1959 Sunbeam Rapier Driving Video

[@WalksInThunder]

My dad bought one new in 1959 by trading with a friend. Our family traveled up the west coast, across Canada, down through the Dakotas and into Missouri where grandma and grandpa lived. All five of us with a roof rack. Never a problem on the trip.

[@BrianAllenBee52100]

What a magical little car! Reminds me of my youth. We saw lots of Rapiers and Tigers in South Africa in the 60's Love this one though!

[@timothymulholland7905]

I had a 1961 model in college in California in the late 60’s. It had a beautiful wooden dash and the 1500cc Alpine engine with twin SUs (no OD). A sporty little sedan. Two-tone blue. I bought a crank and would crank it to start now and then to impress people.

[@eddiehowarth8123]

Your so lucky to own this lovely sunbeam have fun and health for many happy hours driving

[@AJuchum]

I bought a $99 1959 Rapier Convertible in Georgia in 1970. I drove it for several months until the weight of 300 newspapers on my driving route blew the head gasket. My landlady sold it and mailed me a $19 about 30 years later! It was an interesting little car while it lasted.

[@davidhynd4435]

Rootes cars were dependable and well made. They sold well enough here in Australia that Rootes had a factory at Port Melbourne where a range of vehicles was assembled from CKD kits. I would guess that the Rapier was among them. The Hillman Minx being the bread and butter line. I learned to drive in my mum's 1960 Series IIIB Hillman Minx. The '59 Rapier is such a pretty little car with those rolled-over fins. From what I can see in the video, yours is a nice, tidy example too. I'm jealous.

[@WalksInThunder]

Grew up in one of these. Mom stitched the interior (red and white) and Dad worked on the engine and trans. Traveled from San Luis Obispo CA to Buffalo MO, all 5 of us with camping gear, on a vacation for 2 weeks. Went up the west coast into Canada and down through the Dakotas to MO. 2 weeks turned into 6 years as my dad took a job in Urbana, IL :'(

[@postwar46]

I always thought that the Rootes brothers hit the market pitch right with their products in the form of Hillman , Humber, Sunbeam, and Singer, with a clever cross pollination of manufactured components. Hillmans were humble, Humbers were gargantuan , Sunbeams were sporty, and Singers were a gentleman's car . One thing that shone through with all their products was strong styling which had big appeal. They engaged the Loewy studios in the United States to develop British lines . All their cars, I thought, had a far superior appearance to other British offerings of the period. Mechanically, though of push rod overhead valve design, the motors delivered some surprising rally wins. At the end of the day, a Rootes motor is solid & dependable, and simple to maintain. They built very good cars.

[@brianwillson9567]

Ha ha. The redundant column change housing being used as a marker for the gear change positions.

[@edwardkennedy9919]

Nice old car, plenty of character