[Tigers] Guest Speaker at Tigers United 38

[Tom Hall]

Mike Jones

The Tiger community is fortunate this year to have Mike Jones as guest 
speaker at Tigers United 38.Mike played a significant role in the design 
and development of the production Tiger.His contributions helped to take 
a prototype, which was developed in the U.S., to the production Tiger 
produced in the U.K.

After earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mike Jones began his 
career working as an engineer for Rootes Group.In 1964, Mike left Rootes 
for a job at Jensen Motors as Chassis Project Engineer.For the first 18 
months in this position, Mike worked closely with Jensen Chief Engineer 
Kevin Beattie, concentrating mostly on Sunbeam Tiger chassis design and 
initial development.Having worked at Rootes previously, they both 
understood their development process which aided the collaboration with 
Rootes engineers Alec Caine and Don Tarbun.

While Mike was employed by Jensen, the company was responsible for the 
designs of unique Tiger components, builds of prototypes, and basic road 
testing of each prototype.As background, Tiger sheet metal modifications 
were made to painted and trimmed bodies as shipped from Pressed Steel 
Company.Those sheet metal modifications were carried out by Jensen on a 
separate production line from the final assembly line.The Tiger’s final 
assembly line was separate from Austin Healey and Jensen production 
builds and used a separate production labor force.

Developing the Tiger presented significant challenges -- having to 
convert a Shelby one-off prototype into a viable production design 
within a tight budget and short time schedule.Mike was instrumental in 
numerous aspects of the Tiger production design, such as improving 
steering geometry and handling, minimizing rear axle tramp and brake 
fade, improving engine cooling, as well as analyzing and mitigating 
engine failures.

Mike Jones was eventually promoted to Chief Engineer at Jensen.In 1975, 
he left Jensen and and went on to work for Ford, British Leyland, Lotus, 
GM and Chrysler.Mike retired in 2008 after leaving a significant mark on 
the automotive industry.He is currently working as a volunteer in the 
Historical Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a Fellow 
with the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a Member of the 
Society of Automotive Engineers, USA.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear history from the man who 
helped make our Tigers.

-- 
Tom Hall
ModTiger Engineering LLC
5712 San Luis Court
Pleasanton, CA 94566
modtiger at comcast.net
(925)462-3876
www.tigerengineering.net

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