1959 Alvis TD 21

Registered in 1959, this lovely old Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupé spent its early years (until at least the mid-seventies) here before being exported to the USA where someone spent an awful lot of money on it. Recently re-imported, all the relevant taxes have been paid, which should make registering it for the road straightforward.

Very much a work in progress, the vendor has done the heavy lifting to get it running, vastly increasing its appeal to Alvis enthusiasts looking for a good car to recommission.

We believe it has also had recent new wheels, tyres and a stainless-steel exhaust. It comes with an extensive history file too, including the original factory build cards.

A rare and desirable manual transmission model, it is being offered with an absurdly low reserve, so this might be your opportunity to get your hands on one of the most stylish convertibles of the 20th century for not a lot of money…

The photographs probably flatter the car; it’s in a decent condition and if you like your classic metal patinated then there won’t be a great deal to complain about bar the rear wings, which have a lot of filler in them - but then they do need work anyway, so you’re probably best off assuming that you’ll be starting from scratch back there. There is also evidence of paint cracks around the car.

The rest of the bodywork is pretty straight and well aligned. It’s all there too, and the chromework is acceptable to good.

The paintwork is nice and thick, and while there is some orange peel to the finish, we could live with it as it is until time and funds allow for the inevitable respray.

The folding fabric hood appears in a reasonable condition, and it certainly furls and unfurls easily enough.

The chrome wire wheels are recent, so look amazing and appear free of faults. They are shod with Vredestein Sprint classic tyres too, which is nice to see.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you an insight into their attitude towards maintenance.

The black leather interior looks a little patinated but still fairly fresh. The seats are still nice and plump, and although not currently bolted to the floor

and to our eyes all they need is a clean and feed ahead of another half-century’s service.

The huge wooden steering wheel is gloriously over-the-top, and matches the (decent) wooden veneer trim. Some of the Bakelite controls could do with refurbishing but they all seem to be there, even if we haven’t checked whether they still work. Mind you, a car like this is unlikely to be bought without a personal inspection to check whether it falls within your comfort zone.

The door cards are tatty and look to be missing their wooden cappings. The carpet is a bit frayed and holey too – and we aren’t talking about the latter being a candidate for beatification…

While it's being sold as a project, we have driven it and discovered that the engine starts and runs well, the clutch appears to work and the brakes are soft.

The paperwork indicates that it had a lot of work carried out on it while it was in America in the mid-to-late noughties. Please take the time to leaf through them to get a feel for what was done but a quick totting up shows that thousands were spent on parts alone.

The underside looks to be straight and strong.

NB: It comes with a number of spare parts including a new windscreen, quarter-light glass, wood trim, some brake parts, a new anti-roll bar mounts/bushes, and more. Please see the photographs for details of what is included.

The Alvis doesn’t have a current MOT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

It has a large number of old invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years as well as its original spec sheet showing how it left the factory, some fascinating period correspondence, and a reprint of the owner’s handbook.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage given its project status – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please contact the owner and ask if they can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like them to concentrate on.

And please be reassured, we’ve undertaken a full COVID-assessment and put into place strict control measure to enable us to safely facilitate a no-contact, socially distanced viewing that includes disinfection of the vehicle before and after your viewing.

However, if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

The Alvis TD21 is a one of the most elegant and well-engineered cars of the 20th century, and one that competed on equal terms with anything from Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, etc.

As a result, they sell well and for a lot of money; a restored example like this, a Drophead Coupé with the manual gearbox, would easily fetch double what we expect this one to sell for.

Which is how much? Well, we think the dust will settle somewhere between £23,000 and £27,000 – but the reserve is, of course, set even lower…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.