Archive News Letters

[at the beach]

The Rootes Archive Centre Trust periodically issues newsletters describing recent news and events. These are emailed to "Friends" of the Archive. (To become a "Friend" see https://www.rootesarchive.org/become-a-friend-of-the-archive/)

The Archive has recently established an online collection of their past newsletters. It can be found at [FONT=&quot]https://www.rootesarchive.org/e-newsletter-archive/
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Buck Trippel

 

[65beam]

archive

Buck,
The Archives can supply a Heritage Certificate for Rootes vehicles. This photo is the certificate I recently received for my right hand drive LeMans. There was a charge of roughly $65.00 when I ordered the certificate.

 

[at the beach]

Archive Certificates

The Archive does provide certificates for many Rootes vehicles but is understandably shy about providing them for Tigers, especially those personally unknown to them.

The Archive certificates are similar to those that NCM used to offer. (Maybe he still does.)

Buck

 

[65beam]

archives

The bodies for the LeMans came down the Alpine line and then were shipped to Harrington for the conversion to the LeMans specs just as the tiger bodies came down the Alpine line and Rootes shipped them to Jenson for the conversion to a Tiger. Rootes had a total of 250 LeMans built and they were sold by dealers only just like the Tiger. The Archives does issue a certificate for them.

 

[at the beach]

You are correct that Alpines and Tigers were built by Pressed Steel on the same assembly line.



But it's very important to note that from the earliest stages of construction at Pressed Steel, some of the assemblies that went into Alpines and Tigers differed. When a Tiger body left Pressed Steel it already contained many differences from an Alpine.


The Tiger bodies were trucked about 60 miles up to West Bromwich where Jensen then made additional changes. The work done there included installing a unique Tiger tunnel and the drive line. The Jensen work was so minor they were only paid £30 per Tiger since so much of the Tiger build had already been performed by Pressed Steel. The Tigers certainly were not "converted" at Jensen. It's probably more accurate to say that the Tigers were built at Pressed Steel and completed at Jensen.


When a Tiger left Pressed Steel it had already been painted in its finish color and had been trimmed. The exterior (including lights and badges) and the interior were already installed (with the exception of the carpet and seats which were shipped unmounted since they'd have to be removed to install the Tiger tunnel).



Some have written that the Tigers were built at Jensen. That's absolutely false.


Buck Trippel
at the beach