>A friend of mine (a very knowledgable Sunbeam mechanic and Tiger race
>driver) informed me today that his 1967 Alpine Series V (left hand
>drive, 1725 engine, Overdrive Transmission) has a very unusual VIN
>plate. Below the ID number are the words: "Singer Motorcar Company".
>This is punched in from underneath the vin plate, exactly as is normal
>on the ID numbers! The rivits, etc, all look original and like they've
>never been removed. Has anyone heard of this before, and if so, what the
>heck is the story? I didn't get the ID # but can do so if this could
>help solve the mystery.
I'd bet that this car was originally sent to a country other than the US and that there were import/tax/distributor issues that required, or made it much cheaper, for the car to be labelled a "Singer" rather than a Sunbeam or a Rootes vehicle.
I also would suspect that the same problem would apply to Tigers. So, it seems surprising that none of the Tiger books mention this - or at least that I remember. I wonder if it is possible it was for a country where Tigers were never sent.
See if your friend has any information on where the car was originally purchased. Does the registration show when it was first registered (as our California registrations show)?
Jay