Restore all of them. In the early 70's a friend had a '66 Tiger. When we tuned it I was in charge of the spark plugs. You know - the back two on the right side were so much fun. Fun car, but it would tramp the rear axle quite easily. Traction masters recommended. Long ago I read a magazine article about a Tiger II. It had a 289 engine - one of a kind, I expect. Great find, Steve.
No,,,,the 289 was available the last year of the car, along with a 4bbl carb....this provided well over 200hp. Very desirable power...but the car would still handle poorly...traction masters for sure!
My best friend used to have a beautiful MkII 289 with 351 heads. He had 3 cousins also with Tigers. One had a Boss 302 jammed in, this car also won a lifetime achievement award from Shelby himself.
Amazing, it’s great to find one of these cars, let alone three. I’d be inclined to get them all going again, funds permitting. I agree with keeping them period correct. As someone else said, some period minilite wheels would look great.
Restore all 3. Tigers are rare and classic, I had an opportunity when I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington during the early seventies. I chose the Jaguar XKE roadster to rebuild.. instead of the Tiger. But always loved the Tigers. Thank you for all you do to make these classics breathing life on the road again.
Well, those are great! My friend has his dads rotting away in a Detroit garage that's rotting away and falling down around it for years! I don't remember what it was other then a sunbeam and he said it had a ford V8. To this day he refuses to save or sell it! THNX!
My only advice, trick of the trade : keep talking to the old man, asking him the story of his car, you know... dropping in at times only to say hello... some day, he may let it go in good hands.
Thanks for the ride! And for helping motivate me to completing my Tiger’s restoration...just got the rear disc conversion done and I’m almost done reinforcing the front fulcrum pins along with installing mustang II spindles and upsized discs. Also T5 and 3.73 Dana 44...should be fun 😎
Great Score Steve!! So many possibilities with the parts car. It deserves another life. Even the green one, back to the original blue paint. Thanks for posting, 👍🇬🇧👍🇬🇧🎩🎩
As a Brit who loves these cars, can you restore ALL of them. They are really rare over here and fetch high prices! Please restore them as they're getting rarer as the years go by!
All three are worth saving if you have the means to do so . From your past videos I know you are very much into racing cars and obviously derive a lot of pleasure doing so , therefore you making one into a race car car would be the thing to do , and make a great project to follow on your RUclips channel.
The Keystone rims are quite nice, I think. Contemporary "tuning". I've seen more Tigers/Alpines on Minilites (my personal impression), so why not Keystones? And I would not make any of these a race car. Even the 'not correct' hard top is worth to be retained, as it is part of the car's history. Anyway, wonderful to see these cars, I like the Tiger.
In 1972, I paid $200 for a non-running 1966 Alpine. Got it going and used it as my daily driver through college. Set it aside in 1976 when I got a job as a Fiat salesman. In 1988, I pulled it out of storage, rebuilt the hydraulics and got it going again so I could sell it for $1,450. I think the buyer had plans to turn it into a Tiger. This video brings back so many memories including the fact that the horn ring was made out of the cheapest pot metal available. All 3 of your cars have broken horn rings! Compared to my first car, a 1964 TR-4. the Alpine was much roomier inside. The rear axle always seemed a little narrow. Look at the space between the rear wheels and the fenders! The late Alpines had the best trunk, mounting the spare vertically just behind the differential and splitting the fuel tank into two smaller ones in the rear fenders and if that wasn't safe enough, they were connected by a 2" pipe just ahead of the bumper!
They are all good, I would suggest restoring the other two because people in the future will appreciate real classic cars such as these especially if they are to a daily drive standard, easy to maintain and great looking. They are from the golden era of British sports cars, keep going, well done.
What better way to spend a lockdown than a "Will it start..." morning on RUclips. I noticed the correct terminology for the front opening on a car too! ;{)
Ok the red one is a must for a full restore. The first one I would restore as well to factory new. The last one is a shell but would make a great race car. I would still put the V8 in it but race spec it and new brakes and suspension to give it the performance and handling it will need on the track. I am not sure of the all the original Sunbeam colours but a cream would look nice with the race numbers.
