51 replies to this topic

[Scallywag630]

Great to see an Alpine getting a full resto. Back in the 70's I had a couple of Tigers and if I remember correctly, both had bodies made by Jenson. Where did you get your panels from? Maybe the Sunbeam Tiger Owners Club could help getting good ones. My second Tiger had the last original osf wing in the UK.

Anyway, all the best and keep updating.

[Al*]

Peter... thanks, I've been reading your mgb gt thread and I also have to say terrific work.. looks great! I completely agree about the quality of the panels that you get for alot of vehicles... I know what you mean about volkswagen too.. didi work on a 66 beetle and a 66 splitty and the panels were also quite poor.. but alot better than these "sunbeam" ones haha It is extremely frustrating that companies can even stay open when they supply peices that arent even useable... of all the panels that were supplied for this car not one of them is what you would call a good fit... but as you can't get any original sheetmetal we will work with what we can and build what we can't... It'll get done... I have been photographing everything to do with the poor panel fit and the amount of work required to make them fit and once we get our parts from the refund of the floor pans i think i will send another email full of pictures to see about maybe getting more of a credit towards other parts... the panels weren't exactly cheap and the shipping was an arm and a leg so i think we are entitled to something back...

Scallywag.. that is awesome that you've had two tigers.. I'm quite jealous.. do you have a link to the tiger owners club as that could be useful as we are going to have to source a steering rack and column from a tiger to convert this one from an alpine to a tiger... the panels were purchased from Alpine Westmidlands Ltd. out of Redditch.. they were quite helpful when we were initially ordering the panels and such (it was quite a large order) but as soon as we emailed explaining our issues we got one reply back basically saying that they had been in business for over twenty years and never had any problems with the panels... haha when we replied (which we continued to do for a couple months) we were never replyed to.. she was quite shocked when she got a phone call from me telling her that i was in Redditch for the sole purpose of talking to her... haha their adress wasnt on their website so i went to the citizens advice bureau in redditch and had them look it up for me.. haha

Today was pretty good out in the garage.. spent a few hours out there making and test fitting and fine tuning peices and my dad also spent a couple hours out there working on the front wheel well... no pictures yet as i plan to go back out after i have a bite to eat for supper and get a little bit more done but pictures will be coming up...

[Al*]

quick picture update...
this is the bit in behind the rear quarter... had to build 8 peices to get it back to the original shape you see there....

this is a better picture of the quarter i had to section/splice togetehr to make fit... going to grind the tac welds inside and out and hammer and dolly it perfect and then tig weld it so i can get a perfect shape...

more crap bought "panels" haha .. this is the splash guard for the inner wheel well inside the front fender (wing) at the bottom...

to show the difference... the purchased peice hammered flat and new one cut out ... and the bends werent even in the proper place either they were more than a 1/4" off haha

inner wheel well clamped back in place with the new splash panel ... needing some patching on the inner wheel well...

rough idea with tape of the shape the inner wheel well should take...

making patches to rebuild the inner wheel well...

splash panel welded in place 90% .. still have to finish welding along the top edge...

mock up of the 1st of 2 inner sills and the front section of the inner rear wheel well...

front part of inner sill again....


will be out in the garage again tomorrow and hope to get the inner wheel well done and hopefuly the rear inner wheel well as well...

[adam_93rio]

shes going to be a beauty when shes done, what are the final plans?

[Al*]

currently the final plans are to have it in a dark british racing green or a really deep blue, corbeau low back buckets, debumpered front and rear, 289ci v8, headers with stainless steel exhaust running along the bottom of the sills exiting infront of rear tyres, aluminum high perf radiator, fog lights mounted in the front valence... its a ways away from that but thats the direction we are heading with it... unsure of wheels as of right now...and a few other things

[Al*]

yeah so worked on it a bit today and my dad had the day off as well so he was out there working as well...
inner wheel well i built.. ready to be welded in..

inner wheel well patches built and tacked in place... little bit more work and it will be done..

tipped it down to be able to work on the floor pans a bit easier..

my old man grinding on the rear floor pan... (so many spot welds)

rear pan out...


a comparisson showing the useless purchased rear floor pan going to have to hand make the rear in the same fashion as the front...

dad getting a wee bit ahead of himself here making car noises....haha

[Bean]

God, I love your projects! Don't ever get a new hobby, lol

Amazing, as ever, Al

[Scallywag630]

Sorry for the delay. you can find the Tiger club at www.sunbeamtiger.co.uk

A guy called Dave used to be spares guy.

[Al*]

cheers Bean! appreciate it... and don't worry I won't get another hobby! haha way to many plans to do something like that...

thanks for that scallywag... I will for sure check that out!

[gibraltar rocks]

Superb project, very interesting to follow. I've nothing but admiration for guys like you who are not afraid to take on such a large job. I'm sure the end result will be worth all the effort. Good luck.

[Scruffs]

Love the thread man, top panel work, I wish I was 1/2 as skilled as that!! Especially considering you're having to deal with those frankly sh1tty panels...

I have been pestering Dad to get a similar sort of project but no luck, he doesn't seem interested! Maybe I'll forward this over get him all fired up! Then again, with his single car garage being my only Mini refuge...not such a good idea...

Keep us updated dude

al

[panelbeaterpeter]

Top work, I can't wait 'til I have my own workshop and can do that kinda stuff in my own time! Good stuff.

[Al*]

cheers again everyone.. no pictures this time but a small update.. rear right side floor is finished now.. had the front floor pan tacked in palce and was fitting it up with the inner wheel well and the inner sill peice but wasn't happy with the way it was going so i took it back out and made another front floor pan..haha... so that is almost ready to go in.. but i deacided to fit the inner sill before the front floor pan as it will make lining it up heaps easier.. so that is the next step.. tip it back up on its side and get that welded in...

progress is slowing down on the sunbeam due to the fact that i am restoring a 78 mini for a guy i know in the garage right now.. just finished welding on a new roof at the pillars as the old one had a webasto cut into it and was cr@p...

and panelbeaterpeter.. I also can't wait to get a workshop of my own!.. not complaining as this is doing just fine but it is about time to get out of the folks garage... hahaha been cluttering it with cars for too long now!

[Al*]

this project is progressing.. my dad has been making some headway while i have been working on the 78 mini.... rear floor is in the 1st of 2 inner sills is in the front floor pan is almost ready to go in....etc... the right side is really strarting to look good....

[Tomf]

Any updates on the project? Iv just completed just over a months solid welding on a series 5 for my mother, it should be coming back from being painted in the next couple of weeks.

I think there must be a problem with the rear 1/4 panels as i had to do exactly the same to the O/S panel, the N/S rear 1/4 was also a very bad shape but i only have to add one extra section of metal.

Good luck with the project ill be checking back from time to time to check for updates.