1924 Sunbeam 14/40.
Evidently whoever owned this fine vintage Sunbeam was a car enthusiast, judging by how many photos there are showing his car, along with various members of his family. A member of the VSCC confirmed the marque for me, while Colin, from the Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register (who also helped out with this Sunbeam 16), identified it as a Sunbeam 14/40, a model built between 1924 and 1926.
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The Sunbeam's registration number was SG 9500, an Edinburgh series that ran from December 1920 to June 1924, confirming this to be a 1924 example. From this, Colin was also able to confirm that the car was broken up for spares a few years after these photos were taken.
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The Sunbeam outside Lincoln Cathedral, 1953.
The first photo in this set shows the proud owner stood with his car, one foot on the running board. The date of this photo is 18th July 1953, the location - Lincoln - presumably outside the Cathedral, location for the first three photographs shown below. Note the mis-matched front tyres.
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The second picture shows the 14/40 Sunbeam with a lady, his wife I'd imagine, sat behind the wheel. A note on the rear advises that they were "... en route for Cleethorpes Rally". Could this have been a Sunbeam car meeting?
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Photo number 3, again outside the Cathedral, shows the car on its own, the hood raised for the drive to Cleethorpes.
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Other photos of this 14/40 tourer.
Photograph number 4 again shows the Sunbeam in July of 1953, but this time "... at Wharf Station, Towyn", now home to the The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in North Wales. Visible in the background is a 1935 Standard Nine, registration FA 5951, and alongside that a Ford 8/10 registration EDH 558. A young child is sat behind the Sunbeam's steering wheel in this view.
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Possibly back home now, and the Sunbeam - still with the roof raised despite it looking like a sunny day - is seen parked with a row of terraced houses in the background. A lady can be seen demonstrating this vintage car's rear dickey seat.
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Finally! A photo of the 14/40 with its roof stowed away. SG 9500 is seen parked in a field on the 11th September 1955, the location is Rocester, near to Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, home now to the JCB factory.
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The last of these photographs (there are more, but very similar to those shown already) is perhaps my favourite of the lot. It shows a head-on view of the Sunbeam with three cheery chaps in the foreground, all set for a day out fishing. Two motoring badges are in evidence on the Sunbeam. The righthand badge is for the Sunbeam Register, shaped to represent the rays of the rising sun. In later years the Sunbeam Register expanded to also include Talbot and Darracq motor-cars, thus forming the STD Register. Thanks to Colin for the update on the badge. Jonathan from the forum adds this about SG 9500: "The Sunbeam 14/40 was chassis no 5431D and belonged at one time to a Ken Wilson, who was Sunbeam Register member no 742. The register was formed in 1950 and the badge was a semi circle bearing the words "Sunbeam Register" over a sunrise. That is the badge on the right looking at the car with the fishermen." Thanks both for your input :-)
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Another 1920's Sunbeam tourer.
The following two photos were sent over, in the hope that the car in them might be identified. A few enquiries lead to it being confirmed as a mid-1920s Sunbeam, similar but not identical to the car featured above. The photographs are in a poor state. Despite this, they're worth including if only because despite their crumpled, well-thumbed, condition, the scenes are important enough to the family that owns them that they survive to this day, some ninety or so years later. They show their age, just like a preserved rather than over-restored vintage car, scuffs, scrapes and all, and usually the better for it.
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Again, this car is a two-seat tourer although the shape of the coachwork - notable the scuttle and the rear body - differ to the first car shown on this page. Whereas the first car has artillery wheels, this example sports wire wheels instead.
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Return to Page 12 in the vintage car gallery.
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