I have a crazy uncle that restores Sunbeams. He has one for driving and another that's just kept in perfect shape. He has a school bus full of Sunbeam parts. He supposedly has a Sunbeam Tiger set up for drag racing in storage but I've never seen it. I wouldn't doubt it though as he's a bit of a nut.
My father had two Tigers, a series 1 and a 1a. I took my driving test on the second one. While it didn’t have massive horse power by today’s standard, it certainly had a load of torque. It really gave you a great kick in the back when you put your foot down. I always re ember it as being a seriously quick car..which I guess it was back in the day!
John William Maxwell, Shelby put SBF engines in a few other British cars, not just Sunbeams. Austin Healy, Griffith, and AC before he bought the rights to the AC Ace roadster that became the Shelby Cobra sports car roadster.
as a 19 year old Australia i bought a 1967 Austin Healey sprite ,i wanted a lil more power and fitted a bigger set of twin webbers and then fitted a 2 litre Datsunmotor till eventually my dad and grandad had enough and without my consent they stole /borrowed my car for a month and it came back with a 351 Windsor 4 speed top loader and a Toyota shortened hilux diff out back four wheel discs and a remote booster ,dual exhausts extractors and a 1050 dominator ,i drove it for near two decades and it never ever missed a beat ,two starter motors and alternator were the only parts i replaced in 18 years and near 300 thousand kilometres
My buddy in college had one and we drove from LI up to Watkins Glen for some races one time in the mid to late 60s. We took turns driving and it was my turn when it was time to exit the expressway I ran over a spot of oil on the road during the turn and boy-howdy that was an exciting car to drive!
The first Australian Ford V8 GT was a Falcon XR GT and came with a 225 HP 289 engine in the vehicle so the little Windsor engines are a favourite of mine. The Tiger Mk II was a lovely little car that holds a special place in my heart and ticks so many boxes with some genuine innovations and nice touches. If someone ordered nearly all the LAT options such as the wheels and radio and had a LAT manifold and four barrel carb and LSD with headers on one of these things it would be one hell of a car. The many Cobra kit cars that are available are testament to the success of the V8 in a light weight car formula. The genuine Mk II Sunbeam Tigers are arguably even more rare and special than an original Cobra. I actually liked the Mk II side stripes. 😎🇦🇺👍
Yes, they are great if you like small British sprorts cars. I had one in 1975 which was in a bad way bodily but after a spruce up & repaint was the most exciting car I have ever owned. I was just 26 back then. My car had the earlier 'box and was good for 50 in 1st (and reverse!) After driving quite ordinary cars this was a big step-up for me. Wish I still had it now...............from the UK.
I worked for BT fitting phones in the Jensen factory when they took in Sunbeam alpine bodys with no engines. They used big hammers to bash out the inner wings to accommodate the V8 engine. Everyone was exited at the new cars that came out of the factory.
Ppl keep saying mopar should have put their engine in it. What a lot don't seem to realize is that some of these mods are only feasible because ford put the distributor at the front. Put a chev or dodge engine in and you'd never be able to access it even if it fit.
I joined Leeds City Police on Friday 13th October 1967. They bought two Sunbeam Tigers and we drooled. The traffic boys took it out for a spin and it spun....into a lamp post big style. Exit the Tiger.... I got a Vauxhall Viva..they boiled. They all boiled... Meanwhile the 200cc water-cooled Velocette Noddy bikes pottered around in reliable silence
I have been a fan of the Tiger II since I got my first car, a 1971 TR6, in the early 1980s. The Tiger was the big euro roadster on the block. 271hp 289 vice my 2.5 I6 with 106hp. They were relatively cheap too in the 80s. They hadn't gone through their resurgence that we see now and prices north of $100k. The other gem out there from the same time is the TVR Griffith 400...same engine, but with 700 pounds less weight. They became super expensive too. Both are pretty rare. TR8s are still reasonable, but not near the power of the 289s.
@@papa_pt Not really, no. The rulebook is that it must be a Ford V8 shoehorned into a small English roadster. A junkyard 351 cid. Windsor crammed into a late-70s MG Midget would be a better example.
@@jakekaywell5972 whose rulebook? At one more abstraction it'd be the popular small displacement non USDM roadster of the time being stuffed with a contemporary US V8 . Yes your example is more correct strictly speaking, could add poor man's modern cobra since brits don't have any cheap rwd roadsters
@@papa_pt The rulebook would come from Carrol Shelby, since he essentially invented the Cobra concept. An LS-swapped Miata would be a fast Miata, not a direct analogue to what a Cobra is. I will concede, however, that I'm being pedantic.
I always liked Tigers, but even when they were fairly inexpensive couldn't find one I could afford. So I built a MGB (see avatar) with a custom chassis&suspension, SBC/4-speed, Ford rearend. I'm VERY happy with it but it will NEVER have the value of a Tiger. A very nice overview of Tigers here, thanks (very few if any Tigers run as hard as my MGB)
Owned a MK1A and years later a MKII and they are fun cars for sure but, prices are getting out of reach now so I don't think that I'll b e getting a third one.
It was only gutless by comparison to the small block , the 1750cc engine hauled quite heavy cars along with some aplomb. Obviously it was no rocket but could be tuned plenty of power for the UK B roads of the era.
The LAT catalog did sell a vented hood for those so inclined. But, with proper sealing of the core support, an upgraded fan, and a tip-top cooling system they can run cool without added vents.
They are a tiny log style manifold. So, as mentioned, 75-100hp on the right engine build- ie a 289 like this with all the LAT stuff, cam, 4 bbl, etc. On a stock 2bbl 260 in a Mk.1, no, headers don't do that much.
