Chad:
In response to your request for more information on the misrepresented
eBay 2480293234, "1966 Sunbeam Tiger Convertible", I am sending you some
observations made by the over 300 members of the eMail Tiger List, and
to me, personally, about this Alpine being misrepresented as a Tiger by
your company.
All comments are based solely on your own auction posting and pictures,
and can be verified by looking at your promotional picture and a REAL Tiger.
The following were all written by different contributors to an eMail
list concerning Tigers. It is by now means complete, but does give you
a flavor of a cross section of Tiger OWNERS views.
I believe there is enough here to make you wary of being a part of this
action. While this certainly looks like a clean installation of a Ford
V-8 into an Alpine, and should warrant a price for someone that wants a
hot rod, it is NOT a rare, collectible Sunbeam TIGER, whose value lies
in it's uniqueness, and small production. Don't buy any wooden nickels.
Sincerely,
Steve Laifman
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Miscellaneous excerpts from separate eMail comments on your eBay Motors
auction 2480293234:
1) The Sunbeam Tiger has the battery mounted on the trunk floor. Your
offering has the battery under the rear seat / parcel shelf door, as in
a normal Alpine.
2) There is no evidence of the stock windshield bottle hardware ever
having been mounted in the motor compartment, even if the hardware,
itself, was removed.
3) There is a 120 MPH Alpine speedometer, rather than the 140 MPH Tiger
speedometer.
4) The mounting holes for the secondary trunk floor, as well as the
brackets, are not there.
5) The mounting holes and brackets for the jack, jack handle, tool kit,
floor mounted spare tire structure are missing.
6) The spare tire is shown in a vertical position at the forward end of
the trunk, as is Alpine practice. The Tiger spare is mounted on the
trunk floor, along with the battery, underneath a sub flooring.
7) There is no clip, nor mounting holes, on the trunk lid for the trunk
sub floor support strap bracket when in it's lifted position.
8) Although the "Title" is listed as "Clear", later in the
"Specifications" it says "Clear (most titles)" - whatever that might mean.
9) The car pictures may look immaculate, but this is the first TIGER I
have seen with vertically mounted spare in the trunk, as in ALPINE.
(repeat)
10) The shift lever may be what a Hurst conversion looks like, I don't
know. However, it does not look like the round chrome shift stick,
reverse lockout, and round rubber bottom steel retainer of a Tiger.
11) I can't tell leather from grained plastic from a picture, and
sometimes not from visual without feeling. Some call vinyl "leather" as
in "appearance". For another $1500 worth of added value it is worth
verifying. (not big issue, but worthy of examination with so many other
"mis-statements".)
12) The VIN plate "B9471568" data is "withheld" in TBON ("The Book of
Norman"), so no help there. Although Norman Miller may have direct
information. HOWEVER _____
13) The Jensen build date is given as Dec, 1964. This is quite a ways
from the claimed "1966" model year, and calls to mind the question over
title!, and whether this is the car that was titled in 1966 then had a
1964 VIN put on. Which calls to mind the comments below on "VIN"
14) The special factory security rivets used to mount the VIN plate are
missing, and non authentic rivets are used in their place. Most state
laws prohibit any removal or replacement of a VIN.
15) A careful examination of the exhaust system does NOT show the
factory "pass-throughs" in the "X" member that Tigers had, but Alpines
did not.
16) The unique Tiger steering rack and pinion are not in evidence. A
rather clear indication of either severe modification, or non authentic
manufacture.
17) While the main listing says the "Title is clear", a further
"Specifications" comment indicates "Title Mostly Clear", whatever that
might mean. Some states pay no attention to VIN numbers for title,
while others require it to be perfect. California is one of those, and
this car would not pass critical examination by the Department of Motor
Vehicles, who are non too helpful even when things are correct. Selling
a car with a tampered VIN, or misrepresenting it, is a civil matter in
some states. In most it is considered to be a criminal act, and is
prosecuted by the Attorney General as fraud.
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Steve Laifman
Editor
http://www.TigersUnited.com
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