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Interesting thread on Tiger Digest

sunbeam74

Silver Level Sponsor
Here's an interesting thread....


Message: 6
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:45:49 +0000
From: marden@mistral.co.uk
Subject: [Tigers] WHAT IS IT!!
To: <tigers@autox.team.net>


Hi to all my Tiger friends across the pond. Here is a good question!
I have just been lucky enough to obtain what I think is a very rare
car, but what is it. The car started out in its life as 1962
Harrington Alpine Le Mans but its third owner happened to be a
certain Mr. John Horsman who had been in charge of the Aston Martin
Race Programme and by this time was working with John Wyer as co
founder and director of the famous GULF RACING TEAM (GT40, Porsche
917, Mirage, Le Mans etc., etc.). After a GT40 development visit by
the Shelby/Ford guys a GT40 engine was left behind and John thought
it a shame to waste it and knew it would fit because he'd seen the
Tiger. The car was stripped and sent to his good friend Des O,dell
back at the Rootes Competition workshop and was duly TIGERISED by
Des/Rootes and returned to John at the FAV (Ford Advanced Vehicles)
workshop where the GT40 team mechanics inserted the running gear. Hey
Presto he had what I jokingly call a: SHELBY GULF SUNBEAM HARRINGTON
LE MANS TIGER GT40 SPECIAL. It was used as a road going development
car. The car was given to one of the mechanics after the GT40
programme closed and he barn stored it for 36 years. I tracked it
down and made an offer he couldn't refuse. It still has its original
engine etc and the log book (title papers) still show the owners as
GULF RACING RESEARCH. I realise it is a converted Alpine but so were
the Le Mans Tigers. As the conversion was carried out at the Rootes
comp dept. I think its more of a Tiger special than a fake. Norman
has it in his book as a fake. Comments please. Martin

-------------------------
Message sent via KC WebMail - http://webmail.mistral.net/
 

sunbeam74

Silver Level Sponsor
I wrote Martin and it does appear to be a Harrington with a V-8. It isn't really a good shot. Sure is a curiosity.

Steve
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
If you have seena copy f the book of norman there are a few shots of this car in there in a barn, this car has been a mess for along time.. and is well known. Its an interesting car.. but still a conversion ... despite factory peoples involvement and ownership.
 

64beam

Donation Time
It is a conversion, but so were the two Tiger (Alpine V8) prototypes at one stage. If Lord Rootes had liked what he saw or did'nt see in this case, maybe the story on this car would be a little different. Steve, was the car complete?

Regards, Robin.
 

Harrington Jan

Donation Time
Hello,

I agree, it’s a conversion but only when the car was converted by Harrington Ltd from an Alpine to a Harrington Le Mans. After that it’s just a destroyed Le Mans with a Ford V8. Not every Sunbeam becomes a Tiger as soon as a V8 is in place, it’s more like a Hot Rod to me and to Horseman too, I think. Tigers were made by Jensen and nobody else. Another picture and Horsemans story.
One can follow the comments to Martin on the Tiger-list.
Jan
 

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V_Mad

Donation Time
I think that the date on which this was converted (if known) is significant. As it appears to have been converted when the Tigers were already being sold, then it is really a 'special'. There appears to have been be no intent or plan to develop or market it so its not a prototype.

Having said that, it is still an interesting car to own, and was apparently done by a Rootes team.
 

Jim E

Donation Time
After reading the Tiger thread posts and the post here seems some question the factory Works involvment. Wonder if there is good or even decent documentation that Rootes folks did put the Tiger guts in this car. Also the one post that brings into question the high rollers involvment is interesting.

So lets say it is all true, as I understand it we have Rootes Works stuffing tiger guts in it, a motor with links to GT40 Shelby and Gulf racing involvment.

Figure most Tiger owners would love to have had that motor, "Yeah it is from the Gt 40 program put in back in the day... bet if you could document that your Tiger would go down in value...

Then Rootes Works did the deed.... ok so it was on a used car. If you took your second hand six cylinder Camaro to Baldwin-Motion and had them do thier big block shuffle on it back in the day you would have a car worth a pile today. And as I recall that was just a dealer tinkering, not a factory works unit. Oh and lets add instead of a factory crate BBC you had a left over Bill Jenkins motor to drop in....

Then you have Gulf racing involved and log books

Now that is an interesting back ground if it is all true..... call the car SPAM if you want it is a great story and a car worth a pile.
 

AlpineIan

SAOCA Founder
Yes... it has a story... and that's all well and good. Still not a "real" tiger LeMans conversion. Just a LeMans with a V8. I think the truth is being streatched a bit to try and make a connection with the factory.
 

Chuck Ingram

Donation Time
Yes... it has a story... and that's all well and good. Still not a "real" tiger LeMans conversion. Just a LeMans with a V8. I think the truth is being streatched a bit to try and make a connection with the factory.
But wasn't there a couple of factory V8s.I remember at Suni there was the blue one
 

jmthehermit

Donation Time
I did some digging through some my stack of Tiger Tales from CAT. The car in question got coverage in three issues, vol 18, #11, Nov 1988 and vol 19 #'s 7and 8 July and August 1989. Evidently someone was trying to fabricate a history for a "newly discovered rare Tiger". What it did break down to was someone modified a Harrington LeMans to ride on the coat tails of the only recognized Harrington Tiger. Jeff
 

65beam

Donation Time
interesting car

i wouldn't mind having the harrington with a V8. one thing for sure, it would be close to being one of a kind ! i have two harringtons and neither one is stock. i don't have the side chrome on my red car because i think it makes them look like a frog squatting . my other one has had modifications done that leaves the suspension non stock . is this wrong ? not in my mind! i remember several cars with harrington bodies at suni 1 and V8 engines.these cars came by boat from the U.K. what has happened to them ? there are a lot of rebodied cars out there; both alpine and tigers,that are considered to be originals . my point being that a lot of things happened 45 years ago so who knows for sure. records then weren't what they are today. if you had the money ,anything was possible . if you spend any time going to vintage races you'll notice all the so called specials built in the 50's and 60's.i was told a lot of stories about my moonstone lemans and what the dealer in silver spring did to it and also that it may have been raced for several years. my only source for info concerning this car was wally swift who as a manager for rootes may have known something about it. who cares ! the car exists and i know the history of it since 1968 and i know the original owner of my red car and have all the service records dating back to when he bought it.maybe the conversion to a V8 on this guys car was done by rootes workers on their own time. a lot of this was done in the 60's and 70's prior to the advent of a bunch of stupid rules and regs that limit what goes on today. if folks think it was not done in a rootes shop,then get to work and prove the guy wrong ! it's truly amazing how people tend to say no to something so fast. why , 30 years ago folks thought that no more than 25 or 30 lemans existed but we now know that is wrong. how does the history of this V8 lemans get documented? fact or fake ????? what is the vin number ? that's a good place to start .
 

64beam

Donation Time
Does anyone know if any of the Rootes works mechanics are still alive? If so, that is one way any speculation on this Harrington Tiger can be finalised once and for all. The question has probably already been asked though.

Regards, Robin.
 
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