>>>How can the Tiger owners as a group be so concerned about authenticity
>>>when so few leave their cars stock ?<<<
Steve,
The authentisity relates to the fact that the unibody structure was one
that was originally altered by Jensen, and initially sold as a Tiger. It
does not have to do with the fact that the car remains stock. It was
pointed out to me once that a Tiger could be converted into an Alpine and
still be considered a Tiger (all be it a modified one) based on the
alterations that Jensen originally performed.
If you were at TU31 you no doubt heard that talk on the racing Alpines.
Now, some Alpines were never raced, while others were. Putting the race
items (wheels, tires, parts, numbers etc.) on a "street" Alpine will never
make it a car that was ever in a race. There is a petigree that followed
those real race Alpines. In like fashion one could theoretically alter an
Alpine to a Tiger configuration. But, that does not mean it carries the
same petagree as a Tiger that was originally created by Jensen.
What the Tiger community is trying to do is preserve the "bloodline" of
the Tiger. There are those who know ever subtle nuance of a real Tiger and
use that as the standard. Alger's in and of themselves are not considered a
bad thing. Passing an Alger off as a Tiger is.
In the end you have the choice of buying and Alger with all the qualities
of a Tiger. In some cases even better. You may get a good deal on it and
enjoy it. But in the family bloodline it is still thought of as the
illegitimate child. It may be related, but it is not of THE family
(Tigers).
I hope that helps to understand the efforts made to ensure why people strive
to make sue a Tiger is really a Tiger (modified or not).
Tom
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