What do you think of this restomod?

[Carbuilder]

I'm new here so I'll give a very quick intro. I've had a fair number of cars over the years, including Miata's, Porsche's, older Ferrari's, Vette's, a Puma, 3 "kitcars" (one currently under construction), and of course some British cars; '69 MGB, '69 MGB-GT, '70 GT6. I've been researching Sunbeam Tigers recently and am thinking seriously about getting one. I'm in Canada and there are a few for sale that seem to be pretty nice. But there is one for sale that really caught my eye. This one:

Sunbeam Tiger restomod

I'm debating with myself on whether I want something very stock, or something that has been modified, what I think, in a good way. Keep in mind this is Canada so $86k here is about $63k US. That particular one does not say anything about "TAC" so I'll assume it does not have that. Can any of the experts here tell from any of the pictures if this is a real one or an Alpine? I haven't contacted that dealer yet, but will.

Of course you can't make a decision for me, but I'm curious what you think of the value of a modified one like that vs a stock one. My first thought is that the mods would hurt the value, but I'm not sure now. Seems to be in excellent condition. Oh, and I found an RM auction listing from 2020 that had that car, so maybe someone knows something about that car?

Any info or opinions welcome,

Rick

 

[KeithE]

My guess is that this car took more than 60K to bring it to this condition. I am not a fan of yellow cars so it has a strike against it for me. However, it is so modified that if the car is not sorted it will need some work. My guess is that this car is put back together with many alpines. I would ask to see if they have any restoration photos. I like alot of the mods here since I can appreciate the effort and $ it takes to do these things. Offer him $50kUS and see if he takes it.

 

[TAH_Tiger]

That is not a Tiger VIN

 

[michael-king]

I cant seem to open the page off the link, comes up with an error . Which dealer is it with? Vickarclassics?

 

[66TigerMK1A]

That is not a Tiger VIN

No idea why they put that # as a vin. See below
https://www.vickar.com/vehicles/1965/sunbeam/tiger/winnipeg/mb/56391994/?sale_class=used

I know the car quite well as I helped on parts of the mechanical build and he used my spare ‘Dales’ rear springs and I found an AMC T5 for the tail housing / T5z install. The car needed a LOT of new sheet metal from a donor Alpine and the x frame was refabricated from box steel. LAT style hood is all steel. Rear is rubbed with a narrowed 8” Ford with I think is a 3.50/1 posi. That yellow is a Mustang color. I can connect anyone interested to the builder …
From memory, those seats are really comfy and the car launches like a rocket

 

[66TigerMK1A]

A couple other things. It has a Hokanson front suspension and his wife liked yellow

 

[Carbuilder]

Thank you so much, that is great info. So it is a real Tiger then? At least it started out that way. I assume many of the restored ones have had a lot of the original metal replaced.

My wife generally doesn't like yellow cars, even though I've had a couple. But I happened to have this one on the screen when she came by and said "that is a really nice car, are you buying it for me?".

Rick

 

[66TigerMK1A]

Thank you so much, that is great info. So it is a real Tiger then? At least it started out that way. I assume many of the restored ones have had a lot of the original metal replaced.

My wife generally doesn't like yellow cars, even though I've had a couple. But I happened to have this one on the screen when she came by and said "that is a really nice car, are you buying it for me?".

Rick

No problem. Car was originally an Ontario car which explains the ‘rust’ level 🥴 and the the build was done in Vancouver Island. He sold the car at Russo&Steele in Scottsdale for US$80k as prices were pretty high back then. I went down to watch the auction which was quite the eye opener to see all the cars and how those auctions are put ion … interesting story about it was it needed to have a U.S. title to go through the auction but there was a screw up with the auction company and the car sat ‘outside’ of the display area waiting for that ! I arrived on the Thursday night and it was scheduled to sell on Friday night!! It still had BC insurance on it so we took it out of the compound Friday morning and down to the local dmv to try and get a US title 🙄. They looked iver the car and went inside and had an actual ‘book’ to look it up in… it showed build date of Aug 1965 so even though it had always been registered as a ‘66, they said they would only issue paperwork as a ‘65 !!! We said ok and $30 and 15 min later we had an Arizona registration and plate. We got back the the auction at 11 am and they processed it and put it on display and it sold that night at 8:00

 

[Carbuilder]

It seems that this is one of those cars that gets constantly flipped. Something wrong with the way it drives, or just people trying to make money flipping it? Also seems like the original builder was the one that made money on it selling for US$80k. It was later sold at RM Sotheby's for US$60k and is being offer now at US$63k.