I'm not a fan of V8s with separate exhaust systems for each bank. Even a hot one like this doesn't sound as if it's revving even when it is; the note is too wuffly, without the kind of snarl that raises the hair on your arms. Either a single system or a balance pipe would fix that.
I agree an H or X pipe helps sound and performance. However as you can see on a Tiger it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fit one. And a single exhaust would negate a lot of the “wow he must have a V8!” visual appeal. Lastly, sound reproduction through a recording that’s uploaded to the ‘net and played through .5” computer speakers isn’t ideal. In person this car sounds incredible IMO. Thanks for watching.
@@caribman10 I worked at a Triumph dealer in Fairfax Va when I was in college. The sales manager took in a Sprite with buick 215, 3 speed and a Tr3 rear end. It had Corvair rims. They hand pulled top of rear fenders out to protect the tire sidewalls and after a bit of hard cornering you’d have to redo. I was super close in buying it but I got drafted and wasn’t sure I’d be back from Nam. Didn’t really know much about how it was put together and it was 1 hell of a ride. Could out run almost anything at the time never went up bbc 427 vet.
My first job after leaving school was in a used vehicle sales centre in the UK (Ansteys Ltd., Lower Stone Street, Maidstone Kent), and my boss, a Mini racer in the mid 60's, Paul Martin bought a pale blue Tiger for himself, registration "PM2". We delivered a customers car one day(can't recall what it was) with him in his Tiger, to the nearby town of Sittingbourne, and he drove me back in the Tiger. The route included a stretch of dual carriageway, and this journey was my first experience of being driven at way over 100mph!
I know what you're saying. You could still build an Alpine with a Ford small block v8 for under $25k though, and leave the rich guys to chat about the factory exhaust routing and correct rivets *yawn*..!
@@johnnysmith863 Alternatively, you could go the Shelby-approved way with a junkyard 351 cid. Windsor crammed into a late-70s MG Midget. Would cost you $10 grand at the most if you did the work yourself.
@@jakekaywell5972 Haha, I assume you saw the MG Midget in my avatar! Not many junkyard Ford Windsor or Cleveland V8s here in Scotland, unfortunately... though my former MGB Roadster had a 4.0 Rover (Buick) V8 in it!
@@johnnysmith863 Good show, that! My Yank self is more than a little jealous, as you all have had some properly nice machinery in your day. The Rover P5b, Humber Super Snipe Mk. II, and Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire are three premier examples of this. I'll just have to be content with my own Studebaker GT Hawk for now. P.S. I did learn how to drive stick on a '79 Midget. Fun times! Really a street-legal go-kart.
@@TheopolisQSmith The movie used a doctored Alpine because that’s all they could find. But the original series starring Don Adams featured a genuine Sunbeam Tiger.
@@williamegler8771 The "average viewer" has $25,000 to spend on a classic car, and that's according to Hagerty's own website. The Tiger is in an entirely different ballpark (being at least $50k in decent shape), so LoSir's statement is correct.
I had a Tiger in the early 70s after owning an Alpine. I pulled a 16 foot ski boat with it and had lots of fun. Great car and love the styling, even today.
Bought an early 260 brand new in 1966. Baby blue because I wanted a sleeper. Kept it stock, except Koni shocks, Traction Masters, Pirellis, and an Italian air horn. Total blast to drive. Chirped the tires at freeway speeds. Lived by Woodward Avenue when it was at its peak. Easily beat the early Mustangs. I later moved out to Walled Lake, commuted to Detroit. Every morning on Northwestern Highway where it turned to freeway at US 24, I'd blow it out just up to 100 mph and back down. Odd thing about the 2.88 rear end, it could theoretically do 55 mph in reverse. Handled pretty well, neutral, remember the stock ones were almost 50/50 weight distribution. Never put a radio in it, just listened to that happy little engine in stereo. Got a couple trophies in gymkhanas with the stock 260, but wasn't serious about racing it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money for a winter car, so it rotted away. I put a bit over 100,000 miles on it, quite a lot for that era. Wish I could afford one now!
And to think in 1971 I had the chance to buy one for $1000 and my 1966 Sunbeam Alpine and of course I couldn’t get the money together. I remember rumors going around that after Chrysler bought Rootes Group they were going to keep it going using a 273 hp engine but nothing came of it.
Bravo! That was really well done. I’ve never seen a better Tiger review because…most times there is some incorrect fact cited, but everything he said was spot on accurate.
I agree that most reviews get many things totally wrong... This one is very good but he did miss the fact that the headlight rings are actually painted body colour... but a few owners have changed to the chrome ones which were an early Hillman part
Used to see Sunbeam Alpines frequently as a kid growing up in the 1960's but I don't remember seeing any Tigers on the street and I grew up in a large midwestern city but of course heard of them as an avid reader of Road & track amd Hot Rod that my older brother would buy.
Explained very well. It was thrilling back in September of 1965 to ride in one. My good friend and workmate bought a Sunbeam Tiger from a dealer on the “Golden Mile” in Scarborough Ontario. It was a Mark 11 fully loaded British racing green with the broad white stripes on the side, chrome wheels with the spinners, removable hard top and tonal cover, leather interior and full racing package.( steering wheel, gauges etc.). It was fully loaded and looked really tough and sleek. He paid $2700 for it. It was supposed to be a 1964. The salesman never realized that it was a demo 1965 until after the money changed hands and the deal was sealed. When my friend went to pick it up the salesmen tried to squash the deal but my friend stood his ground and was able to keep it at that price. It was worth at least 2 grand more than he paid for it but it was a done deal at $2700. This car was the real deal. It sounded awesome. It stuck you to the back of the seat when you took off. The tires chirped every gear change. It was a 289 V8 ford engine and ford 4 speed transmission on a full ford chassis with this awesome sunbeam sports car stuck on it. I think it was only a two barrel carb but I could be wrong. I know that locksly A. a tall red headed Scottish fella from Pickering Ontario ( the new owner) would have put a four barrel on it and straight pipes over the next few months. He was just that kind of guy. He was offered more money than he paid for it two years later and sold it back to the dealer. I believe that they threw in a 65 two door fairlane V8 standard to get it back. The sort of deals we made back then. Let me tell you about the 56 T-bird I bought for $800. Robins egg blue. Removable hard top and soft top included. Had a soft cam shaft so it ran a little rough but it was all mine. My dad convinced me to sell it. I was living at home still and he told me it would break me with repairs so I reluctantly sold it for what I paid. I was 17. It was 1962.
