Cartoons
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From the October 1957 issue of Sports Cars Illustrated magazine.
If you find a story below interesting, please click the "Like" button...Thank You!
Who builds a better sports car? 1950
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In response to Erwin Goldschmidts letter and the feedback received, Motor Sport magazine Editor Bill Boddy put together a detailed analysis of US racing results from 1950 to determine the best sports car. Allard (Cadillac) vs. Allard (Ford) vs. Jaguar vs. Ferrari vs. Frazer-Nash. The article is very interesting and informative. However we must take issue with Mr. Boddy. After reviewing the handi-capped results, one could state that the Ferrari and Jaguar are better sports cars. BUT, if you add the Allard Cadillac & Ford results together, Allard is by far the best chassis in both the scratch and handicapped analysis. Click here or the photo above to view the full story.
Counterpoints, Part 2
/In March of '51, the replies to Mr. Goldschmidts letter got a little more interesting. Click on the photo below to view the readable version. A few observations are at the end...
- The second letter by Mr. Holms: The race at Santa Ana was Roy Richters first and only sports car race...not a bad effort for a rookie. And the Pebble Beach race where the XK120's won the race...the J2 (owned by Al Moss) had its hood open at the start of the race while the fan belt was replaced. After being lapped, Michael Graham drove the J2 into 3rd place and would have won if there was another lap.
- The last letter by Mr. Clark: Richter's J2 was not supercharged. More importantly, Mr. Clark makes a few disparaging and unfounded remarks about Sydney's design. Yes, the J2 could be considered a fluke, but how many cars before and since have used power plants from other suppliers? And how many 'lesser minds' (like Jaguar) have used the de Dion suspension after Sydney reintroduced it to the world?
In the next post, we'll share an editorial by Mr. Boddy that attempts to objectively compare the racing success of the Allard vs the other builders such as Jaguar, Frazer-Nash, and Ferrari.
Counterpoints, Part 1
/One can assume that Goldschmidt's letter resulted in more than a few Letters to the Editor at MotorSport. Here are two of the presumably many letters that they chose to publish in their February issue.
Fighting Words...
/Back in January of 1951, MotorSport magazine (UK) published the letter below, written by noted Allard racer, Erwin Goldschmidt. As you can imagine, the letter proved to be quite controversial. We'll post some of the replies in the coming days.
Old Magazine Covers, Part 9
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A great cover shot of A. E. Goldschmidt having some fun in the dirt with his J2. This is from the January 1956, issue of Sports Cars Illustrated. By this time, the photo was likely five years old, but it's a fun shot nonetheless. There is no Allard content inside the magazine.
For Sale: Allard K2 3022
/This K2 has been in the same small town for the past 50+ years with just two owners. The 40,000 miles are original and its original Cadillac V-8 is faster than hell. This car features the original steel wheels and bumpers (recently re-plated). The undercarriage has never been touched, still exhibiting the original factory leather straps on the suspension and the wooden rocker boards and floors. A new exhaust system and starter motor were installed this past summer. Mechanically it is as solid as a rock.
Ebay: Allard K2 3029
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Allard K2 3029 has also shown up on Ebay. Click here to view the listing.
Ebay: Allard K3 6017
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Allard K3 6017 popped up for sale on Ebay the other day. Click here to check out the listing. Good luck!
Report: Gathering the Clan, Texas 2011
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-Words: Chuck Warnes -Photos: Bob Weiner
Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing held their 20th Annual Vintage Fall Festival the weekend of November 4 – 6. Their gracious invitation to the Allard folks presented the second opportunity in the past eight years for us to enjoy their laid-back hospitality and company at the historic Texas World Speedway.
TWS is located just outside of the twin communities of Bryan/College Station TX, and dates back to its NASCAR origins of the ‘60’s. It began as a steeply banked two-mile oval, and over the years has evolved into a three-mile, fifteen-turn road course that continues to use about half of the original oval.
Allard Owners Club News!
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Congrats to the AOC! They've just completely revamped their web site and it looks great. Go to http://www.allardownersclub.org/wordpress/ to check it out!
SCCA Archives From the Golden Age
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If you're a sports car racing history buff, then you should check out www.sportscarscan.com. The team at Sports Car Scan has accomplished the monumental task of scanning the magazine “Sports Car” (SCCA publication). The magazines have been scanned in a high resolution (300 dpi), color PDF format that is completely searchable. Every issue has been scanned from 1944 through 1970 – the “Golden Age of Auto Racing”. Issues include national/local race reports, entry lists, race schedules, photos, ads and feature articles Everything is copied to a USB flashdrive (PC and Apple compatible) and organized by year and month. There is an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement in place with the Sports Car Club of America so there are no copyright violations. The complete set is available for $375.
