Starting Restoration

catcollector

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56
I have my newly acquired Tiger disassembled and the body is better shape than anticipated. Minimal rust found, really solid floors and trunk.

All great news to start with a really nice body.

I am going for new interior from Martha ( 3-4 month wait!)

Also trying to decide if I go with a Dales suspension or restore the original.

I am leaning towards the Dales for better driving and handling from the get go.

Looking for original look with improved driving and handling.

Any advice on what to look out for while tearing down or reassembly is appreciated.
 

HolyCat

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Some General Ideas

Some of the general suggestions are:
1) Soak bolts and nuts with penetrating oil before disassembly.
2) Take lots of photos before taking things off. (Aren't digital cameras great!)
3) Bag and tag everything that you remove. It's amazing how hard it is to remember where something goes two years later. (Things always take longer than planned!)
4) Don't throw anything away - save it all. And if you do decide to replace a stock component with an upgraded modern item, keep the original part in case you or a future owner wants to return the car to stock condition.

Good luck with your car!
 

Doug C

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Messages
543
Some of the general suggestions are:
1) Soak bolts and nuts with penetrating oil before disassembly.
2) Take lots of photos before taking things off. (Aren't digital cameras great!)
3) Bag and tag everything that you remove. It's amazing how hard it is to remember where something goes two years later. (Things always take longer than planned!)
4) Don't throw anything away - save it all. And if you do decide to replace a stock component with an upgraded modern item, keep the original part in case you or a future owner wants to return the car to stock condition.

Good luck with your car!

Totally agree with the above AND one more thing....
........Be sure to ask questions from this site; especially the ones that you feel are what you feel are "stupid" I assure you that they are not. The majority of the people on this site are generous with their years of knowledge and they share it. Cheers and good luck.

One more thing where abouts are you located?
 

Forrest39

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406
Deep thoughts...

1) post a bunch of pictures. We all like Tiger porn.
2) Ask all the questions you want. PM people if you think they might be stupid, but the reality is we have all been there..(well, I have at least...)
3) bag and tag literally means a box of gallon, quart, and snack bags from Costco. And a box of sharpies.
4) if there is a Tiger guy close to you, have them have a look at your project. It's good to get a good opminion of what you have.
5) try and have a look at a stock Tiger so you have an idea of what it looked like at some point. It's up to you what direction you go from there.
6) don't get in a rush and enjoy your experience.
Cheers, -Kevin
 

Warren

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3,872
Nice responses

The front end is easy except for the price...
It must be nice to actually be able to turn or park in a tight space. I drove a modern front end equipped car besides more than horses it the next best thing.

Give us a real first name add some pictures in albums either public or private just in case you'd like to bottleneck your data.

As for #4 of Kevin's it's also really helpful to have a together car to compare to as well.

The red Sunbeam manual too bad it's not written in our English or like the famed VW "everything you wanted to know about keeping a Volkswagen alive for the complete_____." :)
 

catcollector

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56
Replacement panel questions

So I have my car disassembled and media blasted.

The fenders have been repaired in the past with patch panels as well as the right rear quarter has a poorly welded in panel.

The traction bars are poorly welded on, but the floors and trunk pans are in great shape.

I do know of a 64 alpine project car for sale that is in really nice shape. Has been stored for over 30 years thinking about getting it for a donar for fenders and rear wing wheel well. Any issues with fit to look for?

Also, the panhard looks to need a bit of welding as well.

If I were to replace the suspension with Dales springs, do I need to keep the panhard and traction bars?

Any problem areas to look for that may need a little reinforcing while the car is on the rotisserie?

Thanks for any replies
 

HolyCat

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Make Sure Bodies are Same Style

Not sure if you are aware, but there are two basic body styles used on Tigers - Mk 1 and Mk 1A. Most of the Mk 1 Tigers came with round corner hoods, doors, and trunks. If you look at the trailing bottom corners of the doors, they are rounded and not squared off. The same with the rear corners of the hood (bonnet) and the trunk (boot). Just make sure that any donor car has the same type of doors, trunk, and hood as your car.

The mounts for the rear springs, panhard bar, and welded-on traction bars are notoriously weak and quite often tear out. Be sure to strengthen these areas. Also, it is recommended to change your traction bars to bolt-on type (which were also offered as LAT options) instead of the weld-on units.

The front crossmember also has known weak spots. This has been covered in past Tiger Tales. The stock units should be checked to make sure that they have not become distorted due to accidents or weakness.

Good luck!
 

catcollector

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David,
Thanks, yes Im aware of the different body styles. My car is a MK1 but is a cross over car with square hood, round boot square door. If I am using the fenders and maybe cutting the wheel arches off the alpine would that be a problem?

Also curious about what to restore or replace parts wise? Rechrome or replace gas cap, boot hinges, side trim, door handles etc or do I get new from ss ?

