Wally was a neighbor, and had a pristine untouched Tiger, that I looked
at over the 6 years that I restored my Tiger. During disassembly, and
with PO's changes, I did not completely know what a Tiger looked like as
it came from the factory.
Wally was also the East Coast Rep for Chrysler for the Tiger, and knew
lots about the car, the Corporate decisions, and the dismal sales of the
Tiger during its 3 years.
When I visited Wally, which was almost every week, we talked about all
things Tiger, the car, the clubs, the people, the politics, the design
decisions, and Chryslers corporate decisions.
The combination of issues, poor sales, safety issues, Ford engine,
dealer problems and dissatisfaction with the car in a Chrysler show
room, all contributed to the Tiger demise.
Uncle Wally was one hell of a autocross driver, as many knew, and was
known in many car clubs, not just the Tiger group, where he was one of
its biggest cheerleaders and hardest workers.
Wally also had an extensive and unique library, as well as a collection
of OEM parts that was rare. I read it all, and copied many items, which
helped me with the restoration, and were of interest to me.
I was setting up a taped interview with Wally, so we could record all of
his unique knowledge, but unfortunately, he had a heart attack before we
could do the interview.
Ironically, Wally died at the wheel during an autocross in his race
Neon, that had been given him by Chrysler.
But, if Wally said it was in part safety regs, he was in a position to know.
Larry
CoolVT@aol.com wrote:
>I was recently reading a 1998 interview with Wally Swift. I'd like to hear
>some comments from listers regarding his words.
>It is commonly thought that Chrysler buying Sunbeam caused the demise of the
>Tiger. This interview gives a different picture.
>"Many people think that Chrysler was the Tiger's doom. That was not the
>case."............."In 1965 the US Government imposed safety regulations
>that
>came into force on January 1, 1968. That's the reason why Tiger and Alpine
>roadster production ended in December, 1967."
>He does acknowledge the problem with Chrysler using Ford engines, but seems
>to say that the safety regs. were the main reason. Any thoughts on this?
>Mark L.
>
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