The Pole Position

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By Bill Pollack

Every time the number fourteen Allard raced it always started on the pole as the fastest qualifier. I don't think I really appreciated just how important that really was until years later. Thinking about it I'm not sure how I really accomplished that. It didn't seem to matter where we raced, the car was just scary fast compared to other cars in the field.

Being on the poll was always a little frightening because you have the entire field behind you, thousands and thousands of horsepower all screaming to go and if for some reason I stalled or some other stupid thing, it would be a terrible mess.

I know that when I was in front and the starter would give us the signal to start your engines there was always that awful moment when you thought God I hope the battery isn't dead. After the engine roared to life I've probably put the car in 1st gear at least 5 or 6 times just to make sure I was really in 1st gear. Sometimes I would actually let the clutch out just a little bit to make doubly sure that I was in number 1 slot. Of course, that was only the beginning.

My adrenal glands had probably been asleep for weeks or months since my last race and it was a rude awakening when the clutch came out and the car burst forward in a blinding explosion of speed. For some reason my vision immediately narrowed down to the front wheels and the road directly in front of me with little or no indication of what might be in my periphery. I don't think I was really aware of who was chasing me until at least the 2nd or 3rd corner had been negotiated without any serious mishap. Finally, I probably took a deep breath or let one out that I had been holding since the start of the race, and took a look to see who was back there. It was no surprise when it was usually Phil Hill.

I've never really had a chance to talk to other drivers about what it's like to sit in front and lead a race from pole to pole or from start to finish. The pressure which is enormous at the beginning of the race gradually diminishes as you complete each lap without serious actions bordering on dumb. There were moments when only you and no one else realizes that you had probably made a very small error and you simply told yourself don't even think about doing that again. It might have been experimenting with a slightly different line on a corner or changing the breakpoint for slow down by 5 or 10 feet. You quickly learn that the once you're in front this is not a good time or a place to experiment with how to go faster. After all, you're in front, what more do you want, all you have to do is stay there and everything should work out to your satisfaction.

People often commented to me about how difficult it must have been to drive the Allard, which they assumed was a bad handling car. The people who made those comments had never driven that car so I always took them with a grain of salt. But it wasn't until I drove several other Allards and then the black number 14 that I realize how much minute care and preparation went into that particular car. It was a number of adjustments and modifications that were made that resulted in the handling characteristics of that car being far superior to any other Allard I ever drove. Tom Carstens, in fact, had won a championship in midgets so he was well equipped to set up a car. Tom Carstens and Dave Fogg, his partner, were a team that was hard if not impossible to beat.

These days for a couple of hundred thousand dollars you can buy something from Italy, Germany or Great Britain that will go fast and is fun, but I will put up the Allard up against them. The Allard in terms of fun would be at the top.

For Sale: Cadillac Engine Parts

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West Coast Allard friend and Kurtis racer Joe Harding is clearing out his stock of 50’s era Cadillac engine parts. If you are interest in anything, contact him at Bubbree@aol.com. The parts are located in the LA area. 

Heads:

 Price:

Pair of 1461727-8 with valves

 $         500

Pair of 1454022-3 with valves

 $         500

Pair of 1456439-40 bare head

 $         300

1454253-4 bare head

 $         300

Pair 1459736-7 with valves

 $         500

1454022-3 bare head

 $         300

Some of the heads are 390's, they have rocker shafts with them and will bolt straight to 331 blocks for a lot more power. The rocker shafts go with the 390 heads.

Blocks:

 

1456291 with heads 1454022 standard bore

 $      2,500

1456291 with heads 1456439

 $      2,000

1456291 short block +030 bore (has pilot bushing in crank for manual box)

 $         600

1460704 short block standard bore

 $         700

Core parts:

 

Water pumps (5)

 $         100

Generators (7)

 $         150

Valve covers (12)

 $           20

Push rods (42)

 $           20

Flex plates (5)

 $           20

Breather tubes (4)

 $           10

Starters (4) - 331's & 390's

 $         150

Fuel pumps (4)

 $           50

331 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)

 $         750

390 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)

 $         750

Intake manifolds with carbs 1949 – 1956 from $100 to $2,000 for a complete original tri-power set up.

