Rootes Group Depot was started in 1981 by Norm Miller. Norm had purchased a large Sunbeam Tiger and Alpine parts collection from George Fallehey, the originator of The International Registry of Sunbeam Tigers (TIROST), and needed a place to store everything. Norm, being an original Tiger owner had amassed a respectable collection of goodies and had always wanted a shop to work on his and other Tigers. When Norm started taking on customers he felt obligated to get things right and started his research on the different models of Tigers and that turned into his Tome "The Book of Norman". Along the way the repair became Restoration and his work distinguished itself as being very accurate to original and very well done.

   In 1995 I was invited by Shawne Leimar to a NORCAL open track day at Laguna Seca. One lap around Laguna Seca in Shawne Leimar's Tiger convinced me that I needed to get a one. My chance came in 1996, where I found a "Mark I" in Fremont, CA. I promptly sold my restored '67 Olds 442 convertible 4speed Rallypac Disc Brake car to get the Tiger. After the purchase Shawne told me that I had to meet Norm, "he will either like you or not in the first 10 seconds" were Shawne's words of warning. In the first 2 weeks of ownership I had done the clutch, all the hydraulics' and fixed the electrical issues as the car had sat for 12 years and needed some love. The Tiger was my 30th or so car and I had done restoration route before and was pretty good with the wrenches. I called Norm and asked if he would look at the car and Gulp! tell me if it was real! He agreed and I came over on a Saturday morning. "I remember this car" "what a peach" were his first comments, "what were they thinking!" "Your missing this that etc..." I was glad that we were still talking after a half hour and I was taking mental notes. Inside Rootes Group Depot was all this rare Tiger stuff everywhere! When it was time to head back to the house he asked "How long have you had the car?" I replied "2 weeks". Norm then proceeded to ask if I was interested in coming by and help out after work a couple of days a week. The deal was my labor for parts and experience from an expert. 5 years of "you big dummy!" later I had a pretty good grasp on the History and the methodology and did a very nice restoration on that first Tiger. Thanks again Norm!

   In 2001 Norm had decided that to write volume 2 of The Book of Norman. He couldn't be here and write the book. We came to an agreement for me to take over The Depot. I was working as a Manager / Engineer at a startup fiberoptic switch company and had always dreamed of owning a shop. After getting laid off like everyone else in this valley I decided to try and make Tiger Restoration my new career. It has not been easy but it has been unbelievably rewarding. I am fortunate that some of my customer's believed that I could do top notch work and set me loose. I took what I had learned from Norm and my experience in automotive restoration and incorporated an attention to detail that did not exist in tiger restoration at the time. Rootes Group Depot now offers concourse winning restorations and repairs with paritical attention to detail, such as hardware and fastener finishes.

I would like to thank Dale Akuszewski, Rick Mc Leod, Doug Jennings and STOA for all of the support.

Bill Martin