Fans of Britain’s Sunbeam know Caroll Shelby worked with Sunbeam to engineer a Ford V8-powered Alpine named Tiger. That’s right; the Tiger followed Shelby’s recipe for the Cobra, a Ford V8-swapped British AC Ace roadster. According to the seller, this 1964 Sunbeam Alpine in Brookline, New Hampshire, shows considerably less engineering, though it runs, moves, and stops. The back-yard hot rod sports a Ford V8 under the bonnet and other modifications. Check out more pictures and details here on eBay, where at least ten bidders have its market value above $3,000 without meeting the seller’s Reserve.
The claimed 1984 Ford 302 cid (5.0L) V8 rides on a Mustang II front suspension, leaving us to wonder what it would take to get a less awkward stance at the front. Eliminating suspension travel would be one way, but let’s favor a more sophisticated solution. The General Motors HEI Ignition makes a handy conversation starter. Before filing that under “Things that make you go Hmm,” review this Ford-Trucks discussion; benefits include no external coil, no ignition module, and one power wire.
Most Alpine fans will probably gag a bit seeing the Mustang-style automatic gear shifter. My late Aunt’s ’85 Mustang GT had a setup similar to this car’s 302 and four-speed Automatic Overdrive transmission. It was fine for her, or anyone’s mother or grandmother for that matter, and probably acceptable in this Frankenstein hot rod as well. Don’t think of the car as “ruined;” it’s just “different.” The owner likely started with a wrecked automatic ’84 Mustang donor car, and we see the result. Not every dream must include a six-figure budget when three or four figures will do.
The late ’50s design includes shapely fins. Note the fuel filler cap’s integration into the front-to-rear fender line. External trunk hinges and other brightwork add vintage class to the sporty two-seater. What looks like a wider-than-stock track may limit wheel choices.
A Chevrolet S-10 rear end should stand up well to the power of the stock-looking Ford V8. Sophistication-wise, it’s similar to the Alpine and Tiger: leaf springs and a solid axle. Traction or “slapper” bars limit axle hop under launch, adding points for coolness in your high school parking lot. Raise your hand if you added them in the days when a stock V8 packed fewer than 200 horses. What looks like dual Flowmaster mufflers promise plenty of rumbles to announce your arrival and departure. Joking aside, you could drop under $5000 on this DIY project car and have a ton of fun finishing it your way. What would you change on this DIY V8 sports car?
It “looks” like they also added four wheel drive… It’s amazing what you can get away with in auto shop class when the teacher isn’t looking.
You are right with your “shop class” comment. This is a study in just how amateur a car build can get. I honestly would not give $100 for this horror show. I had a friend in the seventies that had a Tiger with a warmed up 260, and that car was beyond cool. This thing is not worth the time to scrap it. Super hard pass.
Good creativity using the wrecked Mustang. I’m not a lover of the automatic but in this case, it makes a good hot rod!! Put on a nicer set of wheels and a console to hide the Americanized shifter. Drive it!!
Nearly as bad as mine 😜
https://youtu.be/DJLHMCM3ziI?si=e0rDptuScfCn7e3W
Oh fer,,,you know, with all the hoopla about a Tiger, it’s a shame folks won’t take a stock Alpine for what it was. Someone may correct me, but Sunbeam was a classy British make, I consider on par with our Buick/Oldsmobiles. Apparently, I’m not alone in that regard, and several Sunbeam sites say the same thing. It boils down to, someone wanted a Tiger, but made their own, a common fate of many Alpines. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really cool, I bet a blast to drive, if made properly, but it could be a nightmare to drive too. At $3650( going up in $50 increments), people are not amused.
Looks like it was set up as a drag car or the Ford pan wouldn’t clear the front cross member. Finish up the details and this could be fun.
What a piece of crap. The body is a mess, the suspension is obviously wacked, and there’s frame-work that someone has tried to cover up. Just because one can shoehorn a V-8 under the hood of a car that obviously needs major work doesn’t mean it’s a good idea! This one is a fail in my book!
Real Tigers are unsafe at any speed. This bitsa kicks that up quite a few notches.
and, eric, they DID come w/a bent8. Was it the 260? 289? Y not the 302 or is it the 5 oh? 4 engines different from each other (slightly).
“…What would you change …”
the motor/transmis and suspension. Ie bring it all back to oe, get safe, reliable. Hop up abit from there (but no frankinstine drive train, etc). The tiger was fine (cept when compared to it’s Italian stable mates).
At one point the idea of a “ sports car” was to interact with the vehicle, not just get in, start it, put it in gear and be able to talk on your phone or use whatever device while passing the miles.
Then again, my driving history goes back to when yellow and red traffic control lights had different meanings than today.
Well, at least he didn’t try and pass it off as a Tiger
I have owned both a Sunbeam Alpine (67 1725), and a Tiger (64 260). Both were in top condition. The Alpine was much more fun to drive with its balanced handling characteristics. If memory serves, the weight distribution was something like, 49 rear and 51 front. I had the 1725 balanced and blueprinted; it was peppy and fun. The tiger was pleasing because of its nice rumbling V8 dual exhaust-note, and its torque. But the handling was atrocious compared to the Alpine, due to being quite nose heavy. Maybe they should have put a Miata (or similar) engine in? btw: the Alpine had a steering box set up; the Tiger had rack & pinion which is necessary in order to clear the engine. The car in the photos above sits all wrong, way too high in front. Better to find a nice un-molested Sunbeam Alpine.
Finish it and ‘hop a Coke can’ !!
I had a TR4 302/AT with that same shifter. The wheel wells had been cut for big tires/wheels. I had a lot of fun with it!
Here is a believe it or not. Back in the fall of 1991 I bought an original Alpine with a factory Borg Warner Automatic Transmission. And before you get on my case, I only paid $75.00 for it and it ran fine, looked good but had a broken drivers window & the rear window in the top was foggy. Had some fun with it for a couple weeks before winter set in & I flipped it for a couple hundred $$ profit.
Those seats are from a 1967 Mustang.
Too bad about the automatic, why not a 5spd! It has potential, but it’s certainly not there yet. Which is probably the nicest thing you can say about it.
Hopefully reserve isn’t be much high than that last bid at 3,650. or the seller may be hanging on to it for a bit longer.
Ended at $3,650.
Reserve Not Met.
I only paid $1100 for my TR4 302/AT but it never quit on me, except for the Triumph worthless lever shock absorbers. I sold it after 4 years driving it everywhere for $800!