SOLD for £25,200
“We cannot but consider it one of the classic designs of the time, and it remains of all vintage sports cars the one which needs least apology”. The Vintage Motor Car, Clutton and Stanford on the Alvis 12/50, 1954.
From their founding in 1919 by T G John, Alvis always produced exceptionally well-engineered machines, conventional in lay-out perhaps but technically innovative. For example, their first production car, the 10/30, was equipped with a four-speed gearbox, something unheard of outside the most prestigious of manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, who had themselves only adopted the extra ratio a few years earlier.
Developed from the short-lived 10/30 to 12/40 series of machines by Chief Engineer Captain G T Smith-Clarke and Chief Designer W M Dunn, both newly arrived from Daimler, the seminal 12/50 was launched in 1923. Powerful and light of weight, they were immediately successful in competition with Messrs Harvey and Tattershall prevailing in the main 200 Mile race at Brooklands that year. Never ones to sit on their laurels, Alvis developed the 12/50 through eight variants via a brief diversion into front wheel drive in 1929, arguably thirty years ahead of their time. Engine-wise, valves moved from side to overhead while capacity increased from 1,496 to 1,645cc. Front brakes arrived in 1924 and a stronger chassis in 1926 before the 12/50 was, as mentioned, apparently superseded by the front wheel drive FD and FE models in 1929. With the market not yet ready for such an innovation, sales were slow and the 12/50 returned as the TJ for 1931. Now aptly referred to by aficionados as ‘revival period’ cars, they sported coil as opposed to magneto ignition, a rear mounted fuel tank along with an imposing, deeper chromed radiator shell and they represented a return to form for the marque.
This delightful TJ series Alvis 12/50 is from the last year of production and hence represents the high-water mark for the range. Available with a variety of body styles from enclosed saloons to open tourers and coupés, this example carries desirable ‘Two-seater-plus-dickey’ drophead coupé (sometimes referred to as ‘Doctor’s Coupé’) coachwork by Alvis’ near neighbours Cross and Ellis (their design number 1084); amongst the lightest and, with four seats, most practical of the 12/50’s iterations.
According to the copies on file of the Car Record and original guarantee record card for the Alvis provided by the ever-helpful holders of production records, Red Triangle, GY 5928 was dispatched to Messrs Follett Ltd in London on 14th July 1932 for its first owner, a Mr Harold Gordon Horley. These records also confirm it left the factory with the Cross and Ellis Drop Head Coupé body it wears today though it was then finished in ‘E Blue’ with black wheels and blue leather. The Record also indicates there might have been a last-minute change of differential ratio from 4.55 to 4.77 and that Hartford dampers were fitted along with a Burgess silencer, Marles steering box and Lucas MTY-6 windscreen wiper.
Continuation buff and green log books reveal that by 1955 it was in the charge of Mr F. P. Robinson of Eye near Peterborough before passing on to a Mr R. Fenwick of Louth in 1969. By early 1972 the 12/50 had been acquired by Mr A. J. C. Thomas of Stirtloe House, Buckden and on 21st January Mr Fenwick sent him the two brackets for the dickey seat. The covering letter on file explains that Mr Fenwick was unaware of “the bit of trouble with the engine” as he had never had the Alvis on the road, though he understood that the problem was now resolved and that the car was running well; certainly, MOT certificates in the files indicate the car was used on the road during the mid to late 1970s.
A further tantalising insight into GY 5928’s ownership history is a charming letter dating from February 1996 sent to ‘Christopher’ who had been in touch with John Willis of the 12/50 Register; perhaps this is A. J. Christopher Thomas? Unfortunately, it is unclear who the letter is from but the writer’s late father previously owned the Alvis which was apparently a welcome distraction from working in The Westminster Bank! Either way the good banker’s wife apparently regrated selling GY 5928 to an RAF officer as opposed to keeping it in the family. With mention of photographs and a notebook from their time with the car, it is something a new owner might like to follow up via The Register.
According to Red Triangle’s records, Mr A. J. C. Thomas had advertised GY 5928 in “Very good all round condition”, priced at £16,750 in the August 1995 VSCC Newsletter and that the Alvis was sold to Mr Peter Tracey of Bury St Edmunds later that year.
Modern V5C’s on file indicate that in April 2000 the 12/50 was acquired by Mr Bruce Malin of Adderbury, Oxfordshire who had Hightone Restorations Ltd. of Enstone give the Alvis a comprehensive service utilising parts from Red Triangle along with adjusting the dynamo and relining the clutch and brakes. Four years later it was sold to Dr Ian Fyfe via dealers of renown Malcolm Elder and Son for some £17,500 with a fresh MOT certificate (correspondence on file).
Early in 2005 Dr Fyfe had the car collected by Tim Walker Restorations primarily to investigate a poor running engine; inspection duly revealed damage beyond economic repair to the block and crankcase. A period 12/60 block, crankcase, camshaft, crankshaft and rods were acquired and a fresh engine was meticulously built up over the next year or so utilising a 12/60 cylinder head to benefit performance by amongst other things, a higher compression ratio. Bronze bodied SU carburettors of the type fitted to 12/60s were sourced along with a freshly cast manifold and its associated machining plus manufacture of linkages was carried out. The crankshaft and rods were crack tested and fitted with JP pistons sourced in Australia while the crank, flywheel and clutch had to be balanced on specialised machinery due to their considerable mass.
