BON ..

XTIGERX said:
As time goes on the price should come down dramatically as half or so of the vehicle registration info in the book becomes outdated.
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The only thing that changes is who owns what in the vechical registration portion of the book and Norm already keeps that current on his web site. It's a simple exercise in price and demand..as fewer and fewer BONs become available to purchase the price will rise. With Daytona Cobra Coupes much of the information can be found elsewere but the author is the designer of the
Daytona Coupe and that adds collector value to the book. Norm is the designer of Rootes Depot and recognized Tiger expert..that adds collector value to the book. I don't see them going down at all.....

Moondoggie
 
Tigrrr said:
Dragging an old thread back up... Here I am, a legitimate, longtime (relatively) owner of a really nice (objectively) Sunbeam Tiger, which has been TACed, and even documented by the esteemed and invaluable Norm Miller. My car was what can be considered a "barn find", all there, but neglected in a garage for many years. It was spray painted silver when I adopted it, but the original Mediterranean Blue was still on the panels when I rubbed the silver off. The ID tags are still attached to the body with factory rivets and screws. It has all matching number equipment, engine, transmission and rear end.

Quite often, strangers, both young and old, wander up my driveway to look at this cool old car in the garage. Next to it is a 1972 Porsche 911. Interestingly, no one has ever come up to look at that car, possibly because the 911 is so ubiquitous and the shape has not changed much over its 50 year model life. I wonder if this means anything about the interest in the Tiger and, potentially, its future value. It is so different from almost anything else that is out there, has an undeniable pedigree, Shelby parentage, and race history. I would not be surprised to see values go through the roof -- or not. Who knows? Certainly, all the elements are there for it to remain a collectible car into the future. But my interest is not so much in the value of the car as it is in its preservation.

BTW, I am a relative youngster, far to young to have any nostalgic feelings about this car, so I don't believe anyone who says that only geezers are interested in these cars and when they go, the car's value is doomed.

Anyway, for several years, I have been lovingly bringing my Tiger back to its former glory, as my time and family responsibilities have permitted. It's been a true labor of love and it has sucked up more of my life than I like to admit to myself. I am finicky about originality, even on parts that no one will ever see, and I insist on doing it right or not doing it at all, which adds a lot of time to my effort. I have stubbornly kept any and all parts removed from the car to replace with new parts, like the old dash, with was cracked and ugly, even old pedal pads. The car looks and drives great at this point, but I do still have a few details to attend to.

Over these years, I bought every Tiger book I could get my hands on, and have supplemented that information by speaking with the experts, like Norm, Doug, Dale, Bill, etc., as well as reading on this and other forums. I have never held or even seen a copy (or even a page) of the Book of Norman, and I guess I never will, considering its market value. And that bothers me because I would like to be able to at least refer to it to do a "sanity check" on my car -- go over it from nose to tail to ensure that it is indeed right and as good as it can be. I was very lucky that my car was complete when I picked it up, so I never had to resort to relying on guesswork; still, it seems nuts that there is no way for me to have this important reference book, even if just to have a peek at it for a few days.

Forget about me; it seems like every Tiger out there should have one of these books in the trunk!

Certainly, there must be a way to get together with the owner of the intellectual property and the copyright to make it worthwhile for him (or them). No? Any ideas?
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I find all of this this somewhat amusing.. :p
 
michael-king said:
I find all of this this somewhat amusing.. :p
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I find it interesting. As far a that BOOK goes. There is a chap in my area that has 2 of the BOOKs, why I do not know. However he will lend a BOOK to a fellow Sunbeam member if requested. So hang in there youngster, us old farts will support you all the time.
 
XTIGERX said:
Hmmm, waiting to make good on that stack sitting in the corner?
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Justin..
I have been in the restoration hobby for more than 50 years so I think I know a thing or two about what stuff is worth. My advice to you would be If you can't afford a certain area then perhaps you need to lower your sights a bit and I heard 1964-66 Vw's are quite reasonable and you can get most any part at your local discount parts shop within your Budget...

What ever....
 
Ok, full disclosure

I'm a new Tiger owner. I heard about the BON and then saw a copy. I know a gentleman who had an unopened, signed copy who turned down $2500. I know because I made the offer! I searched for several months trying to find one with no luck. Then, by chance learned of a Tiger owner who was selling his pristine copy for $1200. I purchased it immediately. I lied to my wife about what I really paid.

Anyway, I look at the book as another, separate investment. Like land or Tigers; they're not making them anymore. I've made dumber investments in my life.

