Robert’s untimely departure ultimately removed the urgency if not the impetus of the rebuild, and added another dimension.  We were left with a car that had not been driven for over 20 years (and never by me), a list of jobs from Robert (some minor, some not so minor) to be done before the car could be considered roadworthy, and a copy of TVAM that, whilst a godsend in the coming years, required adaption and translation to the one-off nature of No.1.  (Actually, there is far more to No.1 than the car itself.  Robert’s archive, going back to Jack Linnell’s time, actually fills an entire cupboard - photos, correspondence, including letters to and from many of the famous names at Alvis, drawings, hand-written engineering notes together with much else to guide the novice Vintagent.)  And so it was that I took the route of a full nut and bolt restoration - as much for self preservation as for anything else.  Within three weeks, the car had been reduced to it’s major components and the job started.

There are a number of milestones that are worth recording here:  Shot blasting the chassis revealed the elusive number where previous investigations had not.  The four point close ratio gearbox had one of the mounting lugs sheared off (and how long had it been driving about like that?), and I was told in no uncertain terms that it’s repair could only be effected with the innards removed.  In this way I came to comprehend layshafts and their purpose in the great scheme of things.  The radiator was re-cored and an excellent job they made of it too, re-enamelling the badge to make up for the nearly twelve months that they had the thing, so no recommendations there.  One other suggestion:  Mickey Radford’s comment that there is little point in joining the club whose members have, single handed, removed and replaced the rear axle complete is good advice and I entreat others to follow it (I will next time).  Wandering up to Red Triangle or Register Spares has not always been the solution, as many of the parts are non-standard, so copying worn out parts has been, as often as not, the order of the day.

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