We have received some inspiring photos from Chris Chilcott ….
“My 12/50 TG 4/5 seat De-lux tourer by Cross & Ellis, Car 9910, chassis 4575, Dispatched Sept 1926, pictured before restoration (it was my everyday car!) on the Frazer Nash Section of the VSCC trial in May 1974 driven by Dick Smith (his Anzani Nash having not been repaired in time). I have owned this car since I was 19!”
Many more vintage era photos have been identified by Chris on the Albums page.
4575 1926 12/50 TG Cross & Ellis RW 8738RW taken on the Ratagain Pass, with Loch Duich and the Five Sisters of Kintail mountain range in the background, while en route to the Outer Hebrides August 2012 celebrating over 40 years of ownership
Steve Tillyer sent us this cartoon…….from March 3-9 Friends are sampling the delights of Champagne, Alsace, Mulhouse and Basel Museums and the Geneva Motor Show. Join us next year perhaps?
With a history of Alvis Tours to Switzerland the organiser of the FIVA World Rally in 2015, our good friend Daniel Fischlin, has given advance notice of the programme with some familiar venues. Contact Daniel on danielfiva@yahoo.fr for entry forms.
The April Edition of Classic and Sports Car features Alvis Racing Cars at Bicester Heritage
Last but not least, a new PPS article “War and Peace” appears on the page PPS by Dave Culshaw.
Here is an overview of the Dutch Alvis importers over the years.
Many thanks go to my great-uncle Frans Vrijaldenhoven who provided copies of all the Alvis advertisements on the Dutch Conam site from his personal archives.
1924 – 1929
Auto Import Handelsonderneming, Rijnstraat 86, Arnhem
Moved later to: Nieuwe Kraan in Arnhem
Their advertisements at the time can be found here
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Around 1935
NV de Greve & Co, Parkstraat 14
in Den Haag (The Hague)
(Not much known about this company)
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1935 and 1939: No mention of an import company.
(We are still searching.)
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1948 – 1953
De Nederlandse Motoren Mij. NV, Waalhaven O.Z 1
in Rotterdam
Their advertisements at the time can be found here
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1954 – 1968
Fa H.C.L. Sieberg, Stadhouderskade 143
in Amsterdam
Their advertisements at the time can be found here
One day your Alvis will find a new home and the archivists would like to keep track of its continuing history. While you may remember to tell us, you may forget or not be able to. We have devised a form for you to print out, fill in and put inside your V5C or log book so whoever fills in the form on change of owner has a reminder to let us know. Here it is, just click on Owner change form to download a pdf version to print out.
Our first video has been posted on the Speed Models page and stars a Speed 20 SA which changed hands recently. It may not be to BBC standard but hopefully is informative and entertaining.
We realised that there is a lot of material on the Fourteen ‘page’ alone (almost 100 pages worth) so Eileen has agreed to host a new separate blog alongside this one dedicated solely to the Fourteen. It will make following comments and replies easier while retaining core information on this site. Why not log on and become a Follower –
Dan Geoghegan and Bicester Heritage have rescued some aero engine records – from their Twitter feed @BicesterH
Since the last post which mentioned the trustees’ Bourne Museum visit we came across an Alvis link to ERA and BRM. Harry Mundy was an apprentice at Alvis and mentions his involvement in the gearbox design of the 12/70 and 3 litre gearbox in an article in Autocar in 1958, when he was Technical Editor.
He left ERA in 1939 and returned to Coventry to work at the Morris Engines factory.
After World War II he moved to British Racing Motors (BRM) in 1946 as head of the design office, being involved in the design of the BRM V16Formula One engine, before moving on again in 1950 to Coventry Climax engines as chief designer working on the FWA engine.
His career then took a change in direction and he moved into journalism becoming Technical Editor of The Autocar magazine in 1955 but while there he also worked on the design of the Ford based twin-cam engine for Lotus.
Mike Dunn recalls “I used to meet Harry every month at the Thursday Club. He was humorous and we exchanged many good stories.
He told me that Colin Chapman said that he would either pay Harry £200 for all of his design work on the twin cam version of the Ford 4-cylinder engine or he would pay him £1 for each engine that was produced. Harry was sad that he had chosen the first option without guessing that the engine would be used in a production car – the Lotus Cortina”
However, following Jaguar’s purchase of Coventry Climax in 1963. Walter Hassan persuaded Mundy to return to engineering where he and Walter Hassan developed the Jaguar V12 engine. Harry Mundy would stay with Jaguar until his retirement in 1980 after which he still did some consultancy work. He was the uncle of presenter Johnny Vaughan.
