OWNER AlVIS CLUB

No. 123 BULLETIN NOVEIVIBER 1963

MI'. Fi.\1ter's Sfl/.!!'(I 25 COllfilll'lIwl V.D. P. al Midlal/d AII'/"s Day. I l is belil' I'ed 10 bl! ,hl' 011/.1' olle ;11 ('xiS1l'I/(,(, and look MI'. Fisher IWO .l'cars 10 locale (Sel' SepU!mber 8 1111/'lil1) .

SPARES?

ASK ALVIS FIRST!

For ail Alvis spares write or phone

the Alvis Service Department,

Job's Lane, Coventry.

Telephone Tile Hill 66209

ALVIS LTD. • ~OVENTRY

THE ALVIS OWNER CLUB Patron : S. C. H. DAVIS, Esq.

Club Council : Genera l Secretary : L. V. Ha1liwell (Chairman) .presidelJt : J . E. Brownbridge K. R. DAY

K. R. Day W. L. Powell N. D . Purday R. E. Spain

Associated IVith lite R .A.C. 55, MOTSPUR PARK

N EW M AlDEN, SURREY

Malden 4142

Comment The business of c1assifying and naming .. specials .. is ever intriguing. A curtailed Firefly chassis with 25 11 cc. of

., elast ication " is undo ubtedly a n Alvis Specialj

and by convention the same engine in a Lagonda Ra pier (10 h.p. of course)

chassis is a Lagonda-Alvis - hence aIl the modems, Tojeiro-Climax, Cooper-Bristol, Lister-Jaguar and Il Healey-Austin," to Dame but one. Lesser breeds perhaps, do not acknowledge their sires a nd dams and Dellow, Cannon, L.M.B. and Mary Bloody must surely have" sanguine azure" in ci rculation somewhere.

We were o nce approached by an intending member, who's .. vehic1e " transpired to be a Firefty-engincd, 12/50 radia­to red, Southern Cross bodied, Humber back-axled, Hiltma n-wheeled and Brit ish racing green paiotcd .. Heapa." Our

shudder was quickly detected by the pareotless chassis, but even now the chipped eoamel o f the red triangle pro udly leads its staggering meanderings. Were we right to utter in retreat - " We tho ught you IVQIlled to own an Alvis !"?

Tf you a re following the argument - What ace Wc to ca li a Speed-twenty with 2 mm. off the head , hydra ulic brakes, ram pipes on oversize-jeued S.U:s, 11''' rear wheels with 6'50 tyres, te lescopÎc shock absorbers and a donkey-that-wilts when you start .. motoring "? An Alvis Special ?

Have sorne of us becn caught in the infectious rat-race of performance modification, and if 50 how fa r can we go

without affecting tht;; durabi lity, reliabIlity and purity of the original machine? The V.S .C.C. and the V.C.C. a re poles a part o n this matte r, should we be equatorial ?

The first three correct answers (on a postcard plcase) received , will reccive the author's grease-bJackened thumbprint o n the crown of a burned valve by return , which could prove almost anything, or could il ?

ANON-ALYI S

Gen eral Secret ary's Notes Calendar or events ror 1964 March Annual Geneml Meeting (date to be fixed) April 4 Midland Scction Sprint May 10 National Alvis Day (Crystal Palace) June 21 Northern A]vis Day JuJy 12 Midland Alvis Day Sepl. 6 Scottish Alvis Day

and South Eastern Sect ion Sprin t (Duxrord)

V.S.c.c. E\'cnts Provisional markings for troph ies up to 7th Septernber :-

Alvis Trop"y Tllorollffhbred T/"Ophy A. Charnock 54 points P. Waller 71 points

(4 '3) (E.R .A.) L. Wickham 50 points P. Lindsay 67 points

(12/50) (E.R .A.) J . Stephen 45 points A. Charnock 52 points

~~ ~~

Mf. A Stafford, Nalder Hill Rouse, Nf. Newbury, Berks., wou Id Iike to hear from the owner (if he is in the Club) or the Silver Eagle which appeared on the cover orthe August hulletin and which he once owned.

New TE.21 lt is many years smec the type letters TE were last seen as the

designation or an Alvis chassis and n.o other Alvis model, not

even the 12/50, has been in production for so long - over 13 years. During this time b.h.p. has been raised from 83 to 130 and top speed from 89 m.p.h. to j ID m.p.h.

While we hope to run a serics of 3·litre articles, the passage of lime is already leading to sorne confusion over the va rious models and the following brier list may be of use to prospective purchasers of thesc cars :-TA .21 1950/52 Saloons by MuUiner and coupes by

TB.21 1951/52 TC.21 1953/54 TC.2 IjlOQ 1954/55

(Grey Lady) TC. 1089 1956/57

Tickford . Roadster body by Panelcraft Lld .

}

SaIOQnS by Mull iner and coupes by Tickford (Mulliner's taken over by Standards)

Saloon bodies only of Graber design built by Willowbrook Ltd.

TD.21 1959/63 1 Series 1 & Il 1 Saloons and coupes by Park Ward.

TE.21 1963 ) The new car now carries the twin head lamp system and the

rear wing va lance has been modified. Stecring and rront sus­pension have been altcred to give lighter low speed steering and better hand ling. Detailed modificat ions to the porting and sil en~ cing ·system together with larger va lves and stronger springs have added a further 15 b.h.p. to the ou tput which is now 130 b.h.p. at 5,000 r.p.m. Jt is understood thal , bcsides better ac­celeration, the top speed wi ll be raised to 110 m.p.h. Editor's Notes

My thanks to tbe members who havc answered my plea for bulletin materia l - l now have quite a rew articles in hand .

I MPORTANT NOTICE All mat1er for the BuUetin must reach the Editor BY THE 20th OF EACH MONTH for inclusion in the following issue. AU remittances should he made payable to the H ALVlS OWNER CLUB .. and not to individuals.

1

However, mate rial suitable for the post-war owncrs (partlcularly three litre models) and vintagents is still in very short supply.

Afraid that this month's adverts. meant much work , deleting verbiage, adding names and addresses which were o miued and writing ta o ne member who seerns to have mislaid his eheque book. There was also the trip to M.1.5 to get one of the adverts decaded. AJl this means lots of un necessary work , with a st rang accent on I/IlIIecessary.

Jahn 8rownbridge asks me to mention his willingness to let

any member eon templating renovation of a TA.21 have a cop)' of his accounts for the job (See last month's Mid land Notes). His car has cavered 4,000 ve ry satisfactory miles. Qi l pressure at 60 m.p.h. is 50 lbs . wi th JO lbs. at tickover.

P.S. On the moming of the 22nd, 1 received two letters a nd one set of Section Notes forwarded to me (very prompt!)' luckily) from my o!d Stanwell address. lt was only by the for­lunate chance that 1 was away from work on the 22nd that these were published ; narmally it wauld have been toa la te.

Section News SOUTH EASTERN

H OIl. Secrerar}': K. B. BR ETTELL, 151a Prestan Hill, Kenton , Harrow, Middx. DRYden 1053 December Dinner Parties

Having arranged ta eat on the JJth December in a Hotel in Bayswater, Clink writes to tel l me that he has a[so booked for a party on the same evening! Hawcvcr, nol to worry. We have decided tha t there arc enough gourmets in the Section to fill both establ ishments.

Frida)', 13th December at The F leece Hatel , Boxford, near Sudbury, Essex. Tickets at 15/6 per head will be ava ilab le from Cl ink at the next Shau lder of Mutton meetings.

Frida)', 13th Dcccmber at what is reported to be a very pleasant Hotel in Bayswater. The tickets are 21/- pel' head (we cannot match the outside Londo n prices) and will be availab le at various meetings during tbe coming weeks and from Brian Ledwith at 21 Alexandra Mews, Abbey Road, Maida Va le, N.W.8. The Shoulder of Mutton. Assington. October 3rd.

ln spite of several having beel1 laid up for the winter there were a dozen Alvises outside and twice that number of members and wives ioside. Stick land brought his rare TB 21 - a most attractive car which would look even better ifcavered in blondes and champagne at Monte Car lo! Hadson, his recently acqll ired 3- litre coupe and member Ailman from the Midlands a rri ved in his TA 14. The East Anglians were ext remely pleased that Ken Day was able to be present and as a lways hope that hi s example may inspire o ther members to attend whenever possible. ln this connection it is intended that a Club Dinner Will be he Id at the Fleece Hotel, Boxfo rd short ly before Christmas. Friday I3th is the date: tickets will be around 15/- a head and those wha can attend are asked to înform Mrs. G. A. Stick land. Bennebroek, Saxmundham or the Spares Registrar - if possible before or at the December Noggin - Thursday 5th. Old Town Railway Station, Swindon, Wilts. 15th Oct., 1963

MT. Moor reports a n increase in attendance, no less than 16 assorted enthusiasts filling the bar. The next noggin is an Tuesday, 191h Navember and ail members in the area are asked to lend their support. The White Lion, Arrcton , Isle of Wight. Sat., 12th Oct., 1963

Dave Head says that attendancc was weil up ta normal, the locals were pleased to greet Frank Spencer, Pat and the 12/60 (they get around) from London. 1t seems that anothe r pre­Xmas dinner is to be arranged at the" Wheatsheaf " in Newport o n the 7th Dccember. Ali those interested in this please write to Dave at Harrow Lodge, Shanklin, Isle of Wight. Spanish Galleon, 15th October, 1963

Onlya small number of members and their friends found their way ta Greenwich this month. We were pleased ta welcome new member Tony King a nd his wife who enthusiastica lly awn a 3 Lilre which, believe it o r not, registers lots of a il pressure.

