My 'new" Tiger

dlyle

dlyle

Gold forum user
CAT Member
Messages
189
Last week I took delivery of this Tiger. Car was advertised in Hemmings and I was the first one to call about it. After about a month of negotiations we were able to come to an agreement and the owner turned the title over to me. He was the one and only owner of this car so it's very original. Even came with the original purchase invoice.

Haven't had much time to inspect it with the activities in Monterey taking most of my time this past week but so far I'm very pleased with the car. George Boskoff was with me so he got a chance to inspect and look the car over. It's all original including the paint, interior, clutch, exhaust, water pump, hub caps, trim rings etc. Car still has the battery vent hose and caps. Odometer shows 44,440 miles on it and seems to run well. Idle is a little low but I can fiddle with that.

The car has a roll bar and traction bars that were installed at the dealer in 1968. Also has a a radio installed in the back...also in 1968. The radio is a portable that you can remove and carry around if you want. Has a seek feature to find the next station so previous owner installed a seek button on the dash for it.

First plans are for a general clean-up and inventory. Tires are already on the way and will change fluids, hoses, belts and check the brakes. I think a caliper may be hanging up as I could feel a little drag when pushing the car in the garage.

the car came with a hard top (including stainless rear window trim) with new windows etc but I'll probably sell that. Convertible top is 30 years old and the back window is still clear.
 
Last edited:
here's a few pictures of the battery vent tube and caps. A Lucas battery is on the way. I'll see if the caps will work on the repro battery.
 
Looks nice exceot for the radio.

Hours of fun ahead.......

Congrats.
 
norm1 said:
Looks nice exceot for the radio.

Hours of fun ahead.......

Congrats.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm torn on whether or not I should leave that in. My goal is to continue to "preserve" the car and that's been part of since 1968. If I do change it back I've got a good original back panel I can put in. Also have an original Tiger Radio/console I can throw in there. Could also add a clock and ammeter but again that wasn't what the car was born with.

PO also added that antenna in the back. Will have to live with that.
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Get rid of the plastic fuel filter ASAP, replace with metal....damned the originality.

Very nice "survivor" (hate that term). I would polish it out and do all of the mechanical maintenance and leave as is. Radio does nothing for that car.
 
original tiger

Hi Doug, that's a really nice car.

If you are keeping track of the votes I am also on team 'dump the radio'.

If you do remove the radio I may have an original back panel somewhere that might be better than having one with four holes in it.

Do you still have the Hillman with the 302?

Bob J.
 
Congratulations on getting a very nice car. If I may offer a couple of suggestions in keeping it original, there are a couple of things that may or may not be news you can use.

The original distributor has a unique part number with a "Z" in it. If you find the distributor is worn, it is very easy to just replace it with a rebuilt Ford distributor,but it will not have the same part number. Hate to see you loose that unique piece through a core trade in if it was important to you.

Also the original generator has a unique pulley on it that moves the belt more forward that the standard Ford generator of the period. That more forward mounting helps with the belt alignment to the waterpump pulley. I lost mine many years ago when I did not know there was anything special about it.

My apologies is this is stuff you already know.

Again, congratulations on getting such a nice looking Tiger.:D

Best regards, Gene
 
venice532 said:
Hi Doug, that's a really nice car.

Do you still have the Hillman with the 302?

Bob J.
Click to expand...

Yes, still have the Husky with the 302.

I'm close to completing a 57 Husky with a 392 Hemi. It's got an all aluminum top loader, Heidts IFS and Maserati/Jag IRS. Just need a few more items like wiring, plumbing, and some seats and it will be ready to fire up. Also looking for a blue hood to match so if you know if one please let me know.
 
cadreamn67 said:
Congratulations on getting a very nice car. If I may offer a couple of suggestions in keeping it original, there are a couple of things that may or may not be news you can use.

The original distributor has a unique part number with a "Z" in it. If you find the distributor is worn, it is very easy to just replace it with a rebuilt Ford distributor,but it will not have the same part number. Hate to see you loose that unique piece through a core trade in if it was important to you.

Also the original generator has a unique pulley on it that moves the belt more forward that the standard Ford generator of the period. That more forward mounting helps with the belt alignment to the waterpump pulley. I lost mine many years ago when I did not know there was anything special about it.

My apologies is this is stuff you already know.

Again, congratulations on getting such a nice looking Tiger.:D

Best regards, Gene
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Gene. Generator and distributor have never been changed. I have an original Tiger generator that's been converted to an alternator (using original case etc) and can swap that in if I want.

I've also got a good auto electrical shop that rebuilds generators, starters, etc. You get the same parts you bring in and can have them paint it or not depending on what I want.
 
Last edited:
66TigerMK1A said:
Great pics!! Especially the one's with the 'original' Tiger mechanic...:p


Jim
B382000446
Click to expand...

I agree. He was looking at it very carefully. I mentioned on another thread that we had to pull over and help a stranded Tiger owner.
 
That looks like Tom "It's the driver not the car" McDanials on the side of the road in his pretty blue Tiger.
 
67MKII said:
That looks like Tom "It's the driver not the car" McDanials on the side of the road in his pretty blue Tiger.
Click to expand...

You're right. Lost a fuel pump. He brings lots of reading material for just this type of occasion. He'd been there for 45 minutes already when we stopped. His car was close to the line so we pushed him a little further off the road.
 
What tires are you using on the stock rims. I am at the decision point and need some professional advice. I would like whitewall radials that look pretty stock. Lee
 
leepear said:
What tires are you using on the stock rims. I am at the decision point and need some professional advice. I would like whitewall radials that look pretty stock. Lee
Click to expand...

The stock Dunlop 590-13 RS5 whitewall was 24.3" in diameter and had what was probably a 7/8" whitewall. Can't get these anymore so for me the closest thing was a BF Goodrich bias ply 600-13. It's about the same diameter being listed at 23.60". You can see these tires in the second picture on a Tiger picture I found on the CAT forum.

The third picture is a modern radial. It's from Milestar and you can get it in a 175/80R13 which is also 24" in diameter. The whitewall is only 1/2" so it looks less like the original Dunlop RS5.

the last picture shows a Maxxis 185/80R13 with a 5/8 whitewall but it's 24.7" tall. I was afraid this would hit the valance and the lettering was a little more visible than I wanted. Still probably an ok tire.

If you're looking for blackwalls there are a few options from Kumho, Michelin, Vredestein, and a few more.

All of these look skinny compared to what most Tigers have these days but the above choices would closely resemble what Tigers came factory equipped with.
 
Last edited:
My car has the same radio, but it was hung under the dash board. It saved cutting holes in door panels for speakers.
 
Beautiful car...I love it. All the best no matter what you do with it.

I have the B.F. Goodrich bias ply 600-13 tires that I put on for certain shows (See Photos). Look nice but what a nightmare to drive on. Like driving on bicycle tires. Maybe as bad as Plastic filters.

Which leads me to ask...is the fuel filter plastic? With the metal outlet line to carb there must be a compression type fitting under the hose. Which makes me wonder if the filter is not suppose to be metal. When you get a chance can you let me know?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top