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New Project: 1949 Alvis TA14 Saloon

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Reposted from the "New Member Introductions" forum, since this properly belongs here.

Yes, I have yet another "Other British Car" to add to the collection. This one's in addition to the Jensen Healey and the Metropolitan that you see in my signature (which begs the question: "How many British cars do you need?" Answer: "One more than you have!").

I wasn't looking, honest. This one just kind of dropped in my lap and I could NOT pass it up for the price. It's a 1949 Alvis TA 14 Saloon, Mulliner bodied. Obviously a bit of a project, but nowhere as bad as it looks in the picture: mechanically it's very sound and actually almost driveable except that the brakes (yes, mechanical) need to be adjusted properly. Legal to drive? Well, no, as there are no lights of any kind attached. They're over there, in a box. Actually there are several boxes, which is good because for the most part all of the bits seem to be there, just needing to be reinstalled. The bodywork is very, very solid. The structural wood is also very solid. Basically, the wood trimwork needs to be refinished, the upholstery needs to be refreshed, and the bodywork just needs a final going over before paint. Brand new tires were part of the deal, which made it much easier to fork over the cash. Most of the exterior brightwork such as headlamp housings, bumpers, etc. are already quite good and should polish up nicely.

I purchased it as an abandoned project (the previous owner had done the mechanicals, most of the body work, and then decided it wasn't really his cup of tea) so I take over from here. The paint you see is just paint he sprayed as he was working on it to cover the bare metal. In a perfect world, it needs nothing but my time (well, and paint) to finish. In the imperfect world we live in, I'm sure there will be some bits that need to be scavenged (not like there are a lot of Alvis parts suppliers out there) and cleaned up, etc. Still, it promises to be an interesting project.

The problem I've run into thus far is that there isn't a whole lot of information out there about specifics on these, manuals are non existent, and since I am not likely to see another one out in the field I'm pretty much resigned to looking at pictures on Google and trying to figure out exactly how things should appear, how they should go together, and little niggly things like what type of weatherstripping to use around the doors and such. All the details. Any advice is cheerfully accepted!

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NutmegCT

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Congrats for taking on the challenge. At first I thought your Alvis might have a Wilson pre-selector transmission, but I think the TA14 was a simple four speed.

I'm betting you'll find this collection of technical info very useful, especially at the price:

https://www.alvisoc.org/012345678910-ta-14-collection-in-cd-format-by-michael-fletcher-colin-newby

I *almost* got an Alvis many years ago, and an Armstrong-Siddeley Hurricane, and a Humber Super Snipe. Emphasis on almost!

Tom M.
 
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Thanks Tom, that looks incredibly helpful. I'll be ordering shortly (still waiting to hear back from the Alvis Owners club on my membership).
 
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Just an update on progress, or lack thereof: haven't done much to this point. I did pull the carb off (SU H4) to clean it up as it was quite messy inside and the float valve varied between "not going to let any fuel in" and "not going to shut off, let's pour some fuel on the floor". I've also been playing with cleaning up the interior woodwork and it's actually in better shape than I expected, it's just dirty more than anything. I may be able to get away with gently sanding off the existing varnish and revarnishing it. I still haven't decided what to do with the upholstery: I may just clean it up and leave it as is if I can get away with it for now. Also, I think my parts inventory is complete and I do appear to be missing a couple of exterior bits so I may be scavenging or coming up with substitutes.

The problem with this car is the lack of pictorial information of other examples: I think I've now seen every image of an Alvis 14 that exists on the Internet and there are so many differences in the details that it's hard to tell what has been changed by owners over the years and what the car actually came with originally. I may have to just go with "period correct" instead of "model specific" on some of the items and hope for the best. It's not like I'm likely to ever park it next to another one.
 

NutmegCT

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Michael - sounds like you may have the TA14 on the road sooner than expected. Be careful with the wood restoration - don't let any moisture get into the wood, or nasty cracks may result. How's the mechanical condition? (chassis, brakes, gearbox, engine, etc.)

