Not just any Alpine, but the rare, stylish and very practical Harrington GT.

Mike Taylor talks to Jim Bull, a man with a passion for Rootes’ Alpines in general and his rare Sunbeam Harrington Alpine GT in particular.

'

Ibought my first Sunbeam Alpine when I was still in the RAF,' recalls Jim Bull, owner of the metallic green Harrington featured here. 'It was a memorable period in my life as I began to enjoy sports car motoring in the Sunbeam and I met my wife-to-be Carole, who part ran a hairdressing salon in the local town. Mind you, she didn’t know I had the Alpine when we met, that came later.'

The Sunbeam name is an old one, being registered in 1888 for bicycle manufacture. The company built its first car in 1901, and in 1905 the Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was separated off from the bicycle side of the business. There then followed a plethora of cars carrying the Sunbeam insignia, all of which bore a distinctly sporting flavour, while the name was brought centre stage through the World Land Speed record breaking attempts of Sir Henry Segrave.

Unfortunately sales were weak through the end of the 1920s and into the 1930s, and when in 1934 the company could not repay ten year loans taken out in 1924 to finance its racing programme, the official receivers were called in and Sunbeam were bought by Rootes. The plan then was to sell a luxury car under the Sunbeam name, but ambitions were soon downgraded and in 1938 the marque was merged with Talbot to produce quality cars at a more reasonable price. In 1954, the Talbot name was dropped, and Sunbeam carried on solo until 1976, after which it became a single model name (the Chrysler/ Talbot Sunbeam) before a final demise in 1981.

Meanwhile, the notion for Rootes to go rallying in the early 1950s came from Norman Garrad after a competitions department was set up at Rootes’ Humber Road HQ, and cars began to be much improved from lessons learnt through prolonged high-speed driving of Sunbeam-Talbots around the Alps. The Sunbeam Alpine was introduced in 1953, a completely different model to the one being featured here and based on the Sunbeam-Talbot 90 saloon. In addition to sporty looks, this Alpine incorporated many of the modifications made to the competition cars, and soon Alpines were proving hugely successful on international rallies, while the driver list read like a Who’s Who of rallying – Stirling Moss, Peter Harper, Sheila van Damm and

Anne Hall to name but a few.

In the mid-1950s the Rootes Group was benefitting from assistance of the New York based Raymond Loewy design studios, who also had an office in London. In 1956 Kenneth Howes returned to the UK from their New York office to work initially for Ford, before joining the Rootes Group to assume control of a team shaping a new sports car. This was to be the Sunbeam Alpine, produced in five Series from 1959- 68.

'I was born in Birmingham in 1940,' continues Jim. 'At the time my father was working in the war effort, but afterwards he returned to his previous life as a chauffeur and my interest in cars originated from being surrounded by sleek, elegant cars, the tools of my father’s trade. He was interested in motorbikes too, and I would go with him to scrambles and trials at places like Bagshot. He was also helpful over my interest in aeroplanes, so we’d go to aviation centres such as Blackbushe Aerodrome.'

Leaving school in 1956 aged 15, Jim signed up to join the RAF with further education and training on airframes, and remained in the service for ten years. 'I took my driving test

at the first opportunity. I had driving lessons near to Epsom, and we’d go out on the roads around the race course. My first car was a 1954 Hillman Minx VII. It was a lovely little model with a 1265cc sidevalve engine and column gearchange. I ran the Minx for quite a while, and then I moved on to an Austin A40 and a Singer Gazelle 111a before buying my first Sunbeam Alpine in 1965.'

The Sunbeam Alpine was launched in 1959, which turned out to be a bumper year for landmark models – others launched that year included the Austin/ Morris Mini, Ford's 105E Anglia and Triumph’s Herald. Under the Alpine’s sleekly sloping bonnet was a fourcylinder 1494cc engine with alloy cylinder head and twin carburettors driving through a four speed gearbox. Inside, the Alpine had a stylish dashboard and bucket seats. Then followed the Series II in late 1960 with a larger 1592cc engine, while the Series III in March 1963 featured a redesigned windscreen and tiny non- opening quarter lights.

There was also a GT option with a removable hard top. The Series IV of January 1964 had reduced rear fins which housed twin petrol tanks and the spare wheel mounted on the boot firewall. Finally, the Series V was introduced in 1965. Power was now from a 1725cc engine, and production continued until 1968, by which time more than 69,000 Alpines had been made.

'My main reason for buying the Alpine was its design and my experience of running a Rootes car in the past,' Jim continues. 'That first one was a Series II in Sea Crest Green and I remember thinking that I felt naturally comfortable driving it. I kept it for quite a while, and then I bought a Series

III model finished in Autumn Gold, a lovely car that was later replaced with a Series IV Rapier, again in Autumn Gold – unfortunately that one quickly rusted very badly. Then I bought a Chrysler Sunbeam Rapier fastback in War Dance Red. We had that car for quite a while too, but again the sills proved to be its major weakness. However, it was badly damaged when a large tree fell on it during the 1987 storm and that was what wrote it off.'

Jim’s next Alpine was a white Series V. 'I had that for some years, during which time it was restored and was later sold at auction to be replaced by another Series V model finished in dark blue. However, by around the mid-1980s I had begun thinking of buying

something a little different. That's when I saw a Harrington Le Mans advertised. The car was finished in white and sadly was totally rotten, but it had piqued my interest. I looked at another Le Mans in Kent, but that was little better. Finally I came across this Series D Harrington through an advert in The Alpine Horn, the magazine of the Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club.

