black66 wrote:It is of little doubt that this Tiger will be reshelled into an Alpine . For those that disagree with this practice, what about the brand new body shells available for MGBs ? Does that mean it is no longer an MG ? After all they were not made in the sixties . I see nothing wrong with it , after all another Tiger would disappear otherwise. New bodies are now available for the Mustang and mk one and two Ford Escorts are a possibility .
Probably shouldn't respond here as it will likely start an longer thrread not to do with the original post.. but a few things on that subject.
1. The car will be shelled for sure.. but on a car like this you are not "saving a tiger" you are actually probably destroying a nice alpine to make a V8 sports car... if you were saving a tiger you would use new sheetmetal or donor panels from another dunbeam.. in this situtation you are completely abandoning the unibody and just removing some mechanical components and a transmission tunnel and a couple of parts and putting them in another car.
2. I have no issue with conversions
IF they are made known as such. Why do people swicth the ID plates (VIN and JAL) unless they are doing it to try and increase value of the new creation? They are hiding the fact that the car was actully an alpine with a different identity/history and now 45 years later suddenly its a tiger.... if you are doign such a process honestly.. leave the Alpine VIN on it and SAL. If you owned a 1985 JPS BMW and crashed it.. would you go find another 3 series.. drop all the hot parts in it and then swap the ID tags? No.. you might swap parts.. but would not swap the VIN... not to mention its illegal.
3. The new body archument re: MGB's, midgets, comaros and mustangs... sadly for us we dont have this moral question... but i was thinking about this recently in relation to tigers and alpines.
When cars are reshelled with repro shells, the owners tend to make a fuss of it.. as in they hold/increase value due tot he fact its all brand new, no rust/accident or other history.. so its all open and disclosed.
I believe that in many cases the donor car that supplies the driveline and other parts can have its ID transfered to the new shell. Now, chances are that the donor is being wrecked after, and the new shell has at no ponit had another identity, it has no other history.. so its not like a car that existed for X years then suddenly became another.. its new and assumes the old cars identity via transplant.. and I assume the old car is destroyed so that later on you dont suddenly have 2 cars claiming the same heritage.
I do wonder in the abve scenario about cars that for example had serious mechanical failure and had engine/box replaced.. then when reshelled they technically only have the interior/gauges and diff of the original Identity.. m,aybe not even that...
anyway.. long and the short.. there is nothing wrong with algers
IF they are disclosed as such, the only real reason someone would change the VIN's is to try and maintain financial vlaue in the resultant car to at some point pass it off as a factory original.
I think ther reason there is so much negativity towards conversions is the fact that people deny that it has happened.. I think they would be far more welcomed if people were more honest in the practice.. if they kept the alpines ID.. what can someone possibly have against it.. except for the alpine guys who would say you have ruined a perfectly good alpine!
) once others views are put forward.
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