I have been a car nut since I was old enough to talk and by my teens would devour anything I could read about cars and learned of the tiger but knew it was unlikely that I would ever see one but when I was 15 I saw the first and only Tiger I have ever seen and spent the entire time it was in my small northeastern Minnesota town examining every part of it I could see and in reality probably drove it’s owner nuts with all the questions and observations I had. The poor guy was in town to watch his girlfriends softball game and ended up spending most of the time with me hovering over, around, and yes even under his Tiger. I loved the sound when he hotfooted the gas pedal when they left.
Had a GF who owned a ‘66 convertible version… medium blue I think. Unlike typical Brit sports cars, this was reliable, fast and a lot of fun. Drove all over the SF Bay Area for a wonderful summer… very fond memories.
In my youth I helped my best friend rebuild his Tiger. After years of work and thousands of dollars it was show ready and drove amazing. BUT.....he took it to the mountains one month later and drove off the road and crashed down an embankment trying to "avoid a rabbit." What an idiot.
@@jakekaywell5972 It's just a rabbit,countless ones are born every year but good luck replacing an important piece of history like that Tiger that can't be brought back.And yes,I am saying that the car's existence is more valuable than an (albeit small) wild animal's existence.
I frequently see a gorgeous British racing green Tiger convertible in my town in California in very good condition. I genuinely think it's one of the sexiest cars I've ever seen in person. I wish some enterprising company would make a body kit for a Mazda MX-5 so I could build an affordable modern day Tiger at a fraction of the cost of the original.
Wow….when I was a kid you could pick these up for a song. I had a 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback with a 427 and 4-speed and drag raced one of these cars on 34th Street in St. Pete, Florida and it kicked my ass.
That's not wrong, yet Vettes are heavier and have longer wheelbases, different story even if enjoyable... Besides, C1/C2 are fantastic but also expensive.
My father has a 1962 Alpine! We restored the entire car and did the 2.8 Ford V6 Cologne swap with a T5 Tremec. I found a Dana 44 from a totaled Tiger and we added LSD and 373's. Closest I could get my father to the Tiger he always wanted at a fraction of the price. It serves him well and always draws at car shows.
My “tiger” was also born as an Alpine. It now has a 67 mustang 289 4bbl, t5, Dana 3:73, dual 2-1/2 “ exhaust from the headers back and a torque arm to limit axle wind up, Miata seats and 15x9 rear + 15x8 front with flared wheel wells, oh yah a way Bigger rad and hood louvers help get the heat out… hot rodding lives on ! Have fun !!
"...exiting cars to drive. Isn't everything with a small-block Ford?" LOL, No. Exhibit A: Grandma's 1978 Ford Granada 4-door with high-altitude emissions. Exhibit B: Each and every 255 ci small block.
I first rode a Tiger, a Mk1 A in 1967. I was 15. My older sis met this guy, the owner. Of course, he was my hero. One summer saturday afternoon, an uncle called for my Dad, being stranded on a highway with a dead battery. Charles told me, let's get a battery and head out to help.. It was THE fastest help out drive of my life. I was holding the little chrome handle on the dash ! I donno if it was true, but he told we were going 150 mph at some point. He said, "the diff is now at one inch for the road. If we hit a bump, we're done." 😳 Man ! Sis broke up after a couple of weeks later. Donno why. Oh welll...
Seeing those wheels immediately took me back to 1970's Schroeder Engineering in Burbank, Ca. famous throughout the motorsport industry for their quick release steering hubs and torsion bars. I knew Gordon, his lovely wife Carmen and both of his sons, Gary and Allen. Gary actually owned a Tiger amongst a few other even more desirable exotica, i.e. a genuine road legal 1966 Mk1 GT40. If I'm not mistaken, those ARE (renamed/badged) Schroeder wheels. They (Schroeder) also made the exact same pattern wheel, albeit 15 incher for Porsche 914's back in the day. Back in 1977 or so, Gary and I almost negotiated a swap for my '76 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega (with I believe it was $1500) for his '67 Tiger which sadly never materialized since all of my cash was tied up in other ventures. Thank you for inadvertently reactivating a long dormant memory cell.
I bought my Tiger Mk2 back in the mid 70's, it was the 2nd car I ever bought. It was supposed to replace the Fiat 124 spider that rusted away. I found it in a barn in Ohio and was already showing rust issues. I found all new body panels and contracted a body shop to replace them. It came back solid, but far from correct. I used it as a fun,2nd car until about 20 years ago. About 15 years ago I redid the brakes, but on the road it floated all over the road. Not willing to tackle the suspension, there it sat. I just turned 70 years old and have the resources to rebuild it, but not the physical energy. It is a correct,complete Mk2. I am the 2nd owner. I am still in Ohio. Any ideas.
