased my Tiger in January 2014, it came equipped with Dale Akuszewski’s front end. Being relatively new to the Tiger world, I had only recently heard of Dale and of his modifications to Tigers. Then I received a phone call from him letting me know he is planning to drive his black fuel injected Tiger from San Bernardino, California to the United. We’re excited to have him offer a tech session on some of the modifications and the parts that he’s designed specifically for Tigers. While we respect those purists who wish to remain stock and honor the original designs of the cars, it’s now over 50 years since the first Tigers were produced. Seeing some of the potential for change has been a real eye-opener.

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REGIONAL REPS

PRES ENT Joe Parlanti 240-632-0649 president@teae.org

VICE PRES ENT James Lindner 703-329-1763 vicepresident@teae.org

SECRETARY Jackie Parlanti 240-632-0649 secretary@teae.org

TREASURER Robert Harter 202-986-3680 treasurer@teae.org

REGALIA Eric Gibeaut 803-408-0206 regalia@teae.org

2018 OFFICERS

Membership Information and address changes:

Joe McConlogue membership@teae.org

Checks payable to TE/AE Mail to: Joe McConlogue

820 Fishing Creek Valley Rd Harrisburg, PA 17112

Newsletter Submissions: Kerch McConlogue Address above editor@teae.org

Publication Guidelines: teae.org/guidelines/

SUBSCR TION RATES

International

1yr 2yr 1yr 2yr

Printed $39 $69 $42 $76

Electronic $34 $60 $34 $60

US

Tom Calvert 410-255-8964 tcalvert@syntek.org Eric Gibeaut 803-408-0206 sunbeams @sc.rr.com

Tom Ehrhart 717-832-1116 tt@tigertoms.net Bill Bulpitt 770-329-5263 bill.bulpitt @urs.com

David Reina 718-599-1237 Reinadesigns @aol.com Joe McConlogue 717-474-8311 baltoalpine @gmail.com

Sy Block 516-532-3154 seymourblock @gmail.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Carolinas: Eric Gibeaut 803-408-0206 Carolinas@teae.org

Pennsylvania: Tom Ehrhart 717-832-1116 PA@teae.org

NY/NJ: Tom Hillmann 201-315-3696 NYNJ@teae.org

Deep South: Bill Bulpitt 770-329-5263 DeepSouth@teae.org

Chesapeake: (DelMarVa)

Joe Parlanti 240-632-0649 Chesapeake @teae.org

Midwest: Curt Bowland 630-455-6697 Midwest@teae.org

Florida: Mike Schreiner 561-222-8547 Florida@teae.org

New England: David Kellogg 781-424-9254 NewEngland @teae.org

Ohio: Doug Jennings 937-252-3317

Upcoming Events

August 19: Brits on the Lake Port Perry, Ontario Details at http://bit.ly/2LbsLKs

September 13-16: United XXXVII Long Island, NY Details at https://teae.org/united-37/ October 6: Michigan Equinox Cruise

Details contact Rick lara2580@sbcglobal.net Or call (586) 247-0156 http://bit.ly/2Kfis6Z

TEAE Calendar Listings Come On Guys! It’s the height of car show season.

Send me some info. Get people to your events even if they aren’t Rootes events!

We want to list on the website as many shows as possible to drum up enthusiasm for our, and other, club events. Please make it easy for us.

Fill out the form here: http://teae.org/calendar/add-event/

Or find it under Calendar in the top navigation of our site.

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President’s Message

The weather this month has been good for Sunbeaming in the mid-Atlantic. We started by once again tagging along with the DC Fiats club ― which has officially adopted the Tiger ― on a wine and distillery tour. It was a very hot day to be in the Tiger at 94°. But she ran well and never exceeded 200° F.

We started with coffee and donuts and then proceeded over some very twisty roads towards Historic White’s Ferry, last of 100 ferries that operated on the Potomac. Next, we followed some great roads on our way to The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyard where

we had a good time tasting several wines. After a nice lunch at the winery, we headed over to the Bloomery Plantation Distillery where we sampled some interesting liquers and their signature Limoncello. This weekend we’re doing a run with the same group called Cars, Cappuccino and Beer. Should be fun.

Club news As for club news I’d like to announce that our Vice President, Jim Linder, will be travelling to Santa Clara, CA to represent TEAE in a judging course presented by our west coast partner clubs. This course is a direct result of all of the hard work we’ve been doing to create a unified judging system. Jim will then disseminate the information to our United judging staff so that we may begin the transition to the new system.

