Make your 3-litre go faster

An occupational hazard of finding archive material is the diversion, “oh! that’s interesting….” and going down a different track. So it was when I found this…

Last year my 1959 TD21 had too much play in the throttle linkage and my attempts to remove it had the unfortunate side effect of sometimes causing the throttle to stick and giving an unwanted high idling speed. So I invested in a new one of those pictured above, a trifle expensive I thought, but it has lasted sixty years. Daunted by the prospect of fitting it in limited time before departing on a long trip, I carried it with me for the next 2,000 miles, just in case. All was OK(ish) until the last time I started it up, and the dreaded high idle has returned. So, finding the above article and spurred on by watching “Quest” and Ed China changing a throttle body on a Maserati that cost £400 needing a computer to set it up, I spent a happy couple of hours getting my hands dirty.

Now I have no lost motion in the throttle pedal and a correct idle, but best of all I have the full range of throttle openings available. It just seems more effortless.

What I was actually looking for were the reports of the 1991 Tour of Britain.The reports and photos not previously published are now on a new page 1991 Tour of Britain

Some new photos landed in the inbox his week including

BGD 283 is of special interest as it is one of very few Silver Crests despatched in chassis form only, 14147 / 14609 / 18993, left the factory 13th September 1937 for Galt’s of Glasgow. The maker is not known and it wasn’t registered until 11th December. It is the 19.82 hp version (much better for towing a caravan). Pictured around 1948 , the last Licence expired 30/12/55 in the name of W. Bolden, of Harefield – does it survive? (research by Dave Culshaw). The family of the earlier owner would be pleased to know.
11363 NJ 4348 Silver Eagle – where are you now?

Red Triangle have found an old stock of “new” handbooks for the TD21 and are now available to buy. Reproduction reprints are also available.

One of the exhibits in the Frankfurt exhibition appears in the TD 21 brochure:

WRW 633 is the first Park Ward production TD21 saloon 18001, chassis 25946

To also have on show the final production car from Mulliner Park Ward, chassis 27472 is impressive, as it was shipped from the UK for the duration

John Speight has sent photos of his TD21 and Firefly in New Zealand and have been added to model pages  Firefly   TD21

26169 TD21 in New Zealand, sporting a secondary antenna for spotting speed cameras
9979 Firefly Cross & Ellis saloon – Photo John Speight
10788 Firefly SA Cross & Ellis Tourer re-bodied by Dick Brockman and road commissioned
by Barrie Gillies ca. 1982-1985. After a few years in Belgium I brought the car to
Northern California where it has been since 1988. – Bob Farrell

Author: alvisarchive

Driving Alvis cars since 1964 and the website since 2012

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