Hagerty 01:38 Had you been paying attention - you would have noticed that the name is SUNBEAM and not Sunbeam. Though they sound the same - understand that they are NOT the same. Learn that CORPORATE Names are always in the ALL CAPS iteration - and the clues are clearly in front of your eyes. Only living souls have the name in Mixed Case Letters. When you look at something make sure you actually see what it is you are looking at Zombies have eyes but cannot see - Ears and cannot hear. So pay attention to detail - and step out of the 'Zombie Zone' Besides that - Gave you a 'Thumbs up"
had the '65 Mk1. drove from Vancouver to Toronto and return 3 times - paid for gas, food and room by out dragging a lot of Mustangs! Oh what fun!!!!!! (PS sold mine to get married in 1969 - $3100 - Oh sob!
Good tips for when I go buying a Tiger. Right.................... These came out when I was in high school. IIRC, rear spark plugs could only be accessed via small panels in the foot wells!
Back in 1970 a friend and I started auto crossing our corvettes on small Houston Sears or JC Penneys parking lots. His vette a 67 and mine a 68. For the first half of the year we were beaten by a really obnoxious guy who wore mirrored sunglasses driving a Tiger. He constantly made derogatory comments about our cars and our driving abilities. My friend and I after the 6th loss went out and practiced auto crossing with our own traffic cones at night after stores closed. . Sooooo, come July we beat this snot by over two seconds a lap on a short course at a Sears parking lot. We never saw him again! But, I loved his Tiger though.
Besides the unnecessary and annoying background music, this is good. When someone is speaking, I think it's incredibly disrespectful to play music at the same time. The sound of the car and his voice = A+ video. The sound of the car and his voice with the background music = C- video.
I grew up with an Alpine in the garage that never ran. These cars have a special place in my heart. My whole family was into British sports cars - I see some Bugeye Sprites in the back of the shop in this video and my uncle had a couple of those.
Values aren't set until somebody hands over the money. Hagerty is like Mecum, BarrettJackson and the rest of the grifters trying to escalate the market for a quick buck.
This has been my favourite car of all time since I was about 10 and saw a beautiful red one, just like this one with the top down in Wembley U.K. in the early 1970s Looking at the prices I will never be able to afford one, but I can dream.
I have a crazy uncle that restores Sunbeams. He has one for driving and another that's just kept in perfect shape. He has a school bus full of Sunbeam parts. He supposedly has a Sunbeam Tiger set up for drag racing in storage but I've never seen it. I wouldn't doubt it though as he's a bit of a nut.
You need to make a video with it, even a short one at least
Sounds like a cool guy.
What is His Name, Address, and phone number? lol :-)
He's good people.
Don't let his horde go to scrap when he passes, put it back in circulation for others and maybe we will see more on the road.
I have a mk1 tiger, were does he live......................................??
My father had an alpine and a tiger. He loved convertibles. I remember the tiger being so loud that the neighbors complained.
My father had two Tigers, a series 1 and a 1a. I took my driving test on the second one. While it didn’t have massive horse power by today’s standard, it certainly had a load of torque. It really gave you a great kick in the back when you put your foot down. I always re ember it as being a seriously quick car..which I guess it was back in the day!
Hard not to love a small British roadster with an American V8.
No truer example of Anglo American unity.
@@EyePatchGuy88 Americans are also Anglo to a large extent, but I agree with the main point of your statement.
That’s what I love to see ! 😍
John William Maxwell, Shelby put SBF engines in a few other British cars, not just Sunbeams. Austin Healy, Griffith, and AC before he bought the rights to the AC Ace roadster that became the Shelby Cobra sports car roadster.
Very cool!
as a 19 year old Australia i bought a 1967 Austin Healey sprite ,i wanted a lil more power and fitted a bigger set of twin webbers and then fitted a 2 litre Datsunmotor till eventually my dad and grandad had enough and without my consent they stole /borrowed my car for a month and it came back with a 351 Windsor 4 speed top loader and a Toyota shortened hilux diff out back four wheel discs and a remote booster ,dual exhausts extractors and a 1050 dominator ,i drove it for near two decades and it never ever missed a beat ,two starter motors and alternator were the only parts i replaced in 18 years and near 300 thousand kilometres
Probably the best, most informative video about the Tiger I have ever seen! Love the sound of this one,
My buddy in college had one and we drove from LI up to Watkins Glen for some races one time in the mid to late 60s. We took turns driving and it was my turn when it was time to exit the expressway I ran over a spot of oil on the road during the turn and boy-howdy that was an exciting car to drive!
The first Australian Ford V8 GT was a Falcon XR GT and came with a 225 HP 289 engine in the vehicle so the little Windsor engines are a favourite of mine.
The Tiger Mk II was a lovely little car that holds a special place in my heart and ticks so many boxes with some genuine innovations and nice touches.
If someone ordered nearly all the LAT options such as the wheels and radio and had a LAT manifold and four barrel carb and LSD with headers on one of these things it would be one hell of a car. The many Cobra kit cars that are available are testament to the success of the V8 in a light weight car formula. The genuine Mk II Sunbeam Tigers are arguably even more rare and special than an original Cobra. I actually liked the Mk II side stripes.
😎🇦🇺👍
Finally got to see the end result of your 302 swap in it. Good job.
Hardly impressive. Same block. Bolts right up with no mods
Well played. Best car video I've seen in years!
Yes, they are great if you like small British sprorts cars. I had one in 1975 which was in a bad way bodily but after a spruce up & repaint was the most exciting car I have ever owned.
I was just 26 back then.
My car had the earlier 'box and was good for 50 in 1st (and reverse!) After driving quite ordinary cars this was a big step-up for me.
Wish I still had it now...............from the UK.
I worked for BT fitting phones in the Jensen factory when they took in Sunbeam alpine bodys with no engines.
