Other Cars (British & British-Inspired)

Hello, I'm doing a v8 swap on my 67 Alpine. It currently has a V6 in it now. It has the stock driveline. Besides the actual tiger parts what are some of my other options? The tiger stuff is pretty pricey and somewhat hard to find. Does anyone have any input about Pinto hubs for the front and 8" rear ends. I use to thing that the Ford 8" was a sturdy unit, but now I hear some poor stuff about it. Any imput or recommendations are welcome. Thank you

If I ever do another project it may be building a Tiger clone. I have the same questions as you. I am wondering if you could use the mgb front crossmember, front suspension and rack and pinion for the front end. A friend of mine has an MGB with a 275 hp v6 in it and he is planning to bump the hp even higher with a turbo and he is planning on using a GM S10 rearend with limited slip. I do not know what you would get for gear ratios in these rear ends. Jim Nichols where are you!

Cheers
Byron

Byron, I have a Hillman Husky and originally I liked the idea of using an mgb crossmember and suspension in it. I didn't think it through too much, but one thing that jumped out at me is the frame rail width of the Alpine/Tiger/Husky is quite a bit wider than an mgb. If you widen the mgb crossmember/rack to the point where the shocks would clear the Alpine frame rails, you end up with way too much track width. It didn't seem worth pursuing. There is at least one thead on here showing a mustang II adapted to a Husky that seems relatively straightforward.

Jessie, my Hillman has ventillated GM rotors and GM metric calipers on alpine hubs. I had to shim the calipers with washers to be spaced correctly, and while it seems to work fine I can't say that I really like it. I wish I had a mill and knew how to use it so I could make custom brackets. The rearend is a ford 8.8" with disc brakes. I have dual tilton/wilwood 3/4" master cylinders and it stops pretty darn good.

If you went with the Mustang II front end it would have to be narrowed to fit the Alpine. A guy that I know told me that the Mustang II front end is okay for hotrods but is not the best setup for a sportscar as it is not set up for optimal handling. Is this true or is this guy out of his league?

Cheers
Byron

Byron,

You're right, the mustang II would need to be narrowed, but it doesn't look too difficult from what I've seen. The crossmember itself is easy, the rack slightly more difficult. I couldn't cite anything objective about the Mustang II being good/bad for a sportscar. But in my mind one set up with tubular a-arms and coilovers would probably be as good as the alpine unit and would have a rack and great brakes. My Hillman with the Alpine supsenion works pretty good, but I'd like to have a rack instead of the box with all the linkages. If I had nothing but time on my hands it would be really fun to start from scratch and build your own crossmember and tubular a-arms.

I've got a 65 Alpine that I will be converting to V8,custom front end with Mustang II spindles and 7.5 Ford Ranger rear end narrowed one side. Might have to change jobs and move so don't know when I will get the time.

The front end is hard to deal with on an alpine. There's 2 being made, 1 is extremely expensive and the other seems to be impossible to get a hold of. I gave up on trying to do any more to my alpine and picked up a Z. The alpine is fun as it is and handles decently with the 4 link in the back but if the front end was improved I'm sure it would be huge.

Jim, where might you be headed to?

Hi,Robbie! I'm flying down to Kingman,AZ for a Power Plant Operator interview this weekend. My current Pulp mill is on strike and the future is bleak.

IMHO, The Mustang II componets/aftermarket, have a lot of value to offer .About the only original part, is some common dimensions, and the name. Use aftermarket tubular a-arms, top/bottom. Some are made for coilovers or bags. I like the GM "F" body spindles, with bolt-on steering arms.I "believe' they take Mustang II size bearings ? This makes front or rear steering easier to get correct, including bumpsteer and best ackerman, for your application. Jim N. told us about the GM rack, with bolt hole tunable pivot points. Thinking outside-the-box, why always trans in front and rear end, out back ? Tigers have inherently high front end weight. "IF" you went transaxle, it would really help this issue. Lots of t-axles out there, Audi, Porsche and Vette. Many are quite a good value, compared to the combined cost of conventional transmissions and rear ends. If you connected the engine to the t-axle, via a rigid torque tube,like Porsche or Vette, you would gain additional beam and torsion strength, with the chassis. 2 cents, roverman.

In the photo gallery in the Sunbeam section there are two Alpines with Ford engines and stock Alpine suspension mated to a Mustang 2 steering rack. Neither of these cars post photos of this setup. Being that the sump on Ford engines is in the front it must be that the rack falls just to the backside of the sump. Am I correct in this? If this is the case then why did Rootes go to all the trouble of putting in a front steering rack?
This method of using a rear steering rack seems to work on these two cars so maybe this is the easiest solution. I stand to be corrected on this as I do not have a huge amount of knowledge on this topic.

Cheers
Byron

BWA, Actually the Alpine crossmember can be notched for a Midget rack,use MGB steering arms,still have the tierods angled back but better ackerman than the original Tiger. There is a kit from Dales restoration. I have a picture of one for the Grassroots Challenge that uses Speedway longer bolt on steering arms and Ranger hub/disks. Strongly recommend seam welding entire crossmember.

Jim this is real good information, thanks! You mentioned Ford ranger hubs and discs, what year? Does this hub work with a stock Alpine spindle? What appropriate caliper would work with this setup? I am assuming that any year MGB steering arms and Midget steering rack will work. Do these steering arms bolt onto the Alpine assembly?
The last bit of information required is the springs and shocks. The Ford small block engine weighs 460 Lbs with cast iron heads and with aluminum heads 425 Lbs. I have no idea how much an Alpine engine weighs but I would assume that you would need stiffer springs to handle the extra weight and upgraded shocks.
On a side note Jim I hope you are successful in your job interview!!

Cheers
Byron

BWA, The Ranger hub/rotor has the same outer bearing as the Alpine. You have to use the Alpine inner race and bearing. Here is a link for info on MGB steering arms and Midget rack. Tiger racers use 400-450 lb springs. Look in Speedway Motors racing for different sizes. I would cut one coil off the stock spring. to stiffen it up.





[www.tigersunited.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2013 08:41AM by mgb260.

BWA(AKA Byron), Here is another link that will be helpful. Also new crosspins and bushings. 68 Camaro shocks front and rear for 64-67 series IV and V,I like KYB. Interview went well but won't know until April 1st. [teae.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2013 08:31AM by mgb260.

Jim, I was just looking at the '68 Camaro KYB (and Koni) shocks on rockauto and amazon, and the pictures I'm seeing don't show the correct through-bolt tube bottom mount that my Alpine suspension takes. I was pretty sure that my front end was a series IV or V, but I don't know for sure since I dug it out of a pile in a guy's back yard! At any rate all the other rebuild parts I bought for it were IV or V. By the way, rebuilding an Alpine front suspension is EXPENSIVE. I think the poly bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, springs, wheel bearings etc. were about $600, probably another $150-200 on the rotors, calipers, braided lines, etc. I probably should still rebuild the steering box and rebuild the rest of the steering linkage.

By the way, I had a heck of a time with the steel sleeved poly bushings on the a-arms. If you don't have a press do yourself a favor and take it to someone with a press that knows what their doing and won't bend stuff up.

Ryan, If you have have the series 1-3. Stud on top and bottom like Robbie's. 68 Camaro front shock has tube mount on bottom and stud on top,actually same shock as 83-92 S10 pickup in front. Rockauto has had wrong pictures before. You would press the bar pin out.You might be able to bolt the bottom bracket from the later series on a series 1-3.




Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2013 11:07PM by mgb260.

Ah ha, pressing out the bar pin is the part I was overlooking. Thanks Jim.