It’s a joy to what you find on your barn trips , you have to be the biggest collector in the country of Sunbeams Tigers and Austin - Healy Sprites , I just want one of them .
Now I know where your love for British cars comes from, so father, so son... You did it again, real treasures. Keep for sure the complete drivable one as is, but would replace needed items, sell the green one as restorer, transform the engineless to racecar for extra fun. It's gonna be hard to choose, you can keep all three, simpel youth nostalgic dreams. Top!
My Tiger was a Mk 1. It came without the hard hood covers so I found a set from an Alpine in a salvage yard. It's interesting to see all the color changes. Mine and a poor respray from red to a medium metallic blue. Which had begun to chip off before the car was 10 years old. I'd also added hood pins. The bonnet cable snapped and I didn't know how to source a new one. There's a lot more parts availability at 50 years on than there was at 10 years old.
Haven't seen one in the UK in years, a work mate had an Alpine years ago; he preferred it to an MGB because he could get his golf sticks in the boot LOL. Red one looks great, good oil pressure and revs well. If you restore the other two you're a hero. Best of luck.
Morning Steve. ( It is over here) just to give an example of worth. We have a site over here called Car and classic this ad went in on 8th Aug. 1965 Sunbeam Tiger MK1, Red, LHD, Californian import, they spent £10,500 sterling on rebuild, it looks in good shape and has original wheels on it and they are asking £29,995. You have three of them albeit various MK's. I'm not an accountant nor have automotive technical talent but all i see is huge oversized dollar signs coming at me.
Steve, Maxwell Smart used to drive that red MK1A to headquarters every day when I was a young fellow. Restore the red MK1A, I'm sure Max, agent 99, the Chief, and Fang, (agent K9), would vote for that one too.
Hi Steve, well, the red car is a great daily driver already by the looks with a little help by you, the green is a project for your "spare" time, but yes build a historic racer out the bag of bones car.. Good luck and keep us all In the loop. Thanks for the video - IAN - UK.
Sweet little cars. They all deserve being renovated or restored . I think of the huge amount of pleasure they have given previous owners - and can go on so doing. Even if not, kept in dry conditions. Maybe a decade or two down the line, they may be highly prized for electric conversions.
Wow - three Tigers. Great find Steve. I’ve loved them since watching Get Smart as a kid. I am a believer in saving all of them due to their scarcity- but perhaps the “former race car” should remain a donor, and the other could be saved. Keep up the great work’
I too am a Sunbeam lover. My first car, a gift from my grandfather, was a 1966 Alpine, purchased by my parents in Britain as a part of a European motor tour. I loved this car to death, literally. I drove it too fast and was not yet into doing my own repairs. I remember junk yard excursions to find parts, particularly the top alternator bracket that kept breaking. Since I depended on the car to commute home on weekends from college to see my girlfriend, I traded it in for a Ford Falcon when the engine bearings started to fail. A truly sad day. I am always tempted to buy one if I could get one in perfect shape (though my wife would kill me as I have three junkers-her word, right now).
Good video! The red one is a great project for a "running restoration." Use it and fix it up as you go. Yes, restore the green one especially if it's the original engine. The other one with no engine leaves options - restore as a driver, or a racer, or some kind of a sympathetic resto mod - possibly hopped up with an even larger V8 - "Cobratize" it.
My first car was a Sunbeam Alpine. The less said about it, the better. One interesting fact: if you removed the engine driven radiator fan in the winter it got even colder. Completely blocking the radiator with cardboard and putting the fan back on was a better move.
Another brilliant find Steve,I'd love a Tiger,definitely go original with the red one,even as far as repainting it the correct colour,as for the others do exactly as you said,but it's all a question of money of course,great vid mate.
Wow yet another amazing find. Like you said, Tigers in almost any condition are worth restoring and if anyone has the skills and knowledge to do that, your the guy. Certainly getting the best of the 3 close to original first would be a good idea and the race car for the other would be a great idea too if you can keep it close to how a race car would be back in the day.