They used big hammers to bash out the inner wings to accommodate the V8 engine.
Everyone was exited at the new cars that came out of the factory.
Great video. As a young guy I also salivated over the Austin Healey. Those were awesome with a small block Ford.
Why on earth would you want to do that? The original BMC C-series inline-six was more than enough for those big Healeys.
Ppl keep saying mopar should have put their engine in it. What a lot don't seem to realize is that some of these mods are only feasible because ford put the distributor at the front. Put a chev or dodge engine in and you'd never be able to access it even if it fit.
I joined Leeds City Police on Friday 13th October 1967. They bought two Sunbeam Tigers and we drooled. The traffic boys took it out for a spin and it spun....into a lamp post big style. Exit the Tiger.... I got a Vauxhall Viva..they boiled. They all boiled... Meanwhile the 200cc water-cooled Velocette Noddy bikes pottered around in reliable silence
I had a 66 big Healy,raced a Tiger got smoked badly.
I have been a fan of the Tiger II since I got my first car, a 1971 TR6, in the early 1980s. The Tiger was the big euro roadster on the block. 271hp 289 vice my 2.5 I6 with 106hp. They were relatively cheap too in the 80s. They hadn't gone through their resurgence that we see now and prices north of $100k. The other gem out there from the same time is the TVR Griffith 400...same engine, but with 700 pounds less weight. They became super expensive too. Both are pretty rare. TR8s are still reasonable, but not near the power of the 289s.
An LS swapped Miata is a poor man's cobra.
I didn't think of it like that but damn u right
@@papa_pt Not really, no. The rulebook is that it must be a Ford V8 shoehorned into a small English roadster. A junkyard 351 cid. Windsor crammed into a late-70s MG Midget would be a better example.
@@jakekaywell5972 whose rulebook? At one more abstraction it'd be the popular small displacement non USDM roadster of the time being stuffed with a contemporary US V8 . Yes your example is more correct strictly speaking, could add poor man's modern cobra since brits don't have any cheap rwd roadsters
@@papa_pt The rulebook would come from Carrol Shelby, since he essentially invented the Cobra concept. An LS-swapped Miata would be a fast Miata, not a direct analogue to what a Cobra is. I will concede, however, that I'm being pedantic.
Look up Monster Miata V8
An excellent presentation of a great little car.
A friend had one...told me to change the spark plugs would take a full day!
I always liked Tigers, but even when they were fairly inexpensive couldn't find one I could afford. So I built a MGB (see avatar) with a custom chassis&suspension, SBC/4-speed, Ford rearend. I'm VERY happy with it but it will NEVER have the value of a Tiger. A very nice overview of Tigers here, thanks (very few if any Tigers run as hard as my MGB)
I had a factory MGB V8. Only 3.5 litres but smooth as silk,and being alloy no heavier than the cast iron four.
Cool cars. I always thought though, from a design standpoint, that the rear axle should be placed another 4-5 inches rearward.
Owned a MK1A and years later a MKII and they are fun cars for sure but, prices are getting out of reach now so I don't think that I'll b e getting a third one.
Awesome little pocket rocket The Sunbeam Tiger.
It was only gutless by comparison to the small block , the 1750cc engine hauled quite heavy cars along with some aplomb. Obviously it was no rocket but could be tuned plenty of power for the UK B roads of the era.
so...as always: US prices are inflated... in europe it's about 75k for an excellent and around 100k euro for a concours one.
Looks like a Euro spec Tiger. (head and tail lights)
Never noticed the penastar.
Should have just stuck a 340 4 barrel in it. Man talk about twisting the body!
This car has to be horrible in the rain any how, why not just have a vented grill to get some of the heat out?
The LAT catalog did sell a vented hood for those so inclined. But, with proper sealing of the core support, an upgraded fan, and a tip-top cooling system they can run cool without added vents.
Begged my dad to buy one that came up in the 80s for 7500 i was two young and had a 67 Fastback so i knew cars but he didn't see the future
“75-100hp”? How awful were those stock headers?
They are a tiny log style manifold. So, as mentioned, 75-100hp on the right engine build- ie a 289 like this with all the LAT stuff, cam, 4 bbl, etc. On a stock 2bbl 260 in a Mk.1, no, headers don't do that much.
Looks like my 55 thunderbird!
I'm not a fan of V8s with separate exhaust systems for each bank. Even a hot one like this doesn't sound as if it's revving even when it is; the note is too wuffly, without the kind of snarl that raises the hair on your arms. Either a single system or a balance pipe would fix that.
I agree an H or X pipe helps sound and performance. However as you can see on a Tiger it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fit one. And a single exhaust would negate a lot of the “wow he must have a V8!” visual appeal. Lastly, sound reproduction through a recording that’s uploaded to the ‘net and played through .5” computer speakers isn’t ideal. In person this car sounds incredible IMO. Thanks for watching.
Only person I've ever heard that doesn't like duals. Crazy
I like to think a Shelby Cobra is not a Sunbeam Tiger.
Is it the same car that Maxwell Smart drives
Question, any after market company making a kit for the Sprite (non bug eye Sprite)?
As what, a coffin?
@@caribman10 I worked at a Triumph dealer in Fairfax Va when I was in college. The sales manager took in a Sprite with buick 215, 3 speed and a Tr3 rear end. It had Corvair rims. They hand pulled top of rear fenders out to protect the tire sidewalls and after a bit of hard cornering you’d have to redo. I was super close in buying it but I got drafted and wasn’t sure I’d be back from Nam. Didn’t really know much about how it was put together and it was 1 hell of a ride. Could out run almost anything at the time never went up bbc 427 vet.
