Builder thread

How about a builderthread that can discuss the restore of a tiger I am not happy about builders that send there cars out for everthing needed. I am building a Tiger from a damaged unit. I have valuable info from the Forum. I think it would be nice to have a section for those of us that get down and dirty and rebuild.
The owners that send the car out for every rebuild need not supply input.
Hope I have not upset anybody however those of us that get down and dirty need our own section.

As one who is DIY about everything, I see value in this. I cannot afford to pay someone to do it all for me. And, I am too much of a perfectionist to delegate it anyway.

It's About The People

the_tool_man said:

As one who is DIY about everything, I see value in this. I cannot afford to pay someone to do it all for me. And, I am too much of a perfectionist to delegate it anyway.

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The love of the breed, all be it mongrel, explains why we have so many part time projects. Tigers come and go from storage as owners can set aside dedicated dollars while attending to families and work. Over the years, I've watched kids grow and start their own families while the Tigers are slowly returned from the dust. It's a very rare moment when someone pulls in with a dead cat on a trailer and says "Here's the deposit, just do it". Mostly, we become long time family kin and divvy up the duties as funds allow . . . . .Thanks to all of you, it's been a great ride. rw

I Agree

Randy hit my nail on the head. But so did tool, and steven. I bought my car in 78, First time I took it to Greenberg to get Konis and a dual point it cost over 750 bucks, and this was 1978. I decided I would have to do my own work from then on. All went well for the next 7 years, 2 clutches, a starter,a water pump,rebuilt the brake booster and even rebuilt the front subframe, had it welded by Marsh, and the bushings pressed by local shop. Most of this work was basic auto stuff. Most of the help I got was from Shop Notes. In 85 I hit a curb and bent the frame just in front of the motor mount. Thats when I found out you cant do everything yourself. To fix it right the fenders should be removed and the frame replaced. I cant afford to pay an expert to remove the fenders and fix the frame, Id like to do the work myself. I even have perfect frame rails ( thanks randy) ,but I have never taken apart fenders and dont wish to make it worse, so it sits in the garage sleeping. All that being said , I think what your talking about would be a TECH section. Sounds good to me.

Yeah

After about 30 mins trying to get the clutch rod spring back together, figured out the hold it together with the zip tie method assemble then cut tie.
That 30 min pinned under the dash was punishing. I passed this idea on to Leepear as he was having the same problem fit a human under the dash and struggle it back together.

Something more user friendly than the old Tiger e mail list would be great.

I have asked for more categories for over a year now. All we have is this "General" area that has 95% of all threads in it.

In my short time here, I see mostly discussions about car valuation, authenticity, or restoration state; not so much on how things are done. I'd very much like to see more of the latter be added to the mix.

What I think would help is if a thread or group of threads could be created deliniating solutions to common issues. Different threads could be devoted to restoration topics, such as getting the floor pans right, or modifications, like dual-circuit brakes. Then, these could be made into "stickys" that always appear at the top. They could be appended as needed to keep current or add new elements. I'd suggest it stays in GTD unless and until it takes up enough space for a dedicated sub-forum, but that's not my call.

I think everyone has their threshold for complexity or difficulty in a project. And, it can change over time. I bought my car in 1991, but haven't really touched it because my threshold was too low (discovered after the fact). After getting a lot of experience working on other cars, I'm ready to tackle what needs to be done on my car. My threshold moved a little at a time, as I became inspired by what I saw others doing to their cars (in person and in forums), and tried things myself. I met people who could help and encourage me. I got new skills and more confidence that I could likely overcome any mistakes I might make. In turn, I've tried to help others where I can.

Can I cut and replace a fender? Nope. Would I like to see pictures of someone else doing it? Absolutely! Might I attempt it one day? Maybe, but I'd have to work up to it. Conversely, I can rebuild a toploader or an axle right now, and wouldn't mind sharing what I know with others. I also have a bazillion questions, and in S. Car., few in-person opportunities to meet fellow Tiger owners that are DIY enough to answer them.

Regards,
John.

Step by step instructions would be GREAT. Over the years Tiger Tales has carried some info like that, and of course there is Shop Notes. Also there are other Sunbeam sites that do have some tech info. So for now thats all we get. I have been toying with the idea of going back to school. Enroll in a body and frame class at the local occupational school, and use my car for my class project. Wow a 59yr.old freshman.

