Lot Ended
Description
Restored at a cost of over £75,000 and only 1,500 miles since;
multiple show-winner; one of only two known to survive; fully rebuilt
4-litre engine; jaw-dropping condition both above and below; find a better
one!
The
Sunbeam-Talbot marque was created in 1938 following the Rootes Group’s
acquisition of two of the finest pre-war British marques, Sunbeam of
Wolverhampton and Talbot of London. The first cars were made at the old Talbot
works in North Kensington, but after the war production moved to the new Rootes
factory at Ryton-on-Dunsmore, just outside Coventry.
The flagship model of the new marque was the imposing 4-Litre Sports
Saloon, an updated version of the establishment’s limo of choice, the famous
Humber Super Snipe. Restyled by Ted White with flowing Art Deco lines, it had
improved suspension with greater refinement and more spirited handling
characteristics which, allied to a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on 3rd
and 4th, made it significantly more driver-friendly than its rather staid
predecessor.
Ideally suited to the upwardly
mobile professional, the 4-Litre was a fast luxury tourer that oozed road
presence, the ‘get out of my way’ front end styling giving lesser motorists no
choice other than to do as they were told.
For
those who didn’t need the 100bhp and 85mph performance of the 4-Litre, an
identical and equally luxurious 3-Litre version was also offered. Only in
production for two seasons before the Talbot factory was forced to switch to
aero engine work for the war effort, just 44 of the 4-Litre Sports Saloons and
163 of the 3-Litre versions were made in total, only two of each type being
known to survive today.
This magnificent 3-Litre
Sports Saloon is by far the best example of the few that remain, having been
recently treated to a concours standard restoration that took almost three years
and cost over £75,000 to complete (excluding all the man hours put in by the
vendor). It comes with a large and interesting history file that will take the
next owner many happy hours to digest.
A copy of
the factory record shows that BNJ 689 was built in late 1938 and was supplied
new via Langney Motors of Eastbourne to first owner Henry Hoare of the same
town. A retired ‘Chamberlain and Treasurer of the City of Plymouth’, Hoare sadly
died just 10 months after taking delivery of his new car and much of BNJ 689’s
subsequent history seems to have vanished with him.
The car finally resurfaced in 1978 when a George Hart of Nottingham
made an application to get a new logbook as the car had by this point lost its
documents. He succeeded in getting the car taxed and MOT’d in June of that year,
but it seems that it was only very briefly used before being put into storage.
In 1989 it was acquired by Allan Roberts of Nottingham as a restoration project,
but he never got round to this task and it remained in storage for another 25
years.
In 2015 it came to the attention of Alan
Brinklow, the Chairman of the Sunbeam-Talbot Alpine Register (STAR). He
recognised the importance of the car and purchased it because of its rarity,
hoping to make sure it stayed in the UK and would ideally be sold on to a member
of the Club who would correctly restore it.
This is where our vendor
heroically stepped up to the mark. A fellow STAR member, he purchased BNJ
689 in 2016 and, together with well-known classic car restorer Chis Lowe, he
spent the next three years treating it to a total nut-and-bolt restoration with
the spectacular results you see today.
The full
extent of the work carried out is far too detailed to list in full here, but is
amply covered in hundreds of invoices and photos on file. Rest assured, it was a
labour of love with no corners cut and no expense spared, every part being
faithfully restored or replaced regardless of cost.
The original 3-Litre engine (no. 41828 as still recorded on the
V5C) had already been replaced by a later 4-Litre unit (A8007438HSO)
so this was fully rebuilt by Adams Automotive Engineers of Norwich with new
pistons, bearings etc. They also rebuilt the four-speed synchro
gearbox.
Other expenditure of note includes: new
wiring loom and all associated electrical components including power socket for
sat nav etc; uprated cooling system with new high-capacity radiator and Revotec
automatic fan kit with manual over-ride via a switch to the right of the
steering wheel; all instruments rebuilt; brakes, steering and suspension
rebuilt; bespoke stainless steel exhaust system.
The interior was fully
retrimmed by Moores of Aylsham including beige leather upholstery and door
cards, top quality carpets, new headlining and re-polished and lacquered walnut
door trims, the bill for this alone coming to over £13,000. A new set of five
Avon Turbospeed tyres and Michelin inner tubes were also fitted which cost over
£1,300.
As you can see in the photos, the body
and paintwork are in superb condition, as is all the sparkling chrome, and the
car looks as good underneath as it does up top.
Since the restoration was completed, BNJ 689 has been carefully
run-in and has only covered some 1,500 miles, having had two oil and filter
changes in that period.
Well-known on the show
circuit, it has consistently won ‘Best in Show’, ‘Best in Class’ or ‘Most
Desirable Car’ at numerous events with no fewer than 14 trophies to show for it
which all go with the car. These include winning the coveted ‘Master Class’ at
the annual STAR Club National Rally on two occasions (including 2025), plus
‘Best Side Valve’ on another year. At all three of these shows it was also voted
as ‘The Car You Would Like To Take Home’ by Club members.
In addition, BNJ 689 was Highly Commended and Runner Up to ‘Car of
The Show’ at the prestigious ‘Classic & Sports Car Club Awards’
ceremony at the NEC Classic Car Show.
One of
the finest restorations we have ever seen, this rare and magnificent machine has
been starting instantly and running like a sewing machine as we have moved it
around on site, with excellent oil pressure, effective brakes and bags of
low-down grunt from the super-smooth four-litre straight-six. In fact it will
happily pull away from a standstill in 3rd, as we discovered when
we accidentally fluffed the gearchange when we first got in the
car...
On offer here at a fraction of the costs
lavished upon it to date, it needs to be seen and driven to be fully
appreciated. Okay, this is an auction so you can’t actually test-drive it but take our word for it, you won’t be
disappointed. Just make sure you come and see it!
PLEASE NOTE: If you
are planning on spending more than £25,000 during this auction, you will need to
increase your spending limit by leaving more than one deposit. Please refer to
your account.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com