A small v-8 in one of those cars...that must have been quick in its day. If memory serves me correct...the Sunbeam was the car James Bond drove in Goldfinger.
If you can source the part's needed restore all three as an investment plus saving the past for future generations to enjoy. I could be biased as I served my apprenticeship at a Rootes group main agent here in the UK in the 1960's,
I would suggest to restore the Green one and use the rusted one for parts. Seems like the dash of that one would be a good replacement of the one in the green one
Amazing find, I love those Sunbeams. I guess the third one certainly would make for a nice racecar. I'd keep it looking as weathered as possible, only restoring rust where needed. The green one seems too good to be only a partscar but perhaps you would have to use parts of the first and third to get the red one as nice as possible.
I would love to see if you could get at least one of these cars on Jay Leno’s garage. That would be awesome if you got them restored and running again! I would definitely love to see them all get restored and put back on the road again. The race car idea sounds cool for the maroon car. I’m sure you can figure out something that might be fun to build.
Your work, passion and patience for these rare British cars is inspirational! Also, your videos are very nicely narrated and edited. Good work man. New sub.
Good looking find. Race car and parts car to rebuild the first car. Hopefully the dash and missing parts from the first can renew the earlier version. Enjoying your videos. Your patter and format is developing well! You can have a race with Junkyard's tornado MG. Glad you two hooked me up!
I believe sme early testing was done with a Buick 215. This famously became a Rover engine, they upgraded it a great deal, from metallurgy to production methods. Just thinking that with a reasonable Alpine one could make a feaux Tiger. Behind those cut off sills/rocker panels is extra stengthening, a rusty nightmare.
You're right. These cars are getting pricey. Wouldn't write off any of them as too expensive to restore. Even the rough one would fetch several thousand dollars at auction. It's very possible the Tiger will replace the Cobra as the next desirable conversion since the Cobra is now just about non-available to the public for a reasonable price.
Guess ya didnt notice the realistic hang on radio in the basket case.... 62 alpine battery was behind the driver On the first tiger the hole in the center of the valance under the bumper was for the hand crank to start the Alpine
Steve, you're really my favourite and keep being amazed at how and wehre you find such treasures! It wold be cold to see all three restored and if one has to be a race car, so be it, as long as its period authentic :-)
Steve, your red car is a MKI not a MKIA. It has round bonnet and doors which are incorrect for a MKIA.. They should be square ( early mkia had a round boot and later that was all square). Also a MKIa did not have the spec plate, early 1a had 4 rivets to fill the holes. Later IA had no rivets or holes. A IA had the GT door trims and thicker 1/4 window bases. Someone likely fitted the MKIA softtop setup from a wrecked SV alpine or IA tiger. Your red car also has MKII Tiger seats Does the car have the footwell fresh air vents? A mkia will start with a B38 vin and MKI B947
I used to have a Tiger Mk 1 with original hard roof covers and an original hard top. It was modified with with a 302 ci engine. I would restore them all as all panels are available.
You should know, the red one has ULTRA rare keystone Rogue one piece magnesium wheels. Near impossible to find. They are not the common keystone classic two piece wheel.
Wonderful find. Alpine's and Tiger's are as rare as Bug Eye Sprites over here in the UK, the weather and salty roads having taken their toll, plus they were cheap in the late 1970's and young guys like me used to buy them and drive them hard. It would be great if you'd restore the MK1 and sell the maroon Mk1A to someone else who could restore that too.
As an ex Rootes employee, I would bring these cars into the 21st century with an electronic fuel and ignition system and do the same with the brakes and suspension! Plus I would fit 16/17 or18 inch alloy wheels and low-profile tires! Only after these were done would I look to beefing up the engine performance with cam, valves, and spring changes along with gas flowing the heads and fabricated headers! If the sale prices are likely to be as high as others for sale then bring them all back to life! Here in the UK "Restomods" are the way to go!
