A Happy New Year to one and all and hope that at least some of the New Year resolutions have not yet fallen by the wayside!

It hardly seems possible that this year we are celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Fourteen production. Ten years since the 70th Anniversary has gone with the wind.

Following the previous Post, arrangements are well in hand for the Anniversary Celebrations to be held with International Alvis Weekend, 19th-21st June so if you have not yet booked save the date.

The main hotel is almost full but there is usually an overflow hotel.

We shall be having a Fourteen dinner table for owners who wish to mix with other elite diners at the Gala Dinner on the Saturday. Diners and Sunday attendees are encouraged to go in period dress but it is not essential. TA 21 owners and others may be in 1950s costume but for Fourteen owners and aficionados, post war 1940s would be appropriate. So shake the moths from your demob suit, unpack the full skirted Dior New Look and you will be fine.

On the day we shall have pride of place grouped together in the display area with the TA 21s. We do hope to have the presence of 3L3, the last remaining prototype for the TA 21 and based upon a stretched Mulliners Saloon with 3 litre engine. Also we have hopefully scheduled a talk on this iconic car by her present owner who is in the process of restoring 3L3 to her former glory in The Netherlands. Much depends on restoration progress so fingers crossed.

In addition we hope to have a Q & A Session and discussion with Colin Newby, our TA/TB 14 technical advisor and maybe a fellow fettling expert.

More details of the event will be added to as we get closer to the date so keep an eye on this site and also the Alvis Owner Club Bulletin for communications.

We have still not been able to trace the whereabouts of Red TB 14 MTV 550. We know she is out there so can anyone help to reunite a former family member with the car to relive happy times. She was in the Lincoln area a few years ago and the logbook was last updated on the 9th April 2023.

Several of our cars have emerged back into the world following long term storage and hopefully they will not be the last.

Carbodies 22884 was sold at Auction late last year and is already reaping the benefits of an extensive recommissioning programme. Despite having been stored for over 40 years she seems remarkably sound and complete.

Tucked away on the Isle of Thanet she should be reappearing on the roads later this year and maybe in time for the 80th Anniversary?

Photos of the car cleaned.

Another Carbodies, chassis 23224, has surfaced after a restoration lasting several years. Now living in Herefordshire where she has eschewed her original glossy Black paintwork. Inspired by a certain Tickford known to many (my own Aunty May), she has chosen the attractive Ivory/Grey colour combination.

Hopefully in the Spring she maybe driving around and may make her way to the 80th.

Back in 2017 a rather sad looking Gaze Woodie, chassis 20628 went up for Auction. Hopes were not high that she would or could be restored to her former glory. She did find a purchaser who decided to realise the idea of constructing a Special inspired by the Vanden Plas bodied TA 14.

After years of hard work the project was finally completed and this very attractive Special emerged

Unless you have been through a restoration project it is difficult to appreciate the sheer slog and hard work involved, often in somewhat difficult and cramped conditions. There is reward at the end as all the owners of these restored cars can vouch for. All being well this car is aiming to come to IAW and will be an interesting car to see.

This schedule below is a synopsis of the project and will no doubt sound familiar to those who are on or have been down the same path.

TA 14 Restoration

I always mend things to keep my hands busy while I think about computers, banking, and so on.

LPF 914 was on Ebay, Gaze bodied and in a dreadful mess, but fairly complete.

I consulted extensively with Eileen Goddin at the AOC. She told me who could help.

The body was entirely rotted. I took it off , stored the parts for later re-use, and started on the chassis.

The engine was silted up, had broken piston rings and poor big ends. The mains and bores were good.

I cleaned it all. Mick Fletcher found me some new pistons and the rods were remetalled. Then reassembly.

The water pump was rebuilt, valves reground, and a new timing chain fitted, also a new starter motor.

The carburetter and petrol pump were rebuilt by my son Nick. The petrol tank was flushed out and relined.

The gearbox and back axle were cleaned and inspected. various oil seals were renewed.

The brake rods were seized  Chris Prince provided replacement cranks. Drums were OK, shoes relined.

I rebuilt the steering box, shimming it for zero play. New shock absorber struts and track rod ends came.

A new wiring loom came from Red Triangle and was fitted. The radiator was rebuilt.

I now had a drivable chassis that I could test up and down my 400 yard drive. It seemed OK. 

The engine pulled well and sounded sweet, but the clutch dragged very slightly. 

Now to the body. I admired the Vanden Plas works tourer and drew a similar body for construction.

At this point I visited John Wheeley in Norfolk, obtaining a lovely radiator shell and a restorable boot lid. 

Keith Catt, a retired coachbuilder from Dennis, built the body, using most of the original stored wood.

Better front wings and a louvered bonnet cover came from Chris Prince.

Duncan Gill skillfully covered the body in steel sheet,  and then started the paintwork.  

The car then went to Devon where Dick Griffiths completed the painting simply beautifully 

The upholstery, hood and side screens were done by Larry Rose, a friend for 40 years.

The electrics were completed using mostly LEDs. This enables multifunction lights so you don’t get the ‘christmas tree’ effect with lots of tiny lights everywhere. Also the battery load is tiny.

The car is now being run in on the highway.

Just for reference the Vanden Plas bodied Fourteen, chassis 22110.

Chassis 22883 HAS 197 formerly DST 18, surfaced recently and was sold at Auction. A nice well specified Mulliners she only achieved a hammer price of £5 500, someone got a bargain.

The car below’The Duchess’ has just been identified as Chassis 23631 Body No. M1624 Originally shipped as a new car from Birkenhead to Singapore on the SS Cyclops.

Whereabouts unknown until recently. Now moving to join a new owner’s classic car collection.

An invitation has been extended to Alvis Tickford owners to join East Anglia Technical Day in Suffolk on the 1st March. For details telephone 01787 211221. This includes an invitation from The Chairman of the Tickford Owners Club for Tickford bodied cars to come along. Tickfords continued to body cars long after they finished robing Alvis cars but later in life were best known for the rally cars they clad for the Metros.

At first glance one could be mistaken for thinking this Tickford Barn find could be an Alvis but the Rover badge gives away the marque. A 1939 Rover so perhaps Tickford too had a bit of a change from body design during the war and popped out a post-war design based on the last pre-war efforts.

Two Mulliners remain for sale on carandclassic.com and hopefully they will soon find new owners.

Just for good measure we are also celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the end of Fourteen production. The last car, a Black Mulliners with fawn trim left the Alvis factory on the 10th January 1951. She was chassis number 23829, body number M1764 and was delivered to Bryce Motors, Birmingham Road, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire. Her fate is unknown.

FBHVC is reminding AOC Members that they can sign up to utilise their large website and there is no cost. Just go to fbhvc.co.uk/register, enter your name and your email address, choose AOC or AAT from drop-down list and create your own password. Interesting items including an indication that dogs may require seatbelts or restraints in classic cars in 2 years time at classic car events. Maybe might help the dogs with Driving Tests!

Finally, half way across the Atlantic on the QM2 enroute to New York, the daily Activities sheet was dropped off at the cabin. Amongst the myriad of activities there appeared the words Classic Car meeting. Duly attended the meeting the next day to find 30+ people already there and the room so full some owners could not get in. Much of the interest in classic cars was the ownership of 1960s/1990s ‘muscle cars’ 7 litres etc. but there were a few owners with more traditional cars. The virtues of Alvis were propounded including those of chassis 21830 and after the meeting a foreign gentleman expressed interest in finding out more with a possible addition to his stable of British classics.

The message here is that anyone going on a cruise could ask to have a slot for a classic car meeting and probably find it well attended and enjoyable.

eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com