Take a look at these two sites:

https://alvisarchive.com/the-fourteen/

https://alvisfourteen.wordpress.com

The second one seems to have lots of resources for restoration projects - projects, tech data, articles, etc. You might also want to find yourself a copy of the book "The Alvis Car, 1920-1966". Author K. R. Day, Lewis Cole & Company Limited, 1967, 170 pages.

Tom M.
 
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Thanks, Tom. I'm very, very familiar with both sites: that's where much of my information came from. I also have the Alvis book already. Yes, I'm a researcher.

Mechanically: the engine starts right up and seems to run fine, though I haven't been anywhere with it other than the parking lot because: Brakes: they work but are very much in need of adjustment. The chassis is very, very sound. Again, because I haven't really driven it, I can't vouch for much else mechanically.

I'll note what you said about the wood. I am definitely not an expert wood refinisher so I will be doing much testing on inconspicuous spots before I commit to a procedure.
 

NutmegCT

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Another update: now that the construction is done on our house (long story involving a blizzard in April with over 30 inches of wet heavy snow, and subsequently a new roof structure) the Alvis is finally in my garage and I've started the process of restoration.

First order of business was to remove a number of parts, and I have to say (this being the first wood framed car I've ever worked on) that if it all goes this easily I'll be thrilled. The doors? Held on with wood screws. It was like removing your bathroom door. 10 minutes to remove all 4 doors. Bonnet was similar: two wood screws at the rear, and two machine screws (Whitworth, of course) at the front holding down the rod for the piano hinge. Most of the interior woodwork, including the wood dashboard, is also removed for reconditioning (and so as to not get paint on it). Wood screws all around for this stuff. And the seats and carpet are removed as well.

Whew.

Now I have several directions to go in: working on the woodwork, working on the upholstery, and prepping the body for final priming/blocking and paint. I was going to wait and do the painting over the winter, but with the way everything is going I think it makes sense to try to have it done in the next couple of months before winter hits so I don't have to contend with keeping the garage at 80 degrees.

This one is going to be fun!
 

LarryK

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Looks like fun!
 
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Progress being made on the TA14 Saloon. Doors removed, bonnet removed, seats removed, windscreen removed, dashboard and most of the interior woodwork removed. Placed an order for new inside and outside door handles and window winders today. The "temporary" paint in the photos starts coming off this week: hopefully the car will look much different in a month or so.

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A bit more progress. Doors, bonnet, and boot lid are prepped and primed. The rest of the body is stripped to bare metal (and some Bondo, an unpleasant but not unexpected surprise). After I took the attached photos, I took the front fenders off since they will require the most work (the rear fenders were just skim coated, but the front ones are a bit of a mess). Hoping to have the rest of the body primed in the next week or two, and then go back to the front fenders.

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JPSmit

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great progress! (of course your helper behind the steering wheel no doubt makes it easier) :smile:
 

Mick2me

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Just joined the forum, I am the owner of a 1949 Alvis TA14 here in the UK.
I have a couple of service manuals and much digital information about this model.
If you need any info please let me know.
 
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Thanks Mick. Yes, I am still here. The progress on the Alvis has gone much more slowly than I would have anticipated, not due to the car itself but more to life getting in the way.

I'll get some progress pictures up shortly, but where I'm basically at is that the body is done and painted, other than the front fenders which have presented their own unique set of challenges (it's ALL curves, not a flat spot to be found on them which makes body work very interesting). I may be in the process of moving, which is further putting things off, but one of the reasons for the move is that I will have a 1200 sq ft shop just for working on my projects! This should make things much more efficient as far as getting the Alvis done since I won't have to work around the rest of the garage uses (currently I only have a 2 car garage to work in and there's lots of other stuff taking up space in there as well).
 

Mick2me

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With being confined to the house for the past 4 weeks, I have been able to do some work on mine but redecorating has taken preference.

Would be greatful to know what starter motor is fitted to yours. Mine has a Field coil fault.
Does yours have a built in Stater Solenoid, or is there a seperate solenoid, possibly on the bulkhead?
 
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