Steve .. How do you do it ? This is knockout stuff ! I think it's lovely that your Dad inspired your interest in these marques and still drives one ....Terrific ! As you say the value of these has soared. These are all 260' s the Mk ll 's were 289 ? Well , if you want to turn the rough one into a racer then l know you have the facilities. It may look rough but over here in the UK it would be perfectly restoreable. If it has the engine then l reckon it's worth close to $20/25k as is. Your knowledge of these is unparalleled, l don't think there's anyone out there who knows more....except perhaps your Dad !!! 😂 Always enjoy your videos.
In 1981 when I was 9 my dad had a chance to buy a Tiger for $2000 from a coworker who needed money and he didn't do it and we really missed out. It was a beauty in red and was in perfect shape but that is how it goes....lol
fascinated by your love of old British cars? Can it be a throw back from your father's youth. I'm seeing cars from from my youth here in UK. Love to see them running. Buying 3 Sumbeams, 6 Frog eyes where will you put them all, will there be room for more? Great videos make my Saturdays, thanks.
Love this car. Like your dad. I never owned one but had a Humber septet saloon variant of the alpine. Dreamt of a Tiger but family etc never happened. Race car a definite. Restore the other maybe fund the restoration by selling the Red car as a project car. To good a car to let die. An old man still dreaming.
I love the sound of the 60's V8's. Nice bass, deep throaty burble. I really wish I had the bank to take the ugly duckling and restore it. I've loved the Sunbeam Tiger since I saw it on Get Smart.
Crikey Steve, how do you do it! Outstanding. Gets me going even more then your Sprite find. All retreiveable given time; that red one is particularly nice. Now, here's the trick - I hope you can put up a vid on your collection of cars as you showed @ 1:53 :-)
Hi Steve!, I love your videos very much. I'd just like to ask you and not being personal but how many cars do you have and did you un mass a fortune to afford this or what? What state are you in?
Steve, do you have any Panhards like in the photo? They are fascinating little things and I'd love to see a video if you have one. Love the Tigers too, but I've got a soft spot for really weird stuff! Also, funny that you call the green one a basket case- I'd consider that a project candidate! The hardtop one is really rough, but from previous videos I'd say you have the skills and/or resources to get it back on the road!
I do love my Saturday mornings when a new “This Week With Car’s” is uploaded. World now makes sense again.
Restore them all, whether for track or road it doesn’t matter.
Well worth either way IMHO
My god he's done it again. Where are you finding these cars? Amazing.
Restore all of them. In the early 70's a friend had a '66 Tiger. When we tuned it I was in charge of the spark plugs. You know - the back two on the right side were so much fun. Fun car, but it would tramp the rear axle quite easily. Traction masters recommended. Long ago I read a magazine article about a Tiger II. It had a 289 engine - one of a kind, I expect. Great find, Steve.
No,,,,the 289 was available the last year of the car, along with a 4bbl carb....this provided well over 200hp. Very desirable power...but the car would still handle poorly...traction masters for sure!
My best friend used to have a beautiful MkII 289 with 351 heads. He had 3 cousins also with Tigers. One had a Boss 302 jammed in, this car also won a lifetime achievement award from Shelby himself.
Amazing, it’s great to find one of these cars, let alone three. I’d be inclined to get them all going again, funds permitting. I agree with keeping them period correct. As someone else said, some period minilite wheels would look great.
Restore all 3. Tigers are rare and classic, I had an opportunity when I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington during the early seventies. I chose the Jaguar XKE roadster to rebuild.. instead of the Tiger. But always loved the Tigers. Thank you for all you do to make these classics breathing life on the road again.
Restore them all - the world needs more Sunbeam Tigers!
Park them in a garage accessible through a sequential series of doors that operate in interesting ways.
Strange, very silly idea but Oh it would work!! 😁
Certainly don't drive them on gravel mountain roads, you're likely to get chased by a hearse.
Wow. You must have sweet hook-ups to come across all these great finds. Well done.
Well, those are great! My friend has his dads rotting away in a Detroit garage that's rotting away and falling down around it for years!
I don't remember what it was other then a sunbeam and he said it had a ford V8. To this day he refuses to save or sell it!
THNX!
