Lot Ended
Description
A super example of this rare sporting saloon; current owner 15 years;
over £75k spent on improvements and upgrades; matching numbers; one of only
around 650 made; find a better one!
Introduced in
October 1953, the Alvis TC21/100 Grey Lady was aimed at the sort of chap who
might also have a Bentley MkVI or a Lagonda 2.6 on his shopping list. A chap
like the Duke of Edinburgh perhaps, or Sir Douglas Bader, both of whom succumbed
to the charms of the Alvis. While a steady chap like the Duke might opt for the
Mulliner Saloon version, a raffish sort like Bader could opt for the Tickford
Drophead Coupe.
With a high compression cylinder head and taller final
drive ratio, the Grey Lady was credited with 100bhp and a headline-grabbing
100mph top speed. 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 and pushrod damper springs to keep mechanical chatter to
a minimum. The engine proved so successful 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.
The TC21 was
only in production for three years, being replaced by the TC108G in 1955 by
which time around 750 had been sold, around 650 of them Mulliner
Saloons.
First registered in Coventry in November
1954, PWK 39 was originally owned by Alvis themselves, either for use as a
company car or as a demonstrator. The subsequent history isn’t clear but by 1983
it was owned by the appropriately named Mr J Alvis of Winford, near Bristol,
invoices showing that he had the car fully restored by Frenchay Garage of
Bristol at a cost of almost £9,000 – a very substantial sum which would have
bought you a brand new Ford Granada, Porsche 944 or BMW E30 3-Series at the
time.
Mr Alvis kept the car for the next 22 years
before selling it to a Mr D Salter of Harrogate in 2005. He continued to look
after it well, including fitting a new set of wire wheels plus a fairly major
engine overhaul by Tim Walker Restorations of Aylesbury who also rebuilt the
carbs, overhauled the braking system and balanced the prop shaft among many
other jobs. It also had a partial repaint and a tidy up of the interior plus
much other work by Pool Lane Classics of Kirk Hammerton, a quick tot up of the
bills showing that around £10,000 was spent during Mr Salter’s five-year
ownership.
Our vendor acquired the car in March
2010 and promptly sent it to Red Triangle for a thorough check-over, Crypton
tune, a full 96-point service and a pair of new rear suspension springs. Red
Triangle serviced the car again in 2012, tidied up some interior aspects and
fitted a period HMV radio and speakers under the dash. They continued to look
after it until 2016 with bills on file for this six-year period amounting to
just under £22,000.
Over the next nine years the
car was looked after by Earley Engineering of Kingstone, a quick tot-up of the
bills showing that another £55,000 was spent on improvements. The big spend was
In 2021/2022 when the car received a £35,000 bare-metal respray, interior
refurbishment and full mechanical overhaul by Earley Engineering to get the car
in tip-top order for the wedding of our vendor’s daughter.
Other highlights include: a new set of Michelin XVS 185/15 radial
tyres (which we are told have transformed handling, ride and braking); LED
headlights; modern flashing indicators (front indicators are set into the
sidelamps); new radiator; Kenlowe electric supplementary fan; air horn (“she is
much faster than she appears to ordinary motorists!” says the vendor);
fitted fire extinguisher; battery cut-off switch and trickle charger wiring;
modern period-look radio with iPod connection; custom-made fitted waterproof
cover.
Most recently, in March 2025 of this year
the car went back to Earley Engineering for a major service and tune-up which
cost just under £2,000 and the car has only covered some 50 miles since (see
photos for details).
The vendor states that the
car now goes as well as it looks: “It is easily capable of 85-90mph sprints
but shouldn’t be held at that speed for long as it is a pre-motorway era car
(wears bearings too much). It cruises easily at 50-70mph and the spring rates
are set for a smooth and supple ride on British A-roads. It holds good
temperature at all times due to the uprated cooling system. The odometer
shows 41,600 miles which we believe to be genuine (based on the mileage of
historic MOTs) and in the last 15 years has only clocked up about 3,500 miles on
dry roads.”
As you can see in the photos and
the video, this Alvis is in really super condition throughout and has clearly
been maintained regardless of cost in the current 15-year ownership. You would
be hard-pressed to find a better example, let alone at the modest guide price
suggested.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com