Hi Scott,
The main thing to understand is that Tigers were built 'from the ground up'
at the factory. They didn't take existing Alpine shells, cut off the body
parts (such as the front inner fender supports and the battery box) that had
to be modified, and then weld on the new parts - the Tiger specific parts
were welded on to partially built-up shells, so a factory Tiger body won't
have any trace of Alpine-specific body stampings or weld lines. Additionally
there was some sheet metal forming applied to the engine compartment and
elsewhere that is specific to the Tiger, and while someone could replicate
that on an Alpine shell, usually it won't end up looking 'factory'.
As Bob Nersesian (I think) pointed out a while ago, in some jurisdictions
there are legal routes by which an Alpine shell could be used to rebuild a
Tiger whose chassis was irrevocably damaged. However, that still doesn't
make it a 'factory' Tiger even though it's legitimate in the eyes of the
DMV. Whether or not a well-done Alpine conversion ought to be worth premium
collector-car dollars is up to the prospective buyer, but that buyer should
know exactly what is under the skin.
Best regards,
Theo
PS I sent an oblique email to the seller and he responded that he didn't
have any details on the body restoration.
|