Guy Plante’s Speed 25/4.3 special from JerseyGetting ready for the UK’s mini NurburgringChief Marshal Ray Edge’s Silver Eagle specialBrian Maile’s 1935 Speed 25 special, 2012 winner of the Melville TrophyThe view seen by most of the competitionTwo 12/50s and a 12/60 spectateBrian achieves a creditable 4th place, held up by a BentleyJeff Edwards Speed 25 specialChris Jackson’s Firefly 4.3 special
If you were hoping to be reading a Bulletin and pinkun today but have not received it yet, these pictures should keep you in mind of Alvis activity. Four Alvis competed today at Cadwell and six Alvis came to spectate including two TD21s. Thanks to Hugh Westlake for organising Alvis parking.
As we enter 2013 we plan to add to the published historical photographs. In the age of digital camera adding to the stock of contemporary photos is cheap and easy and we welcome receiving such Alvis photos from you by email (alvisarchive@btinternet.com) preferably with a file size of no more than 3Mb. What we would also really appreciate is .jpg files of scanned period photos of cars like the ones already published, scanned at preferably 300dpi or more. In each case please give the file a title which includes the chassis and registration number and the date it was taken. Our archives include several albums of colour photos taken by Clive Taylor and Bill Fryer which were only published in the Bulletin in black and white.
This December 1933 registered 1934 model Speed 20 SB Competition 2-seater (chassis 10869) has a body by Arthur Mulliners, built for Freddie March. It was once owned by the comedian Al Read and his catch phrase “right monkey” used to be inscribed on the car. In 1956 it was bought by Hal Garner and unused from 1968 to 1999 when restoration started. Photo, Bill Fryer, Brooklands SE Alvis Day, 5th September 1999.
Further photos of AXA 137 have been added to the Speed Models page.
…..and this is the first contribution
A Grey Lady publicity shot when it was new (submitted by Steve Tillyer 01/01/13)
Chris Harding offered a link to his TA21 restoration….in Dubai
Charles Zealey sent various photos of his Duncan TA14, 12/60 and TD21.
Wayne sent several more pictures of 4.3s some of which are now on his page
And these were all on 1st January!
Jamie Davis emailed in with some video links….
“I identified an Alvis 12/50 for British Pathe, which was taking part in a vintage car rally event that they filmed in 1957. It appears at the 02:23 timepoint….
In my search for old Alvis archives, in 2003 I got in touch with Mr. Frits van Genderingen, who worked for 45 years for Sieberg, the last Dutch Alvis importer.
During our telephone conversation he asked me where I got my Alvis knowledge. I told him that as a baby I was baptized in an open Auburn 851 and I was lucky to have a father who was mad about Alvis. After he heard the word Auburn, there was silence. Mr. Frits van Genderingen told me his father was the Auburn importer in the Netherlands and my late Father’s name Henk van der Weiden indeed rang a bell. This coincidence made him say I could borrow a picture from his private collection, from which I enclose a copy.
Two LHD TC21’s standing on Dutch Vredestein tyres (until this day popular on 3 litres) are both still in the Dutch Alvis Owner Club.
TC 21 DHC: chassis 25443, Original Dutch reg.no: NG-43-84
This lovely Alvis belonged for 34 years to Mr. Jan Blankespoor, former Jaguar dealer in Wassenaar near The Hague, who in the early eighties has joined AOC (5501 NL) and AOCN for many years.
The Alvis was often to be seen in his Jaguar showroom.
TC 21 Saloon: chassis 25695, sold new to Mr. Van der Kieft, inherited by his son Mr. Bas van de Kieft, actual member of AOCN.
Attached is also a snippet of the 1954 RAI Catalogue with details on the Alvis (in Dutch). RAI folder 1954 Alvis With 18.000 Dutch guilders the Alvis was an extremely expensive car. To put it in context: in 1954 a university educated technical engineer earned on average a year salary of 4.000 guilders. For 18.000 guilders one could also buy a free standing house.
Kind regards,
Coen van der Weiden
The 1954 Amsterdam RAI car show Alvis stand. (Earlier published as centre spread in AOC Bulletin 485.) The Dutch importer was H.C.L. Sieberg (founded 1932) This was an unknown picture in the Alvis Owner Club Netherlands and we placed it on the front page of our bulletin “Triangel.“
Photos from Coen van der Weiden of the 1947 Geneva show also appear on The Fourteen page where the new Worblaufen was shown alongside the factory cars.
Does anyone know who built the body on this 1936 SG Silver Eagle?
Steve Tillyer sent us this cartoon…….from March 3-9 Friends are sampling the delights of Champagne, Alsace, Mulhouse and Basel Museums and the Geneva Motor Show. Join us next year perhaps?
Alvis Archive 