Some of you know & a few others have seen that there is a Tiger in my workshop. Neat little car. No real major issues other than a bent rail & a few little "nice things to do" while it is here.
On the AutoRobot getting measured ........
Interesting history these cars have & not one that I was totally familiar with. In fact I had thought they were a US converted car when in reality the first 2 were built over in CA & the rest at the Jensen factory at West Bromwich as the factory building the Alpine's could not handle the extra work.
This link is close, but not entirely factual. I will see if I can convert some PDF's so they can be read here ........
They are a lovely little car, there was a nicely restored one here in Perth at show about 10 years ago. I only ever saw it the once sadly.
A mate was restoring an Sunbeam but he passed on, I never followed up on the car though.
My mum used to have a Sunbeam Alpine Rapiar? Think it was called. 2 door soft top, 4 speed plus odrive and twin carbs!! Used to go alright for what it was!!
How do they drive though? I've driven MGB V8's, in fact I started to build a BGT V8 with a range rover motor & supra box but then came a across a crashed E type, so the B got moved on.
69candy wrote:My mum used to have a Sunbeam Alpine Rapiar? Think it was called. 2 door soft top, 4 speed plus odrive and twin carbs!! Used to go alright for what it was!!
Shaunp wrote:How do they drive though? I've driven MGB V8's, in fact I started to build a BGT V8 with a range rover motor & supra box but then came a across a crashed E type, so the B got moved on.
They are fun. Same balance as the 4 cylinder Alpine, however a bit short in the wheelbase, so fairly unforgiving.
Last week I repaired this expansion tank off the Tiger. The car had been involved in a collision probably a long time ago & the tank had never been repaired. Was a matter of splitting it in two (soldered join) & then beating the brass tank back into shape. It will get tumbled now it is repaired & blasted, then off to the radiator shop where they can solder it back together (I could have done that, but I want them to pressure test it after).
It is not painted, so natural brass colour, that is why it is getting tumbled, that brings back the original finish. It is done before assembly so all the porcelain (tumble media) can be removed.
The bent rail side, now repaired (actually 2 Saturdays back, so call me slack for not writing this up sooner ). The primed area at the front cross member area was repaired, the back section was removed & replaced with a made up section ......
Last edited by ozbilt on Sun Aug 21, 2016 9:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
nassi wrote:Timely pics thanks, I was looking at an Alpine yesterday and wonder if those braces were fitted to the Tiger. It must be tight.
Yes they are tight, change the forward 6 spark plugs in about 10 - 15 minutes, the two rear ones, another 4 hours ........
Do you have any pics of the Alpine?
No, but I can go back and get some next weekend if you need. The car is for sale so I don't think they would mind.
One of the engine bay & another of the underside of the front sub-frame would be wonderful as we are looking into getting another sub-frame & modifying the suspension pickup points. I would guess that the sub-frame is the same as an Alpine except for the rack & pinion mounts (Alpine should have a steering box).