Looking For A Buyers Guide

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:57 am

Hey guys, I'm trying to find a Tiger buyers guide to give me an idea of what I should be looking at/for.
I've read the guide on ClassicTiger.com, but I wondered if there was a more detailed guide anywhere.

Thanks!

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:02 pm

Martin,

Last year there was a buyers guide in C&SC i think (might have been TCC) either way they are a little generic too.. the way i would look at it..
Decide how original you want the car.. if you want it very stock make sure the car has all the parts like radiator shroud, aircleaner, shifter, gauges, header tank and steering wheel as they can be pricey to source.

Then you want the best body possible especially in the areas of:

sills
cross bracing under the floors
floors
front scutle
rear spring hangers and frame rails
exhaust pass throughs

things like valence, doors and bonnets etc will rust but not pose the problems of those above.

and of course make sure the car IS a tiger.

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:20 pm

Thanks for that Michael.

I've just remembered that I have a couple of boxes of old car mags buried in the loft somewhere. I may spare some time later and dig them out and see if there is any info in any of them.

Cheers mate.

garyv8tiger · Post by **garyv8tiger** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:07 pm

metals a good thing to look for ,tigers tend to be missing a lot

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:17 pm

garyv8tiger wrote:metals a good thing to look for ,tigers tend to be missing a lot

Would it be classed as a built in performance enhancement?

gtsmrt · Post by **gtsmrt** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:43 pm

Hi Martin,

Body wise, the Alpine is basically the same, so an Alpine buyers guide will also be helpful. Michael has already pointed out the other major Tiger problem areas. The Brooklands Sunbeam Tiger limited edition extra book has a buyers guide for the Tiger if you can get your hands on a copy.

Regards, Robin.

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 11:37 am

Another thing i forgot to mention is the point at which the panhard rod mounts is suseptable to damage and is often either repaired.. or if not is torn.. not something to worry about as it happens on many tigers.. but something to look out for. It should be re-enforced if rebuilding or just re-enforeced if it hasnt been yet.

If the car has had "weld on" traction masters carefully inspect where they mounted to the body.. they tend to cause damage.

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:47 pm

michael-king wrote:Another thing i forgot to mention is the point at which the panhard rod mounts is suseptable to damage and is often either repaired.. or if not is torn.. not something to worry about as it happens on many tigers.. but something to look out for. It should be re-enforced if rebuilding or just re-enforeced if it hasnt been yet.

If the car has had "weld on" traction masters carefully inspect where they mounted to the body.. they tend to cause damage.

Hi Michael, thanks for the info, and thanks for for your info too Robin.

What are traction masters?

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:13 pm

traction masters are the traction bars many people fit to the springs to prevent axel wind up and the resulting axel tramp... they bolt to the leaf springs

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:15 pm

I see. I'll keep a look out for those. Thanks.

gtsmrt · Post by **gtsmrt** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 10:49 pm

martin172 wrote:I see. I'll keep a look out for those. Thanks.

Hi Martin,

Unless you plan on some hard acceleration (drags, etc.), traction bars aren't really a necessity. As Michael pointed out though, if installed they will need to be checked.

Regards, Robin.

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:15 am

gtsmrt wrote:
martin172 wrote:I see. I'll keep a look out for those. Thanks.
Hi Martin,

Unless you plan on some hard acceleration (drags, etc.), traction bars aren't really a necessity. As Michael pointed out though, if installed they will need to be checked.

Regards, Robin.

I strongly disagree rob, even on a slightly modified tiger the ability to get axel hop is very easy. Also often springs are old and more prone to it. You many not choose to fit traction masters.. but ther are other options too.

Given few tigers are unmodified, take yours for example.. it went from stock when you first got it and you have added another 50hp? would be easy to cause axel tramp especially in the wet.

I havent fitted traction bars to mine and i have the uprated springs.. but i cant do much off the line without getting tramp and i can provoke tramp on changes into 2nd if im pushing it.

The main point i was making before was to check for damage they may have casued if fitted, if you are egtting a modified car the axel tramp issue is something to consider, unless you have a limiting device you have to be judicious with the throttle.

gtsmrt · Post by **gtsmrt** » Tue Aug 03, 2010 3:03 am

michael-king wrote: I strongly disagree rob, even on a slightly modified tiger the ability to get axel hop is very easy. Also often springs are old and more prone to it. You many not choose to fit traction masters.. but ther are other options too.

Given few tigers are unmodified, take yours for example.. it went from stock when you first got it and you have added another 50hp? would be easy to cause axel tramp especially in the wet.

I havent fitted traction bars to mine and i have the uprated springs.. but i cant do much off the line without getting tramp and i can provoke tramp on changes into 2nd if im pushing it.

The main point i was making before was to check for damage they may have casued if fitted, if you are egtting a modified car the axel tramp issue is something to consider, unless you have a limiting device you have to be judicious with the throttle.

Each to their own I guess Michael, but as I stated they aren't a necessity otherwise more Tiger's would have them fitted. For normal driving I wouldn't bother. As for my Tiger, I love a spirited drive in it and I don't suffer from axle tramp (or I don't push it to that limit) and as for my increase in Hp is more like the 20Hp mark... 50 is a bit exaggerated. I did also mention if they are fitted to check for damage as you stated.

Regards, Robin.