Restoring my Dad’s old Sunbeam S8 – Inherited by me, that hasn’t been on the road since 1971!
The plan is to use as many parts as possible i can find in the garage, but also upgrade lights, electrics, brakes etc to more modern components but keep the look as original as possible.
As the restoration is taking place, it has become apparent that there is a mix of Sunbeam S7 and S8 parts on the bike as my dad customized the bike heavily, so i have S7 Wheels and Front shocks on a S8 Frame, as i have no pictures to go by this could be a interesting build
Fuel Tank paint strip using Rustoleum NR1 Green Aeorosol Stripper and a scraper.
Also filled tank with white vinegar and BB pellets to remove any rust inside tank.
As the original headlight had been replaced for a 7″ Lucas unit, i purchased a 8″ Lucas unit in black and stripped paint from the shell
Decided to send the Battery box, centre stand, Headlight cowl and engine strut to powder coaters, this has now come back, in nice shiny black to match the frame.
The wheels are back from coating, next step is to get tyres on and create rolling chassis to start putting bits back onto the frame..updates soon
The tyre is now back on the front wheel, i didn’t buy two tyres as i wasn’t sure on the sizing, but the tyre fits, so i will purchase another one for the rear, the wall around the tyre is blue but this cleans off so that the tyre is a whitewall 🙂
The engine doesn’t crank over, so has now been sent off for a rebuild, new updates will follow once its back.
Update 09/07/21 – Engine has now been totally rebuilt, some of the issues were down to the engine being in a dampish garage for the last forty years!!!. The top end had been rebuilt at some stage approx fithteen years ago, but the bottom end hadn’t been touched.
Update 09/07/21 – Engine is now back in the frame after more than forty years. 🙂
Next on the list is to get the wheels installed and we will have a rolling chassis, this will allow easier movement of the bike now the engine is back in..pics to follow
Update 17-07-21
Found some old documentation from a company called Stewarts Engineering (Called Sunbeam works then) which is where a lot of the parts for the original bike were sourced, and i still use them today for a lot of the rebuild parts
Update 17-07-21
Stripped the oil pressure gauge and cleaned it and primed and resprayed.
Update 15/08/21
After testing the original horn, it doesn’t work anymore, so i purchased a cheap £13 pound Lucas Altette looking 12v horn and stripped it down and retro fitted it into the old original shell.
