Lot Ended
Description
Vast history file from new; six owners, the current for 28 years;
automatic gearbox rebuilt; electric power steering; disc brakes; unleaded head;
stainless steel exhaust; driven 40 miles to the sale; one of only around 790
made; a much-loved Alvis, ready to enjoy
Launched in
1958, the Alvis TD21 was very much a car for the connoisseur and attracted
buyers from the top echelons of society. Styled by Swiss coachbuilder Graber,
the bodywork was hand-made by Park Ward and it had a lavishly furnished interior
that could have come straight from a Pall Mall gentleman's club with oodles of
walnut and leather.
Under the bonnet was a wonderfully smooth 3-litre
straight-six which produced around 120bhp and gave the car a top speed of just
over 100mph. Initially fitted with drum brakes all round, these were upgraded to
discs at the front in 1959. By the time it was replaced by the stacked headlight
TE21 in 1963, 1,069 had been sold, around 790 of them saloons, the remainder
with drophead coachwork (an example of which is elsewhere in this sale - Lot
1).
This particular TD21 Series 1 comes with a vast amount of history
from new, including three files bulging with invoices, two files crammed full of
technical literature plus two notebooks detailing virtually every mile covered
in the car and virtually every penny spent on it during its first 20 years. This
wealth of documentation will keep the next owner happily engrossed for hours and
we can only give the briefest summary here.
Copies of the factory build sheets show that the car left the works
in July 1960 finished in British Racing Green with grey leather upholstery,
equipped with Borg Warner automatic transmission, front disc brakes and a
Pye transistor radio. It was supplied new via Brooklands of Bond Street to first
owner Mr John Minter Esq of FG Minter Ltd of Putney, a celebrated firm of
architects who played a major role in the redevelopment of London’s West End
after World War Two.
The second owner was the
rather splendidly named Felix De Wolfe, a high profile theatrical agent who
represented major stars of the stage, screen and radio from his office just off
The Strand. In 1967 when the Alvis had covered c.11k miles it was acquired by DJ
Harris of Sutton who was to keep the car for 21 years, having it regularly
serviced by Regina Motors of Tooting Junction, as detailed in many dozens of
invoices, letters and notebook entries on file. In 1984 at c.75k miles the
original engine got damaged due to overheating so a reconditioned unit supplied
by Red Triangle was fitted to the car.
In 1988,
when the Alvis had covered 92k miles, Mr Harris sold it at an auction hosted by
Phillips of New Bond Street where it was bought by a Mr L Davies of Guildford
who was to keep it for five years. Before he bought the car, he had it inspected
by an independent engineer who reported: “The car is in excellent order although
there are several small patches of bubbles appearing on the o/s/r wing and o/s/f
headlight. Most of the chrome mouldings have pitted due to age. If these items
were rectified I am sure the car would fetch in excess of £20,000 at auction. As
it stands the car can be valued at approximately £17,000.”
In 1993 when it had covered 96,600 miles, Mr Davies sold the Alvis to
Tom Klaver, a senior civil servant in Holland, photos showing that he had
the car re-registered as DL-51-78. He really went to town on the car,
spending many thousands of Euros for work carried out by Binnenstadgarage of The
Hague, most of the parts being supplied by Red Triangle.
You will need a good knowledge of Dutch to decipher all the bills,
but highlights included restoration of the bodywork with new sills and lower
rear wing sections, A post and B post repairs and a full repaint from the
original BRG to Jaguar Westminster Blue.
Other
jobs of note included: new screen rubbers front and rear; diff rebuilt;
suspension overhaul with new rear leaf springs, four new Koni shock absorbers
and many new rubber bushes; full brake overhaul including rebuilt calipers and
master cylinder; new wheel bearings; new cylinder head gasket and engine tune;
new water pump; new wiper motor; all grease points lubricated; wiring
overhauled; wheels shotblasted and fitted with a new set of tyres; new carpets
and sound deadening; new headlining; new window channels; new fog lamps; inertia
reel seat belts plus much else besides.
In late
1995 when it had covered 98,800 miles, Mr Klaver sent it to Earley Engineering
where another £4,400 was spent on replacing the cylinder head (the original had
developed a crack), rebuilding the carbs and setting up the front suspension
properly with new hubs, bearings, trunnions, bushes etc.
In April 1998 at c.110k miles Mr Klaver sent the car back to Earley
Engineering to sell it on his behalf. They gave the car a thorough service and
check-over and got it reunited with its original 7503 HX number plate before
selling it to our vendor the following month for £15,000. For context, this was
before the classic car market had really taken off and you could still buy a
decent TD21 for about £8k and a really good one for about
£12k.
During our vendor’s 28-year ownership the
Alvis has always been in regular use, another 23k miles being added to the
odometer which currently shows (1)33,055 miles. There are lots of bills for
routine upkeep and new parts fitted, with regular servicing being carried
out by Bailey Brothers of Abergavenny and the occasional trip to Earley
Engineering and Red Triangle for more specialised work.
Highlights include:
1998 – New set of
wire wheels and hubs which cost £1,674
2001 –
Hardened valve seats for unleaded fuel
2003 –
Waxoyl treatment underneath
2009 –
Electric power steering fitted by Red Triangle which cost £2,950+VAT and
transforms the driving experience
2012 –
Reconditioned radiator
2015 – Automatic gearbox
reconditioned by Graham Whitehouse of Halesowen which cost £2,724; new Facet
fuel pump
2018 – Seat covers refurbished
2023 – Modern DAB radio fitted with Bluetooth
and rear speakers
2024 – Outer sill repairs and
underbody cleaned, rustproofed and stone chip protected; major service,
check-over and Crypton tune by Red Triangle which cost over
£4,250
2025 – Powerlite high-torque starter motor
fitted
A stainless steel exhaust system has also been fitted at some
point, along with a battery cut-off switch discreetly fitted in the glove box
and the driver’s seat runners have been extended to suit taller drivers.
As you can see in the photos, this stately old
Alvis looks to be in good shape for a 66-year-old, the only real faults we noted
being some wear to the leather on the driver’s seat and some play in the
driver’s door which has to be lifted slightly to close properly.
We are
told that the car drives as well as it looks, being driven some 40 miles to the
sale on a boiling hot day without drama. It has certainly been starting promptly
and running very sweetly as we have moved it around on site, with nice light
power steering, seamless gearchanges, effective brakes and healthy 40psi oil
pressure. Although it no longer needs one, it was submitted for MOT in June 2024
when it passed with just a couple of advisories (slight play in o/s/f wheel
bearing; tyres slightly perished).
On offer here
at an attractive guide price, this handsome Alvis has an amazingly detailed
history from new and some choice upgrades to enhance the driving experience.
Only reluctantly for sale due to the advancing years of the vendor, it now seeks
an enthusiastic seventh owner who can add their own chapter to its interesting
life to date.
Consigned by James Dennison –
07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com