Sunbeam fires in anger again

Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record breaking 350hp Sunbeam

has fired up for the first time in over fifty years. Following a complete mechanical rebuild by the National Motor Museum’s workshop team, the engine finally came back to life.

In 1957 the Sunbeam was purchased by Lord Montagu and put on display in the Montagu Motor Museum. In 1972 it moved into the newly created National Motor Museum where it has been on permanent display ever since.

During a 1993 test fire-up to assess the car’s condition, disaster struck when a blocked oil way in the engine caused it to seize and ‘throw a rod’. For several years after that, the car was on display in the museum with a very visible hole in its engine where the piston and con-rod had exited.

In 2007 the workshop team started looking at the car with a view to repairing the engine and an initial strip-out allowed them to assess the damage. Examination showed that the con rod had come through the side of the crank case, scoring the crank shaft and damaging three pistons and valves.

The Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register was approached to assist in finding parts for the rebuild. Restoration took approximately 2000 hours, so the museum workshop relied heavily on volunteers, directed by the workshop’s Senior Engineer, Ian Stanfield.

Doug Hill, the National Motor Museum’s Chief Engineer said: “This project has been a long-running labour of love for the whole team and such has been their passion that many have dedicated hours of their own time to get the job done."

Andrea Bishop, Director of Collections said: “To know the 350hp Sunbeam is whole again, and to hear its tremendous roar after all those years of silence, is absolutely thrilling. I wish Doug and his team well, in realising their aspirations to undertake the next phase of work to recreate the gearbox.”