In a message dated 96-04-26 19:51:15 EDT, JLAIFMAN@PNM.MHS.CompuServe.COM
(Jay Laifman) responds to:
>>>Sorry, Norm, you can't have it both ways.
>
>>Yeah, I wasn't going to start another bru-ha-ha but it sure seems
>illogical to me too that the factory would change to a weaker design for
>later cars.
>
>***** NOTES from Jay Laifman (JLAIFMAN @ PNM) at 4/26/96 4:36p
>I think the logic here is ultimately clear. Someone at Rootes thought
>that the Tiger would benefit from the beefier wheel; Someone else
>realized that there was no price reason to use different wheels on the
>cars. So, the early Alpine wheels were phased out on Alpines when the
>Tiger wheels were being put on Tigers. When the old Alpine wheels ran
>out, the Tiger wheels became Tiger and Alpine wheels. The question is,
>who has the Alpine out there with the very last Alpine wheels and if the
>factory was one or more short causing the car to have some of each?
>
>Jay
Interesting, but there's just one problem: the year of manufacture is
stamped into the wheel. The previously mentioned Alpine wheel stamped
"'66" would never have been produced if the plan was to phase out that design
when "Tiger" wheels started production in '64.
>From the dates on wheels found so far, it appears that Tigers got one wheel,
Alpines another, at least up thru 1966. If Tiger wheels were ever installed
on Alpines at all, I'd be willing to bet it occured only after the end of
Tiger production in June of 1967 (shortly before leftover Mk II Tiger
headlight rims and backup lights started showing up on the last Series V
Alpines). Anyone out there have a late Series V with original stock wheels
to compare, or any Alpine wheels stamped " '67 " ?
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