Pacific Tiger Club€¦ · Web viewHis work space and showroom were decked out in antiques and collectibles from all aspects of the automobile world; from gas pumps and miniature

Pacific Tiger Club Newsletter September/October 2011

Rootes of the Pacific Northwest


Common Rootes

After two years as PTC president, this is my last Common Rootes article. Although some of you might doubt my comment, I have actually enjoyed the last two years. From my standpoint, getting back active in the club leadership forced me to get re-acquainted without Tiger. In these last two years, we have put more miles on the car than we did in the prior five years. Not a bad thing to realize that after all these years, the cars can still be fun to drive. Guaranteed, as they get older they get even more attention than they did just a decade ago. Coming home from Sunbeam Northwest we stopped at the Federal Way rest stop. When I came back to the car, there was a family grouped around it. They were excited to tell me that they had just that morning seen another Tiger, but it was on a trailer. From the description, it had to be the Evergreen Award winning car of Bob and Bev Hokanson. Anyway, two Tigers in one day had this family giddy.

Elsewhere in this issue is a report on our Sept tour. The weather cooperated, and the tour turned out very well. Thanks to Walt Suman for his efforts and setting up this tour. It started with a simple email from Walt, asking me if I thought the club would be interested in a tour of a couple

collections. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Everyone who was there left talking about the collections and gracious hosts. If you have an idea of something you think the club would like to do, share that thought with a couple of the club officers. One of us might forget the idea, or have misunderstood, so that is why I suggest a couple. Better yet send us an email with some details. It is a lot easier to digest an email at leisure than an off-hand comment at

a meeting.

Dave Dunn was elected the club president at the last meeting. Bob Bennion is continuing as Treasurer, and Mike Clark/Kathryn Fitzgerald as VP/Newsletter. We still need a secretary. If you are willing to serve as secretary, please give Dave a call, he will appreciate the help. I would hope that everyone supports Dave as much as you did me. I have to take a moment and thank all of you that helped out the last couple years, or even came out to a meeting or two. We need your support to keep our club viable for the years to come. This must be a group effort to be successful; the officers can’t do it on their own.

Which leads me to our AGM (Annual General Meeting) to be held Saturday, Oct 8. Judy and I will host it again this year. There are more details in the activity section of the newsletter. We had a good turnout last year, but we hope that even more of you will come out for the AGM this year. Please just send us an email with your intentions and numbers attending to [email protected], so that we can be sure to have enough food for everyone. Lastly, I hope that we,

See you on the road.

Kevin____________________________________

Secretary’s Report

Meeting held outside Group 2 Motor Sports, in Seattle, WA. Meeting called to order by Kevin Jewell 10 September 2011Old Business: noneNew business: Kevin reported that all of the positions for club officers for the New Year were filled, with the exception of Secretary.

mailto:[email protected]

Pacific Tiger Club Newsletter Sep/Oct 2011

President will be Dave DunnVice-President & Editor will be Mike Clark & Kathryn FitzgeraldTreasurer will be Bob BennionThe floor was open for nominations for secretary, but there were none.Nominations were closed.

Future events discussed: October 8th is the AGM meeting at Kevin and Judy’s home.November has no scheduled club meeting. December will be the Christmas party at the home of Max and Kathryn Pahmeier

Also discussed was the possibility of another PTC event at Shelton, WA, or possibly of some sort of an event in the spring. We had a very good turn-out at Sunbeams NW and there was so much interest in another that we should think about scheduling an event next year. August 2012 seemed to be a date that worked for renting the equipment, etc. Everyone was asked to be thinking about that idea. Meeting was adjourned to take a tour of the Group 2 garage and the McBride Museum.

