OK... I've got another GOOD one.
About 10 years ago I was working for a Frenchman named Ray Mathieu. Ray and I
met because of our mutual interest in cars and that interest led me into a job.
Ray had owned a Quartz Blue Metallic Series 3 GT back in the late '60's. He
would often show me pictures and brag about what a nice car it was, and how he
always kept pristine care of it. He longed to replace it with a similar car
and told me that if I ever found a good Series 3 GT he would buy it.
One day, Doug Jennings at Tiger auto told me about two Alpines that were
sitting behind a shop here in Dayton. They were early finned cars and Doug
always passed up on them and sent me because he had no interest. One, A Series
I, was painted black... and the other, A Series 3 GT was painted yellow. Both
cars were pretty rough. I looked them over, evaluating what was good and what
was not. I think the guy wanted a couple hundred for both cars and if I
remember correctly, I bought them on the spot. Anyhow... The GT was originally
painted Quartz Blue and also had the Rootes side mirror with built in radio
antenne. What a neat find! Naturally, I went into work the next day and bragged
to my boss, Ray, about finding a S3 GT and how it had such an uncommon option.
Ray immeadiatly had to throw in that his car also had the radio antenne mirror
and therefore it couldn't be that rare. So, to top him I said "I'll bet this is
your old car". Naturally, he took my bet and called the payoff to the loser.
Dinner at the nicest resturant in town!! "How can we prove this to be your old
car.", I said. "Easy!", he replied. "I have copies of ALL the titles from every
car I've ever owned at home in my filing cabinet." Well... to end the story, I
ate very well that weekend. It was his car and today he still owns it. Radio
rearview mirror and all. Needless to say, I made a couple of bucks on that one
too! :-) - Ian
>>> Jan Eyerman <jan.eyerman@usa.net> 05/25/01 10:58AM >>>
About 20 years ago I used to buy my parts from Imported Car Parts in Chester
New Jersey. The owner (Doug) had a Tiger that he had bought VERY cheap from
an old widow. He had seen an ad in a local newspaper for a Sunbeam Alpine and
went to look at the car. The woman showed him the garage with the "Alpine" in
it. The woman said her husband was always tinkering with the car and after he
died she had offered the car to the teenaged kid next door. The kid had
glanced at it in the dark garage and said it was a 4 cylinder Alpine and he
didn't want it. When Doug opened the hood and the woman saw the engine with
"powered by Ford" on it, she said, "gee I didn't know he changed the engine"
and cut the price!!!
I believe that Doug said he paid about $2,000 for a low mileage, very, very
clean Tiger in about 1975. I saw it back then and it was a very nice car. I
believe it was white. So those bargains do pop up!!!
Jan Eyerman
"db" <dbilesky@home.com> wrote:
When I bought my Alpine...7 years ago... is was after a disaster struck my
previous SV.
A nasty T-bone turned it into a parts car.
I drove to the address of the seller, a wreck of a house with an
old broken down garage.
We walked through the old garage to a door at the back.
This opened into a new, hidden secondary garage with a restored Alpine in
the middle.
Quite an amazing site. He was selling because he felt too old to own it.
I looked at this car a could swear it was my old alpine.
By this time I had sold the old SV carcass.
The colour was the same, everything was exact, except my old one did not
have wires.
I bought it.
After discussion we came to the conclusion that we had met each other in the
last couple of years (now 9 years ago). As it turned out he had bought
parts off my old t-boned wreck.
The Alpine I bought had the bumperettes off my old car.
http://sunbeamalpine.org/galleries/profiles/dougbilesky/dougbilesky.html
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