2:04 this one has CVT gearbox? 🤔
The Sunbeam tiger is not the poor man's Cobra.
It's the slightly less rich man's Cobra.
My first job after leaving school was in a used vehicle sales centre in the UK (Ansteys Ltd., Lower Stone Street, Maidstone Kent), and my boss, a Mini racer in the mid 60's, Paul Martin bought a pale blue Tiger for himself, registration "PM2". We delivered a customers car one day(can't recall what it was) with him in his Tiger, to the nearby town of Sittingbourne, and he drove me back in the Tiger. The route included a stretch of dual carriageway, and this journey was my first experience of being driven at way over 100mph!
Hanging on going down Detling no doubt! 👍
My father knew Paul Martin & drove his Tiger!
A249
Got a love how they want to make every $25,000 fun car 200 grand, so average people can’t afford them anymore
I know what you're saying. You could still build an Alpine with a Ford small block v8 for under $25k though, and leave the rich guys to chat about the factory exhaust routing and correct rivets *yawn*..!
@@johnnysmith863 Alternatively, you could go the Shelby-approved way with a junkyard 351 cid. Windsor crammed into a late-70s MG Midget. Would cost you $10 grand at the most if you did the work yourself.
@@jakekaywell5972 Haha, I assume you saw the MG Midget in my avatar! Not many junkyard Ford Windsor or Cleveland V8s here in Scotland, unfortunately... though my former MGB Roadster had a 4.0 Rover (Buick) V8 in it!
@@johnnysmith863 Good show, that! My Yank self is more than a little jealous, as you all have had some properly nice machinery in your day. The Rover P5b, Humber Super Snipe Mk. II, and Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire are three premier examples of this. I'll just have to be content with my own Studebaker GT Hawk for now.
P.S. I did learn how to drive stick on a '79 Midget. Fun times! Really a street-legal go-kart.
S2000.
Have loved them since Maxwell Smart pulled up to HQ in one!
I believe Maxwell had an Alpine.
@@TheopolisQSmith
The movie used a doctored Alpine because that’s all they could find. But the original series starring Don Adams featured a genuine Sunbeam Tiger.
James Bond drove an Alpine in "Doctor No."
@@TheopolisQSmith - Smart drove an Alpine and in later episodes it was a Tiger. There are some other cars as well
Just saw an episode of Get Smart, and there was the Tiger. Cool car regardless.
At first I was like: "Bullshit what Cobra, who would call this little thing a Cobra" then he reved the engine and I was like: 👀 *damn*
These cars are way too expensive for the average viewer.
Why?
Classic cars can be found in any budget range.
This car may seem expensive for some but a bargain for others.
@@williamegler8771 The "average viewer" has $25,000 to spend on a classic car, and that's according to Hagerty's own website. The Tiger is in an entirely different ballpark (being at least $50k in decent shape), so LoSir's statement is correct.
I had a Tiger in the early 70s after owning an Alpine. I pulled a 16 foot ski boat with it and had lots of fun. Great car and love the styling, even today.
So you turned it into a limo? When it stretched!
Did you also “Put aTiger in Your Tank”? (Popular Exxon ad from the sixties).
Bought an early 260 brand new in 1966. Baby blue because I wanted a sleeper. Kept it stock, except Koni shocks, Traction Masters, Pirellis, and an Italian air horn. Total blast to drive. Chirped the tires at freeway speeds. Lived by Woodward Avenue when it was at its peak. Easily beat the early Mustangs. I later moved out to Walled Lake, commuted to Detroit. Every morning on Northwestern Highway where it turned to freeway at US 24, I'd blow it out just up to 100 mph and back down. Odd thing about the 2.88 rear end, it could theoretically do 55 mph in reverse. Handled pretty well, neutral, remember the stock ones were almost 50/50 weight distribution. Never put a radio in it, just listened to that happy little engine in stereo. Got a couple trophies in gymkhanas with the stock 260, but wasn't serious about racing it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money for a winter car, so it rotted away. I put a bit over 100,000 miles on it, quite a lot for that era. Wish I could afford one now!
And to think in 1971 I had the chance to buy one for $1000 and my 1966 Sunbeam Alpine and of course I couldn’t get the money together. I remember rumors going around that after Chrysler bought Rootes Group they were going to keep it going using a 273 hp engine but nothing came of it.
I also heard they considered it but the small block Mopar was just to wide to fit without extensive modifications
Width and lightning whirler location shut that plan down. The smog and safety laws that were coming soon in the US were a factor as well.
It (273 LA engine)was too wide, the Ford 289 is narrow compared to the Chrysler and Chevrolet small block V8 engines.
Bravo!
That was really well done. I’ve never seen a better Tiger review because…most times there is some incorrect fact cited, but everything he said was spot on accurate.
I agree that most reviews get many things totally wrong... This one is very good but he did miss the fact that the headlight rings are actually painted body colour... but a few owners have changed to the chrome ones which were an early Hillman part
@@BlackDog914 Yes, mine were body color.
Used to see Sunbeam Alpines frequently as a kid growing up in the 1960's but I don't remember seeing any Tigers on the street and I grew up in a large midwestern city but of course heard of them as an avid reader of Road & track amd Hot Rod that my older brother would buy.
Thanks for sharing this interesting rundown on this classic car. Regards, Bob M. South Wales
I drove a 1966 MK 1a in high school (1982). For the first 15 seconds of this video, I was 18 again. Thanks for the memories
@@Joshie2256 Thank God the spelling police have showed up
Explained very well.
