Bill:
Welcome to the list, and hope your project goes well!
I think your first step should be to find out what you've got, and that
rust on the sills is a good place to start. The surface material should
be removed to the point where you can determine how much is still
holding your car together in the middle and this, in turn, will tell you
whether you have a parts car and need another. I would then look at the
rest of the body, and determine whether it is solid and/or how much
welding and panel replacing you are going to have to do before it is
solid. Only then would I begin a "piecemeal" (running restoration?)
approach. At that point you should know whether it is worth it.
There is a good source of replacement panels at
http://www.bss.ab.ca/rme/
(not cheap but good quality)
Good luck!
Ron Tebo
>
> Bill Blue writes:
> > Hi I am a newbie to the site, and believe it or, the first time I have
> > ever participated in such a thing. But on to Sunbeams. =20
> > I have a Seies 5 setting in the garage. It was a "runner' until old =
> > man
> > time got to the rubber in the braking system. This happened before I
> > got it. This is my second 'Beam, the first was a Series 2, purchased
> > new in the summer of '62. Lots of good times in that car. But more to
> > the point.
> > =20
> > How do most people go about "fixing" these things...These are the
> > following problems that are evident:
> > Rust through areas under car under door sill
> > Partial engine rewiring, so I assume the wiring harness needs extensive
> > attention
> > Engine firewall messed up from a previous owners attempt to achieve god
> > knows what
> > Rear floor pan mutilated from obvious installation of a roll bar, now
> > gone
> > Engine has a lot of miles on it. The car came with an engine overhaul
> > gasket kit, so I assume it probably needs attention.
> > The interior has been gutted, but the car came with most upholstery to
> > fix it.
> > Steering wheel is some incredibly ugly foam covered 13 incher
> > The body has been primered, and looks pretty good.
> > =20
> > The only way I can see out of this is to strip it to the bones, and go
> > from one end to the other, fixing/replacing as I go. I did this once,
> > about 15 years ago on a Blakely Bearcat, and it is a LOT of work. But
> > everything is so interconnected. What would be a reasonable piecemeal
> > approach?=20
> > Sorry this is so long, edit if you must.
> > Bill Blue
> > the_blues@worldnet.att.net
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