Tech Tips
Technical Tips for Tigers. If you would like to share a tip with the Tiger Community please submit your contribution to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For the adventurous, don't forget the Tiger Tracks archive. There is a wealth of tech tips published there that have not yet been pulled together into a collection, but there in there! Hint: Use the Tiger Tracks Archive Search available in the pull-down menu at the top of the page!
Before we get into the actual procedures to install the various pieces of this kit, I’m going to show you a few pictures that will help you decide if you need this type of reinforcement now, if you can put it off for a while, or your problem is even more serious. Figure 2, below shows the typical Tiger frame in the area of the rear spring attachment. The area shown has obviously been cleaned up and stripped of undercoating. It is much harder to see this failure when it hasn’t been cleaned. It remains one of the most common fatigue failure points in the
Tiger.
After several years of discussion and development, Theo Smit and I finally think we have an instrument voltage regulator developed that will meet and exceed all your requirements. Shown below, this simple package will end many of the problems associated with the OEM vibratating regulator which leads to many of the incorrect readings on the water temperature and fuel level gages.
Several years ago I was doing research on brake systems with the idea of upgrading the brakes on my white pearl Tiger. This lead to a lot of reading of published information on brake system design and the realization that a pedal mechanical ratio of six to one was essentially an industry standard practice. For reasons that are not clear, the Rootes Group designed the brake system used in Sunbeam Alpines and Tigers with a pedal ratio of approximately four point four to one and added a vacuum/hydraulic booster to obtain acceptable brake pedal pressures.
I have run mechanical brake switches on my Sunbeams for many years. I made this change because of the poor life expectancy of the OEM hydraulic switches. Admittedly, I was running DOT 5 Silicone Brake Fluid in most of my applications, which may or may not be responsible for the repeated failures of this switch.I started out using electronic switches, mainly the Microswitch brand. The Microswitch units made the bracket more complex and expensive, so when I was asked to make this kit available, I chose a switch with automotive applications to make it more cost effective.
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This Tech Tip is guaranteed to reduce anxiety while increasing your sense of security when driving your Tiger. It is about checking the torque of your Tiger's critical fasteners - suspension, axle, steering and brakes. Print out the STOA Creeper Crawl Torque sheet, get under your car and get to work! Be sure to observe all the usual safety concerns when working under a vehicle, especially if using jack stands.
Click here for the STOA Creeper Crawl Torque Sheet which, while not suitable for framing, can be laminated for handy use in a grimy environment/
Last month we showed you a teaser picture of a typical cracked rear spring mount in a Tiger about to undergo structural repairs. That picture and others are shown on this page in their original “as found” condition. The structural faults depicted here include complete cracking and failure of the inner tie plates, substantial cracking of the triangular tie plate to the perimeter of the floor pan, and failure of the welds inside the spring hanger that tie the rear sub frame to the X member.
When we were restoring Rob’s Tiger, he wanted to keep the reservoir and the OEM appearance but wanted to get the advantage of the relocated radiator cap for cooling performance. If we could connect the reservoir to the right tank, instead of the left, this would accomplish our goal.
We contacted a radiator core manufacturer and he provides us with a custom design, hi efficiency dimpletube core assembly that meets our requirements. For practicality, we installed a vent valve at the top of the right radiator tank to allow the purging of the air trapped at the top of this tank. This radiator design has proven quite successful and we have supplied many Tiger owners copies of this improved design for almost 10 years.
We’ve written several Tech Tips describing fatigue failures associated with the Tiger front cross members including spreading to original specifications and strengthening and re-enforcing operations, but it recently occurred to me that we’ve never made a comprehensive list and explanation of the expected problem areas in the rest of the Tiger chassis. Even without accident damage, many Tiger chassis have experienced some fatigue or environmental degradation at this age. The more severe the history (accidents, rust, high performance engines, aggressive driving) the higher the probability that some level of degradation is present. The positive side of this is the fact that we have a fairly large experience base and most of the problems occur in a similar pattern on all chassis. It is also my experience that most owners rarely, if ever, give their Tigers the detailed inspections they really need to avoid having small problems turn into major failures