Found Fotos - L-852

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One of the best parts of hosting this site is getting random emails from people who were going through old family photos and they came across some relatives Allard. In this case, a gentleman asked is we knew who owned an Allard with registration #KLO 128. After checking the database, we confirmed the car was chassis L 852, but unfortunately we had no ownership history. According to our new freind, the car was originally owned by Mrs. Hilda Charlotte Mary Lee. Apparently Mrs. Lee had a thing for speed. According to a newspaper clipping, she once had an accident on the M1 in a Mercedes 300 SL with "lift-up seagull-type doors" which at the time was the fastest ever crash on this motorway being in excess of 100mph. These photos are from a trip Mrs. Lee, a family freind of our sender took with his uncle to the south of France. Enjoy!




2013 Santa Fe Concorso

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Sante Fe was a good show even if we did not score, but we did get a "Sponsors Award" and a yellow ribbon. I had a reaction to a Shingles Vaccine shot and had to go to a doctor in Santa Fe for a shot in the behind and missed the 50 mile tour; however I let my two son-in-laws drive the Bitch. They had a great time and made the whole trip without any problems. Needless to say they were greatly impressed with the Bitch and her acceleration.
The "History Channel" interviewed me and will  make a film about the Bitch, and Allard in general, that will air some time next year. I will report the time if I can find out the exact date. I finally got around to painting the sign, "The Bitch", on the drivers side of the car. Made quite a stir and a good impression. We were surprised at the number of women that photographed the sign.
Hope everything is going well for you and yours---Bill Bauder

The Duntov Memo

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We are very pleased to present to you this exclusive document...The 1953 Le Mans Duntov Memo. To our knowledge it has never been seen in public. Back in January, we shared a map of the Le Mans course with Zora Akus Duntov's notes on the speed zones around the track and that it was a part of a larger report that helped set the performance transformation of the Corvette. You may also recall that Zora was almost fired by GM for racing at Le Mans for the Allard team...saved only by the grace of Ed Cole.

The report is fascinating in that he provides an analysis of the competition, along with a scathing review of the Allard JR's handling...while remaining steadfast that the Allard team had the best engines in the field (which happened to be Cadillac V8's...was Zora kissing up to the GM brass?).

Click here or the image below to view the complete memo. Special thanks to Allard owner Steve Schuler and his mole within GM for sharing this important memo.

Monterey Car Week, 2013

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For me, the 2013 Monterey ‘Car Week’ commenced on Thursday morning, when I took up my post to watch the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance participants turn into Ocean Avenue in downtown Carmel. There, they take a two hour lunch break, which gives a few thousand ‘folks like us’ a rare chance to get up close and personal with about 200 of the PB Concours entrants.

The Tour presents the chance to witness a broad spectrum of the world’s most elegant and exotic vehicles running on the road. I truly respect the courage of the participants who are willing to expose their prize autos to the rigors of an 88 mile road trip – a mere three days before show time. We were somewhat surprised to see our friend, Martin Allard, at the wheel of his green K3 approaching the corner and get directed into the lineup on Ocean Avenue!

Martin and his family are Carmel residents, and that morning he decided to take a little run down Hwy 1 to watch the Tour. His plan was to turn around at Bixby Bridge and return to Carmel in time to take his wife out for brunch. However, he suddenly found himself as a part of the lineup. Those directing traffic presumed that he was a part of the Tour, and summarily directed him to Ocean Avenue. While Martin and his Allard were not official entrants, it is our opinion that his extremely original K3 could qualify for PB’s Postwar Preservation class.

Two very nice Allards sold Mecum Auctions – an L Type that went for $44K, and an immaculate K2 for $95K. David Rossiter has done considerable work on his ’51 K2 in the ten years that he has owned it, and it gained a fair amount of well deserved attention at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. The upcoming Ironstone Concours d’Elegance is featuring David’s red K2 on the poster promoting the September 28 event in the California Gold Rush town of Murphys.

On Saturday morning a few Allard folks got together for an impromptu breakfast. They included David Rossiter, Alan & Celia Tiley, Colin & Chuck Warnes, Lindsey Parsons, Mark Moskowitz, Bernard Dervieux, and Martin Allard. Over the weekend we also had a chance to visit with Al & Ursula Reynolds, Bob Weiner, Ron Hale and Alan Patterson.

