Owner: Stu Brennan
Tiger MK IA
B382002452 LRXFE
Location: New England, USA
FALL 1966: As B382002452 LRXFE was being assembled from whatever bits
were laying around the Jensen works, I was a freshman at Northeastern
University, where I met Dave, who knew Rich, who was in a class with Doug, whose
father was loaning him his BRG Alpine for school transportation. Eventually we
formed a sports car club, though few of us commuted in anything but rusty
Detroit iron. The whole thing died out on graduation, but the seeds were
planted.
SPRING 1977: I’d been out of college a few years and
had been thinking about buying a sports car as a toy. It would have to be
something uncommon and outrageous. I’d looked at a few others before I came
across the Tiger. The plan was to buy it, restore it, sell it, find something
else, etc. Yeah, right. The first photo was taken a few days after I’d trailered
it home.
FALL 1978: I’d assembled enough to hit the road by
the summer of ’77, and it was painted in October of that year. In ’78 I’d been
messing with trim, electrics, and a leaky brake booster, and finally installed
the soft top. This photo has to be from the fall of ’78 because I had enough
free time to spend an afternoon driving around taking pictures. In early ’79 I
met Doris and…..I’m sure you can guess the rest.
WINTER mid ‘90’s: While I didn’t have time for too
many major projects, married life was not as much as a limiting factor as I’d
feared. I’d had time to plan a small Tiger improvement project each year, and
even had time for some fun. Doris and I (and whatever kids were available) went
to several TE/AE Uniteds (occasionally with the Tiger), and participated in the
first British Car Triathlon in Vermont. Here we had just returned from another
ski trip….Ummmm… OK, the truth. No ski trip I’d been trying for some nice posed
blizzard shots for a TE/AE Calendar contest, when I heard the plow coming……..
TODAY: Some cool wheels are the only visible change,
but there’ve been a lot of internal improvements, many of which have been
discussed on the email list. Fuel pump, seat belts, oil filter mount, main
battery shutoff switch, etc. I still occasionally find something that the
original owners screwed up, and have to set it right. That’s half the fun,
though. The other half of the fun is driving it, of course. Summer evenings
cruising along tree lined back roads, searching for the longest way possible to
our favorite ice cream stand. That’s what it’s all about,
right?
Stu Brennan
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