In addition, Bill Bulpitt (Member Spotlight, page 16) completed training as a Senior Inspector in the TAC program. It’s great to have another inspector on the east coast.

Finally, if you’re planning to attend this year’s United, please register today! Sy Block has put together an exciting event for us and we want to plan for the right numbers. Please note that the annual membership meeting is held at this event.

This month’s 20 page issue has some great news about Team Tiger and two tech articles. Enjoy!

PS: This just in! TEAE has a new Facebook group for those of you who like to poke around there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tigerseastalpineseast/

Sampling some Limoncello at Bloomery Plantation Distillery

Old British getting along well with new Italian. (Ed. See, it can be done! Find a local club. Have more fun!)

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Victory for Team Tiger at Watkins Glen - Tom Patton

Watkins Glen International is a 3.4 mile, 11 turn high speed race track that overlooks Lake Seneca in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Formula 1 called Watkins Glen its US home from 1961 through 1980. Now Indy car, Pirelli World Challenge, IMSA and NASCAR visit the “Glen” each year.

We ran the Glen for the first time in 2014. The track is very humbling and we had a difficult time learning the fast line. Team Tiger won that first year and also captured the GT2 track record which we reset again in 2015. We always try to run the test days before the Major weekends so as to dial in the car and more importantly…the driver.

At the Glen, to get a good lap time it is crucial to get a good exit out of turn one and get the gas pedal matted for the long run up thru the “esses.” In practice I was having trouble with a high speed push on entry to the “esses.” We changed the rear wing’s angle and lowered the front splitter and that made a huge difference.

Qualifying sessions Friday was the first qualifying session and we were battling two Nissans, a 370Z and a 300ZX, for the pole. Unfortunately, the 370Z encountered an engine failure in the session and was done. The 300ZX laid down the best time which we matched on our lap seven, but he came around the following lap and beat us by 0.8 seconds for the pole. The weather was

absolutely fantastic Thursday and Friday with temperatures in the low 70s and low humidity (big change from the 6 straight days in 90+ degree heat and drenching humidity we left in Cincinnati.)

Saturday’s qualifying was wet so we stayed in and prepped for the first race on Saturday afternoon.

We were gridded second in the GT2 class and sixth overall with the Nissan right next to us. On the pace lap, I was busy building heat into the brakes and tires getting prepared for a tough race with the Nissan. On the pace lap the Nissan started dropping back due to an ignition problem,

eliminating our main threat.

The green flag dropped and, without the Nissan in the race, I took a very conservative approach to turn one, three GT1 cars blew by the Tiger. I spent the next 20 minutes watching two of these GT1 cars battle while they held us up… but without any pressure from behind, we played it smart and waited for them to make a mistake instead of forcing the issue and possibly getting involved in an accident.

The Cadillac that was leading our three car scrum started blowing oil out upon the entry to “the boot.” a series of difficult turns. A few laps later the Camaro, that was the “meat in the sandwich,” thought he had a run on the Caddy but ran out of

Tom Patton on the podium: First place in GT2 category

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track and slammed into the guard rail, but continued (be sure to watch it on the video.)

Finally after 10 laps, we cleared the number two car and finished the race first in GT2…. getting our first win for 2018!

The Sunday race I was really looking forward to the Sunday race with the possibility of getting another win but Mother Nature decided to make it challenging. During the race before us, it started to rain lightly at the end of the race.

Watkins Glen has many turns that are banked so the track will dry much quicker than most tracks we run. If it did not rain anymore the track would be completely dry by the fifth lap of our race so we opted to run on slicks.

We were one of a few that went with the dry setup and on the pace lap looked like we had made the right choice. As we came to the green flag for the start it started to sprinkle. As we completed the first lap it had become a much harder rain, covering all 3.4 miles of the track. We pitted on the following lap as the slick tires had absolutely no grip on the wet surface. The weather got so bad the race was red flagged the following lap. That is always the hardest choice to make…rains or slicks and this time the choice was wrong. Our grade for the Glen was A+ for the car and engine but a D- for weather forecasting.

The next race for Team Tiger is two weeks from now, July 7 and 8, at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan.

Be sure to check out the video from Watkins Glen and watch the action. http://bit.ly/2NSoRE3

From YouTube posting: Team Tiger's first win in 2018. Qualified second in GT2, seventh overall. The GT2 pole sitter has an issue on start and we get passed by three GT1 cars at start two of which are much slower but hard to pass. Watch as the Cadillac starts throwing oil going into the boot and the red Camaro hits the guard rail first turn in the boot.