Bill in Ohio
 
Ohio Tiger said:
Then, by chance learned of a Tiger owner who was selling his pristine copy for $1200. I purchased it immediately. I lied to my wife about what I really paid.

Bill in Ohio
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So Bill, you told her it cost you $2500 so that you now have $1300 stashed away for other Tiger related splurges right? :D
 
bon

another book is on ebay as of today. starting price of 500.00. I looked at this one a few weeks ago and it is nice.
 
Yes a VW is a good buy,

My 64 VW convert when it was a daily driver never broke down and couldn't be fixed by the side of the road. When it did it was a throttle cable or a clutch cable, and I learned that that was worth keeping a spare in the trunk. I got 30 MPG when that wasn't cool. Mine hauled 20 ft rolls of carpet, lumber, bicycles, dressers, you name it. It was an absolute joy to work on in it simple raw form.

Yes they are a good buy now as they are fragile cars got customized and now the covered headlight ones are becoming more valuable than the later cars. 6426915 is my cars production no, Hardly a rare car back in the day but they got racked and stacked like cords of wood.

For the money you blow the money on a BON you could almost get into a VW. After my week looking over the smudged dog eared and often photocopied CAT Library club book, I'd sooner buy another car or car part or vintage whatever...
It is almost laughable how guys Gin up the base then quite magically a auction on ebay appears for a air cleaner or the BON currently listed, or even a parts wanted ad on one of the other Sunbeam sites.
I know that it was not the intent of the starter of this thread,

I know we are a non profit club, maybe someone can donate and add to the library their tatty old copy so the wait time can drop below 6 months.
I would donate 50 bucks towards the library getting another, anyone else?


Cheers
 
Warren Cucarullo said:
After my week looking over the smudged dog eared and often photocopied CAT Library club book,...
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Yep, that book's binding is way gone. I have a feeling there are many, many copies of the info chapters in many people's hands.

Back in the 90's, I had a BON that I bought for stupid money.....$100 or so, sold it for $200 I think. No desire to have another copy.
 
Warren Cucarullo said:
My 64 VW convert when it was a daily driver never broke down and couldn't be fixed by the side of the road. When it did it was a throttle cable or a clutch cable, and I learned that that was worth keeping a spare in the trunk. I got 30 MPG when that wasn't cool. Cheers
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Warren,

My first car was a 1928 Model A Roadster pickup and then I bought a 1959
VW bug since the Roadster wasn't very reliable. In the 59 VW there was no gas gauge that came sometime around 62 or so. The 59 had a reserve gallon tank that you turned on with a lever to the right side of the gas pedal with your foot. I always ran out of gas at the worst times so one of my very first car mods was installing a mechanical gas gauge. I later moved on to a 65 bug that I bought new for $1650. I could get the motor out and then back in in about 45 minutes flat...we should be so lucky with our Tigers. There is no BON
for a bug !!!!

Moondoggie
 
Worth repeating?

I know we are a non profit club, maybe someone can donate and add to the library their tatty old copy so the wait time can drop below 6 months.
I would donate 50 bucks towards the library getting another, anyone else?

Since I had no invite for a tour de garage and library complete with cigar and sherry swilling was unavailable for me and us common folk who only have our club copy.

VWs did not need a BON as they were the peoples car just like your Model T.
 
Not to be morbid but if there are members young enough all they have to do is wait until the current "old" owners of BON die off. The market should be flooded with the books.
 
Not for profit association

Warren Cucarullo said:
My 64 VW convert when it was a daily driver never broke down and couldn't be fixed by the side of the road. When it did it was a throttle cable or a clutch cable, and I learned that that was worth keeping a spare in the trunk. I got 30 MPG when that wasn't cool. Mine hauled 20 ft rolls of carpet, lumber, bicycles, dressers, you name it. It was an absolute joy to work on in it simple raw form.

Yes they are a good buy now as they are fragile cars got customized and now the covered headlight ones are becoming more valuable than the later cars. 6426915 is my cars production no, Hardly a rare car back in the day but they got racked and stacked like cords of wood.

For the money you blow the money on a BON you could almost get into a VW. After my week looking over the smudged dog eared and often photocopied CAT Library club book, I'd sooner buy another car or car part or vintage whatever...
It is almost laughable how guys Gin up the base then quite magically a auction on ebay appears for a air cleaner or the BON currently listed, or even a parts wanted ad on one of the other Sunbeam sites.
I know that it was not the intent of the starter of this thread,

I know we are a non profit club, maybe someone can donate and add to the library their tatty old copy so the wait time can drop below 6 months.
I would donate 50 bucks towards the library getting another, anyone else?


