Alvis Fourteen

Debates occur about putting mascots onto TA 14s, some do and some don’t.

KBP 161, chassis 22388 had no such qualms and was graced in 1986 by a beautiful 7.5 stone Portugese Prima Ballerina Fatima Brito. Fatima is still dancing and KBP is still with her long term owner.

International Alvis Weekend 2014 is now over and hopefully all the cars are now safely home. It was a great Weekend, much down to the very hard work of the organizing Committee and the lovely weather. The 14s were out in strength.

Wandering around in the sunshine on the Sunday on the archetypal English summer day was as good as it gets. As everyone arrived at the venue they were greeted by the wonderful site of TB 14 ‘Ruby’, chassis no.23577, looking stunning and matching the Alvis banners either side. There was also a similar coloured red TB 21 attending and conversations were overheard as to the merits of the flamboyant TB 14 styling versus the more traditional Alvis radiator. As someone said it is like Marmite (Vegemite for readers down under) you either love or hate. A lovely selection of Saloons and Dropheads attended but no Woodies. The cherished gun metal TB 14 of the late Melle Visser came across with Maria in company with a  TB 21 so they made a very interesting convoy.

Red Triangle did three very interesting and thought provoking presentations and the synopsis of the one on 21st Century motoring is shown under Articles. Many of us are struggling with options as to whether to go electronic and if so by how much. ‘Aunty May, 21830, now has LED headlight bulbs. Too many journeys on side lights in the gathering darkness prompted that one and the knowledge that they could easily be reverted back. Be careful with halogen as there are stories that they can burn out the switches and cause a fire. She also now has an electronic regulator within the original case. Again easy to revert back. I remain uneasy about doing this and have put the brakes on any further electronic innovations for the time being.

Whilst reading through an old AOC Bulletin No.33, April 1956 I came across a lovely piece of writing.
‘While passing through Kirby Moorside, the nearest town to home, I espied the object of my desire standing outside a garage. It had a placard in the windscreen ‘For Sale’. I always think cars bearing these notices and things written on the windows have a frightfully dejected look, and I’m sure that if cars were capable of emotion and had tear-glands, their head-lamp-glasses would be moist under such circumstances’. It did not refer to a Fourteen but to a Speed 20 and needless to say the writer bought and kept the car.
There is now a Black, former Concours winning Mulliners Saloon, hopefully with not too moist head-lamp glasses, looking for a new home due to anno domini of her friend, patron and AOC Member. KLH 473, chassis 22829. She was featured on the front cover of the 50th Anniversary TA14/TB14 Register and is also in The Gallery. She is a well known car and a great opportunity to acquire one of these lovely Saloons.

Reading the reports of Southern events in 1954/1955, the exploits of Miss E.J.Chapman make interesting reading. Miss Chapman in her TB 14 came first in the Southern Section winter rally beating two Speed 20s and a Firebird in the placings. She was also well placed in other events. Now, to place the car and did Miss Chapman retain her interest in Alvis? Did she marry an Alvis man? She did marry as further along the time line she is still doing well with her TB 14 as Mrs  Dowle but by 1956/1957 she no longer claims the TB 14 and has moved to Croydon. We lose touch with her as the 1957/1958 Year Book is published. The TB 14 was last heard of with a long term owner in Bishop Auckland but she disappears by 2012.

Continuing the speed theme, an owner with a TA 14 converted to TB14 and open sports body, had her maximum speed checked against a police car clock in 1960. Two runs in opposite directions gave 89.9 m.p.h. and 92 m.p.h. We were all young once!

In The Gallery we now have a charming period photo of TB14 chassis 23564.
This car was given to Emilio Gizzi for his 21st birthday present when he finished his National Service. His family were from Italy and were prominent in the Glasgow Ice Cream scene. The photo shows a young Emilio at the wheel. His daughter said he had wonderful memories of the car and for his 70th birthday a replica cake was made, hope to get a photo of that too. As the car is now for sale for restoration it is to be hoped that she will be brought back to her former glory.

‘Annie’ came to call in the shape of a lovely Maroon Mulliners Saloon, chassis 23346, pictures in the Gallery. She brought her new friend Richard and is looking forward to some good fettling. As she went to leave, a man got out of a BMW 7 series, looked over and said ‘what a beautiful car’. She had a good run to the International Weekend and overtaking a modern car on the M4 was clocked at an accurate 70 m.p.h.!