Minutes submitted by Jim Clark________________________________

2010-2011 Executive and Officers

President: Kevin Jewell12120 – 202nd Ave. SEWoodinville, WA 98077-5639. Ph. [email protected]

VP/Newsletter Kathryn Fitzgerald/Mike Clark 4723 Woodside PlaceWest Vancouver, BC V7S 2X5 [email protected]

Secretary: Jim Clark 17711 – 10th Ave. NWShoreline, WA 98177

[email protected]

Treasurer: Bob Bennion37904 Fawn Rd NE.Hansville, WA [email protected]

Chairpersons

Activities: Larry & Eileen Ingersoll 29206 61st Ave S Auburn, WA 98001 253-946-0762 [email protected]

Membership: Budd Bennion14720 30th NE Seattle, WA 98155. Ph. 206-364-8478

[email protected]

Historian: Brett Simpson 10005 SE 267th St. Kent, WA 98031 253-859-5096 [email protected]

2011 EVENTS CALENDAR

Official PTC activities are printed in red. We have listed other possible activities of which you might want to participate. Call a couple friends and try something new.

Now Exotics at Redmond Town Center (Desert Fire Restaurant). On nice Saturdays the exotics (mostly Italian, but others also show) mingle starting about 8:30 AM. There is no cost and if you are looking to see some nice cars it’s worth the trip.

Oct 8 PTC Annual General Meeting.

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See article on pg. 5

Dec 10 PTC Annual Holiday Party. The day time party went very well in 2010, so our 2011 hosts Max & Kathryn Pahmeier decided to follow the “new tradition”. We will meet at Noon. Address is 16106 SR 9SE, Snohomish, WA, 98296. For more information, contact Max at [email protected]. More details later, but advance notice for your planning.

If you know of other events we should be listing, please contact our activity chairs, Larry & Eileen Ingersoll.

LAPS FROM THE PAST

October, 1993: It was reported that the long-awaited publication The Book of Norman is soon to begin distribution. At the ABFM in Portland, the team of Larry Atkisson and Kevin Jewell took first place overall in the Funkauna. As Dick Sanders reports in his column, the intrepid duo bested everyone by their finesse in driving while blindfolded, tossing water balloons, pushing a tiny toy wheel barrow full of oil cans and trolling for plastic lobsters in a bucket. I suspect the wives took one look at the event and wisely let the boys do it by themselves.

September, 1999: Major report of SUNI III in Big Sky, Montana, organized by PTC member Max Pahmeier. 140 cars at the concours and a rallye going thru Yellowstone. PTC member Bud Bohrer borrowed another PTC (Roger Flescher’s) car and on his last run took top time of the day at the autocross. PTC was well

represented both on the organizing side and the trophy side. When you see swallow’s nests everywhere you look, you should realize that the mosquitoes are not far behind. As soon as dusk approached the mosquitoes would be all over us we literally ran from one building to the other. October, 2002: Long time PTC member Elliott Fletcher shows up at the Ballard Locks event with a 1957 Rapier in impressive original condition. Report on Sunbeam Northwest held in Longview. We drove to Mt St Helens, drove even more on the Rallye which included crossing the Columbia on the smallest ferry in existence, and drove even more at the autocross at South Sound Speedway. It was reported that the Ken Miles prototype Tiger sold at the RM auction at Pebble Beach for $41,800.

September, 2005: An individual applied to trademark the following: “Sunbeam, Sunbeam Alpine & Sunbeam Tiger”. The Sunbeam community immediately went into action hiring an attorney in New York City (also a Tiger & Alpine owner) to protest the trademark. I had forgotten this event, and can’t remember ever hearing anything more, so I would assume that either the request was withdrawn or the protest successful. Larry Atkisson acquires the Commodore Blue Mk II Tiger owned by Dave Walker in the mid 80’s. At a very early Bellevue ABFM (back when it was mostly a parts swap at the Hidden Valley Office Park), Dave ran into the original owner of the car. The two swapped cars with Dave soon owning an E type Jag. I remember Dave, a long time bachelor, telling me the E Jag was a better “crumpet catcher”, a reference to a period auto test of the E Type in the 60’s. The Mark II is still in the area, although Larry and Linda did sell it about a year ago.

