Tiger 101

Salvage (and specials)

I was very fortunate to find six, used, driver/passenger, lower side, sill panels that go between the rear of the front wheels and the front of the rear wheels at a CAT swapmeet for $40. I had priced these new at $600 so I was really thankful. These pieces someone had screwed or tack welded on (likely directly over rust) and must have made for a hideous looking repair. Regardless, now removed they were primered, straight, and cost effective when PROPERLY weld in to repair all the lower sill rust. It was also my goal to eradicate the rust in the future too. Thus, I took a long pole, a baby bottle brush and liberally applied POR-15 to both inner cavities of the dual sill configuration, as well, the inside and outside floor up to the firewall.

It was also about this time I did something that didn't follow my usual spendthrift ways. I bought on Ebay the 'Book of Norman' (signed). It was labeled the "last of the last" meaning the last of those printers error copies with the corrective attachment. I got my bid in literally at the very last second. I know that "last of the last" is a bit ambiguous, but I documented everything (auction pages, emails etc.) and it is not too likely that others can make the same claim. Aren't those erred stamps and coins worth the most? A signed, rare printer error copy of the Book of Norman reputed to be the "last of the last," snagged at the very last second on Ebay - certainly a valuable collectors item for sure. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Light at the end of the transmission tunnel

The pulling of the front crossmember brought it's own suprises. Apparently this car had suffered one of the infamous lower fulcrum pin failures. In an effort to remove the broken retention bolt it appears that a hole was cut in the crossmember and pliers were used to tread out the broken bolt turning it from inside the crossmember. The hole, however, was never patched. Additionally I found that the drivers side threaded arm of the steering rack had broken off and an Alpine piece had been welded in!!! Worn u-joints and a loose retention bolt created about 2 inches of steering wheel slop from the steering coupler. The driver's upper balljoint was severely worn too. Now, I had intended on rebuilding the whole front end anyway, but, put that all together with the previously mentioned leaking rear wheel cylinder, the handbrake issues and the potential of the loose rearend to lock up at any moment and you wonder how the previous owner never killed himself.

Front end work brought more sandblasting and the purchase of a 20 ton press from my neighbor ($100). I went through the steering shaft. Because the felt washers were not available I cut my own in layers from some very stiff, old felt my wife had. I also hand cut two bearing shields from thick packaging plastic to better keep dirt out. Finally I found an accordion like, tapered electrical item that clamps onto the column housing and gently snugs the shaft as an external seal.

I have started to apply my own variation of the Logan and Crawley crossmember reinforcements. I also got two of the lower fulcrum pins that Derek White had made up in Africa, though I am a little hesitant on using them. A trip through No. Calif. in the Summer of 2002 took me to Sunbeam Specialties for all new front end pieces.

In addition to the broken rack arm and hole in the crossmember the drivers side spindle was also bent. Just before vacation I found a guy in Mariposa who had both sides that included spindles, hubs, discs and calipers for $80. A few days after I picked them up I was in Mammoth for Tiger's United and what did I get???, a driver's side spindle and a bunch of other goodies for $25. Oh well, someone on the Tiger list offered me just the spindle for $100. When it rains it pours.

The Tiger got sidetracked in the of Summer 2002. I had intended to complete the front end and get it back on the ground, but a free, modified Datsun 510 that was given to me by a good friend took precedence simply because it could be completed in a few months. Now Winter is here and so........... .

As I read back over this there just doesn't seem to be a way to convey the hundreds of hours that I have spent already. The times maybe an hour was spent getting paint off six square inches in a tight spot. Or how I spent a whole day trying to weld a hole in the floor only to make it bigger. Those of you who have been there know what I mean. Sometimes I just need to let it sit for three to six months because enough is enough.

Hopefully the front end will get done in the Spring of 2003 and B9470101 will be standing on all fours by the end of Summer 2003. I am in debate over whether to cut, thread and adapt the threaded ends of the existing Tiger steering rack to properly fix the welded on Alpine piece or put in the Midget rack I got at pick a part for $35. I also have the MGB steering arms, but they hit the 13" Cosmic rims and I really hate to part with them. Decisions, decisions.... ?

To be continued.............

The future of B9470101