Vehicle Description
The Sunbeam Tiger Combined The Power Of A Ford V-8 With The
Sporting Heritage Of A British Roadster In A Car As Adept At
Touring As It Was Racing.
The Tiger Was A High-Performance Variation On The Alpine, A Lovely
Four-Cylinder Roadster Built By The Rootes Group, A British
Automaker That Got Its Start In 1928. The Idea To Swap A
260-Cubic-Inch Ford V-8 For The 1.7-Liter Four In The Alpine To
Beef Up Sales. Legend Has It, Ian Garrad, A West Coast Sales
Manager, Dispatched His Service Manager To Nearby Dealerships With
A Yardstick To Find A V-8 Engine That Would Fit. The Ford V-8 Was
The Winner, And Garrad Discussed The Idea With His Father Norman,
Who Led Rootes Competition, Along With Racing Driver Ken Miles And
Engineer Carroll Shelby.
The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British
Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by
American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced
from 1964 until 1967. Shelby had carried out a similar V8
conversion on the AC Cobra, and hoped to be offered the contract to
produce the Tiger at his facility in America. Rootes decided
instead to contract the assembly work to Jensen at West Bromwich in
England, and pay Shelby a royalty on every car produced.
Two major versions of the Tiger were built: the Mark I (1964-1967)
was fitted with the 260 cu in Ford V8; the Mark II, of which only
633 were built in the final year of Tiger production, was fitted
with the larger Ford 289 cu in engine. Two prototype and
extensively modified versions of the Mark I competed in the 1964 24
Hours of Le Mans, but neither completed the race. Rootes also
entered the Tiger in European rallies with some success, and for
two years it was the American Hot Rod Association's national record
holder over a quarter-mile drag strip.
The Girling manufactured brakes used 9.85 in discs at the front and
9 in drums at the rear. The suspension was independent at the
front, using coil springs, and at the rear had a live axle and
semi-elliptic springs. Apart from the addition of a Panhard rod to
better locate the rear axle, and stiffer front springs to cope with
the weight of the V8 engine, the Tiger's suspension and braking
systems are identical to that of the standard Alpine. The fitting
points for the Panhard rod interfered with the upright spare wheel
in the boot, which was re-positioned to lie horizontally beneath a
false floor. The battery was moved from beneath the rear seat to
the trunk at the same time.
An Alpine Was Sent To Shelby's Shop In Venice, California, So He
Could Build A Prototype Tiger. The Rest Is History!
Titled As 1965 ROOTES TIGER
Features On This Vehicle Include
Owned Since 1987, Complete Service Records Along With Restoration
Receipts.
Super Nice Running Ford 260 V8 Engine With Ford/Holley Stock 2
Barrel Carburetor
Stock factory
Girling Power Disc Brakes
Manual Four Speed Transmission
Full JAEGER Gauge Instrumentation
Tonneau Cover
Stock Motorola AM Radio
Nice Convertible Black vinyl Top
Western Superlite Aluminum Wheels
Restored In the Late 80's and Enjoyed Since Then
Basic Stock
Older Repaint That Is Showing It's Age
Nice Black Bucket Seats
Good Dash With Working Gauges
Racing Seat Belt Harness
This is a consignment vehicle and the information above was
provided by the current owner. We can make no guarantees as to the
accuracy of the above information. However, please understand as
with all pre-owned automobiles, the described condition is
subjective.
Worldwide Transport Available Along With Long Term Financing
Numbers Matching and Original Mileage Cars
If marked as such, the vehicle Consignor states, this vehicles as
numbers matching and/or original mileage. It has not been verified
by Midwest Car Exchange Inc. As such Midwest Car Exchange Inc. is
not guaranteeing the authenticity of this claim. Buyer is
encouraged to verify this information on their own, prior to
purchase.
This vehicle is being sold AS-IS, WHERE-IS, with no warranty,
expressed, written or implied. Midwest Car Exchange Inc. shall not
be responsible for the description, authenticity, genuineness, or
defects herein, nor is responsible for any omissions or errors in
advertising and therefore makes no warranty in connection
therewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any
incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage. Any descriptions or
representations are for identification purposes only and are not to
be construed as a warranty of any type. It is the responsibility of
the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, to their
satisfaction to the condition and value, prior to purchase. Midwest
Car Exchange Inc. shall and will make every reasonable effort to
disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the
buyer's request prior to the close of sale. Midwest Car Exchange
Inc. assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any
oral statements about the vehicle, post sale.
