[Tigers] The one that got away

[J Clark]

My 35 year involvement with Alpines/Tigers began with a '62  Series 1. It was my first car back in 1978. Around that time Alpines could be located and purchased all day long for a pittance. Tigers on the other hand, here in the So. Bay area, Calif, were harder to find but they were there if you looked hard enough. Yet, every time I found a Tiger I simply wasn't in a position to swing it, or had no place to work on it,  or no place to garage it.  Though so much water has passed under the bridge I still sometimes wonder where those vehicles are today. There were more but here are two that come to mind most effortlessly. Maybe one of you is privy to their fate? Not looking for names or addresses. Just, if possible, how thingsplayed out. I wish I had more details to share than I have provided, I know it's not much to go on.
Mk 1 Tiger last seen in 1977 languishing topless in the storage yard at Crone's Transmission shop in Mt. View, Ca. It was white at the time, probably original paint. Don Crone, the shop owner, knew what he had and told me that he wanted $5000 for it. Didn't get around to the details such as what parts went with it (interior was stripped out as i recall) but Mr Crone DID make a point of telling me he had four brand new "Tiger Paw" tires for it. I was fifteen years old, unemployed, didn't have the 5 grand - and rode my bicycle back home with the silly idea that he was "asking too much anyway", which , in retrospect, he obviously wasn't... sigh. Hope it found a good home.
Mk1A last seen (1990, iirc) at the owner's home in Sunnyvale, Ca. near Henderson Ave and El Camino. Owners name was Charlie. It was color code 39 with a black interior. Though it had been in a left front fender bender, it was all there -  including the black and yellow plates. He wanted 3500 for it. Passing on this car will be one of the bigger regrets (and I hope it remains that way, come to think of it) I shall carry to my grave :-(. Don't know the vin # of either of these cars but this one (the 1A) had the letters "TIM" in the license plate character string.
... hope it too, as well, found a good home. 

I'll bet that there are more than a few similar stories out there to tell about "the one that got away". Hope to hear yours... but if it is still too sensitive a subject to share with the world, I understand...  :-)

Best regards, 
Jon ClarkB9472148                                                                                                                                                                   
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