1932 Alvis Speed 20 SA £199,995
Beautifully turned out and completely refreshed, this swift sports tourer has a fantastic history, Paul Hardiman reports
This Speed 20 – one of 36 Alvises fitted with Vanden Plas Sports Tourer bodywork – has quite a history file. It started life as Vanden Plas’ display car at the 1932 Olympia Motor Show. Its sporty open four-seat coachwork was designed by VDP for charismatic London Alvis dealer Captain Charles Follett who used it for the next two years.
In 1934 it was sold to Captain John Litchfield OBE RN, whose son was recently reunited with the car and provided family photographs. Laid up during Word War II, it was later owned by rally co-driver Robin Bendall from 1961-2010. The seller acquired it in 2015 and has since sunk a lot of money into it: major sums are nearly £50,000 with Tim Walker Restorations, £7000 with FJ Payne for engine work, £12,300 for stripping and painting and £3000 with Winston Teague for rewiring.
The result is superb, with a deadstraight body under mirror-deep paint and excellent door fits. Headlights were refurbished by Vintage Headlamp Restoration at a cost of £1122. Tyres are well-treaded Firestones, fitted in 2015.
Inside, instruments are all good in a restored dash, though minor gauges are an assortment of makes. Two redundant wires poking from the dash were for a map-reading light, removed because it was in the way of the driver’s left hand. The driver’s brass ashtray remains.
Hood and side-screens are older but still good, filling the boot where we also find a well stocked canvas bag of tools. There’s one tiny chip out of the paint by the left front side-screen mount. The seat leather has been dyed or painted in the past, but is perfectly serviceable, with rather more wear to the front seats than rear.
The engine is clean, and has just had its first oil-change service post rebuild. There’s an electric fan on the back of the radiator, and the full complement of tools and accessories remains clipped to the scuttle: oil can, syringe, inspection light, Thor hammer and brass tin of spare bulbs in cotton wool. Coolant is light blue and near the top of the tank, and there’s a plain radiator cap to replace the theft-prone crested eagle mascot if required.
Tickle the carbs, retard the ignition and it fires readily. Reverse lockout on the very positive gearshift is missing so you have to take care selecting first as the gate is narrow. It’s still centre throttle too. The clutch takes up smoothly and it drives well, with an easy gearchange that gets quieter as it warms through – Speed 20s didn’t get the all-synchro box until the SB model.
It was still running in so we didn’t rev it much but there’s plenty of torque and the brakes pull up square. Oil pressure was a reliable 48psi, with temperature not going much over 60°C. A bank of switches hidden under the dash includes controls for flashing indicators and hazard lights.
Sold with that history file, original owner’s instruction book and video of the Alvis USA Tour in 2000, it might look all the money and then some, but that’s a reflection of what’s been spent.