Joe Burke was expected at the meeting but did not arrive and it was suggested that the 12/50 (Triumph) had misbehaved.

We look forward to a larger gathering next month - this is certa inly the only meeting where one can view Alvis ca rs with the beautiful !ines of the •. C uuy Sark " as a background ! The Fox & Goose, EaUng, Thursday, 4th October

No absentees among the regulars. Conversation ra nged widely; someone said that if the 3-t litre had been fitted with an oil warning light instead of a pressure gauge a favourite talking point wou ld neve r have arisen ! Jock Stephen left in a tremen­dous hurry and frightened the \Vits out o f a passing Austin , it appeared ta blanche but this was probably due to the sad ium lighting ! Retrospect

Bob & Kay Raberts have intraduced another Alvis enthusiast, Michael, into the world. He was just over 7 pounds which is cheap at any priee and Mother and san are very well- Bob looks a lot better than af late too.

2

Stan and Vicky wcrejoincd by Eddie Chi!cott at MT. and Mrs. Fisher's house for il celebration of the return ta use of their Speed 20, incidentalJy, Eddie now has weil over 100,000 miles of fairly rapid moto ring beneath the bonnet of his TC 2 1 and il is sti ll running on the origina l botlom end.

At a Sect ion Committee meeti ng recent ly Vicky Fletcher was pcrsuaded to organise another of Ihe excellent Fox & Goose social evenings and this has been fixed for Saturday, l st Febru­ary. We have decided not to have a Driving Test meeting next year but to content ourse Ives with Alv is Day. a gent le run ta somewhere and with the proposcd Sprint in September, subject to our finding a suitable spot for this. Coming Events

December Dinners, 7th Dec., The Wheatsheaf, Newport , Isle of Wight, see above; 13th Dcc., The Fleece Ho te l, Boxford, Nr. Sudbury, Essex, see above ; i3th Dcc .. Bayswater , see above.

First Thursdays, The Fox & Goose, Hangar Lane, Ea ling, and The Shoulder of Mutlon, Assington , by Colchester, Essex. 7th Nov. and 5th Dec.

Second Tuesdays, The Punchbowl , Dorking, Surrey. 12th Nov. and 10th Dcc.

Third Tuesdays, The Spallish Ga lleoll. Church St. , Greenwich. 19th Nov. and 17th Dcc.

Third Thursdays, Old Town Railway Station. Swindon, Wilts. 19th Nov. The Warren Wood, on the A 11 south of Epping, 21st Nov. and J9th Dec.

MIDLAND H OIl. Secretai')' . E. P. OAKMAN. 40, Brocks Hi11 Drive, Oadby. Leics. Rally 21 /22 September

Co-p romoted A.O.C and Engli sh Electric (Rugby) Motor Club with the English Electric doing a il the work, but whe re were the AL V1S OWNERS ? ? ?

Ralph Good was present with his TA 14, Peter Wainwright from Melton Mowbray wlth his TA 14, Edd ie Chilcott made it at the last second, with his TC21/l00 having found a boUle in his tyre just pri or ta leaving - some people and their empt ies -and my TA 21 with Jim drivi ng.

Some 20 members of the Engl ish Electric supported the event in an asso rtmenl of small fast motors, and it appeared to me right at the slart that we wou Id have a ur work cut out to make the 29 m.p.h . average over the 120 miles route .

9.30 came, and we were away - a mass af maps, route cards. check points, etc., only to arrive FlYE minutes la te at the first check point. On we sped through the nighl up and down narrow lanes. ave r hump-back bridges, dawn gated roads, into fa rmya rds (wrong again) but we never did find check point No. 2 nat even after following Ralph Good - he led a whole string of us Ihe wrong way. and then disappeared !! Check points 3, 4, 5 and 6 were found with varying degrees of lateness, but after arriving at an unmanned point some 35 minutes late , we gave it up and made for home. [found 1 could not look down and work out M.R. travelling at 70 miles an hour a long roads made for cows only. Jim did as he was tald. and drave ext remely fast, very often in the wrong direction. My youngest son took ovcr the ma p readlng and made a far better job of it.

Ralph had ta give up when he was making very good lime owing ta the illness of hi s navigator. Peter Wa inwrigh t finished, and 1 believe really enjoyed himself, but missed a number of check points - only to have someone bump into his car in Leicester at 4 a.m. on the way home. Bad luck Peter.

Eddie Ch ilcott with 1wo navigatars made good time through­out the trip - at one check point his front drums were glowtng rcd through the spokes - and acco rding ta the final figures ea rned himself the novices prize, but 1 believe an objection bas been raised, somcthing to do with the direction of app roach, which may prevent Eddie from gettin~ this award.

TOLERTON &

BURKE LTD.

THE SPECIALISTS

EXTENSIVE STOCKS OF NEW AND SECOND

HAND SPARES

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION OVERHAULS

REBORING SPECIALISTS

RETRIMMING, BODYWORK, ELECTRICAL

M.O.T. TESTING STATION 8A, TORBAY STREET (off Hawley Road)

LONDON, N .W.1

GULliver 2165

3

Seven Kings 2888 Evenings & Weekends

A first class even ing. which 1 hopc will be repeated , when mo re ALVIS owners should try thei r skill at driving. Bitteswell

Tbe Bitteswell evening was wei l attended , and we a re grateful to Maurice Farren for bringing along his tape of 60 years of motoring. ln the park - Sp. 25 , Sp. 20, Fircbird Tourer, Firefty Tourer in rcally concours cond ition , TA 14, J2/70, a Humber a nd Austin. My TA2 1 need ing a new va lve after seeing the lights a t Blackpool, bUl it pu lied the caravan ho me on Five without any bother - cruisiog al 60 a lo ng the new M .6.

We have purchased a TA 14 OHe in need of much work, and Jim has a lready stripped the enginc down, and removed la rge chunks of the body. 1 ha ve received very nice Iclters from the two previous owners, and we hope to restore this mot or du ring the win ler. Meetings for November

The Man at Arms. Bîtteswell, Nr. Lutterworth. Colour Slides. Tucsda y, Novcmber 121h and Tuesday, Dccember 101h.

1 hope to ar range meetings elsewhcre at the A.G.M. on Sun· day, and deta i! s will be senl to members.

NORTHIlRN Hou. Secrerary : C. H. NORTHROP, .• Buena Visla ," Little Singleton, Nr. Blackpool.

A new member a t the Durham meeting Mr. Popplewell is in the process of resto ring a 12/60 whose body he says was made in Newcastlc. If a ny member can give any information which wou Id be of help in the restoration l wou ld be glad to pass on such info rmation.

The Seplember meeting at Durham was no t we il attended a nd Jim Bettertoo the host has reluctant ly formed the op inion that, during the wioter rnonlhs, the meetings should be discont inued. The November mceting will be the last this year a nd Jim will .. reopen " in the Spring. Please make the November meeting a good o ne by turning out in strength .

At Manchester the September meeting produced a fair num~ ber of " Alvisites," 18 ail lold, and a predominance of 3~litres. The assortment was roughly four 3 litre sa loons, two TAI4's (one standard saloon and one Duncan bodied), a Sp. 25 D .H .C., a Sp. 25 5<'11000, a 1933 Sp. 20 to urer and a Sp. 20 sa loon with one or two othe r makes that 1 wil l not mention. T he Sp. 20 tourer sported a winged " B " on the radiator cap, the owner Ken Frith, said it had great sen timental value and a nyway il looked better on there Ihan on his 4; in the garage. This nearly caused o ne member 10 get his hammer from his car so as to knock it off. But. anyhow, he drove off to fr iend ly waves because a fter a U it is a beaut iful example o f a ra re Alvis.

The owner of the Sp. 25 D .H.C. had an unfortunate incident while on ho liday and on ly 20 miles from his destination. Apparent ly a rod came through the sump not very far from a garage, lucki ly. He phoned up .. Clink." who put him on to a scrap 25 sa loon for .E 19 in Cardiff which was a long way away. He persevered. had it towed back to the garage, where the engine was transferred, wÎth fingers c:rosscd hoping it would run . ft did , and he thereafter spent quite a lot of bis holiday sa lvagiog what was left; and the best of luc:k to his passengers ! !

Frank Robinson IS, [ undersland , enjoying his .. 3~ litrein~ " a nd finds hi s car more restful ta drive th an his Firebird, though he misses the ail synchro box and positive steering of the pre~war car. He says he is lucky with his o il pressure and while on this subject 1 should add a note o f my OW!l.

