Colin,
I know I've sent you a few e-mails about your Tiger Hunt. In my haste to
give you my years of wisdom, I forgot one very important caution. There
is reputed to be a COUNTERFEIT Tiger in the bay area. I only have the
sketchiest details, but thought I should warn you, anyway.
The car in question has apparently been cobbled together from "bit's and
pieces" of at least a dozen vehicles, some of which were Rootes
manufactured. The counterfeiter is reputed to be very skilled, and even
sly. It is said that his car is NOT in perfect condition by design, to
allay fears of buyers. The seller has even gone to the length of forging
a TAC certificate.
I have heard that the tell-tale indicators must be carefully sought. The
details are as follows:
1) The car is freshly black in color, but the paint job has been
artificially aged and chipped by an antique furniture dealer to imply
originality. It covers a multitude of scars from welding on parts from
Hillmans, Humbers and Singers. It is mostly Austin A-40 in origin.
2) It has what first appears to be a 260 4V engine. This is not the
original engine. It is from a 1964 Dodge Ram Charger 440 cid hemi with
the distributor re-mounted to the front of the block. The "4V"
carburetor is a phony. The interior of the carb has the secondaries
sealed off with Bondo. A non stock, non LAT hood scoop was added to
clear the Chrysler origin block.
3) This car has a dead give-away. The forger unknowingly put in a tan
interior, thinking it to be in the correct British fashion. His lack of
Rootes knowledge shows its ugly face. Lord Rootes was once bitten by a
tan billy-goat, and since has gotten deathly ill on seeing that color.
His face would blanch, and his jowls would quiver as his faced got red.
Be his decree, no Sunbeam has ever come with authentic British tan
upholstery. The forger thought to fool previous Morgan owners, who like
that color.
4) His biggest mistake, I hear, is the installation of a neatly
appearing wiring harness. Anybody who has been around cars made in Lucas
Land knows this is un-British, and a dead giveaway.
5) He couldn't find a top mechanism that would fit his non-standard
body, so he cobbled up one from a 1952 Singer. Now everyone knows that
the "Conestoga Wagon" Singer top didn't even fit the Singer.
6) The last indicator is the Tachometer. The original unit was damaged
and the previous owner tried to repair it with peanut butter. There is
still a lingering odor.
I am sure these cautionary notes are unnecessary, as you are a trained
English car specialists, and much of your Morgan background will serve
you well. Just make sure your Tiger has three wheels on the ground, two
spare tyres, and a suspension system that is frozen in place at the
factory, and you're home free.
{8->
Steve
--
Steve Laifman < One first kiss, >
B9472289 < one first love, and >
< one first win, is all >
< you get in this life. >
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