BIG RESTO Sunbeam Rapier
In 2015 Christchurch’s Tuesday Club resurrected a 1934 Minx, now they’ve done a 1969 Rapier Fastback, this is the result
It’s a hot Tuesday in the middle of August. I’m stood in a pleasant, Twenties motor-house in Christchurch with Gerry, Fred, Danny and a Sunbeam Rapier. The cool, tree-lined streets are sticky with sap and the local beaches are heaving. Then Geoff breezes in: ‘Is the kettle on yet?’ Gerry fixes him with a glare: ‘Where are the doughnuts?’ We last met our four restorer pals in PC, November 2014. During their Tuesday gettogethers, they completed the 40-year renovation of Danny’s 1934 Hillman Minx. Over tea and doughnuts, they then decided to get Gerry’s 1969 Sunbeam Rapier Fastback H120 coupé back on the road. Doughnuts were Geoff Turner’s area of expertise. Gerry Tuffin supplied car, garage and superb metalworking ability. Fred Brown brought various engineering skills to the party and Danny Mcquillan had quite a bit of
experience from the Minx. That doesn’t do the chaps justice, mind you – they’re all ex-employees of the De Havilland aircraft factory at Christchurch, so they know a lot between them.
They fill their Tuesdays with tinkering, minor mischief and trips out in the Minx and Rapier. We know all about the Minx, but what about this latest addition to the Tuesday Club? Back in 1972, Gerry had a wide choice when it came to a sporty car. The Ford Capri took his fancy, but there wasn’t enough space in the back for his children. The Sunbeam Rapier was much more accommodating. He’d already owned series I, IIA, III and IV versions, so the Fastback coupe was a logical progression. Not any Fastback though… this was the 110bhp Holbay-tuned H120.
He liked its clean lines, its clean pair of heels and its light, ‘glasshouse’ styling. His young children also liked its trick card: wind-down rear windows, which, with the pillarless construction, give unobstructed views and ventilation.
He liked it so much that he bought this example in 1973. It was a reliable workhorse, requiring little more than routine servicing, which Gerry did himself. It accommodated his growing family admirably and the total mileage racked up both at
home and abroad is now long-forgotten. The body started to show its age, though. Rust started to appear around the headlights and in the sills. As was the fashion at the time, Gerry recalls ‘trowelling on’ a two-part ‘liquid metal’ confection. The car was retired in about 1983, by which time holes were appearing in the floorpan. But Gerry never fell out of love with the rakish Rapier. He drove it into his garage with the intention of one day returning it to the road. Almost 30 years later… ‘Danny was the enthuser and encourager,’ recalls Gerry, ‘so we decided to get to work. The garage had been deteriorating in sympathy with the car, so we had to restore the garage first!’ The Twenties, hinged doors with frosted glass were in a state of collapse, but woodworker Danny made them as good as new. In the meanwhile, the chaps sorted out the damp and messy interior. The car was dragged out with seized brakes; the place cleaned and emptied; walls and floor painted; tools and materials sorted and filed away.