Highlights
- One of only around ten Alvis Silver Eagle dropheads left
- Comprehensively restored by previous owner
- In excellent running order
- overdrive fitted
The Appeal
Introduced in 1928 and updated in 1934, the Alvis Silver Eagle SG 16.95 shared a number of design features with the marque's legendary Speed 20 model. Based – like its illustrious sibling – around a double-dropped ladder-frame chassis, equipped with all-round semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension, it was powered by a smaller capacity version (2362cc vs. 2511cc) of the same triple SU carburettor-fed OHV straight-six engine.
With a shorter wheelbase than the Speed Twenty, the Silver Eagle SG had the advantage of an all-synchromesh four-speed manual gearbox. Available with a choice of open or closed coachwork by the likes of Cross & Ellis (as on this example) and Holbrook, the Silver Eagle was a robust but refined performer, in the best traditions of the Coventry manufacturer.
This Cross and Ellis-bodied drophead has been comprehensively restored by a previous owner, and regularly driven by the vendor – it looks good both inside and out and is in excellent mechanical condition.
The History and Paperwork
- Current V5
- MoT- and tax-exempt
- Owner’s Club Handbook
- Photocopy of Original Running and Maintenance Handbook
- Photocopies of contemporary magazine road tests
- Restoration photos
- ‘Continuation’ brown log book
- Alvis Braking diagram
- Alvis Lubrication chart
The vendor believes that this is one of only ten surviving Cross and Ellis-bodied Silver Eagle dropheads. He bought it in 2018 from a previous owner who had undertaken a major restoration, and photos of this are included in the folder of paperwork.
The vendor has driven the car regularly and maintained it scrupulously. He’s taken it on tours around Cornwall, Exmoor, the New Forest and even to the Isle of Man. However, he owns a number of other pre-war cars and has decided to downsize the collection.
The Interior
- Smart black leather front seats with red piping
- Rear bench seat
- Smiths instruments
- Red carpets with some wear
- Wooden dashboard
- Tool compartment in the boot, complete with tools
- Spares supplied
Everything here has been restored to high standards but with an eye to originality, so nothing looks out-of-place. In the wooden dashboard there’s a lovely instrument panel fitted with Smiths instruments and a modern fuel gauge, although the vendor reports that the clock doesn’t work.
The front seats are firm and supportive and have few signs of wear, while the rear bench seat looks unused. There’s a red carpet which matches the piping on the seats, but which has some significant areas of wear. The carpet beneath the pedals has been protected by a rubber overmat.
The doorcards are trimmed to match the seats and look good, with only some minor scuffs visible. The boot is surprisingly capacious and is lined with a carpet liner that matches the interior carpets; beneath this is a tool compartment, and the bottle jack and mallet for the wheel spinners will come with the car, as will the box of electrical spares.
The Exterior
- Cross and Ellis bodywork
- Maroon paintwork generally in very good condition
- Painted wire wheels
- Alvis wheel spinners
- Lovely eagle bonnet mascot
- Gold pinstripe
- Three-position hood
- Hood cover
As with many upmarket engineering companies at the time, Alvis didn’t produce bodies for their cars, relying instead on the numerous coachbuilders close to their Coventry factory, including Carbodies, Charlesworth Bodies and, as in this case, Cross and Ellis, who had been supplying Alvis with bodies since 1921.
Having been restored by the previous owner, the bodywork here is in very good condition, although close inspection reveals a few blemishes, most notably a scrape on the rear offside wheel-arch that has been retouched.
The hood is surprisingly straightforward to raise and lower, for a pre-war car, and has the added advantage of three usable positions, as shown in the photographs. The vendor reports that, with the hood fully raised and the windows up, the car is weatherproof and draught-free. The front of the car looks superb, with the large headlamps mounted on a chromed bar, a Silver Eagle badge and a lovely eagle mascot in addition to the familiar red-triangle enamel Alvis badge.
On the rear of the car, indicators have been fitted to the rear bumper; the vendor says that the ‘trafficator’ indicators on the sides of the car don’t work and are not really suited to modern road conditions.
The Mechanics
- 2362cc six-cylinder OHV engine
- Triple SU carburettor
- Four-speed all-synchro gearbox
- Restored ash frame
Widely regarded as a ‘baby Speed 20’, the Silver Eagle was of a broadly similar design and specification to its sportier cousin. The vendor has used this car and has never been shy of travelling long distances in it – testament to his frequent and thorough maintenance schedule. Having done more than 5000 miles in it, he reports that it drives and handles really well and can comfortably keep up with modern traffic; he says that it cruises beautifully at 60mph, at around 2500rpm, thanks largely to the overdrive which he has had fitted. He also says there are no annoying rattles and the car uses virtually no oil, and that the carburettors stay tuned.
Even on the short drive to our photo location, it was clear that the car runs well, and it certainly turns heads!
Everything under the bonnet is clean and well-ordered, again evidence of the vendor’s careful custodianship.
Summary
Alvis cars have a special place in the hearts of their aficionados – renowned for engineering excellence and technical innovation, the cars have an enduring appeal. Unusually for a pre-war car, this Silver Eagle is practical and reliable on the road and a new owner can drive it with confidence, but it looks great as well, thanks to that comprehensive restoration.
BEFORE YOU BUY
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