Real Road Test: 1972 Sunbeam Rapier (OMG NOT H120 LOL)
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- More Rootes action as I drove a Sunbeam Rapier Arrow, based on the Hillman Hunter. It has a 1725cc engine, twin carburettors and a truly wonderful exhaust note, just like the Alpine I drove recently! But what is this baby Plymouth Barracuda like to drive?
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There's a forgotten item, the switch to turn off the dashboard lamps. That was a relic of the days when you had to have parking lamps, even in a 30 mph zone, so turning off three or four 3w bulbs might save your battery for the morning. Nowadays people just park anywhere without lights, facing the wrong way, on blind corners, on the pavement. The bobbies of yesteryear would have kittens!
My HA Viva had that! Wondered what the point of it was.
David… super comment ! 💯 %
He did mention it
I have to say thanks to this comment section for me to find all the curious things about my rapier, recently bought one and mostly of the switches where self explainatory, but some of em... Oh boi... Do I had to look it over... 😂
Wonderful to see this posted as I have just taken delivery of what I think might be the finest example of a 1969 Sunbeam Alpine Coupe in the US. 3800 original miles, midnight blue with a black interior, always garaged and in showroom condition. It came out of a 100 car collection in Nashville TN and I will post a video soon. Thanks!
I also have one, never registered and 23 miles on the speedo..
@@Draxindustries1 Are you in the US Drax? I would love to see pictures as I definitely stand corrected!
@@rumcove07 Hi, the car is in the UK but I live in Russia. We deal
in ex CCCP tanks, gas turbine helis (HIND) & jet warbirds (MIG 23's)
Plus gas turbine gensets/ APU's and URAL 6x6 375D trucks.
We buy in Bulk.from the UK specialist type stainless fixings like bolts/ nuts/ washers/ screws ect for our sister company who refurbish automatic weapons like Kalashnikov & MG42 for the Israli army. The next time I'm there I'll take some pictures of my car which is in a private collection of Rootes cars which belongs to the stainless fixings companies MD.
All the best to you..
Was expecting Roxy music love is the drug to stay playing at the end!
My mother used to own one of these in the late 70's! I have a single picture of it and it sadly met a bad end being scrapped but it was the last car my mother ever owned. Absolutely loved the car and she still talks about it very fondly even now. So happy to finally see a video on it from you Ian! And hers was a yellow/beige colour model. 😀
What a gorgeous vehicle, I love everything about it!
The sound of the engine, fantastic!
Excellent review!
Glad you did a review on a Rapier, I have one a 1968 one, I love it love driving it turns many heads as many people have never seen one before
These were beautiful and underrated cars. The H120 variants were quick and long legged grand tourers and sounded great. I had a 1975 Rapier in red with period Cosmic alloys when I was 19 - it was a real head turner even then in the late 80s. This is a stunning example. A great article and nice to see Rootes/Chrysler vehicles being featured.
Love your videos. None of the sarcasm like that a well known person comes out with!.Coming from Coventry I adore all this. When i left school in 73 I worked for a company called Awson Motor Carriage Company. We made the dashboards and door cappings for Triumph 2.5 pi, Dolomite, Toledo, TR7, Stag and Spitfire. My dad always bought Rootes/Chrysler stuff. In fact 7of us drove to Kiev in 1969. 4,000 miles in 16 days through countries that no longer exist!. Was thinking how sad it is that these firms are no longer and I was thinking about all the car makers there were in Coventry. Hillman Humber Sunbeam Singer Commer/Karrier (Luton)/ DaimlerJag , Standard/ Triumph. London Taxis ( carbidies) Leyland also produced excellent lorries , tractors , busses and, here, the Coventry Climax lift trucks. A great shame Leyland was run down as it was an extremely important business in the Midlands... Also plenty of motor cycle manufacturers here too, Triumph Francis Barnett etc.If you ever get chance please visit the car museum in Coventry!!
