Josh Beach wrote:
>
> Hello, all. Recently I attended an autocross, where I saw my first Tiger.
> Ever since then I've had to have one. The problem is, I'm on a pretty tight
> budget. As you can tell from my subject line, I would like to keep the
> price of the car near $5000. Would I be able to get a decent Tiger for that
> price? I'm not afraid to get one that needs work, as long as it's not a
> complete basket case (that is to say, it's worth salvaging). Another
> obstacle to this project is the fact that I've never rebuilt or restored a
> classic car. However I'm pretty mechanically inclined (heck, I spent
> practically my entire youth in front of a bin of Legos ;-) ) and willing to
> learn. Non-original engine and body parts are fine with me, as I'm more
> interested in a fun driver than a perfectly restored classic. Any advice is
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Josh Beach
> jabeach@navix.net
> Visit the Contour Enthusiast's Group http://www.contour.org
> 1998 Mercury Mystique LS MTX
> http://members.tripod.com/~jabeach
> ICQ# 11884727
Josh,
You sound a lot like me except that my first autocross was with the MG
owners club in Hayward Ca. in 1967 or so. I had my 63 midget but I went
with my dad to the event. He had a 52 TD and at that time the autocrash
was loaded with Lotus sevens. With this club you got a couple of TC's
and TF's some Coopers etc. One Tiger. I was also hooked. I finally
got mine about 6 months ago. I don't know why I waited until they got to
be so expensive. I also am mechanically inclined although mostly I have
worked on vacuum equipment and semiconductor equipment... only did minor
automotive tune up stuff. I did rebuild an 850 motor once for an Austin
mini but that is more like a sewing machine.
Anyway, to the point. There are still a lot of Tigers around on the
West Coast. I went to San Diego last weekend and after petitioning This
group of Tiger owners about where to stop and shop, I targeted Smitty's
Sunbeam on 2985 K st. (619)233-7937. Smitty's got the most pings from
the tiger net. Smitty's is stuffed with Sunbeams. Several Tigers
although i didn't ask if any were for sale. I lost the power of rational
thought as I was standing in the middle of his shop. Smitty was telling
me about "round corners/square corners, hard boot covers, hard tops". I
was looking at the ceiling where dozens of hard tops were hanging when I
realized he was saying "Knucklehead" repetitively. That got my
attention as I thought he was speaking to me. It turns out he was
talking to this excellent grey cat who owns the building. Very demanding
vocal cat. Smitty said he wouldn't let me take him home to the SF
area... something about the mice population in San Diego. This place is
a great hub for Sunbeams. Check him out.
Dennis Crimmins
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