Deck The Halls!

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I must admit that when I saw this ornament on Ebay a month ago, I thought it looked a bit cheesy. Then a friend of the Register sent gave one to us as a Christmas gift; and I must admit that it’s actually pretty cool! The 3 ¾” round wood ornament is cut and etched on both sides with a laser to give it some depth. The detail is pretty crisp and the ornament is finished nicely. You can buy one now on Ebay for $5.75 which includes shipping. Click here or search Ebay for item 200671533242 to buy one now. Merry Christmas!

Chart: Allard Production by Year

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Click here or the chart above to download the full size pdf 

We thought you might it interesting to see a year by year chart of Allard production. This chart data is based on our chassis database, which was first created by Tom Lush for his definitive Allard book and then updated by the late Tom Turner and Bob Lytle. Over the past few years I have worked to clean up the database to improve the searchability and clean up bad references. The database continues to be a work in progress as we discover new (old) information. In the coming weeks, we'll post additional data from the database that we hope you'll find interesting.

Cheers, Colin Warnes

Who builds a better sports car? 1950

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In response to Erwin Goldschmidts letter and the feedback received, Motor Sport magazine Editor Bill Boddy put together a detailed analysis of US racing results from 1950 to determine the best sports car. Allard (Cadillac) vs. Allard (Ford) vs. Jaguar vs. Ferrari vs. Frazer-Nash. The article is very interesting and informative. However we must take issue with Mr. Boddy. After reviewing the handi-capped results, one could state that the Ferrari and Jaguar are better sports cars. BUT, if you add the Allard Cadillac & Ford results together, Allard is by far the best chassis in both the scratch and handicapped analysis. Click here or the photo above to view the full story.

Counterpoints, Part 2

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In March of '51, the replies to Mr. Goldschmidts letter got a little more interesting. Click on the photo below to view the readable version. A few observations are at the end...

  • The second letter by Mr. Holms: The race at Santa Ana was Roy Richters first and only sports car race...not a bad effort for a rookie. And the Pebble Beach race where the XK120's won the race...the J2 (owned by Al Moss) had its hood open at the start of the race while the fan belt was replaced. After being lapped, Michael Graham drove the J2 into 3rd place and would have won if there was another lap.
  • The last letter by Mr. Clark: Richter's J2 was not supercharged. More importantly, Mr. Clark makes a few disparaging and unfounded remarks about Sydney's design. Yes, the J2 could be considered a fluke, but how many cars before and since have used power plants from other suppliers? And how many 'lesser minds' (like Jaguar) have used the de Dion suspension after Sydney reintroduced it to the world?

In the next post, we'll share an editorial by Mr. Boddy that attempts to objectively compare the racing success of the Allard vs the other builders such as Jaguar, Frazer-Nash, and Ferrari.

For Sale: Allard K2 3022

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This K2 has been in the same small town for the past 50+ years with just two owners. The 40,000 miles are original and its original Cadillac V-8 is faster than hell.  This car features the original steel wheels and bumpers (recently re-plated). The undercarriage has never been touched, still exhibiting the original factory leather straps on the suspension and the wooden rocker boards and floors. A new exhaust system and starter motor were installed this past summer. Mechanically it is as solid as a rock.

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Report: Gathering the Clan, Texas 2011

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-Words: Chuck Warnes         -Photos: Bob Weiner

Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing held their 20th Annual Vintage Fall Festival the weekend of November 4 – 6. Their gracious invitation to the Allard folks presented the second opportunity in the past eight years for us to enjoy their laid-back hospitality and company at the historic Texas World Speedway.

TWS is located just outside of the twin communities of Bryan/College Station TX, and dates back to its NASCAR origins of the ‘60’s. It began as a steeply banked two-mile oval, and over the years has evolved into a three-mile, fifteen-turn road course that continues to use about half of the original oval.

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SCCA Archives From the Golden Age

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If you're a sports car racing history buff, then you should check out www.sportscarscan.com. The team at Sports Car Scan has accomplished the monumental task of scanning the magazine “Sports Car” (SCCA publication). The magazines have been scanned in a high resolution (300 dpi), color PDF format that is completely searchable. Every issue has been scanned from 1944 through 1970 – the “Golden Age of Auto Racing”. Issues include national/local race reports, entry lists, race schedules, photos, ads and feature articles Everything is copied to a USB flashdrive (PC and Apple compatible) and organized by year and month. There is an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement in place with the Sports Car Club of America so there are no copyright violations. The complete set is available for $375.

Here are just a few of the Allard related scans.

Mystery Car

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We found this photo of Sydney racing at the Poole Speed Trials in 1947 where he took the fastest sports car time (Motor Sport, October '47). The number plate isn't shown in our chassis registry. Know anything about it? Leave a comment.

Cheers!

The first Palm Beach.

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Click hereto read a great story on the first Palm Beach (by forgottenfiberglass.com) , which had a fiberglass (sorry, glassfibre) body made in the USA. I can imagine that Sydney Allard was very interested in fiberglass for car bodies. Hand made aluminum bodies (many with wood frames) must have caused numerous headaches in regards to quality, cost, and lead time. Sadly the project went nowhere, but Sydney continued to experiment with fiberglass up through the 60's.

Additionally, click here to read about the Palm Beach story in our archives.

This car, chassis 5000 still exists, but we've lost track of it. If you know anything about this cars whereabouts, please click here to let us know!

Tech Alert! DeDion Issue

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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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