Finally do consider acquiring the Alvis Archive USB memory stick/DVDs if you have an interest in Alvis History. They contain a complete record of past AOC bulletins going back to the very first in 1951 as well as the earlier ALVISTAS. The price has now been reduced to £25 and they make good Christmas presents.

The Articles and Snippets sections of the site will be updated shortly and you can also search by keyword. Details on the main site.

Happy Motoring

One of the Reeve and Kenning Utilities has surfaced from her time in a barn collection for 40 years, chassis 20853, registration LNU 743. One of 7 Utility bodies known to have been manufactured by R & K, none were known to have survived. She has now been purchased and is already at the restorers so we look forward to seeing her brought back to her former glory. Photos to follow.

An Angel has returned to England from The Netherlands in the form of one of our rare Woodies. She is one of the rare inside out Woodies. Chassis number 20785.

Anyone who looked at the Service Record for ‘Mavis’ posted up last month under Articles would have looked at the prices of spares and labour and thought if only. It was brought into sharp focus with the recent purchase of 2 fan belts at a cost of £28.80 per belt, plus postage and packing £6.68 plus VAT £12.68 compared with the one purchased for Mavis in 1952 from Alvis for the princely sum of 7 shillings and six pence, no VAT and with postage and packing one shilling and six pence still less than 50 pence in today’s money.

Under Articles, chassis 21723, read about 1950s running costs for JYP 372 including speeds of ’80mph easily attained’ plus ‘a reading of 95mph achieved if speedo was accurate’! Wonder what her current owner will think of that performance?

There is now the start of a new header category called Snippets. This will be for small items that should not be covered in the Articles category. This may shed light upon what your car was up to many years ago. Again the Alvis Archive memory stick will give access to most of this content.

The TB 14 in America has now been brought to the stage whereby she is for sale for restoration and is in a suitable condition for shipping. She is chassis 23564, photos in The Gallery. Also a scarce Tickford rebuild is now available for sale, chassis 21936, virtually complete and restoration already under way.

On the previous Post, there was information about one of our TB 14s being honoured to be selected for a very prestigious European show. See her on Youtube with the sun shining on her lovely red paintwork and looking the star of the show. http:youtu.be/D3Pp5J3YJUU will get you there.

Now something very light hearted, cartoons from the Club’s magazine Alvistas, early 1950s when our TB 14s may have been perceived as modern tin wear! Find them above the TB 14 chassis order 23500 in The Gallery.

In the event that they are not sufficiently side splitting how about an early 1950s Alvis 14 Joke, not sure if it referred to a pre war 14 or post war TA 14. ‘The reasoning behind the choice of badge position seen on a 14 Special at Hope. The badge was secured to the centre of the hub cap on the stern mounted spare wheel cover. The owner solemnly assured us that in that position it was more readily visible to the average car owner……And he’s about right too.’
In 1958 our car’s held their heads up high against the big pre war models.

A Saloon offered for sale for 300 guineas was also available for ‘half in cash half in good Speed 25, sliding head Saloon or Dhc.

Even better, in Bulletin 54, January 1958, the first For Sale Advert stated ‘1937 model 4.3 Litre Drop-head coupe, very good engine (uses no oil) and body. Exchange for four cylinder open Alvis any year with cash adjustment on either side or sell outright for £160.’

Finally, in a world now beset with Health and Safety rules and regulations, an Article in the 1954 AOC Bulletin No. 16 by the then Technical Editor describes the best way to repaint one’s Alvis. Included in the wise words were the following ‘I resolved to burn the paint – or at least the top coats – from the car. ( The undercoats were easily removed by stripper). Precautions were taken with the glass, and the petrol tank and filler were covered with wet rags ( the rags got covered with flaked paint and eventually were well alight – it seems quite difficult to blow up a petrol tank! ) Please do not try this at home.

Enjoy the summer motoring!!!

Plenty of Fourteen activity underway at the moment.

A TB 14, living in Germany, has been honoured with an invitation to be one of the only 50 ‘Masterpieces’ to be on display at the prestigious Concours d’Elegance ‘Jewels in the Park’ at Dyck Castle, Germany, 1-3 August.

In the ‘Articles’ section you will find Mavis’ service and repair history from when she was a new car until 1987, more information to come for the later years. It is rare for a car to have such a complete history and shows the issues of the day for repair needs through the years and probably parallels the histories of our own cars. Mavis is MVX 963, a very smart Mulliners Saloon.