Kevin

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____________________________________

SEPTEMBER 10 TOUR

Owner Joe English welcomed us at Group 2 Inc, with a pot of coffee, boxes of bagels and a choice of cream cheese.

This is a working shop that had a collection of Alfa’s, BMW’s, a Chevelle SS396, and other vehicles of all makes undergoing race preparation or simply suspension and alignment work.

Club member Walt Suman had a very small open wheel racer powered by a Honda CB750 engine/transmission being prepared in the shop. This would be a shop very welcoming to your Rootes vehicle, so give them a try, www.group2motorsports.com. I should add that mid way thru the tour, Joe ordered in a bunch of pizzas to feed the crowd.

We then moved on to the collection of the late Ken McBride. Ken had an eclectic

collection that included vehicles such as a chopped/channeled Mark III with custom point, a 65 396 Corvette, pristine 65 Mustang convert, Bentley, Ferrari, and an interesting collection of station wagons. If you have been watching the auction action, you know that wagons are having a revival. Do you think our kids will someday begin to collect the minivans that we drove when the kids were young? (Somehow I doubt it, but then again I would never have guessed that non-woody wagons would ever be considered collectable). Some of us had the opportunity to visit the lower level workshop with the curator. There he was finishing a gorgeous Alfa 1900, and just starting work on a Dual Ghia. The Ghia was totally stripped and in bare metal, so there was a lot of work to go.

We finished the tour at Weber Motorsports/Goodman Racing. Weber is the operating shop that specializes in Porsche vehicles of all makes, although they had a few other cars such as a 68 Yenko 427 Camaro. This working shop adjoins the Goodman collection. John Goodman vintage races and several of his race cars (and an Unlimited Hydro) were in present. At least two of the cars had been to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England and had stickers on the cars. One interesting grouping had a Devin SS (Corvette powered), sitting next to a 289 Cobra, both in almost matching blue. Our guide had an

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http://www.group2motorsports.com/


interesting comparison of how the two cars differed in handling. There was a fantastic collection of early Corvettes (up to the early 70’s). I would guess that over half were fuel injection cars. One of the rarest had to be the 1955 with a 265 c.i. V8 and Powerglide. This was the first year for a V8 in a Corvette, but it was up against the newly released Thunderbird. The Thunderbird had roll up windows (even power windows were available, while the Corvette still had side curtains) and outside door handles among its other features. The Thunderbird outsold the Corvette by a ratio of 23:1, and only 674 Corvettes were built that year. Chevy almost threw in the towel on the car, but persevered and has now sold well over 1,000,000 Corvettes.

We were at the various shops/collections for almost four hours. Our hosts in all three facilities were extremely gracious with their time and expertise. We all felt absolutely welcome. We were sorry that we missed Bill Cotter’s collection. Bill wasn’t feeling well and we cancelled that part of the tour a couple days before. Bill did have his personal Tiger and son’s Alpine on display at Group 2.

Kevin____________________________________

PTC Annual General Meeting.

If you haven’t been coming out to the PTC functions this year, this is your opportunity. Don’t worry about driving your Rootes vehicle, you can show up in a Honda. No worry about cost, as PTC is picking up the cost of the main course and beverages. You might even go home richer than you came, since once again we will have some door prizes to distribute. For those that have been coming out for other activities, please continue to show up so we all get a chance

to welcome our new officers. For everyone, don’t worry, we already had the election, so you can’t be drafted into an elected office, so it is safe to join us. PTC Annual General Meeting. We will continue with the lunch time AGM hosted by Kevin and Judy Jewell. Address is 12120 202 Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98077. Phone 425.885.0103. Gather at noon, with lunch to serve about 1 PM. The Club will furnish the main dish, but please bring something to share. Last names starting A-G, dessert, H-N, salad, O-Z, hot dish or appetizer. Please let us know you are coming, so we can be sure to have enough food and beverages. [email protected]. DON’T forget to let us know you are coming. We need to order enough food so that everyone gets fed. Few things are worse than showing up for a catered event and not having enough food. See you on Oct 8. Kevin____________________________________

PTC Wowed on a Saturday Morning

It was a treat for me to visit a garage and two collections in one day. The club started the morning with a tour of the Group 2 garage, by Joe English. He spoke about his operation for some time and then let us wonder about, looking at cars currently in his shop- Alpha’s, a tiger, an Alpine, and a BMW that was being prepped for racing. He told us they do about anything, but they do a tremendous amount of suspension work.

