For Sale: Allard K3 3192

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The Allard Register records show that 46 of the 63 Allard K3’s produced still exist. Chassis 3192 is one of the most original preserved Allard K3’s.

This car was delivered to Noel Kirk Motors on Los Angeles on July 9, 1953 where it was fitted with the 331 Cadillac engine and three-speed transmission that it still retains – along with left hand remote shifter located in the door well. 3192 was ordered with green paint and green interior and it still carries that original color combination (most K3 interiors have been redone in black or tan). The car was repainted and the original seats were re-done in 1990 prior to the Monterey Reunion. Also included are the original tool kit, Smith’s side jack, and chrome Noel Kirk badge.

The car’s original owner, Dan Schacht of LA, put 23,000 miles on it before knee problems forced him to park it in 1962. The current owner, Dr. Martin Allard (no relation to the UK Allard family), purchased the car in 1979. Despite the 17-year hibernation, the only work required was some minor tweaking to free up the stuck Lincoln Zephyr gearbox.

Martin has driven the car on a regular basis, putting about 26,000 miles on it over the past 35 years. In 2012 Martin and his K3 completed every mile of the North American Tribute Mille Miglia. This unrestored K3 was featured on the 1980 Allard Owners Club Christmas card, and looks just as handsome today as it did 34 years ago.

Martin has decided it is now time to part with 3192. This 2-owner car is located in Carmel, CA and is being offered for $165,000. Interested parties should the consignor Mohr Imports...please click here to contact the seller.

From the desk of...

Erwin Goldschmidt was probably one of our favorite Allard racers. Not only was he an outspoken supporter of the Allard marque, but he was extremely competitive. As early as June of 1951, Erwin realized that his 331 Cadillac powered J2 would soon lose out to Chrysler's new 331 Hemi. Desperate for more speed, Erwin wrote the following letter to the Cadillac Engineering Department in order to persuade them to share their latest speed secrets. Click the image below to view the complete letter and the response.

Special thanks again to Barry Burrel for sharing another great find from his father Frank's archives.

Correspondence from years past...

Few people realize the significant roll the Allard Motor Company had in General Motors. Sure many Allards shipped to the US were fitted with Cadillac engines, but they were also fitted with Chrysler, Lincoln, GMC, and of course Ford power. In 1952, Ed Cole was Chief Engineer at Chevrolet where he was tasked with developing the legendary small block V8. He was also friends with US General "Butch" Griswold, who was in command of the Third Air Force in the UK. Butch was a regular at the Allard plant and was good friends with Godfry Imhof. At that that time it was next to impossible to get anything imported into the UK, let alone a hot rodded American V8. That's where the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," comes into play. Imhof wanted to upgrade his J2 and read about Fred Warner's J2X (pictured above) that had been equipped with a hot Cadillac engine that was serving as a Chevrolet test mule. So Imhof talked to Butch, and Butch talked to Cole. In the end, we don't know if Imhof ever got his engine, but if you read the letters below; you'll get to learn more about the "Warner" engine.

Click here to read the "Warner" letters (Acrobat pdf)

Special thanks to Barry Burrell for sharing these letters. Barry's dad Frank, was General Foreman of the Cadillac Experimental Garage. Frank also handled Fred Wackers Allard and was invited by Curtis LeMay to support the Allard team at the 1953 Le Mans.

For Sale: Cadillac Engine Parts

West Coast Allard friend and Kurtis racer Joe Harding is clearing out his stock of 50’s era Cadillac engine parts. If you are interest in anything, contact him at Bubbree@aol.com. The parts are located in the LA area. 

Heads:	Price:
Pair of 1461727-8 with valves	$         500
Pair of 1454022-3 with valves	$         500
Pair of 1456439-40 bare head	$         300
1454253-4 bare head	$         300
Pair 1459736-7 with valves	$         500
1454022-3 bare head	$         300
Some of the heads are 390's, they have rocker shafts with them and will bolt straight to 331 blocks for a lot more power. The rocker shafts go with the 390 heads.
Blocks:
1456291 with heads 1454022 standard bore	$      2,500
1456291 with heads 1456439	$      2,000
1456291 short block +030 bore (has pilot bushing in crank for manual box)	$         600
1460704 short block standard bore	$         700
Core parts:
Water pumps (5)	$         100
Generators (7)	$         150
Valve covers (12)	$           20
Push rods (42)	$           20
Flex plates (5)	$           20
Breather tubes (4)	$           10
Starters (4) - 331's & 390's	$         150
Fuel pumps (4)	$           50
331 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)	$         750
390 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)	$         750
Intake manifolds with carbs 1949 – 1956 from $100 to $2,000 for a complete original tri-power set up.

Good Stories: Goldschmidt & Burrell

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.

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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Allard Register #61

 Click here or the photo above to download issue #61 of the Allard Register. We hope you enjoy it!

The Moss Files, Engine Installation

Here's a few more photos from the Moss files. The car in question is K3-3169, which was actually sold by Noel Kirk Motors to a Mr. William Valentine. What's it doing Al Moss' shop you might ask? Well, this was likely the first Allard sold by Noel Kirk and his shop didn't know how to install the engine (a Cadillac in this case), so they called up Al and asked if he would do it. Conveniently, Noel sent along a helper to assist with the project...and that was the last time Al did an engine installation for Noel. This second owner car is currently owned by Dr. Martin Allard (no relation).

For Sale: Allard J2 #2090

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Allard J2 #2090, with UK license OUG601 was transported new to Leeds UK on 15 July 1951. The first owner was a Mr. R W “Dick” Petty who fitted it with a flathead Mercury engine. He raced it at Goodwood and other venues vs. Sydney Allard and Peter Collins.  Mr. Petty describes running against “the superior skills and equipment” of Allard and Collins in a 1961 letter to a subsequent owner, John Richards of Santa Paula CA. A photograph in the October 2009 Motorsport magazine shows a 1951 race at Goodwood, with Allard # 44 cornering in traffic with its partially obstructed UK license plate showing “…601”.  Dennis Carter, current President of the British Automobile Racing Club, very kindly provided me with a copy of the 18 August 1951 Goodwood program, listing car # 44 as Petty’s Allard. Sydney Allard is listed as racing car # 42. 

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Allard Register #60

We are pleased to present you with issue #60 of the Allard Register. Please click here or the photo above to download the pdf version of our newsletter. Inside you will find a recap of the Sonoma Vintage Races, rebuilding a Cadillac 331, Bill Pollack imagines the Allard of the future, two K3's go on a play date, and the latest Allard news. We hope you enjoy!