Tucked away in almost every household are the family photograph albums.
Tucked away in those albums are photos of Alvis cars and Alvis people, many of which are unseen by other than family and close friends.
These photos may already have become historic records and it is important that copies including electronic ones are preserved for the future.
The Alvis Archive Trust has a role in bringing together photos and other Alvis material so that they can be preserved for the future and fill in gaps of knowledge. Electronic scans can be received, paper copies can be received and kept or copied and returned. Go to alvisarchive.com to see many of the Albums and material already made available for viewing.
Another good reason is that Alvis people can be seen either with their cars or recorded as their owner in photographic form. What better project for the deck chair this summer than to go through the family albums and send material to alvisarchive@btinternet.com . Items for Fourteens can be sent there or to the email address at the end of this Post.
Just to start the ball rolling, a dive into ancient family albums produced this ‘blast from the past!’

Recently a former Carbodies owner from the 1960s sent a photo of the car to us from his family album and enquired about her whereabouts as he had seen she still existed (DVLA check very useful for this). We were pleased to confirm chassis 22077 was indeed still going strong being with her current owner for over 51 years and much cherished by the whole family including two very enthusiastic great grand daughters.
There was much to talk about when the old and current owners made contact.

Photo from the 1960s

Now

This contact revived memories and an Article written at the time by the current owner below shows how things were before our girls settled into a more gentle lifestyle as befits them in their older years. Reading this took me back to the escapades we had and could almost feel the chill in the bones before the warmth of the extractor fan.

DRIVING IT HOME

Whenever I have bought a classic car (or any other, for that matter) I have always driven it home, no matter how long the journey or impractical the car. To me it is a vital part of the “bonding” process, a bit like the matrimonial nuptials on ones’ wedding night! At the end of it one feels to be thoroughly at one with your new acquisition, having come to terms early with its petty quirks and foibles; if the journey was long and trouble free, you will also have built up a considerable level of confidence in her, such that otherwise may take months of little exploratory runs around your locality to familiarise yourselves with each other.

I bought my 1948 Alvis TA14 in March 1973 from Rochester in Kent, and drove her home almost 300 miles to our home in Lancashire; she never missed a beat but I almost did. I had travelled South by train, carrying a few vital tools in a rucksack and after the necessary transaction, headed back North at around 3.00pm. It was a fine spring day in Kent, sunny and warm.  The vendor had owned the car for some seven years and boasted he had never raised the hood in all that time, and he was right. This was the “Garden of England” however and this Northerner was not over optimistic, so I attempted to raise the hood. Its seven years of dormancy however thwarted all attempts; it would not budge, so I set off alfresco. All was pleasant and well until I joined the M1 near Luton, my which time dusk was approaching, the temperature was plummeting and we were maintaining a steady 60+ mph. I was wearing my old denim jacket and turning up the collar made no difference at all. I took what would be the first of many a coffee and warm-up stop at Watford Gap and had another go at that wretched hood, but to no avail. I cracked on, frozen to the marrow; the only thing keeping me alive was the adrenalin. I reached the M6 and stopped again at Hilton Park, where I stood for 10 minutes in the warm blast of the kitchen extractor exhaust vents. Oh bliss!

Over another coffee I considered my plight. By now it was completely dark, thankfully dry but very chilly, and I was many hours from home. My skeleton tool kit did not contain penetrating oil, and unlike today, motorway service stations sold nothing other than food and drink. Then “ping” I had an idea; I bought a bottle of Coca Cola, the best penetrating fluid known to mankind – heaven knows what it does to your teeth! After a liberal dousing of the hood frame pivots and another coffee whilst it did its work, standing on the rear seat I was able to jiggle and haul the hood into the raised position – YES! The rest of the run (punctuated by more coffee stops, for this car had no heater) was uneventful, finally landing home, hyper on caffeine, sometime in the small hours.

The very next day I invited my underwhelmed wife of that time to inspect our latest treasure. Do you know, after running like a sewing machine all the way home the previous night, she refused to start! It turned out to be a ruptured diaphragm in the SU fuel pump; did it fail as I drove her into the garage, or was I one lucky boy? Whatever, we were thoroughly bonded and have remained so ever since. 

We have another search in progress at present helped by an old photo from the from another family photo Album and would welcome any knowledge to try and find the car or indeed her fate if no longer with us.
She is a Carbodies Drophead Coupe, FKW 903 and the most likely chassis number is 22873, known to have been a 2 tone Grey in colour. A gentleman, for nostalgic reasons, is hoping to find the car’s whereabouts as she was with the family any years ago. He recalls many trips away in the car with his father including Baildon, Yorkshire to Padstow and back, happy memories.
It is believed she may have been put away in storage about 15 years ago prior to restoration and that possibly this was in the Bradford area. Something for the northern sleuths?

Another link between 2 owners has also happened recently with a rather unique twist between the opposite ends of the earth.
An enquiry from ‘Down Under came through relating to a recent TA 14 purchase. Nothing special there except for the fact that there was already a Fourteen owner with the same name (including middle initial) in England who suddenly started to receive emails about his new acquisition! All was sorted to some amusement and wondering what the odds were of that happening amongst the small band of Fourteen owners. Anyway, with kind permission of the owner down under, a reprint of an entertaining Article prepared for the Australian audience.

There have been quite a few new Fourteens coming up on carandclassic.com recently, now up to 8 in number so good choice if you are looking and still somewhat of a buyer’s market. The latest to appear on the site is a Special up for Auction that looks like she will achieve quite good money. Chassis 22096, JYF 56, already bids have reached £19 500 and the Auction finishes 7th July.

Ebay has 2 for sale at present and one is of particular interest being the unique bodied car commissioned by Donald Monro in 1952. A fine looking car in her day and with plenty of oomph, improved performance originally with a 450 lbs. weight reduction from the original body. Although described as a Special she was rebodied in the early 1950s following the destruction of the original Utility body. Now she has the potential to be an excellent restoration project, priced reasonably at £1995.

Not all Fourteens make it to be seen on eBay or Car and Classic. Sometimes European sales occur particularly with high end Fourteens.
24th March this year saw the Old Timer Galleries of Toffen Switzerland auction a delightful Woodie (GSP 98, chassis no. 22391) that had been with the same family since 1975. The car had been discovered in a Sussex barn and shipped to Switzerland in 1975. After another 30 years storage she was then restored and looks a very tidy car. The hammer price was 19 000 Swiss francs, not sure if it was accepted as below estimate, time will tell.

Ebay seem to have tidied up their adverts for spare parts and it is now far less cluttered with non relevant items blanketing every make of car and of no interest to Fourteen owners. Also the seller is clearly identified. Red Triangle have some useful ‘new’ old stock items worth browsing for possible additions to the spares cupboard. Also other vendors are offering 2 spare wheel covers are currently available for £140 or £95, an essential spare to keep tucked away.. Put in Alvis Car parts and Accessories to see the full list.

Hot off the press is a new availability of chromed spare parts in the USA.
Described as chromed to perfection and the asking price is 2000 american dollars to sell as a single lot. Should you wish to contact the vendor direct please use the email below and I can put you in direct touch with the vendor.
Could save a lot of work for a restoration or a very useful set of spares.

So as we start the second half of the year, enjoy the summer and happy Alvising.

eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com