IMAGINE YOU’RE AN (EVIDENTLY WELL-HEELED) auto enthusiast in 1932. You have enjoyed the likes of Amicar and Bugatti two-seaters, but now there’s the wife and little Artemis calling for suitable transportation as well.
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Alvis Speed 20. This and other images from R&T, January 1959.
Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits about the 1932 Alvis Speed 20, a four-seat automobile R&T called the “Living definition of the sporting machine” and “more sports than family.”
A January 1959 R&T Salon. R&T opined, “The sporting four-seater does not have to look like a self-propelled bath tub. Many a family man who has outgrown his two-place roadster would like to see the return of this type of car.”
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Alvis Origins. “As for the origin of the name ‘Alvis,’ R&T wrote, “there is strangely enough no proven version. The usual accepted story is that the ‘Al’ refers to the first two letters of aluminum, and the ‘vis’ is taken from the Latin meaning force, power or strength.”
Wikipedia cites Thomas George John as company founder in 1919, and Geoffrey de Freville as its first designer and “is also responsible for the company name.”
Wikipedia mentions that Al-vis jazz and also Alvíss, a Norse mythological weaponsmith. It notes, though, “De Freville vigorously rejected all of these theories. In 1921 he specifically stated that the name had no meaning whatsoever, and was chosen simply because it could be easily pronounced in any language. He reaffirmed this position in the early 1960s, stating that any other explanations for the source of the name were purely coincidental.”
Alas, R&T wasn’t around in 1921 and didn’t have this reaffirmation in early 1959.
The Speed 20. R&T cited, “The first Alvis overhead valve 6-cylinder engine was introduced in 1927; it was claimed to be capable of turning over at 6000 revolutions per minute [an impressive claim at the time]. In 1929 the 6-cylinder cars were designated ‘Silver Eagle,’ and the first ‘Speed 20,’ shown here, was a sensation in 1932.”
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“With a four-seater sports tourer body it sold for £695 when the pound sterling was equivalent to $4.83.”
Hmm… Time for our handy Consumer Price Index. R&T’s conversion rate implied a 1932 price of the Speed 20 of $3356.85. The CPI Inflation Calculator sets this equivalent to a hefty $73,896.49 in today’s dollar. Talk about “well-heeled.”
The Speed 20’s OHV Hardware. “An interesting Alvis feature,” R&T wrote, “was the use of multiple valves springs. [And they meant multiple!] Each valve was closed by a cluster of nine springs about 2 inches long and with an inside diameter of only 0.31 in. Ordinary 16-gauge piano wire was used, and five springs were wound right hand and four left hand. Because the individual springs were long, a stationary guide pin for each was required to prevent buckling.”
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Note the cluster of springs surrounding the valve stem. Also the spark plug is masked, “probably,” R&T said, “to reduce any ‘oiling up’ tendency.”
Why these multiplicity of valve springs? “The overall-result” R&T continued, “was very low inertia loads and, apparently, just enough friction to damp out any tendency to surge. Thus an engine speed of 6000 rpm was just possible, insofar as the valve gear was concerned.”
Triple Carbs. “Again like AC,” R&T observed, “Alvis chose three sidedraft carburetors, a combination which is so much superior to two carburetors (for a 6) that it is difficult to understand the English predilection for two, which still persists. Be that as it may, the Alvis engine enjoyed a reputation for smoothness, quietness, longevity, and good quality.”
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The Cabin. R&T identified, “Clustered around the horn button are the levers for spark advance, hand throttle, and headlight dipper. The throttle pedal is between the clutch and brake [perceived as beneficial for double-clutch downshifts in braking].
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Those Wonderful Lucas P-100s and Marchals. Putting the Alvis front view in 1959 perspective, R&T noted, “This is really shedding a little light on the subject. Is it possible that this could have originated the new four-eyed look? But then we don’t see any high tail fins.”
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Gearbox Improvements. “The gearbox,” R&T described, “bolted directly to the engine and had 4 speeds forward and a constant-mesh 3rd gear, but no synchronizers. Later models, via a license agreement with GM, featured the famous Alvis all-synchro box, remote from the engine and driven by a short propeller shaft.”
Tomorrow in Part 2, we’ll see another R&T feature of the era: a Classic Test of the Alvis Speed 20, “… not an actual test on the car in question, but the data presented are an accurate synthesis of material published during the time the car was produced.” There’s even a neat Data Panel! ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024