My only advice, trick of the trade : keep talking to the old man, asking him the story of his car, you know... dropping in at times only to say hello... some day, he may let it go in good hands.
Thanks for the ride! And for helping motivate me to completing my Tiger’s restoration...just got the rear disc conversion done and I’m almost done reinforcing the front fulcrum pins along with installing mustang II spindles and upsized discs. Also T5 and 3.73 Dana 44...should be fun 😎
Great Score Steve!!
So many possibilities with the parts car. It deserves another life. Even the green one, back to the original blue paint. Thanks for posting, 👍🇬🇧👍🇬🇧🎩🎩
As a Brit who loves these cars, can you restore ALL of them. They are really rare over here and fetch high prices!
Please restore them as they're getting rarer as the years go by!
I think all the sunbeams are worth fixing. Definitely would be cool to see the old rusty one to be made a racer
All three are worth saving if you have the means to do so . From your past videos I know you are very much into racing cars and obviously derive a lot of pleasure doing so , therefore you making one into a race car car would be the thing to do , and make a great project to follow on your RUclips channel.
In England all 3 would be rebuilt for sure with there value now
Restore the green car and a race would be great if feasible. Love the Tigers!
The Keystone rims are quite nice, I think. Contemporary "tuning". I've seen more Tigers/Alpines on Minilites (my personal impression), so why not Keystones? And I would not make any of these a race car. Even the 'not correct' hard top is worth to be retained, as it is part of the car's history. Anyway, wonderful to see these cars, I like the Tiger.
In 1972, I paid $200 for a non-running 1966 Alpine. Got it going and used it as my daily driver through college. Set it aside in 1976 when I got a job as a Fiat salesman. In 1988, I pulled it out of storage, rebuilt the hydraulics and got it going again so I could sell it for $1,450. I think the buyer had plans to turn it into a Tiger. This video brings back so many memories including the fact that the horn ring was made out of the cheapest pot metal available. All 3 of your cars have broken horn rings! Compared to my first car, a 1964 TR-4. the Alpine was much roomier inside. The rear axle always seemed a little narrow. Look at the space between the rear wheels and the fenders! The late Alpines had the best trunk, mounting the spare vertically just behind the differential and splitting the fuel tank into two smaller ones in the rear fenders and if that wasn't safe enough, they were connected by a 2" pipe just ahead of the bumper!
Tigers had a similar gas tank installation.
First restore the one shown on right in the video! Lucky you.
I love Sunbeam Tigers, although I've never owned one. Please, please, please put some videos up about how you restore them.
They are all good, I would suggest restoring the other two because people in the future will appreciate real classic cars such as these especially if they are to a daily drive standard, easy to maintain and great looking. They are from the golden era of British sports cars, keep going, well done.
My dad had a Tiger when I was young, well out of my price range now so I've done an Mgbgt v8 instead.
Still envious though....
What better way to spend a lockdown than a "Will it start..." morning on RUclips. I noticed the correct terminology for the front opening on a car too! ;{)
Ok the red one is a must for a full restore. The first one I would restore as well to factory new. The last one is a shell but would make a great race car. I would still put the V8 in it but race spec it and new brakes and suspension to give it the performance and handling it will need on the track. I am not sure of the all the original Sunbeam colours but a cream would look nice with the race numbers.
we call them basket cases here in England as well, another super video.... not many better channels on you tube than yours.... thank you
It’s a joy to what you find on your barn trips , you have to be the biggest collector in the country of Sunbeams Tigers and Austin - Healy Sprites , I just want one of them .
If I had the wherewithal I would do a restoration on the green one to include a paint job...it's a beautiful ride.
Put some period 60's Dunlop alloys or minilight wheels on it...👍
Now I know where your love for British cars comes from, so father, so son... You did it again, real treasures. Keep for sure the complete drivable one as is, but would replace needed items, sell the green one as restorer, transform the engineless to racecar for extra fun. It's gonna be hard to choose, you can keep all three, simpel youth nostalgic dreams. Top!
Restore all of them. I really enjoy your channel!
