I should have started this thread a long time ago, and after reading what Vinreeb has been doing with his restoration, I decided it is time. I purchased my Tiger in Maryland and had it shipped to my home in the Seattle area in early 2008. I was afraid to drive it because the wiring under the hood looked pretty scary, and the smoke in the wires was in danger of being released catastrophically. As I poked around the car I began to see what would have been obvious to an experienced Tiger owner, which prompted me to ask Larry Atkisson to have a look. After about 10 minutes of inspection Larry advised me to sell the car and find one in better condition; one without a lot of rust. I had to admit I was blinded by the thought of owning a Tiger. After years of lusting after one, and inspecting many cars, I gave in and bought B9471635 in a moment of weakness.
I put the car up for sale shortly after Larry's suggestion, but received no nibbles at all. Probably because I tried to sell it in 2009, at the bottom of the recession. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and restore the car.
Disassembly started in January of 2010, and I completed the process in early 2011. Then, I had the body dipped in Portland at American Metal Cleaning. I was not too surprised when I picked the car up after dipping, it looked like a cheese grater! I bet it lost 50 or 60 pounds of bondo.
I built a jig, pictures of which are on this site, and placed the body on the jig, and on the rotisserie for further dissassembly and repair. Last fall, as I posted previously, Larry Atkisson graciously gave me an alpine tub with many parts I needed, especially the sill assemblies. This weekend I am going to test fit the driver's side sill into the body. The car is upside down on the rotisserie, my thinking is it will be easier to use gravity to hold the sill in place while I tack it in place.
I've posted several pictures with this thread to show the purchase and progress since then. One of the pictures shows a Washington State Patrol inspector checking the VIN and marking the car prior to dipping. I had to remove the VIN and JAL tags before the dip, as the process would have dissolved the aluminum. The WSP documentation will prove the car is the same, even though the before and after pictures are dramatically different!
One of the pictures shows a 16 gauge "sill" installed by a PO, before applying pounds of bondo. This was riveted at the bottom, and not secured any where else! Both Sides!
I have been taking a continuing education class at a local Vocational College. The class is called Autobody Restoration and has been a great resource for me. I have honed my welding skills, learned to fabricate sheet metal and paint. When the instructor stops shaking his head at my foolishness he is a great resource.
I put the car up for sale shortly after Larry's suggestion, but received no nibbles at all. Probably because I tried to sell it in 2009, at the bottom of the recession. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and restore the car.
Disassembly started in January of 2010, and I completed the process in early 2011. Then, I had the body dipped in Portland at American Metal Cleaning. I was not too surprised when I picked the car up after dipping, it looked like a cheese grater! I bet it lost 50 or 60 pounds of bondo.
I built a jig, pictures of which are on this site, and placed the body on the jig, and on the rotisserie for further dissassembly and repair. Last fall, as I posted previously, Larry Atkisson graciously gave me an alpine tub with many parts I needed, especially the sill assemblies. This weekend I am going to test fit the driver's side sill into the body. The car is upside down on the rotisserie, my thinking is it will be easier to use gravity to hold the sill in place while I tack it in place.
I've posted several pictures with this thread to show the purchase and progress since then. One of the pictures shows a Washington State Patrol inspector checking the VIN and marking the car prior to dipping. I had to remove the VIN and JAL tags before the dip, as the process would have dissolved the aluminum. The WSP documentation will prove the car is the same, even though the before and after pictures are dramatically different!
One of the pictures shows a 16 gauge "sill" installed by a PO, before applying pounds of bondo. This was riveted at the bottom, and not secured any where else! Both Sides!
I have been taking a continuing education class at a local Vocational College. The class is called Autobody Restoration and has been a great resource for me. I have honed my welding skills, learned to fabricate sheet metal and paint. When the instructor stops shaking his head at my foolishness he is a great resource.
