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Fw: Thrillseeking in San Diego or along for the ride in Dick Barker's Ti

To: "tigers" <tigers@Autox.Team.Net>
Subject: Fw: Thrillseeking in San Diego or along for the ride in Dick Barker's Tiger LeMans Coupe/ kinda medium longish post #1of a 12 part series
From: "Tim Jordan" <tjordan@wagnerprocess.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 10:45:28 -0700

----------
> From: 
> To: tigers <tigers@autox.team.net.>
> Subject: Thrillseeking in San Diego or along for the ride in Dick
Barker's Tiger LeMans Coupe/  kinda medium longish post #1of a 12 part
series
> Date: Friday, September 04, 1998 10:22 AM
> 
> Tigers,
> If you can beat 'em, join 'em.  No, I won't and don't worry.  You will
all
> be spared the
> additional 11 parts of this series.  Part #3 about my incredible
daughters
> (beautiful, respectful and highly intelligent) will be saved for future
> gushings.  Part #5 reveals the fantastic life of our family hunting dog
> Riptide. 
> He is a stunning Golden Retiever that with a smile and wagging tail
> retrieves the few birds I manage to hit.  He also pisses all over my 
> vegetable garden, thus saving me the chore of fertilizing.  (How about
> that Colin?)  Part #8 Chronicles the lady of my life.  I'll spare the
> details of her journey as a Playboy Bunny to her accomplishments as a
> Surgeon and pro bono Attorney representing charitable organizations.  
> 
> You see, this is a Tiger related list.  So, I'll just have to leave the
> other stuff for another list and another time.
> 
> Today you will get to relive my unbelievable and hard to describe ride
with
> Dick Barker in his stunning Le Mans Tiger Coupe.
> 
> All stories have a beginning and this one starts during the summer of
1969.
>  The boys of summer are playing lineball.  Baseball with a tennis ball
> using only one fielder.  You know, over the house homerun, off the roof
> triple, on the street an out.  That whole summer a BRG Tiger seems to
buzz
> the game every couple of days.  Back and forth, up and down the street. 
> "Hey, we're playing a game here!        
> The poor owner was just trying to sort things out.  He probably had very
> little support back then.  Anyway, the Tiger stuck in the back of my
> subconscience as a cool roadster and I knew of the Shelby connection. 
One
> of our neighbors had a Hertz GT350 and seemed to know some of the
> Shelby/Tiger story.  Unfortunately, by the start of school we stopped
> seeing the Tiger.  The Tiger guy may have been called to serve his
> country in Viet Nam, but the Tiger was gone and never seen again.  After
> that summer I don't recall ever thinking about a Tiger.  Went the German
> route driving a 1964 VW Squareback 1600 Dual Carb during college and a
1976
> BMW 2002 during my
> bachelor days in the early 1980's.  (Colin are you still with me?  If you
> are not, I understand.  Even F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and other
great
> writers took a few days off.)
> 
>  Flash forward to the Summer of 1996.  Somehow I have developed a serious
> "Jones"  for a performance car from my youth.  After a few weeks of
looking
> for a victim (ie. Shelby, Pantera, Torino CJ) BING!!  I spot a Maroon
Tiger
> in front of a Dentist office called Rootes Group.  That's the car! 
> Knock-knock and I immediatly discover that Norm is not an Orthodontist. 
> This is Tiger Nirvana and  as I will soon learn Norm is "The Tiger
> Enthusiast" of them all.  (I wonder if the Tiger List is saying get to
the
> damn Tiger Le Mans ride!)  Be patient or I will give you a dose of Part
#3.
>  
> 
> For several months I did my due diligence looking over and driving a few
> Tigers.   Several Tiger owners were helpful and I could always count on
> Norm to contribute.  "Now Tim, where is the Booster?"  "I don't see an
air
> cleaner."  "Do you really want flares and blue velour seats?"  "It's
junk!"
> "RUST!"  "Don't worry you"ll find a Tiger and after all it's only a car" 

> 
> So it goes that in September I finally found my Tiger.  The 1964 BRG
Tiger
> (B9470080) was found up the street from where I was born and raised in
> Redwood City.  Was it the same Tiger that I remember from my Summer days
in
> 1969?  Maybe.  The car sat for over 14 years then had a brief run until
the
> owner again let her sit.  Had the TAC Inspection and learned that
according
> to Paul R. 
> the car was also "A PEACH."  Had a ball with the car
> and even made the trip to Eureka for TU XXII.  Yes, I was the BRG Tiger
> with the golf clubs hanging out from behind the seats and the beer cans
> falling out the
> navigator door.  Remember?  We arrived a little worse for wear and parked
> next to LeMans Coupe #9.  Pointing in the wrong direction of every Tiger
> lined up and with many "Tiger
> Eyes" starring at us, I informed my navigator "don't touch the car next
to
> you or we will DIE!"  
> 
> Some were impressed with the old survivor.  Probably because it was a
real
> beater, almost all original, a very early chassis and we actually made it
> the 500 miles to the event.  We had a great time!  Did'nt play in the
> points events and was to green to understand any of the political/club
> shananigans.  The trip back home is a real "Twilight Zone" episode that
we
> can relive another day(part#2).
> 
> End of the first half of Part #1.  In all the excitment of the ride with
> Cmdr. Barker, I must admit that some of the details are a blur.
> Maybe Dick will help me relive the ride when I see him this weekend at
the
> Mini-Nats in Sear Pt.  
> 
> 
>    
> 
>              
> 
> 
> 
> 
>                      
> 
>       

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