My TA21 had a replacement crankshaft at 92,000 a nd whi le 1 was about it 1 fitted an oi l tempo gauge as J suspected the oil tempo as the" Achill es Heel " of the 3~litre engine. You may reca ll an article by our former editor in the series" Progress and the 3~litre " in which he postulated the argument Ihat the sump capacity 12 pints compared unfavourably with the Sp. 20 2! ga ls. and drew the conclusion tha l the o il tempo would be high. ln fact over long distances and dri ving fairly hard my oil tempo never rises above 7crC a nd at normal cru ising 55 is the figure. This compares favourably with the figure of lOOOC + given by the first" Which " car supplement tests for V.W., Ford, B.M.C. etc. 1 should point out that 1 have limited o il cooling in the form of a Fram but r cannot think this wi ll be a very efficient cooler. My car's o il pressure when bot is 25 at 60 m.p.h. HasUngden

The October meeting was moderately attended by two 3 litres, two TAI4s, onc 4,3, tota l contents amounting to eleven. Conversation ranged from th irsty 4'3s with misaligned carbs doing JO m.p.g. to 3-litres and their abstemious 21 m.p.g. The

4

4· 3 is now tilted with Sp. 25 ca rbs which has chccked its drunken ways somewhat thougb not according to the owner, its per~ formance. ln fact on leaving the car park the take off resembled a five bob rocket on Guy Fawkes night.

A vigorous argument ensucd bctween the body repa ir " specialists .. on the relative va lue of fibre glass as opposed to galvanised iron sheet and plumbers lead. The" sticky fingers " argucd that fibre glass is easily applicd and did not rust, while the" plumber •• sa id that lead did no t shrink. Like reljgion and po lîtics neither side would be converted.

We arc ho ld ing a hot pot supper here on Dec. JOth so please rcserve this date and turn up carly and in strcngth . ft is intended to show sorne fi lm slides and if any membcr has any interestîng 35 mm transparencies he could lend for this pu rpose perhaps they could be brought fo r the N ovember meeting and 1 would retum them at the end of the film show in December. Future Meetings 12/ 11 /63 Woolpack Hotel, Haslingdon. Peter Cameron Clarke. 14/11 /63 Rosctrec Inn , Durham. Jim Betterton. 18/11 /63 Sun Jnn, Co lton, N r. Tadcaster. John Gurrey.

21/1 1/63 27/1 1/63 (Wcd.)

(Film Show). . Wilton ArOls, D enton , Manchester. Felix Pilling. Joint Meeting - Dentley D.C. and A.a.c. 8 p.m . at the" Rising Moon," Matley Lane, Newton, Nr. Hyde, Cheshire. From Hyde, drive towards Mottram, o r from Manchester take road through Ashton~lI ~ Lyne and Sta lybridge. Take road S.P. G lossop to the ,. pub" on the right - .. Wagon & Horses " and turn ri ght into Matley Lane .

SCOTTISH Hou. Secrerary: A. W. BROWN Linlitbgow 96. B[idge House, Linlithgow Bridge, West Lothian

Joint M cct - This annual gct~togethcr with North of Eng land members took place on Sunday, 29th Sept., at Lockerbie House Hote! , Lockerbie. It was quite an enjoyable event but for the fact lhat we did not have the pleasure of the company o f a single member fro m o ver the Bo rder. A few we have spoken to sincc said they had intended corning but had overlooked it. Sorne others were prevented by other things and possib1y sorne were deterred by the wea ther fo r il was a wi ld wet mo rning but it c1earcd up into a love ly afternoon and evening. After having dinner and a dram and waiting until 3 p.m. we decided to proceed wit h the gymkhana and ra n off two events in which the prize win ners werc -

WIDTH J UOG INO - l , A. W. Brown, Linlithgow; 2, E. E Garnley. Edinburgh ; 3, E. Gamley jnr., Edinburgh .

BUNDFOLD DRrvlNG - 1, J. R . P. Reive, Glasgow; 2, J. E. Smai!, Edinburgh; 3, Mrs. G. S. Ferguson, Edi nburgh.

HIGHEST OVEnALL - l, J. R . P. Reive ; 2, J . E. Smail. Tbe bow and a rrow competition had to be abandoned owing

to one of the amazons breaking the bow, and there was Deither a ycw tree or other suitable sapling a t hand.

We regret our English friends nol turning up. T herc arc many we eojoy meeting. But it was just one o f those things that happen. We look forward to seeing them next year when it will be their turo to arrange a gathering.

Winter GBtherings. So far nothing has been arranged for the next three months and , unless yOUf Secreta ry cao fix something fo r November o r carly D ccember, there wi ll he no thing until the skîllies match on the tirst T hursday in February at Polmont Bank Hotel, Polmont on A9 near Falkirk. From mid Dccember to the end of January members are too busy with Iheir own socia l functions to make an Alvis meet worth whîle. Of course there are the monthly meetings on the tirst Thursday of each month in the l van hoe Hotel, Glasgow and on the sccond Thursday in the Grosvenor Hote! , H aymarket, Ed inburgh but these are just .• noggins and nallers."

Wanted : A Secretary. Your Hon. Sccrctary gives notice that he i.ntcnds resigning at the next a.g.m. He has said th is at several previo us a.g. m.'s but he feels that Ihe post should be fi lled bya younger man. He (your humble serva nt) is over the three score and ten and thinks 1t would be better fo r the Section and the Club if a younger ma n with more zest a nd interest in ra llying would take over. What offers ?

Spares. The Secretary has four 21 inch wire wheels with tyres and tubes. The whee ls a re io good condition but the lyres and tubes are oot. Any offers to A. W. Brown, Bridge H ouse, Lin lithgow Bridge.

WINFORTON MOTORS

DISTRIBUTORS FOR HEREFORDSHIRE

WE ARE ENDEAVOURING TO LA y ON A COMPLETE SERVICE

FOR A.O.C. MEMBERS COVERING SALES, SPARES,

SERVICE, ETC .

• HYDRAULIC BRAKE CONVERSIONS

• AL WA YS A GOOD SELECTION OF AL VIS CARS

FOR SALE WHICH HA VE BEEN THROUGH OUR

WORKSHOP, AND ARE IN FIRST-CLASS

MECHANICAL ORDER

For your New or Second-hand Alvis, in fact, for anything Alvis, contact:

WINFORTON MOTORS WINFORTON, HEREFORDSHIRE

Telephone: Eardisley 337

ON A438 FROM HEREFORD. TURN LEFT AT THE A.A. BOX. SIGNPOST HAY ON WYE.

5

SOUTH-WESTERN H OIl . Secrerary: Rev. N . A. F. T OW NEND Port Isaac 284 The Vicarage, Port Isaac, Cornwa ll . Notes rrom Ray Whitficld

Edgcumbe Arros. Fourteen rnembers and wives met a l Milton Abbott. which made il our best yet ! Wc were very pleased to meel Mr. & Mrs. Bollom from Well ington, Somerset, who were on holiday, tauring in their T A.21 , and hope il will be possible

. to see them al Milton Abbott occas ionalJy. Talk flowed as usual, over technica lities ranging rrom D ouglas

Roper-Marshall 's mag troubles, various TA lesser evils ­Silvcr Eaglc exha ust systems a nd, of course, great new fie lds being opened by the Series III T E. 21 annQunccment of that morning !

Plans for next year were provisionally discussed, amongst which it is proposed 10 ho ld a Section Dinner, the suggested venue being the Lew Trenchard Hotel, Lewdown, on the Oke­hampton-Launcestan Raad, near Lifton. This is reputed ta be a very good establishment according to members who have browsed and sluiccd there and the idea at present is ta hold it on, say the second Tuesday in April which 1 think is the 14th ?

Il is rather far ahead, o r sounds sa , but time has a nasty ha bit ofracing by. If membeTS think it a sound idea. could tbey kindly infarm the Rev. Towncnd sa we may, over the next few weeks, gain sorne estimate of potential assembly.

Next Milton Abbott Meetings - November 12th and Dec­cmber IOth.

REPAlNTING by L. V. Halliwell

Following several queries about the source of the materials mentioned in his repa inting article, the author supplies the fo llowing further advice.

1. Resin fi ller - glass fibre (Kits and separate items)

2. Aerosol sprays (cellulose) 3. Rubbing-down paste 4. Jenolite rust remover 5. Brushes, Lurpcntine, white

spirit " wet ; dry " paper 6. Crushed strawberry

7. Brylcreern

8. Hadrian Rapid

Dulux

Berger Coach Finish Humbrol

9. Lint-free rag

10. " {3-- f4 " o r a .. few shi l-

Any motor accessory shop e.g. Halfords. dil/o diTlo dilto Any paint or decorator's supplies sllOp. The hip poeke/ of a resallg f l'llit-picker (seasollal). Waste gully of local hair­dresser's shop. Smith & Wallon, Halt­whisrle, Norrlwmberlamf. 1.C.I. (paillis division) Sloug" , Bucks. Lewis Berger & Co. Humber Oil Co. Lld., M ar­flee t, Hf/fi. Weil and of/ell IIsed cottOIl/ poplill .

lings." Please let me kI/a IV.

