WELCOME! Below are excerpts of the latest Allard news - just click a headline to read the whole story. If you own an Allard and would like to know more about it, please click here to contact us. We hope you enjoy the site!
David Rossiter also sent us this poster that a friend made of his...very cool. If you'd like to get a copy of the poster, click here to email David. If you're interested in a commission of your own, you can contact the artist Travis Getz at victorylines.com.
"Just wanted to give you an update on the Allard (K2-2022) after taking first in class and best in show at the 2012 Annual All British Motor Vehicle show she Went to the Ironstone Concurs d'Ellegance in Murphys (fantastic show) and took first in class European Sports & Grand Touring (my Porsche also won its class see attached photo). The next show we did for 2012 was the British fall Classic, in Morgan Hill again first in class.
So far for 2013 we were asked to return to the 2013 Annual All British Motor Vehicle show where we were not allowed to compete in our class because as we were past winner but they have a Winner Circle Class where you compete against every class winner from last year and the Allard won that. We next did the Hillsborough Concurs d'Ellegance and they stuck us in there race car class (wrong class for us and a frighteningly strong field to include a car from the Mozart Collection) but we took a second. Next up we got the great news that the Allard will be appearing at the Annual, The Quail a Motorsports Gathering Event during Monterey car week. And the last cool thing is that the Ironstone Concurs d'Ellegance requested to use the Allard on there 2013 poster, draft attached. All in all a pretty exciting year for the old Allard!!"
Congrats to you David and we look forward to hearing how the Quail and Ironstone shows go for you and 2022.
...click here to drop us a note to tell us what you're up to this summer.
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.
We've been having a discussion on the Allard Yahoo Group recently about Erwin Goldschmidt and his J2, J2X, and JR. Here's a nice side shot of his J2X at the '52 Duryea Hill Climb.
Ian Rose recently contacted us to see if we had any news on his father's P1, registration LKD 297. Unfortunately our chassis database doesn't have a corresponding chassis number for the registration plate. If you know anything about this car, please leave a comment or click here to send us an email.
Ian writes..."It was involved in an accident in late 1958/early 1959 when a lorry ran into the back of it whilst waiting at traffic lights on the A.30 near Camberley in thick fog. It was probably written-off. I know my father never got it back again, though the damage was confined to the rear end."
We love it when other people write great Allard related stories. Even better when they are about the unsung heroes that made Allard great. These stories come courtesy of VeloceToday, which is a great web site that publishes a weekly newsletter with quality stories (unlike our web site!).
The first story looks into the life of Erwin Goldschmidt, who won the Watkins Glen Grand Prix in a J2. Erwin also owned a J2X and the first JR. Click here to read the story!
The second story is about engineer Frank Burrell who worked at Cadillac. Frank was largely responsible for developing the Cadillac V8 that gave Allard the heart that made it so competitive on the the international scene. This story was actually published in two parts. Click here to read part one and click here to read part two. Special thanks to Pete Vack and Eric Davison from Veloce Today.
Congrats to the Allard Dragster Team who handed over the keys of the now restored Allard Dragster to the staff at the Beaulieu Motor Museum this past weekend at the Custom & Hot Rod Festival. We've been really impressed by the progress of the team over the past few years and its been a joy to see it all come together.
To the untrained observer, this was just another car restoration. However, the Dragster is owned by the Beaulieu Trust, a wonderful organization, but one that didn't have the resources to restore this historic car. Then a few enthusiast/volunteers (with no money) approached the Trust with a desire to restore the Dragster. Over the process of a few short years, they raised money, scrounged for parts, and spent countless hours working on "Ally."
We'd like to extend our appreciation to the Allard Dragster team of volunteers and donors for making this restoration a reality and for doing such a great job. However, we'd like to extend a special thank you to Brian Taylor who spearheaded the project and never lost the faith. Without Brian, the Dragster likely would have never have been restored.
What's next for Ally? She'll be seen around the UK and Europe at "cackle-fests" where you'll get to hear that glorious supercharged Chrysler Hemi roar to life. Perhaps she'll even make it to the USA? They still need to raise more money, so if you want to help, please click here to visit their site. You can also click here to read their latest newsletter.
The recent Bring A Trailer ad for Palm Beach 21Z-5155, created a lot of interesting comments about Palm Beach's. One in particular from Wayne Goldman caught our eye. Wayne bought a Palm Beach in the late sixties and threw the Ford Zodiac engine and gearbox away. In its place, he installed a 170 cubic inch Ford six with a three carb manifold, H & M cam, etc. and a 4 speed gear box. Wayne notes that the car, "went like a bat out of hell, but the 4:1 rear axle was too high for highway use so I narrowed a Ford axle which had the same bolt pattern as the original wire wheels and the car was great. I had a friend who was the top SCCA Corvette driver in New England and he could only beat me by 50 feet in a 1/4 drag race. The Ford 170 six was popular with midget racers and it would wind up to over 8,000 RPM…"
Sadly Wayne lost track of the car and we haven't been able to decipher the chassis plate which was reattached to the dash. If you know anything about the car, please leave a comment or send us a note.
Incidentally, Wayne also has a bunch of interesting (and good) racing photos that he took back in the 50's. Click here to visit his site.
Bernard Dervieux sent us the screen shot above from the 1953 movie, "Paris Model" starring Eva Gabor, Marilyn Maxwell, Paulette Goddard, and Tom Conway (Maharajah of Kim-Kepore) who we assume is driving the car. If you look closely, the car is a light colored J2X with two fuel fillers and disc wheels....we're guessing it's chassis 3144 that was also featured in "Written in the Wind." The car appears within the first twenty minutes of the movie for 2 to 3 minutes. Thanks Bernard!
The Keels and Wheels show was great and it's probably the most laid back show around so it is very enjoyable. After 6 years going to Keels & Wheels the "Bitch" finally won a "Best of Class" trophy in the Vintage Race Car Class. Bob Weiner took the Silver Trophy. Finally met Roger Allard who had a J2X MKII at the show. I really enjoyed meeting him and seeing the car for the first time. Everyone had a great time but I was getting sick the second day of the show which really sapped my strength and I had to have help standing to accept the trophy. Don't like getting old but it beats the alternate.
The "Yellow Jacket" boats were the featured class for the boat part of the show. I had to go to their site and tell the Owners about the boat as I had designed several item for the Yellow Jacket boats back in the 1950s and had also done exploded drawings for every type boat they manufactured.