RootesRooter
Donation Time
Thru all the arguments here, there's clearly no consensus on the definition of a "rebody."
Sure. there have been lots of Tigers that have had all of their exterior sheetmetal replaced; some more than once.
However, the TAC folks have applied their sticker to as little as a firewall/tranny tunnel - leaving the owner free to wrap fresh Alpine sheetmetal around those parts and proudly drive a certified Tiger down the street. You can disagree with TAC's definition of what constitutes a Tiger, but they have one, its well thought out and its consistently applied.
I seriously doubt that there are "many" examples out there of non-Tiger firewalls and tranny tunnels, carefully fabricated from scratch to match every "Tiger" wrinkle, contour, bad weld, etc that have been installed in Alpine bodies and then gone on to pass TAC inspection. The Tiger rumor mill has long said "one, maybe two" have slipped by.
As far as Tiger vs Alpine driveability, I've owned both, autocrossed both, run in open-track 'play-days' in both. Bottom line: You can make a Tiger handle almost like an Alpine, but it takes the widest, stickiest rubber to overcome the Tiger's steering compromises. I think one factory stat sums it up best: turning radius. Alpine-31ft; Tiger-37ft and squealing like a stuck pig while doing it.
Say, what was the subject of this thread anyway....??
Dick Sanders
Kent, WA
Sure. there have been lots of Tigers that have had all of their exterior sheetmetal replaced; some more than once.
However, the TAC folks have applied their sticker to as little as a firewall/tranny tunnel - leaving the owner free to wrap fresh Alpine sheetmetal around those parts and proudly drive a certified Tiger down the street. You can disagree with TAC's definition of what constitutes a Tiger, but they have one, its well thought out and its consistently applied.
I seriously doubt that there are "many" examples out there of non-Tiger firewalls and tranny tunnels, carefully fabricated from scratch to match every "Tiger" wrinkle, contour, bad weld, etc that have been installed in Alpine bodies and then gone on to pass TAC inspection. The Tiger rumor mill has long said "one, maybe two" have slipped by.
As far as Tiger vs Alpine driveability, I've owned both, autocrossed both, run in open-track 'play-days' in both. Bottom line: You can make a Tiger handle almost like an Alpine, but it takes the widest, stickiest rubber to overcome the Tiger's steering compromises. I think one factory stat sums it up best: turning radius. Alpine-31ft; Tiger-37ft and squealing like a stuck pig while doing it.
Say, what was the subject of this thread anyway....??
Dick Sanders
Kent, WA