My Tiger was a Mk 1. It came without the hard hood covers so I found a set from an Alpine in a salvage yard. It's interesting to see all the color changes. Mine and a poor respray from red to a medium metallic blue. Which had begun to chip off before the car was 10 years old. I'd also added hood pins. The bonnet cable snapped and I didn't know how to source a new one. There's a lot more parts availability at 50 years on than there was at 10 years old.
thank for bringing back my memories of my 65 alpine. nice find.
Being tigers, your best move is to restore all three of them. You are a lucky guy. Good luck with your trio. All the best Bob
Minilites would be a great addition to the red tiger.
And MORE acquisitions. Trillionaire Steve strikes again.
I like the idea of the green one as a racing car
But would love to see them all done up
Haven't seen one in the UK in years, a work mate had an Alpine years ago; he preferred it to an MGB because he could get his golf sticks in the boot LOL. Red one looks great, good oil pressure and revs well. If you restore the other two you're a hero. Best of luck.
Morning Steve. ( It is over here) just to give an example of worth. We have a site over here called Car and classic this ad went
in on 8th Aug. 1965 Sunbeam Tiger MK1, Red, LHD, Californian import, they spent £10,500 sterling on rebuild, it looks in
good shape and has original wheels on it and they are asking £29,995. You have three of them albeit various MK's.
I'm not an accountant nor have automotive technical talent but all i see is huge oversized dollar signs coming at me.
Steve, Maxwell Smart used to drive that red MK1A to headquarters every day when I was a young fellow.
Restore the red MK1A, I'm sure Max, agent 99, the Chief, and Fang, (agent K9), would vote for that one too.
You really shouldn't be speaking about this openly on a public forum. Before you go on, I believe we need the Cone of Silence
ANDDD, loving it!!!
Hi Steve, well, the red car is a great daily driver already by the looks with a little help by you, the green is a project for your "spare" time, but yes build a historic racer out the bag of bones car.. Good luck and keep us all In the loop. Thanks for the video - IAN - UK.
Sweet little cars. They all deserve being renovated or restored . I think of the huge amount of pleasure they have given previous owners - and can go on so doing. Even if not, kept in dry conditions. Maybe a decade or two down the line, they may be highly prized for electric conversions.
I wish I lived close. I would buy so many of your finds!
Wow - three Tigers. Great find Steve. I’ve loved them since watching Get Smart as a kid. I am a believer in saving all of them due to their scarcity- but perhaps the “former race car” should remain a donor, and the other could be saved. Keep up the great work’
Best to be a few steps abreast of the crowd. Different is good.
I too am a Sunbeam lover. My first car, a gift from my grandfather, was a 1966 Alpine, purchased by my parents in Britain as a part of a European motor tour. I loved this car to death, literally. I drove it too fast and was not yet into doing my own repairs. I remember junk yard excursions to find parts, particularly the top alternator bracket that kept breaking. Since I depended on the car to commute home on weekends from college to see my girlfriend, I traded it in for a Ford Falcon when the engine bearings started to fail. A truly sad day. I am always tempted to buy one if I could get one in perfect shape (though my wife would kill me as I have three junkers-her word, right now).
Race the burgundy one, restore the other 2. Great finds all 3.
Good video! The red one is a great project for a "running restoration." Use it and fix it up as you go. Yes, restore the green one especially if it's the original engine. The other one with no engine leaves options - restore as a driver, or a racer, or some kind of a sympathetic resto mod - possibly hopped up with an even larger V8 - "Cobratize" it.
Thumbs up Steve.I have no idea what i would do with those other cars.lol.
Thanks.
My first car was a Sunbeam Alpine. The less said about it, the better. One interesting fact: if you removed the engine driven radiator fan in the winter it got even colder. Completely blocking the radiator with cardboard and putting the fan back on was a better move.
Another brilliant find Steve,I'd love a Tiger,definitely go original with the red one,even as far as repainting it the correct colour,as for the others do exactly as you said,but it's all a question of money of course,great vid mate.
Steve's done it again, never knew of a Sunbeam Tiger before today. Fix them all if you have the time
great find, thanks for posting.
