" but you would be best off to talk to a local TAC inspector or someone else
that has a good understanding of the Tiger/Alpine authenticity issues."
Russ,
I would agree with Theo, but you may not like what you hear. The TAC
inspectors came down (L.A. area) this past (2001) Summer to TAC cars in the
area. My car was (still isn't) running, but they were having a "TAC on
wheels" where they came to you to TAC the car. I asked if the inspection
could be done and the sticker applied later as the heat from welding and the
need to paint the area of application (I had not repaired inner fender rust
yet) was going to be a problem. There was some talk about doing the actual
inspection and then later a minor re-inspection before the sticker would be
placed on the car.
Well, it all became a mote point as I live about 60 miles from the CAT
Warehouse and they ran out of time before the got to my house. I had
speculated this and told one of the inspectors that I was in the process of
stripping the whole bottom and interior floor of the car of undercoat, paint
and coating the areas with POR-15. He commented to me " well you better get
your car inspected before you alter to much and we can't tell certain
things." After hearing this I was even more eager for them to come out that
day, but as I mentioned they never got there.
I later contacted Buck Trippel who headed the inspection up down here on
CAT's end and he made a similar comment of " I'd agree (with the Big Guy)
that it would be best to have the (car) looked at asap." Note: Big Guy was
my discription of the unknown inspector I spoke with.
Now that was something like 8 months ago. I realize that this is done at
the cost and volunteering of the inspectors so I don't want to put the
weight on them, but am I supposed to do nothing for a whole year?
I will say I would find it hard to believe that replacing the outer
rockers, an inner rocker, and patching the firewall / innerfender merging
point would alter Tiger only characteristics. Also a number of cars that
passed the day I was at the on site inspection looked to have been
completely stripped and repainted thus it doesn't seem consistent and
baffles me with their concerns that I was stripping the paint and undercoat
to apply POR-15.
Obviously they would like to see cars with as few changes as possible, but
I do think there are things known to inspect for that would not have left me
apprehensive to proceed with my project. I say all this because if you talk
to a TAC inspector you too may hear that they need to see your car before
you do any work, but like me it could be a year from hearing that (for me I
was told that they would get to my car next Summer 2002).
To the end of all this I have continued to work on the car. I had
previously started at the rear and am literally taking it a foot at a time.
However, I have attempted to leave as much of the original paint as was
practical around the trans. tunnel/firewall and brace mounts on the inner
fender panels. These being about the only Tiger spacific items (I know of)
that I haven't repainted. I am rather confident in passing a TAC inspection.
My car was stored at Smitty's by the previous owner and Smitty confirmed it
to be a real Tiger when I asked him. Also I have email from Norm Miller
saying he had seen my car and knew it to be a real Tiger also.
It is a real rock and a hard place. If you want your Tiger TAC-ed your
admonished to stop working on it. At the same time your potentially left
hanging for perhaps a year from getting anything done. Hopefully this
posting wil bring some resolve to the issue for what I'm sure affects many
others in the same position. Respectfully to those on both sides of the
issue, Tom Witt B9470101
----- Original Message -----
From: "Theo Smit" <tsmit@shaw.ca>
To: "Russ Eshelman" <russe@firstva.com>
Cc: <tigers@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: Tiger body repair
> Russ, that's a tough question. Legally, the chassis (in our case the body
> structure) carries the serialized identification elements of the car, and
the
> local DMV will question any car that looks like it was repaired in such a
way as
> to obfuscate its identity. For example, the VIN plate on Tigers and
Alpines is
> mounted in the same way, in the same place on the cowl, and technically
any of
> these vehicles where non-OEM rivets are holding the plate on, are possibly
the
> victim of an ID swap. Usually there is enough circumstantial evidence
(body finish
> techniques and details in the stampings, hole locations etc.) to pinpoint
roughly
> the time of its production, which can help to substantiate a car's ID. But
if a
> Tiger or Alpine showed up with original rivets but with an obvious cowl
> replacement or patch repair, such a vehicle would be equally (or more)
suspected
> of being a fraud.
>
> So how much of a Tiger can you replace with Alpine sheetmetal? Well, lots,
I
> guess, but you would be best off to talk to a local TAC inspector or
someone else
> that has a good understanding of the Tiger/Alpine authenticity issues.
Since the
> bulk of the body panel substitutions (but my no means all) between Tigers
and
> Alpines are in the firewall and transmission tunnel areas, repairing areas
that
> are not near there with Alpine sheetmetal are not much of an issue. If you
are
> going to make an effort to restore the original shell, then try your best
to not
> remove the VIN plate (alkaline dip will remove aluminum, so don't keep the
plate
> on there if you're going to dip it, or else figure out how to keep the
solution
> away from the VIN plate and the backside of the cowl panel), and document
the
> restoration and chassis repairs extensively.
>
> But again, before you start, talk to an expert.
>
> Theo
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