My Grandma and Grandad used to regularly drive their early Hillman Hunter to see their daughter (my aunt) who has lived in Switzerland since mid 60s-They would also include a trip to South Of France!Never went with them as I was only 7 in 1975 when they sold the car.The thought of travelling such distances back then amazed me..
When I was a kid a guy down the road from me had one of theses in white, I always thought it was a good looking thing, I thought, one day,one day, now living down under they are rear as. Thanks for the boyhood memories.
I saw one in metallic blue at a car show around 20 years ago and fell in love with that drop dead gorgeous styling. Sadly whilst at the time they were relatively plentiful and could be had for a couple of hundred quid, they were also all absolutely riddled with rot (like most 1970s British iron.) Still much rather have one than a Capri. That rear end just works so well and the overall proportions of the car are delightful.
2 litre and above Capri's could wag their tails easily on an uneven surface if not tuned into them. The wife used to frighten me at times in hers, she loved it when I was almost sh**ting my pants!
@@tonys1636 Marina Coupes used to be renowned for that as you went through fifty and only settled down when you got above sixty or so
I have met a pensioner online.
@@asensibleyoungman2978 congratulations!
My grandmother bought a new H120 in 1968 which my parents then had as our car for many years until my mother in mid 80's wanted something newer to replace it as its getting too old, my dad loved it and would never sell it hence its been stored in the garage ever since. Its now in my garage waiting for me to restore it. Its now the same age as me at 53 years old, genuine 65k miles. One day...
Can you remember what the mileage was, Ian? I bought a Hunter DL 1725 Estate brand new in 1972 for £840 to take back to W Germany (in the Army) a couple of months later but either driving on or coming off the ferry, the exhaust grounded and ripped apart. A garage managed to do a temporary repair for us to get back home in Buckeburg. A few days later, it was in the local Rootes agent for repairs and they fitted a full length stainless steel exhaust. That did sound racy!
I can't, but it had been thoroughly restored, making mileage a bit of a moot point.
The brother in law had the H120 version back in its day. Made a great induction roar through the twin weber 40's.
Having owned a selection of older cars, I tend to forego the rose-tinted glasses when watching your reviews but this looks like a genuinely nice, tidy, comfortable car to be inside.
I haven't seen one of these for decades; it was a favourite car of my youth with its unique styling. Always nice to see Rootes group and Chrysler UK cars, there was always something slightly different about them. As for Linwood cars, you should pay a visit to Glasgow's new Riverside Transport Museum sometime. Pride of place seems to be given to the very first Hillman Imp, which many a misty eyed Scot stands and stares at.
As a Glaswegian, I visited the Riverside and was quite annoyed that, due to lack of space, the LAST car built at Linwood, a Chrysler Avenger estate was no longer on permanent display. As someone wrote in the visitor book on the Riverside's opening day - 'The Kelvin Hall was better.'
Not just misty eyed Scots !! Even us (Brummie ) Sassenachs can accept that it was a far better car than the mini !
@@MorristheMinor Another over priced warehouse mascaraing as an Architectural "gem" the city fathers are so taken in by these international fashion statements. The Kelvin hall and its predecessor the old tram depot were much better.
@@triodehexode Yes, I agree with you there, and I studied Architecture at Strathclyde! Albert Drive is the old tram depot you're thinking of, I think it's still in use as the Tramway (quel surprise) theatre.
@@MorristheMinor That's the one, exhibits much more accessible as was the Kelvin hall My dad took me to see moon rock in there as well. What do you think the Stalinist student accommodation around High St. Sorry this is a great car channel. Just think the modern museums try too hard some times and fail. The new one is not too bad from the river but looks like a factory shed on the other side. Cars are not ment to be stuck to a wall. Councils like their designer name archatctets they can swan off to sunny climes looking up their work. White concrete and stainless steel don't work too well in a damp moss ridden clime.
