Allard Art

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Richard Saunders, a lifelong Allard enthusiast and owner is also a bit of an artist. Recently, he sent us a few prints of his Allard paintings. We were very impressed with them and thought you might like to see them as well. If you are interested in purchasing one of them, please click here to email us.

Monte Carlo, 1952

Le Mans, 1953

Bill Pollack, 1951

Fred Wacker, 1951

Bob Lytle

Allard Auction: J2X-2138

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Sorry for the short notice, but we just found out that J2X 2138 will be sold this coming weekend at Coys at Ascot auction (April 26). J2X 2138 is unique in that it was the first J2X. On top of that, the car has received FIA HTP certification, which makes it eligible for just about any vintage event in the world. To learn more about the car, please visit the Coys web site by clicking here. The car is listed as Lot 125 and no estimate is noted. From what we know, the car is an exceptional find and should bring the new owner a lot of joy as well as being a great investment.

The British Pathe Archives

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We were excited to learn today that the British Pathe, who has been archiving world history on film since the 1890's...has posted their archives on YouTube. What does that mean for Allard fans? We get to enjoy at least a dozen or so Allard related films that we likely never seen before. Our favorite so far is this clip of the one-off Allard Dolphin. A car built on a L-type chassis that featured one of the earliest retractable hard top roofs. Loyal readers of the Register will recall that we published a story on the Dolphin back in 2009. Click here to learn more.

From the desk of...

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Erwin Goldschmidt was probably one of our favorite Allard racers. Not only was he an outspoken supporter of the Allard marque, but he was extremely competitive. As early as June of 1951, Erwin realized that his 331 Cadillac powered J2 would soon lose out to Chrysler's new 331 Hemi. Desperate for more speed, Erwin wrote the following letter to the Cadillac Engineering Department in order to persuade them to share their latest speed secrets. Click the image below to view the complete letter and the response.

Special thanks again to Barry Burrel for sharing another great find from his father Frank's archives.

Phillip Island 2014

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An update from our man in Australia...
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We had a fun week of racing at Phillip Island, Graham in his J2, and I was running my 1960 Corvette.

Graham was doing really well all week in the Allard, but broke a rear stub-axle in the final heat race before the main event, and was not able to repair it at the track.  He and his pit crew (pictured below) worked together vigorously, but he ultimately decided to just sit back and enjoy the rest of the races.
I had better luck with the Corvette, finishing the main event race, but possibly I did not have as much fun as Graham did.
We are going for a drive down the Great Ocean Road tomorrow in my J2, one of Graham's friends J2's, and Graham in an older Ferrari, life is good.
Talk with you later, .........................Steve

Big Money...

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Wow...Normally we don't report on auction prices, but we were shocked to see the results for the two Allards at RM's Amelia Island Auction this past Saturday. Both the K1 and K3 set what we believe are world record prices for each model. K1-249 sold for an impressive $176,000 and the K3 went for $220,000.

We must admit that we're a bit conflicted with the results. On one hand, we're excited to see Allard's finally getting their due, for a long time we've believed that Allard's have been undervalued due to their uniqe design, competition history, and rarity. On the other hand, it will likely mean fewer cars will be driven and enjoyed as Sydney intended. However, we firmly believe that for cars to gain in value, they need to be seen in public...at vintage races, ralleys, car shows, magazines, and the internet. 

Auction Preview - K1-249

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On March 8, RM will auction off K1-249 at their Amelia Auction sale. 249 was originally sold by Dagenham motors to a Mr. Sandos on June 27, 1947. The car was originally painted green with black wings (fenders) and a red interior. The car is beiing offered as lot 177 and it has estimated value of $125,000 to $145,000 (no reserve). Please click here to learn more about the car.

Auction Preview - K3-3189

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On March 8, RM will auction off K3-3189 at their Amelia Auction sale. 3189 was shipped on March 18, 1953 to Allards delership in NYC. The car was originally painted silver with a green interior. The chassis was set up for a Chrysler engine, 3.78 diff, and disk wheels. The car is beiing offered as lot 144 and it has estimated value of $160,000 to $200,000. Please click here to learn more about the car.

The Allard Manifold

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We were fortunate enough to recently receive the donation of an alloy Allard Intake Manifold (thank you!) and we thought you might like to know the back story behind these unique manifolds…

In the late 40’s, Allard was struggling to make their Ford flatheads more powerful. The stock single carb intake manifold was pathetic and Sydney knew there were several alternatives available in the US. Unfortunately Post War England was very protectionist as it tried to rebound from the war. Basically nothing could be imported into the country, which meant no American speed parts could be sold in the UK.

If you’ve read the Tom Lush’s definitive Allard book, you may recall that in 1948, Reg Canham took an Allard M type to the US and went on a cross country tour towing a caravan to promote the Allard Motor Company (a pre-cursor to GM’s motor-rama). Not much is known about this trip, but we do know that Reg stopped in Los Angeles, where he met a number of hot rodders. One of the people he met was Eddie Meyer who operated a speed shop dedicated to extracting more power out of the flat head. Eddie Meyer Engineering made arguably one of the hottest dual carb manifolds on the market, with several cars using his equipment to achieve several records at Bonneville.

Fortunately post war airports didn’t have metal detectors and Reg was able to sneak one of Eddie’s manifolds back into the UK. The Allard boys soon appreciated the performance gain from the manifold and made quick work of making replicas for use on their performance Mercury 24-stud flatheads.

