Hi:
I have a 1966 Tiger 1A that I found on EBay, in Albuquerque, in 2005. I had made a bid that was just above the reserve, and it went unchallenged until the last 2-3 seconds of the auction, and someone sniped it and won. I was kind of disappointed, but somewhat relieved because I wasn't sure how to get a car home to Cambria, CA. A day or so passed, and the seller from the auction contacted me with a second-chance offer on EBay. Apparently the winner had some buyer remorse. The seller was nice enough to offer the car to me at my previous top bid, so I bought it!
My wife and I drove from Cambria to Albuquerque to get the car, planning to drive it home, as the seller had assured me that it would be fine to drive. We arrived at the location of the car, I checked it out as much as possible, and, after getting a temp plate from the NMDMV, we headed back to our hotel. It was a very hot day in Albuquerque, in June, about 110F. Having lived on the coast for quite awhile, I wasn't used to the heat, plus I wasn't really aware of the overheating issues with Tigers. I started out toward our hotel, and the first thing I notice is the smell of anti-freeze. The temperature was up to 230F, and I was feeling queasy anyway from the heat, so the sickening sweet smell of anti-freeze wasn't exactly welcome. I stopped at a light, not something I wanted to do anyway because I was having a really t tough time shifting the car. Turned out that the linkage was WAY out of adjustment. When I stepped on the brakes, the car let out a humongous cloud of smoke, completely obscuring my wife and pickup truck. We arrived at the hotel, and by this time I was ready to ralph. I called the seller, and told him I really couldn't possibly drive this car back to California, and could I please get my money back.
Turned out that he was a very nice guy. He came over to the hotel, assured me that I could have my money back if I wanted it, but that the problems I was having with the car were minor, and that he would not only fix them, but would bring the car to me in Cambria. We spent the next couple of hours talking with him, he apparently had a large collection of cars, and had raced and restored a few Tigers in NM. He was going to be out in August to the Monterey Historics anyway, so he was happy to bring the car. The smoke turned out to be the brake booster, which he rebuilt, and he adjusted the shift linkage too.
I bought the car to have a Tiger, and to give me a fun project. I am an Electronic Engineer now, but my first career was as a School Bus Driver and Mechanic. I used to rebuild diesel engines and 10-speed transmissions, along with some fair share of body work and paint, at a small school in North Fork, CA, where I grew up. So knowing how to fix up the car is no problem, but of course time is.
This brings me to the second subject in my title, the first Tiger I ever saw. When I was 15 or so, I briefly worked for a guy in North Fork that owned the local hardware store, his name was Ray Harvick. I did some painting and clean-up at his store, and one day he needed some help at his house. I went there with a friend that was also working for Ray, and my brother Don. We were moving some things in his barn, and sitting there was an awful green little car with a big engine in it. By brother and I took some time to look it over, and our friend Stan said to us, “That’s a Sunbeam Tiger. They go fast, but they don't handle very well." I had always remembered that car, and even saw a few Tigers driving through Cambria. I met Jerry Vanderpool in Cambria. He worked with my wife a Hearst Castle, and Karen told me he had a Sunbeam Tiger. A very nice tricked out Tiger as it turned out. Jerry's car rekindled my interest in Tigers, prompted me to start my search for one of my own, and led me to discover that the car I had seen as a kid was actually the Ken Miles prototype! How cool is that?
I have a 1966 Tiger 1A that I found on EBay, in Albuquerque, in 2005. I had made a bid that was just above the reserve, and it went unchallenged until the last 2-3 seconds of the auction, and someone sniped it and won. I was kind of disappointed, but somewhat relieved because I wasn't sure how to get a car home to Cambria, CA. A day or so passed, and the seller from the auction contacted me with a second-chance offer on EBay. Apparently the winner had some buyer remorse. The seller was nice enough to offer the car to me at my previous top bid, so I bought it!
My wife and I drove from Cambria to Albuquerque to get the car, planning to drive it home, as the seller had assured me that it would be fine to drive. We arrived at the location of the car, I checked it out as much as possible, and, after getting a temp plate from the NMDMV, we headed back to our hotel. It was a very hot day in Albuquerque, in June, about 110F. Having lived on the coast for quite awhile, I wasn't used to the heat, plus I wasn't really aware of the overheating issues with Tigers. I started out toward our hotel, and the first thing I notice is the smell of anti-freeze. The temperature was up to 230F, and I was feeling queasy anyway from the heat, so the sickening sweet smell of anti-freeze wasn't exactly welcome. I stopped at a light, not something I wanted to do anyway because I was having a really t tough time shifting the car. Turned out that the linkage was WAY out of adjustment. When I stepped on the brakes, the car let out a humongous cloud of smoke, completely obscuring my wife and pickup truck. We arrived at the hotel, and by this time I was ready to ralph. I called the seller, and told him I really couldn't possibly drive this car back to California, and could I please get my money back.
Turned out that he was a very nice guy. He came over to the hotel, assured me that I could have my money back if I wanted it, but that the problems I was having with the car were minor, and that he would not only fix them, but would bring the car to me in Cambria. We spent the next couple of hours talking with him, he apparently had a large collection of cars, and had raced and restored a few Tigers in NM. He was going to be out in August to the Monterey Historics anyway, so he was happy to bring the car. The smoke turned out to be the brake booster, which he rebuilt, and he adjusted the shift linkage too.
I bought the car to have a Tiger, and to give me a fun project. I am an Electronic Engineer now, but my first career was as a School Bus Driver and Mechanic. I used to rebuild diesel engines and 10-speed transmissions, along with some fair share of body work and paint, at a small school in North Fork, CA, where I grew up. So knowing how to fix up the car is no problem, but of course time is.
This brings me to the second subject in my title, the first Tiger I ever saw. When I was 15 or so, I briefly worked for a guy in North Fork that owned the local hardware store, his name was Ray Harvick. I did some painting and clean-up at his store, and one day he needed some help at his house. I went there with a friend that was also working for Ray, and my brother Don. We were moving some things in his barn, and sitting there was an awful green little car with a big engine in it. By brother and I took some time to look it over, and our friend Stan said to us, “That’s a Sunbeam Tiger. They go fast, but they don't handle very well." I had always remembered that car, and even saw a few Tigers driving through Cambria. I met Jerry Vanderpool in Cambria. He worked with my wife a Hearst Castle, and Karen told me he had a Sunbeam Tiger. A very nice tricked out Tiger as it turned out. Jerry's car rekindled my interest in Tigers, prompted me to start my search for one of my own, and led me to discover that the car I had seen as a kid was actually the Ken Miles prototype! How cool is that?