Alan’s J2X, which he has owned and raced for the past 60 years is currently in Pennsylvania. He shared his excitement about his two most recent acquisitions – one of the two Allard GT’s, and one of the two remaining three-wheeled Allard Clippers. He reports that they have just arrived at the dock in New Jersey, and he is looking forward to commencing their restorations.

2013 saw one Allard entrant at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion races. This was Steve Schuler’s green J2 – the third place overall, first-in-class finisher of the 1950 24 Hours of LeMans. Steve turned the Allard driving duties over to Graham Smith. Graham owns and races a J2 in Australia, and did much of the restoration on Steve’s J2 a few years ago. Graham started race 5B in 29th place, and in 8 laps worked his way up to a 5th place finish. Graham’s great drive in Sunday’s race also netted him the prestigious Rolex Award For Excellence in race group 5B.

RMMR’s closing celebration on Sunday includes the Rolex Awards of Excellence presentations (see above) to in

dividual drivers in each race category, and also the event’s ‘Spirit of Monterey’ honor to the driver who excelled in the spirit of the weekend.  This year’s ‘Spirit of Monterey’ award went to John Harden, who drove his 1963 Genie in Group 4A.  John’s first race was in 1953 when he competed in one of the Pebble Beach Road Races. At age 81, Harden has taken his racing helmet off for good, officially retiring after Saturday’s race, where he finished a very respectable eighth out of 33 cars running in his class. 

I first met John at Laguna Seca in 1984, when he was racing his Hilborn injected J2X, and I was a newly hatched Allard owner in search of information and moral support. John, as a part of Vintage Connections in Oklahoma City, has restored and serviced many an Allard over the years, and continues to be a valuable technical resource to Allard owners worldwide. We offer our congratulations to John for this well deserved honor.

 

Photo: Rolex, Stephan Cooper

The Monte Shelton CLASSIC NORTHWEST RALLY XXV

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Kevin Blount and Bob Lucurell are both veterans of the Classic Northwest Rally. This four-day event (July 25 – 28, 2013), sponsored by Monte Shelton Jaguar, commences in Portland with registration and opening celebrations on Thursday evening. On Friday morning the 100 car field embarks on two days of rallying in and about the Cascade Mountain Range of the Pacific Northwest.

Each year the time and distance rally visits a particular resort where the participants end Friday’s and Saturday’s rallying with social activities, special refreshments, tire-kicking and banquet dinners. They conclude the event on Sunday morning with the Awards Brunch. This was the maiden voyage for Kevin’s recently finished Allard J2X. Kevin’s report is as follows:

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This was my friend Paul Brewer’s and my 7th time running this rally, and our first time in the Allard.  Last year we won the vintage class (also known as the "seat of the pants" class) in my Mercedes and got 4th overall – beating many serious rallyists who were using calculators, stopwatches, etc. We were as surprised as anyone, and chalked it up to dumb luck rather than great skill. Time will tell.  

This year we didn't do nearly as well, finishing mid-pack for a number of different reasons, all of which of course illustrate the 'dumb luck' comment above.

I took the J2X to a local speedometer shop to have the speedo and odo calibrated to be spot on, but I realized about 1/2 way through the first day that they were off by about 8%. As a result we were consistently early, earning us many unwanted penalty points. Also, the rally master caught us with a "trap" that earned us a significant penalty. We should have known better too, since they caught us with the exact same trap about 3 years ago.

The Allard was more difficult to TSD rally than my other cars for a number of reasons.  First off, it's LOUD. We had a set of voice-activated headphones so we could communicate. Except that Paul's mic went out right at the start line, so we spent the next two days yelling at each other.           

Secondly, having the odometer in front of the navigator really threw us off. Many navigators love to have it there, but over the years Paul and I have developed the routine where watching the odometer is the driver’s job. So its location over in front of Paul really messed us up.

Lastly, I found it tougher to keep a constant speed with the speedometer out of my line of sight – especially so with 400 HP and a 3.25 rear end. As a result, a few extra rpm translates to quite a bit of speed. Even a one or two MPH error can add significant points. Anyway, so much for my litany of excuses...

