Hi Tom:
I hadn't known about the history of previous attempts to create a
national Tiger club. Thank you for clarifying what was, to me, a
rather murky past.
According to an authoritative source (Calvin and Hobbes--grin), Tigers
are by nature solitary and territorial. Some of the Tiger owners I've
met (myself included) seem to fit this profile--perhaps that's why we
buy the cars in the first place?
I have noticed that Tiger owners I've met seem to be willing to
personalize their cars, and to do much of the work themselves--can't
speak for Shelby guys, since I don't know any--perhaps they're the same
as the Tiger guys, but the two attributes I mention above seem to fit in
with 'solitary and territorial'......
I was re-reading an article from Car and Driver (May 1990) about Tigers
in attendance at SUNI at Snowmass where the author mentioned that "90
percent sported at least minimal modifications" (and usually, according
to the article, more).
Maybe the Shelby guys put cooling vents, rear disc brakes, fuel
injection and independent rear suspensions on their cars too--if some of
you are Shelby guys or know some Shelby guys you could speak to this
point, but what I think grabbed me most about the article was the following:
"The happy fact is that typical Sunbeam Tiger owners are still
enthusiasts, still hobbyists for whom the car itself is it's own
reward. They understand and appreciate that Sunbeam, unlike some of the
more pretentious marques, never claimed to have achieved perfection on
the drawing boards. All during the model's short life, the factory
itself was experimenting with improvements...in truth, the Tiger was a
hot rod from day one. That's why owners...feel that intelligent
departures from original specifications are only continuing the good
work. SUNI itself condones change."
Anyway, it seems to me that people with the attitudes described in the
excerpt above are a bit iconoclastic, and perhaps not inclined to be
"joiners". Not knocking joining, just suggesting that based on the
history that Tom described, perhaps an explanation for why things stay
fragmented.
I thought your points were very well made Tom.
One other thing that struck me from the article: "...Tiger types are
into the marque because they appreciate the cars, not because the cars
are appreciating. These people are ordinary, everyday, scraped-knuckle
car nuts." That seems to describe a lot of the guys I've met on the
list--you just like to mess with your cars and you want to make them a
little bit better. And that's one of the things I appreciate most--more
than the tech tips and help I get, it's the people that are on this list
that make ownership of my Tiger so enjoyable.
Oh, and if Mike Emerich is out there and still has his car, I'd really
like to see some photos of your E-type rear suspension and find out
whether you ever changed it out for the XJ-6 bits. I'm still trying to
sort mine out. :-)
Best Regards
David Sosna
Tom Hall wrote:
> For all of you that think a National Sunbeam Club is a great new idea,
> a little history might be in order:
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