I still like it and have asked the dealer selling it now for some more info on it.

 

[Hoghead]

Jim - Your mate Rocky's car?

 

[66TigerMK1A]

Jim - Your mate Rocky's car?

Yep !

 

[brsjal1]

Personally!!??? I don't care where it's from or where it's going or even what it claims to be, it's "Butt" ugly, and I wouldn't have it in my driveway, let alone, in my garage. I don't care if it came from an Alpine, which still makes it an Alpine, or a Tiger it looks terrible. Good luck to the new owner.
Just my 2 sense.

 

[michael-king]

Personally!!??? I don't care where it's from or where it's going or even what it claims to be, it's "Butt" ugly, and I wouldn't have it in my driveway, let alone, in my garage. I don't care if it came from an Alpine, which still makes it an Alpine, or a Tiger it looks terrible. Good luck to the new owner.
Just my 2 sense.

So assume you are not going to make an offer? A bit of no "cents" 🤔🤑

 

[IvaTiger]

Personally!!??? I don't care where it's from or where it's going or even what it claims to be, it's "Butt" ugly, and I wouldn't have it in my driveway, let alone, in my garage. I don't care if it came from an Alpine, which still makes it an Alpine, or a Tiger it looks terrible. Good luck to the new owner.
Just my 2 sense.

I am interested in having you post a picture of your car

 

[Carbuilder]

...it's "Butt" ugly...

Really? It looks like a Sunbeam Tiger to me.

 

[Carbuilder]

I can connect anyone interested to the builder …

I would like to get in touch with the builder, since you offered. Thank you.

Rick

 

[66TigerMK1A]

PM sent

 

[Carbuilder]

I bought it:



Arranging to have it shipped here. I like the fact that it is somewhat modernized. I like the Tiger but really didn't want to deal with 50+ year old wiring, brakes, fuel lines, etc. Done enough of that.

I've got this one to finish up and get on the road (then probably sell), then want something I can enjoy, drive, and work on a little as I chose. And hopefully, not fix one leak after another!



Can't wait until it gets here!

Rick

 

[Agent 861]

Congratulations -I'm sure that you will have a blast with it . It's interesting how we all sit Those 50+ year old wring .brakes 'fuel lines etc are what, for me, make a Tiger a Tiger .Personally originality is were it is at for me -I love the challange of sourcing rare original parts and fitting them . It would certainly be cheaper for me if I departed form original but I remain to be convinced that reliability would be better. However theres room for all of us in this world and Vive Le Difference !! Karl

 

[Carbuilder]

The car was delivered the other day. The restorer/builder did a fantastic job with it. The quality of the work is really impressive. I've only driven it up and down the driveway. I stalled it the first time; fairly hard clutch and I left the parking brake on. I think it is tradition from way back to do the first drive with the parking brake on, so that box checked. It is too loud for my liking, so I'll see about quieting it down a bit. Haven't had it up on the lift yet, but peeking underneath looks like adequate room for larger mufflers or resonators. It also is like new underneath. It has about 100 miles on it, so been through a number of owners, but not driven much.

Strange thing with registering it. I bought it as a 1965 (as advertised). If you see one of the posts above, it was originally a 1966 car in Ontario, then in BC. It went to the States and was registered there as a 1965 (the year it was built, not the year it was first on the road). When it came back to Canada (Manitoba) for some reason it stayed a 1965. At the license office the woman said "oh, this car is already in our system from when it was first registered here in 1966, so I'll use that information". I didn't think much of it until I looked at the ownership and saw it is now back to being a 1966.

A few little things need to be done to it before I get the Safety check and get it on the road. I think it is a beautiful car.

Rick