The Allard ran brilliantly, and was great fun. It was a crowd favorite and I got lots of favorable comments from folks (as an aside, the week earlier I showed the car at the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance placing 3rd in class. On the Concours tour the day before, I was at the back of the pack and a bicyclist who was watching the cars go by said "I don't know what it is, but that's by far the coolest car that's come by!").  What I've found is that everyone loves the Allard.  Hot Rodders love it.  Muscle car guys love it.  The European sporty car crowd loves it. Ok, maybe one or two snooty CCCA Packard or Rolls Royce folks turned up their noses, but that seems to be the exception.  

One checkpoint worker said he listened to us for about 5 minutes as we roared through the switchbacks up the hill, and that it was a symphony.  We also got a fair number of comments about how uncomfortable we looked.  Neither Paul nor I are small guys, and in some of the photos it appears that we are almost comically stuffed in, and overflowing out of the car. We were happy to play the martyr so we didn't dispute the comments. However the car is more comfortable than it looks. While we were tired at the end of a full day of driving, we weren't completely used up either.

In two weeks my girlfriend and I are taking the J2X to central Oregon for the Oregon Festival of Cars. We'll put up to 1000 miles on it over about 3 days of very quick driving chasing Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Porsche GT3 RS's, Audi R8's etc.  I'm really looking forward to a weekend of spirited Allard driving on great roads – weather permitting of course. With the Allard having no weather protection what-so-ever, I'll probably take a car with a top and windshield wipers if it looks like stormy weather.

So, in conclusion, the J2X is fantastic and I plan on keeping it and using it for a long time. While it's not the ideal TSD rally car for me, and I won't be taking it on the Monte Shelton Rally every year, I love driving the car and everyone loved having it there -- so much so that the Allard won "people's choice", the vote of all the rally participants for their favorite car on the rally!

Special thanks to Joe Cantrell for sharing his great photos!

Allard Motorsports Palm Beach MkII Restoration

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We're now in the final stages of assembly regarding the Palm Beach MK2 build of chassis 72/7000Z. It'll be exactly one year at the end of August since we took on this project, and if all goes well we should go to paint in the next few weeks.

The whole project has been an awesome experience as well as sheer hard work, however all worthwhile we feel. We've sought to keep this restoration build as original as possible unless there was no alternative but to replace like for like – i.e. rusted panels, etc.  

We’ve made a copy chassis while we had the original one available to us. This ate up the build time and took longer than expected. The chassis jig had to be precise and also took time to construct, but we felt it was essential. This also provided a chance for me to study fully the construction of such chassis designs.

We're discussing whether the new Palm Beach chassis will be made into a MK2 PB or the MK3 PB, which was proposed by Sydney but never completed in 1958.  The most exciting option is to shelve the new PB chassis just for the time being and press on with the JR build.  The new chassis jig can also be used for the JR chassis build, of course. We already have in place the base JR chassis parts ready for assembly.


I attach photos of the new PB chassis on its jig, which you’re welcome to publish on your site. I've attached photos of the PB MKII build from arrival to this day. I hope your club members will find it interesting. We now have available many new parts for Allards, also photos attached of such parts. In the next few weeks I shall add a parts listing to the Allard Sports Cars www.allardsportscars.co.uk website, along with further PB restoration photos on the blog attached.

I hope that your members will find it an exciting time for Allard.  My father and I have been discussing these ideas for many years now and it seems with the help of both the Allard Owners Club and the Allard Register we can achieve our goals. As for me, I've been behind the scenes for many years, watching and learning. 

I'm still learning each year that passes, but for me the time has come to go out on a limb and ring my bell so to speak. I've fifteen years experience in the automotive fabrication & design industry and feel quite confident that the construction of chassis and, even the build of complete turn-key Allards, is truly possible with the vast majority of work being carried out in house.              

We propose only to construct a few cars for exclusive enthusiastic customers, true followers of the marque.  The sole idea behind the JR project is an easy one to understand. The JR does not necessarily have to be road registered thus avoiding all IVA processes, which in turn means a much quicker build process. However the JR will still be constructed to HTP FIA level in order to be accepted to race in high profile events such as the Lemans classic in which I intend to do as soon as possible. We simply need to find an investor who wants to achieve the same.

