Shortly after I bought my Tiger 2 years ago, I had the wonderful
opportunity to meet with Wally Swift at his house and be "indoctrinated"
into the Tiger community, as well as pick up a couple of rare, but needed
items. I made the mistake of calling him "Mr. Swift", since I was brought
up to respect my elders, and I was a true neophyte when it came to Tigers.
Wally told me, in no uncertain terms that "Mr. Swift was my Father! Call me
Wally!" We spent better than 2 hours talking about the Tiger's origins, his
involvement as the East Coast Chrysler rep for Tigers and Autocrossing, all
the while moving from one pile of parts, to another, to his Tiger and his
Alpine. We then moved inside and I was regaled with all the models Wally
had collected, and of course, more parts and more Tiger conversation. By
the time I left, my knowledge about Tigers had at least quadrupled! I ran
into Wally again at the TACFest last September, and he warmly remembered our
first meeting. I was glad to see that his Tiger, which had been in a
horrible accident, was again in running condition, although he said it still
needed more work, particularly the interior.
Although my meetings with Wally were limited, I could tell that he
was a real "car guy" and truly enjoyed everything about them. Tigerdom has
lost a true believer.
Keep on Tigering!
Jim Sencindiver, PMS411C6
Systems Engineering Group
Surface Ship USW Combat Systems
202-781-4412
202-781-4694 (fax)
SencindiverJD@navsea.navy.mil
B382100451/TAC 448
http://www.TigersUnited.com/gallery/Sencindiver.asp
-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Paulick [mailto:larry.p@erols.com]
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 8:23 AM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Uncle Wally and Fond Memories
Wally Swift was a neighbor, an avid Sunbeam Tiger and Alpine enthusiast,
and a proud Tiger owner, who's car I looked at, at least one Hundred
times, to find out how my restored Tiger was suppose to go back together.
Wally let me borrow parts of his extensive library, to learn more about
Tigers, and proudly told me of his tenure with Chrysler and the Rootes
connection.
Wally relayed many, many interesting stories and experiences, about the
people, the way Tigers were sold on the east coast, and his experiences
with the other legions connected with Tigers, who often times met and
stayed up till the wee hours of the night in motel rooms, resolving
problems.
For the last several weeks, Wally and I discussed getting together to do
a video tape interview, to record his recollections, of some of the
unique history he was apart of during the Tiger/Rootes/Chrysler era.
Well, we missed that opportunity.
Everybody seemed to know Uncle Wally, and while he will certainly be
missed, Uncle Wally will always be remembered and remembered fondly.
Larry
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