Let's go for a drive...

My dad and a friend took the K3 for a nice drive the other day. They drove from Fresno, CA to the end of HWY 180, which happens to be in Cedar Grove, part of Kings Canyon National Park. The total drive was 200 miles and the car averaged almost 14 mpg…not bad for a 392 Hemi. The photo above is taken from the ridge above Cedar Grove (approximately 6,000 feet).

Have you done anything fun with your Allard this summer? If you have...click here to send us a photo!

Everybodies favorite Allard Racer, Bill Pollack

Here's a few video clips of Bill Pollack promoting his racing memoirs, Red Wheels and White Sidewalls with Bob Schmitt. Bill has led a long and full life...with that he has accumulated many stories, most of which are true (we think).

Red Wheels and White Sidewalls - Reviewed

In honor of the reprinting of Bill Pollacks racing memoirs, Red Wheels and White Sidewalls, we are reprinting our review of the book from issue #40 (Spring 2004). To buy a copy of the book, you can go to Amazon or to Bill's publisher, Brown Fox Books. Enjoy!

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Many Allard enthusiasts got their initial inspiration from Tom Carsten’s immaculate white-walled, Cad-powered J2. Bill Pollack had the honor of piloting that imposing mass of adrenalin, testosterone, and charisma to outright victories in each of its five outings in 1951 and 1952. Bill continued his amateur racing activities for another 5 years after that car was destroyed in a post-race accident at Pebble Beach in 1953. During those years, he earned 18 more “podium” (in F1 parlance) finishes in 44 races.

Click to read more ...

An Allard Sunroof?

Most people think that the Allard Motor Company closed up shop after they built their last Palm Beach MkII in 1958. Not so. The Allard name was synonymous with speed in the UK and they built a thriving after market business. They had a partnership with Shorrock superchargers, built custom Ford Anglias, tuned suspensoins...they would even install a sunroof in your car! As you can imagine, very few Allard sunroofs have survived the elements, but we got a tip today from Scotty Bevis that one had shown up on Ebay! It's nothing fancy, but it's a testament to how ingrained cars were in the life of Sydney Allard. He could have easily closed up shop and joined the family construction business, but no, he kept on playing with and racing cars...thanks Syd!

It lives!!!!!!!!!!!

From Brian Taylor...

"OK historians log these details in your book of legends. The date - Sunday July 1st. The place - the workshop at Andy Robinson Race Cars in the UK. The time - 2030 hrs local time. Those present - Andy Robinson, Bob Roberts, Martin Dunks and Brian Taylor. After a long days work and fueled with methanol Sydney Allard's 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster burst into life. The first time since 1964.The sigh...t, sound and smell was amazing. Thanks to all those who have backed us and to an amazing team of people working on the car we have brought drag racing history back to life. There is still plenty of work to do before Brian Golder's original restoration has been complated but nothing that will not wait until after Dragstalgia. We will be able to attend the Cacklefest Ball on the strip on Saturday evening on July 14th and during July 15th and for the first time since 1964 those attending will be able to see and hear the car that started it all in European drag racing terms. Make sure you are there. The start-up was recorded on video and we will release lots more info soon. How did I feel? Relieved, proud and so excited. I didn't sleep much last night just re-running that moment in my mind. Wow."

Congrats to everyone that's working on the restoration...the end is near!

J2X MkII in Shanghai

Roger Allard's Chinese demonstrator has been getting a lot of attention lately. This past weekend, his distributor, Keith Lomason, President of Jimmer's Classic Collectibles was invited to brink the MkII to the Shanghai F1 circuit to play with the Shanghai Super Sports Car Club. The attendees were primarily Lambos, Ferraris, Beemers, Porsches, Benzs, etc...with one orphan - the Allard.

Each car got 10 timed laps per segment. The J2X MkII was approximately 15 seconds behind the Lambos etc. Keith is is not an experienced driver on the track, plus he has a slight weight disadvantage. Not bad for a rookie on skinny tires! Hopefully we can get some in car footage next time...

Click to read more ...

In the News...

The July 2012 issue of Classic Motorsports magazine has a large story on Martin Stickley's Ford Cobra engined J2#2121. Cheers.

The Last Checkered Flag, Carroll Shelby

The car world lost an icon today. Carroll Shelby passed away today at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX at the age of 89. Carroll Shelby pretty much did anything that could be done in the automotive world...succesful Race Car Driver, Team Manager, Constructor, Consultant, and Philanthropist.

Allard enthusiasts should be aware that Carroll Shelby holds a special place in Allard history. He raced both a J2 (#2179) and J2X (#3146) from 1952 to 1954 with considerable success. Probably his most notable race took place at the 1954 Buenos Aires Kimberly Cup Race. Carroll and Dale Duncan man-handled a J2X to a hard fought tenth place. It was at this race where he caught the attention of Aston Marton's John Dwyer...and the rest is history.

Well not quite...Carroll Shelby's racing career was cut short by heart problems in 1960. Carroll was out of a job and his marriage was on the rocks. He moved out to California and opened a Goodyear Racing Tire Dealership. Carroll also had a stacked a Rolodex full of auto industry contacts from his racing years. In 1962, he started a partnership with AC Motors in the UK and Ford in the US to mate their new 221 Ford V8 with the engineless AC that he called the Cobra...and the rest is history.

It's widely documented that Shelby got the inspiration for the Cobra from his time spent racing Allards. He knew that a lightweight English chassis paired with a powerfull American V8 would be a formidable foe on the race track. One hopes that Sydney Allard looked at Shelby's racing success in the Cobra with admiration.

We could go on and on about Shelby's post-Cobra life, but there are enough books out there that cover that. Instead, we invite you click here or the photo above to read a story my dad, Charlie Warnes wrote for the January 1997 issue of Vintage Motorsport.

Thanks Carroll, you will be missed.

Allard Register Newsletter #59

Click here or the photo above to download our latest newsletter! Interesting news inside about a good replacement for Allard steel wheels...more news to come!

Allard Motor Company Newsletter

Roger Allard has just published his latest newsletter. Interesting items inside include news of entering the Chinese market and a comparison of the J2X MkII vs the J2X by Allard Engineer David Hooper. Click here or the photo above to download the newsletter.