TigerBlue
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Rick n Bonnie
Black Tiger
Our first Tiger was purchased in July 1987 from Joel Johnson of Escondido, CA. A nice looking Tiger with stock engine and mostly original except for American Libre wheels, a rollbar and the color. Under the black lacquer is the original forest green and red layers of paint. We kept it that way 10 years, just maintaining and fixing things along the way.
I was offered a 260 V8 in pieces which had been part of a Mustang restoration never finished. Lots of new parts came with the block. I had to assemble it and swap the rebuilt 260 into the engine bay. Horsepower bumped up thanks to a mild cam, HiPo heads and a Performer 289 manifold. That was May 1997. Later in that year then Tiger Tales Editor Bob Norton put Tiger Blue up for sale. In short Bonnie and I bought it and later in 1998 we found a new home for the Black Tiger.
Mario was the best caretaker we could have asked for. Over 8 years the odometer turned only another 2,000 miles and most everything rough was improved. The short list includes refurbishing the dash, steering wheel, carpets and interior. He also block sanded the black paint making it look like new. Added silver stripes and an LAT hood plus dress up under the hood. New Panasport wheels too. The phone rang in October 2006 with Mario saying he was going to sell the Tiger. Faster than I write this sentence I agreed to buy it. Bonnie was happy with getting it back too!
The Tiger ownership experience has 3 priorities with me: driving, driving and more driving! This Black Tiger delivers smooth quiet understated performance. And it is a welcome contrast to the higher energy and more difficult Tiger Blue. That is why when I had an invitation to provide a Tiger for the Speed Channel program 101 Cars You Must Drive I chose to drive Black Tiger to Willow Springs for the shoot.
Tiger Blue
Tiger Blue came with experience and scars from running open track events. Other cred for the track included a Boss Block 302, Aluminum Flywheel, modified oil pan, headers and a good roll bar (still untested). And it was and is still a GM metallic blue with a growing family of rock chips. Static cling #67 on white roundels give it the look of a race car.
The front crossmember has had major mods including the fulcum pins, MG Midget rack and the usual welding. A torque arm controls the rear axle, The engine bottom end has held up well. Engine upgrades include an oil cooler from an RX7 Mazda, World Product heads, a wild hydraulic cam and of course CAT Headers. The 302 makes about 280 hp at the rear wheels and has been reliable running over 6,000 rpm.. Towing is not an option for me so Tiger Blue is driven to the Track and driven home again after 6 to 8 sessions of lapping. Driving
Tiger Blue also made the round trips to SUNI III and IV. Big Sky, Montana and Park City, Utah. This was possible with some comfort because the rollbar is bolted in and can be removed for summer road driving and also replacing the racing bucket seat with the stock one.
Pictures are from 2006
Black Tiger
Our first Tiger was purchased in July 1987 from Joel Johnson of Escondido, CA. A nice looking Tiger with stock engine and mostly original except for American Libre wheels, a rollbar and the color. Under the black lacquer is the original forest green and red layers of paint. We kept it that way 10 years, just maintaining and fixing things along the way.
I was offered a 260 V8 in pieces which had been part of a Mustang restoration never finished. Lots of new parts came with the block. I had to assemble it and swap the rebuilt 260 into the engine bay. Horsepower bumped up thanks to a mild cam, HiPo heads and a Performer 289 manifold. That was May 1997. Later in that year then Tiger Tales Editor Bob Norton put Tiger Blue up for sale. In short Bonnie and I bought it and later in 1998 we found a new home for the Black Tiger.
Mario was the best caretaker we could have asked for. Over 8 years the odometer turned only another 2,000 miles and most everything rough was improved. The short list includes refurbishing the dash, steering wheel, carpets and interior. He also block sanded the black paint making it look like new. Added silver stripes and an LAT hood plus dress up under the hood. New Panasport wheels too. The phone rang in October 2006 with Mario saying he was going to sell the Tiger. Faster than I write this sentence I agreed to buy it. Bonnie was happy with getting it back too!
The Tiger ownership experience has 3 priorities with me: driving, driving and more driving! This Black Tiger delivers smooth quiet understated performance. And it is a welcome contrast to the higher energy and more difficult Tiger Blue. That is why when I had an invitation to provide a Tiger for the Speed Channel program 101 Cars You Must Drive I chose to drive Black Tiger to Willow Springs for the shoot.
Tiger Blue
Tiger Blue came with experience and scars from running open track events. Other cred for the track included a Boss Block 302, Aluminum Flywheel, modified oil pan, headers and a good roll bar (still untested). And it was and is still a GM metallic blue with a growing family of rock chips. Static cling #67 on white roundels give it the look of a race car.
The front crossmember has had major mods including the fulcum pins, MG Midget rack and the usual welding. A torque arm controls the rear axle, The engine bottom end has held up well. Engine upgrades include an oil cooler from an RX7 Mazda, World Product heads, a wild hydraulic cam and of course CAT Headers. The 302 makes about 280 hp at the rear wheels and has been reliable running over 6,000 rpm.. Towing is not an option for me so Tiger Blue is driven to the Track and driven home again after 6 to 8 sessions of lapping. Driving
Tiger Blue also made the round trips to SUNI III and IV. Big Sky, Montana and Park City, Utah. This was possible with some comfort because the rollbar is bolted in and can be removed for summer road driving and also replacing the racing bucket seat with the stock one.
Pictures are from 2006
