"Did anybody on the list get to attend Tigers United XXI in Bakersfield this past weekend ? "
***** NOTES from Jay Laifman (JLAIFMAN (at) PNM) at 6/10/96 4:09p I was there with my Alpine. Ole was there with his, how shall I say, "real" Alpine - it certainly is "real" pretty, that's for sure. There were three others, two really red Series II's (one with lots of chrome [even on the intake manifold] and red fuzzy dice on the inner-tube stems and hanging from the rearview mirror), and another Series II with a nice 2.3 liter Ford transplant (but, I wonder if it takes some of the fun out of it by not having to commence an international search if anything goes wrong ;-). There was at least one Tiger with enough non-stock pieces that I would not be surprised was an Alpine too.
While I heard some Tiger owners complaining about the heat and how hot their cars were running on the flats of Bakersfield, we left at about 2:00 pm, 100 degrees, and straight up the Grapevine at a constant 65 mph with only moderate increase in heat over normal. Sometimes it helps to have four cyliders! And that was after they relegated all the Alpines and "specials" to the only non-shaded part of the park. That's ok, it just made the Alpines shine better. All kidding aside, the Tigers were something to see. And, despite my Alpine hat, many owners actually talked to me - ok so I haven't stopped kidding.
One neat thing I noticed on a couple or more Tigers, is where they moved all the wiring and plumbing out of the engine compartment. It looks as though there is just engine compartment and engine. Pretty neat, especially coming from an Alpine owner's point of view. I did not examine it too closely. My guess is that everything is running in the wheel wells. I hope it is all insulated and protected.
It was fun to watch the concours judging (by the way, the "s" in concours is not pronounced - so go back and read that again if you read it wrong). One of the most tense moments was when the owners were required to show that all the electical items are working, like turn signals, brake lights, etc. But, to this moment, I am not sure if you get points off for something not working, or for everything working. I thought stock original was for at least something not to work.
Be 'beaming you.
Jay
Jay S. Laifman Pircher, Nichols & Meeks 1999 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, California 90067 (310) 201-8915