Restore green one and restore other for historic racing or rallying.
More auto union! Fascinating!
I wonder why someone would paint a blue car universal pick up green; it's a terrible color.
Wow yet another amazing find. Like you said, Tigers in almost any condition are worth restoring and if anyone has the skills and knowledge to do that, your the guy. Certainly getting the best of the 3 close to original first would be a good idea and the race car for the other would be a great idea too if you can keep it close to how a race car would be back in the day.
A small v-8 in one of those cars...that must have been quick in its day. If memory serves me correct...the Sunbeam was the car James Bond drove in Goldfinger.
I think you're confusing that with the opening scenes of each episode of "Get Smart".
If you can source the part's needed restore all three as an investment plus saving the past for future generations to enjoy. I could be biased as I served my apprenticeship at a Rootes group main agent here in the UK in the 1960's,
I would suggest to restore the Green one and use the rusted one for parts. Seems like the dash of that one would be a good replacement of the one in the green one
The car's overheating so let's change the wheels! 😂
I only had an hour and who knows what I will find when I dig into that can of worms! 😂
Amazing find, I love those Sunbeams. I guess the third one certainly would make for a nice racecar. I'd keep it looking as weathered as possible, only restoring rust where needed. The green one seems too good to be only a partscar but perhaps you would have to use parts of the first and third to get the red one as nice as possible.
I would love to see if you could get at least one of these cars on Jay Leno’s garage. That would be awesome if you got them restored and running again! I would definitely love to see them all get restored and put back on the road again. The race car idea sounds cool for the maroon car. I’m sure you can figure out something that might be fun to build.
Thanks, Steve ... always interesting. I'm with you, the original wheels are better.
Your work, passion and patience for these rare British cars is inspirational! Also, your videos are very nicely narrated and edited. Good work man. New sub.
Good looking find. Race car and parts car to rebuild the first car. Hopefully the dash and missing parts from the first can renew the earlier version. Enjoying your videos. Your patter and format is developing well! You can have a race with Junkyard's tornado MG. Glad you two hooked me up!
I believe sme early testing was done with a Buick 215. This famously became a Rover engine, they upgraded it a great deal, from metallurgy to production methods. Just thinking that with a reasonable Alpine one could make a feaux Tiger. Behind those cut off sills/rocker panels is extra stengthening, a rusty nightmare.
Thanks for the great video Steve!
You're right. These cars are getting pricey. Wouldn't write off any of them as too expensive to restore. Even the rough one would fetch several thousand dollars at auction. It's very possible the Tiger will replace the Cobra as the next desirable conversion since the Cobra is now just about non-available to the public for a reasonable price.
Nice engine sound!
What a find this cars are very rare
Awsome😁👍
Restored the green one and race car another one, read one😁😁
You’re the best thing going on RUclips for me anyway.
Guess ya didnt notice the realistic hang on radio in the basket case....
62 alpine battery was behind the driver
On the first tiger the hole in the center of the valance under the bumper was for the hand crank to start the Alpine
Steve, you're really my favourite and keep being amazed at how and wehre you find such treasures! It wold be cold to see all three restored and if one has to be a race car, so be it, as long as its period authentic :-)
Steve, your red car is a MKI not a MKIA.
It has round bonnet and doors which are incorrect for a MKIA.. They should be square ( early mkia had a round boot and later that was all square).
Also a MKIa did not have the spec plate, early 1a had 4 rivets to fill the holes. Later IA had no rivets or holes.
A IA had the GT door trims and thicker 1/4 window bases.
Someone likely fitted the MKIA softtop setup from a wrecked SV alpine or IA tiger.
Your red car also has MKII Tiger seats
Does the car have the footwell fresh air vents?
A mkia will start with a B38 vin and MKI B947
Great find!!
Owns both of them? What my dreams are about!!
I used to have a Tiger Mk 1 with original hard roof covers and an original hard top. It was modified with with a 302 ci engine. I would restore them all as all panels are available.
You should know, the red one has ULTRA rare keystone Rogue one piece magnesium wheels. Near impossible to find. They are not the common keystone classic two piece wheel.