Oh that noise! Takes me straight back to all of the 1500 Avengers (There were a few) that I owned in my youth during the late 70s and early 80s. Astonishing that any of these Rootes cars still survive. Thinking back, most of the ones I owned were maximum 7 or 8 years old and they were lace curtained with rust even at that age. Scrapyard refugees all of them, but I had some fun in 'em.
Love the exhaust note 👌 Nice to see more Rootes Group cars 😎
Awesome choice for a road test Ian. My father had a dark blue Rapier when I was 7 or 8 years old, and I absolutely loved it. The back seat was fine for a child, with the added bonus of the unobstructed view when the front and back windows were down.
My Uncle Brian had one of those in the late 70s and, get this, the horn played Colonel Bogie!
Another great episode. My 1975 Motor Show guide has the standard Rapier at £2540 and the H120 at £2870 , however it also has the more modern looking Celica ST at only £2336 and Mk2 Capris starting at £1800 or the new VW Scirocco starting at £2450 - The Rapier was a great car for the late 60s but beginning to lose its shine by the end of production - My Dad had the previous gen Rapier till he died in 69, I remember him looking across the carpark to the 'new' model and remarking what a beauty it was.
My grandad had a turquoise Hillman Hunter with a black vinyl roof and turquoise fabric seats, hearing the engine and exhaust note reminded me of that, Happy memories being taken out in it as a child
Enjoyed! Thank you for excellant cameo on the Rapier!😅
The stability of your shots is amazing.
Absolutely beautiful cars Rapia /alpines my friends dad had one he loved it, and when found out they were getting phased out he traded it in for a new one but it wasn’t as good as the older one he pointed out to me you can put your finger inside of the wing and poke it and seen the shape of your finger the Metal was so thin he was disappointed eventually sold it and bought a Datsun instead. Great video, thank you very much, you’re sent me on a trip down memory lane
Fantastic car and video :D
I cant get over how nice that gear change looked and how amazing it sounded :D
A car I will sadly never own but always wanted, Dad was a Ford man so I had to miss out then too.
You mentioned New Zealand, which reminded me straight away of hiring a locally-built Hunter in 1976 (built by Todd Motors, I recall), which was a bit of a parts-bin special : front end was Sceptre, rear was final edition Hunter with all the alloy trim, but the most obvious characteristic was that the high-back front seats had horizontal stitching on one and vertical stitching on the other !
Now I know which car Hollywood used to get the sound track from for all European cars that featured in all their 60's and 70's movies ;)
This is a lovely car and sounds good. I used to work on these new when I worked at a Chrysler Main dealers. They were always a class car with no issues and drove very well.
I had a friend in Georgia who had one and it was the only one I ever saw in the States. It was a good driver and never gave trouble.
My grandfather had one , when I was around 4 years old......my grandfather and his son my uncle went to a scarp yard for a new engine for it , was painted in orange that stuff you used to coat metal ....I catnt remember what it was
It was a very very very cool car
I used to see one every day on the way to school in the late 70s. For the time it looked really good and I have to say that it's aged really well. It's got more of a classic 60s vibe
Had the Hunter H120 version myself
Definitely a GXL Cortina beater in it's day
Well done for taking the time to look at this one
Lovely old thing. My father sold a few of them always black iirc. His car sales ended up on "That's life "with Esther Ranson but for all the wrong reasons. Lol. Happy memories thanks for bringing a few old memories back.
Be well and stay safe.
Really enjoyed watching this my 3rd car was a metallic dark grey automatic one of these, brought it in 78 had it 3 years, did have a bit of rust in later years but what didn't in the 70s. had to buy a few spares but every thing from the Hunter which there was more about then fitted. I just loved the shape different from every thing else then, not like now take the badge of most cars and you would not know what make it was.
REview Much Better than Any Top Gear Etc Ian ... compulsive viewing Remember them aged 20😀
Absolutely beautiful car I love it Brilliant video Ian 👍
Had the Hunter and the Humber Sceptre. Beautiful cars for there time. The Sceptre dashboard when lit up at night was like a commercial airliner cockpit!