I must admit that it was a bit disappointing to learn that that Sydney basically ripped off someone else’s design (without even giving Meyer credit!). However, I don’t think it’s that big of a issue. Eddie Meyer couldn’t sell his manifolds in the UK and the odds of Allard selling a bunch of their knock-off manifolds in the US were pretty slim. Fortunately Eddie Meyer wrote a letter to Road & Track magazine (June, 1950), explaining the situation…although it was tough to tell whether he was proud or insulted that Allard had copied his design.

P.S.: If you know anything about or have any photos of Reg Canham’s USA M-type caravan trip, please click here to contact us!

Correspondence...

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We always love getting mail...and it was a pleasure to receive this message from Roger Murray-Evans this morning...

"Didn't know if you had this picture of TGT703 (P2-4512). Taken in the car park of Dralla House, offices, I believe of Adlard Builders. If I'm wrong I'm sure I'll be corrected pdq!

The car was registered for road use 12th October 1956 and used by Sydney until it  was sold on to Eric Alexander on 15th January 1958. Still painted Allard mid blue at that time, so this photo was obviously taken later, perhaps having been returned to Allards for re painting before going to the next owner,
John Williams on 11th September1962. John did the odd competitive event in the car and the AOC newsletter of May 1963 reports John having competed at a Pembrey sprint over the standing quarter mile recording 17.12secs, good enough for second place behind a MK2 Jaguar in the saloon class. The car was laid up with water pump failure in 1966, and was sold by his widow after he passed away in 1978.

Having passed through 3-4 subsequent owners it never found it's way back to the road.Currently still in the middle of a protracted restoration by me, realistically another 3-4 years will see the car back in good health."

Thanks for writing Roger, We look forward to hearing how the restoration goes. Perhaps you'll be racing in the Goodwood saloon class in a few years?

The 2014 Cavallino Classic

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An update from Vince Vento, new owner of the ex-Fred Warner J2X, #2192.
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...We took the J2X to Mar A Lago for day two of the Cavillino Classic in Palm Beach that is put on by the Ferrari People but open to all cars. We competed in the Historic race car class against two Ferrari
Testrasoas, a 1929 Aston Martin race car and two Bugattis. We won second place with one of the Testrosa's taking first. Not bad for our first time out!

Congrats Vince and we look forward to your future plans for 2192!

Something New...Something Blue...

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While perusing the SCCA "Sports Car" newsletters that were kindly shared by Andy Picariello of the AOC, I came across this interesting story about the Dam Rally. Apparently Sydney decided to debut his fiberglass Palm Beach prototype with the entrants at one of the check points. Apparently the car caused at least a few entrants to be delayed. Click here or the photo above to read the story.

Back in the Day...

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From Lindsey Parsons...

"I ran across a few photos the other day while cleaning out some old storage...
They are of #3147 on a visit back to friends during my senior year at Colgate University in 1953-4. The car was only months old when these photos were taken. As the car appears in these photos the spare tire was in the back hatch along with a foldable canvas top and half side curtains. The two little wind screens were stored back of the seats. I used the machine winter and summer and found the top quite effective in keeping one dry with the car moving but I put the half side curtains in a closet at home as they were far more trouble than worth as far as any useful effect when installed on the car."
-Thanks for sharing Lindsey!

For Sale: Allard K3 3283

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SOLD!

K3 3283 was one of the last Allard K3’s built and it was the last K3 exported to America on April 4, 1954. The car was sold by Allard’s new and short lived West Coast dealership, House of Allard. As with many K3’s, the car was well used in its early life. Unfortunately cars wear out and parts break, which is no big deal for a one of 1,000,000 Chevrolet…but for a one of 63 built Allard K3, finding replacement parts could be a challenge. Eventually 3283 ended up with a live rear axle, bucket seats, and a number of other minor modifications. The current owner, an enthusiast having owned several Allards, set out to return the car to its Allard roots, but with a few modifications like disc brakes and improved suspension to make it more drivable for extended periods. The car features a 390 Cadillac as installed by the original owner in 1959 and a 700 R4 Turbo Hydromatic 4-speed transmission installed by the current owner during restoration. The De Dion rear end was restored using  factory parts except for the inclusion of safety hubs adapted from the C-6 Corvette . 3283 is a dream to drive and will be ideally suited for a new owner that is looking to put some miles on a classic Allard. The car was repainted back to the original green, while the interior was converted to tan. Original or correct parts are included to retrofit modified components if desired. For example the car is now equipped with Wilwood Dynalite Pro Series front disc brakes , but the spares include the original Lockheed Dual Leading Shoe drum brakes near ready to install. The car is located in Las Cruces, NM and the owner is asking $120,000, negotiable.

Click here or any of the photos to several additional photos of K3 3283.

Check your newsstand!

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It's always great to see Allards getting some press in the mainstream automotive magazines. This time we are happy to report that Classic & Sports Car magazine will be featuring Chris Pring's J2 #2120, reg #OZ4444 in their February 2014 issue. OZ4444 was exhibited at the Festival of Britain before being delivered to racing driver Desmond Titterington in Belfast in September 1951. Following 14 podiums in his 24 outings in the Allard – including an outright win in the 1952 Leinster Trohpy – Titterington moved on to the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar team and the Allard went to Calcutta in India. In the article James Mitchell tells the story of OZ4444's remarkable history and the meticulous restoration following its return home.

Photo by James Lipman.