Okay guys, maybe I can set the record straight. I've been having this
conversation with several people and just recently talked with Clive
Harrington about it. I was always doubtful that any Harrington Tigers
were ever built. It's one of those things where the Harrington project
was ending and the Tiger development was beginning. Unfortunately, there
were no surviving records of any of the Harrington production, but Clive
told me that his father DID have the Harrington Tiger in mind. I'll
quickly catch you all up on a long story. Basically Rootes took the
hatchet to Harrington Ltd. and literally took a bulldozer through the
factory, put everything in a big pile in the compound and burnt it.
Seriously! All their documentation, roofs, molds, everything!
According to Clive, there was only ONE (1) Harrington Tiger ever
produced. This would have been done by Robbins and Day (Rootes) after
the take over and NOT by Harrington Ltd. This would be the car belonging
to Bill Van Velkinburg in Sacramento, Ca. IT ISN'T IN ENGLAND. This car
was first registered by Mr. J Day (of Robbins & Day)and originally came
from England, based on a home market Tiger(RHD). So the math works out.
The one thing that needs to be kept in mind is this. The Tiger would be
based on the Series 'D' Harrington roof. These were produced right at
the end of the Harrington era and less than 6 of these Harrington Series
'D's are believed to have been created. I believe that we only know of 3
survivors to date. (Don't quote me on that one, I'm still trying to
confirm it.) One is on a Series 3 Alpine Chassis and the other two are
on Series IV's. I was told that 3 Series 'D' Harringtons made it to the
Series IV and one was totaled in an accident. What happened to it is
unknown. The other 3 would be on the Series 3 chassis. It is also known
that a couple extra Harrington Roofs managed to escape the fires, but
they weren't mass produced. Harringtons were built to a customers order
and they didn't want a lot of extra roofs just laying around. With all
that in mind, it would be very possible for someone to build a
Harrington Tiger IF they got their hands on the right parts.
I would need to see the car up close before actually declaring it a
fake. BUT... From everything I have learned from Clive, who used the
Harrington factory as a playground growing up and would have been a
young man during the time of the Harrington Alpines, I would dare to say
the car isn't a true Harrington Tiger. Like someone else pointed out,
There were 2 fake Harrington Tigers at SUNI II in Snowmass Colorado, one
on a Series IV body and the other on a Series 3. These two cars aren't
being considered in my registry because I don't know how they came to
be. I wish they were still proudly sporting their 1600's because they
could be truly rare vehicles, but the damage has already been done. The
only way I would get excited about the "Harrington Tiger" for sale would
be if it was indeed a real Series 'D' and it could be de- Tigerized!!
My 2 cents worth, stepping down now. - Ian
--- Ian Spencer <www.sunbeamalpine.org> '61 Harrington Alpine B9104782 OD HRO '62 Harrington Le Mans BH9115930 OD LRX
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