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Back in 1956, the International Association of Automotive Modelers (IAAM), featured the Allard Motor Company in their July-August Bulletin (Vol 6, #4). The Bulletin includes 12 pages of line art sketches of all the Allard models. Click here or the image above to download the complete Bulletin. Enjoy!
One of the more rare Allard cutaway drawings comes from the boys weekly comic book, "Eagle, Volume 3 Number 10, June 13, 1952." Although not exactly drawn to scale, it is impressive for a comic.
Click here or the image above to view the hi-res version. Special thanks to Kerry Horan for sharing this!
Bet you haven't seen this one before...
In August of 1965, the comic book, "Drag-Strip Hotrodders" published a brief history of the 1963 intercontinental drag race duel between the Americans Dante Deuce and Mickey Thomson and the Brit Sydney Allard. The story takes more than a few liberties, but c'mon, it's a comic book! Special thanks to Kerry Horan for sending us this jem. Click hereor the image above to download the pdf. This comic was published by the Charlton Comic Group, Illustrator/Author unknown.
You have to love the internet. If you look hard enough and know the right words to search for...you can find some great stuff. The other day I was reading the H.A.M.B. and I found this great comic about a wife that bought an Allard J2 so she could win a race to pay the mortgage on the family home, which of course was due to be foreclosed. Who knew that 60 years later the story would still be so relevant!
This story was printed in the comic book, "Hot Rods & Racing Cars" (Issue #10, 1951) and was penned by Dick Giordano, aka Richi Giordano.
By Richard Saunders – with Chuck Warnes and Otto Meijer
Back in 1959 I drove my J2 Allard (No. 2156) over 1300 miles from San Diego CA to Bremerton WA. I underwent some major surgery at that time, and after an extended recovery I was finally able to drive the J2 again.
The young guy delivering newspapers on local roads (herding a used-up Model A Ford) noticed my J2 Allard. He soon found an opportunity to pay me a visit. ‘Skip’ Torbitt was seventeen, small in stature, and appeared a lot younger. We talked a lot about cars, and I gave him a ride in my J2. During a subsequent visit Skip announced that if I knew of any Allard for sale, to please let him know – as he decided he had to have an Allard. (I’ll never know how he convinced his parents).
Fate stepped into this scene. A few weeks went by, and we saw an ad for an Allard in the Seattle newspaper. Skip arranged to see the car, and I was recruited as the Allard expert to accompany him on the ferry over to Seattle. We then commenced our hunt for the address through the West End streets. Then, as we entered one street a bright red K2 Allard caught my eye.
David Hooper racing up the Valence Hill Climb in Sydney's old Steyr racer. You can see the Steyr at Amelia Island this March.
-By Bob Judd
It's tempting to see these cars as holy relics; vessels of memories, style and dreams. Emblems of their art and time.
Well screw nostalgia. My old Allard J2, (Chassis #2121, now owned by Martin Stickley - soon to be available for viewing at Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance next March), was a wild beast you rode bareback, no helmet, no seat belt, no nothing, your butt a few inches off the pavement, the pavement visible in the spaces between the aluminum floor panels.
By David Hooper
The ‘Atom’ project originated from Ronnie Green the promoter of Wimbledon Speedway who placed an order with the Company to build a prototype 500cc JAP powered small ‘dirt track’ style car. In the 50’s speedway was beginning to lose its appeal due to rather processional racing with little overtaking, and the winner usually being the leader after the first corner – nothing new!
By David Hooper
In 1952, the Allard Motor Company offered a modified dead axle assembly for the J2X complete with removable center section to allow the Halibrand quick change differential to be easily retrofitted to the USA cars. Due to high import costs, it was not cost effective to import quick change differentials from the USA. However, due to interest from existing Allard owners plus HWM, it was decided to make an Allard version.
(Click here or the photo above to visit the site)
Here's an interesting web site that you need to check out, www.car-brochures.eu. It's packed with scans of car Brittish car brochures and advertisements from the past. Sadly, there are no Allard brochures (yet), but there are over 80 Allard advertisements ranging from 1946 to 1957. The adverts are very interesting to look at, especially when compared to todays ads. Special thanks to Hermann Egges for creating such an interesting web site (and thanks to Kerry Horan for the telling us about it!).
By Ed Reed
Reading about the plans underway for an Allard Gathering at Watkins Glen this September, in the Allard Register, brought back memories of the first time I attended the Grand Prix back in 1952, as a spectator. Little did I realize it would be the last year of the original road course.
By Hugh Braithwaite
Passing outside his office Ifirst saw the car that I had agreed to navigate in for Sydney Allard and my attention was immediately drawn to two unusual features. Firstly there was a long piece of angle iron sticking up out pf the floor beside the driving seat, topped off with a rubber bicycle handlebar grip. It was fitted so that the top was close to the gear change lever on the steering column. Secondly there was an enormous thick magnifying glass fitted on the steering column between the dash board and the centre of the steering wheel. I was used to all the usual fittings of flexi light for map reading, horn button on the navigators’ side to save the driver having to take a hand off the wheel and also for helping to steady the navigator's nerves, though I never admitted to this.
If you enjoy looking at racing programs, stories, and results from the 50's & early 60's, you need to check out http://www.etceterini.com/. Enjoy!
Perhaps one of the more interesting Allard specials was the Dolphin, which was based on an Allard L-type. What made the Dolphin-Allard unique was its retractable hardtop, allowing the car to be either a closed saloon or open touring car. The retractable hardtop was designed and commissioned by Mr. John R.V. Dolphin of Dolphin Industrial Development.
By Bill Pollack
A thousand years ago I was racing a very crude but powerful machine called an Allard. Mr. Allard had the crazy notion that he could sell a car without an engine. This may be the answer for Detroit. It would certainly drop the cost of an Escalade and qualify it as a ”No Emissions” vehicle.
Click here or the photo above to view a Gallery of photos from Barry Burrell
-Barry Burrell
My earliest memory of an Allard was sitting in the cockpit of Fred Warner’s J2X (chassis #2192, now owned by David Mundy) as we loaded it onto the trailer to go to some race in 1954. The sound and vibrations of the open exhaust left a lasting impression in me. My father, Frank Burrell, often spoke about the incredible acceleration of the Allards with the Hydramatic transmissions. Zero to sixty in 4 ½ seconds in the early 50’s was quite impressive.
Click here or the photo above to view the Steyr Gallery
We have welcomed the opportunity to share several excellent articles about Sydney Allard’s Steyr-powered racer over the years. The first was Kerry Horan’s 2002 article (AR 33 The STEYR-ALLARD Runs Again! – Shelsley Walsh 2001) where he detailed how he painstakingly restored the car to its 1949 hillclimb configuration. This was in preparation for some demonstration runs at Shelsley Walsh, where Sydney Allard drove the car at Shelsley Walsh’s 50th Anniversary in 1951.
