Lot Ended
Description
1937 Alvis Speed 25 Special
NOT
SOLD
Enticing project with much work already done by Earley
Engineering and Tim Walker Restorations
Fast and handsome with tremendous performance and a low,
purposeful stance, the Alvis Speed 25 is the epitome of pre-war sporting
elegance. Beautifully made and bristling with technical innovations such as
independent front suspension, all-synchro gearbox, one-shot chassis lubrication
system, adjustable Luvax hydraulic shock absorbers and four-wheel servo-assisted
brakes, the car was capable of a smooth and refined 100mph and is widely
regarded as the finest Alvis ever built.
A development of the 2.5-litre Speed 20, the 1936 Speed 25
SB had a 3.6-litre straight-six with triple SU carburettors, a balanced
seven-bearing crankshaft, novel spring-cluster overhead valve gear and developed
108bhp. Despite weighing a hefty 36½ cwts, in Charlesworth saloon form it could
charge to 50mph in just 10.4 seconds and cover the standing ¼ mile in only 20
seconds – remarkable performance for the time. An outstandingly sophisticated
and handsome car, it was also very expensive (stealing sales from both the
Bentley 4.25 litre and Lagonda LG45) and just 391 examples were made before
production came to an end in 1940.
First registered in Southport in October 1937, DFY 66
started out in life as a Charlesworth SB Saloon, two buff logbooks and a V5C on
file charting six owners between 1948 and 2014 when our vendor acquired it from
an Essex gentleman who had owned it since 1976. By this point the car was in a
dismantled state and the vendor was planning to restore it and convert it into
an open tourer special.
Over the past five years much time and money has been
lavished on the project as detailed in notes and invoices on file. The 10’ 7"
wheelbase chassis frame was professionally repaired and painted by Alvis
specialists Earley Engineering of Herefordshire at a cost of around £5,000 and
in October 2015 the refurbished chassis and all the rolling chassis components
were sent to Tim Walker Restorations of Aylesbury to be built up and restored as
necessary, with invoices on file for a further £24,500.
The extent of the work carried out since is too detailed
to list in full here but copies of all the invoices and worksheets are available
for inspection at Brightwells, along with an inventory of all the parts present,
which can be emailed to prospective bidders on request. Much work has been done
by TWR and the components have been loose assembled to create a rolling chassis.
The engine and gearbox are present (both unrestored) as are most major parts
required to finish the rolling chassis, along with the panels and hinges that
make up the bonnet (see photos on website).
The owner had plans to create a 1930’s open-top tourer in
the style of an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spider / Mille Miglia Roadster or Delahaye 135 MS
Cabriolet. Now reluctantly for sale due to a change in circumstances, this stalled project still needs
much work to finish but represents a rare opportunity to create a fine Alvis
Special with a body style of your own choice.
For more information -
contact James Dennision 07970
309907
* All charges are subject to VAT