Vectorized by Will Pittenger - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4171373

Watkins Glen International Circuit Map

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(United Update: Continued from page 1)

Another presenter at one of our tech sessions will be Rick McLeod of Sunbeam Specialties, Inc. We’ve all probably spoken to Rick, but this is an opportunity to really appreciate how the parts are sourced and constructed and what goes into the manufacturing of the various parts he produces. I doubt that any of us could have gotten through a restoration or even most repairs without resorting to Rick’s inventory. His knowledge of parts and applicability is always astounding.

Brad Phillips has also sourced a presentation by two members of the Penn Grade oil company (formerly Brad Penn). Their high-performance oil seminar should be of interest to all of us in not only maintaining our cars in top condition but to also better appreciate obtaining the best performance possible.

Sunday Drive Activities

First up is a visit to the Cradle of Aviation Museum www.cradleofaviation.org. The 14-mile drive to the museum includes some highway driving which will allow our cars to open up a little. You’ll have a couple hours to see over 75 air and space craft in eight galleries chronicling 100 years of aerospace adventure.

Then we’ll take a short 2 ½ mile drive through a part of Garden City with spectacular homes for lunch at the world famous Grimaldi’s (grimaldisgardencity.com).

We will have every kind of pizza and every kind of salad they offer. If you’ve never had New York pizza, this will be the best opportunity to do it.

Sunday Autocross The Autocross will be at Splish Splash Waterpark in Riverhead, on Sunday. (www.splishsplash.com/ )Dale Akeszewski has signed up for the Autocross which should make for some interesting West Coast competition. The trials will all be calculated by

SCCA rules and will be tabulated by Bryan Jesia, the SCCA rep for Long Island.

Getting the Word Out In mid-July, I attended an auto show at Chelsea Mansion, approximately 10 minutes from our host hotel. This is another of the Robber Baron mansions in the area that now serves as a venue for weddings and corporate events. As mine was the only Sunbeam on display, there was a lot of interest. I handed out flyers about our Concours and was pleased to get positive responses, especially when I explained that we would have many more Rootes vehicles there.

To that end we need you and your cars to come to New York. I know some people have expressed concerns about their trip to the “Big Apple,” but with a little planning and adherence to the proposed routes, your trip should be uneventful and, hopefully, enjoyable.

Our hotel is located in one of the best communities in Long Island. We’ve arranged for security in the parking lots. The concours venue offers covered picnic pavilions only steps from the beach, comfort facilities and the cars’ show field. The plans are all in place and I hope to provide a few extra surprises including a display of my own personal Sunbeam art collection in the hospitality room…so please join us.

Want to be in the know at the event? We need volunteers, especially with registration throughout the day on Thursday. The registration desk will be in the parts room and adjacent to the hospitality room. Please contact me via email or cell phone listed below.

Safe driving and looking forward to seeing everyone in September.

Sy Block 516-532-3154

Seymourblock@gmail.com

United XXXVII Update

Register today! Early registration ends August 13

https://teae.org/united-37/

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Sunbeam Fine Art Prints Now Available

-by Jim Lindner

Recently, while lurking on the Sunbeam Tiger Facebook Page, I came across a discussion about Sunbeam fine art prints suitable for framing. They are created by David Townsend of Sports Car Art in Rutland, VT. https://www.sportscarart.com/

The prints depict a side x-ray view of the car. As described on the website, The Sports Car Art Sunbeam limited edition fine art prints are offered in both soft and hard top versions for all Tiger and Alpine models including the Harrington Alpine. The prints can be customized with numerous factory and period options available including several styles of wheels, quite a few of the popular LAT options as well as several styles of outside mirrors. Prints are available in all factory exterior and interior color trim combinations.

I recently received my 18 x 36” finished print. I decided to go with top down because I intend to use my print as a display board at car shows. David included all the build information for my car on the print. And I am pleased!

You’ll be able to check out the actual print of my car, now fully framed, in the parts Room at United XXXVII. More importantly, David has contributed a $200 gift certificate as a door prize for our raffle drawing at the United banquet. That amount more than covers the 12 x 24” size and just about cover the 18 X 36” size.

[Ed note: Jim’s opinions of the product described are his own and publication of this article should not be construed as an endorsement by TEAE. Nevertheless, it is cool!]

I’ve had my favorite tool for about 40 years. I use it a lot, so a couple of years ago it needed a rebuild. Without it I wouldn’t have been able restore cars or perform routine maintenance, build my Cobra replica or use it to help my friends and son with their car problems.

I use the tool to change oil, drain coolant, remove radiator hoses, bleed brakes, grease suspensions and U joints and check for leaks. It’s been a great help while removing engines.

