14 replies to this topic

[john medley]

Help!

There were plenty of 6 cylinder ohv Alvis specials roaded and raced pre- and post-war in the UK and elsewhere, but how many(and which ones) were supercharged?

Thanks in advance

[Dick Willis]

Probably none although I know of one with a side valve V8 in it !

[Terry Walker]

This is the only Alvis special I know of at present: Trevor Eastwood races it in WA now, but it didn't start here. Three giant SU carbs, unsurpercharged.

[john medley]

OOPS, too many reds over dinner....

Listen you desperates who should be put against the wall and defenestrated. I am trying to help out a friend with a four letter(CAMS) problem. The answer to all this will more certainly come from the UK people, not you colonials.

Contemplate all those 6 cylinder Alvises 1929-39 from 14/75 to 4.3. They were good cars and many built specials from them, for road and race: Rivers Fletchers' Speed 20 was alleged to be a real or potential TT car, Lord Woftam's Speed 20/25 Special featured all the time at Speed on Tweed , the Alfa Alvis for 20 years on Australian circuits, but what of the Chevell, the Giron, the others.....?

We need to know of any that wore superchargers

To Terry: I sat in the marshalling grid at Mallala to the left of Trevor's Alvis 4.3 Special.The SUCK through those HUGE carburettors nearly tore my helmet off.

To Richard George Willis: thank you for your customary punishing wit. As former Alvis owners and Alvis car club members both of us should know better. And also, I have lost your email address

[john medley]

OOPS, too many reds over dinner....

Listen you desperates who should be put against the wall and defenestrated. I am trying to help out a friend with a four letter(CAMS) problem. The answer to all this will more certainly come from the UK people, not you colonials.

Contemplate all those 6 cylinder Alvises 1929-39 from 14/75 to 4.3. They were good cars and many built specials from them, for road and race: Rivers Fletchers' Speed 20 was alleged to be a real or potential TT car, Lord Woftam's Speed 20/25 Special featured all the time at Speed on Tweed , the Alfa Alvis for 20 years on Australian circuits, but what of the Chevell, the Giron, the others.....?

We need to know of any that wore superchargers

To Terry: I sat in the marshalling grid at Mallala to the left of Trevor's Alvis 4.3 Special.The SUCK through those HUGE carburettors nearly tore my helmet off.

To Richard George Willis: thank you for your customary punishing wit. As former Alvis owners and Alvis car club members both of us should know better. And also, I have lost your email address

[Dick Willis]

Thankfully you have lost my email address but when you recover from your reds have a look at an Oily Rag or one of those newsletters I so laboriously prepare and send to you but lately my emails to you, like a boomerang, come bouncing back, does AOL have a block on them ?

As for your friend with a supercharged 6 cylinder Alvis, if he makes it a four or a six he may have more of a chance 'cos as you well know, they both ran supercharged. Don't know whether all that is a good idea though as my superchasrged car just spat out its head gasket.

[Dutchy]

The Chevell Special aka the Chranock wasn't supercharged. The Giron when raced by Rod Jolley certainly was but that was in the 1980s so presumably far too recent for your purposes.
The 4.3 single seater built by "Clink" Clinkard in the 1950s was blown and I have a feeling the Goodwin Special might have been at one time too. However I can't think of any that ran pre war.

[tonyA110]

Help!

There were plenty of 6 cylinder ohv Alvis specials roaded and raced pre- and post-war in the UK and elsewhere, but how many(and which ones) were supercharged?

Thanks in advance

Whilst this does not answer the original question, (sorry) the mention of a side valve V8 enginged Alvis prompted me to find my password.

Several years ago, I used to help the late and dear Roly Simmons, a co-founder of Red Triagle in Kenilworth. During that time he bought a car answering this description, based I think on a TA chassis and with some TA bodywork, but in a very sorry state. A more pressing project came along and the car was sold, apparently to be restored.

It was claimed that the car had some connection with Archie Scott-Brown, but as far as I know this was never verified. Maybe someone out there knows more.

tonyA110

[john medley]

Thanks all for your contributions, including Dick Willis' usual insults(you won this round, Richard George!), but how about ANY prewar 6 cylinder ohv specials with superchargers which raced in the period? We have considered Armstrong Siddeley, SS Jaguar, Bentley, Alvis ....... but so far no joy, or supercharged only postwar.

Please help a needy cause.

[Dick Willis]

Sorry John, I've been through every book I have, UK, NZ and Aust, even the Cradle of Australian Motor Racing but with no likelies, I'll keep thinking, as ever !

[mikeC]

Thanks all for your contributions, including Dick Willis' usual insults(you won this round, Richard George!), but how about ANY prewar 6 cylinder ohv specials with superchargers which raced in the period? We have considered Armstrong Siddeley, SS Jaguar, Bentley, Alvis ....... but so far no joy, or supercharged only postwar.

Please help a needy cause.

How about Amilcar 6 and MG K3 based specials?

[Vitesse2]

How about Amilcar 6 and MG K3 based specials?

I think he's looking for ones which didn't have blowers fitted as standard ....

If it wasn't so late I'd turn my thoughts to Rileys

[john medley]

Can I thank all who have contributed to this thread, whether on TNF or by email etc to me?

At the centre of the puzzle is the notion of a 6 cylinder PUSHROD ohv engine, supercharged, in competition. Not difficult to find Riley, ERA and other "camshaft up there" engines, twin cam engines, ohc engines like MG K3 etc, even sidevalve supercharged(OM?), but ohv pushrod sixes are a real rarity-- for pretty obvious reasons.

Chadwick was an early notable, with supercharger, probably Hispano Suiza, then through to some of the bigger Sixes of the 1930s such as Alvis, SS Jaguar, Delage, Darraq, Delahaye...-- but how many of these were supercharged in period? Chevrolet and Dodge Sixes are areas of mystery to me, but I have a little on Grahams and Auburn Sixes with superchargers. Then there were those German etc Sixes , from BMW and others, but again, how many were supercharged?

Anyway, an interesting exercise. Thanks and regards to all

[john medley]

I forgot to add two SS Jaguars found that were supercharged in period: the saloon that John Snow used on the road in the UK in 1936/37, and the SS1 onto which Bill Conoulty is said to have fitted the supercharger from the Phil Garlick 200 Mile Race Alvis

[Allan Lupton]

I'm a bit confused about what you really are after which seems to be:
Six cylinder motor
OHV but not OHC
Aftermarket supercharging
Used pre-WW2 in competition
Alvis motors

Transgressing most of those, but complying with the thread title are the 4 and 8 cylinder FWD Alvis