A Swedish owner is wanting to finish his restoration by installing twin carbs and higher ratio back axle to his Carbodies, chassis 22583. He is seeking the twin carb arrangement and back axle that were installed on TB 14s and is prepared to pay the market price and shipping. I can put you in touch directly if you have one or both that you are willing to sell.

Does anyone have information about the Coachbuilders, Airflow Streamlines of Northampton, they bodied at least 16 Fourteens. An approach is to be made to the successor Company but all information greatly received and of particular interest to the current owners of those cars.

All the cars owned by the late Tom Poole will be going up for Auction with Anglia Car Auctions.

They include 1 or 2 TF 21s. 1 TD 21 restoration project but very complete. This car was formerly owned by Lt. Colonel E.B.Dewey. T.D. (appropriate decoration)! He was a past Chairman & President of the Alvis Owner Club in the 1950s and 1960s.

One of the jewel’s in the Auction is the Tickford TA 14, KGC 539, chassis 22204. This car was owned by Professor von Klueber who was a pupil of Einstein so what a connection. See last month’s Post for more background. The guide price looks reasonable and there is 5% buyer’s premium and commission.

There is one Utility, chassis 20628. Believed to be by Gaze and the Dealer was Brooklands of Bond Street. When you look up the photo on the Auctioneer’s site you will see that there is the potential for a fascinating restoration project!!!

As an interesting project there is an 18ft Crested Eagle Limousine. Let’s hope it does not end up with the body stripped off and turned into a Special.

In the 1970s much was made of solving corrosion problems by replacement with fibreglass. AOC Bulletin 233 has a seemingly innocuous announcement on page 4.

‘We hear from David Michie that Red Triangle are now able to supply front and rear wings and body sills in fibreglass for the TA 14, TA 21 and TC 21.’ so check carefully in case some of them are still around.

Staying with the 1970s there is an entertaining and informative Article by TA 14 owner Tony Cox. A taster is set out below but the full Article can be found in Bulletin 232, March 1973, pages 2-3.

‘Even the least inquisitive variety of TA 14 owner will probably have noticed just below the carburetor a remarkable contrivance of springs and levers reminiscent of an Emmett mousetrap. It’s purpose is at first sight obscure, and bafflement usually becomes total when it is discovered that the only dashboard control to which this mechanical hallucination is connected is the ignition switch – not by an electric wire as one might expect, but by a Bowden Cable! At this point the temptation to throw out this obviously non original bodge-up in it’s entirety is almost overpowering. However, some diligent research by a hand-picked team of retired archaeologists has resulted in the deciphering of a number of ancient scrolls known as the ‘Alvis Service Data Sheets’, which show that not only is this machinery an original Alvis fitting

(or at least an original Alvis afterthought), but it also has a name – the Afterburn Eliminator.’

Tony goes on to explain that this of course has nothing to do with afterburners on jet aircraft!

Some more recent owners may now pause in bafflement as the contraption was frequently taken out or disconnected by earlier owners.

For those interested in Coachbuilders, Amazon are selling new and used copies of the ‘A to Z of British Coachbuilders 1919 to 1960’, by the late Nick Walker, past Chairman of the Alvis Owner Club. Nick was eminently placed to write this book with his vast knowledge of the topic.

Finally I may be the last person on the planet to discover and recommend the hugely entertaining programmme, ‘Shed and Buried’, currently showing mid evening during the week on The Travel Channel on Freeview. A delightful show whereby, 2 very knowledgeable Motor Bike and old machinery enthusiasts, visit the owners of vast quantities of motor bikes, cars and mechanically related stuff. They go through the barns and piles of old ‘material’, haggle for something(s) and then go back to Oxfordshire to restore and sell. So far no Fourteens but you never know. By the looks of the photos, on the Anglia Car Auction  site, the TA 14 Utility and Crested Eagle might have been Candidates for the Show!

eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com