Spring has sprung in sunny New England and thoughts turn to Sunbeams. I have gotten mine back up to snuff after the winter storage and it is doing very well. It's all spruced up and ready to go.

Last month, I wrote about the 5-speed T-5 transmission that will be going in my Tiger soon and described the super-rare AMC tailshaft housing that is needed to effect the conversion. Well there are still more of those tailshafts out there. I got an email from a TE/AE member letting me know that he had found one through an Internet search in 20 minutes and is having a kit built. The message…perseverance pays off. So, if you want a slick 5-speed conversion, don't loose hope and keep trying to find that piece.

The transmission is not in the car yet and will not go in until June along with a 347 stroker motor. In looking into the motor options, my preference was to get a completely built long block. Ford Motorsports sells stroker kits and are working on offering a full motor, but it is not yet available and I was unable to find out when it would be. So I asked the Ford Motorsports folks whom they would recommend for the complete motor. The listed Nowak, DSS, Probe and Coast as candidates. I asked around and got very good words about Nowak. He built a stroker for Ken Mattice's Tiger and Ken is very happy with it. So based on Motorsports' recommendation and Ken's personal experience, I have ordered a 347 cubic inch stroker motor from Dan Nowak in Orange, CA.

Ken's motor, set up about the same as mine will be, dyno'ed at about 385 hp and 415 ft-lbs of torque. Dan is a former Ford engineer. He appears very knowledgeable and particular about all aspects of the engine. He has his own pistons forged and grinds his own cams. I told him that I wanted a good lumpy idle so it sounds as mean as it is. He says, "No problem…we will just move the lobe centers a bit to get what you want." Pretty thorough.

It will be a 9.8 to 1 compression motor with Edelbrock aluminum heads, roller rockers, roller lifters, custom grind cam and all the goodies for making it bulletproof.

One of the concerns I had heard about 347 strokers was oil consumption. This was due to the 3.4 inch stroke and 5.4 inch rod placing the wrist pin hole far enough up on the piston to overlap the oil ring land. But with Nowak's motor, he utilizes a wider (taller) than normal oil ring groove so that, in addition to the oil ring, there can be a full circle "support band" under the oil ring, giving the oil ring a full circumference of support. Neat! Ken tells me that his motor does not use oil and runs as cool as any Tiger engine he has had.

Dan is very accommodating about working all the Tiger-specific issues of front sump for the oil pump, front dipstick, 3-bolt harmonic balancer with the proper alignment for the pulley, etc. I even sent him a pair of old Tiger valve covers to be sure that the roller rockers would clear them. I should get the motor towards the end of June and will write again on the installation and the performance.

Pat and I just returned from the BASH at Tiger Tom's. It was great seeing some of you there. Talk about "Over The Top"! Tom, Joanne and the entire BASH team did an outstanding job. Fireworks, drive-in movies, great food, hi-tech audio/video, balloon ride, helicopter rides, tech sessions, car show, tours, balloon chase, auction, parts sales, cruises, and on and on. Fantastic job!