While building my Cobra replica I used this tool to make sure the frame was flat and square while I welded it together. I’ve even used it to change lightbulbs in the garage celling.

It has one problem, I can’t carry it around in my pocket.

(Continued on the page 18)

My Favorite Tool - John Logan, Sr.

We’re looking for your favorite tool

story Maybe it’s something you made? Something from Harbor Freight that only had to work once?

Maybe it’s something you never-knew-you-needed. Send us a short story and a picture or two. Share the wealth!

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My interest in Rootes group vehicles began when I bought my first Alpine in 2002. I wanted a classic British convertible sports car, not too expensive and something a bit different - so not an MG. I ended up with a very nice Holbay powered series V in signal red.

A couple of years later, I saw an advertisement for a very early Series I Alpine. The owner knew it was a very early model and that it had racing history, but otherwise knew little about it. He had owned it for nearly thirty years and had used it as a daily driver before putting it into storage where it deteriorated quite badly. He then started a five year restoration which was completed in 2000, returning it to its previous Seacrest green racing livery. He wanted little more for it than I gave for my first Alpine. I was intrigued, so had to have it.

What a find! It turned out to be a factory prototype made when the Rootes brothers decided to re-introduce a sports model into their range a couple of years after the demise of the original first-generation Sunbeam Alpine in 1955, after only around 1600 had been produced. The first generation had been a successful

Rootes team rally car for two seasons under Rootes competition manager Norman Garrad. They had great success in the 1953 and 1954 Alpine rallies. But sales had been slow, as it was heavier and not as quick as the rival MG, Austin Healey and Triumphs.

The new model, continuing the Alpine name, would be aimed squarely at the lucrative American market, where the MG Midget had enjoyed huge sales since production re-started with barely any modifications immediately after WW II had ended. The Alpine would be based on the new Audax range, using Sunbeam Rapier running gear and Hillman Husky floor pan.

An in-house design was rejected by the management, so British designer Kenneth Howes, who had experience working in America with Ford and Studebaker, was hired to style the new model. Five initial prototypes where produced after the Rootes brothers approved a full scale wooden mock-up. The principal road test vehicle, somewhat different in appearance to the final styling, was built and driven 60,000 miles in two months by apprentices from the Armstrong Siddeley experimental department, who assisted Rootes with their new Alpine project. This and experiments and testing with the other prototypes led to the design being finalised in early 1959.

The Last Alpine Prototype: XRW 302 - John Willshire

XRW 302 on the Goodwood starting grid

Jack Brabham in a promotional photo with Alpine and 1904 Sunbeam

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Next, eight more Alpines were built for pre-production testing, my new purchase, registration number XRW 302, being the third of these cars. It seems to have survived because it was selected for further experimental development by the styling department, rather than being sent on arduous road testing. It is now the oldest known ‘series’ Sunbeam Alpine.

Problems found Road testing with these test vehicles then revealed three problems – body flexing, scuttle shake and brake pad wear. The body flexing, due to lack of a roof to provide rigidity, was initially thought to have been dealt with by stiffening the body with especially designed sills, but they were not effective. The problem was eventually solved by adding a cross-member under the floor pan. Scuttle shake was

eliminated by installing a support bar each side of the engine compartment between the wheel arch and the front bulkhead. The wear on the new front disc brakes (the Alpine being the first Rootes car to use them) was eventually solved by changing the shape of the wheel arch. This diverted the flow of any grit laden rain water, which was found to be channelling into the brake assembly and grinding down the brake pads.

I started my own research using old magazines and racing programmes relating to my newly acquired Alpine. Rootes development engineer Bernard Unett had purchased the Alpine XRW 302 from Rootes in 1961 to compete motor club racing, which was rapidly gaining great popularity in the early 1960s.

The Alpine had begun a promising rallying career. Proving to be pretty rugged, it won its class in the 1960 and 1961 Monte Carlo rally. But with the Alpine being disadvantaged in a ridiculous handicapping system and with an already bulging order book, Rootes decided to concentrate on the Rapier in rallying, with its higher production numbers proving more in need of good competition based publicity. This left the Alpine rally entries mainly to privateers, as were track racing entries in Britain.

Upgrade for racing Encouraged by Rootes group engineer and racing driver Mike Parkes, Unett began to develop the Alpine for racing by uprating the engine with a high lift cam, and adding anti-roll bars and anti-tramp bars to the suspension. His first race at Silverstone

The 1960 & 1961 class winner on the Monte Carlo rally The Thermal Efficiency winning Harrington Alpine during Le Mans practice

Night time testing of pre-production cars avoided unwanted attention

►

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in September 1961 was a disaster, seeing him sent home by the marshals for his dangerous driving. But his technique quickly improved and was chosen as a competitor for heavily subscribed 1962 Veedol trophy, a series of seven races sponsored by J Paul Getty’s oil company to encourage novice racing drivers.

