Put A Chrysler Sunbeam in Your Life for 30p A Gallon

[TomAlter1000]

All UK Chryslers used to suffer with tin worm but were very reliable. Sunbeams even had electronic ignition, which wasn't available on most other makes until years later, and they were far better than the rival Fiesta, which was extremely basic - even down to having rubber floor mats instead of carpet in the base models! I learned to drive in a 1 litre Sunbeam. I liked it so much that I bought a 'Cherry Red' 1.3 LS. Had it years before it became to rotten to repair, but loved it. Fond memories.

[seanhennessy]

My first car, a rusting, POS, that literally disintegrated before your eyes, having said that the actual engine etc never let me down ;)

Seriously, it was way worse then the Alfa Romeos I had after it.

[dilawer321]

If only you americnas knew what the LOTUS sunbeam was lol

[MrManiac606]

Remember the ad. They really liked dwelling on that lifting rear window. Now that's what I call innovation!

[bartlemy]

thank u for the memories...sniff

[pmassive]

Did you know that if you looked at a Sunbeam hard enough, it would rot in front of your eyes.

[lookingintothepast]

The car doesn't seem to live up to the production value of the commercial.How dear old 'Pet' keeps a straight face when proclaiming "I like it" shows she had more acting ability than people gave her credit for!!

[pattyheno]

Thanks for posting. Remember it well.

[mrspivvy]

quite an attractive little car, more appealing than say an allegro,viva or anything french.

make mine a ti or lotus version please...

[darrowby1972]

Made in Scotland by moaning, bitter, resentful & striking "Sweaties"

[scotland137]

their are many worse cars than the sunbeam out there.

[ducatinova]

Chrysler always had very stylish cars, the Sunbeam, Alpine and Horizon. to bad they were rubbish to own compared to the Jap cars. The motors all sounded as if they had rocks tumbling around in them.

[mjt38]

@ducatinova The old Simca pushrod engines, yeah sounded knackered before leaving the showroom

[mrspivvy]

did these have simca engines? I thought they used the same OHV 4s as the avenger, which was rootes' own engine, with a 903cc version of the imp engine in base models

[77allegro]

@mrspivvy No Simca engines on these. You're right, they used the 930cc version of the Imp engine and the 1300 and 1600cc versions used the Avenger engines. The car was based on a shortened Avenger floorpan I think.

[OsbornTramain]

@77allegro It was an all new plateform based on the US Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon, also used by Chrysler's Simca. Launched in the USA in Summer of 1977.

[CRAZYCOZZIE]

@OsbornTramain The Chrysler Sunbeam was based on the Hillman Avenger floor pan & didn't have any input from the USA.

[OsbornTramain]

@ducatinova The US versions used VW engine blocks modified by Chrysler and were very dependable. They produced the car from Summer of 77 till 1989. You still see them on the road occasionally.

[AustinSomerset]

The Sunbeam was OK. The Horizon was like a brick! Good solid cars. Few people know that the Peugeot 309 was going to be the new Horizon and the Citroen AX was going to be the New Samba. Then Peugeot decided to ditch Talbot.

[mjt38]

@AustinSomerset Wasn't the AX the replacement for the Visa?

[AustinSomerset]

It's what it ended up as - but I remember scoop pictures in "Car" magazine at the time of (and perhaps it was just to fool people) the AX with a black radiator grill between the headlamps and a big Talbot badge in the middle. Really the Visa felt a bit bigger than the AX - we had both (new) years ago.

[davie12]

Lovely Petula.... I think she got one free and it sat in the garage in Geneva. It's probably still there in factory condition.....

[RevStaplehurst]

which still makes it better than a Marina or an Allegro...

[darrowby1972]

Think i`m gonna be sick!

[davie12]

@darrowby1972 WHY?

[darrowby1972]

@davie12

@Petula Clark

[davie12]

@darrowby1972 why

[7732147]

I had a Sunbeam 1.3 ltr as my first car.

It was a fantastic car which I really learned how to push hard because it was so underpowered.

I learned how to "heel and toe" it to keep the revs up and I think it really only broke down once. I was able to fix it for £9!

What you need to remember is that this car was designed in the 1970's as a challenger to the Mk2 Ford Escort and Fiat 131's.

