The Sunbeam Alpine may not be the most desirable LBC amongst enthusiasts, but the V8 equipped Tiger is a different story! Well, if you have your sights set on a Tiger, or even its little brother, there is a whole stash of them in Checotah, Oklahoma. The owner claims that he is ” Sunbeam rich and cash poor”, so this could be a good chance to pick up a project for a good price. There are a couple of Tigers left and prices range from $4k for a project up to $17,500 for a driver. There are also 10 Alpines and even a Mustang on offer! Find them all here on craigslist. Thanks goes to Robert R for the tip!
So, lets talk about the $4k project Tiger first as I’m sure that is the one that caught your eye. I wouldn’t get too excited though because restoring this one is going to be a huge undertaking. There’s rust and lots of it. Most of the interior is gone and the seller isn’t even sure on the year so it is probably safe to assume that the title is missing. The original 260 V8 and transmission are still mounted in the car though so there is some hope. I supposed you could pick up a couple of the Alpines as parts cars and maybe, just maybe you could peice together a complete car.
A safer bet may be this blue 1965 Tiger. It too needs work, but it is mostly complete and currently drivable. It was parked about 25 years ago so it is obviously going to need some work, but the seller has already started the process by getting it running. The asking price is substantially more than that of the yellow car, but it will also cost substantially less to restore. Current Tiger values may even justify paying this much for a project. They provide an interesting mix of British sports car agility and American V8 power. Some have even gone so far as calling them “baby Cobras”. That’s debatable, but there is no denying that most of us here would love to have one sitting in the garage!
In 1967 bought a Dodge dart gt from the local Dodge dealer (upstate NY) after the deal we got talking and he ask me if I liked sports cars as he had one that he wasnt able to sell. We went upstairs on the elevator and he showed me setting back in a dark corner a new Dark blue Sunbeam Alpine Tiger that he wasnt having any luck selling , His reason was who the hell wants a Chysler product with a Ford motor in it , besides I have to warranty the damn thing .
I was in the military at the time and was going to be deployed for 6 to 8 months out of the country , I told him if it was there when I got back I might be interested , you all know the rest of the story . Should have bought it then and there .The next time I saw the Tiger it was in the junk yard ,dealers son took it and it never came back !
That’s not a mustang, it’s a mule,
As for the Mustang………there are no words……..oh’ wait…….no………it’s a family website.
I lived the Tiger life for some years ……………(crickets)……………………
Alpines are pretty neat and dirt cheap all over the U.S. They can be made to be a nice little performer and parts are plentiful.
Dem’ donkeys are real cute, I’d rather have the donkeys as they can be real funny.
You have to be resourceful ,patient, and a bit of an optimist to get involved with these cars. As you can see they have their own gravitational pull,(one seems to attract others) then you see a nice one go for stupid money on TV and the hook is set. This looks my yard, only I have more than him. I’m a Sunbeam nut and you can be too, just head out to Tulsa and pick one up then call me when you need parts.
That’s a fair number of Sunbeams! Those Tigers do sound great when they are working.
a restored one sold for over 100k restored tigers are fetching top dollar
I’ll take the IH Scout and the brown/white donkey. you’ns can have the Sunbeams……
my thoughts exactly..
Boy, I blew it, as in wrong time, no $ to spend. Right around 2000, a local car show was well attended in a nearby town. Sitting in a parking lot at the fringe was an original, unrestored Tiger. A little faded, a small amount of rust, but in running/driving condition. The “For Sale” sign in the window was asking for $4600. Dang.
Yeah that hurts!
That blue Tiger looks like a very worthy project. Maybe negotiate a little bit for some parts thrown in but even so….it’s only going to appreciate.
I’m confused….but that’s not unusual.
How many Tigers? Any left for sale?
How many Alpines are still for sale, and which photos are of cars for sale and which photos are just for Alpine guys?
One might start up—-he was told it ran good when it was parked. Which one? How much?
If this ad doesn’t get picked up by BF I don’t think many of these are selling in rural Oklahoma.
Well, we all know that BF provides a good service for this sort of sale, don’t we?
You guys deserve a cut.
Why not just get an Alpine and swap in a V8? Sure, its not original, but its not like these cars are pristine anyway.