The years roll by and it’s unbelievable that the sporty young 2 seaters can be reaching such a grand old age.

Particularly apposite that December’s appeal for information about the red TB 14 photographed in Barnes, Middlesex in the 1960s should have been answered by our North American guru and confirmed as JVC 458, chassis 23500. This is the first production TB 14 and we now have the only colour photo of that car and confirmation that she was in London in the 1960s.

The Motor Show prototype that came before remains a TA 14.

Chassis 23500 was given body number 1001 and produced in one of the classic colour combinations, signal red body, cream hide, red carpets and no cocktail cabinet! So in Barnes in the 1960s she looked as though she retained the original paint and trim.

Much is known about the early days of this car although sadly we do not know her present whereabouts or fate. Let’s hope she is tucked up in storage somewhere reminiscing about her early exploits across the USA.

Upon completion she was transferred to the Alvis Works Department and then lent to an intrepid pair who travelled around the USA promoting the car and gaining material for a book about Post War America and the differences between the USA and Britain/Europe. Needless to say the book showed vast differences in favour of the USA.

‘For Americans mindful of buying a British Sports-car in 1950, they had the opportunity to see a bright red TB 14, chassis 23500, body no. 1001 as she toured the USA. This car was the very first TB 14 of the production line. Upon return to England the car went to the Sales Department, never to be heard of again unless a reader knows otherwise?

The trip was to research the comparisons between the ordinary people in the United States and those in Britain and Europe after the War. Edward Ward (7th Viscount Bangor) was the author and he was accompanied by photographer Marjorie Banks who later became his 4th wife. The outcome of the tour was a book ‘U.S. and US.’

The conclusions of the book were that Americans had a higher standard of living than Europeans at the time and a lot more cars and consumer items. For those requiring more than the above potted summary, a copy of the book is held by the Alvis Archive Trust. The car was loaned by Alvis and there had been hopes that the loaned Alvis might have been a larger vehicle to cope with all the camera equipment etc.. Nevertheless less the ‘little’ red car was well received even if sales did not materialise.
For Doctor Who fans, their daughter starred in an early Dr Who series and married Tom Baker, the then Time Lord’.
Some very good photos of the car appear in the book showing life on the road in 1950.

A.P.Metalcraft, the Coachbuilders for the TB 14, bodied other post war cars and an evidence of their styling is shown on this rare post war Riley RMC. The drop down doors and style of boot has similarity.

Another mystery has come to light courtesy of the buses! Our sources of information come via fascinating routes.

A friend of a TA 14 owner is a bus enthusiast with publications about buses to his name. He is currently working on a book about Associated Coachbuilders of Sunderland. In the course of his research he came across phots of cars that had been bodied by this Company. This is where fellow enthusiasts really help. He sent it through to his friend who passed it on.

We had a note that this company may have bodied TA 14 chassis so now we have proof they did at least one and we have our first photos. Now the question is what happened to 20807, registration unknown and was she the only one they bodied on a TA 14 chassis?

Look back to last month’s Post and there is a photo of Woody 20826, so near yet so far!

Another car we are looking for is a Carbodies chassis 23377, GDK 922. The car passed from father to daughter in the 1960s and was sold on in the 1980s. Do you know if she is still around or where she is now, the former owner would love to know. She still shows up on the DVLA site as a white car and was last heard of in the Abingdon, Oxfordshire area.

With early owners. B/W photo of Eric Moon. Colour photo with subsequent owner Pippa.

Down at the end of ‘Lost Cars’ is an appeal from a gentleman in Toronto. He is looking to find a Mulliners Saloon, JYV 697 that he used to own in London in the 1968 and probably sold that year. Any information about this car’s fate would be much appreciated together with any information you may have on the other Lost Cars listed there.

Although the selling market is rather sticky at present good cars are able to find new homes. The unique Raine Saloon, shown in my penultimate Post and an attractive Mulliners Saloon, chassis 21399, LVT 346 (after 40 years with the same family) now have new homes. 5 cars remain for sale on the carandclassic.com site including the very attractive Special and 2 nice looking Mulliners. The Irish car was up for sale for £15 950 originally but is now open to offers.

eBay sell far fewer Alvis cars but there was a Duncan restoration project up for Auction this week with a ‘Buy Now’ offer of £6250 and unlikely to reach the Auction reserve. No Auction bids to date when only 6 hours left for the Auction. May pop up again for sale but not for the faint hearted!

When you were ready to put your Alvis up for sale in 1986 you no longer had to valet and prepare your car yourself if you were selling from home. Step forward the new Vehicle appearance conditioning operative. How had we ever managed without one?

Whilst the Miss Universe competition is still going strong and trying to adapt to the 21st century it should remembered that we had our own Miss Alvis in the past. Alvis were quite ahead of their time and the lady was elected by popular vote by the Alvis female employees.

The 1962 Miss Alvis, Miss Eileen Buddy, graced the front cover of the 1962 AOC Bulletin. During her term of office she performed several publicity duties and the Miss Alvis title meant that she was entered for the Coventry City Competition for Miss Godiva for the year. Did we ever have a Miss Alvis in the Parade as Lady Godiva?

Around the same time, owners of Alvis cars frequently benefitted from wise fettling advice from ‘Clink’. Based at Pump Farm in Colchester he could be relied on to always have a few old Alvis cars around the premises and a wealth of fettling knowledge that is invaluable to this day.

In 1962 he dispensed his wisdom on the topic of taking the head off your Alvis car and it makes interesting reading today.

The final paragraph of page 7 commends 2 jobs to do whilst the head is off, all wise words until the final sentence, just don’t try this at home!

The above Article shows the benefit of having the old Bulletins or they can be obtained in digital form from the Alvis Archive Trust up to 2014.

The search is on for paint shops to recommend for an owner who has reached that stage but back in the 1960s an intrepid Mulliners Saloon was driven from Northolt, Middlesex to Crystal Palace, National Alvis Day but the route was a little circuitous. A ‘slight’ deviation en route took the owner to the home of the then AOC Honorary Northern Secretary in Wigan whereupon the owner proceeded to paint the car in the street. Cut throat in those days to win a Concours prize. Sadly the painting did not produce a Concours trophy but a reasonable performance in the Driving Tests. Fast forward 2025 and she is still going strong under a new registration and following 50 years in storage until 2019.

Interest in Alvis cars has always been global and recently the Alvis Owner Club has been strengthening the service overseas. The AOC Bulletin highlights the growing number of countries with their own Club representatives. Australia, Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, North America, Switzerland, New Zealand. The International Director, Jan-Peter is based in Germany but covering the Globe. All contact details to be found in the AOC Bulletin. Useful for overseas owners to make contact and I can supply non Members with the relevant contact details for their country.

So wherever our Fourteens are all over the world we wish them and all Fourteen enthusiasts the very best wishes for 2025 and happy motoring.

Finally, if there were arguments as to who should drive the car this may have been the answer.

https://youtu.be/s_qy3vQasqQ

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com