The key words to describe this Tiger are UNIQUE and ACCURATE.
Why UNIQUE:
Why ACCURATE:
History of the Tiger:
The ownership and location history of #375 has been derived from conversation with the son of the second
owner, and the third owner. Both provided oral information and documentation. I was also able to contact
Tony Borroz, the son of owner number two, who provided additional insight into his father’s period of
ownership. The ownership time period of owner one and two may not be split exactly correctly, but is
believed to be pretty close.
The Anecdotal Story goes like this:
The car was purchased new somewhere on the Northwest coast and went to live in the Portland, Oregon area. The first owner was said to be a mature adult who did not auto cross the
car or modify it in any way. I was unable to document his name.
The second owner Joe Borroz, moved to Vancouver, Washington in 1950 where he worked 30 years for Alcoa
Aluminum as a tool and die maker. Joe was in his late 40’s when he bought the car from owner number one.
According to Joe’s son Tony, Joe did not believe the car should be modified, but rather maintained as stock.
Joe regarded himself as the “Caretaker” of the Tiger, rather than the “Owner”. In 1995 Joe moved to Sierra
Vista, Arizona, taking the car with him. Again, a very mature second owner that also was not a hot rodder or
auto-crosser.
The car was always a Sunday car, never a daily driver, which kept the mileage down. To this day the car only
has 95,000 miles, which is very low for a 60 year old car. It rains a lot in Oregon and Washington, which also
probably helped keep the mileage low.
Fourteen years later in August 2009 Jeff Kane bought the car and relocated it to the Bay Area. The car was
very complete and unmolested, retaining all the normal Tiger pieces that typically have been lost and
replaced. That’s why Jeff bought the car, as you rarely see unmolested Tigers. Because of its age and unusually
low mileage, Jeff commissioned Rootes Group Depot to totally restore and freshen the car. The suspension,
brakes, interior and under carriage were redone. The engine was not rebuilt but carb, generator, distributor
and radiator were redone. It is very likely that a valve job was performed.
Jeff had another Personalized Tiger that he drove primarily, leaving #375 to sit more than is good for them.
When Jeff passed away, I bought the car from Emily Vassos, his wife.
The Freshen Up:
Since the car was in the Bay Area, as is Rootes Group, I asked Bill Martin what it would take to make the car
exceptionally concours correct. At the time, Bill and other STOA members were using this car to write the
concours correct judging manual. Bill and I spent an entire afternoon going over the car with a microscope.
We filled 5 pages of a spiral bound notebook with small and not so small corrections to freshen and make
corrections. Bill spent 6 months blowing thru the list. The totality of the result was stunning. It was as if the car
was completely re-restored. After taking possession of the car, I did another 2 pages of “fixes”.
The First Showings:
The car was not finished when we took it to Tigers United 40 in 2019 held in Sacramento. CA. Unbelievably,
the car took first place in Stock Concour, and also won the Howie Award for Best Stock Tiger, and then won
the Peoples Choice Award.
Due to Covid, the next possible outing was Suni VII, held in Indepence, MO in September 2021.
The Tiger easily placed First in the Stock Tiger class in the Concour Judging.
Recently, the Tiger was shown at Tigers United 41 in Santa Maria, CA in June 2022. The Tiger won Stock
Concour and for the second time won the prestigious Howie Award for best stock Tiger.
Why LUCKY:
So, to Unique and Accurate we have to add LUCKY. LUCKY, that the first two long term owners were very
mature. LUCKY they were not hot rodders or auto-crossers. Lucky that they lived and cared for the car far
away from the California scene, that destroyed so many cars. LUCKY, the car spent its whole life in favorable
climates. LUCKY, that in the car’s 60 year life, it has covered only 95,000 original miles.
The car runs and drives like a new Tiger with very tight suspension and steering. This Tiger runs exceptionally
cool at both high and low speeds, and even stop and go. There are no oil leaks of any kind. Absolutely
everything works properly, as noted in the Functions test at the two events attended.
REFERENCES:
Anyone interested in purchasing this car should very definitely discuss it with Bill Martin, who
built the car, and more importantly was and is, the Chief Arbiter of Correctness. The following Tiger Notables
Tom Hall and Patrick King are completely familiar and knowledgeable about this car and could be used as
references. Of course, the car has been TAC’d and authenticated.
Potential Spares:
Potentially available spares not included in the purchase price are the following:
