Sunbeam Tiger

alchevy · July 31, 2006, 09:24:22 AM

I went to a cruise night Saturday night and it always happens on a time when I didn't bring my camera with me, an interesting car will be there. This time it was a Sunbeam Tiger with the 260 motor in it. Neat little car.
AL

GPster · July 31, 2006, 09:49:26 AM

There was some talk back in those days that they were going to try some of those with 273 Chrysler engines. It seemed to be talk around Shelby and Ford and Cobras and supply/demand and price and numbers and competition. I had a friend that had a 4 cylinder and it might have all been speculation on his part. GPster

purplepickup · July 31, 2006, 10:31:47 AM

I knew a rich kid that got one of those given to him in high school. He did some engine work and it was FAST.....for those days. He wrecked it, then his dad got him a motorcycle that he was killed on.

Uncle Bob · July 31, 2006, 11:20:36 AM

Quote from: "GPster"There was some talk back in those days that they were going to try some of those with 273 Chrysler engines. It seemed to be talk around Shelby and Ford and Cobras and supply/demand and price and numbers and competition. I had a friend that had a 4 cylinder and it might have all been speculation on his part. GPster

What happened was Chrysler bought the Rootes Group which included Sunbeam, somewhere late '66 early '67 if I recall correctly.

58 Yeoman · July 31, 2006, 11:35:15 AM

True. Chrysler bought the Rootes group, and the series I models had 260 Ford V8's, series II, called Tiger II in the US, had the 289 Ford V8. Chrysler couldn't take it anymore, having a competitor's engine in their cars, so they stopped production in '68. According to the book I'm looking at, Collectable Cars 1940-1980, there were 421 built in '67, and only 151 in '68. 65 - 66 had the 260, 67 - 68 had the 289.

kb426 · July 31, 2006, 12:42:01 PM

There were 2 of them at the Wichita downtown show a couple of weeks ago.

donsrods · July 31, 2006, 09:54:56 PM

There is a Dr. in town who collects cars, and he owns a Tiger. They were obviously an offshoot of the success of the AC Cobra, but never reached the same degree of prominance.

There is also another very little known car that was built in New York, also trying to capitolize on the Cobra popularity........it was the Griffith. Only about 300 were built between 1963 and 1967, and the Griffith Motor Car Company made a deal to buy TVR sportscars without the usual 4 cylinder engines, and they inserted 289 Ford Cobra engines in their place. The final car weighed something like 1300 lbs, and you could get one with up to 306 HP. The frame was a tubular frame and I think the body was fiberglass.

I actually got to ride in one in about 1964. A young guy drove around the local hot dog hang out with one, and I had just been reading about them in a hot rod magazine, so I went up and talked to him. I was building an Austin Healey Sprite at the time with a 289 Ford, and the guy wanted to see my car, so we went to my house. After looking at it he took me for a ride in the Griffith. His had the 306 HP version, and I saw 105 MPH in 3rd gear, and it got up there like right now. I was hanging on for dear life as he banged the gears. It was a great little car.

In case you've never seen or heard of a Griffith, here is a picture of one.

Don

32 Chevy · August 08, 2006, 12:40:56 AM

[I couldnt even think about affording a cobra or tiger back in those days (and I STILL cant) so I made my own, sort of..

I bought a 1958 Austin Healey 3000 for about $500 and stuffed a 289 in it. That was a great car and I usre had a lot of fun with it. The only problem that developed was that the front suspension basically fell apart. The 289 is quite a bit lighter weight than the old inline 6 but I guess iIdrove it kind of enthusiastically.

That was during my college days and I drove the car with stock 6 banger from Seattle to home in Los angeles on a Thursday night . I had prearranged with one of my hotrod buddies to meet me Friday morning with full bottles of oxy/actylene. Together we pulled the 6 out of the Healey, pulled the 289 out of my 31 ford, and shadetree mechaniced the V8 into the Healey. I drove the Healey back North on Sunday powered with the 289 and made it to class on time Monday Morning.