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Next door was the memorable Ken McBride collection. His work space and showroom were decked out in antiques and collectibles from all aspects of the automobile world; from gas pumps and miniature cars to neon signs.

After lunch, which Mr. English kindly provided, the club met at John Goodman’s personal car collection, just a few short blocks away. Mark Peters gave the personal tour of the entire building, which included a Porsche workshop.

If you like corvette’s this is a collection to see. My favorite was the “French Connection” stingray. When it was built, it was clocked at 175 mph down the straight away. A few years later the shop built the #15 car and it managed 225 mph down the straight away. A Devin race car was alongside the #9 cobra – what a pair for my driveway! Well, I can dream.

I was exhausted when the tour was over. Car histories, speeds, motor sizes all had my head spinning. At the end of the day Vicki told me I kept mumbling “I’m going to need a bigger garage.”

Thanks to Walter Suman for making it possible to view a lot of history.

Jim Clark____________________________________

Want to avoid mail delays? Receive your next issue of the PTC Newsletter emailed to you on-line. Contact us at [email protected] with your email address

DO WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS AND EMAIL? HELP US KEEP OUR RECORDS UP TO DATE AND SEND YOUR CHANGES TO BUDD OR THE EDITOR.

If you know of any Sunbeam Events, please contact your Activities Co-coordinator and we’ll get it in the newsletter.

We want to hear your great stories! Do you have a great story to share? Send us the details with your photos. Let us know!

Renewing your membership?

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Members are asked to observe their renewal dates on each month’s address label. The date indicates when your dues are due to continue receiving the PTC Newsletter. Please send all membership correspondence to Budd at: 14720 30th NE, Seattle, WA. 98155 (206)364-8478 or via email: [email protected] Membership fee $32.00 US/35.00 Foreign for foreign members.Canadian Funds Payment to PTCWe ask each Canadian member to calculate the current exchange rate into US funds. Example: dues today $35.00USD=38.50 CAD (based on 10% exchange rate)Make payment payable to Pacific Tiger Club and we will process via our bank. Exchange rates are constantly changing. For assistance you may use the following website: http://www.xe.com

___________________________________

STOC 50th Tiger Anniversary

STOC (Sunbeam Tiger Owners Club) has announced the tentative plans for the 50th anniversary bash in July 2014 and September 2014. Now is the time to start saving your pennies. They will be saluting the Sunbeam Lister Tigers entry in the 1964 Le Mans. The goal is to have both of the works cars there. Planned activities include:

1. 70th anniversary D Day landings tour.

2. Tiger return to Le Mans.3. Loire Valley wine tour.4. National rally week-end, culminating

in a Sunbeam Challenge Race. 5. Monte Carlo start at Glasgow head-

ing south.6. Goodwood Revival Meeting.

If you are at all interested register your

interest now and they will keep you informed of the plans. Email [email protected], or check for updates at www.sunbeamtiger.co.uk. ____________________________________

SCCA Run Offs

Tom Patton recently finished second in the SCCA GT2 category. This was a significant accomplishment when you consider that first, third, forth, etc. finishers were Porsche GT3’s. As you might surmise, they have a considerable advantage to the 45+ year old Tiger in virtually every performance category other than power.____________________________________

I wanted to let you know that my friend and Sunbeam Alpine mechanic, Tony Pouliot is downsizing in preparation to retire next spring and has asked me to share the following list of new, used and rebuilt Alpine/Rootes items he would like to sell. Tony has helped me keep my Alpine in good running condition and is an honest and fair man to do business with. .