The 1.6 lts Ti version was a quick little car and the 2.2 Lotus engined car seriously shifted.

[Finglesham]

she must have been desperate for dosh to do that advert.

what a load of crap it was - and all their cars still are!

They will be bust soon anyway, so part of history - like polio

[allegrokarl]

Chrysler like Polio? What a crass comment. The Sunbeam wasn't all bad (ok, in 1 litre form it was terrible at going up steep hills) and didn't have a great deal to do with Chrysler anyway beyond the financing of it... based on the Avenger (designed before the takeover).

[Finglesham]

Sunbeams are history - like polio is. FACT- you are a dumb arse . There are no Sunbeams being sold- have you looked ?, are you on this planet or living in a make believe world where only you know the truth?

If they weren't carp - surely would they not use that name now?

Which Chysler cars are worth buying?, none that I know or have driven

[allegrokarl]

Well, can't argue with such lovely insults. There are no Sunbeams being sold? Well of course there fucking aren't they stopped making them years ago.

[flemwad]

polio is more appealing and stylish than chrysler cars

[davie12]

@Finglesham It's said that the fee was in 6 figures for a day's work for her... in 1977!

So, though I doubt she was hard up for money, she certainly got a boost to her bank account singing this.

[najdurham]

My first car in 1978 only broke down once and yes, it did rust. But I loved it

[darrowby1972]

How awfull is that advert?

[davie12]

Well... it might not have been the most fantastic car, but it had Petula Clark advertising it, so at least we got a good song, sung in tune. I heard she actually did have one and used it to run about in Geneva.

[OsbornTramain]

@davie12 Petula Clark had a relationship with Chrysler for years, dating back to the mid 1960's. She did many Chrysler and Plymouth Commercials for years.

[LordCornwallis]

I had several of them. The opening back window didn't leak water on any of them - you're talking crap.

They were nice to drive and very reliable but sadly, prone to rust.

[newforestroadwarrior]

@LordCornwallis There were a couple of warranty fixes for the back window, so yes, they did leak.

PS - Manners don't cost anything.

[newforestroadwarrior]

The smile appeared on my face at 0.22 when the chap closed the rear window. Like the Imp, this always leaked water, regardless of what you did.

Still, despite the awkward looks, the Sunbeam was a sharp mover that could handle all the tuning you could throw at it.

[joh2]

Chrysler Sunbeam - essentially the car was an Avenger on a shorter wheelbase with a hatchback body. Interesting devices, particularly the variants that had the Lotus motors fitted, and the base model, which used an enlarged Hillman Imp motor (926cc) - the motor itself was a Coventry Climax unit originally designed for a stationary waterpump!...

I'd daresay the Sunbeam would be a rare car today, regardless of the model...

[OsbornTramain]

@joh2 it wasn't at all based on the Avenger, it was a entirely new platform which Chrysler introduced to take the company into the next decade. Their first International Car. It was introduced in the USA in Summer of 1977 as the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni. It was the first new car for Chrysler with Lee A. Iacocca heavily involved in it's design from the start of the project. Simca of France Talbot Horizon is much closer in design to the USA version than the Rootes Group Horizon.

[joh2]

@OsbornTramain The Chrysler Sunbeam, while resembling the Horizon that you are thinking of, was actually a different vehicle altogether. The Sunbeam was rear-wheel-drive, and based upon the Avenger's platform and running gear.

The design priorities of the Sunbeam and Horizon were different. The Sunbeam was a conventional layout replacement for the rear-engined Hillman Imp, whereas the European Horizon was the Simca 1100 replacement - using a shortened Chrysler Alpine platform.

[OsbornTramain]

@joh2 This is how I remember it being an employee fo Chrysler at the time...and also according to wikipedia, "Horizon was designed by Simca, the French division of Chrysler Europe for 1977. It survived in various guises until 90. It was initially sold as a Simca, whilst elsewhere in Europe it was badged as a Chrysler (including the UK). The Horizon, Project C2 as it was known inside Simca during development, was intended to be a "world car", designed for consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.

[darrowby1972]

The car was as appealing as Gary Glitter gatecrashing your kids garden party.

[bigmanio]

Better hurry!! you can get one of these run-a-rounds FREE!!! with a litre of unleaded :)