Hey Gang,
I've watched and read the annual chopping, dicing, slicing, and sieving of the
TAC program under a vow of silence which has just expired...
There is so much specious reasoning being blurted out that one wonders where
to begin but I will give it a try.
1) Tigers have significantly higher prices than do equivalent Alpines. This is
not to say that Tigers have greater intrinsic worth or even that Tigers are
better cars than Alpines. Indeed, one could argue just the opposite.
2) Whether a car is a Tiger or an Alpine was determined at the factory and
addresses the whole car not just the drive train. Quite simply, if you start
with a Tiger and put in a 302 (or a 351 or a 427, or a V6), you wind up with a
Tiger. If you start with an Alpine and put in a 302, you wind up with an
Alpine (commonly referred to as an "Alger). The car's true badging can be
determined by the examination of certain "maker's marks" which (for good or
bad) are a closely held secret.
3) The vast majority of Tigerists do not object to the creation of Algers. A
lot of Alpinists do object to the creation of Algers (and with good reason, in
my opinion). What someone chooses to do with his own Alpine and his own engine
is his own business. Sorta like my old DI used to say, "Its your soap and how
you use it in the shower is your own bidness."
4) What most Tigerists do object to is labeling Algers as Tigers and thus
screwing unknowing buyers into the cold, cold ground. Let's face it guys: This
fraud amounts to theft.
5) Tigers do have significantly higher prices than do equivalent Algers. This
is not to say that the worst Tiger will fetch more than the best Alger. Prior
to purchasing my Tiger I considered several Algers, the best of which was
priced at half the price of the Tiger I eventually bought. But any way you cut
it, if you convert an Alpine and << sell it as a Tiger >> you have just picked
someone's pocket.
6) Because some of the bullshit artists have been convincing each other for
years that it is OK to label conversions as authentic Tigers ("after all,
'Carl Shebby' did it, the body work is better, the tunnel hump is smoother,
yada, yada, yada") there are now a significant number of phony Tigers out
there. Apparently some of these conversions are good enough that they have won
prizes at Tiger "concours" events.
7) Lacking personal knowledge of the individual car's provenance, the most
effective way I know of to protect one's investment in a Tiger is to INSIST on
TAC certification BEFORE buying. A team of three trained inspectors--including
a Senior inspector--examines the vehicle and if it passes a tamperproof
sticker is applied and a certificate is issued.
|