Unett did reasonably well, finishing second in class overall in the competition, the final being a support race for the Tourist Trophy meeting at Goodwood, where Mr. Getty himself presented the trophy to winner Bob Burnard and his AC Bristol.

However, in general, very few Alpine’s would be seen on the track in Britain, but many were seen racing in America. To encourage competition and produce publicity in the US, Rootes would sponsor American dealer teams and drivers, add to prize money, supply parts and sometimes even provide cars. This lead to much success, and championship wins for the likes of Vince Tamburo , Dan Carmichael, Don Sesslar and others.

Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss also provided great publicity in the three-hour race at the Riverside sports car grand prix meeting in 1961. Sharing the

same Alpine (the Alpine Moss was to drive overheating in practice) they finished first in class, third overall, with the car then being displayed at the Los Angeles international auto show. The best known of the Alpine’s racing successes was probably the works team effort at Le Mans in 1961. Harrington built a special version of their newly launched Harrington Alpine, which won the Index of Thermal Efficiency trophy.

Harrington was a Rootes main dealer and also a coach builder. They decided to make their own GT version of the Alpine. They added a fixed glass fibre top, luxury interior and uprated engines. There were four versions in all, some available in showrooms and others as a special order, but only a few hundred were ever produced.

Unett keeps it up Throughout 1963, Unett continued to develop and race his Alpine, gaining racing experience. In 1964 he entered a national sports car championship, the Freddie Dixon Challenge Trophy. It was open to specified marques that were reasonably closely matched, although a reasonable amount of modification was allowed.

In the second of the eleven races, Unett raced against up-and-coming driver and future F1 champion Jackie Stewart, Stewart’s car braking down on the third lap at Oulton Park. Although missing the next race and the engine blowing up in practice on another, one first place, four second places, and four thirds were enough to give Unett overall victory when he beat remaining rival John Sharp in his MGB by one point in an exciting final at the very last meeting held at Aintree before the international motor racing circuit permanently closed. This was quite an achievement, even more so than it would have been in previous years. With the increasing popularity of club racing, competition was getting fierce and only a competent driver in a really good car would stand a chance of success in any race. Unett had beaten off such cars

XRW 302 at Goodwood, ninth round of the Freddie Dixon Challenge Trophy

Moss and Brabham at Sebring

Bernard Unett in his 1974 BTCC winning Avenger

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as the TVR Grantura, Elva Courier, Triumph TR3, Morgans, and even several Austin Healey 3000s!

Bernard Unett went on to race one of the Lister Tigers that had embarrassingly short outings at Le Mans in 1964. Unreliable, over weight and with poor handling and brakes, Unett managed to turn it into a reliable club racer, falling just short of winning the Autosport championship in 1965 and 1966.

Unett also went on to great success with the Alan Fraser Rootes racing team with the “Monster Tiger” and Hillman Imps. He eventually became British Touring Car Champion in 1964, 66 and 67 with the Hillman Avenger.

The XRW 302 today While in my ownership, I have endeavoured to use XRW 302 to promote the Alpine marque as much as possible. It has participated in the owner’s club fiftieth anniversary rally, successfully travelling from London to Cannes and back. It has also appeared at the Silverstone Classic meeting and the Goodwood revival, as well as many other meetings. It was runner up in the 2013 UK Classic car of the year competition at the National exhibition centre and in 2016 Corgi produced a 1/43 die cast model, with XRW 302 appearing on the Corgi stand at the Classic motor show in November to publicise their new model range for the following year.

With my interest in Rootes competition vehicles growing, in 2015, I wrote a book, The History of the Sunbeam Alpine, describing the Alpine’s, design, production and competition history.

My ultimate aim is to get XRW 302 back on the race track.

John Willshire is the author of The History of the Sunbeam

Alpine. Available on Amazon.

Prototype XRW 302 at the Classic Motor show for Classic car of the year

Member Name City State Sunbeam

3263 Cory Cope & Jennifer Owen Pittsburg PA Tiger MK II

3264 Rob Simon Winston-Salem NC Alpine Series V

Welcome New TEAE Members

Check the list in the members’ area of the website for contact info of members. Welcome the new guys!