The lovely Ascot Grey RHD TB 14 chassis no. 23579, owned for 35 years by the late Melle Visser and Maria his wife, is now coming up for sale representing a wonderful opportunity to acquire one of these rare cars in lovely condition. Both Maria and the TB will be attending International Alvis Day next month.
At the other end of the TB scale, a Scottish gentleman is seeking a TB 14 further down ‘the need to restore range’ so hopefully like buses, another one will come along soon.
Another lost TB 14 has turned up, chassis 23526 with registration FBK 732, amazing how they have been tucked away. She will be a restoration project.

A lovely tale now with a happy ending. An elderly lady spoke to someone about how lovely it would be to see if her late father’s car (A Carbodies TA 14) was still around. That person took the time and trouble to contact us and we were able to confirm that the car still existed. The current owner wrote and sent photos of the car and an original photo has been sent back to him. Needless to say we heard that the lady was over the moon and in due course we shall get a copy of the photo from the car’s early days.

A gentleman in Loughton, Essex has a box of somewhat rusty TA 14 bits to give away if someone will collect them. Another gentleman has a surplus chassis and bulkhead for sale, would make a great restoration project particularly for a Woodie unless someone would like to recreate one of the glorious Ice Cream Vans or?

For all those going to the International Alvis day next month, there will be an Alvis Archive Stand to enjoy and the ability to meet some of the authors. For anyone who would like to see our records for their  Fourteen, the computer will be there for us to check it out. Please also bring any old photos of Fourteens for the Gallery.
For now, enjoy the summer motoring and if anyone wants more details about anything above email to eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com
Eileen and Terry

Researching Fourteen history is always interesting and rewarding and I have been working
on a Fourteen index to the Alvis Owner Club Bulletins and other publications to assist Fourteen owners locating topics of interest. This is now published in the ‘Articles’ section.

Recently an Alvis Owner Club Member kindly donated some old Bulletins that have helped fill in some of the missing gaps.
Now, some of these Bulletins are duplicates and are available free to a good home for those who still appreciate a paper copy. Maybe you can see your car on the index?

I should prefer to pass them on as one lot but am prepared to split them if no one wants them in total. Postage payable.

The Bulletins are,

April 1968 Nos 176-179
180-184
186
188-192
196-209
211
213-226
228-229
231
233-235
237-238
240
244-247
249-261
263-266
268
270
274
277-278
280-281
283-284 September 1977.

The ‘Celebrity Cars’ section has grown a little and if anyone has proof of more Celebrity links please let us know.

See

for the latest PPS by Dave Culshaw.

Those of you who are familiar with Jim Oakman and his great success over the years in Driving Tests may not know that he has also competed in a TA 14 with twin S.U.s., JPX 555, chassis no. 22126. Photos in the ‘Gallery’. Rumours abounded in 1964 that the twin S.U.s would be coming off due the additional 6 pence price rise on petrol!

‘Aunty May’, our Tickford, will shortly be experimenting with new LED lights that should produce more than the current yellow puddles of light. More importantly there will be a much smaller drain on the battery. Who has not driven along in the gloom with sidelights when the windscreen wipers are making their stately progress across the screen and the battery charging is close to negative? There will be a report back once fitted.

Keep up to date with the main Alvis Archive site, it has has expanded into more models.
Hold on to your current tax discs, DVLA may not issue anymore after October, they will track cars electronically and only one SORN will be needed for as long as a car remains untaxed.

Very sad news this month in that we lost a major character of the Alvis World, Malcolm Davey, Deputy Chairman of The Alvis Owner Club. There was perhaps one word, to my mind, that summed Malcolm up and that was ‘genial’. He had been a Member of the A.O.C. for around 50 years and was a fixture at so many Alvis Days and events. In the 1967 AOC Membership List he is shown with his TA 14, chassis no. 20120. His funeral was very well attended by Alvis Club Members and Alvises amongst others. We extend our deepest sympathy to his widow Janet and family Amanda, Albion, Harry and of course Ena and hope that we shall see them at Alvis occasions in the future.

For our cars, clocks have changed, the evenings are getting lighter and all roadworthy Fourteens should be looking forward to getting back on the road in Northern Europe. For those early birds it’s wash off that Sahara sand and get the polish out.

More photos to go on the site in the near future feature a varied selection including chassis 20821, the only fixed head coupe Fourteen made by Carbodies, for the wife of the Director of Carbodies. Interior trim was in Violet then Eau-de-Nil! Also a caravan tower chassis 20925, plus her Van showing life as it was for some family Fourteens.

Do take time to have a look at the new categories on the main Archive site. The new ‘Birds’ site has a very interesting photo in it’s Albums, photo no.3 of Miss World and one of our Trustees, John Fox who of course is looking at the car!

