Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson Preview: J2X-3076

Barrett-Jackson will be auctioning off J2X-3076 on Saturday January 19. This particular car was exported to Shawnee Motor Co, in Kansas City on September 30, 1952. The car was red with red interior but restored with tan interior. The car was originally configured for DeSoto-Chrysler power, but the engine was later changed to a 365cid Cadillac V8. Fuel is delivered by an ultra rare Horne four carburetor intake manifold with four twin choke Stromberg carbs. 3076 was recently restored/refreshed by Mike Fennel just before he passed away. This J2X is being offered as lot 5016.1 with no reserve...what do you think it will go for?

For Sale: Palm Beach Basket Case

The car above is an Allard Palm Beach, chassis 21Z-5155 – the ‘Z’ meaning that it was powered by a 6-cylinder Ford Zephyr engine. This car was the second to last Allard exported to the United States, shipping out on April 16, 1955 to the Allard Motor Company offices in New York. The car was originally painted red with blue interior. The current owner purchased the car in 1981, but none of the previous ownership history is known.

The car is essentially a basket case, but it includes all of the major bits: chassis, suspension, body, and doors...plus a bunch of other bits and pieces. Other than that, the car is a blank slate. The purist could return it to its stock configuration, or one could drop in the drive train from a Nissan Z car, install disc brakes, strip the paint down to the bare aluminum and have quite the sleeper hot rod. Warning: stock Palm Beach chassis are not strong enough to handle the weight and power of a V8.

The car is located in Turlock, CA and is being offered for $5,000 OBO. Interested parties should contact the seller at mrjba2@surewest.net.

Video: 1952 Watkins Glen

Here's some cool color video from the infamous 1952 Watkins Glen race. The main event footage starts at the 3:00 mark...oh and you might want to turn the volume down.

Santa's got a new sled...

Special thanks to Kerry Horan for sending us an image of Santa blasting around in his Steyr somewhere up ini the North Pole. Additional thanks go out to Mick Walsh from Classic & Sports Car magazine. for working with the artist to allow us to repost this. Speaking of the artist, this painting was created by Klaus Wagger of Austria. Please visit his web site at www.klauswagger.at; there you can learn more about Klaus and his beatiful car paintings.

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to all of you!

Cheers,
The Allard Register

The greatest story ever told...

Sorry, but Grendel from the Anglo-Saxon epic 'Beowulf' is a wimp compared to the epic villain in this short story from a different time. Writer Dick O'Kane brings us this epic poem set on the epic streets of LA, with illustrations from the amazing Stan Mott. Special thanks to the folks at Automobile Quarterly for granting us permission to share this story of an Allard from the depths of hell. If you'd like to pick up a hard copy, you can the AQ Volume 8, #4 (the Allard issue) on Ebay from time to. Enjoy!

Click here to download the pdf.

Found on Ebay: M2X2001

A real rarity popped up on Ebay in the UK the other day...an M2X, aka "the Whale." 32 of these beasts were built, but only 2 are known to survive today in restored condition. This car, chassis 2001 was shipped to the US on June 4, 1951. It was originally painted green with natural leather interior. It features a Cadlillac V8 and was once a part of the late Brian Sharp's Allard collection. You can buy it now for 34,000 GBP ($55k).

PAge Update: Clipper

Sorry for not posting in a while, my paying job has been keeping me distracted lately. Special thanks to David Hooper for putting this write up together on the Allard Clipper.

John Fitch, The Last Checkered Flag

On Wednesday October 31, automotive legend John Fitch took his last checkered flag. John was born on August 4, 1917 in Indianapolis, Indiana. John was a renaissance man when it came to automobiles...he not only raced them, he was a mechanic, built succesful specials, invented new technologies, track proprieter, and safety pioneer. John was perhaps best known for his racing career where he raced MG's, Cunninghams, Maserati's, Jaguar's, Corvette's, Formula 1, and an Allard.

In 1951, John was invited to race in the inaugural General Peron Grand Prix in Buenos Aires. There was only one problem...he didn't have a suitable car. John talked his friend Tommy Cole into selling him his wrecked J2 (#1514) for cheap. John straightened the chassis, pounded out the body, bled the brakes, and then kissed his very pregnant wife goodbye as he left for Argentina. Two other Allard owners were entered, Fred Wacker and good friend Tommy Cole in his new J2. John led the race from the start with his only serious competition coming from Wacker who finished a lap down in second. It was John's first win and it earned him a seat at Le Mans with the Cunningham team later that year.

To learn more about the life of John Fitch, click here to visit his Wikipedia page. The photo above was taken of John at the 2002 Monterey Historics where Corvette was the featured maque.

Page Update: J1

We've updated the J1 page...

Page Update: K1

Sorry it's taken so long, but we're finally getting around to updating the car pages of the web site. First up is the K1, which previously had just one photo. Now it has (3) galleries, tech specs, and a few other goodies. Click here or the photo above to jump to the updated page. Enjoy!