Transferring the Tiger pieces to an Alpine has been done numerous times. Sometimes it the only way to restore a Tiger. Isn't the Tiger a converted Alpine body?
NO, we've been through this before.... Tiger bodies started as Tiger bodies before they ever reached Jensen. Pressed steel omitted myriad parts that were part of an Alpine shell such as... The top hats, the trans tunnel and bulkhead , the battery box and the spare tire support were never installed into a shell destined to be a Tiger. It would have been stupid to fabricate and install parts into a shell, just to cut them out to change the specification. Why on earth would you weld in parts, just to hack them out at a later date??? Aside from being a monumental waste, it also would have left obvious scars in the structure that would be visible to this day... the bottom line... There are none of these scars, so it is obvious to anyone familiar with the construction of a Tiger body shell that they started out as Tigers, not Alpines... This is part of why it is so hard to build a convincing clone.... Anyone who is , in the slightest, aware of how a Tiger was built will be able to tell an Alpine from a Tiger shell from 15 feet. Hopefully, this is why we have a TAC system. This is part of the ROTA system that alerted Pressed Steel which cars would be Alpines and which cars would end up as Tigers. There were two separate lines... this is why there were only 15 GT Tigers... It was just too disruptive to the Pressed Steel line to have 4 different possible permutations of the body shell. In the end it was decided that Tigers would only be offered as a convertible with a fixed (bolted on conv. top) and the Alpine could be ordered either way.
I haven't driven a Tiger for close to 14 years. I've been busy building other more rare Sunbeams .
You can tell an early GTO (1964/65) from a Tempest by the core support.... the radiators are different.... larger in the GTO (and, yes... I cared!) Restored a 389 tri power 4 speed in another life!Back on topic...
None of us seem to mind or wonder if it's a real GTO or a Pontiac Tempest. That's because of the ID that those cars have.
Another resale red one that was done crudely in a garage or under a shade tree. Ha ha it's got a CAT back system too. If it was in California the "economically disenfranchised," would pass as it's too low to the ground to steal those converter's
I've seen so many folks build cars that have to be 100 % correct simply because they plan to flip it at some point and that can add some value to the sale. I'm also an owner that drove the cars when they were new and there were problems much like the recalls of today. Having done several restorations we've made subtle changes based on the problems encountered over the years. One of those changes that Doug at Tiger Auto did was to install a front brace for setting the car on jack stands.
I know other Sunbeam owners that think the same as you. I'm not one of that group because I started driving in the mid 60's and modification of cars was wide spread.
My dad had originally bought the series 4 and I always wondered if he knew I drove an Alpine before getting my driver license. After it became my every day car anything I removed such as the bumpers and grill stayed in Dad's garage. Doug reinstalled the grill when he restored the car. I still have the Hella lights that I installed in the grill opening in the early 70's. If I part out a car I never throw any part away except for the body. Those that have been to my garages can verify that.
