Merry Christmas from the Allard Register

Since you've all been good boys and girls this year, we're giving you an early Christmas present...four actually. Click each of the drawings below to download a pdf of the corresponding file. We hope you enjoy!

J2 Chassis

J2 Assembly

J2X Frame Weldment

K3 Chassis & Body

Special thanks to Barry Burrell for sharing the J2 & J2X drawings and to Dudley Hume for the K3 drawing!

New Link - Classic Automobilist

We just added a new technical link to the site for a company out of the UK called Complete Automobilist. They carry a number of unique parts such as Lucas components, Brooklands wind screens, fuel fillers, wire covers, trim parts, etc. Check them out at http://www.completeautomobilist.com/

Smiths Gauges - 1952

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.

19 Cadillac Engine Tuning Tips

1. The stock Cadillac ignition is NOT good enough for a tuned engine – or even hard use with a standard engine. You have to change to a high performance points/coil ignition, solid state ignition or use a magneto. Magnetos are period and pass muster for historic racing. This is the first thing you have to do.
2.  One of the weak points in the Cadillac 331/365/390 series the fact that the outer ends of the fronts of the rocker shafts are not supported and tend to break under even moderately hard use. The solution is to fabricate stands for the ends of the rocker shafts, especially for the front. Better still; go to a larger diameter rocker shaft. We use 1950’s Chrysler shafts and after-market rocker arms. Even these shafts, fully supported, tend to fracture under racing conditions.

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Need a lift?

Attention home mechanics – if you are looking for a good safe way to lift your Allard (or other cars) and you don’t want to invest in a huge, expensive hydraulic lift, you should check out the EZcarlift. My dad just bought one for the K3 and it’s great. It lifts the car up to 26” off the ground and allows for plenty of unobstructed access to the undercarriage. All you need to raise and lower the lift is a 7 amp, high rpm drill. The EZcarlift is really well built, it can hold up to 4,400 pounds, it’s portable, and it can be stored away when not in use. The basic EZcarlift sells for $1,995, but if you mention that you are a member of the Allard Register, they will give you a special $250 discount. For more info, you can call 1-800-392-2754 or visit www.ezcarlift.com.

The story behind the EZcarlift is pretty cool. The lift was designed by Boytcho Manev. He had an auto engineering company in Detroit for 17 years before moving to Santa Barbara in '98 on a contract with GM at the time. However after a couple years that GM operation got sold to General Dynamics and he had a choice to either move back to Detroit or stay and collect the remainder of his 2 year contract and retire. At that time he was working on his Corvair and was having car lift frustrations similar to ours so he designed his car lift, with plans for it to be a one-off for his own use only. However, some of his car guy friends encouraged him to make some more. He works out of his house, most of the components are made by contractors, and he has a couple college students help him with assembly and shipping. He says he does about 200-250 per year, and feels that if he did much more he'd have to rent some industrial space.

Cadillac 331 Rebuild (UK – 1985)

[Jim Degnan has owned and raced his Cad-powered Allard K2 for the past 25+ years. He recently forwarded this article from the June 1985 Allard Owners Club newsletter. Roger includes a postscript at the end of this intriguing article.]

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By Roger Murray-Evans

It’s never an easy task rebuilding old engines, especially when they’ve been obsolete for 30 years with the added complication of being of American origin. However in my humble opinion, an Allard should have a Cadillac engine, and as Jackie’s K-Type developed incontinence this winter, in its extremely loose flathead, and I had a similarly afflicted Caddy 331 lying around it seemed madness not to join the twain together, especially as the total rebuild of either engine would cost pretty much the same. That’s my excuse anyway!

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Allard Replacement Steel Wheels

Special thanks to Andy Picariello of the AOC for digging up an affordable replacement for Allard steel wheels. The “Gennie” style 2-piece steel wheels measure 16” x 4.5” wide and feature a 5 x 5.5” bolt circle with 2.25” back spacing (2.75" to the back of the rim). I did some digging and found that the wheels are made by Wheel Vintiques, which as it turns out are made right here in Fresno, CA! I stopped by their shop the other day and talked with Hector Moreno. Hector informed me that they sell direct and he will sell us primered wheels for $120/ea + shipping. To order, contact Hector at 559-251-6957 or email at hector@wheelvintiques.com and use part number 14-64255234. Wheel Vintiques will ship anywhere in the world.

        Please note the inside diameter will need to be increased to 3-13/16" (approximately 3/8") and studs must be added to mount the original Allard hub caps. We are working on a plan to supply wheels with these modifications, but nothing has been finalized yet. In the meantime, your local machine shop should be able to make these changes for you. Thanks to David Hooper for the drawing below. Click here or the image below to download the pdf

        The hub portion of the wheels are made from 7 gage steel (.175"), which is thicker than the original Allard wheels (low cost racing wheels?). They can also be balanced, whereas the original wheels could not.

        PS: We are also looking into making custom Allard hub caps that can be mounted to these Gennie wheels with no studs. In the meantime, you can order their #2005 ’40 Standard Baby Moon hub cap if you don’t want to add mounting studs for traditional Allard hub caps.

Tech Alert! DeDion Issue

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.

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Everything you need to know about Flatheads

Click here to read a great story on the Ford Flathead, from Hot Rod Magazine.

Bluemel’s Brooklands Steering Wheels

 

The Allard Yahoo group recently had a great discussion about repairing or replacing Bluemel Brooklands steering wheels. Below are some excerpts from the discussion along with links to the suppliers mentioned.

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