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http://www.sunbeamtiger.co.uk/


Donna Rudiger____________________________________

TECH TIP

Removal of Brake PistonsA Plug for Calipers - When rebuilding disc brake calipers, your shop manual or other service instructions probably recommended removal of the pistons by using pressure from the hydraulic system. However this method is not only messy, but inhibits the work by allowing removal of only one piston at a time. It also forces you to work on the caliper under the confines of the wing while it is tethered to the chassis by the brake hose. However there is an alternative mechanical method which permits removal of both pistons at once while allowing you to do the

work off the car. Remove the caliper assembly from the car, disconnecting the hydraulic hose at the caliper. Determine the inside diameter of the caliper piston, then visit the hardware store and find a plumber's "test plug", or try the auto store for the rubber plug used to replace the steel expansion plug in a cylinder block core opening. Both are rubber sleeves with concave washers at each end and a center bolt used to compress and swell the rubber sleeve. Choose one of a diameter as close as possible to the piston bore. Now cut a piece of 1/4" X 1" steel strap about 6" long and drill a hole in the center that will fit the bolt in the expansion plug. Install the strap on the center bolt with the nut finger tight and cut off the bolt flush with the nut. Insert the plug in the piston bore, install the strap and tighten the nut securely to cause the plug to grip the inside of the bore. If the plug should prove too small to expand enough to grip the piston, securely wrap a few turns of "rubber" tape around it until it is large enough to grip as needed. Rubber tape is far better than plastic or electrical tape because it will expand with the plug-having good friction characteristics. Once the plug is tight in the bore grasp the caliper and tool assembly with both hands, placing the thumbs on the back of the opposite cylinder and the fingers around the strap. Squeezing the hands closed will extract the piston from the bore. Then repeat for the opposite side. Either this tool or a C clamp can be used to install the pistons following the rework.Thanks to: Bob Bennion____________________________________

Do you have an interesting tech tip to share with the readers? We are always interested in any submissions.

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Profile your car!We would like to have a profile of your car, even if everyone knows who you are. Please email your profile to Mike & Kathryn. New to the PTC, Let us know the details, as we would like to do a feature article on your car!

Want to avoid mail delays? Receive your next issue of the PTC Newsletter emailed to you on-line. Contact us at [email protected] with your email address

Vintage RacingInfo for NW vintage events sponsored by SOVREN can be found at: www.sovren.org

FOR SALE:

1. 1966 Sunbeam Alpine S-V I purchased this darling car in May, 2006 from the original owner; the car is road-worthy and just had a complete overhaul of the Stromberg Carburetors and the brake system including an upgraded Brake Servo unit. The car is the original color of 39-Carnival Red; the car was repainted (the original color) in the mid-1980's by the original owner. The body is straight, the previous owner's wife put a few dings in the right rear quarter panel and bent the bumper (see photos). The VIN matches the chassis. I had a custom header put on the car in 2008 because the original exhaust manifold was badly cracked. Everything else on the car is stock equipment. It does not have overdrive; the engine is in good

shape with good compression; most of the peripherals have been upgraded since I bought the car (distributor, coil, fuel lines, starter, 5-blade fan, new clutch hydraulics). The car would benefit from upgraded seats and interior work. I have lots of extras that I will include with the car (Tonneau cover, original manuals, some parts for the interior restoration, an extra set of SU carbs, and other minor items including (2) Chrome headlight rims).

I am asking $6500, but will consider all reasonable offers from truly interested buyers. I would like to sell the car before I have to store it for another winter season.