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Watch Your Rear! ... Brake Lights, That Is! -by Tom Hillmann

For years, I have talked to other vintage car owners concerned with the less than adequate lighting on our vehicles. A few years ago, I improved some of the problem by adding relays for the headlights, and LED bulbs in the other exterior socket locations. Still, it seemed that the rear of our vehicles needed more attention.

At each United, I viewed the many variations of third brake light

applications which are permanent or temporary in placement. Not wanting to add a permanent mount on my trunk (boot) lid, nor the inconvenience of mounting/unmounting a temporary unit, I decided to make an update that seemed far too obvious to avoid.

Those of you with the amber turn signal lenses can stop reading now. However, those of you with both upper and lower red tail light lenses have an excellent option.

The bottom tail light/stop light operate using a dual contact socket, while the upper turn signal is a single contact socket. The housing of both sockets are identical and clip into the back of the chrome tail light bezel.

By replacing the top socket to a new dual contact socket, your car will have two additional rear lights. I’ve decided to make these into additional brake lights, although they could be additional tail lights if desired. You do not have to cut or splice into any existing wiring to make this conversion.

1. Remove the chrome from the car fender (wing) by reaching in through the trunk (boot) and remove the nuts that secure them. Once you pull the bezels out, make note of the wire locations before slipping the spade wire terminals off the sockets. Don’t cut any wires! You may keep a magnet handy to retrieve the metric nuts from inside the fender after you drop them.

2. The original sockets secure to these chrome bezels using tabs that can be bent back with a screwdriver for removal. You could use some old Sunbeam stop/tail light sockets in

the top hole or just install some new double contact sockets rated for a 3/4” hole as I did.

3. Jump power from the existing brake light socket to the new upper one. My new sockets had 3 wire leads (2 black, 1 white) so I crimped a male spade connector onto one black wire and a female onto the other black wire, with a short male ended wire (A on diagram)

4. Remount the chrome bezels to the fender.

5. Insert the male connector into the car’s turn signal wire, and female onto the lower brake socket using a twin spade adapter (B) so that you can pair it up with the existing brake wiring spade or make your own jumper like I did. (see A on diagram).

6. Make sure both new sockets have same polarity as bulb is not reversible in socket.

7. This socket is grounded upon installation, but if the new socket has a white wire (ground) put a ring connector on it and fasten it to the chrome bezel bolt as you can never have too many grounds in a Lucas circuit.

8. Now insert your 1157 bulbs or double contact RED LED’s*. I’m happy to say it seems that the traffic stays farther back after the conversion.

*LED bulbs on turn signals will require an LED flasher module or resister at the socket. Joe Parlanti can supply kits for the entire car.

Full size drawing available on line at https://teae.org/?p=11818

Now that’s bright!

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Atlanta British Motor Car Day 2018 - Bill Bulpitt / Deep South TEAE Representative

Dan Richardson’s V6 Conversion

Shaded setting for car show Relative newcomer Mark Willis

Sunbeam Owners gathered together – Bulpitt, Freeman, Richardson (front), Rhodes, Feist, Johnson, Pace, Willis, Sybrandt Sr. and Jr. (front)

Sybrandt race Tiger with 3 generations

The Atlanta British Motor Car Day was held June 10 at a new venue in conjunction with the Peachtree Corners Arts Festival. This is at least the fifth location for this event (most recently in Roswell, GA) and hopefully this move will be permanent. Having the event at an Art Show resulted in better parking for spectators and more casual observers stopping by to appreciate the wonders of British Cars. The photographs tell the story.

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Shortly after I had my Tiger on the road my original switch failed. I called Rick at Sunbeam Specialties to order a new one. He was thoughtful enough to ask if I was running DOT 5 brake fluid, which I was.

As it turns out, DOT 5 is not compatible with the brake switches used in our cars. (Tigers and Alpines have this issue.)

That’s when I decided to put in a mechanical switch actuated by the brake pedal. I built the first one over 10 years and 26K miles ago using a plunger type switch and fabricated bracket. Lately, I’ve been doing some work on Jim Lindner’s beautiful Tiger and he requested a mechanical switch. I couldn’t quite find a suitable plunger type switch, so I decided to take a different approach and use a micro-switch. These switches are easily sourced, low cost, reliable and best of all can be configured for “normally closed” operation. This switch solution requires no cutting or splicing of wires and only two holes need to be drilled. All the images and a scale drawing of the mounting bracket are found here: https://tinyurl.com/y7y4mgfz

The required components

• Qty 1, Micro Switch – Omron or equivalent, PN V-156-1C25 (https://tinyurl.com/yaw8fkux)

• 18 gauge wire • Qty 2, male bullet connectors • Qty 2, female spade connectors • Qty 2, male spade connectors • Qty 1, single female bullet connector • 2” x 1.5” x .062” Sheet aluminum • Qty 2, 4-40 x 5/8” screws, lock washers and nuts • Qty 2, #8 sheet metal screws

1. Make the bracket to hold the switch. Start with a 2” x 1.5” x .062” piece of aluminum and drill holes per this drawing. Put a 20-degree bend in the middle. Fasten the switch to the bracket with the 2, 4-40 screws, lock washers and nuts. (Drawing at right, scale drawing at web address above.)

