Day 1 – Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Overcast, cold, windy day. Left RACV at 9:00 AM, motored to Nelson Place in Williamstown to have morning tea/coffee with Australian contingent for a total of about 35 Alvis motor cars.

All cars were “ticketed” by two uniformed British bobbies in a proper 1958 Wolseley Six Eighty police car complete with working roof mounted siren and bumper mounted bell. Splendid!

Pressed on for lunch at the Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club, on an island accessed by two one-lane causeways. Wildlife birds observed were, Pelicans, Galahs, Cormorants, Kookaburras, Australian Magpies, and Royal Spoonbills.

The afternoon drive took us across the Bellarine Peninsula on to Geelong for the night’s stay.

Repairs for the day included: Removing, freeing and replacing the clutch bearing and shaft on the Diffey 1926 12/50 Beetleback; repairing a petrol leak in #1 S.U. carb float chamber on the Nicholl 1928 14.75 tourer crewed by the Easts; solving a 5 cylinder firing only on the Day 1961 TD21 by fettling the distributor; and buying gasket material, making and replacing gaskets, removing/replacing the triple S.U. carbs and inlet/exhaust manifold on the Mornane 1937 Speed 25, all in under 2 hours! My son, Brett, has done the latter, and now has a time to beat!

PY running faultlessly, after an initial slipping clutch scare which somehow resolved itself.

Total miles for the day: 125

October 6 & 7 in Melbourne

Arrived in a cool (48F/9C), windy and rainy Melbourne on Monday morning to be met by Martin in his open Alvis 12/50 for an exhilarating drive to the RACV.

Spent the day walking around downtown or the CBC (City Business Center) as it's termed, cleaning up the 12/50, trying get mobile phone to work with Australian SIM card (without success), and chatting with other Brit Alvis owners.

Three of the 14 Brit Alvises in the garage are already having work done on them to rectify problems which developed on the way to the transport ship in Southampton:

1. A totally disassembled engine with broken camshaft followers
2. An overheating engine with clogged radiator removed for de-clinking and cleaning
3. A broken bonnet (hood) latch.

Official welcome dinner tonight. On the road tomorrow (Wednesday).

Leaving Miami tomorrow for Australia

Several of you have asked if I'm taking my Alvis to Australia on the tour, or if any in the previous photos are mine.

The answers are no and no.

Here's a photo of me with the 1925 SC 12/50 in the Florida Keys.

Click here to see an Alvis currently for sale on ebay in the USA

Just over a week to go

Three of the 14 Alvis motor cars shipped from the U.K. to Victoria, Australia carefully thread their way through downtown Melbourne en-route to the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV). Click on photo to enlarge.

All 14 cars are now safely in covered secure parking awaiting their owners' arrival over the coming week.

Some Brits are quite excited about the "mild" weather after a less than stellar U.K. summer.

Temperatures ranging from highs of 59F/15C to 77F/25C and lows of 37F/3C to 62F/17C seem a little cool to your Florida-accustomed writer.

Next post will be after I arrive in Australia, October 6, two days before the JNBC Tour begins.

Click here to learn more about Alvis cars and military vehicles

Alvis Cars in Australia

Australian based Alvis Cars on the tour will potentially range from as early as 1923 through to 1967, when the last Alvis was made. The car in the background of the above photo, a 1923 12/40 tourer, may well be the oldest. In the foreground is a 1929 Silver Eagle. Both cars participated in the 2007 Alvis National Rally in South Australia

Alvis cars were produced by Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd. of Coventry, United Kingdom, from 1919 to 1967. The company also produced aero-engines and military vehicles, the latter continuing long after car production ceased.

There are five surviving 1920 - 1922 Alvis, and we shall see if any appear on the JNBC Alvis Tour of Victoria, Australia, October 7-26.

Click here for more photos of Alvis cars in Australia

Preview of Victoria, Australia

Ian Todd's 1931 12/60 beetle-back (VC) and Martin Boothman's 1927 12/50 wide 2-seater (PY) quietly reminisce about the past eight decades while aboard the Hoegh Transporter, scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on September 19.

Here's preview of just a few of the wonderful sights of Victoria awaiting us on the JNBC Alvis Tour next month:

Click here for photos of Victoria

How I came to be on the tour

Martin Boothman's 1927 Alvis 12/50 TG, about to board the transporter ship for Melbourne.

It all started in 2000 when Robin Bendall of the Alvis Owner Club (AOC) decided to organize a Fall (Autumn) Tour of New England and Canada. 81 cars left Southampton, many more joined along the way and 195 people were on the three week tour.

I opted not to take my 1925 Alvis SC 12/50 from Florida, but did fly into Maine in the hopes of finding a spare seat in an Alvis to ride along. That's when I met Martin Boothman and his co-driver/navigator, Malcolm, in Martin's 1927 12/50 TG, an Alvis very similar to mine. The dickie/rumble seat was available, and that's where I spent a few terrific sunny and bright, but cold days.

Since then, Martin and I have remained in fairly regular e-mail contact

Fast forward to 2007, when I read with interest the plans for the JNBC Memorial Tour in Australia. "How I wish I could be on that tour," I thought.

Then in February this year in comes an e-mail from Martin advising he's going on the tour and would I like to be his navigator/co-driver! I think it took be about 3 minutes to decide, and seek appropriate blessing from my bride, Celia, which was granted!

Just about 4 weeks to go!