The Second Most Modified Alpine???

dlyle

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189
Looks great. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
 

HolyCat

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Very Intersting Project

We have seen a Ford 427 dropped into an Alpine and I believe all of the inner fenders had to be removed and a tube frame utilized. Looks like you were able to put back modified inner fenders - great job! Should be a monster when done - hope your brother-in-law can keep the car pointed straight ahead when he gets on it - car might be a little squirrelly under full power! Maybe you or your brother can find someone to make some "Liger" scripts for the fenders, like the original Alpine (or Tiger) scripts.

We do like to keep the history of the Tiger accurate, and there were some things in your write-up that are not quite right. We don't want anyone to get the wrong impression.

The Tiger originally came with the Ford 260. Only the last 636 Tigers came with 289s, and that was after Chrysler Corp. bought out Rootes Group (including the Sunbeam line of cars). And Shelby was asked to make the first prototype for Sunbeam after one of the Sunbeam executives in the US saw the Cobra. The Cobra preceded the Tiger. You are right - Chrysler was not happy about selling a car with a Ford engine (the later 260 and all of the 289 Tigers came with Chrysler pentastars on the right front fender) and the Chrysler small block was too big to fit in the engine bay without a bunch of re-engineering, so production ceased in mid 1967.

Thank you very much for sharing your project with us. We will be anxious to see it as it comes along. It is looking GOOD.
 

UNSTUCK

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Messages
7
We have seen a Ford 427 dropped into an Alpine and I believe all of the inner fenders had to be removed and a tube frame utilized. Looks like you were able to put back modified inner fenders - great job! Should be a monster when done - hope your brother-in-law can keep the car pointed straight ahead when he gets on it - car might be a little squirrelly under full power! Maybe you or your brother can find someone to make some "Liger" scripts for the fenders, like the original Alpine (or Tiger) scripts.

We do like to keep the history of the Tiger accurate, and there were some things in your write-up that are not quite right. We don't want anyone to get the wrong impression.

The Tiger originally came with the Ford 260. Only the last 636 Tigers came with 289s, and that was after Chrysler Corp. bought out Rootes Group (including the Sunbeam line of cars). And Shelby was asked to make the first prototype for Sunbeam after one of the Sunbeam executives in the US saw the Cobra. The Cobra preceded the Tiger. You are right - Chrysler was not happy about selling a car with a Ford engine (the later 260 and all of the 289 Tigers came with Chrysler pentastars on the right front fender) and the Chrysler small block was too big to fit in the engine bay without a bunch of re-engineering, so production ceased in mid 1967.

Thank you very much for sharing your project with us. We will be anxious to see it as it comes along. It is looking GOOD.


I take no credit for the sheet metal work, or the upcoming body work. Those aren't my areas. The sheet metal turned out well beyond my expectations.

Thanks for the clarification on the Shelby story I heard and retold.

It's been made very clear that this is just a grocery getter for my sister-in-law. :O
 

DD (CA)

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521
Another plus

Bet we just found a jeep guy that knows his way around Dana 44 and conversions.

(Although he may not realize there's a diff between alpine and Tiger (pun) :)

Intriguing, thanks for sharing.

Bummer you didn't put a Chrysler / Dodge Hellcat motor in there. Then we would have gone full historical circle on the Liger.

Good luck to you and SIL,
 

UNSTUCK

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I have played with a few D44's. These days they are too small for a lot of jeeps though. When I do swaps we usually go bigger than that. A 44 would have work well in this car, but for the price and ease of set up, this 9" has worked great so far. For the third, we're running a LS with 3.55 gears. To me that seems a bit low, but the calculator puts the highway speeds and rpm's in a good spot.

I finished the rear swaybar mounts last night and now need to build rear bump stop mounts. After that it should be ready for tear down and paint. I really hope to be driving it this summer.
 

PITT40

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531
Nice car other than the brand X motor choice. That's sacrilegious. Like putting a Chevy in a Cobra kit car. Just my opinion.
 

UNSTUCK

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7
These days I think it's the norm. I'd be willing to bet that most hot rods today, ford included, are built with your brand X's motors in them. There's a reason for that.
 

UNSTUCK

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7
Hi guys, I was hoping you could help me with a few items. when I got the car it was in a pile of parts and pieces. So I'm not sure how some of this goes together.

In this first picture, I'm wondering what the holes are for? (The five in a row, and then the two in the lower section of the cover.)
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In this one, there must be some kind of hinge that this pin goes through to allow the cover to pivot. What am I missing?
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What are these holes for on either side of the hinge? Both hinges have these two holes next to them.
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And lastly (for now) where do I go to get as much of the weather stripping for the entire car as I can? Does someone sell The Sunbeam lettering for the trunk? I might leave it smooth though, so does someone know the font used to make the letters? And is there a place to get the parts needed to rebuild the window crank assemblies and door latches, ect. I need to rebuilt the doors.

Thanks!
 

0neoffive

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2,853
Them Parts & Pieces

A good idea is to download Sunbeam Specialties catalogue or call Rick and get a hard copy for the outhouse. All those mystery holes are fastener locations for trim. The two on either side of the boot hinge are where the chromed posts go for various covers. Find an early shop manual (disc?) with exploded assembly views. Keep at it . . . . .:)
 

HolyCat

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1,241
And Parts Manual

Many of the discs sold also include a copy of the Parts Manual. You need to make sure it has a complete Alpine Parts Manual. Tiger owners also need to have the Tiger Supplement Parts Manual, since many of the body, brakes, and suspension parts are common to the Alpine and Tiger. Rootes did not publish a standalone parts manual for the Tiger, like they did the Shop Manual. I have found the diagrams in the parts manual to be very helpful when trying to figure out what goes where. Some of the Alpine Parts Manuals I have seen as a PDF file do not have all of the sections (sometimes missing a section that is in common with Tigers).

Good luck with your Alpine project!
 

UNSTUCK

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Messages
7
After sitting in the body shop for 10 months we are finally getting somewhere with the Liger build. First round of paint is finished. The color came out a bit darker than we were thinking, but now I couldn't be happier. I really like it and it is different than the car we are modeling. So that is a very good thing.
I should get the car back in the next few days so hopefully this will come together nicely in the next month or so. Fingers crossed.
 

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HolyCat

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Beautiful Paint Job

Good to hear that your car is coming along and the paint job looks beautiful. You must be very happy with it! Please continue to update us as the car comes together.
 
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