1967 Sunbeam Funwagon

Up for auction is my 1967 Sunbeam Funwagon motorhome. I've owned it since 2003. with plans to restore it in retirement and take it on trips to vintage races. the Woodward Dream Cruise. Tin Can Rally's. etc. . but I'm finding there's not enough time to give to it in retirement with many other Sunbeam and Austin Mini projects queued up. This is a truly rare vehicle and there are probably only a handful left in the U. S. It needs someone who can give it the time it deserves.

The odometer shows 11. 97miles on it. and after speaking to Dave this week. who I believe to be the second owner. he thinks this is probably accurate. He owned it for around 20 years (~1972-1992) and put about 10K on it. I found his name on a couple of old KOA receipts while cleaning it out and tracked him down. Nice. funny guy. with a lot of great stories to tell about his time with it. I've put less than 200 miles on it.

The Funwagon runs. drives and brakes. although I haven't driven it on the road in several years. I've installed a new battery. drained out the old fuel. put in some fresh gas in it and it started right up! It did require a rebuild of the brake master cylinder and a brake bleed. which I did. and the brakes are fine. (Although I would rebuild or replace all the wheel cylinders at this point. ) The vehicle is based upon the Hillman Husky. and parts for the drivetrain and braking systems are available on-line. The cab section is constructed of steel. with most of the roof and body being of aluminum. The skirting in places is made of Fiberglas. All of the cab and body is pretty straight. but some of the skirting has had some so-so repairs. Nothing major. although there is a small chunk missing on the rear valance. see images. which won't be a major repair.

Included with the Funwagon are the original Rootes Maintenance. Service Parts. and Workshop manuals. along with a July 1967 issue of Woodall's Travel Trailer magazine which reviews the Funwagon.

This Funwagon is equipped with a 1725cc four cylinder engine and 4 speed all synchro trans. Interior features include a sink. with a water storage tank (I've never tried out that feature). a three burner propane stove (which did work until I used up the propane…). an over stove hood fan.  a propane heater (again. I've never tried it out). an ice box. table (convertible to an additional bed). a closet which is probably large enough for a small chemical toilet. if you so desired. window screens and blinds. beds. A/C plug on the outer body. over-cab storage. plenty of drawers. a cabinet and under seat storage. etc. It's really quite amazing what they jammed in there! And unlike the Funwagon that sold on eBay earlier this year. everything is still installed and all the exterior trim is intact (with the exception of one loose piece. which is included. ) A couple of trim pieces are pulling away from the body (more blue tape to help save the tarp…)

As far as size goes. it's just over 15 feet long. but it's about 8-1/2 feet tall.  Weight is around 3600 pounds.

If you made it this far. I apologize for being a bit verbose. but I want to be clear about the condition of the vehicle. I bought it without inspecting it. as it was in Minnesota. (and I'm in S. E. Michigan). and the seller wasn't quite clear about describing its condition. My bad. I'm going to try and be clear about all I know about its condition. I can be available for a pre-purchase inspection at most any time during the day. weather permitting.

Issues that I know about:

*Don't plan on driving it home unless you live close to Lake Orion. The tires are very old and are dry rotted. They hold air. but I wouldn't drive very far on them.

* If you plan on trailering it. bring a trailer with adjustable ramps. The front track is rather narrow. and the rear much wider. (More on that latter…)

* The water pump is weeping. I am including a new one. but it is not installed.

* The temp gauge is not working. I haven't investigated this issue. but it is a common Brit gauge. if it is at fault. (There is a mix of parts on the vehicle that Rootes sourced from Austin Healey Bugeye's. 3000's. Tigers/Alpines and who knows what. ) A previous owner installed a SW mini-gauge pack. and the temp gauge doesn't work on here either. Oil pressure shows ~35 p. s. i. at warm idle and ~50+ at high idle. Headlights. signals. parking lights. speedo. wipers. and blower motor all function properly.

* The rear roof seam has split. Shown in the images with blue tape on it. This has caused some water leaks which have resulted in some wood rot in the rear roof structure and some damage to some of the wood in the interior of the closet and the cabinet. If you are handy with wood. some marine grade plywood and some birch (I believe) faced ply wood would do the trick. There is also other minor rot in various places. like the base of the main bed. but small sections that should be easy to replace.

* The original roof vent was a four foot long. one piece affair. which hasn't been available in decades. Dave replaced this with four hand crank roof vents. They have reached the ends of their lives and need to be replaced.

* The Husky rear end wasn't up to handling the near 4000 pounds of Funwagon and they failed reliably. Someone along the line of ownership has replaced it with (what I remember as) a Ford 9” rear axle. While certainly stout enough. it is a truck unit resulting in differing bolt circles for the front and rear axles. (This explains why they included a wheel adaptor in the spare parts…) I had several options in mind. E-mail to discuss if this is a concern. (When did you last have a flat?)

* The front seats and frames. Ahh. the original front seats were intended for commercial use. and a previous owner sourced a couple of bucket seats from what I'm guessing is a ‘60's Mopar. Interestingly enough. they constructed the seat frames from copper tubing. Seats work great. but I would probably plan on getting out the Mig and making some new frames.

* Again. somewhere along the line. someone gave the cab a nice brush paint job. Great surface rust patina. if you are into that thing. but I'd strip the cab and give it a proper paint job. Luckily it's small. And solid.

* The cab weather stripping is 50 years old. Enough said.

* Jeez. another previous owner addition. The vinyl wood trim. Actually looks o. k. but it's getting a bit long in the tooth. And the moldings weren't made to cabinetry standards. Renew or remove?

* There is a small rock chip “bullseye” on the lower passenger side of the windshield. It can probably be repaired with the common repair technique.

Power Improvement! As a free option. I'll include a core Alpine cylinder head. valve cover. SIV intake with Weber carb. and an Alpine exhaust header. You source the cam. lifters and tappets. and you are well on your way to a significant boost in horsepower. There is an access panel in the front of the engine house and it looks like the cam swap could be done without removing the engine.

The Fine Print:

A $500. 00 PayPal non-refundable deposit within 72 hours of the close of the auction is expected. Full payment within seven days of the close of the auction. through PayPal. wire transfer or cash.

I'll store the Funwagon for up to 30 days after the close of the auction. after which there will be a $10/day storage charge.

I'll work shippers. if you go that way. but transport is up to you. If you export the Funwagon. all export paperwork is up to you. I will not falsify the sales price.

I've advertised the Funwagon locally and reserve the right to close the auction early if the vehicle sells before the auction close.

Hope you liked the pix and happy bidding!

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