The Alpine S3 and later hardtops definitely work on a Tiger.
I sold the white hardtop off my SIV Alpine "ST" to a Mk2 tiger guy, and the
white top on his red Tiger looks sharp.
Also, I use the black top I bought off a S3 Alpine "ST" on my Mk1a Tiger while
I restore the top
that came on my Tiger.
The PO added vinyl to the top and I am removing it. While not correct, I lean
towards painting it white.
I recall pictures of Tigers I assume to be "works" Tigers with white hardtops
and they contrast nicely with other Rootes paint colors.
Allan Ballard
MK1a
SIV Alpine
On Jan 1, 2011, at 6:01 PM, rande wrote:
> There is some debate whether Rootes actually shipped some Tigers that were
not
> Gran Turismo models with matching hardtops if they were ordered with the
car.
>
>
> Norm Miller and I have copies of the same b&w photograph from Smart Motors,
> Madison, WI showing a truckload of cars being unloaded, circa 1966 (i.e.
Tiger
> IA's). I maintain that the photo is clear enough that one can find at least
> one Tiger with a matching hardtop, and this is the period after Rootes
melded
> the two models into one with SOME of the GT features on all Tigers. Norm
maintains
> that Tiger's assembled after the handful available either as Sports Tourer
or
> Gran Turismo were not available with matching hardtops.
>
> First, for folks who haven't seen a true Gran Turismo model(I'm using
Rootes
> spelling from the original brochures that featured both the Sports Tourer
and
> the Gran Turismo) what separates the GT is the area behind the front seats
that's
> upholstered differently and is missing the front panels of the Sport Tourer
> folding top stowage area. When Rootes chose to limit the models of the
Tiger,
> the full carpeting, wood instrument panel, and wood steering wheel of the
GT
> was installed while keeping the Sport Tourer folding top and rear
upholstery
> for the Mark I. For the IA, they added the black padded bolster at shoulder
> height on the doors from the GT.
>
> I think all of the brochures from Mark I through the Mark II offered
matching
> hardtops from the factory when ordered at the same time as the car. What's
a
> little confusing to some owners is that it was common to piggyback black
hardtops
> installed on Tigers as a convenient shipping method to parts departments in
> the States, according to Wally Swift.
>
> A couple of writers during the period of sales wrote that they specified
hardtops
> for their cars, and they had to be painted to match(and it was a poor
match,
> they say).
>
> So, to answer question #1, yes, a handful were available in two models, up
to
> about the 200th VIN, and by one estimate, the number of Gran Turismo's
built
> was around 15.
>
> Skipping to question #3, finding a hardtop from an Alpine Series III or
later
> will probably work. I am told that somewhere in production, the latching
design
> was changed, and I don't know where the cutoff point for that was. A quick
check
> of the parts catalogue could not find that change.
>
> Rande Bellman
> B382000048LRXE
> (originally an Embassy Black car with an Embassy Black hardtop, so that
tells
> you nothing).
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