My father has worked tirelessly on this project, and I wish his efforts will be recognized, as he's one of a kind. He brings much experience to the table. I'll keep you updated upon further developments as and when. As soon as the PB has it's paint we shall organize an open day, and perhaps all attendees can come to the workshop and then over to our local racing circuit for some photos.

Regards,

Lloyd Allard

Click here to view a gallery of the unrestored PB MKII

Click here to view a gallery of the restoration process

Click here to view a gallery of the chassis


Allard For Sale: M-808

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Chassi #808 has been with the same owner for 20+ years. The car is mostly original with the exception of the cosmetics which appear to have been updated within the past 20 years. Cloth top is in good condition, windows and door latches work properly all the brakes, steering, etc. have been gone over. Carburetor was recently rebuilt; the car does not burn any oil and is in excellent original condition as far as the mechanical aspects are concerned. Our records conflict on the delivery...one set notes the car was delivered to Bristol Street Motors on October 12, 1948 (or December 14), while another set notes it was delivered to Birmingham on October 4, 1948. The car has a blue exterior with brown interior (originally blue). The car is located in Astoria, NY. For more info, click here to visit Gullwing Motor Cars web site (selling the car for owner's family). The asking price is a reasonable $49,500.

Mecum Auction Preview: K2-1804

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On Friday August 16,  Mecum will auction this K2, chassis #1804 as lot #F150. This car was originally shipped to Los Angeles (Moss Motors?) on December 1, 1950. The car was originally painted blue, but is now looking good in BRG. This car is unique in that it was one of a few K2's to come equipped with a DeDion rear end. The car now sports Hallibrand wheels, Brooklands wind screens, and a Cadillac 331 with dual Carter carbs. 1804 was featured in the June 2010 issue of Auto Trader's "Classic Cars & Parts." To learn more about the car and see additional photos, please click here to visit Mecum's web site.

Mecum Auction Preview: L-743

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On Thursday August 15,  Mecum will auction this L type, chassis #743 as lot #T121. This same car appeared on Ebay a few years ago and doesn't look like it has changed much. The car was originally delivered to the Harris dealership on December 2, 1948. It was originally painted maroon with brown interior. Unfortunately we don't have any ownership information on this car, nor do we know when it was imported into the States. To learn more about the car and see more photos, please click here to visit Mecum's web site. If you like historic tour's...or even mud-plugging rallies, the L type is a great car.

PS: Just over 190 L's were built and we know of 53 that still exist!

A Nice Summer...

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K2 owner David Rossiter wrote us the other day...

"Just wanted to give you an update on the Allard (K2-2022) after taking first in class and best in show at the 2012 Annual All British Motor Vehicle show she Went to the Ironstone Concurs d'Ellegance in Murphys (fantastic show) and took first in class European Sports & Grand Touring (my Porsche also won its class see attached photo).  The next show we did for 2012 was the British fall Classic, in Morgan Hill again first in class. 

 
So far for 2013 we were asked to return to the 2013 Annual All British Motor Vehicle show where we were not allowed to compete in our class because as we were past winner but they have a Winner Circle Class where you compete against every class winner from last year and the Allard won that.  We next did the Hillsborough Concurs d'Ellegance and they stuck us in there race car class (wrong class for us and a frighteningly strong field to include a car from the Mozart Collection) but we took a second.  Next up we got the great news that the Allard will be appearing at the Annual, The Quail a Motorsports Gathering Event during Monterey car week.  And the last cool thing is that the Ironstone Concurs d'Ellegance requested to use the Allard on there 2013 poster, draft attached.  All in all a pretty exciting year for the old Allard!!"

Congrats to you David and we look forward to hearing how the Quail and Ironstone shows go for you and 2022.

...click here to drop us a note to tell us what you're up to this summer.

Smiths Gauges - 1952

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Although we can't help you find replacement gauges for your K3, P2, M2X, or J2X...we can at least tell you what the correct part numbers are. While rummaging through our magazine archives, we found an original Smiths catalog from 1952! We scanned the Allard pages for your reference...click here to view them. Additionally, while roaming the internet, we found a guide (click here) on how to repair and rebuild your Smiths speedometer...if you're brave.