Wonderful find. Alpine's and Tiger's are as rare as Bug Eye Sprites over here in the UK, the weather and salty roads having taken their toll, plus they were cheap in the late 1970's and young guys like me used to buy them and drive them hard. It would be great if you'd restore the MK1 and sell the maroon Mk1A to someone else who could restore that too.
As an ex Rootes employee, I would bring these cars into the 21st century with an electronic fuel and ignition system and do the same with the brakes and suspension! Plus I would fit 16/17 or18 inch alloy wheels and low-profile tires! Only after these were done would I look to beefing up the engine performance with cam, valves, and spring changes along with gas flowing the heads and fabricated headers! If the sale prices are likely to be as high as others for sale then bring them all back to life! Here in the UK "Restomods" are the way to go!
Steve .. How do you do it ? This is knockout stuff ! I think it's lovely that your Dad inspired your interest in these marques and still drives one ....Terrific ! As you say the value of these has soared. These are all 260' s the Mk ll 's were 289 ? Well , if you want to turn the rough one into a racer then l know you have the facilities. It may look rough but over here in the UK it would be perfectly restoreable. If it has the engine then l reckon it's worth close to $20/25k as is. Your knowledge of these is unparalleled, l don't think there's anyone out there who knows more....except perhaps your Dad !!! 😂 Always enjoy your videos.
Agent Smart would be glad to see this.
Restore the one with the best body work using the parts from both, if anyone can do it, you can Steve 🙂
I am restoring two others at the moment.
Funny thing about Sunbeam Tigers. There seems to be many more than were ever made. A bit like Healey 100M's.
In 1981 when I was 9 my dad had a chance to buy a Tiger for $2000 from a coworker who needed money and he didn't do it and we really missed out. It was a beauty in red and was in perfect shape but that is how it goes....lol
lucky you!, i had Alpines in the late 70's-mid 80's, i always wanted a Tiger but the price even back then were out of my reach
With three cars I would make one clean stock, prepare a track car and use the worst for parts
Please, Please, Please....all 3.....a full restoration.
fascinated by your love of old British cars? Can it be a throw back from your father's youth. I'm seeing cars from from my youth here in UK. Love to see them running. Buying 3 Sumbeams, 6 Frog eyes where will you put them all, will there be room for more? Great videos make my Saturdays, thanks.
Love this car. Like your dad. I never owned one but had a Humber septet saloon variant of the alpine. Dreamt of a Tiger but family etc never happened. Race car a definite. Restore the other maybe fund the restoration by selling the Red car as a project car. To good a car to let die. An old man still dreaming.
Tigers here in the UK regularly change hands fo £60k so it would be well worth restoring all 3
I love the sound of the 60's V8's. Nice bass, deep throaty burble. I really wish I had the bank to take the ugly duckling and restore it. I've loved the Sunbeam Tiger since I saw it on Get Smart.
Crikey Steve, how do you do it! Outstanding. Gets me going even more then your Sprite find. All retreiveable given time; that red one is particularly nice. Now, here's the trick - I hope you can put up a vid on your collection of cars as you showed @ 1:53 :-)
Hi Steve!, I love your videos very much. I'd just like to ask you and not being personal but how many cars do you have and did you un mass a fortune to afford this or what? What state are you in?
Should have kept the Keystones on it . The hubcaps make it look lame .
I like your videos. Have you bought all three or are you just displaying them?
As the song goes “ two outta three ain’t bad” fix green one as a daily from parts off the brown......btw when are you fixing up more of the frog eyes?
Yes eggy, I would like to see that also, as I have one.
i sorta liked the keystone wheels What Mr. GArdiner says below - restore them all
Steve, do you have any Panhards like in the photo? They are fascinating little things and I'd love to see a video if you have one. Love the Tigers too, but I've got a soft spot for really weird stuff!
Also, funny that you call the green one a basket case- I'd consider that a project candidate! The hardtop one is really rough, but from previous videos I'd say you have the skills and/or resources to get it back on the road!