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M A Christie. The founder of Alexander Engineering, click on the picture to read "The Alexander Story". |
Alexander engineering were another hugely successful tuning firm throughout the 60's. Although the major thrust of their sales and development were taken up with road going modification and conversions they were not averse to pitting their equipment against the opposition on the track. A very successful Alexander sponsored driver was Mick Clare, a distinguished looking competitor if ever there was one, with his large handlebar mustache and tweed jacket (driving suit) he would occasionally give the better funded semi works teams a run for their money. Alexander were one of the most enthusiastic exponents of the use of mass market advertising, if you get a copy of any of the old 60's motoring magazines you will usually find at least one of Alexander's adverts extolling the virtues of their latest product. Although they never produced a comprehensive catalogue of their products they did produce a range of fliers giving the details of the complete conversions that they could offer. A large number of these promotional fliers are reproduced in the Alexander archive below. For a detailed overview of Alexander Engineering in its hey day click on the image of their founder Michael Christie on the left. |
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The Alexander Brochure Archive Click on the image opposite to see what in all likelihood is the largest single collection of original Alexander advertising material. This archive includes Brochures, letters, fitting instructions and various promotional material produced by Alexander throughout the 1960's. |
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The Alexander Photo Archive. A collection of previously unpublished photographs all with specific Alexander Engineering interest.
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The Alexander 7 Port Crossflow Cylinder Head. Of all the products manufactured or marketed by Alexander, the finest and most sought after is the Alexander Engineering "Alloy cross flow cylinder head". This really was a product ahead of its time! Still considered (by those lucky enough to have tried one) to be the very best X flow head produced for the BMC A series engine, it was only superseded by the latest generation of twin cam heads produced in the 90's! Its just a shame they never did a version for the large bore 'S' type engine. Unlike the Arden and Weslake 8 port heads sold years later by BMC, it utilised many standard components, exhaust manifold etc. The biggest drawback however was the very high cost (approx. £90.00 in 1965), and the fact it was only eligible to race in the most highly modified classes of Motor Sport These factors combined to ensure the Alexander X flow head is now about as rare as a virgin in a brothel. |
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Alexander Products To see a small collection of some of Alexander's products follow the link opposite. |
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The Demise Of Alexander Engineering. By 1974 the economic depression and the oil crisis had taken it's toll on Alexander Engineering just like it had done on so many other tuning companies. Their demise was by no means a fast one, in fact Alexander had abandoned modifying cylinder heads back in 1969, but by 1974 they had decided to totally withdraw from the performance tuning market and concentrate on Accessory sales. The company continued in this line of work until it finally closed down in 2001. Read more about Alexander's change of direction by following the link to the left. STOP PRESS! It is rumored that a new incarnation of Alexander engineering will soon be offering a range of classic tuning products again for the first time in 34 years. WATCH THIS SPACE. |