Great little video and what a stylish car the Rapier was, as was the slightly less powerful but equally well-styled Alpine. Lovely dashboard too.
My old man had the Humber Sceptre 4 door saloon version. Lots of wood ! I remember the warning light hoods. And the overdrive . Cannot remember the handbrake being on the right hand side , but could be wrong. Afterwards he had two Lancia Beta saloons . Way way more advanced , until rust got hold. Both were Company cars so he wasn’t fussed about the rust.
Omg I remember these from when I was a kid...and I wanted a black and silver one some guy had nearby..... ! Was on about old cars like this a few days ago too....
Wonderful stuff Ian...
I remember sometime around 1978-80, an article in Electronics Today International magazine, on how to build a windscreen wiper "robot" to give your car variable intermittent wipers!
Ha ha , yes around this time Unipart offered a device like you describe which could be fitted to any 12 volt negative earth car & was available through BL/ Unipart shops ,Halfords & MDC ( motorists discount centre's) & was made by Pecktron in Derbyshire . It was a plastic cased relay with lucar terminals & " can be fitted in minutes" The advert was frequently in Car Mechanics & Practical Motorists magazine's till about 1982.
Hi Ian I thought you were brilliant on good morning Britain and nice videos
All the HubNut merch will have 'As Seen On TV' now. 😁
@@MattBrownbill yes
I enjoy seeing and learning about cars I haven't seen before. I like the Barracuda rear end.
Thank you so much Ian for reviewing this beautiful example. As a young lad I was captivated by the looks and styling of the Rapier and dreamt of owning one. Sadly, I didn't get the opportunity, but today, you have helped me fulfill that dream.
Also like the Barracuda in being a modified sedan (or in this case a lot of the estate version) with a fastback, not a completely different and lower body like a Mustang or Capri. The Barracuda was basically a modified Valiant. The original Mustang was on a Falcon platform (not sure if the floorplan was any different), also sharing the basic Falcon instrument panel and a lot of other bits.
But you probably knew all of that.
Fun fact: when it was launched (just before the Mustang) the Barracuda had the largest piece of glass fitted on a car. And because of the Barracuda, Dodge dealers asked for a fastback for themselves, so Chrysler came up with the Charger - exactly the same recepy, take a midsize Dodge Coronet sedan and make it a fastback.
I was a rear passenger in a Rapier of the same colour following the RAC Rally in 1978. It was probably the coolest car I'd ridden in at that time (I was 16 at the time).
Sees Sunbeam Rapier in Hubnut thumbnail, makes squealing noise and fumbles to get it started. My dad had an aqua blue one. I have memories of gearbox issues, but I was always blown away by the pillar less windows.
this looks like the better jenson interceptor to me lightweight and elegant
And the Interceptor has a Chrysler engine too ,albeit an American V8!
It's a beautiful car. It's a bit like a mini Jensen Interceptor/ Buick Riviera. Sounds lovely as well
Another car I’d forgotten, yet one used to reside down the street from me as a kid and I lusted after it.
Back in the early 70s I had a Saturday job and the manager had one of those in the metallic blue, the owner had a Vauxhall Firenza, remember those Ian. I loved both of those cars.
***OMG****what a BEAUTY!!!!!! Love this car!!!!
I well remember the gear stick and its positioning.......well cool
Glorious car. When we were kids we used to pretend our bikes were cars. My Chopper alternated between one of these Rapiers, a Fiat 124 Coupe and a Saab 99. I was forever making it clear that my bike was the Hunter-based Rapier, not the small hatchback advertised by Petula Clark. As if!
1:12 My uncle had a Sunbeam Rapier when I was a child and I couldn't understand why the doors didn't have a frame around the window. I also didn't realise how iconic these cars were.
