Well, my dad and I looked at two Tigers over the weekend. Both were Mark
1's.
First, the running one. It appears original, with the original interior,
dash top (without crack, is that possible?), LAT wheels, air cleaner and
valve covers, and original Rootes washer bottle and fan shroud. The car
has over 138,000 miles. No indication on engine state. The guy has put
7,000 miles on it over the last 8 years. He claims to be the youngest
owner (at 50). The problems are that the white paint job, which is the
original color, is not the only layer of paint visible and ripples are
apparent. I saw about 3 different shades of white at various cracks or
chips. Also, the "SUNBEAM" letters were less than straight, and the seem
right under the tail lights was filled in. Can you spell body work? Did
the early cars have that seem filled in? Also, the emblem which is just
under the "Tiger" script has been replaced with a Ford 260 V8 emblem about
the size of a baseball. The owner claims that this was a common change
some people made to mimick a Tiger that was being raced.
The other car's body is straighter with possibly the original paint. But
the front end is completely apart. On the other hand, the front end has
been completely rebuilt, welded and powder coated. It has a Hi-Po 289 K
engine with LAT valve covers and oil pan - with no knowledge about
condition. But, it's dashtop is not original and needs replacing. Its
dash face is not original but is a beautiful piece of wood. The wheels
are aftermarket American Racing wheels - nothing special.
So that's the story. The white one is for $14,000+ and the HiPo one is
$12,000+. Neither really excite me. Though, I would lean towards the
original one. It seems absurd to buy a kit car Tiger without even
knowing for sure if all the parts are there and without being able to
turn over the engine to even check compression. Any thoughts?
Also, two of you out there responded to me that you might be interested in
selling a Tiger - one was in San Diego, the other was a ground up
restoration. I forwarded these messages to my dad who sent each of you
e-mails for more specifics. As of last night, he has not received a
response. Could you reply to me and I will forward it to him? Thanks.
Jay
Jay S. Laifman
Pircher, Nichols & Meeks
1999 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, California 90067
(310) 201-8915
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