It was thrilling back in September of 1965 to ride in one. My good friend and workmate bought a Sunbeam Tiger from a dealer on the “Golden Mile” in Scarborough Ontario. It was a Mark 11 fully loaded British racing green with the broad white stripes on the side, chrome wheels with the spinners, removable hard top and tonal cover, leather interior and full racing package.( steering wheel, gauges etc.). It was fully loaded and looked really tough and sleek. He paid $2700 for it. It was supposed to be a 1964. The salesman never realized that it was a demo 1965 until after the money changed hands and the deal was sealed. When my friend went to pick it up the salesmen tried to squash the deal but my friend stood his ground and was able to keep it at that price. It was worth at least 2 grand more than he paid for it but it was a done deal at $2700.
This car was the real deal. It sounded awesome. It stuck you to the back of the seat when you took off. The tires chirped every gear change. It was a 289 V8 ford engine and ford 4 speed transmission on a full ford chassis with this awesome sunbeam sports car stuck on it. I think it was only a two barrel carb but I could be wrong. I know that locksly A. a tall red headed Scottish fella from Pickering Ontario ( the new owner) would have put a four barrel on it and straight pipes over the next few months. He was just that kind of guy.
He was offered more money than he paid for it two years later and sold it back to the dealer. I believe that they threw in a 65 two door fairlane V8 standard to get it back.
The sort of deals we made back then.
Let me tell you about the 56 T-bird I bought for $800. Robins egg blue. Removable hard top and soft top included. Had a soft cam shaft so it ran a little rough but it was all mine.
My dad convinced me to sell it. I was living at home still and he told me it would break me with repairs so I reluctantly sold it for what I paid. I was 17. It was 1962.
Prob 260 and not a 289
Get Smart Loved his Sunbeam Tiger. 😎
Worked with a guy who had a Tiger. Last two plugs were under the hump in the car.
The TV show Get Smart featured a tiger in the opening credits. Also a Karmin Ghia.
IIRC, in the final season's opening credits, Maxwell Smart drove an Opel GT.
Stupenda ! Che dire del cruscotto ! Un'opera d'arte ! Il motore suona che è un piacere ascoltarlo ! ✌️🇮🇹😀
I have been a car nut since I was old enough to talk and by my teens would devour anything I could read about cars and learned of the tiger but knew it was unlikely that I would ever see one but when I was 15 I saw the first and only Tiger I have ever seen and spent the entire time it was in my small northeastern Minnesota town examining every part of it I could see and in reality probably drove it’s owner nuts with all the questions and observations I had. The poor guy was in town to watch his girlfriends softball game and ended up spending most of the time with me hovering over, around, and yes even under his Tiger. I loved the sound when he hotfooted the gas pedal when they left.
I'm predominantly a GM/Dodge guy but I wouldn't turn one of these down. Thumb up.
Had a GF who owned a ‘66 convertible version… medium blue I think. Unlike typical Brit sports cars, this was reliable, fast and a lot of fun. Drove all over the SF Bay Area for a wonderful summer… very fond memories.
In my youth I helped my best friend rebuild his Tiger. After years of work and thousands of dollars it was show ready and drove amazing. BUT.....he took it to the mountains one month later and drove off the road and crashed down an embankment trying to "avoid a rabbit." What an idiot.
Can't really fault someone for trying to not needlessly kill something.
@@jakekaywell5972 The point is he lost control and blamed it on the rabbit.
@@jakekaywell5972 It's just a rabbit,countless ones are born every year but good luck replacing an important piece of history like that Tiger that can't be brought back.And yes,I am saying that the car's existence is more valuable than an (albeit small) wild animal's existence.
My nextdoor neighbor had one back in 1975
He smoked my dad's 356c
Even my dad laughed
Such a cool little car
A Tiger was agent Maxwell Smart's daily driver. He couldn't do that with a cobra.
Depends which season
Do we get an introduction to the Sprint Special in the back there?
You can find these for a lot less than $50k.
Not in my lifetime, if it's a genuine Tiger in even half-decent condition.
That little red car is good looking, that's a great drive train,
I frequently see a gorgeous British racing green Tiger convertible in my town in California in very good condition. I genuinely think it's one of the sexiest cars I've ever seen in person. I wish some enterprising company would make a body kit for a Mazda MX-5 so I could build an affordable modern day Tiger at a fraction of the cost of the original.
Wow….when I was a kid you could pick these up for a song. I had a 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback with a 427 and 4-speed and drag raced one of these cars on 34th Street in St. Pete, Florida and it kicked my ass.
Talk about plain Jane looks! Want a sports car with a V-8 and style at a reasonable price, get an old Corvette.
That's not wrong, yet Vettes are heavier and have longer wheelbases, different story even if enjoyable... Besides, C1/C2 are fantastic but also expensive.
My father has a 1962 Alpine! We restored the entire car and did the 2.8 Ford V6 Cologne swap with a T5 Tremec. I found a Dana 44 from a totaled Tiger and we added LSD and 373's. Closest I could get my father to the Tiger he always wanted at a fraction of the price. It serves him well and always draws at car shows.
My “tiger” was also born as an Alpine. It now has a 67 mustang 289 4bbl, t5, Dana 3:73, dual 2-1/2 “ exhaust from the headers back and a torque arm to limit axle wind up, Miata seats and 15x9 rear + 15x8 front with flared wheel wells, oh yah a way Bigger rad and hood louvers help get the heat out… hot rodding lives on ! Have fun !!
"...exiting cars to drive. Isn't everything with a small-block Ford?" LOL, No. Exhibit A: Grandma's 1978 Ford Granada 4-door with high-altitude emissions. Exhibit B: Each and every 255 ci small block.
I am old, and when I was young in the late 1960's my uncle had a Sunbeam Tiger.....it was his pride and joy and the envy of all his neighbors.
Not a poor man's Cobra. Maybe a Control agent's DB5.
