alert

The true identity of this Tiger remains a tantalizing mystery. I was first aware of its oddity shortly after it was presented to, and authenticated by, TAC inspectors at TE/AE's Tigers United XXIV, September 25-28, 2003. In case you didn't know, I'm always champing-at-the-bit to get new verification information into the "Registry" as soon as possible. So, even before the paperwork had been mailed off to TAC headquarters, I was all over "Senior" inspector Tom Calvert for general details. He was nice enough to get me a barebones list of pertinent facts and I started updating records. Everything was going to plan until I came to an entry for chassis B382002475 LRXFE. When the TIROST record was queried for that data line, it came up showing an already authenticated Tiger located in Southern California. As you can appreciate, that was not a good sign - two Tigers claiming the same chassis number, each passing an inspection for genuineness and both wearing TAC stickers (albeit different numbers) - definitely a dilemma.

What is there about Tigers in black? This amazing looking machine was nothing but a bucket of bolts when its current owner took on the rebuild.

V8 Caviar, all in all a very tasty offering. Few "home-grown" rebuilds end up as pleasing as this.

Proximity and familiarity prompted initial contact with the Los Angeles basin owner to begin validation of what was being reported from the database. A verification photo of the "factory" chassis plate was quickly sent and there was no question about its legitimacy, or origins. Knowing that something in Pennsylvania was not as it should be, sleuthing moved to the out-of-area machine. The first step involved a phone call to establish contact and see whether electronic correspondence was possible. An email dance followed. Rather than jump in with both feet, phase one bypassed the main question in favor of general details and history. However, asking for confirmation of transmission and back axle number assignments was part of the first missive. Ever the optimist when it comes to the power of numbers, I waited with crossed fingers, hopeful we would soon have additional information that might point to an alternative root vehicle. What happened next took the air out of that balloon before it was even floated.

A missing transmission tag puts an abrupt end to any hope of searching the Jensen Ledgers for a gearbox match and as if to drive a final spike into the heart of investigation, the differential had been heavily coated with POR-15, masking the only other numbers that might have provided insight. With no options at hand, it was time for another tack. As the story went, this car was purchased 8/13/94. The owner saw and responded to an ad in the August '94 issue of Hemmings Motor News. What he bought was a rolling chassis in excellent condition and "a pickup truck load of parts...some...useable, most were not." What was missing in the pile (motor hangers, transmission mount, exhaust manifolds, expansion tank, air cleaner, etc.) would take a full three years to source. But, one of the items in the package turned out to be totally deceiving. Imagine pouring your hard-earned money into the rebirth of what you unquestioningly believe to be the car represented by the VIN plate mounted to the engine compartment cowling. Put yourself in the picture as those efforts are recognized and awarded accolades for quality of workmanship. Then visualize proudly filing away a "Certificate Of Authenticity", joining the ranks of "TAC" inspected Sunbeam Tigers and thinking, "it doesn't get much better than this".

Walnut and wool and wow. A interior like this doesn't happen without tons of effort.

It's always interesting to trace the classifieds. I don't think I've ever seen five MK-IIs offered in one place before. Maybe I should start subscribing to Hemmings Motor News.

The only problem with perfect pictures is they are seldom what they seem. In this case, the chassis plate turns out to be nothing more than someone's "best guess". Once the details were unearthed, it's probably more accurate to say "worst guess". Tracking the origin of a misleading credential could have been a major undertaking, but this time around the exercise was a "piece-of-cake". To begin with, the seller was someone I had heard of. In fact, as I found out through a contact inside the Sunbeam Sportscar Owners' Club Of Canada, he was well known to the East Coast Canadian Tiger community. In fairly quick order, I was given a "track-him-down-for ya" pledge and almost before the phone was cold I had an email from the "ne'er-do-well" asking to arrange a yak. Our lengthy conversation became a sparring match with many detours, but finally ended in an admission. The identification plate was his creation. Beyond some broad speculation, he couldn't imagine how the details had gotten messed up. There was a promise to make an attempt at clearing things up and some hinting that consideration for the buyer should be the primary focus, but to be honest, I wasn't holding out much hope for anything to happen. I've been down the road of, "I'll get back to you on that" way too often. Regardless, there were things that needed to be done. I did manage to secure a photo of the "replica" chassis tag and so armed, notified the various members of the TAC team that there were serious dilemmas to be dealt with. I also prepared a communiqué from TIROST to the owner, which I am sure did not add much joy to his day:

Once the dust had been tamped down a bit, senior TAC officials held a meeting to evaluate procedural shortcomings. Predictably, there was a call for additional inspector training. Some sort of tutorial to more completely spotlight the subtleties of chassis plate configuration was proposed. Given the nature of volunteerism, one shouldn't expect earth-shaking revelations anytime soon. They also talked about the ongoing need to develop meaningful methods of updating all STOA records related to the TAC program. The well known "don't expect anything soon" caveat should be referenced here also. Posting an invalid TAC assignment on the club website (the one linked to this car in particular - 0574 ) was briefly batted around, but as yet, nothing has appeared. After some light persuasion, the chairman accepted the chore of getting a letter off to the rattled owner, explaining procedures necessary to sort out a proper set of credentials. That was several, silent months ago and without additional efforts, I fear there will be no further interface with this gentleman. To be sure the "Registry" is still hopeful of uncovering this Tiger's identity. Even with the temporary impasse, I wouldn't be surprised to unearth a mystery-solving clue when least anticipated. I admonish anyone acquainted with the particulars to lend a hand.