2. Install the bracket. Place the switch assembly in the location shown in the photo at the top of the article and mark where the holes need to be drilled. Make sure that the lever is depressed when the brake pedal is up before you mark the holes. You might want to slot the holes in the bracket to make this part easier. I found that I could hold things in place and mark the hole locations with no problem.

Mechanical Brake Light Switch - Joe Parlanti / B382000026

Switch installed

Micro switch

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3. Drill holes for the sheet metal screws or use self-tapping screws. Mount the bracket and make sure that when the pedal is depressed you hear an audible click. A voltmeter can also be used to verify operation of the switch.

4. Make the 2 jumper wires for the switch. The Alpine and Tiger both have a wiring harness junction under the dash on the driver’s side which makes this solution very simple. Cut 2 wires 10” long and place a female spade type terminal on one end and a male bullet connector on the other.

5. Locate the junction for the wire feeding the rear brake lights. It will be green with a purple stripe and will have either a single or double female connector like this. Disconnect one side of the junction and plug one end of the newly made wire into the junction connector. The other wire, and new female bullet connector go on the other wire. None of this is critical, you are simply creating a loop through the new switch.

6. Plug the female spade lug ends into the micro-switch. One wire goes onto the lug labeled “COM” (common). Because the switch is actuated by the pedal releasing the lever, we need to connect the other wire to the “NC” (normally closed) terminal. Zip-tie everything nice and neat up under the dash and you can climb out of the car.

7. Because we are no longer using the original hydraulic brake light switch we need to make a jumper to bypass it. This is simply a 3”- 4” piece of 18-gauge wire with a male spade lug on each end. Remove the wires from the original switch, it will be on the right side of the engine compartment under the generator. Plug in the newly made jumper. I like to wrap some electrical tape around things to make sure that the jumper can’t pull out or somehow make contact with a ground.

8. Finally, zip-tie the jumpered cable to the brake line near the old switch to keep it stable.

That’s it!

Check to make sure that everything works as expected and you are ready to run knowing that you now have a more reliable brake light switch solution. If you are interested in this solution but would rather not go to the trouble of making all of the parts, I am offering a kit with all needed components. I expect that the kit will take less than a half hour to install.

Under-dash wires

Female bullet connector

Hydraulic switch jumper

Switch wiring

410-599-5475 jvparlanti@gmail.com

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Member Spotlight My Sunbeam Story:

Saving an Air Force Tiger and the Tribute to a Friend

- Bill Bulpitt

I was born in Connecticut, grew up in Long Island until I was 16 and then moved to Central Florida, which was quite a change for a teenager. I was already bitten by the car bug at that point,

having gotten a Model A Ford when I was 12, which my uncle helped me to get running. In the early 60’s I had already been to several editions of the New York Auto Show including the one where the original AC Cobra was introduced. I had also attended several drag races in the New York area and had been to the Long Island Auto Museum more than once.

In Florida I got my driver’s license, immediately got a job at the local grocery store and started to look for a car. For better or worse, I ended up with a $75.00 1940 Ford Coupe. Today it might qualify as a rat rod but my best friend and I tore down the worn out flathead to every nut and bolt and got it running. At that moment I knew I would become a mechanical engineer (ME) and went on to receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ME from Georgia Tech. All through college I drove a 1963 Volvo 544 which was one of the best cars I have ever owned.

After graduation it was off to Florida for active duty in the Air Force. I decided I had to upgrade my image and get a sports car. I had looked through all

the old Road & Track magazines before leaving Georgia Tech and had zeroed in on several cars including Sunbeam Tigers.

Finding a Tiger Thus began my search in Northwest Florida and after looking at several I found one that was “sitting up” on a front lawn in Niceville next to the base. It belonged to an officer on a remote assignment and was supposedly not for sale but after bugging the Captain’s wife more than once he wired power of attorney and she sold me the car for $1200. Immediately, I had to replace the water pump and fuel pump and thus began my education on the

wonders (and quirks) of “Tigering.”