Can you do a video on the Alfa Romeo Giulia SS at the back of that garage? Would love to hear about that one.
Beautiful. Made in the same place I was made - Coventry.
Nice informative no frills review
I first rode a Tiger, a Mk1 A in 1967. I was 15. My older sis met this guy, the owner. Of course, he was my hero. One summer saturday afternoon, an uncle called for my Dad, being stranded on a highway with a dead battery. Charles told me, let's get a battery and head out to help..
It was THE fastest help out drive of my life. I was holding the little chrome handle on the dash ! I donno if it was true, but he told we were going 150 mph at some point. He said, "the diff is now at one inch for the road. If we hit a bump, we're done." 😳 Man !
Sis broke up after a couple of weeks later. Donno why. Oh welll...
Similar too how Buicks are in the muscle car field.
A few very rare Sunbeam Tigers, Shelby put 289 K code Hi-Po engines in them. As I recall, only one still exists today.
Did maxwell Smart drive a Tiger in the opening of Get Smart or was it an Alpine ?
tiger
Seeing those wheels immediately took me back to 1970's Schroeder Engineering in Burbank, Ca. famous throughout the motorsport industry for their quick release steering hubs and torsion bars. I knew Gordon, his lovely wife Carmen and both of his sons, Gary and Allen. Gary actually owned a Tiger amongst a few other even more desirable exotica, i.e. a genuine road legal 1966 Mk1 GT40. If I'm not mistaken, those ARE (renamed/badged) Schroeder wheels. They (Schroeder) also made the exact same pattern wheel, albeit 15 incher for Porsche 914's back in the day. Back in 1977 or so, Gary and I almost negotiated a swap for my '76 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega (with I believe it was $1500) for his '67 Tiger which sadly never materialized since all of my cash was tied up in other ventures. Thank you for inadvertently reactivating a long dormant memory cell.
Did you resign with the IMPRACTICAL JOKERS James? So sad 😔
this guy needs some mayo, he is dry af
I could have got 1 of these 10 yrs ago with a 302 running for 1600$ shoulda got it
I bought my Tiger Mk2 back in the mid 70's, it was the 2nd car I ever bought. It was supposed to replace the Fiat 124 spider that rusted away. I found it in a barn in Ohio and was already showing rust issues. I found all new body panels and contracted a body shop to replace them. It came back solid, but far from correct. I used it as a fun,2nd car until about 20 years ago. About 15 years ago I redid the brakes, but on the road it floated all over the road. Not willing to tackle the suspension, there it sat. I just turned 70 years old and have the resources to rebuild it, but not the physical energy. It is a correct,complete Mk2. I am the 2nd owner. I am still in Ohio. Any ideas.
I own a MK II. Bought it 37 years ago.
Hagerty
01:38 Had you been paying attention - you would have noticed that the name is SUNBEAM
and not Sunbeam.
Though they sound the same - understand that they are NOT the same.
Learn that CORPORATE Names are always in the ALL CAPS iteration - and
the clues are clearly in front of your eyes.
Only living souls have the name in Mixed Case Letters.
When you look at something make sure you actually see what it is you are looking at
Zombies have eyes but cannot see - Ears and cannot hear.
So pay attention to detail - and step out of the 'Zombie Zone'
Besides that - Gave you a 'Thumbs up"
had the '65 Mk1. drove from Vancouver to Toronto and return 3 times - paid for gas, food and room by out dragging a lot of Mustangs! Oh what fun!!!!!! (PS sold mine to get married in 1969 - $3100 - Oh sob!
Good tips for when I go buying a Tiger. Right....................
These came out when I was in high school. IIRC, rear spark plugs could only be accessed via small panels in the foot wells!
Back in 1970 a friend and I started auto crossing our corvettes on small Houston Sears or JC Penneys parking lots. His vette a 67 and mine a 68. For the first half of the year we were beaten by a really obnoxious guy who wore mirrored sunglasses driving a Tiger.
He constantly made derogatory comments about our cars and our driving abilities. My friend and I after the 6th loss
went out and practiced auto crossing with our own traffic cones at night after stores closed. .
Sooooo, come July we beat this snot by over two seconds a lap on a short course at a Sears parking lot.
We never saw him again! But, I loved his Tiger though.
Besides the unnecessary and annoying background music, this is good. When someone is speaking, I think it's incredibly disrespectful to play music at the same time. The sound of the car and his voice = A+ video.
The sound of the car and his voice with the background music = C- video.
I grew up with an Alpine in the garage that never ran. These cars have a special place in my heart. My whole family was into British sports cars - I see some Bugeye Sprites in the back of the shop in this video and my uncle had a couple of those.
glad to see the tiger getting its recognition, one of my dream cars lmao
Would love to see the cars on the racks in the background.
'exciting to drive- isn't anything with a small block ford?" Mustang II and Granada drivers would argue that point.
Values aren't set until somebody hands over the money. Hagerty is like Mecum, BarrettJackson and the rest of the grifters trying to escalate the market for a quick buck.
I have always thought how cool the V8 Sunbeam was, but I knew very little about them. Thanks for educating me.
When I was a kid we did not do that punch bug thing . We did point out ever Sunbeam car we saw. To me at that young age it was just a Get Smart car.
This has been my favourite car of all time since I was about 10 and saw a beautiful red one, just like this one with the top down in Wembley U.K. in the early 1970s
Looking at the prices I will never be able to afford one, but I can dream.
Certain types of mushrooms can really wreak havoc on older vehicles.
Better get a complete mushroom checkup today.
Excellent story. Thanks for the valuable information.
Sunbeam Tiger was a rich man's 'Cobra'... the importer had the price jacked up too high...