Tiger mk1A Numbers

Hi Rock,

First, let potential buyers know if your Tiger has been TAC authenticated. It really helps if it has been.

Please keep in mind this fact: while many Tiger owners claim their cars have the original engines, the truth is no one can really prove that. Sounds strange, but here’s the reason: Ford Motor Company only started identifying small block engines with a unique VIN number with the 289 Hipo V8 engines (271 HP).

Those engines were never offered by the Rootes factory. So… there are no unique numbers that tie a specific 260 or 289 block to the production records of a given Tiger.

Other than casting dates (establishing that a given 260 V8 “could” be the original) there are no unique stampings or casting marks that prove any Tiger has it’s absolute original engine. A later casting date can prove it is not the original engine… but an appropriate date can only prove that it could be original (eg. it might be a 260 from a ’64 Falcon, Comet or Fairlane, etc).

So… if any Tiger is offered stating that the car is “numbers matching” with the original V8 in place… buyers beware. It might be true… but it might not. This has nothing to do with the TAC process that authenticates a given Tiger as being “real.” That process focuses on unique aspects of the body of the car, with “supplementary” evidence (not definitive) of the VIN and JAL tags, and the tag affixed to the transmission and the stamped axle differential numbering. Again: no one can actually PROVE that their Tiger has the exact engine that was initially placed in the car by the factory.

Bill