sitting in a garden
Printed from: Sunbeam Rapier Owners Club
Topic URL: http://www.sunbeamrapier.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=932
Printed on: 06 Jan 2025
Topic:
Topic author: chazr
Subject: sitting in a garden
Posted on: 19 Mar 2013 18:04:15
Message:
Replies:
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 19 Mar 2013 18:49:56
Message:
This is the car that was featured in 'Custard Cart' magazine a few years back. IIRC it has the rear fins off of a Ford Zephyr but I could be wrong. I have some more pics of it on one of my other computers but can't remember which one, but will try to root them out and post them below.
Where is it now?
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 19 Mar 2013 19:02:31
Message:
Found 'em!
[/quote]
This is the magazine article that Custom Car magazine printed.
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: Fastback Thomas
Replied on: 19 Mar 2013 19:58:35
Message:
Really special!
I feel like we should try and get it at the national in august!!!!
What do you guys think?
'68 sunbeam rapier fastback {B341006846 OD/LHO}
I like a car that looks normal but really knocks your socks off!!
Reply author: JPSH120
Replied on: 19 Mar 2013 23:00:09
Message:
This car was at blenheim a few years ago. It's an alpine underneath the disguise and whilst the styling divided opinion I think there was a general appreciation of the owners efforts. Speaking of which I seem to remember reading the owner had passed away and the son had taken the car on. That could explain why it has been left to the elements which is a shame.
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Reply author: chazr
Replied on: 20 Mar 2013 07:06:46
Message:
I was told about it on saturday while having tyres fitted on my car, apparently it's not moved in a couple of years, just sits there, it's in wolverhampton
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 20 Mar 2013 07:57:18
Message:
I found another pic......
With the exception of the added rear side panels, I quite like the mods. Is too bad it's being stored outside though.
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: JPSH120
Replied on: 20 Mar 2013 09:32:21
Message:
Might be worth trying to find the owner and help get it re-homed. I appreciate it would be difficult to sell on if it was owned by a family member but better to do that than leave it to rot.
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Reply author: bigt80
Replied on: 23 Mar 2013 17:12:02
Message:
Yes, it would be a shame for it to just rust away. I know I had seen it in the flesh and yes, must have been our last National at Blenheim as JPSH120 says. I think that was 2008??
Reply author: chazr
Replied on: 23 Mar 2013 22:56:24
Message:
last on the road 2009, yes it is a shame and i will try and get in touch with the owner to see what is happening with it
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 12 Jun 2013 10:40:42
Message:
Just thought I'd 'bump' this thread with some more custom Rapier pics to keep it alive for when Chas gets back to us to tell us he's the proud new owner of 'Golden Graham'! 
Outrageous!! 
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: janmarine3
Replied on: 13 Jun 2013 06:28:45
Message:
Is there a prettier sight and sound than a sensibly seriously customised old school series Rapier that leaves black stripes on the tar ?
I think the blue and white in pic goes very well together too.
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 13 Jun 2013 12:36:40
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by janmarine3
Is there a prettier sight and sound than a sensibly seriously customised old school series Rapier that leaves black stripes on the tar ?
I think the blue and white in pic goes very well together too.
Errrmmmm.... nopers! Only possible exception to this rule... maybe a fastback!
.... but I'm more late 60's early 70's influenced so I could be biased. I was into that whole mural thing in the 70's but never attempted it myself. The thing about that airbrush caper is that when it was done by someone with the natural flair of an artist it could look truly stunning, but when it was attempted by someone 'having a go'..... it looked bloody awful!Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 16 Jun 2013 09:14:56
Message:
Lets keep those customs comin'!
Don't you just love the airhorns on the 'hood'!
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: janmarine3
Replied on: 16 Jun 2013 22:48:38
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by arrocuda
Lets keep those customs comin'!
Don't you just love the airhorns on the 'hood'!
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
I second that...I am all for any Rootes car that has been tittivated ...whuch brings me to a question I have been wondering about - Did Rootes ever make a V6 or V8 engine ? Geezzzz..I forgot completely about the Tiger...V6 then ?
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 18 Jun 2013 08:39:19
Message:
I'm pretty certain that Rootes never produced a V engine. The Tiger engine was a small block Ford V8 that they imported from the US. I believe the arrangement with Ford to supply engines was terminated when Chrysler took over in the mid to late sixties.
Is too bad that they didn't make some of the American or Aussie Chrysler engines available as options. You can get the whole story on the Rootes/Chrysler era here.
http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/
This page is interesting too.... cos I had a Chrysler 180 in the late 70's, was a '73 model. On this page you can read about a 2 door coupe model that they built as a prototype. Maybe they planned to replace the Rapier but ran out of money.
http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/car-development/dev-180.html
Despite the reputation the 180 had, it was as good as, if not better, than a Cortina. Just poor marketing as usual by Chrysler and not offering a bigger engine spec' option to compete with the Granada, Rover SD1 or the Victor Transcontinental.
