Fully Restored!

This 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mk 1 was sold new to a resident of Portland, Oregon, and the car's second owner bought it in 1970 and kept it in Vancouver, Washington, and later in Sierra Vista, Arizona, until 2009, according to the seller. The next owner of the vehicle lived in San Francisco, California, and commissioned a refurbishment by Rootes Group Depot of Santa Clara, California. Work involved repainting the body in Wedgewood Blue, redoing the black interior, fitting Koni shocks and a reproduction exhaust system, and overhauling the suspension, steering, brakes, carburetor, generator, distributor, and radiator. The 260ci V8 and the four-speed manual transmission have not been rebuilt. The car was sold in 2018 to the Texas-based current owner—who had assisted Rootes Group Depot on the refurbishment in earlier years—and it was soon returned to that shop for completion. At the Tigers United 40 event in 2019, the vehicle earned first place in the Stock Concours class, the Howie Schoenfeld Award for Best Stock Tiger, and also the Popular Vote award. The car again topped the Stock Concours class and earned the Howie honor at Tigers United 41 in 2022. Equipment includes LAT 13″ alloy wheels, a black removable hardtop, a white convertible top, front disc brakes, and a wood-rimmed steering wheel. The current owner refurbished the cooling system, sourced various factory-style components, rebuilt the distributor and installed PerTronix electronic ignition, had the generator rebuilt and the wheels polished, overhauled the Autolite carburetor and the steering wheel, outsourced the cleaning of the car's underside, and replaced the steering rack, starter, and lighting gaskets, among other tasks. This Tiger is now offered in California on dealer consignment with a certificate of authenticity from the Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association, awards, an owner's handbook, a workshop manual, a white tonneau cover, spare parts, a tool kit, and a clean Texas title in the owner's name.

Finished from the factory in Wedgewood Blue (53), the car was repainted during the aforementioned refurbishment. The black removable hardtop is installed on the car in most of the accompanying photographs, and the white convertible top is shown in its raised position in the gallery below. Features include dual side mirrors, a flip-up fuel cap, dual exhaust outlets, bright trim, and chrome bumpers. Work performed to the body under current ownership is said to have involved the following:

Replaced rubber gaskets around headlights, taillights, and turn signals
Replaced headlights with reproduction Lucas units
Replaced brake-light switch
Replaced hardtop rear-window plexiglass seal, sourced and replaced missing stainless-steel piece of the window and seal surround
Sourced “Aramic”-script windshield wipers with double-bladed Lucas refills (display only)
Adjusted hood-opening and -closing mechanism
Replaced and adjusted hood rubber stoppers
Replaced rubber cowl seal

Bright-finished LAT 70 13″ alloy wheels with spinner-style centers are mounted with 185/70 Dunlop Sport Classic tires that were replaced in late 2024. Braking is handled by front discs and rear drums. The suspension, steering, and brakes were overhauled during the refurbishment, the brake servo was rebuilt, and Koni shocks were added. The wheels were polished under current ownership, and leaking steering-rack bellows were replaced. The brake fluid was flushed and refilled with DOT3 fluid in May 2025.
The interior features bucket seats trimmed in black vinyl with blue piping, a treatment that carries over to the center console. The trim for the door panels and rear cockpit is black, as are the dash pad, shift knob, carpeting, and seatbelts. The interior also has a heater, an ashtray, and a passenger-side glove compartment. The color of the emergency-brake handle and mechanism was changed from black to silver under current ownership.

Instrumentation consists of a Jaeger 140-mph speedometer, a 5,500-rpm tachometer, and gauges for oil pressure, coolant temperature, and fuel level as well as an optional ammeter. The five-digit odometer shows 96k miles. The mahogany steering wheel was refurbished under current ownership and includes a black line circling its rim as well as a chrome horn ring. The turn-signal unit in steering column was replaced since 2018 and a mechanism in the column was replaced. The current owner replaced the trim panels in the trunk compartment with reproduction pieces. The owner also installed a reproduction Lucas Group 56 battery, which is secured to a white plastic battery tray positioned atop a sawn mahogany board. The battery hold-downs have been cleaned.The 260ci Ford V8 was factory rated at 164 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The carburetor, generator, distributor, and radiator were refurbished around 2009. The following work was performed under current ownership:

Commissioned Carolina Carburetor to refurbish Autolite 2100-series carburetor
Repainted intake manifold
Stripped fan shroud, overflow tank, and oil-filler cap and repainted these parts semi-gloss black
Rebuilt distributor and added PerTronix electronic ignition
Replaced distributor cap, spark plugs, and ignition wires with Autolite parts
Replaced vacuum-advance line with steel line
Installed yellow-top Motorcraft ignition coil
Installed reproduction ceramic coil resistor
Adjusted valves
Replaced valve-cover gaskets
Installed Autolite PCV valve
Replaced heater valve and mount
Replaced heater-valve water-line fitting
Replaced temperature sending unit
Replaced coolant hoses and sourced double-wire clamps
Installed steel fuel lines and steel fuel filter in engine compartment
Installed heat-riser tube for choke
Replaced bolt “locks” on exhaust manifolds
Applied “Tiger Fix” to address throttle-linkage issue caused by missing pinch bolt
Installed Sean Johnson–supplied composite reproductions of oil-filter hoses
Replaced oil-filter casting and nut
Replaced oil-pressure line from block to gauge
Replaced oil-pressure gauge
Installed yellow-striped hose connecting servo unit to back of intake manifold; added “cotter pin” roll clamp securing the hose
Replaced FoMoCo starter with rebuilt unit
Rebuilt FoMoCo generator
Repainted generator bracket
Replaced fan belt
Replaced windshield-washer bottle
Sourced AC paper air-filter element (display only)
Replaced various fasteners with “Auto-S” items
The oil was changed most recently in November 2024. The cooling system was drained of its winter mix and refilled in May 2025.

The Sunbeam LTD label on a rocker cover is shown above, and other stampings and castings are highlighted in the gallery.

Power is routed to the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. The clutch and pressure plate were replaced in 2009. In mid-2024, the seller had the followed work performed on the underside of the car:

Cleaned factory undercoating
Removed and repainted rear end, springs, and Panhard bar
Replaced spring-mounting plates
Replaced Panhard-bar bushings
Removed overspray from Koni shocks
Applied semi-gloss black paint in certain areas
Removed, rewelded, and repainted reproduction exhaust system
Installed reproduction rubber exhaust hangers
Balanced driveshaft
Replaced U-joints
Changed transmission fluid
Changed differential fluid
The clutch's hydraulic system was flushed and refilled with DOT3 fluid in May 2025.

The Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association Certificate of Authenticity was issued in August 22, 2009, and lists the factory color code, engine number, JAL number, and chassis serial number.

The JAL ledger entries for this car are presented, and relevant stampings and serial numbers are shown in the gallery.
A multi-page bullet-pointed list of work conducted under current ownership is viewable in the photo gallery. A list of spare parts that will accompany the vehicle is provided in the gallery. The current owner completed the tool kit and also repainted the jack and tire tools.