Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and enjoyment of all Rootes Group Vehicles
Those of you who have the “bicycle brake cable” style of hood latch release, may have looked in envy at the “solid rod” type releases on earlier Sunbeams. I know that I was always concerned that the cable might fail and leave me with the prospect of cutting metal to open the hood.
The “Rotisserie” described in this article, was spotted by my son, with an Alpine hanging in it upside down.
by Dan Cameron Originally printed 9/87 Many of our Tiger and Alpine members have spent a great deal of time, effort and money restoring their cars only to find that within a few months’ time that the once shiny exhaust system is beginning to rust. In a most recent effort to keep the underside of (more…)
by Dan Cameron Originally printed 9/87 For the performance buff that is always looking for that extra HP don’t overlook the exhaust restrictions. With the small block Ford, this is the major bottleneck. It does not do any good to try to put more in than you can get out. We have previously discussed the (more…)
All of the engine cooling aids such as aluminum intake manifolds, header pipes and extra large radiators depend upon dumping their heat into the engine compartment. What’s needed is an under hood cooling system to remove this heat build-up when there is insufficient road speed to pull the hot air out of the bottom of the engine compartment.
The stock Tiger hood latch is set up with a “safety catch” which holds the hood after the striker bolt has released. It has always seemed that when the Tiger was in hot weather, it would run a little cooler with the hood “propped open” in the safety position. This is especially true at slow speeds when the hot air gets trapped in the engine compartment.
Replacing the “Powered By Ford” badges (motifs) adds a nice touch and is rather straightforward.
The shield-shaped badges can be purchased from one of the SUNBEAM parts suppliers. It takes three to complete the car.
Many paint shops would rather use masking tape than take the extra time to remove the chrome trim. But in doing so a lot is sacrificed in the quality of the job. Why not take it off yourself; it is easy and it will not be all buggered up when you get it off.
After years of weathering, the fiberboard trunk panels begin to look pretty bad. If you are getting ready to tackle this project, the steps found here should help.
Over the years that I’ve owned convertible Sunbeams I have always wondered if I could handle the installation of a new convertible roof myself. Doing so could cut the total cost about 1/3 to I/ 2 depending on which installation shop does the job.