The TB 14 in Australia undergoing superb restoration will have some of her photos going on the site soon and she has been traced to the earlier ownership of Frank Ifield’s brother and may have been in the ownership of the singer himself who was born in Coventry, England before the war. Her owner is carrying out some more checks. At the other end of the Alvis spectrum, have a look in The Gallery at chassis 23236, a rare Raine Van to see something different.

For Tickford owners, a small snippet, Alvis was not the last Marque to carry the badge, this honour went to the Aston Martin DB2, Mark 3, produced between March 1957 & July1959 at Newport Pagnell.

‘Mavis’ bills and receipts will take us a little longer than we thought but she will be joining the site soon.

Researching some items recently led me to some old AOC Bulletins of 1980/81 and some fascinating insights. The late Chris Holt, a much lamented and committed Fourteen owner included the following in his letter to the AOC Club, 20/10/1979.
‘Running my car is my life: it comes first, before decorating, gardening, cleaning windows and the like. If anything comes up (however attractive) on ‘Alvis Nights’ then I’m sorry -I’m busy; and if it’s gorgeous then she can drag along too.’ With apologies to Gez I think he was joking to some degree wasn’t he?

For those who can never do enough for their cars you can always follow the 1980 example of George Exton with his immaculate Richard Meade convertible chassis 22024 and have a chromed sump plug!

Finally before we return to the present and back from ‘Life on Mars’ an opinion from a former stalwart and source of knowledge in the AOC Club, Ernest Shenton, a late past President of the AOC. In a 1981 article reflecting upon retirement he said ‘he has owned several TA 21s and a TC 21/100, but feels they were not in the same league as the immediately post-war TA 14.
By the way, hope you spotted the uber rare TB heading for Goodwood on the 1st April. The model carefully crafted as a toffee tin and sold by Tesco is now in the care of Midland Fourteen owner Steve Tillyer! Prize for spoof identification goes to Colin Newby who wins a large beer when we next see him. A cheap round as Colin was the only one to cry foul!!!

Enjoy April and the British ‘Drive it Day’ for old cars later in the month.

Eileen and Terry

What a weather month, thoughts go out to anyone affected by the British Floods, American Snow and Aussie Heatwaves etc.. Hope all cars are in places of safety.
More photos have been posted up of a wide selection of Fourteens and under Cars of Interest there are more photos of the TA 14 racing model. One of the Fourteen Members is undertaking a research project around this model and any information anyone has would be much appreciated. Also we are seeking information about the Belgian importer S.I.N.C.A and if anyone has knowledge perhaps they could get in touch.
The next lot of photos to be loaded up will be of TB 14s, hearts may be broken by the 1970 advert of one for sale for £150! There is one coming up for sale soon  but I think it will exceed that figure by a margin. Also there will be a wonderful photo of a TB restoration being undertaken in Australia, polished metal body at this stage.
Also coming up are some samples of Mavis’ early invoices, MVX 963, chassis 21785. She left the Alvis Factory 09/02/1948 and by 31/08/1949 she was having the bulkhead rubber and sunshine roof rubber strips replaced, that should resonate with the Saloon owning readers.
On the main Archive site we now have some superb Albums and Album two has a selection of Fourteen photos that will eventually migrate over to this site in due course. Very worthwhile checking this out.
Now something for the diary. The Alvis Owner Club has agreed that TA/TB 14s will be a featured car for their 70th anniversary at International Alvis Day 2016. We are grateful to the Organising Committeee for their agreement. I shall be writing out again to see what ideas and input people may wish to have. A first idea is as to whether it would be a good idea to have a Special Fourteen event at the venue the day before similar to the 50th Anniversary Day in 1996. With cars and many owners twenty years older now I am not sure there would be the support for a totally separate weekend somewhere else over and above International Alvis Day, maybe I am wrong.
For something completely different, from Wigan comes a tale which may or may not bear scrutiny.
Evidently TA 14s, TA 21s and TCs sold well in Australia but not the later models as you could not throw a dead sheep over the front wing and drive off!
Finally many thanks for the kind words about the site from readers, they are appreciated.

The feedback from the Fourteen page on http://www.alvisarchive.com has made it clear that Fourteen owners are willing to chat about their cars. So we are transferring all the material on to this site spread over several pages to make it easier to follow and make comments.

So click on the pages that interest you, lost cars, brochures, technical information and so on at the head of this page.

John, Eileen and Terry.