LONG-LEGGED SPORTS CARS

Long-distance travel isn’t possible without reliability but Tony and Kate both attest to the Sunbeam’s inherent build quality. ‘They’re built like tanks’ remarks Tony. ‘They don’t shake and rattle like TRs can and they are pretty bombproof mechanically, too. This makes them easy-going, long-legged cars; just this Easter we went to Cornwall again for our wedding anniversary.’ This GT-like character is where the Alpine sets itself apart from its rivals. It’s not as fast as a TR, nor is it as sporty as an MGB, but it is more spacious than both, has a comfier ride and its saloon car-like driving position is not only comfortable, but makes getting in and out of the vehicle easier than it is in a low-slung thread-your-legs-in car. In fact, this ease of access is responsible for 968 HYH’s brief TV career, being used for a 2017 episode of Car SOS. Kate explains: ‘They wanted to be sure that Ray Blackwell, whose car the show was going to restore, could get in and out of the car before they restored it because he is disabled. We were asked to meet up with Ray, under the pretence that he had just joined the club, and as Tony is the club registrar, he took him out for a ride. They did restore Ray’s car and he was absolutely chuffed with it. We still talk to him today.’ For all of the Alpine’s rarity today, however, they don’t command exotic maintenance costs, which has allowed Tony and Kate to keep their Alpines in the condition they want. Tony says: ‘I rebuilt the blue Alpine over the years, completely restoring it. I won a number of concours awards with it, but then the kids came along and we’ve just used it since then. Even since the restoration, however, it has still had to have a few body panels replaced and got to a point where it was multiple different shades, so when we moved five and a half years ago, I took it off the road and had it repaired and repainted. It went back on the road about two years ago.’ Many classics have come and gone during that time, including other Alpines, but Kate fancied getting another Alpine for herself in 2008, being particularly set on a white one, just as a Series 2 came up for sale. ‘It was plonked in our laps, really’ says Tony. ‘It has always had a tendency to get hot, though. It blew its cylinder head gasket a few years ago when we went to Le Mans in the pair of them – though I didn’t tell Kate until we got home! I think it went again late last year, so I’ve just fitted a rebuilt head and had the radiator re-cored.’