Scarred from Training

67 Tiger said:

Step by step instructions would be GREAT. Over the years Tiger Tales has carried some info like that, and of course there is Shop Notes. Also there are other Sunbeam sites that do have some tech info. So for now thats all we get. I have been toying with the idea of going back to school. Enroll in a body and frame class at the local occupational school, and use my car for my class project. Wow a 59yr.old freshman.

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Many, many decades ago when I first met an old Guru in the SCCA pits, I heard the statement, "Unshared knowledge is a selfish waste, I agree, but you gotta be willing to listen you pig-headed sh--". Eventually, I learned despite the arrogant young ego, and now happy to share whatever may be worth sharing . . . . . . .

I am on the cooling system on my Tiger. Warren had already gone through this effort so he told me about a bosch water pump at pep boys. Then I talked to Rick at Sunbeam Specialties. He told me his have plastic impellers now. So I gave him the Bosch part number. He was unaware of the Bosch unit.

Now I am evaluating cooling upgrades. This was a long way to say I agree and hate to have to research stuff when I can go to a discussion for the experience many people before me have had with the process. I would like to do the Ford Fairmont 1981 6 cylinder pulley upgrade. I found Bobby that sells a $140 pulley upgrade, a $45 Fairmont would be fine but I don't know how to find one or the part number. So Bobby gets the sale and I am happy. All research that I have to do that takes time away from working on my project and delays finishing it.

Lee

Lee, you might want to check these out.
http://www.cvfracing.com/Ford-Water-Pump-Pulley-Small-Block-2V-Overdrive-p/sbfe2wp-hf.htm

http://www.cvfracing.com/Ford-Water-Pump-Pulley-Small-Block-1V-Overdrive-p/sbfe1wp-ahf.htm
no connection

Bother

I was reminded to check the old lists e mail chains on other and be careful not to bother asking the same old boring questions, cause it has all been done before. I am a member of a Yahoo motorcycle group and it is the same old ?s How do I clean a gas tank, how about a rectifier upgrade, yuck!

There was some talk about some of the stale dated Tiger sites being joined at a recent CAT meeting and some of the data being brought over.

I hope so we can be more busted knuckle friendly..

I went to a Vocational Tech for auto body just to get out of the hard classes in high school something that did not pay off till I had to fix all that broke on rental properties and my junky old cars.

Thanks for the link. The pulley I am buying is approx one inch in diameter smaller. Being a desert person and in the Inland Empire traffic too I will get stuck in summer idle conditions at 100 degrees. I tried to post the other smaller pulley but it must be too high resolution.

Lee

It would be nice to have a Shop Notes section here as I am sure part numbers and interchange parts surface more than the new printings. I still use my old Shop Notes but most items are way outdated. Just a thought.

I agree, the shop notes are very good however all the links are well and trully outdated. From that viewpoint, can we carry on the great work undertaken by those that made the Shop Notes a valuable tool?

I am thinking I may be willing to submit the details of replacing fenders, front and rear as well as front valance (still to be done.) The work is not beyond a good handyman with a bit of patience. For example, I had released all the spot welds, engine bay, below area in front of the A upright, the joiner between the lower front valance and the upper valance (leaded). Now according to my calculations, I only had to relieve the folded area between the fender rear and the front verticle A line. Nope, everyone of the 3 front fenders I have done shows 3 spot welds on the face of the fender. Every body man I have spoken to is dumfounded that a factory would spot weld the face of a panel that is folded for its full length. I think there is a wealth of information that we owners have that should be compiled and collated in a soft or hard format and it can become the 21st Century Shop Notes.

Best regards
Steven

steven said:

I am thinking I may be willing to submit the details of replacing fenders, front and rear as well as front valance

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That would be great! There is so little out there either in books or on the net about repairing Alpine/Tiger bodies.

If these details were grouped with other technical 'How Tos' then it would be even better.

Because this thread may have run its course, today we went to a sports/classic event at a old race track. It was great, there were over 500 cars from 20's Bentleys to 2012 Astons. Wonderful. Our Sunbeam club had 2 alpines, 1 Tiger 2 Rapiers and a couple of Hillmans. All good however the experiance of our chaps, youngest 60+ makes me think that a web thread/site that can assist the newer owners with valuable advise would be great. How can we achieve it?: I am thinking about a carry on of the Tiger Tales advise.cool: