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Alvis TA14 restoration 'Little Mary Anne'
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:20 pm    Post subject: Alvis TA14 restoration 'Little Mary Anne' Reply with quote

(following on from my thread in introductions)

for a start a big thankyou to my wife, she broke her near side wing mirror on her beloved 1996 rover 214 (bubble shape).
why a big thankyou for this? well I'll tell you.........

over the last year I've been 'doing up' a 1996 vauxhall corsa (my everyday car) so with buying parts for it, I'm 'well in' with my local auto factors.

when the wife broke her wing mirror, I ordered a new mirror glass from our local auto factors and when i collected it, Alan (the owner) told me about this Alvis that had been stood in another customers garage for a while. Alan said the bloke wouldn't want a lot for it so I got the address and set off to see what it was like! Very Happy

well it was like walking into a time machine, one complete Alvis TA14 with the Mulliner saloon body, i wanted it so badly Very Happy so I got in contact with the bloke who had it and this was the story from him......

My father bought it brand new in 1948 for £650, he passed away quite a time ago and I could do with the garage space, It was last used in 1975, then driven into the garage and left. Confused

I asked what he wanted for it and the reply was......if you shift it, you can have it.

so I got on with organising a mate with a trailer and we set off to get her Very Happy

the reason I need to thank the wife for smashing her mirror is that if she hadn't, I may never have got this piece of motoring history.

heres a couple of pics, more will be added as the project goes on.

this is where she sat for 33 years....


and her first movement since 1975....



the wife decided to call her 'little mary anne' due to LMA on her no. plate, but she ain't such a little car Laughing Laughing

jason


Last edited by Jason on Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:59 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

heres a pic of her ariving at our house.....(we moved her on the 4th of october)



jason


Last edited by Jason on Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The day after we'd brought her home, we set to trying to get her engine running.

the engine turns with the starting handle but all the wiring harness had been chewed through by what i'm guessing was rats or mice Sad so we decided to just set about stripping her for restoration, hoping that we can get her engine running afterwards (if not we'll have to fit her with a ford pinto or something) Razz Razz

heres a pic of the engine....

jason
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22779
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

great stuff, I look forward to following progress Smile great to read about finds like that still being around!!

Rick
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Rick
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PS hope you don't mind, its such a great pic that you put in the Intro thread, I'll add it in here too as it shows the car really well. Smile



RJ
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cheers rick, heres a couple of pics of her coming apart for the restoration.....





jason
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

some more strip down pics......the floor was 3/4 inch ply and was completely rotten (we tugged on the front seats to remove them and the floor came out with them Shocked )

completely stripped.....


front axle after removal......


the heater, looking a bit of a mess..... Confused



jason
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

more restoration pics......

startermotor before re-furb....


starter motor after re-furb and re-fitted......


and the engine/front of chassis as it stands now......


the difference is amazing, I thought I'd have my work cut out with the Alvis but now its coming together I'm more determined than ever Very Happy

jason
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Rick
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah its very encouraging when you see nicely re-furb'd bits going back on isn't it!! Smile

R
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah rick, I'm averaging about 4 hours per day on the project, problem now is that as I fit more refurbed stuff, I feel like i should start rushing it a bit Very Happy (if you can actually rush a project like this) Confused

jason
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Rick
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess having decent woodwork too was a major plus point in taking it on!

R
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah the woodwork is in sound condition, it needs cleaning up but it's solid Wink

my biggest problem is that I want to get her back on the road asap but cleaning, prepping and painting parts takes a great deal of time (as you probably know) Laughing

jason
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got a bit more done over the weekend Very Happy

the firewall/bulkhead was 3/4 inch ply 'sandwiched' with aluminium sheets, the ply is fine and solid but the aluminium (as you can see in some of the earlier photos) has oxidized and rotted, so to make light work of it, I clad both sides with stainless steel sheet.

pic of the new sheet cut...


and a pic of the finished firewall/bulkhead...


sorry about the quality of the pics.

I have also fitted it back to the car but not taken any pics yet (will do asap)

jason
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1728
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its a lovely car Jason and seems ur doing some great work there!!!
As we say in maltese 'proset' ie well done !!

wish I was given something like that even though probably my bank account would take a plunge downwards!! Smile
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Jason



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 623
Location: Todmorden, Lancs.

PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cheers bob2,
yeah its costing some money but not quite as bad as i first thought, a tin of paint here, a tin of paint there etc etc, it all adds up but if you spread the spending out you don't feel it as much Laughing Laughing

she'll be a great car and I can't wait to get her back on the road

also forgot to say, my mum lives in malta in st. pauls bay and my cousin lives in buggiba

jason
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