12/50 Alvis reliability

Sir,

I wonder if you find some details of a journey from here to Melbourne recently completed by my son, Steve Denner, are of interest?

The car is an Alvis 12/50, exported to Victoria as a chassis in 1926, and fitted with a locally-built “beetle-back” type of body.

Purchased by Steve in poor condition in 1973 in Melbourne, brought back to England with him in 1974, and re-built during the past three years. Steve has competed in various VSCC events in Alvis Special 25, 16.95-h.p. Silver Eagle, and the ex-Follett 12/50 Brooklands car, which he still owns. He has driven to Australia to take part in the 1978 FIVA Rally being held there on April 8th to 24th.

He left Yeovil on November 16th, driving through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to Madras. From there he shipped to Penang and down through Malaysia to Singapore, where he shipped to Fremantle, then on to Melbourne, where he arrived on February 1st, a distance of 10,500 road miles. The only serious mechanical trouble was a broken front spring crossing desert country in Iran.

Yeovil L. A. DENNER