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: janmarine3
Replied on: 18 Jun 2013 12:40:46
Message:
Thanks for the info.
I could never understand why Rootes vehicles never really took off.
As you say though...'poor marketing' by Chrysler.
Things could have been so much different today.
Reply author: 1922
Replied on: 02 Jul 2013 18:20:49
Message:
There was V6 engine, it was meant for the Chrysler 180. They built and tested prototypes in the Avenger but the engine never made it to production.
It as 2.5 litre I think - it's mentioned in Graham Robson's "Cars of the Rootes Group".
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 10 Jul 2013 10:04:30
Message:
Came across another interesting custom fastback Rapier but I can't 'steal' the pics as they are copyright blocked, but can post links. This one has been modified with a V6, doesn't say what type but think it's a Ford and get this..... suicide doors!!
Not sure what the hell is going on with the front end though.... but it's what ever floats yer boat I guess.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allenthepostman/1889629667/in/photostream/
You need to click the right hand arrow to see all the pics.
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: janmarine3
Replied on: 11 Jul 2013 07:40:12
Message:
Something there for every taste, very interesting pic's thanks 
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 11 Jul 2013 18:22:34
Message:
Not done yet Jan!
This one was at Whitby Kustom show last year. Is held in November as part of the 'Goths and Rodders' weekend. Probably the only car show where some of the visitors can be more outrageous than the cars. This car is fairly mild compared with some of the other entrants.
.....but this car isn't! 
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: janmarine3
Replied on: 13 Jul 2013 06:48:54
Message:
I have seen some pretty outrageous vehicles in my lifetime , but outrageous humans moved into first place these last few years....
I recall a Fiat 500 with a V8 engine in, the driver sat on top of the engine, I think the 0-100 probably came up in minus something seconds and all the windows in the viscinity probably shattered...
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 13 Jul 2013 08:51:07
Message:
TBH Jan I'm a big fan of outrageous cars but trying to stay on topic so I just snuck that one in there. There's lots of dedicated customs and rodding sites on the net for folks that are interested, so is not much point me hogging the bandwidth with pics of cars that don't have a Rootes connection.
So I'll sneak another one in for all you secret outrageous custom fans on here that isn't Rapier... but is Rootes!
If it wasn't for the distinctive swage line in the body side it would be difficult to identify it as a Rootes product, but for the less observant, the car's name should give you a big clue!
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 27 Sep 2013 10:13:56
Message:
Came across another custom Rapier pic by accident. It's the targa top Rapier we discussed in another thread a while ago. It's a pic taken from Street Machine magazine and has some interesting text regarding the build.
Although it kind of undermines the whole concept of a pillarless coupe.... aesthetically, I think it looks very pleasing. Love it!
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: HunterGLS
Replied on: 27 Sep 2013 11:36:04
Message:
Is that the "Yorkshire Rapier"? I remember reading a magazine article years ago.
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 08 Jan 2014 15:00:09
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by HunterGLS
Is that the "Yorkshire Rapier"? I remember reading a magazine article years ago.
TBH I don't know anything more about the car than is already in the post. Anyone know if the car is known to the club?
We were talking about Chrysler 180's earlier in the thread and came across this sketch on the ARON web site.
Sketched by Nigel Garton, this interesting one-off was spotted in the early 1970s: He says.... "…on one of my trips to Whitley as an Austin Morris Product Planner, carrying out one of the regular vehicle swops which we used to do with rivals, I saw a Two-door 180 driving around! Because of the fairly steep rear window, it looked quite Coupe-ish, but I reckoned it was exactly the same wheelbase and profile as the 4 door. I did this sketch of it for my management…"
Then a few weeks later I came across this.....
The one that got away!!
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: chazr
Replied on: 29 Apr 2015 20:41:42
Message:
Hi there remember this one
well i went to see it again and now i own it
Reply author: JPSH120
Replied on: 30 Apr 2015 07:12:50
Message:
Well done. Does it still look like that?!
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Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 30 Apr 2015 13:06:33
Message:
Nice one Chaz!! Was beginning to think that someone was going to turn it into some kind of overgrown garden ornament. A 'Sunbeam Gazebo' does have a certain ring to it.
Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
Reply author: chazr
Replied on: 06 May 2015 19:56:09
Message:
top one was just after we got her home and then we gave her a wash,photo looks better than she actually is, front end of drivers wing gone bottom of boot lid gone and a couple of plates need welding on the floor, apart from that everything else works.
Reply author: arrocuda
Replied on: 07 May 2015 08:03:36
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by chazr
front end of drivers wing gone bottom of boot lid gone and a couple of plates need welding on the floor, apart from that everything else works.
So.... it's a good one then.
I always thought that the rear wings were off a Ford Zodiac, but looking closer at this pic you've posted they look as if he's capped the 'notch' and found the lens's to fit. TBH I think it would look better without the side panels (not sure what he was thinking there), and some large rear fins fitting from an old yank. Caddy or DeSoto would look cool.Building the 'Mark II' fastback Rapier ('Arrocuda').
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