Letters to the Editor FROM THE SPARES REGISTRAR

Jl has come to my knowledge that there is a current school of thought which recommends soaking cylinder head gaskets in water before fitting them. The idea behind Ihis is that by sa ften­ing the asbestos the gasket can more easil y seal any irregularities in the block/head joint and furtbermore by compressing more than would a dry gasket s lightly ra ises the compression ratio of the enginc.

At fi rst sight there appca rs ta be nothing against this policy cxcept ta observe Ihat as Al vis cylinder heads are finished ta a high degree of accuracy, softcning tbe gasket is almost neve r nccessa ry and in any case, should the head be distorted it should he ground or millcd truc a nd the gasket no t asked to cure the trouble. The possible increase in compression ra tio is sa slight as to be hardly wo rthy of consideration.

However, l have reccntly lea rnt of a case where the head gas­ket was fitted after being soaked in waler and although the head was more earefully fitted and tightened down it eraeked very soon after the engine was startcd up - about three minutes later ta be cxact . Th is has promptcd me to write to the Sa les Engineer of Payen Ltd ., for his vicws which T am sure he will not mind me quoting -

" t eotirely agree with your comments and eonfirm that the gasket would most certainly soak up a lot of wa ter, espec ially around tbe edgcs. This would permit greater compression to be obtained on the outside cdges than the centre of the gasket which could produce a bowing effect of the head (tself. l n addition, the watcr that had been soaked up by the asbestos in the gasket, would under normal engine heat tum to steam, which, if unable to escape and fo llowing cootinued hea t from the engine. would become superheated steam thus creating tremendous pressure. This pressure, sealed as it wou Id be bctween two solid masses provided by the head and black, could eventually lead to a fracture of the weaker.

1 cao ooly add that we bave Dever advocated the soaking of gaskets for the above reasons. Ncither do we advocate the use of a bardening type of cement, because th is tends to "::;sperse when subject to engine heat, leaving voids through which gases can pass."

(Sgd.) L. Stan leick, J. Payen Ud. , Siough. Edi/ors Nole. Distorted heads and leaking bead gaskets arc

not common to Alvis engines. On the other hand cracked heads - mostly due to age - arc fairly common. If trus idca catches on the supply of spare heads cou Id easily dry up.

From" Spurned .. of Tooting Bec. For sorne years l've had a little problem nagging away at the

back of my mind , and as these !iule probJems tend ta grow, so has mine - out of a il proportion ta ilS importance. l'm qu ite

6

a matey sort of a cove rca lly - certainly matey enough to wa ve to a U other Alvis owners whcn out in my Speed T wenty. The vintage bods a lmost wrap their 12/50's round the nearest lamp­post in thcir enthusiasm to be friendly. The post-vintage wall ahs are positively burst ing with fricndship . Even the TA .14 rnob manage ta give the odd ha nd-wag on occasions. Where's the problem then ? Wel1 - ifs these three-litre lads and their glassy sta res. It 's not rea lly that 1 rnind bcing ignored, il'S the frightening thought behind it. Is it actua lly possible that they don' t recognise a pre-wn r Alvis? When 1 tirst had this idea l just put il aside - a bsolutcly preposterous ! But it lingercd, and 1 tr ied hard to think of o ther reasons - sure ly the thrcc­litres aren't Iike o ther post-wa r horroTS; 1 suppose onc ean take one hand from the steering wheel wi thout courting disaster. Perhaps ifs a fo rm of snobbery? No, th is doesn't rea lly fit eithcr, after a1l they're quite friendly types when one gets them on terra firma. l've been forced ta the conclusion that my first aDswer must be the right onc. Sorne of them just don ' t recognise a pre-war Alvis.

A few hundred yards away there lives a Grey Lady - com­plete with A.O.C. badge. Unfortunate ly l' ve never been able to separate the owner from his ca r, but on receiving my fifth glassy stare frorn him in return for my acknowledgments, l'm certa in that he just docsn't know a Speed 20 from a Mini-minor. This must be the a nswer, as l 'm sure 0 0 A.O.C. member would be so mde deliberately.

As 1 sa id before, l'rn a matey so rt of a bloke, a nd 1 suppose 1'1Ijust kcep on trying; pe rhaps if nothing else, one day il may be that a three-lit re, or dare 1 suggest it ? even a Graber. will no tice that my radiato r has a red triangle on il too ?

From Riki Moor of Swindon Recent correspondence and the imminent prospects of free

ice-cream issue from the heavens have prompted sorne compre­hensive investigation in to the design and building of a car interior heater for my thermo syphoned, old Firefly, .. Worth­ington. "

ln my cond ition chcapness of the device is essential while simplicity and good working efficiency are highly desirable ; as an animal who was born tired, 1 have become slightly un­hinged in the past when a modicum of effort has not immediatcly produced results as required ; so leaviog me free 10 go back to my favourite armchair !

Fi rst effort enta iled a visit per Alvis to junk shop to purchase an old suitcase Ud ta fit and wholly occlude the rcar of the car radiator. Next expedition ta a scrap yard yiclded a large length of hose (radiator type) of bore, sorne Il '', A hole only JUSL large enough to accept this hose was ca rved at the top cor­ner of suitcase lid. Lid was tben jammed aga inst rcar of radiator

THE NEW TE.21 SERIES 111 DROPHEAD COUPE.

core and top header tank stub, also forward engine mounting at the bottom, hose pushed just into the ho le and led in a straight line through the bulkhcad into the saloon.

Simplicity supreme but it worked quite nicely at road speeds abave 15- 20 m.p.h. however, this large lump of hase was a c1umsy abject under one's legs and 1 looked around for a con­ventiona l car healer eventLlally purchasing one from a wreck for 15/·.

A coJ1eague and fellow club member generous ly supplicd a dynamo fitted \Vith a watef pump as uscd on Spccd 20{25 1937 3t litre etc., for 5/- ! This was duly installcd aftef ratating pump body clockwise sorne 40°. A pieee of hase to fit the pump slubs and with a built in 45Q bend made il possible to fit in the Flrefly \Vitb hose connections easi ly accessible but cost anothcr 3/ 10. A large length of ·r LD. heater (10 ft.) cost a solid bar of go ld !

Only one snag remained, matching pump stubs and hosing apprax. Ii" LO. to heater basing. Local plumber coughed up a pair of" Yorkshire" copper adaptars Il'' D.D. at one end and r 0.0. at the other.

The system was thcn lashed together such as to pump water from LOp radiator hase, through pump, ta heater and return ta bottom radiator hose. This gives full flow of flaming hot water, brothers !

Wiring of the heater fan via a switch on dash-board was simple and prescnted no troubles.

First run up was not successful due ta an air lock in water circuit. This 1 cUTed by disconnecling each hose al heater, with the system full of water, and replacing as saon as full flow of water occurred ! ! l am told this problem does not occur if the water system is fi llcd (W ARM water plcase) with the engine running at a fast tickover.

Naw we have Teal HOT air but our firsl system may be retain­cd and used as fresh warm air feed ta the electric/water heater when it gets really cold.

7

Sa far l have about one-Lhird of radiator blanked off ta run at 150 - 175°F. Warm air cornes in 5 minutes from cold and aCLer 5 or 6 miles the b last of air from the heater can be pain­fully hot if directed onto bare skin! In closing, a ward of caution, when rubber hasing is hot, it does not like being bent sharply or squeezed. IL must be placcd and disposei ta run in straight lines or easy curves ; supporting brackets must be wide and not tight enough ta strangle the piping! It is expensive stuff so N.B. but B.

From " Ole Banger .. Having read bath MI. Brownbridge's letters and the com­

ments by .. Aesthctic " in the October bulletin l think a middle view is cal led for. First ly 1 can ' t agree that it would cast :El ,Oao ta build a specia l of the Charnock type un lcss perhaps one walked into a garage and said " bu ild me one Iike this." Two cars entered in sprints this year, one a 1458 cc blown dragster, beautifully made and finished, and the second a sprint car fitted with a large v8 enginc cost f250 and fl50 respectively ta build. Both do the standing -.1. in less than 15 seconds. Why should an Alvis specia l cast sa much more if one is prepared to do most of the work?? Now while .' Aesthetic " decides what ta do with his Charlesworth, having lost the:El ,OOO he thought he was going ta save by not building a special , someone ought ta rush round the brcakcrs and save the Alvis bits from the torch, C link surely can ' t store them ail. Having saved enough parts what does one do, the wife doesn ' t like them under the bed, they colleet the nuiT, and they rust in the shed or garage, sa what better Lhan to make a car and have fun. Nearly ail the successfuJ competition cars from the JO/3D on have becn specials and they are the cars which made Alvis and sold the Charlcsworth. SA as long as they don't break good cars here's to the special builder and long may his wheels spin.

