Lot details
Registration No: HEH 856
Chassis No: 16160
Mot Expiry: Sept 2009

Based around a 1939 Alvis Silver Crest chassis (the Coventry marque's lightest pre-WW2 design to feature independent transverse-leaf front suspension), 'HEH 856' had already been reconfigured as a Special by the time it entered the current ownership in 1996. Hankering after something more exciting (not to mention VSCC eligible), the vendor commissioned Edwards Motorsport of Wrington to fit a 1930 Cadillac V16 7.4 litre engine in place of the incumbent (non-original) Jaguar 4.2 litre unit. Sourced from the late John Willment's estate, the American powerplant was thoroughly overhauled prior to installation (reground / re-whitemetalled / fully balanced crankshaft, new high compression pistons, reprofiled camshaft etc). Breathing via eight SU carburettors and developing some 280bhp and 410lbft of torque, it drives the back wheels via an Alvis Speed 25 four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox and 3.5:1 rear axle ratio (the latter taken from a Land Rover). Given a new tail-section by the renowned panel beater Peter Claridge, the two-seater also boasts a hydraulic clutch, 'Brooklands' style exhaust system and hydraulic 12-inch drum brakes. Riding on 19-inch wire wheels shod with Dunlop racing tyres (6.00-front / 7.00-rear), the self-starting 'HEH 856' has just passed a MOT test. One of many toys in the seller's collection, the Alvis-Cadillac ran at the VSCC's SeeRed Donington Park meeting some three years ago but has since seen little use. Intended for sprints, hillclimbs and occasional road trips, we are informed by Simon Blakeney-Edwards of Edwards Motorsport that the Special would benefit from an oil-cooler over longer journeys and ideally a longer steering drop arm. An intriguing and surely unique alternative to something like a Bentley 3/8, this wonderful Anglo-American hotrod is offered for sale with the aforementioned MOT certificate and VSCC buff form.