Erich Arndt,
Each of us, at one time in our lives, was a "newcomer" to everything,
including cars and Tigers. I am sure a great many Tiger enthusiasts will
share knowledge and advice with you.
You have asked a question about Tiger authentication which appears to be
a "hot button" with a few vocal individuals. While everybody is entitled
to their own opinions, they should be so stated. An "opinion" or a
prejudice (prejudgement without the facts) should be known as such.
I have "an opinion" which I am willing to share with you. I believe that
there are many eager enthusiasts who would love to own a genuine Tiger,
but are in no position to afford one at this time. They find a good
Alpine, scour the spare parts available from Tiger remnants and Fords,
and make what they term an "Alger". They plainly and clearly state the
cars origin, and some jobs are so well done they have reason to be proud
of their accomplishments. Several are on this list and will probably
discuss this with you.
There are "others" who have taken extreme steps to mask any Alpine
origins they know about, go to the extent of attaching VIN plates from
junked Tigers (illegal) and try to pass them off as genuine. The term
for this varies from misleading to lying, depending upon what they say.
Some of this group go to the extent of trying to sell these
"conversions" to others as genuine Tigers at genuine Tiger prices. This
is called FRAUD, and is illegal. You have good reason and a right to be
cautious.
A book of Tiger history, including the evidence of the fraud practices
with examples, can be found in "The Book of Norman". He lists every
Tiger known to have been made by VIN, and has serial numbers of
components and comments where he could get them. The book is available
from Sunbeam Specialties, and Norman is on this list and has his own web
site for further info. He even shows pictures of real and fake Tigers.
The site is <http://shell3.ba.best.com/~rootes1/rootes-group.html>.
While Norman is not, himself, on the TAC committee, he is the
inspiration. Paul Reisentz was STOA TAC Chairman, and is now club
president and has a good reputation as a Tiger restorer. Perhaps you
should join STOA, as I will later recommend, and he can give you the
necessary info.
STOA, Sunbeam Tigers Owners Association, while international in
membership is generally centered in the Bay area near San Francisco.
They run the TAC organization, and have traveled to other sites. The
majority of TAC'd cars are members of STOA and located in that area, but
not all.
TAC is NOT the "Authenticity Police" or "Gestapo" some try to imply. The
are uncompensated volunteers who authenticate that the chassis came off
of the Jensen assembly line, and that's it. They don't even care if
someone has put a Chevy 350 in it. They do, however, know a lot about
the chassis differences between Alpines and Tigers. A goodly amount of
this is available in Norman's book, and elsewhere. There are a few
details they do not care to publish, just as the US does not tell where
ALL the authentication items are on currency. While some feel this
abridges their "right to know", I feel it is good protection from those
willing to do the details on conversions.
While I am a member of both CAT and STOA, I am not an officer of either,
nor do I participate in any authentication. In fact, I am waiting my
turn to get my car certified as soon as we can reasonably get together.
Bottom line, Erich. Beware of "extremists" of any persuasion. Get the
"Book" and learn some great information. Join STOA, get their
newsletter, and look for ads for TAC'd Tigers. There is a double bonus
here. Tigers, as other cars, are susceptible to rust. Most fake Tigers
get their parts from rusted out hulks. California, on the other hand,
has a very mild climate, and cars from the '30's are still on the street
daily with little or no rust. So you can find TAC'd and low rust cars at
the same time.
Good luck!
Steve
--
Steve Laifman < One first kiss, >
B9472289 < one first love, and >
< one first win, is all >
< you get in this life. >
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
_/_/_/_/_/__/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/
_/_/_/
|