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Sunbeam Tiger
The
history of Sunbeam goes back
to 1859 and a man named John Marston. At age 23, Marston was working as a metal lacquerer. An
ambitious young man, he struck out on his own in 1877 and started a cycle
business. When Marston's
wife, Ellen, saw the first bicycle
produced
by the company, she
remarked on how the black
enameled frame reflected the sun.
Thus the Sunbeam name was born. Sunbeam bicycles were the finest
money could buy.
Sunbeam
ventured into the car business in 1899 and began producing a
number of makes and models. Some did well for the company, others did
not. The first car to be called the Tiger appeared in 1925. It was a new
V12
Sunbeam
built for race car driver Henry Segrave. Initially it was called
the
Ladybird, but was later was renamed the Sunbeam Tiger. In 1926 Segrave
pushed the World Land Speed record up to 152.33 mph in the Sunbeam
Tiger. In the mid 1940s, the Roots Group bought Sunbeam. Roots then owned
Hillman, Humbner and Talbot. Sunbeam was assigned the task of building
luxury cars for the group. In 1962, Ian Garrad, manager of Rootes'
operations on the West Coast of the USA, had been watching the success of the AC
Cobra. The Cobra was
the result of fitting a Ford V8 into the AC Ace. In 1963, Carroll Shelby and
Ken
Miles were each commissioned to build a prototype Ford V8-powered
Sunbeam Alpine. The Mk I Tiger, introduced in 1964, combined the Series
IV Alpine bodyshell with a 4.2 liter Ford V8 engine. The Tiger was assembled by
Jensen in West Bromwich. A small number were also assembled in South Africa. It
was named Tiger in honor of the 1920s
Sunbeam racing car. In some markets, it was sold as the Alpine V8. 6,546
Mark I models were built. The Mark II Tiger of 1967 received a V8 4.7 liter
engine, developing200bhp
at 4400rpm. Mark II production totaled 536 examples. The
takeover of Rootes by Chrysler in 1967 led to the demise of the sporty Tiger.
Chrysler was not happy about building Ford-powered cars, and did
not have a suitable engine of their own. The
Tiger did gain some brief fame for its role in the television series Get Smart. If
you are considering purchasing a Tiger, beware of conversions. The vast
number of Alpines in the '70s caused dishonest people to convert Alpines
into Tigers. These fakes are sometimes easy to spot and sometimes not.
The first 3,763 Mark I cars, had VIN numbers starting with B947XXXX.
My Sunbeam Tiger
My Sunbeam Tiger was purchased in Largs , Ayrshire on the 10th of July 1985 after being off the road since 1978. The
vehicle had been owned by a garage proprietor and had been stored in a shed for this period of time without any
work being carried out on it and was therefore in a very poor condition.
On first detailed inspection of the vehicle, once it had been transported to its restoration destination it was found that the chassis was so weak that the doors had closed and the doors were jammed shut.
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On continued inspection of exterior bodywork it was found that both door sill sections, inner and outer were badly corroded and would have to be replaced Both
rear quarters were badly corroded especially around the wheel arch area, the
inner wheel arch had completely
disintegrated and would need to be extensively repaired. The boot lower inner section was also beyond repair and would have to be replaced. The offside front wing was badly corroded but due to the finical budget being put on the vehicle it was decided that the wing could be repaired with a new lower wing section and headlight section. The lower front valence was also badly corroded and it was decided to be replaced with a new lower valence section which could be readily obtained through the owners club. A
summarisation was then made regarding the initial bodywork programme that lay ahead as in the purchase of
materials and cost, before this daunting prospect could commence. Obviously
before any of the mechanics could be looked at the vehicle would have to be
taken apart bit by bit to the last nut and bolt.
Firstly
the front suspension was taken off allowing the engine and gearbox to be taken
out, then the rear axle and suspension were taken off.
Then
all internal and external fittings were stripped out so that all was left was a
bare badly corroded rust riddled
shell.
Now the real work could commence, out came the welding torch . The car was jacked up in the centre and positioned to allow the doors to be opened .I set the correct
The
vehicle was then put on it's side to gain access to the underside of the vehicle
so that the corroded areas could be cut out and replaced.
New
inner arches were fabricated both front and rear .Once the body had taken some
sort of shape that resembled a
Sunbeam Tiger the paint was stripped back to bare metal and prepared for an initial coat of undercoat.
The underside was thoroughly cleaned and coated with a rust protector then coated in underseal.
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on thumbnail for larger image
As
the body was making good progress it was decided that the mechanics should be
tackled. Firstly the front suspension was stripped and refurbished with new
Fulcrum bar and bushes together with new coil spring insulators .The front
crossmember was shot blasted and painted and then re-assembled.
The 4.2 litre V8 was the tackled , the engine was stripped and found to be in reasonable condition although as a precautionary measure was re-assembled The cylinder Heads were stripped gaskets. The rear axle was also stripped and rebuilt with new brake cylinders and brake shoes. The brake drums were also skimmed to take the excessive grooves out. The vehicle was the painted in June 1987, the colour
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The first component to be installed was the engine, it was found it would be easier to install by lowering the shell on to the engine rather than putting it in from above. Most ancillaries had been refurbished and were ready for installation.
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The rear axle was then fitted together with new leaf spring bushes and shock absorbers on assembly. A set of GB Alloys were purchased for the vehicle, together with exterior trim including lights, chrome side strip and other miscellaneous trim parts. The vehicle by this time is making good progress and was scheduled for completion for summer 1988 and this was achieved.
Click on thumbnail for larger image I participated in some local shows and was fortunate enough to win Best Home Restoration at the Rouken Glen show .
And so the story ends !!!!
Some nice links http://www.sunbeamtiger.demon.co.uk/index2.htm http://www.corpdemo.com/tiger/norms/home/index.html http://www.sunbeam.org.au/history/index.html http://www.corpdemo.com/tiger/pictures/images.html http://ssocc.hypermart.net/tigergallery/index.htm http://www.corpdemo.com/tiger/ http://www.sunbeam-alpine.co.uk/index.htm
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