Straoge as it may seem 1 too love Alvis above ail things in fact as much as beer and women put together, can l say more, however 1 don't inteod becorning the only teetota l monk in the A.D.C.

ANNUAL AGGREGATE ALVIS DAY TROPHY Final places and marks in this competit ion for 1963 are as

foUows -15t W. J. Gare (South-eastern), 75 marks from 4 Alvis ·

Days. 2nd E. D. Hare (Northern), 72 marks from 4 Alvis Days. Jrd }A. Armitt (Northern), 56 marks from 4 Alvis Days.

A. R. Buck (Midland), 56 marks from 3 Alvis Days. 5th Mrs. Gare (South-eastcrn), 37 marks from 4 Alvis Days. 6th E. Ch îlcott (Mid land), 27 marks from 3 Alvis Days. 7th A. J. Betterton (Northern), 20 marks from 2 Alvis Days. 8th D. Gange (South-eastern), 19 marks from 2 Alvis Days. 9th J. V. Hare (Northern), 14 marks from 2 Alvis Days. lOth }J. G. Bissett (Scottish), J3 marks from 1 AlvisDay.

Mrs. Parker (Northern), 13 marks (rom 1 Alvis Day. Undoubtedly a very fine win for Mr. Gore, for an average

score of just under 19 marks for each of four events means in fact that he has netted four Ist class awards and fivc 2nd cIass awards and has motored about 1700 miles. A very fine performance from a very weil driven and beautiful 12110. MT. E. D. Hare' s 2nd place is a lso very meritorious and indeed a penalty al the Scottish Alvis Day driving tests clearly robbed him of the trophy. Congratulations to both and to the other nine members whose names figure above, and espccia lly to Mc. Armitt and Mrs. Gore who share the honours for not missing any Alvis Days. For the statistician 82 entrants made 13J entries and won one or more of 43 awards.

The seo ring for the Inter-Section Shield based on the above results is :-

Northem Section, 22t marks. Soulh-eastem Section, 19 marks. Midland Section, 13 marks. Scottish Section, ! mark.

and we look forward to presenting the sh ield to the Northern Section and hope that Messrs Hare, Armitt and Setlerton wi ll be at the 1964 A.G.M. to receive it, on behalf of their Section for consistently creditable performances.

TRA VEL BY HARE by S. Fletcher

L.V.H. Chairman

Many of our friends asked us .. but why do this trip iCs not towards the sunny south and doesn't go through any moun­tains T' Weil a lthough both of us love the sun we are too restless to just layon a beach for 2 or 3 weeks and having been

to Denmark once before wc had vowed ta go aga in and take the car.

Once having decided on Denmark wc had ta decide on the route. One can of course go straight there by boat or motor up through Germany, and as l have sorne wartime friends in Hol­land last seen in J944 il seemed a good opportunity to visit there also. Wc had hoped to take a passenger with us and who belter than another 12/50 owner Derek Bennett known to be slrong in the right arm and clhow for morc rcasons than one, and even a 12/50 can break down. As we wantcd to spend about 2 of our 3 weeks in Denmark we gave France a miss and booked the boat from Dover ta Oslend. Ali thal then remained was to prepare the car and arrange for a friend to send out spares if the worst happened. J had rebuilt the [2/50 engi.ne du ring the win ter 50 did not waste any Üme on that but checked over the usual items of maintenance and changcd the oils.

July 2nd finished work and off to Sittingbourne whcre we stayed the night ta avoid getting up tao ear ly the next day to get the boat. My holiday starts when 1 finish work and l do not like getting up carly on ho liday. From Sittingbourne to Dover il poured hard with rain but we drave on to the car ferry with­out incident. Once on the car deck, the Belgian sailor asked us to leave the ignition key in and cou ldn't seem to bclieve that we cou Id have got that far without one, after all ies the thing that makes the car go isn' t it? As his English consisted of" leef the key in please" and the only Belgian 1 knew was rude we left il at that but he had to show several of his collcagues the car tbat went without a key. The sun was shining in Ostend and down came the hood for a very pleasant and warm run into Eindhoven, the Belgian-Dutch customs just waving us by wi th a sa lute (no not the cubs). We spent two nights in Eindhoven staying at a small hotc! and wcrc soon approached in the bar by a local garage proprietor wishing to look at our car. He was staggered that it should have overhead va lves and kept pointing to the va lve caver and shouting what sounded like "Ober upper kernappers. " Weil 1 agreed my obe r upper kernappers were lovc\y and we ail retired to the bar where he started on the Dutch gin, which 1 imagine should suit compression ratios above 12 to 1 and we tried the beer. Sorne 2 hours and numerous gins later we were being offered free service a nd petrol in the moming, unfortunately we didn't nnd out where the garage was so after visiting our rriends we moved on to Amsterdam. This is a rcal tourist centre but very pleasant and gay a.nd weil worth a short visi t, the food and accommodation in Holland being very good wh ilst the people a re most charming and friendly.

PLAYING HAMLET AT HELSINGOR. Vicky Fletcher in SllIII'S immaclIlare 12/50.

8

As we wished to visit a small town in Germany near Minden we came a bit south from Amsterdam and crossed the border at Oldenzaal. Tt was a hot day and the roads are very good and free from traffic, the radiator \Vas about 4 degrees below boLling ai l day, and thank goodness ] haven't got an 011 temperaturc gauge ! 1 don't know how long it wou ld take for the ail to reach maximum tempo but certain ly after 3 hours continuous driving at 50-55 the pressure sti ll slowly descends, however il didn't fall bclow 20 lbs p.s.i. sa 1 did not worry much. Il was on this part of the trip we bad our largest single audience, we bad pulled into a cafe car park for coffee, but before we could get out of the car 2 large coaches stopped behind us, and every passenger rushed oul and crowded around as if we had just landed in a space ship. Ali the usual questions of course" How old, how fast? where had wc come from and where were we going to ,. and everi .. they don't make them like that nowadays." The existance of Holland and the Dutch has depended on windmi lls for so long that they seemed to approve of the simplicity and basic engineering of the 12/50. We only stayed one night in Gcrmany al Bad Oyenhausen and pressed on ail the next day to the Danish border. We bypassed Hamburg and Kiel stopping only for petrol and ha If a yard of sausage with sauerkraut in an Autobahn restaurant. (Ta be cOI/tif/lied)

VNUSVAL VTEW OF STAN'S 12/50 AT ESBJERG.

" MAINL Y AL VIS TORQUE .. By Mrs. C. Stick/and

T suppose il all started in 1954, when jusl at the start of our second year of married lire, we acquired our first Alvis; but my husband has been interested in cars as long as 1 can remem· ber, and in the years prior to our marriage he changed his car quite frequently.

The current model when we married had been a MG. V.A. in very good condition bodily, but leaving the locally Hat East­Anglian roads for the mountains of North Wales, proved too much for the big ends and engine in gelleral. We returned home three days before schedule- broke and sounding like heavy arti l1ery on the move ! Needless to say the car had ta go. Then followed the most miserable year of our li ves - no car - the on ly good thing that came out of il was a tidy garden !

However, in the Autumn of 1954 l was lold - the answer is "An Alvis. "

For sorne time 1 had been told of the excellence of something called a ., Speed 20," and so one Sunday iD early November we sel off in my Mother's 8 h.p. saloon, a journey of 80 miles to look at one, having tirst co llected my Uncle, who was a motor engineer, to vet it for us.

The car in question was a 1934 Charlesworth D.H.C. Spccd 20, and its owner, an engineering student, had spent much time and money in rebuilding it mechanically and raising the C.R. but, as he himself said be bad " not got around ta the body yel. "

Weil 1 think the sight of the gleaming metal and polished copper under the bonnel won us over - and she certainly wen! weil. We arrived homejust as darkness fell and parked oppos ite my parents home under an anclent gas lampstandard. The Happing tatters of hood and sbaking wings however did ratber justify my mother's remark of, "Is tbat if?! " on opening her

9

front door. (Only the faet that her brother had said it was basicallya good car, stopped her From having us certified there and then ! !). My husband did not want the car seen until certain work on the body had been completed, so it was just two days before Christmas wben she appeared, transformed, on the road.

Her tatty silver body had disappcared - her wings were.firm, and shc was a lovely shade of dark green. Most important of ail she had a new hood (even if on our first journey out, l did have to sit and ho Id a string, which went round the top of the window glass guide pillar, to stop some vibration) we wcre proud of her.

l think this car will always hold a special place in our thoughts, when the name Alvis is mentioned.

Living in this part of the country, most of the cars on the road that one sees, are of the bread and butter variety, and so wher· ever we went, the car created interest - cspecia1Jy the Sunday morning when withoul any apparent reason the horns decided to blow full blast in the middle of Ipswich, just as the local residents were going ta Church ! .... other wives will appreciate the fact that my husband and his friend were not amused by the fact that their respective wives were sitting over the batteries and were in fits of laughter - hidden more or less from public view, by the depth of the hood ! Wires were franticaJly pulled out and the noise ceased.