Cheers
Click to expand...

Clarification of "non profit" CAT is a 501 C7 entity not 501 C3.

We are not for profit but not a charity.

Meaning: Donations of cash or property may be welcome. They are not deductible.

Rick
Treasurer
 
Now I'm Feeling Better

That BON of Tiger Toms is now up to $1200. I feel good. By looking at the pictures mine is in much better shape for the $1200.

Hell, I remember buying my first 1955 T-Bird for $1500. Those were the days.

Bill in Ohio
 
bon

bill,
bring your tiger to mid ohio on june 28 & 29. I have arranged for a section in the infield for sunbeam parking. we usually have a good turnout of sunbeams on Saturday.
 
Moondoggie said:
Justin..
I have been in the restoration hobby for more than 50 years so I think I know a thing or two about what stuff is worth. My advice to you would be If you can't afford a certain area then perhaps you need to lower your sights a bit and I heard 1964-66 Vw's are quite reasonable and you can get most any part at your local discount parts shop within your Budget...
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I think it safe to assume that part of your comment may have been directed to others but seeing how you've addressed it to my attention I'll respond.

First of all, the point you seem to be making is that it's all about you and the big profit you dream of making.

Moondoggie said:
Lucky me !!!! I just bought a BON that is signed by Norm and the original sales slip is in the book...costs $65.81 back on 12-7-1993 hmmmmm my calculator doesn't have enough zeros to display return on investment for the original buyer....I'll just slide that right in the bookcase next to Daytona Cobra Coupes
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Maybe you should spring for a newer calculator than the one you've been using for your restoration hobby for more than 50 years. Your new calculator only needs to be able to display 2 more decimal places. Possibly one for the original BON buyers profit and another for yours. In reality the original buyer is the only one who has profited as yet by your purchase. As far as the book being signed it does add value but outside the community of those interested in Tigers the value is negligible. Inside the community the signature is worth several dollars more than if you had signed the book yourself.

Secondly, how did this get to be about what you think I, or others, can or cannot afford or what type of vehicle should capture our interests? I believe your reference to VW's was meant to be a dig and not an accolade. You're entitled to your opinion but it seems your 50 years of hobby experience has left you in contradiction with the majority of posters on this subject including that of the original posting (yes this is amusing).

Moondoggie said:
In the Cobra world Peter Brock published a book "Daytona Cobra Coupes" which is out of print and very rare ....... Today a copy sells for $2500/$3000 ....... I bought one back in 2000 for $500 and it's now worth fifteen times that amount and Pete will never republish the book.
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15 times may be a vast exaggeration and truly wishful thinking, in fact there is a similar book for sale by Brock himself on eBay, Buy-it-Now, right now for under $50. Maybe it'll go up in value also.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shelby-Cobr...787?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item2ec87994e3

Moondoggie said:
The only thing that changes is who owns what in the vehicle registration portion of the book and Norm already keeps that current on his web site. ....... much of the [other] information can be found elsewhere
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So let's play this scenario out a bit.

A recent new owner of a Tiger is talking to a friend;

Tiger Owner: Hey, I just bought this book and it has all the info in it about my Tiger.
Friend: Great, what's it called?
TO: Book of Norman.
F: Book of Mormons?
TO: No, Book of Norman.
F: What's that got to do with Sunbeam Tigers?
TO: I don't know other than it's written by a guy named Norman and he knows a lot about Tigers. He's got a website about Tigers too.
F: So, how much did you pay for this book?
TO: $2500 on eBay, and that was a steal.
F: $2500??? That sounds crazy. Couldn't have found the info anywhere else without paying so much?
TO: Well, you can find the same info in several other books.
F: How much would they cost?
TO: Oh, I don't know, maybe $100.
F: Wow, thats a big difference.
TO: But this book also has registration info about current owners.
F: Oh yeah. That's cool. Lets see yours.
TO: Well, ... mine isn't listed or under my name.
F: Doesn't seem very up to date and not really current.
TO: Well, I can go on-line and get the current reg info if I pass it on to the guy with the website.
F: Let me get this straight. You paid $2500 for a book that isn't current and you have to go on-line and search for reg info that isn't there until you upload it. And all the other info can be found in a few other books for around $100? I don't know man.
TO: Well, the book is signed too. See.
F: Who is he? Never heard of the guy.
TO: But, but, half the books were misprinted with portions upside down.
F: I wondered how I was standing across from you and we were both able to read the book without turning it around. That is wicked cool!!!

Moondoggie said:
I don't see them going down at all.....
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The rest ask why they went up at all.
 
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