Lot Ended
Description
Uprated to
TC21/100 Grey Lady spec with power steering and overdrive; fully restored at a
cost of £70k in 2007; over £26k spent since; only 10k miles on rebuilt engine;
recent service; vast history file; previous owner 29 years; driven to the sale;
absolutely fabulous
Better known simply as the Three Litre, the
Alvis TA21 was launched in 1950 as the successor to the TA14 and was the
company’s first all new post-war car. More modern and streamlined than its
predecessor, it was also wider and longer with a stiffer chassis and
considerably more power from an all-new six-cylinder engine. Other improvements
included Lockheed hydraulic brakes and independent front suspension with coil
springs and adjustable Luvax hydraulic dampers.
Coachwork was normally of
the traditional four-door sports saloon type by Mulliners, although some cars
were fitted with attractive drophead coupe coachwork by Tickford. Beautifully
trimmed inside in the finest Alvis tradition, the accent was on luxury and
refinement rather than all-out performance. Great pains were taken to ensure
that the engine was as smooth and flexible as possible, with a seven-bearing
crankshaft and minutely calculated cam profiles that took weeks to
perfect.
Initially rated at 86bhp with a single Solex carb, the power
output rose to 93bhp with the adoption of twin SU carbs, raising the top speed
to very nearly 100mph for the TC21/100 spec cars.
So successful was this
engine that it was to power all subsequent Alvis models until they ceased
production in 1967, reaching its most powerful form in the 150bhp TF21 in 1966
(an example of which is elsewhere in this sale, Lot 5). The TA21 was
itself replaced by the TC21 in 1953 after some 1,313 examples had been sold, of
which just 302 were dropheads.
This gorgeous 1952 Tickford-bodied TA21
comes with a vast history file from new that will keep the next owner happily
engrossed for hours so we can only give the briefest summary here – settle down
though, it’s still a long read and quite painful in places...
The
factory records show that it left the works in July 1952 finished in Metalescent
Nebular Grey with Maroon trim and a Maroon hood (chassis no. 2470; engine no.
2470; body no. 20175).
The supplying dealer was Parkers of Bolton and
the first owner was a Mr EA Knupfer of Knupfer Bros Watchmakers and Jewellers,
Church Street, Eccles. He kept the car until 1960 during which time it was
maintained by Grosvenor Garage of Manchester, as detailed in invoices and
correspondence on file.
The next owner was a Mr J Barlow of Cheshire who
acquired it in October 1960 and seems to have kept it until 1964 when it was
acquired by a Mr J Bradford of Prenton Hall Farm near Birkenhead. He had the
engine rebuilt by Alvis in May 1964 with new pistons, bearings etc and kept it
until at least 1967 with various bills for upkeep during this time.
The
trail the goes cold until December 1990 when it was acquired by a Mr R Crowther
of Halifax, at which point it must have been off the road for quite some time.
According to a letter from the Alvis Owners Club, he succeeded in getting the
car reunited with its original Manchester-issue number plate, MVU 927, and had
it restored and repainted all over in Silver Grey, as detailed in photos on
file, a small selection of which are reproduced here (see last photo). He
also had the engine upgraded to twin-carb TC21/100 spec by Stan Pollard, 'a
character well-known to the Club'.
In May 1995 it was acquired by a Mr E
Whitehead of Bramley Lane, Halifax, ownership transferring to his partner, a Mrs
S Broughton of the same address, in October 2013 and it was to remain
with them until April 2024 when our vendor acquired the car.
Between
2001 and 2007 Mr Whitehead had the car restored by Alvis specialists Walkers
Radiators of Colne, a quick tot-up of the huge file of invoices showing that
this cost in excess of £62,000. An additional £7,300 was spent on parts and
input from Red Triangle including five new tyres, bringing the total spend to
around £70,000.
The restoration included extensive work to the body
and underside followed by waxoil treatment and a full repaint in the current
dark red over silver which suits the car beautifully. The engine was stripped
and rebuilt with a reground crank and new bearings etc, the cylinder head also
being rebuilt.
The gearbox was rebuilt and fitted with overdrive and a
new clutch assembly at a cost of £4,793, the overdive being an excellent upgrade
which, allied to the high ratio 3.77 axle, makes the car pleasantly relaxed for
long-distance touring. All other mechanical aspects were also attended to as
required (cooling system; axles; prop-shaft; brakes; steering; suspension;
electrics etc). A new speedo was fitted and set at zero miles.
Unfortunately that proved not to be the end of Mr Whitehead’s liberal
spending and in June/July 2010 the engine had to be rebuilt again by Red
Triangle, including a new set of pistons and new bearings, as did the gearbox,
which cost another £10,000, the mileage at this point being 4,838.
In
March/April 2011 another £7,800 was
spent at Red Triangle which included a new electronic distributor; new exhaust; Crypton tune; various new
wheel spokes; repairs to the wiring and a new rear window glass for the hood. It
was also fitted with electric power steering, fully variable by a knob on the
dash, another excellent upgrade which makes the car a doddle to manoeuvre and
park.
In March/April 2012 it had a major service at Tattersall’s Veteran
to Classic of Halifax which cost just over £3,000 and also included having the
front and rear bumpers rechromed.
Tattersall’s continued to look after
the car until 2022, invoices showing that another £5,300 was spent over this
10-year period including a full service in July 2016 at 12,802 miles; front
brakes relined and new Vredestein front tyres with Michelin inner tubes in
August 2018.
The last invoice is for a full service by H Horsfield &
Son of Halifax in June 2023 at 14,434 miles which cost a modest £896. It has
only covered 150 miles since, the odometer currently showing 14,585 miles which
is the distance covered since Mr Whitehead’s restoration was completed in 2007.
There is an agreed insurance valuation of £50,000 by Red Triangle dated May
2011.
As you might expect given the vast amounts of money lavished on
this car over the last 25 years (the bills exceed £96,000), this Alvis is in
wonderful condition and we are told that it goes as well as it looks, the TC/100
engine upgrade, with power steering and overdrive gearbox, transforming the
driving experience.
Driven 30 miles to the sale on a
baking hot day, it has been starting promptly and running like a Swiss watch as
we have moved it around on site, with healthy 50psi oil pressure. It is only
reluctantly for sale because our vendor has just moved house and the garage
extension he was planning to build to store the Alvis has been thwarted by
drainage issues.
On offer here at a fraction of the money spent on the
car, it looks like an absolute steal at the modest guide price suggested. We
love this car and we are sure that you will too so do come and see
it!
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com