On reaching Waldringfield, our destination, again "said wives " got rather fed up sitting waiting two hours, while ;, said husbands" tried in vain to discover reason for trouble.

This certain friend, whenever he came out with us, a lways said, •• 1'11 bring my old coat with me, for l'm bound to end up under the car" and quite often he W<1S right !

On another occasion the four of us set out to visi t friends in Hertfordshire a distance of about 120 miles from home. My betler half checked the car early in the morning and told me, "One good thlng, this car does not use much oil - look dear," he said, "The float is even above the full mark! ! " - where ignorance is bliss ! !

Weil we set off and after driving about 20 miles, wc noticed smoke in the dash instruments, and the battery was discharging - we stopped to investigate and on opening the bonnet a sheet of flame fiew out - and 1hat was the cut out that was !

While the men were inspecting the damage, a R.A.C. Scout arrived on the scene and offered to help. Poor, poor man ! !

He got underneath and started trying to trace wires. "1 Ihink this is it .. he said, " Yes, it goes along hcre and ....

oh it stops at a dead end! ,. After repeatmg this performance about half-a-dozen limes, his enthusiasm waned! and finally he suggested we visit the nearest open garage.

Luckily wc cou Id slart on coil and run on magneto, and we decided to press on to our destination and leave early to get home in dayligbt.

However, before we arrived at our friends home, we noticed the men looking at the thermometer and on glancing out of the rear wi ndow sa,w the cause of their conccrn - steam was rising from the exhaust in c10uds ! Ycs - you've guessed - that ai l level ! and water and oil just won't mix; we have tried it and know ! ! Hopefully we put in two tins of Radweld . which wcre promptly blown out the back and started for home! Approxi· mately every 20 miles she boiled and we stoppcd at the nearest house, garage or farm for water; the look on our menfolks' faces, as they carried anything from watercans to sI op pails of water to the car \Vas a sight to rcmember. This performance of course look time, and the light ran out on us about 40 miles from home, and juS! as we were thinking we should have ta abandon the car, what seemed to us a miracle happened. Round the corner onto our road came a pre-war 8 h.p. Morris van which belonged to a friend living near us, and seeing our steam he stopped. Wc were then able to follow him home using his lights and just our side lights.

We drove the car straight into our local garage after explaining wha! had happened. The mechanic said, ., 1 hope you let the engine cool each time before putt ing a ll!hat water in?" My husband just said, "J'lI ca li in the morning to inspect the damage! " After a rather sleepless oight he ca lied in the morn· ing to find the car surrounded by the whole garage staff. (Pails of sludge had been rcmoved from the sump !) and the juniors \Vere fascinated by the sight of 180 valve springs coming from any one car.

However it speaks \VeU of the Alvis engine that after this terrible trealment with a blown gasket, only IWO valves had been burnt out - as another motoring enthusiast uncle sa id to my husband, " Boy - it's the first real car you've had ! "

As 1 mentioncd earlicr, the prcvious owner had done consider­able work on the englne, with the result that the performance was exceptionally good; on reftection she was the fastest Speed 20 wc hàve had - but, as witb everything, there was a snag, and after threc rnonths we began ta tind 12/J4 ffi.p.g. rather a strain. With great reluctance wc had to part with her.

There was then a lapse of just over four years during which lime we had a MG 2 lilre saloon and then two new veh icles, a Standard Companion Estate and a Singer Gazelle Estate. Ali nice, comfortable, conven ient and in the 1ast two cases modern.

Theo it happened again - Iate tn the summer, my husband came indoors with the words, .. Dear, l've been thinking ... . " (1 - having heard these words before, in that certain tone of voice, knew rather wbat ta expect).

Yes - it was another Alvis, bUl this time it was to be a tourer. [ was told, .. Not such a large hood," .. Better visibility," •. More sporting line,"" No heavy doors to make fit ," etc., etc., and 50, oncc more, the hunt was on.

After much correspondence and many 'phone ca lls the answer seemed ta lie somewhere down near Southampton, and a friend of my husbands who was on holiday at that time, offered to go down by rail and drive the car home.

Well very late one evening, the peace of our sleeping neigh­bourhood was shattered and Alvis N o. 2 had come to stay.

She also was a Speed 20, but lhis time was a 1936 Y.D.P. 4 door tourer.

Our first sight of her, in the dark, was rather a depressing one. We had cxpected her appearance to be a little better, and on lifting her bonnet, wc were rather dismayed ta find her original radiator had gone, and she appcarcd to have been patched up with one from an old lorry. To add insu lt to in jury the origina l filler came in the wrong place, so someone had punched a hole in the top and this \Vas stuffed with rags! The radiator shc ll and rnesh, was perched o n t his, fitting where it tOllched !

Once more wc went ta bed in des pair, wondering what we had landed ourselves with, and vowing never again ta buy a car unseen.

However as is ilS want, daylight brought frcsh hope, and we eagerly went out to the garage, to try and decide what to tackle tirst.

Our neighbours comments of, .. Arc you going combine harvesting today?" when hearing the engine started, decided it must be mechanics first. On further inspection the engine proved ta be completely c1appcd out, which necessitated among other things a major engine overhaul. While this was taking place, wc started search ing for a replacement radiator.

Il had been while we \Vere looking for this C<1.r and had put out a tentative advertiscmcnt, that wc had been contacled by Comd. Clinkard, who had said if we were unlucky in our search he might be able to help us.

After about three radiators had been sent from various parts of the country and returned fau Ity, one was obtained from a breakers in Banbury. At that time we had no idca ortbe wooder­fui service Clink offers, however we soon realüed this - result we joined the A.0.c.

li was around this time that meetings were being started by him in this area, and sa once the car was again roadworthy we

1935 SPEED 20 V.D.P. D.H.C.

set off ta Bury St. Edmunds for our first meeting. But before this could take place much work had to be done. The body was repaired and hand painted red , and a new hood and screcns were fitted. The inside is usually c1asscd as, .. my lot," and J cleaned and repaired carpcts and scats as best 1 cou ld .

About this time our family was increased by the addition of a smaH Alsatian bitch named Trudi who thoroughly approves of ear rides (providing they are not too noisy) and during the fol­lowing winter, the lhree of us and the car covered q uite a few miles, and made many friends in the A.O.C.

lt was after one of these rides, that having complained to my husband that my pump up seat was more down than up, that J was surpriscd by his offer that evening after our meal to, .. leave the dishes, dcar - 1 know you have got ta go out " (quite true) - " You go and then you will be back sooner and can warm up by the fire. " (It was a very cold night).

Knowing his dislike of washing up l should have been sus­picious but however 1 gratefully went.

On my return , the warm tire was there ail right, and on the din ­ing table were bowls of water and what looked like parts of a gtant's intestines! His innocent expression and remark of, " l1's too cold to work in the garage tooight, and 1 know yOuf seat was uncomfortable, sa 1 tbougbt 1 would try and improvc it for you dear," made it impossible for me ta be cross - 1 found out long aga a wife's best po licy seems ta be - if you , can' t beat 'em - join 'cm!

The weeks and months passed by - various p ieces were rechromcd and finally the car was as near perfect as we could make her, and as usually happens at such a time - my husband decided he would like a change - 50 as good cars go - she went !

ln the natural cOtlfse of events the hunt soon started again and as Autumn was approaching we decided that perhaps a Drop­head (with large hood etc. , etc.) might be a bette r buy.

Finally wc heard of a rather unusual 1935 Speed 20 VDP DHC for sa le ncar London, and one Sunday, accompanied by sorne Alvis enthusiast friends, ail four of us and Trudi set off to inspect. (To be cOllfinued)

ALVIS DISTRIBUTORS AND DEALERS DISTRIBUTQRS Andrew's Garage (Derby) Lld. D erwent St. , DERBY.

R. Samber & CO., Lld., B irkda le, SoUTHPORT.

Boshier of No rwich Ltd ., Chape lfields Road G arage, NORWICtl.

Brook lands o r Bond SI., Lld., 10], New Bo nd SI., LoNDON W.I.

Central Mato u (Sheffield) Ltd., West St., SHEFFIELD .

W. E. Challice Lld., Ca nning ton, Bridgewater, SOMERSET.

Co unty Garage, Bo ulpo rl SI., Barnsta ple, DEVON.

County Motors (Carlisle) Limited, 14A Botchergatc, C ARLISLE.

Dunham & Haines lld ., 46, Castle St., Luto n, SEDS.

Easl Riding Moto r Co., Lld., Promenade, BKlOLlNGTO N.

Henry Farr & Son Ltd., Bruns wick SI., Newcastle, STAFFS.

10

Francis MOtOTS Limiled, 393 Humberstone Road. LEICESTER.

A. Frecman Limitcd, Grosvenor Garage, Burnage Lane, Levcnshulme, M ANCHESTER 19.

Garnets (No ttingham) Limited , Lenton Lane, Dunkirk, NOTTING HAM.

Grose L imited, M arerair. N ORTIJ AMPTON.

Parkers (M llm;hcstcr & Ballon) Lld., Bradshawgatc, BOLTON.