Please contact Donna Rudiger at [email protected]

2. Hardtop - It is complete but for the quarter windows [originals are in place -

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opaque]. The clips and hinges need to be chromed. In 2009 it was repainted and new rear window installed plus all the related new rubber from Sunbeam Specialties and the uninstalled new [white] headliner.Price: $2500.00 - Rob Carpenter3. 71-73 HILLMAN/SUNBEAM AVENGER, PLYMOUTH CRICKET PARTS - Shop manual set. Mostly new: ext. front lens, estate left tail, Hoses brake kits, eng. gasket set, ex. twin down pipe, wheels, eng. head. LATE 60's ARROW/HUNTER SEDAN,ALPINE COUPES (baby barracuda) New frt.&rear ext. lamp assy.&/or lens, speedo cluster. Used frt. & rear axle assy. / eng. / trans. / wheels,etc. CALL AS I HAVE DISSASSEMBLED A COUPLE OF WRECKED 1969 SUNBEAM ALPINE COUPES and ALPINE ROADSTER.503-351-3618Richard [email protected]

4. 1967 - Sunbeam AlpineSoft top, original hard top and cover. 98% Original. Price: $ 5,000.00Mike Seek 236 W Second St. Tonasket, WA. 98855 Phone: (509) 486-1301Email To: [email protected]

5. 1965 Sunbeam Tiger for Sale, the real deal, $27,000.00 OBO, please call, 425-271-2459 for questions or pictures.

6. Factory Hardtop: Sunbeam Alpine III-V or Tiger. Complete with new soft components from Sunbeam Specialties. Quarter windows are original and should be replaced. No rust. Clips and hinges should be chromed. It is freshly repainted black. The new rear window is installed. Needs installation of headliner [new included]. Located in Central California until August 25-26 then bringing it to Seattle. Will deliver between Fresno and Seattle with advance full payment… $2,500.Rob Carpenter [email protected] 360-697-3764

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7. 1964 Series IV Sunbeam Alpine. Last licensed in 1982, garaged continuously since. Excellent restoration candidate. Less than 1000 miles on 1592cc engine completely rebuilt in 1981, Weber conversion also completed in 1981. While there is rocker panel rust, this is a desert car (Pocatello, Idaho) and the chassis looks much more rust free from below than all other Alpines examined. Car is virtually complete and assembled, but has not been started in over a decade. I am the second owner. This was my first car, purchased in 1976. $2500 O.B.O. near Carnation, WA. I’m hoping to find someone who wants to undertake the complete restoration that I always intended.

Buell Ish [email protected]

Car Profile

Budd Bennion, 1965 Ford Galaxie 500

What does one do after they sell their 1964 Sunbeam Alpine? I really enjoyed the Alpine and doing the rebuild of it all was a great experience and educating. It took me 5 years to rebuild the engine, all the running gear, new interior and top. It was a lot of fun to drive in the good weather. My first long trip was to Bend, Oregon. But I never could get my golf clubs in it except as a passenger.

But now I have replaced the Alpine with American iron, A 1965 Ford Galaxie 500. Now this car will carry my golf clubs and yours too. It is 4 1/2 feet longer so I had to clean out my garage some more. Thanks to all of those who took my extra Alpine and Hillman parts.

I bought the car on Bainbridge Island in

September of 2007. Actually I credit my brother for seeing it in a local newspaper and he call to suggest I take a drive to check it out. It was a running car but needed paint and a new vinyl top. There were some other item to fix and repair but I drove it home the first day.

Having different fun now.

Budd Bennion____________________________________

FYI, The November 2011 issue of Hemmings Sport & Exotic Car has a six page "Buyer's Guide" for the Sunbeam Tiger. Carol Christensen

Are you buying, selling or trading? Email us at [email protected]

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REGALIA

Hats, Hats, Hats… We got ‘em! $15.00 +2.50 for shipping, all have the "Pacific Tiger Club" Logo on the front, some have Tiger or Alpine on the side and some have no added logo on the side. Make all forms of payment to "Pacific Tiger Club" and mail to Budd Bennion, 14720 30th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98155-7512.

Save postage by picking up regalia at club meeting

Fleece jackets $30 + postage $4Polo shirts- Lady's = $20 + postage $3 Men’s = $15 + postage $3

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Pacific Tiger Club12120 – 202nd Ave. SEWoodinville, WA [email protected]


Documents

Pacific Tiger Club€¦ · Web viewHis work space and showroom were decked out in antiques and collectibles from all aspects of the automobile world; from gas pumps and miniature