Sunbeam Alpine Resources

All of the documents below have been processed with Adobe Acrobat's optical character recognition (OCR), so they should be fully searchable.

If you plan to work on your Alpine, these workshop manuals are essential. They are also a far better resource than the Haynes or Clymer manuals.

• WSM 124: Sunbeam Alpine Series I-IV (also covers Rapier III-IV)
• WSM 145: Rootes Light Car Range with 1725cc Engine (Alpine Series V and several other Rootes vehicles)

• Sunbeam Alpine Series II Owner's Handbook
• Sunbeam Alpine Series V Owner's Handbook

• Sunbeam Alpine Parts Manual - Includes part numbers and assembly drawings for all Alpine series I, II, III, IV, V. Some other OE part numbers are included as well (eg. Lucas).

• Sunbeam Alpine Series II Special Tuning - A handbook of performance modifications for the Series II Alpine. This handbook was intended to be used in conjunction with several factory performance kits.

• Wiring Diagrams (SAOCA)
  • Series I
  • Series II
  • Series III
  • Series IV
  • Series V

These forms are available from the FIA Historic Database

• Series I
• Series II
• Series III
• Series IV
• Series V

AE parts book showing part numbers for the Sunbeam Alpine 1725cc motor

• Dupont Historical Color Library - Rootes Motors
  • 

• Sunbeam Books
  • Alpine, The Classic Sunbeam, by Chris McGovern, 1981
    • This is the definitive Sunbeam Alpine book. History, technical information, lots more. Long out of print and can be hard to find, but used copies sometimes show up on Amazon or eBay.
  • The History of the Sunbeam Alpine, by John Willshire, 2015
  • Sunbeam Alpine: All models 1959 to 1968 (Essential Buyer's Guide), by Chris Barker, 2016
  • Haynes Sunbeam & Singer 1955 to 1965 Owners Workshop Manual, by S.F. Page, 1970? ISBN 0900550120
    • This is the Haynes book for the early cars. The Rootes Workshop Manual WSM 124 is a significantly better reference, but the Haynes book has some additional photos and provides a different perspective on most repairs.
  • Haynes Sunbeam Alpine and Rapier 1967 to 1974 Owners Workshop Manual
    • This is the Haynes book for the Series 5 with 1725cc engine. I'd probably skip this and read WSM 145 above, instead.
  • Glenn's Sunbeam Hillman Repair and Tune-Up Guide - 1965
    • Covers Alpine I-IV only. Lots of overlap with the WSM but some unique information (distributor profiles) and photos.
  • Sunbeam Owners Handbook of Maintenance & Repair - 1976?
    • Another manual that is mostly copied from the WSM, not very useful.
• Performance Modification
  • The Theory and Practice of Cylinder Head Modification - David Vizard, 1971
    • Considered the bible of cylinder head modification for the Alpine.
• Carburetors
  • Weber
    • Haynes Weber Carburetor Manual - This is probably the best single resource on setting up and tuning the Weber DGV carb.
    • Weber Carburettors: Tuning Tips and Techniques - John Passini, 2008
    • Weber Carburetors (HPBooks)
    • Weber Tuning Manual - An older copy is available here: webertuningmanual.pdf
• Engine Building
  • Engine Builder's Handbook - Tom Monroe, 1996
  • Modern Engine Blueprinting Techniques: A Practical Guide to Precision Engine Building - Mike Mavrigian, 2013

The ARCC maintains a directory of Rootes Car Clubs (all makes).

Sunbeam Specialties maintains a page of links to Sunbeam Clubs around the world (may not be up to date).

• USA
  • Pacific Tiger Club - Based in the Pacific Northwest, most events are in the Seattle area.
  • Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club of America (SAOCA)
  • Tigers East Alpines East - Most events are on the east coast.
  • Tiger clubs
    • Colorado Association of Tiger Owners - No recent updates, inactive?
    • TigersUnited - old site, inactive?
    • Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association - SF Bay Area
    • C.A.T. - Southern California
• United Kingdom
  • Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club Ltd. (SAOC)
  • The Association of Rootes Car Clubs (ARCC)
  • Rootes Archive Centre Trust - A nonprofit group that maintains an archive of over a hundred thousand engineering drawings and other original documents related to Rootes automobiles, including the Sunbeam Alpine.

• SUNI - Link no longer works as of July 2020.

• SAOCA Forum (USA)
• SAOC Forum (UK)
• The Sunbeam Experience
  • This site also hosts an archive of the defunct team.net Alpines mailing list and Tiger List.
• TEAE.org Forum
• California Association of Sunbeam Tiger Owners Forum - Includes a forum for Alpines.
• team.net Alpines Archives
  • See also team.net Alpines list archive (old site)
• team.net Tigers Archives

SAOC maintains a list of suppliers on their website.

• Sunbeam-specific parts
  • Within the US
    • Sunbeam Specialties - Campbell, CA
      • Rick has been supporting Sunbeams in the US for many years and has most of what you need to keep your Sunbeam running.
    • Victoria British - Lenexa, KS. Sunbeam, Triumph, Austin Healey, MG
    • Classic Sunbeam - Otego, NY
    • World Wide Auto Parts of Madison, Inc. - Madison, WI.
      • They also have an eBay store
      • Also rebuilds lever shocks.
  • Overseas
    • Speedy Spares - UK
    • Rootes Post Vintage Spares - NL
    • Sunbeam Spares - UK
    • Auto Surplus - Australia
    • Greenwood Auto UK eBay Store
    • Alpine Innovations - Weber carb kits and other Alpine upgrades.
• General Parts
  • Wiring and electrical
    • British Wiring
      • Crimp terminals, Lucas bullet style connectors and tools. I like their quick-disconnect style terminals that include a clear plastic boot to insulate them.
      • They sell an alternator connector that should fit some of the 3-terminal Lucas-style alternators.
  • Gauges, instruments, senders
    • Nisonger
      • Nisonger rebuilds Smiths, Lucas, and Jaeger gauges and senders, including the early Sunbeam series I-II fuel tank sender.
      • They rebuild speedometers and can re-calibrate the gauge to work with an overdrive unit, even if the car didn't originally have one (or if the OD is from a different series).
      • They can also convert the early mechanical tachometer to electronic.
  • Tires
    • Coker Tire
      • The Maxxis Radial 165/80R13 fits the MWS wire wheel below. It has a narrow 5/8“ whitewall (which can be placed on the inside if you don't want it to show).
  • Wheels
    • Motor Wheel Service (MWS)
      • Wire wheel XW458 fits the Alpine (4×13”, 60 spokes).
      • These are the wheels that VB sells.
      • The silver-painted version looks great. Shipping to the USA is surprisingly affordable. Ordering direct is likely cheaper than ordering from their distributors in the US!
      • They also sell new hubs, knockoffs, and wire wheel accessories.

• Part HGGP001-WS “Gas Pump Hose Grommet” from Restoration Specialties can be used in place of the upper petrol tank filler grommet (NLA) on the series I and II. The new grommet needs to be modified by cutting material away from the center so that the opening is large enough to slip it over the filler neck.
• The valve spring installed heights for the inner and outer springs on the Alpine series V shown in WSM 145 are incorrect. The valve springs for the series 5 are considerably shorter than the series 1-4 and have shorter installed heights. The correct installed heights are given in the Hillman Hunter workshop manual WSM 149.
• There have been several reports of new rubber timing chain tensioners swelling and failing. Some vendors are claiming this is due to incompatibility of the rubber and “high mileage” motor oils. Some members of the SACOA forum are recommending that we reuse old timing chain tensioners instead of replacing them.