While the engine was being worked on a full mechanical rebuild was undertaken utilising parts supplied by, amongst others, the Alvis Register and Red Triangle. Nigh on forty invoices from Tim Walker Restorations alone are held in the history file and these attest to the thoroughness of the rebuild. Issues from worn brake linkages (spray welded and re-machined) to a bent front axle (carefully teased true) were all expertly addressed; obviously a painstaking a time-consuming process with everything carried out in time-honoured fashion by the Walker team, calling on experience built up over literally decades working on vintage and post-vintage machines. Some items such as springs were remade utilising the existing examples as patterns though the majority of parts were refurbished appropriately, despite this often being a more expensive course of action. Everything was cleaned by vapour or grit blasting while the gearbox and differential were checked and deemed to be in good order. The steering box, linkages, kingpins, brakes, dampers and so on were all rebuilt as required.
By the early part of 2006 most of the mechanical work was complete though a minor but annoying ‘squeak’ from the engine resulted in a second rebuild, admirably carried out free of charge by Tim Walker’s team who discovered nothing more than a minor lubrication issue.
Cosmetic issues were then attended to such as the hood, rear seat trim and perfecting the door fit. With this stage of the rebuild finally finished in April 2006 the Alvis was dispatched to Seven Rebuilds in Coleford, Gloucestershire where a bare-metal repaint was carried out; judging by the extensive photographic record and invoices in the files, very little metalwork was required. At this stage the chrome-work was replated and GY 5928 was ready to return to the road by the summer.
As everything bedded in over the next few months, as one might expect, a few issues came to light the most significant of which was that the gearbox’ condition was not quite as good as had been hoped so this was rebuilt in February 2007 by Tim Walker’s with a close ratio gearset from Alvis Register Ltd.
Back on the road for the summer of 2007, over the next few years GY 5928 was exercised by Dr Fyfe, returning every year or so to Tim Walker’s for servicing and attention to the odd specific issue. The front seat was retrimmed in Connolly hide by Gary Wright Coach Trimming in November 2007 and they manufactured a radiator muff for the car in January 2008. A reskinned and repaired door courtesy of Aubrey Finburgh’s team at Classic Autos finally resolved a particularly persistent poor fit niggle in February 2009. A couple of months later an alternator driven from the carden shaft was fitted to resolve persistent charging issues while an Alvis Register Ltd. camshaft giving improved torque plus a new clutch were fitted later that year.
Early in 2010 the Alvis was prepared for the Endurance Rally Association’s gruelling London to Edinburgh ‘Flying Scotsman’ rally – the premier competitive event for pre-war machines in the UK. Despite a last-minute scare with a rough running engine due to a cracked carburettor piston, resolved thanks to freshly made parts courtesy of Burlen Fuel Systems, GY 5928 took its place on the start line at the birth of British motor sport, Brooklands on 12th March. This gave its owner the chance to rub shoulders with the great and the good of pre-war motoring such as Peter Livanos, William I’Anson and Daniel Geoghegan. Having acquitted itself admirably the 12/50 unfortunately retired within metaphorical sight of the finish and though the reason for this is unclear, documented repair work to a wing a few months later might be indicative.
Shortly after its exertions, Dr Fyfe decided a little more power might be handy so in August 2010 the Walker team skimmed the Alvis’ 12/60 cylinder head to further increase the compression ratio. A successful application for a VSCC ‘Buff Form’ (Standard) was made in February 2011 so clearly GY 5928 was destined for further appropriate use.
It seems the Alvis bug had bitten and with a 4.3 litre model already in his sights, in May 2013 Dr Fyfe had the 12/50 comprehensively serviced again by Tim Walker. Ready to go and sporting new rear tyres, GY 5928 was sold to the current owner via Bonhams in December 2013. The new owner and current vendor then returned the Alvis to Tim Walker’s for a full service and check over in March 2014 and after their road test it received the “all lovely” seal of approval.
Whilst in his care the owner has used the 12/50 primarily for stylish, enjoyable lunchtime runs to the pub and ‘for no good reason’ drives through the Berkshire countryside and it is now only offered for sale due to a thinning of his collection.
Having known GY 5928 for nearly ten years it was Berlinetta’s great pleasure to inspect it in some detail prior to putting this somewhat overly detailed description together – hey, it’s hard not to get enthusiastic about this sort of machine.
Wooden framed coach-built cars tend to show any lack of structural integrity very easily with cracks to and deformation of their bodywork. With no such evidence displayed by Body Number 14555 and door shuts that are perfect in appearance and action, closing with an effortless and satisfying ‘thunk’, all seems to be well in this department. Though with machines of this vintage there is little point it talking about arrow straight panels with Audi-esc fit and gaps, overall, these are very good for a machine of this type.