A few months later when I had taken care of the many little details that crop up from a swap like roasting my toes from the close tolerance of the footwell to the exhaust manifild and regearing the differential, I set my personal record of Seattle to Los angeles in 15.5 hours. Yeeehaaa.

39deluxe · August 08, 2006, 12:05:38 PM

Carroll Shelby has one of the last Tigers in his collection at his shop by the speedway in Las Vegas. It is 289 powered but has the Chrysler pentastar emblem on the fender. They said that Chrysler engineers gave up trying to package the 273 in that chassis and they couldn't live with a Ford engine in a Chrysler car so they pulled the plug on the car.

Tom

donsrods · August 08, 2006, 10:38:58 PM

A more modern version of these types of cars is the "Monster Miata." I don't know if you are familiar with them, but I think the parent company was Monster Motors out of California. As the name implies, they took brand new Miatas and stuffed Ford 5.0 engines into them.

When I had my roadster on the street, a guy in a Miata stopped to BS with me about it. My Son noticed that the idle on the Miata was a little ratty, and asked the guy if it was the Monster version. He said it was, and that he ordered it without the emblems so it would be a sleeper. From magazine reports I read later on, they were real screamers. But he was having trouble with his and was shipping it back to California for repairs. Seems the mating of the Miata and Ford wiring harnesses had some glitch in it that he couldn'f find, and it would just quit running on him.

Don't know if they still make them or not.

Don

In case anyone is interested, I google Monster Miata, and found this report.

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_0824/article.html

RestoRod · August 15, 2006, 10:35:46 PM

This subject brings back fond memories of my Sunbeam Tiger which I purchased new in 65. No screamer off the line but it really came into it's own once the needle passed 100mph. It was probably the most secure car to drive at high speed that I have ever driven. It just seemed to glue itself to the road the faster you went. Even on winding roads it never got scary.
One of my favourite jokes was to gradually increase the speed until I was doing more than 100, then place my hand in front of the speedometer and ask my passenger how fast they thought we were going. No one ever even guessed close.
I recall a very fast trip through Toronto to avoid being late for my own wedding. I had left my house only to find that I had a flat tire. Dressed in my wedding suit, I changed the tire, then drove at speeds that seldom went under 95 to reach the church in downtown Toronto, a drive of about 40 miles.
Fortunately, all went well, the OPP were not out that day, my bride was not left waiting and the ride was exhilarating. I loved that car....unfortunately it did not have room for a growing family and had to be sold a couple of years later.

alchevy · August 16, 2006, 10:51:57 AM

Quote from: "RestoRod"....unfortunately it did not have room for a growing family and had to be sold a couple of years later.

That reminds me of my Dad's '59 Corvette. He bought it new in '59 and sold it about '62 just before my Sister came. I was born in '65 so all I have is pictures of the car and the window sticker. http://www.astreetrodder.com/1959vette.htm is a link to a page I put on my site about the car.
AL

SKR8PN · August 16, 2006, 10:03:29 PM

Quote

In case anyone is interested, I google Monster Miata, and found this report.

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_0824/article.html

I WANT one of these!!!!

OMG that looks like it would a HOOT!!!

donsrods · August 16, 2006, 10:13:01 PM

I saw that website too, and it looks like they now call the car the Mega Miata, but early on they were called Monster Miatas.

Yeah, you are right, one of these would be a blast to own.

Don

alchevy · August 20, 2006, 05:16:01 PM

Well, I went to another cruise night without my camera and the Sunbeam Tiger was there again. Along with several more sharp rods. I did get the pictures uploaded that I took at the indoor open car show that my HHR was invited to back in July. In that event, in my class, the HHR beat a Prowler...I took home a nice trophey. This car show has so many classes that everyone that enters will just about go home with a trophey of some sort. http://www.astreetrodder.com/wosg06.htm is the link.
AL
PS: I don't enter my car for the tropheys, but they are nice to win every now and then.