Here are just a few of the Allard related scans.
Racing Movies!
/Great video from Cliff Reuter at www.etceterini.com. The first 4 minutes or so come from the 1952 Giants Despair Hill Climb in Laurel Run, PA then comes footage from Grand Island and finally the 1953 Chahute AFB races. Lots of great Allard footage. Enjoy.
Mystery Car
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We found this photo of Sydney racing at the Poole Speed Trials in 1947 where he took the fastest sports car time (Motor Sport, October '47). The number plate isn't shown in our chassis registry. Know anything about it? Leave a comment.
Cheers!
Update on 2011-11-03 04:32 by Colin
The Styer often receives most of the attention as Sydney's special, but he also built a special road-going car around the same time, JGP 473. According to the Lush book, the chassis was based on a J1 with much of the cross bracing and boxinig removed to save weight. The chassis was lowered using flattened springs (similar to the Steyr) and the 2-seat body was made of aluminum stretched over the chassis with no doors. Power for the car came from Sydney's previous special HLF 601 which featured a set of Allard OHV heads (pre-Ardun, but copied from an American design). The heads proved to be very troublesome and the car was later converted to a conventional Mercury V8, then supercharged. As page 88 reveals, JGP was the pre-cursor to the J2. I wonder what happened to it?
The first Palm Beach.
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Click hereto read a great story on the first Palm Beach (by forgottenfiberglass.com) , which had a fiberglass (sorry, glassfibre) body made in the USA. I can imagine that Sydney Allard was very interested in fiberglass for car bodies. Hand made aluminum bodies (many with wood frames) must have caused numerous headaches in regards to quality, cost, and lead time. Sadly the project went nowhere, but Sydney continued to experiment with fiberglass up through the 60's.
Additionally, click here to read about the Palm Beach story in our archives.
This car, chassis 5000 still exists, but we've lost track of it. If you know anything about this cars whereabouts, please click here to let us know!
Tech Alert! DeDion Issue
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After putting close to 3,000 miles on our Allard K3 since rebuilding it from a 'basket case', we experienced a frightening event. This past May on a trip to Paso Robles (120 miles from home) for a car show. A few weeks prior to that trip I had the car up on jack stands for its annual service and inspection. All bolts for the running gear and suspension were tight at that time as observed by the safety wires or, in some cases, cotter pins.
Back in the day...
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Beautiful exhibit at the 5th annual Hot Rod and Motor Sports Show is the new ALLARD, owned by Reg Fudge, Jr., Los Angeles. Sports car will be equipped with 160HP Lincoln overhead valve V-8 engine. Waving from the car is 18-year-old model Earlyne Taylor, contendor for the title of Hot Rod Show queen.
Do you know what car this is?
RM London Auction Preview - J2 #2089
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On October 29, RM will auction Allard J2 #2089 at their London event at the Battersea Evolution in London. Little is known of this cars early history when it was first delivered new to Cuba on July 31, 1951. However, the car’s ownership history picks up in the early 80’s when the car was registered in Florida. Since then the car has changed hands two more times. The car is currently equipped with a Cadillac 427 in3 engine (rated at 375 hp and 525 ft*lbs of torque) and an automatic transmission. If the new owner prefers a more traditional power plant, the car also comes with a Cadillac 331 and T10 4-speed transmission. J2 #2089 is listed as Lot # 279 and is estimated to sell for £155,000 to £175,000 (approximately $240,000 to $270,000). To learn more about this car, please click here to visit RM’s web site.
Monterey 2011
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The experience of searching one’s way through Sunday morning pre-dawn fog, curves and pines of Pebble Beach is somewhat surreal. At times the only connection with the real world seemed to be the intermittent signals from random flashlights that eventually directed us to our parking lot. The experience gave us a special appreciation for the diligent efforts of hundreds of employees and volunteers who had been on duty half the night.
Our goal was to arrive at the Del Monte Lodge before the first of the Pebble Beach Concours entrants began to chug, purr or roar their way from the Polo Grounds to their designated spots on Pebble Beach’s 18th fairway overlooking Carmel Bay and Point Lobos. The low overcast sky and moderate temperatures were a photographer’s and spectator’s dream.