The Tiger became my primary transportation from 1973 to 1977 when I finally got a garage to store it in and another daily driver.

In 1979 I had the Tiger repainted and that fall attended a Shelby American meet at Road Atlanta where I managed to wreck it. That was a $1,200.00 afternoon and essentially ended my racing career, but a man has to know his limitations. That car has been with me for 45 years and counting, through several engine rebuilds and “partial” restorations. It was also the

catalyst for my involvement in CAT and then TEAE and the foundation of many friendships.

Along the way I attended a number of Tiger Uniteds and a host of other car shows and racing events. In 1992 at Road Atlanta, I had the Tiger autographed by Shelby. (Photo bottom left next page.)

Bill Bulpitt with his Tiger today

Bulpitt with his first Tiger: Florida (1973)

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Tiger Number Two In 1998 an old friend and fellow Tiger owner named Frank Pinner died of agent orange disease. In 2011 his widow called me and told me she wanted to sell his car which had been sitting in the basement immobile for at least 15 years. I bought the Mark II from her and spent the next year getting it roadworthy.

It had been highly personalized by Frank and I have pretty much kept it that way, repainting it “his” yellow color last year. I know the purists don’t approve, but that really doesn’t matter much to me. It has been a very emotional experience owning that car, and I have given Frank’s widow and his children rides in it. In fact his daughter (who is now 30) never knew the car as a running vehicle.

Except for a couple a short stints, one with the Air Force and another for job in Jacksonville, FL, I have resided in Atlanta, GA since my days as a student at Georgia tech. In 2017 I retired from my career in the energy and electric utility field.

As most of you know, I was the Chairman of United 35 in Atlanta. I enjoyed putting that event together, but probably will not repeat it anytime soon. I am also the regional representative for the “Deep South” and have recently completed my training in California to become a Senior Inspector in the TAC program. I look forward to keeping these cars going for some time into the future, although I have realized that getting in and out (and under) them is becoming more and more difficult.

My two Tigers

Shelby signing – Road Atlanta SCCA Runoffs (1991)

The wreck at Road Atlanta (1979)

Running again – with son at Georgia Tech auto show (2012)

Recent running of Frank Pinner’s MKII Tiger

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Sunbeams Are Winners (Yes, Plural) at Philadelphia Concours d'Elegance

-posted by Mark Petri

TWO Sunbeams took home Class Wins from the Philly Concours d'Elegance / Cool Cars for Kids event held at the Simeone Museum June 16, 2018. (http://www.coolcarsforkids.org/)

Gorgeous red Sunbeam Talbot won "Best Open Car" and Beautiful 1963 Alpine wins "Best Sports Car" WOW!

Kim Barnes owns the '63 and the Max King is the owner of the '53.

Photo Credit "Cool Cars for Kids"

You’d need pretty big pockets to carry this baby around!

Kim Barnes 1963 Sunbeam Alpine Max King 1953 Sunbeam Talbot

John Logan, Sr’s Favorite Tool

(Continued from page 7)

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Parts For Sale in Orlando Tiger rear end: refurbished and beefed up considerably for drag racing: http://bit.ly/2NSqDVB Original air cleaner - Good shape: http://bit.ly/2NQJUqt

Contact Brad Parlee bparlee@cfl.rr.com

1966 Tiger MK IA 41,000 miles. The car is a strong driver and presentable. I think it is an excellent candidate for restoration. I have quite a few spares as well. I would like to offer it first to club members as I have been a member for many years. It will be sad to see it go after about 35 years, but age is putting my wife and me out of the sports car business. See more pictures: http://bit.ly/2KAoBef

Located in LeRoy NY, between Rochester and Buffalo. Asking $59,000.

Contact: Raymond Yacuzzo ryacuzzo@gmail.com

1967 Sunbeam Alpine Series V 46,000 miles. Color – British Racing Green, no rust, runs well. 1725 cc motor, twin carbs, factory wire wheels, mostly original. Like new convertible top, stainless steel exhaust.

Asking $9250. Serious inquires only: sjsassaman@verizon.net

Sunbeams for Sale

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820 Fishing Creek Valley Road Harrisburg, PA 17112 Address Services Requested TigersEastAlpinesEast@gmail.com www.TEAE.org

Know anyone who owns a Rootes Vehicle? Invite them to become a TEAE member!

Find the membership form on line at www.teae.org/join

Check TEAE.org Check the website for hundreds of tech tips, our calendar of events, and forum—all available to the public. The members area includes back issues of all our newsletters, newsletters from other clubs, and contact information and map of members.