I checked out the car this weekend with a friend who does
bodywork. Before I get into the description of the car, let me
thank everyone who replied to my post. I recieved 15 or
so replies directly to me so, if my response was short, it's
because I got tired of typing :-)
Now onto the car. It's been thoroughly stripped of its
identity. No VIN, JAL #, or chassis ID. Not even a badge
to identify it as a Sunbeam. Interior and soft top pretty
much gone (has the bows and seat tracks), rusty wire
wheels, hardtop is there. Clutch pedal and master cylinder
gone as well as the entire transmission tunnel. Wood
dash with aftermarket guages. No panhard rod and the
rear springs only had 2 or 3 leaves. Trunk full of parts
(radiator, trim pieces - more trim pieces supposedly in
house). Crossmember and front suspension in tact.
The body did look very solid however, once you got past
the orange paint. Floors, trunk, hood all solid. Plenty of bondo
on one fender but it didn't appear to be rust repair. More likely
it got creased and then filled. Doors looked square and didn't
sag. Oddly, the dual exhaust was still there and looked to be
in very good shape.
Owner said the car had been raced last as a drag racer
and was set up with a narrowed 9" rear, automatic tranny
and a set back engine. Also claims the car was in storage
for many years, until this summer, when he lost storage.
This is believable. The car was in his back yard, and five
other vehicles and a boat were out front. Since he lives in
a subdivision in a nice part of town, I doubt his neighbors
are happy.
He mentioned the guy who raced it was named Bob Lyle
(or maybe Lisle - I didn't ask for a spelling). He said he
was hoping to get $6000 when he had all the documentation
and other racing parts. A guy (who remained nameless)
offered him $5000 and he took it but the guy left the body
shell behind. All he really wanted was the documentation.
I'm sure the current owner would take $1000 and probably
less for what's left. I don't think the current owner really
even knows if the car was a Tiger or a converted Alpine
or even what year the car is so that might be a bargaining
point.
This is more of a project than I'm interested in. If it were mine,
it would get totally stripped of remaining parts and sent off
to a chemical dip. If you've already got a rusty Tiger or Alpine,
it might be cheaper to buy this shell than trying to repair a rusty
unibody.
If anyone is interested, the guy's is named Chip and his number
at work is 314-227-2227. I also have a home phone if you
can't reach him there. He's located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Later,
Dan Jones
>>> Dan Jones <djones2@mdc.com> 12/10 12:36 pm >>>
Hi All,
My name's Dan Jones and I'm interested in purchasing a
Sunbeam Tiger. A Tiger has been on my "maybe someday
when I have more garage space" list but recently I've
come across a rolling Tiger chassis that's for sale
locally that might make a good project car and I'm going
to check it out this weekend. I believe this car to be
the one that generated the "tiger roller off to the
crusher" thread in the October archives.
I contacted the owner and there's a strange story
surrounding the car. He claims it had been road and
drag raced back in the sixties and had complete SCCA
documentation and logbooks. After he lost storage earlier
this summer, he decided to sell. He got a lot of out of
town callers but no takers. The only guy who came up with
cash was someone who wanted only the racing documentation
(to pass off as his Sunbeam's history?) and some of the
racing parts, so the current owner sold that stuff off.
What's left is a complete rolling Tiger chassis with all
the trim pieces but no engine or tranny. Also included is
the optional removable hardtop. The owner claims everthing
is straight and solid.
The fact that the car comes without an engine and tranny
doesn't bother me since I'd rather do a roller cam 5.0 and
a T5 tranny anyway. However, I'm a newbie to Sunbeams
and I've never even sat in one, much less driven one.
Assuming I restore the car, how can I expect it to ride
and handle? Are they comfortable for a taller (6' 4")
driver? Besides looking for the usual signs of rust (any
Tiger-specific tips greatly appreciated), are there any
other potentially expensive areas to check?
There's one thing that does bother me that I do need to
trace and that's the fact that the car is being sold
with a salvage title or certificate (not sure which at this
point) which implies the car was either stolen or wrecked at
some point in its career. I'll try to get the details this
weekend, along with the VIN and serial numbers (where are
these located on a Tiger?).
Hoping to save one from the crusher,
Dan Jones
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