Sunday, September 13, 2009

Tiger, Tiger, Grrrr.... 6 degrees .......

Sunbeam Tigers had small Ford V8 engines, Sunbeam was sold under the Rootes Motor Corp,
Chrysler bought Rootes and but didn't have a small enough V8 to fit into the Tiger. As a Ford engine would not do in a Chrysler owned model the Tiger was discontinued after 1968.
This is were I came along , a Chrysler dealership in New Westminster , Columbia Dodge had a Rootes Sunbeam Tiger ,left over from the previous owner of this dealership, I made an offer on the new Tiger, they said no then a few weeks latter they called back and wanted me to buy it.
So I sold my first Tiger(a 1965) to my friend Victor and bought the new one a 1966 model year sold and titled as a 1967. BRGreen with black seats and trim, white wall tires and a 3.15 rear axle vs the stock one of 2.73. Better off the line but higher rpm on the highway.
Very interesting "6 degree ish" happenings..... Years later living on Lambeth Drive as the family up the street ,we made very good & strong friendship with the Don Butt jr. family. So cool.... Don Butt senior was the owner of the Columbia Dodge where I bought my 1967 Tiger.
It was more than ten years latter before I met Don jr. and family up on Lambeth Drive.
.....still would have this Tiger..........if I didn't go muscle car..... Corvette...where are you now?

Bottom photo.....Guess who's in the driver's seat now..?... yes Dear....OK..

Also notice that my MG TD can be seen in the carport, this was our family home, we moved there when I was six and a half years old in 1950. Long gone now, replaced by a small
development of nine homes, we had moved to an area of smaller farms with two barns, chicken coups a second small house , a dog run and two large fenced fields for the horses that we had to look after. We had this very neat riding gas powered lawn mower that I would use to cut the front and back lawn. My first drive of anything powered other than with my feet or legs. The front lawn had a bit of a slope to it and this is were I did my first "power slide" , spinning the rear wheels with full power going up the slope at a slight angle so that the rear wheels would spin wildly. After I discovered that , the summer lawn mowing was way more "fun". many years later when my mom decided to sell the family home, I wanted to buy it but since we had not long before moved to our new Lambeth Drive home it seemed to be too much to ask of my family to
move again so soon, besides we loved our Lambeth home too much give it up.
Hey,.....if we had bought the old homestead , I would have had a six car garage plus the barn.......
and power sliding my way around the front lawn................
..kind of miss both those wonderful homes.....lots of fond memories..............

what a classic sports car...Ferrari....seller's remorse.


This was a keeper a 1964 Ferrari 250 GTL (250 GT Lusso), sold it at a weak moment a few
years ago. Was delvered new in Paris, France and imported to California in the 1980's and lightly used before my ownership (37,300 km.) and under went a full restoration in the early 1990's. The resto was completed in the spring of 1994, very bottom myself and Lynn Williams (expert mechanic)
see the bottom three photos was it's first drive after the resto. Top photo was the spring of 2004
just before the Lusso was sold to a banker in Ohio.
In the summer of 1994 I had the car trucked to Hyatt hotel in Monterey for the Ferrai Club of Amercia's national meet (Ferrari's 40th at the Monterey Historic Races). There were seven Lusso's in that class that were being judged at an international level. This was my first national concour event and really didn't know what I was getting into. Never did it again it was too intense for me. After the weekend my very good buddy ,Bryan U. and I drove back home to Vancouver, what a drive home....eh.. Bryan....Loved that car, enjoyed it for ten more years , wish I still owned it. .. ... Seller's remorse.....hit hard......

Car Cuties 1966 Corvette Stingray roadster

Top photo, Just a bunch of "car cuties" , one of which I did marry....see bottom photo
This 1966 Vette was one year old when I bought it , a very young guy's dream car who ordered
it new but with limited budget ordered two options: a four speed and a hardtop. There wasn't even a radio, which I installed myself after I bought it. Had it for a few years then sold it to buy
a 1970 Z28 Camaro.....sold the Z28 when the family started....I would still have that car if....ha,ha
wouldn't trade my three girls for the world.....love you girls..

My very first car.

My good friend from high school, Jay Corder, had a 1953 MG TD we had lots of fun in it and I decided that I should look for one. I found a 1951 MG TD that had been repainted BRGreen and seemed to run well so I bought it for $575.00 from a guy that raced MG's at Westwood race track, which was in Coquitlam, which is now a residential development, sadly~!. Enjoyed the MG for a few years and then stored it in the family carport for a few more years and sold it in 1969 to pay for our Honeymoon driving trip to California (borrowed my dad's station wagon). If we didn't get married I would still have that car now, haha! Sorry Linda...

My little Brother's Old Car, 1961 TR3 b


British racing green coloured, Triumph TR3 b, with red leather interior. This was my brother Randy's car, left in my care when he went to Oregon State University. I used it at a BCIT school rally, and it got photographed for the school paper. My brother was not thrilled that I had been cruising around in his car! Funnily enough this issue of the school paper's date was exactly ten years before my youngest daughter was born!
Note the "OSU" sticker on the rear window.
When Randy graduated from OSU, he brought home a brand new 1969 Corvette Stingray with the big block 427 cu. in. engine 4spd . posi rear end ,BRGreen with tan leather seats. It was usually a wild , hold on tight when he was driving. (Hey bro let me drive??...please.)
I found out years later (he confessed) when I was away on holiday he drove my '66 Vette and had damaged the nose of the car managed to get it repaired before I got home. He was sweating as the car was just finished the day before I got back. Gee... I thought that something was different about the car when I was washing it that day.
I just LOL when he told me years later
.
My little brother (four years younger) .... passed at a young 55 ......I really miss him.