W . J. Skelly Lld .. 297(341 Windmil1hil1 St., Mo therwell. LANARt>S.

South Devon Garages Limited. M<lrkc:l Sc, TORQUAY.

Stanley Mo tors Work.s (1 932 ) U d .. Great Victorin St., B ELfAST.

Cyril Williams M Olors Ltd .. Cleveland St. , WOLV~RJt AMPTON .

A. G. Wilson Li m ited. Regent SI .. LEEDS 2.

W inforto n MOlors. Winforton. H ERf.FORll.

DEALERS Eton Garages Lld. , 235 Farnham Ra ad. SLQUGH.

G. W. Wilkin Ltd., Pal ace Gate Court, Lion Gate, Hampton Court. MIDDLESEX.

Parkers (Manchester & Bol ton). 178. De:msgale. M "NCItF.5TF.R.

Turner & Hore Lld .. Hyde Park Corner Garage. C AMBRIDGE. .

Windway G arage Ltd. , Cowbridge R oad East, CARlllff. H . Schofield ( M otor EngN.) U d ..

Hon ley Engineering Works. HonJey,

B. Waterhouse & Sons Ltd .. 107, Manning ham Lane, BRADFORD.

Huet M otors Ltd., C lanwi!1iam H ousc, Lower M o un t St.. D UlIlIN.

NR. HUDPERS FlELD. Yorks.

NaIJ/e & No.

C1egg, r. H., 2628 Johnson, 8. , 2629 Barr, H. F .• 2630

New Members We IVe/come lite followillg lIell' II/ell/bers il/ra llt l' club:

Addn!ss

P. J . Evans Lld ., J o hn Bright St. , UtR~ll"'GH"'~l.

M odel & Yl'ar

790, Foxhall Raad, Ipswich, Suffo lk. Firefty 1933 n , Lymingron Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire 12/701 939 51, Garage Coton, Whitchurch, Salop Sp.20/4·3 $pccl. (This car is still being finished off but neverthclcss took a 1 st & a 4th 1934/37 place a t the 2nd VSCC race meetings this year) .

Regll. No .

LY.4197 CTM 656 KY 2 170 C NP 81

Seclion

S.E. Nth n, Mid.

Huntef, G. S., 263 1 The Foley Farm, Cathcart St. , Rutherglcn , Lana rks. Willis, R . M . W., 2632 14, Hamilton Park Avenue, Glasgow, W.2 Senson, J. H. W ., 2633 West Dene, Triangle, Halifax Wilson, O . R . L , 2634 19, Tuns Lane, Slough, Bucks. Peste ll , C. 'c., 2635 16, Coronation Close, Tlford, Essex. Gutteridge. J.P.R., 51, Sr. Werburgh's Raad, Manchester, 21.

TA.141948 Sp.25 1937 TD.21 1960 TA. 141949 TA.141949 12/601 93 1

MZ 10 Scot. OLT 586 Scot. 216 LAU Nthn. KLY46 S.E . KLM 940 S.E. GP 5256 Nthn.

2636 Powell , P. T., 2637

Barney. C. 2638 Frith , K. , 2639 Frith , T . 1., 2640

Dawson, M. P., 2641

Willsher, R. V., 2642 Hoyes, P. R., 2643 Hoekley, H. E. C,

2644 Buck, A. J. 2645 Duce, CG., 2646 Ruston. P. E. , 2647 Campfield·Dingley,

M. J ., 2648 Ransome, W. A. S.,

2649

Barras House, Barras, Wrexham. (Recently completed trip to Istanbul) 11 5, London Road , Reading, Berks. 9, Heys R oad, Ashton-under·Lyne, Lanes. High House, Main Street, North Anston , Nr. Sheffield.

Leaden Hall , Leavenheath , Colchester, Essex.

217, Tentelow Lane, Southall, Middx. 584, Barnsley Road , Sheffield, 5. Curfew House, Crick, Nr. Rugby.

Kimberley Bungalow, Patter St.. Sible Hedingham, Essex. CrofHla·Muich, Wymeswo ld, Loughborough, Leics. 85. Broadacres, Hatfteld , Herts.

18a, E lgin C rescent , Notting Hill Gate, W.II. The Signet, Benbow Moorings, Benbow Way, Cowley Peachey,

Middx.

TD.21 1963

Sp.20 1932 Sp.20 1932 12/50 SD 1927 TA .141949

328 KY

GG 5657 RN.2005 TX2177

S/Eagle SA. NY 9839 (Sp.20 eng.) 1929/30 T A.21 1952 TRO. S/Crest 1938 ELH .948 TA.141949 LWJ 171 (12/10 SC. cng.) TA.141 948 TC.21 /100 1955 Speed 25 1938

TA.141948

TA.141948

HEL 797 LUT 140 DDU 486

KGF 81

FLJ 681

Mid.

S.E. Nthn. Mid.

S.E.

S.E. Mid. Mid.

S.E. Mid . S.E.

S.E.

S.E.

Neither the Club nor the Editor can accept responsibility for the statements made in these advertisements. It is regretted that repeat insertions cannot be made EXCEPT by re·submitting the advertisement in time for the next issue. If a cutting is sent. attach to a larger sheet and do not use paper smaller than octavo (5 in. x 7 in.) as small pieces may get lost. Typewritten drafts with double spacing do help. and if handwritten PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITAlS, The Editor reserves the right to delete non ·essential words and /or not to print ail of an advertisement which appears to be longer than likely to interest most members .

CHARGES (for an advt . of reasonable length) . Members 5/-, Non·Members 7/6.

Cheques and Postal Orders payable to the A,O.C.

Ali adYertisements to reach the Editor by the 20th of Oecember for indusion in the next issue . Editor's address: 12. Ravendale Road. Sunbury. Middlesex.

CARS FOR SALE

1932 Type SA Speed 20 Saloon. Requires more than a !iule time and money and uoless bought by some plutocrat the chassis will be available to any member wanting it as a basis for a Special - very little go ld required. Spares Registrar.

19384·3 Charlesworth Sain. M.O.T. cert. Bodywork and mechanics sound. Weil shod . .(160 0.n.o. Car with Spares Registrar.

Il

1948 TA.14 Shooting Drake. Body rebuilt. Engine overhauled and first c1ass . Oil50 lbs. hot. Heater, winkers, two new" Gold Seals," exhaust system and dash. Excellent performance. f60 spent this year, flOO. Shearer, 72, Wyndcliff Road, S.E.7,

The oldest Alvis outside tbe Works? ShaH have ta part with 192212/40 Cbassis. In running arder and ready for bodywork. due to a surfeit of other Alvis. Collectors pieee on ly to be sold to good home. Several valuab le spare parts with the car. No idea of value of this unique machine so cannot quote priee.

In terested members pleasc wri te F. Robinson, 8, Queensway, Manchester, 19.

1938 Speed 25. MechanicaUy complete rebui ld , enthusiast maintained, recent tyres and batteries, Charlesworth SaIn. Solid and far from taUy. ;( 1650.n.o. Francis, la, Ashchurch Grove, W.12. SHE5657 not Sundays exçept byappt.

TA.141948 D.H.C. Body very rough , Chassis v .G. Complete chassis overhaul at f230, 1960. 50,000 miles since. Oil 55 hot. Grove, W.12. SHE5657 not Sundays except by appt.

TA.141948 D.H.C. Body very rough , Chassis v .G. Complete chassis overhaul at ;(230, 1960. 50,000 miles since. Oi l 55 hot. Consumption negligible. One owner. Spare hind spring and second spare wheel. Offcrs. Runciman, l , Howe House, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge.

1955 Grey Lady D.H.C. New hood and rcspray 1960. Recond . engine 22,000 mis. ago. Mileage 77,()(Xl Recently new batlery, rad iator and lyres. Carefully maintained !4oo or offers. Wood lands, Bembridge, 1.0.Wight .

TA.21 1953. Broken engine. Spare engine avai lablc. New lyres. Ali mechanics good. Car at Guildford. Body sound. Offers or considcr breaking. Higham, 9, Beech Avenue, North­enden, Manchester 22.

1936 Crested Eagle. Charlesworth 6-light Sain . Restorat ion begun and M.D.T. Jan. but aba ndoned duc purchase of Si lvcr Crest. Towable and complete for restoration, nOl breaking. (The way we're going these huge bcasts will die out) . Seen Chiswiek. Offers Reynolds, 415 Fulham Road, S.W. IO FLA 5619.

1936 Spccd 20. Engine overhaulcd. 4 new tyres. Ali bills for 2 yrs. Alvis serviccd. Body sound - rea r ha lf re-timbered. Offers D. Hind, 15, South field Road, Rugby. Tel 3735 after 5.30 or w/e·s.

TA.21 3 litre. Recently rcsprayed black . New tyrcs, mascot, badge bar, radio, heater, specia l figured walnut dasboard. Elegant looking car. (200 O.n.O. King, 99, Widmore Road, Bromley, Kent. Ravensbourne 8740 Evengs. or wjends.