It was a big leap from my Morris 1000 van to this in the seventies and I loved the "sophistication" - a lockable glove box!? Cruising at seventy down the steep bank from Bristol to the Somerset levels on the M5 my girlfriend went to get something from the glovebox but it was locked. No problem. Into neutral and passed her the keys. Mused to myself - "there's another sophistication to this car - a steering lock". Short and very sharp interchange took place between girlfriend and myself including "just give me the effing key back quick" after which, with a sigh of relief the key went back in and my hands, gripping the wheel like a vice, could relax. Phew!
You know I’m constantly amazed at what was being produced on that island that is our mother Country, we never heard anything here in US about these wonderful lil cars😀
This is the first time I've seen one of these cars and I really like it. The 70s produced some really epic coupes and this is definitely one of them
Lovely looking car. Haven’t seen one for ages. I didn’t realise the styling was the work of Roy Axe, who went on to style the Rover 200, 400 and 800 in the 1980s. It’s little snippets of information like this that are one of the reasons I love this channel.
Thanks, beautiful looker, and very few left in such good condition. I always lusted after one in my youth.
My father had an H120 … he loved it !
He was particularly fond of the Holbay tune and took me round the “track “ at Gaydon back in 1969 !
(Even as a tall 8 year old the headroom in the rear was tight !)
Yours is in perfect condition.
If you look at Ian's face when he starts a car up and the sound of an engine with history/a story which perhaps hasn't been told in a long time kicks in, you can see a very telling grin creep in on his face, even when we're situated in the rear of the car. You just know how the man feels about operating a beautiful piece of history like this and it translates into everything else.
Those rostyle wheels. Can somebody, for the love of god, bring them back? There is literally nothing in the circular world that's as gorgeous as those things.
Such a nice looking car, certainly be happy to have one on my drive.
We had a 1971 model in the late seventies, they were called Alpine GT here in Canada. It was a fun drive when I was a new driver, though dodgy reliability. Brings back memories! Thanks for this!
4 kids in the back mum and dad up front. Happy memories.
Takes me back, going to Reading festival, turned heads back then, also had the hillman hunter estate with the holby arrow engine in, great days great cars.
The jump in technology from 1970s to early 90s cars is quite shocking.
Love the old Britiah sportie cars. As an older Canadian, am sad that we didn't get more of these over here
Oh what a memory spike when you stepped in and that protruding steering wheel centre boss was the first thing I noticed. My Dad treated himself to a new Hillman Avenger in 1973 with a steering wheel centre boss that I remember being bigger (longer) than that one. Dad found he could twist it off and managed to whittle the foam down to a more acceptable level. Keep 'em coming.
My Father had a blue M reg Alpine version which had the single carb engine, singer gazelle wooden facia and no overdrive. He did opt for the rapier reclining seats in black just like these.
A very enjoyable little road test, thanks. I've been really busy with a project for the last few weeks so nice to come back to such a nice car.
I owned a pale green example in 1973. Loved it to bits and I still think it's a beautiful bit of styling.
I swapped the Rostyles for alloys which proved problematic. There was insufficient heat dissipation which meant the front discs warped repeatedly. So the alloys were flogged. It looks great with Rostyles anyway ...
Great car, much underrated.
Surprisingly tidy under the bonnet. Lovely shape.
May not drive as well as a Capri but the Rapier has such Transatlantic style that it stands out in any company. Very impressive cruising ability as well.
Thank you Ian for sharing this gem.
I have to disagree that the H120 is not much more powerful because my Dad's Mate owned Hunter GLSs which would regularly clock 100 mph within a mile of setting off.
I'm old enough to remember - when I was a kid - seeing early adverts for these cars when they first appeared. To me at the time they looked like something out of the future - I was really impressed. By the time I was old enough to be driving and owning cars, I was too late.
Man, I've been a bit off the hook from my usual dose of good ol' car reviews, but when this popped up in my list, I couldn't resist.
My Dad had one of these in the 1970s, I remember it well, dark blue metallic, back seats were a fucking nightmare on my sunburnt legs when we went on holiday in it.
Remember the slight jolt from the overdrive. Great car ...ACG132J where are you today!?