Are the repops better quality than originals?

The welding on the traction bars looks like a blind man did it, so yes Ill look into the new bolt on.

Thanks, appreciate the input.

Joe
 

HolyCat

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What Series is the Alpine?

With Sunbeams, it is best not to go by the model year. Cars were given year of registration by the selling dealer and may not have much to do with when the car was produced. For example, my car rolled off the assembly line near the end of 1966 but was first titled as a 1968 model sold new in 1967. So the question is what is the body style of that donor Alpine? Is it a Series IV (round corners) or Series V (square corners)? As long as you are not getting close to the edges of the doors, it does not matter for your restoration when you use the donor panels you mention. However, it is nice to have additional doors, hood, and trunk lid to choose from when restoring your car. These are bolt on parts and do not affect the originality of your car.

I am the wrong person to ask about rechroming versus purchasing reproduced parts. I wanted to keep my car as original as practical when it was restored and chose to rechrome my original parts in almost all cases.
 

steven

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875
With Sunbeams, it is best not to go by the model year. Cars were given year of registration by the selling dealer and may not have much to do with when the car was produced. For example, my car rolled off the assembly line near the end of 1966 but was first titled as a 1968 model sold new in 1967. So the question is what is the body style of that donor Alpine? Is it a Series IV (round corners) or Series V (square corners)? As long as you are not getting close to the edges of the doors, it does not matter for your restoration when you use the donor panels you mention. However, it is nice to have additional doors, hood, and trunk lid to choose from when restoring your car. These are bolt on parts and do not affect the originality of your car.

I am the wrong person to ask about rechroming versus purchasing reproduced parts. I wanted to keep my car as original as practical when it was restored and chose to rechrome my original parts in almost all cases.
I think you have it wrong, it is great to have spare body panels in good condition. You then have to drill out a very large amount of spot welds to release the panel. They were not bolt on parts.
 

HolyCat

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Let's Try This Again

Steven,

I think you might have misread what I wrote. Here is what I said:
As long as you are not getting close to the edges of the doors, it does not matter for your restoration when you use the donor panels you mention. However, it is nice to have additional doors, hood, and trunk lid to choose from when restoring your car. These are bolt on parts and do not affect the originality of your car.

What I was saying is that it would be nice if the doors, trunk, and hood (all of which are bolt on parts) from the donor car matched his Tiger, so he had other parts he could consider in his restoration, in case the donor doors, trunk, or hood were in better condition than those on his car.

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to explain more fully.
 

TigerBob86

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Messages
60
Regarding Dale's springs. Since they have an extra leaf forward of the axle, traction bars are not necessary. I always run without the panhard bar. You definitely need to reinforce the leaf spring mounting points.

Just my $0.02
Bob
 

catcollector

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56
Thanks Bob

Yes, I spoke with Dale and he also said run without panhard and traction bars with his springs.

Thanks for the tip on the weak points as well.

I want to convert my open end to a posi. Looking for advice on gear change as well as gears for converting my close ratio to a wide ratio.

I have found a couple of threads on the wide ratio, hoping the gears recommended will pair well with the 2:88 I have now

Going to try and post pics as I go
 

Forrest39

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406
Yes, I spoke with Dale and he also said run without panhard and traction bars with his springs.

Thanks for the tip on the weak points as well.

I want to convert my open end to a posi. Looking for advice on gear change as well as gears for converting my close ratio to a wide ratio.

I have found a couple of threads on the wide ratio, hoping the gears recommended will pair well with the 2:88 I have now

Going to try and post pics as I go

Cue response from Gary in 3..2..1..
 

michael-king

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Yes, I spoke with Dale and he also said run without panhard and traction bars with his springs.

With a stock motor dales springs may stop axle tramp... Warm the motor and no.... I'd say over 250hp and you'll get tramp..

As for panhard rod the springs dont impact it's operation. The rod is to stop sideways axle movement not up and down or forward rotational.

My .02 ( i have dales springs and can bounce the rear..but i have 300+)
 

Forrest39

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406
Yes, I spoke with Dale and he also said run without panhard and traction bars with his springs.

Thanks for the tip on the weak points as well.

I want to convert my open end to a posi. Looking for advice on gear change as well as gears for converting my close ratio to a wide ratio.

I have found a couple of threads on the wide ratio, hoping the gears recommended will pair well with the 2:88 I have now

Going to try and post pics as I go

If Gary aka Maliburevue has time to speak with you, he can probably answer most of you questions regarding ratios, gears, drives flanges and such. He has rebuilt posi units from time to time also. I have the wide ratio, 2.95 first setup. it works well with the 2.88 and would work well with the 2.72 ratio as well for highway gearing.
Good luck! -Kevin
 
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