About 30 Sunbeam cars and 75 enthusiasts from all over New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia made the journey to Forbes on the weekend for the 40th National Sunbeam Car Rally.
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Sunbeam cars ranging in age from 1926 to 1972 attended the rally, with most built in the 50s and 60s, including a dozen rare Sunbeam Tigers.
The Tiger was made in limited numbers from 1964-1967 and is probably best known as the car of ‘Secret Agent 86’, Maxwell Smart, in the television comedy Get Smart.
Two of these rare Sunbeam Tigers belong to central west owners - Pam and Tony Shepherd of Orange and Bryan Dawes from Cowra.
President of the Sunbeam Owners Club of NSW, David Petrikas, said Mr Dawes happened to complete the restoration on his Sunbeam just two days before the rally.
Mr Dawes’ car used to belong to his good friend Don Cameron who recently passed away.
“Bryan always wanted to buy the car from Don,” Mr Petrikas said.
“It’s been a long restoration project … he’s done a fantastic job, the car looks brand new.”
The winner of the Champion Car at the Show and Shine on Saturday was Charles Seaberg from Sydney.
Parkes Antique Motor Club judged the Show and Shine, which was held outside Town Hall on Saturday.
The 40th National Sunbeam Car Rally kicked off on Friday night with a mayoral reception at Town Hall, followed by the Show and Shine on Saturday and a visit to McFeeters Motor Museum.
On Saturday night, rally members attended a special dinner at the Forbes Golf and Sportsman’s Hotel, celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Then on Sunday, the cars and their owners went on a road trip to the Dish and a tour through Parkes Antique Motor Museum before a formal presentation at Forbes Services Memorial Club that evening.
Each year the national Sunbeam Owners Club has a rally, with the states taking it in turns to host the event.
This year was New South Wales’ turn and Forbes was chosen due to its central location, as well as its facilities and McFeeters Motor Museum.
“We had very positive feedback; everyone thought Forbes was a fantastic location,” Mr Petrikas said.
“It was a great event and certainly one of the best national rallies we’ve had.
“It was a great success, in no small part due to Forbes and McFeeters Motor Museum and the Parkes Antique Car Club - we felt very special.”
With the majority of the Sunbeam cars at least 50 years old, Mr Petrikas said it’s a great effort for these cars to come from all over the country for the rally.
As you would expect, there were a couple of breakdowns that occurred on the way to the rally in Forbes - one man got a flat tyre and couldn’t find a tyre to fit his car in time, so he came in a modern car, and another couple had a flat battery and then engine problems.
“All the rest of the cars made it safely there,” Mr Petrikas said.