The paintwork has good depth and shine to it, though it does have some localised imperfections on the rear vallance and number plate mount as shown in the photo gallery. However, these do not detract from the overall impression of a very smart machine, besides which we always think it really doesn’t pay to be too cosmetically perfect when attending VSCC gatherings and suchlike.
The Alvis’ fairly extensive plating mimics the paint finish being very good if not perfect, though it could doubtless be improved with some appropriate polish. Details such as the Alvis 12/50, VSCC and AA (appropriate for 1930 to 1945) badges compliment the standard Alvis Hare radiator mascot and lovely flip open windscreen.
Aside from perhaps needing a few minutes spent with a vacuum cleaner, the interior is in excellent shape having had new carpeting and leather seat trim in the relatively recent past. The woodwork is glorious with a very impressive depth to its varnish. Instrumentation is for the most part period Smiths with just a couple of more modern versions for water temperature and amps, though tracking down more original versions to replace those would, we feel, be a rewarding pastime for a future owner. The fuel telegauge is not the easiest thing to read so a modern, high-tech back up in the form of a graduated wooden cane is supplied with the car. For such a roomy machine, getting into the driver’s seat is surprisingly tricky and one will often see experienced pilots enter the cockpit from the passenger side to avoid clashing limbs with the gear lever and hand brake which are mounted to their right once installed.
Under the centrally hinged, louvered bonnet, the square shouldered Alvis engine looks handsome, purposeful and free of major fluid leaks. Everything is accessible, neatly ordered and well laid out with low tension wiring contained within flexible metal conduits. ‘Conventional’ items such as a coil and electric fuel pump ensure it is far from daunting even to an observer unfamiliar with 1930’s fare.
The chassis and underside of the 12/50 are well protected both with paint and some fluids released by the mechanical components as one might expect from a vehicle from this era; indeed, one might be concerned if this wasn’t the case. The beam front axle and cast aluminium fully floating rear are in good order as are the semi-elliptic leaf springs and Hartford friction dampers fitted to all four corners. Interestingly, “Fyffe (sic) 0S” (note to restoration companies, the owners name can often be found on the cheques they regularly send you!) can still be seen inscribed on the underside of the Alvis presumably to ensure parts were not erroneously interchanged between vehicles or indeed sides of the same machine.
Unsurprisingly, both engine and gearbox seem in fine fettle with the former starting easily with a little juggling of the steering wheel mounted hand throttle, choke and ignition timing controls; it runs sweetly while displaying very good oil pressure - a double capacity oil pump was fitted during the engine rebuild - as shown in the photo gallery. The centre throttle, four-speed crash box and clutch need slightly more skill and experience than your correspondent possesses to do them justice.
The wire wheels seem in very good order with no apparent loose spokes etc. while the Dunlop tyres, as fitted when the Alvis first left Coventry according to the Car Record, retain plenty of tread.
With a 12/50 already a very usable machine, this example enjoys a few sensible modifications, over and above those covered previously, to further improve this aspect of ownership; an electric fuel pump, fuel filter and Kenlowe radiator fan.
The extensive documentation is contained in two substantial box files. Numerous invoices as detailed above are present along with those for parts and services from the likes of Woolies, Holden, Vintage Supplies Ltd. and MWS International Ltd. The photographic record of the repaint is accompanied by photos of various mechanical works carried out by Tim Walker’s. Two old style continuation log books from 1956 (buff) and 1974 (green) are present along with the current and previous V5Cs. Nine MOT certificates from 1993 to 2005 plus two from the 1970s compliment the computerised versions for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Correspondence to previous owners, the Alvis Register, VSCC and DVLA is present plus a couple of old tax discs from 2002 and 2003 along with the current and previous owners’ VSCC Buff Forms.
Two magazines are included in the files; the January 1940 issue of Motor Sport which includes an article entitled “Tuning the 12/50 and 12/60 Alvis” plus The Automobile from May 1991 which features a 1928 Alvis 12/50. Parts catalogues and a photocopy of ‘The Vintage Alvis Manual’
accompany three delightful original period publications as shown in the photo gallery; an Instruction Book, a Catalogue of Spare Parts and Rotax running instructions for lighting and starting.
In the 1920s, the 12/50 effectively put Alvis on the map as manufacturers of well-designed and superbly engineered machines. As mentioned, they are wonderfully usable and being easy to work on with exceptionally good spares availability, it is no wonder they are so popular today.
Well loved by loyal owners then and sought after by fans of pre 2nd war sporting cars today, opportunities to acquire good, fully sorted examples are to be taken, especially when one is available for a tiny fraction of the money previously invested in it. The owner has summarised the expenditure since its purchase in 2004 and this totals something comfortably in excess of £100,000; a fine example of the old adage, “Buy someone else’s bills”. Moving away from the real world of financial considerations, we’ll leave the final word to Agatha Christie’s fictional character, Captain Hastings; “He’s with the BBC but he’s quite a decent chap, drives an Alvis.”
August 08th at 12 : 34 PM
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