'This one was located in Tolpuddle, near Dorchester. Mechanically it wasn’t bad, but bodily it needed an extensive rebuild, especially the sills, floorpans and wings. Not surprisingly it had failed its MoT, but the seller lived some way off the public highway and still managed to exercise it by driving down farm tracks. I decided to buy it, and as John Timms at Contract Paint Ltd had restored our white Alpine so well, I took the Harrington straight to him. He had the car from April 1986 to August the following year. I was very pleased with the result.'

Clearly Jim has every right to be pleased with how his car turned out, but let's backtrack a little and explain how the Sunbeam Harrington Alpine came about. It was the brainchild of established coachbuilders Thomas Harrington Ltd of Hove, East Sussex who had perfected the use of fibreglass for laying up major body panels for their motor coaches. The company was also a Rootes main vehicle distributor, and in late 1959 Clifford Harrington approached Rootes with the notion to produce a coachbuilt grand tourer version of the newly released Sunbeam Alpine. The idea was to add a fibreglass roof, which would be fixed permanently onto a slightly modified Sunbeam Alpine Series II body, thereby transforming it into an elegant GT.

The idea appealed to the Rootes top brass, Harrington's initial drawings were finalised and, with the design agreed with Rootes’ styling department, a prototype was built and approval given for production. Called the Sunbeam Harrington Alpine, it was launched in 1960, the sleek roof (with opening rear side windows) sweeping down at the rear with a fixed rear window to a shortened boot lid.

Strong demand for the Harrington from the States suggested a more radical version might be well received, and work began on the next generation that year. It featured a similar fibreglass roof, which was affixed to the metal body along a clever bonded and bolted GRP/metal seam covered with a chrome strip. Integral within its design was an Aston

The idea was to add a fibreglass roof, which would be fixed permanently onto a slightly modified Sunbeam Alpine Series II body

Martin DB3-type tailgate. Inside was elegance and style with reclining sports seats, a wooden dashboard and steering wheel, and the engine tuned by George Hartwell.

For the Le Mans 24Hrs of 1961, a Harrington Alpine was prepared by the Rootes Competition Department. This 1600cc car lapped the Sarthe circuit for 24 hours at an average speed of 91mph, winning the Index of Thermal Efficiency award. In celebration, Rootes launched the Sunbeam Harrington Le Mans, with the new opening rear hatch but a Le Mans-style Kamm tail that did away with the fins.

Production of this overlapped with the Series C Harrington, introduced in October 1962 on the Series II body. This incorporated the Le Mans cars' opening rear hatch, but retained the big rear fins. Production of this model was limited because within three months, in January 1963, Rootes had introduced the Series III Alpine with its modified windscreen and fixed quarter lights and this necessitated a modification to the Harrington's roof moulding. This last Harrington Alpine model, the Series D, was built in very small numbers on the Series III and later Series IV Alpines – only around half a dozen of each, according to the experts at www. harringtonalpine.org.

That makes Jim’s early Harrington Series D based on a Series III Alpine a particularly rare beast, especially when you consider that approximately 110 of the initial Harrington Alpines, 250 Harrington Le Mans and a further 20 or so Series Cs were built, giving an approximate total of around 392 cars before operations ceased in 1965.

Since its restoration, Jim’s Harrington has been the subject of a continuous programme of updates and improvements. 'This included having the interior retrimmed in black leather piped in green with matching carpets, restoring the veneered dashboard, a specially made egg crate type grille, and a four-branch exhaust system,' he says. However, the major update happened in 1993 when the car was fitted with a rebuilt 1725cc Holbay engine to facilitate the larger clutch bellhousing and all-synchromesh gearbox, not to mention uprated cylinder head and twin 40DCOE Weber carburettors. Underneath, Spax adjustable dampers were fitted in 1998. Interspersed with this work has been the usual servicing and improvements including overhauling the braking system, installing an oil cooler, and also a Kenlowe electric fan with an enlarged core radiator. Jim undertook the engine swap himself, and when the work was completed, he took it to a local motor engineer who had a rolling road so they could set up the engine properly, including balancing the Weber carburettors.

Clearly, over the years Jim and Carole have enjoyed Alpine ownership to the utmost. ' We did several club events in the white Alpine, including driving down to Le Mans and sleeping in the car ('Not to be recommended,' laughs Carole) as well as taking part in Norwich Union rallies starting from Brands Hatch and finishing at Donington Park,' he remembers. 'Another year we started at the RAC office in Epsom and finished at Silverstone. We've also done numerous club events where we meet up with other Harrington Alpine owners.'

As for future plans, that is pretty simple – to continue enjoying this rare and wonderful car for as long as possible.

Jim’s Harrington has been the subject of a continuous programme of updates

Jim Bull has owned many Alpines over the years, and this Harrington version since the 1980s.

ABOVE: This example has been beautifully retrimmed in leather with contrasting piping.

RIGHT: 2+2 seating and an opening rear hatch made the Harrington a useful GT.

Series 3 running gear makes this an extremely rare Harrington.

The Series D Harrington Alpine was not offered with the Hartwell-tuned engines as previous models had been, but instead was given a standard 1592cc engine. Jim has since fitted a later 1725cc unit and Webers.