This is the video I've been wishing to see. I've always had a soft spot for the Arrow Rapiers. As others have commented, the styling set it apart from its rivals, especially the Capri.
If only Chrysler had the funds to develop these cars, perhaps using the abandoned v6 engine that was planned for the ill-fated Chrysler 180/2 litre.
Ps Ian, I had a Hunter Topaz in early 90,s . Lovely car, wish I'd kept it.
How gorgeous … you never looked twice when you were 10 and a rusty one smoked by … I’d love one now, if anything so I can stand inside the engine bay to do ‘stuff’ … not a lambda sensor to go wrong in sight 👍
A mates dad had one in the mid 70’s , I thought it was the best looking car ever .
Always wanted the H20 version, but could not afford it on a bank clerks pittance in 1968. Fast forward to 2010 and two came up for sale, I bought a turquoise model that was a Rootes demo car, and had it shipped to New Zealand. After a very expensive restoration it was made road legal in May 2015 and to date has covered over 30,000 miles in my ownership. As others have said, it is a head turner and I love the way it handles Kiwi roads.. With a light foot it will exceed 30mpg and if you press the pedal many moderns will be left in the dust. It enjoys the company of my Sunbeam Imp Sport that I have owned from new.
My ol'man had one of these (he also had an Arrows Hunter too!)...or at least the use of one..dark blue, the exhaust note takes me back. I also remember that half the boot (trunk) was taken up with a compressed natural gas tank as this had some form of conversation! I always remember him mention regularly (everytime he went out in it) he hoped he would never have a crash in it!!
What a beautiful car I’d have one in a heartbeat you just don’t see them anymore really lovely 👍
I asked the question why the windscreen wipers were positioned differently for left and right hand drive cars back when I was an apprentice in the 60`s. The reason was that at speed the nearside wiper would lift off the screen.
That was why a lot of owners fitted after market wind deflectors on the wiper arms.
Nice review Ian. Always liked these and a very nice example.
What a beautiful car, and a gorgeous colour scheme too. Thanks for putting this on here.
Yep, my dad had a Hunter too. His was a company car in the mid/late '60s. The thing I remember most, apart from the fact it was green, are the sliders for the door locks - dunno why that should have made such an impression. Replaced by a light blue MkII Cortina (I was too young to remember much else about them). I remember both as being nice cars but I don't miss the vinyl seats cars had in those days.
Wonderful car, at age 15 in 1969, started my apprenticeship at a Roots garage in Wolverhampton, our managing director had the Holbay H120, in orange. I think in those days Roots had a wonderful selection of cars, reliable and easy to work on,( except the imp). Today this still looks a great looking car.
Stunningly pretty car. I'd love to see a restomod version with some slightly larger rear wheel arches and a more grunty engine.
Reminds me of my (modern) Alfa Romeo GT - based on a saloon car platform with plenty of 'ordinary' bits underneath, but still a very pretty, practical 4-seater.
Hub nut is the Bill Odie of “ Goodie” classic cars!
Well done Ian a great review of a very rare car these days my English teacher has a rapier to this day in a bronze colour
They were very fast cars back in the day as well such a shame what happened to rootes in the end and that their well engineered cars don’t seem to get the recognition as the fords do
This was to me the alternative to us normal people who could not afford a Jensen Interceptor(for looks not performance). It is still a gorgeous car if every sense of the word. The Routes group of car makers was such an underrated brand. They made some beautiful and memorable cars(even though some was for the wrong reasons.). Great upload.
Hubnut speaking of Capri's..... my neighbour had the John player Capri, I loved that car
What a lovely example that is. I especially like the period number plates. So many cars of this era have has silver on black plates retro-fitted which look wrong to my eye.
Such an interesting shape. Love the old indicator timing. Rasp!
So classy these Rootes group cars.such a pity they are not still with us. This one looks great.
i remember them back in 1982 when i was 18. Us youngsters thought they were shite along with the Holbay Sceptres. Back then they were rot boxes
I always loved these as a kid, a very nice car.