[Tigers] "Numbers Matching" engine for Sunbeam Tigers

[Tom Witt]

>>>BUT... you cannot claim that a specific engine IS definitely the original.<<< 

I would disagree. An original owner can know (and swear) that the engine is original. In a court of law a witness does matter. There may not be confirming numbers but all those numbers (could) prove is that the engine is original. There is an order of evidence with the goal of originality. Not the goal of “matching numbers.”  So, yes, it CAN be claimed that an engine is original because the original owner has that knowledge.  The question is, does the buyer believe the seller??? The doubt of the buyer does not preclude the fact that a specific engine is in fact the original known to be so by the seller.

Tigers have no stamped body ID. The same “engine originality” argument presented - if applied to the body shell would mean no Tiger can be confirmed as original (a TAC inspection not withstanding). Hence some degree of faith is placed on the evidence that the body shell has the appearance of being originally a Tiger though no (non-removable) ID markings are evident.  And as much as a said faith is placed in the TAC inspection findings, so should a fair faith be placed in a sworn statement that an engine is original by an original owner.

Just so there is no confusion, I do agree that the term “matching numbers” is a questionable term regarding Tiger’s, - but not necessarily untruthful.  By that I mean that the removability of the valve cover (ID) does not in and of itself mean the engine (and its removable ID) is not original.   And it does not eliminate the applicability to say the Tiger and its engine are “definitely the original.” 

From: Bill Waite via Tigers 
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2018 5:24 PM
To: tigers at autox.team.net 
Cc: rtscolgan at yahoo.com 
Subject: [Tigers] "Numbers Matching" engine for Sunbeam Tigers

If you do a search on various Tiger forums, you will find that there is literally no such thing as a "numbers matching" Tiger insofar as the engine is concerned.  The basic reason?  Individual engine numbers were never stamped on original Tiger blocks.  A given engine might have the proper valve cover identification number for a specific engine, but that valve cover can be placed on any engine.  The only thing that can be established for certain is if a specific engine is NOT the original.  Why?  Because the casting dates on the engine can only show if the engine "could" be original (or just a replacement carefully selected to match up with the build date).  If the casting date is not correct, then the engine is definitely not the original engine.  

The truth: let's say you buy a Tiger from the original owner (or documented second owner, etc).  It is possible (based on casting dates, etc) that the engine could be original.  In some cases, that is likely very true.  BUT... you cannot claim that a specific engine IS definitely the original.  Only that it is not the original.  You can prove it "might be" the original... but not that it is original.

An advertisement that claims "numbers matching" for a Tiger cannot apply to the engine.  It can be established that a given Tiger has a specific transmission tag  number or a differential number that could be the original, but a given engine cannot be claimed for any Tiger.  Only that it "could be" the original.

Hipo 289's were the first small block engines that Ford identified with VIN numbers (individual engine numbers).  Tigers were not originally produced with Hipo 289's.

Bill
Grand Rapids, MI 

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