Sunbeam 1000HP restoration led to incredible discovery

A restoration project being carried out on the legendary record-setting Sunbeam 1000HP – aka ‘ The Slug’ – unearthed some century-old artifacts.

Launched by Wolverhampton-based Sunbeam in 1926, the one-off Slug is a true piece of automotive history. 

The land-speed record breaker was the first car to travel at more than 200mph (321km/h). 

To mark its upcoming 100-year anniversary National Motor Museum is working on restoring the iconic vehicle.

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The Sunbeam 1000HP has earned icon status

While we’re fans of any restoration job – like the one this teen carried out on a Tesla Model 3 – there’s something extra special when the car involved has icon status. 

And that’s certainly the case for the Sunbeam 1000HP. 

The unique vehicle got its speed from twin 22.5-litre V12 aircraft engines. 

Although named the 1000HP, its actual power was nearer to 900 horsepower – still a mind-boggling feat for 1927. 

The Sunbeam 1000HP was the first non-American car to run a land speed record attempt on Daytona Beach. 

And, on March 29, 1927, racing driver Henry Segrave drove The Slug to a new land speed record of 203.79mph (327.97km/h) – making it the first car to reach a speed over 200mph (320km/h).

Its restoration unearthed some old tools

Earlier this year, the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, UK, joined forces with Brookspeed Automotive to restore the iconic vehicle. 

And in doing so, they unearthed some decades-old tools including a vintage screwdriver and adjustable spanner that would have been used by Sunbeam engineers back in the 1920s. 

They also discovered an old 1921 shilling coin. 

“We discovered the screwdriver inside one of the oil tanks after we took the engines out having found internal corrosion,” lead engineer Ian Stanfield told Magneto. 

The restorers had managed to remove all the old vegetable-based Castor R oil from the tanks when they began to hear rattling.

“We couldn’t understand why. So we kept shaking this oil tank, until eventually this screwdriver fell out,” Stanfield recalled.

The engineer believes Sumbeam mechanics may have been using the screwdriver as a dipstick and accidentally dropped it in. 

He also reckons it should have a record all of its own. 

“It’s the world’s first 200mph screwdriver,” he joked. 

You can find out more about the restoration of the Sunbeam 1000HP or chip into the project here.