66 Tiger

66 Tiger · Nov 12, 2006

I know it's not a Mustang so if you guy's would rather me find a different forum to post on - let me know...

I just got a 66 Sunbeam Tiger with the 289 motor & while waiting for the new headers to show up I decided to get some other routine maintance stuff out of the way - oil change, plugs, etc...

The car has basically been sitting outside in a cow pasture for the last five years & I'm pretty sure the oil hasn't been changed in that time either.

Anyway, when I drained the oil I noticed there seemed to be what looks like possibly some water mixed in with the oil.

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My question is - Does this look like a head gasket leak could have caused the water or could this possibly be the result of condensation some how getting into the motor while sitting for so long?

I didn't see any signs of coolant / greenish fluid drain out either. Would the coolant actually mix with the oil or does it sort of stay it's own separate deal? I have read in other threads where people actually see "coolant" coming out of their oil pans...

I realize it's impossible to accurately diagnose an engine related problem from looking at a pan of some wasted motor oil but if anyone has any advice that could possibly help I would appreciate it.

I'm just trying to decide if I should change-out the head gaskets while the car's some what dissassembled for the header install...

Thanks

iskwezm · Nov 12, 2006

water will make the oil a milky substance and the coolant might be in droplets by itself. But if the car was sitting, how do you know it had coolant??? Maybe its rain water or who knows. But a easy way to check for a head gasket is to do a compression check or leakdown test.

D.Hearne · Nov 13, 2006

More'n likely that's condensation from sitting for so long. Change the oil and run it, then check it again. Be ready for other leaks to pop up from the gaskets getting dried up. Went there with the 68 Merc I bought a few years ago.

Max Power · Nov 13, 2006

Exactly what Hearne said.

Cool car by the way. Good luck finding a forum other than this one for it...LOL!

66 Tiger · Nov 13, 2006

Max Power said:
Exactly what Hearne said.

Cool car by the way. Good luck finding a forum other than this one for it...LOL!

Man that's cold! LOL...

What if I agree to NEVER talk about any of the British parts on the car - & in addition also promise to buy everyone here a beer!

krash kendall · Nov 13, 2006

My uncle had a '65 Tiger with a dealer upgrade Boss 302. Awesome car!

Max Power · Nov 13, 2006

Hey, the Cobras were british cars too. It's all good. Just don;t ask any electrical questions. Ground as positive is too damn confusing.

krash kendall · Nov 13, 2006

Max Power said:
Hey, the Cobras were british cars too. It's all good. Just don;t ask any electrical questions. Ground as positive is too damn confusing.

That was for corrosion resistance. The terminal at the battery would act as a sacrificial annode rather than all the groundstrap points and connections on the car's body and frame.

Rusty67 · Nov 13, 2006

I think we like ALL Ford products here... or most anyways =)

That is a really kewl car. I've only seen 1 in person and I definately liked it.

Make sure you prime the oil pump seperately before you crank it since its been sitting so long. Don't want to put a lot of undue wear on the motor.

dbfarr · Nov 14, 2006

I'd kill...

for one of those!!! How 'bout some pics?

bnickel · Nov 14, 2006

i've always wanted a tiger myself. personally, if it was me i'd rip out all the positive ground Lucas electricals and replace it all with regular 12v negative ground stuff. gauges and all, outta there.

dbfarr · Nov 15, 2006

Weight to power ratio... That's all I have to say!

'66 coupe · Nov 15, 2006

bnickel said:
if it was me i'd rip out all the positive ground Lucas electricals and replace it all with regular 12v negative ground stuff. gauges and all, outta there.

How hard would it be to just grab an Alpine, strip it to a shell and build a tiger doing exactly this?

I've always wanted to do that...maybe w/ a 331.

66 Tiger · Nov 15, 2006

dbfarr said:
for one of those!!! How 'bout some pics?

Sure... I'd be happy too!

I don't really have many good ones though - As soon as I took delivery of the car it went up on stands in my car port.

One of the header tubes coming of the drivers-side header had a golf ball sized hole rusted through it. ( sounded mean, LOL ) The headers are only available through a custom builder & have been on back order for the last two months now. I did however FINALLY get comformation that they were sending them out last week though!

At least I have had some time to thourghly go through the car & take care of some things that really needed attention. Like the oil, there was also definately some wiring issues that had to be sorted, and a few other odd & ends associated with having a car that has been sitting for so long.

Next thing on my list after the exhaust is to replace those dry-rotted 13" wheels & tires...

BTW - Thanks for the responses to the oil questions too. I think I'll hold off on the head gaskets for now & just wait untill I actually am able to drive it some & then try to diagnose if I actually have a problem.

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5.0ina66 · Nov 15, 2006

Sweet! I want one! I hope you're keeping all the take-off parts, these cars are RARE! OBTW, get rid of that air filter soonest...I once saw the black foam inside get sucked out of 2 of them on a 2x4bbl 390 :o

bdepedro · Nov 15, 2006

5.0ina66 said:
Sweet! I want one! I hope you're keeping all the take-off parts, these cars are RARE! OBTW, get rid of that air filter soonest...I once saw the black foam inside get sucked out of 2 of them on a 2x4bbl 390 :o

Ditto, one backfire and that foam insert will melt right into your carb and intake. Not good Otherwise, very nice car. The Tigers will always be cool cars, especially now that they are so rare. It used to be you'd see one here or there. I like the valve covers. Never seen ones with Tiger on them. Very nice!

66 Tiger · Nov 15, 2006

Yeah - The air filter is outta here as soon as I find a replacement. Right now I'm trying to find an OEM oval but if that dosen't pan out I'll just pick up a "Cobra" style oval on e-bay... ( IMO those look nicer than the OEM anyway - and alot less expensive )

bdepedro · Nov 15, 2006

Do you know if the original air cleaner matched the valve covers or can you get one aftermarket? That would look great!

RGS0907 · Nov 15, 2006

Tigers are FAST.

90Qtrhorse said:
Man that's cold! LOL...

What if I agree to NEVER talk about any of the British parts on the car - & in addition also promise to buy everyone here a beer!

You know that the British drink warm beer because they have Lucas electrics in their Refrigerators. Good luck with it. I always liked those cars & man are they fast!

I remember right after I bought my GT 500 I was full of myself zooming around the highway when (what I thought was) a little piss-ant zipped up behind me. I floored it & got my car going way over 100 in a flash & wouldn't you know that damn little car (a Tiger) passed me by & then got me to pull over for a chat!

Max Power · Nov 15, 2006

There are three setting on a Lucas light switch: Off, Dim and Flicker.

Quote from Mr Lucas: "Real gentlemen don't motor about at night.

(Both seen on T-shirts at Hershey.)

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