Monterey Auction Preview

For 2009, no less than six Allards will cross the various auction blocks setup throughout Monterey this August. Of the six Allards, two are most notable in my opinion.

First is the Allard J2 at Mecum (their first Monterey auction). This is one of two Allards that was raced by Carroll Shelby and it should command big numbers, although it did not reach its reserve price at a previous Mecum auction.

The second car is the M Coupe at RM (shown above). This is a very unique car as only three M Coupes were made out of 500 produced. The car is very attractive and unique…hopefully it will bring more than the estimate.

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Silverstone Classic 2009, A Driver's Perspective

 

(Click here or the photo above to view the Silverstone Classic Photo Gallery)

I have trouble keeping my core (freeze) plugs in and sure enough, hammering down the M1 at 7.45am last Thursday, en route to Silverstone racing circuit, that familiar "Turkish Bath" moment struck again, and I pulled up onto the hard shoulder. Two bits of luck, I had my good friend and co-driver for the weekend behind in his Honda Civic, and I still had my core-plug bodgers repair kit in my tool box. Co-driver went off to look for water while I started mixing the epoxy metal. I wont bore you with the details, but I spent the rest of the week-end running with the radiator cap undone because the bodge had to stay bodged.

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Shelby J2 For Sale at Mecum's Monterey Auction, Lot S109

Mecum High Performance Auctions is offeringJ2179 at their Mecum at Monterey Auction on August 15. The car is listed as Lot S109.Shelby enthusiasts will know this car as one of two Allards that Carroll Shelby raced in the the early 50's. The auction catalog describes the car as follows...

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Video of Tom Carstens/Bill Pollack #14

Click to watch this rare footage of Tom Carstens J2 #14...One of the most successful sports racing cars of the early fifties as raced by Bill Pollack. Enjoy!

Allard J2 in AACA Museum Exhibit

Andy Picariello has shipped his award winning Allard J2 off to the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) museum in Hershey, PA for the next several months. Andy's J2 is a part of an exhibit titled, "Sports Car in America," which details Americans love of the sports car following WWII. The exhibit covers an extensive cross section of sports car including: MG TC, Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing", Ford GT40 MkV, Volvo P1800, Lotus 7, Jaguar XK120, and Datsum 240Z. The 25 car exhibit will continue through October 11. For more information, please visit the AACA web site at www.aacamuseum.org.

Click here to download a pdf of the flier above.

For Sale: Allard J2/P-Series Replica

Click here or the photo above to view photos of this unique J2 replica

This unique J2 replica is a hand made conversion from an existing P-series Allard. This is the second conversion of this type created by the owner. The body is mainly fiberglass, the mold having been taken from J.2059 about 15 years ago. The bonnet and doors are hand crafted aluminum

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Frank Burrell and the Allards

Click here or the photo above to view a Gallery of photos from Barry Burrell 

-Barry Burrell

My earliest memory of an Allard was sitting in the cockpit of Fred Warner’s J2X (chassis #2192, now owned by David Mundy) as we loaded it onto the trailer to go to some race in 1954. The sound and vibrations of the open exhaust left a lasting impression in me. My father, Frank Burrell, often spoke about the incredible acceleration of the Allards with the Hydramatic transmissions. Zero to sixty in 4 ½ seconds in the early 50’s was quite impressive.

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