Speed 25 1937. V.D.P. SaIn. Excellent condition. Eogine rccond., brakes relincd, roof relined, 4: 1 diff. renewed, radia tor - a il within 5,000 mis. 22 m.p.g. Servo brakes. M.O.T. current. 1:300 or any reasonable offer considered. Will change for sma ller Alvis in good condition. e.g. TA .14. Jenkins, 109, Manor Road, Chigwell , Essex.

1950 TA.14 Black and sage green sa in. Exce llent condition. 3 owners. Major enginc overhaul under 4,000 mis. ago. Seat­belts, washers, heater and reversing lamp. Also, any required sparcs off 1948 Saloon, or car can he towed away complete. (200 O.n.o. Anderson, Little Orchard, Acton Trussell , Stafford.

4·3 Sain. Windover coachwork. Superior Spccn. to that usua lly fittcd . Concours condition. 75,000 milcs. B OO spcnt since 196 1. Rcsprayed grey. Mcchanica lJy excellcnt. (215. Gi lbe rt, 95, Maidava lc Crescent, Coventry.

$upcrb mechanjca l example of Speed 2S Sain. Ail possible work on engine and chassis ca rried out a t Alvis Works. Body restoration commenced and requires little more effort to be , specimen. f 400 spent in 4 yrs. Bargain {2oo o.n.o. Ga le, 6 Coney Green Drive, Northficld , Birmingham, 31.

TA.14 Metal pannelled UniŒty - no rottcn wood! Com­pletely ovcrhauled 3 yrs. ago and fitted recond. engine, profcs­sionally rcpainted, dull pa rts re-chromed, ex-12j70 Icathcr sea ts, etc. Five nearly ncw heavy dut y lyres, taxed 31st Jan. '64 . fl 25. Shipley. Eoglefield Lodge. Egham. 2948.

1935 Firebird tourer. Engine recond. 3,000 mis. ago. New valves, re-sleeved, new pistons, crank re-ground, new bearings, works replacement oi l pump, and S.U. carb. -! pt. oil per 1,000 mI s. Sound alloy body. Good tyrcs, new spare. P.IOO's and twin long trumpet horns. Exce llent tonneau cover. Unusua l and fast P.v .T. 85 m.p.h. 25 m.p.g. lIIustrated cover Feb. bulletin . ;(800.n.o. Rebuilding TA.J4. Need space. Oakman, 40, Brocks Hill Drive, Oadby, Leics. OADBY 5454.

1948 TA.14 D.H.C. Bcl ieved unique body by Richard Mead of Dorridge. New king pins, bushes, slccring ends by Tollerlon & Burke. Working Jacka ll system. Oil 40 plus P .S.I. hot. Re-chromed rea r bumpers, etc. Taxed Dec. M.O.T. Sept. '64. Service history. no or offer. Swain, 4J , Godfrcy Avenue, Whitton, Twickenham, Middx. POPesgrove 6457.

Alvis-engined Special. 2-litrc, 6 cyl. 10 : 1 C.R. , Durai rods ; prcpared by Routledge, almost unuscd since. Torsion bar I.F.S. Rack & pinion. E. N.V. close rat io box. 7.00 x 16 Racing Dunlops rcar, new lndias front. Hydraulic brakes etc. Hidcous body f55. Also single sea ter body frame, panels eIC. , de-Dion rear assemb1y with radius a rms, J 6- racing whccls 42 mm. Many other spares. S.A.E. plcase, Shcnton, J . Wardle & Co., Normacol. Stoke-on-Tren!.

193812170 Sain. Coachwork v .G., Wings resprayed, Chrome excellent, mechanics good, brakes need re-line. Rebuilt by Alvis 1948, cost f600. Must se ll f40 O.n.o. 88, Auckland Road, Iiford, Essex. BALham 6261 (office).

1952 TA.21. Mechanically v .G., Body bit shabby, M.O.T . Ccrt. Pet roI tank full of soi l. baltery stolen. Sell for f49 or break. Shields, 1035. Oldham Road, Newlon Heath , Manches­ter, 10. Fa ilsworth 3340.

SPARES Semi-derelict Alvis, belicved to be Firebird or F irefly. Mech­

anically sound , towable, possibly drivable. Contact Carson, 44, London St reet, Chertsey 3803.

1937 3; Charlcsworth Sain. bcing broken up. Ali parts except motor ava ilable cheaply. Sgt. $ymmonds, Sgts. Mess, R.A.F., Compton Bassctt , Ca ine, Wilts. (Tyrcs poor, rea r springs broken).

Firefly for spares (semi-derelict) at Lindfield School, Slindon , nr. Arundel. Ali chassis parts. 'baek ax le and gcarbox known to be good. Owner believed to be :- B. Wallace, Snow Hill , Easebourne, Midhurst , Sussex.

WANTED Authentic 1933-4 Speed 20 aecessories. such as running board,

strips (rubbcr and metal), radio, hea ter, radiato r cap ornamem, spotl ight, fog lights, or any other accesso ries for Charlcsworth drophead in proccss of restoration. Ernest Stern, 72, Van Braam St., Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.A.

Club Officials BuUetin Editor : R. E. Spain, 12, Ravendale Road, Sunbuf)', Middx. Hcms listed below arc obtainable from the General Sec:retary.

Car badges (fi Is.), brooch and button ho le badges (5s.), ties (1 45.), transfers (1 s.), 'kcy rings (6s .), repa ir manuals ror 1932/9 models (12s. 6d.), and back bulletins ( Is. 6<1. , each). Ali cheques to be made payable to A.O.C..

Treasurer : W. L. Powell, Bank House, Bell Vue St. , Filey E. Yorks. Filey 3282

Public Relations Officer : N . D. Purday, Il Sedgemere Grove, Balsall Common, Warwicks. (Office CEN 3784. (Home) Bcrkswell 3264

Technical Adviser (12/50's only) : S. Fletcher, 24, Warwick Avenue, South Harrow Middx.

Technical Adviser (Prc-War Cars) : R. E. Spain.

Technical Adviser (post·War Cars) and R.A.C. Associnte Membership : J. C. Stephen, 40A Junction Road, N. 19.

Spares Register : Lt-Cdr. B. H . C linkard, Pump Farm, Assington, By Colchester.

ARCHway 4140.

Bures 378.

The following have kindly lwderlakell 10 operate fhe Club Services memiolled : Club lnsurance 8rokcr: Enquiries to T. 1. Da le-Harris, Messrs. C. Howard & Sons, 101 Leadenhall Street , London. E.C.3. A VEnue 4751 . Instruction Manuals and Photograph Albums. The undermentioned hold these on behalf of the Club, and they may be borrowed BY

MEMBERS ONLY against a deposit. (Cheque payable to A.O.C). The deposit will be returned when the Manual or Album is received by the holder. The postage (cheque or P.O.) should be made out to the undermentioned.

Manuals : J. E. Mason, l e Stebbing Street, Latimer Road, W.l1 Deposit.t3 . Postage 2s. 6d.

Albums: A. R. Buck, Westfield , Leek Road , Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent. Deposit f5 . Postage 5s. 12

ON DURA LIMITED

"MANUFAcrUR ERS OF HlGH QUALlTY REMOULDS FO R OVER 40 YEARS"

HEAD OFFICE: HARD INGS ROA D, KEIGHL EY, YORKS. Telephone 3253

DEPOTS AT :

BELFAST DUNDEE ED INB URG H NEWCASTLE GLASGOW

Accrington

26187 23822

Waverley 7479 Low Feil 76488 Bridgeton 4034

"CONVERTJBLE. HOT-ROD or TOURER-

Gt. Ha rwood 3550

LEEDS LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER STOKE SHEFFIELD

} 33320

Childwa ll 3111

Blackfriars 6264

Dronncld 25 15

YOU'RE RETTER BY FAR WITH ONDURA "

Forll/rlher details Il 'rile 10 Head Olfice al Keighley.

GALLON SAVED IN EVERY FULL TANK with.&4\'CK-•• &7 A.A.

------1 TEST REPORT W ITH JAGUAR ) ·4

1

CAR ... 1958 Jaguar 3·4 litre-sump containing no rmal high·g rade motor ail.

BEFORE .... Rev Counter showed 500 r .p.m. when id li ng. Fuel co nsumption 18·7 m.p.g.

1

BLACK-MOLY A.A. added ta sump-in accordance with 1 instructions. Car was then dri .... en over a shon mi leage. AFTER ... Rev Counter showed 710 r .p.m. when idling'

L~onsumPtjon 20·9 m.p,g_. _ __ __ __1

15/- per 8 oz. tin sufficient for sum ps of 1 gallon

7/6 per 4 oz. Po ly-boule Also M.P.Q. Grease 6/- lb tin

Manufactured br

JOHN W. MILLER & SON lIMITED Brighou.e, York.. Te l. 1047 (3 lin es)

Molybdenum Disulphlde Lubricants are o ur speciality

Printed by NO RTH VIE W PRESS L TD., NORTH STRE ET, COVENTRY