Allard Motorsports Palm Beach MkII Restoration

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We're now in the final stages of assembly regarding the Palm Beach MK2 build of chassis 72/7000Z. It'll be exactly one year at the end of August since we took on this project, and if all goes well we should go to paint in the next few weeks.

The whole project has been an awesome experience as well as sheer hard work, however all worthwhile we feel. We've sought to keep this restoration build as original as possible unless there was no alternative but to replace like for like – i.e. rusted panels, etc.  

We’ve made a copy chassis while we had the original one available to us. This ate up the build time and took longer than expected. The chassis jig had to be precise and also took time to construct, but we felt it was essential. This also provided a chance for me to study fully the construction of such chassis designs.

We're discussing whether the new Palm Beach chassis will be made into a MK2 PB or the MK3 PB, which was proposed by Sydney but never completed in 1958.  The most exciting option is to shelve the new PB chassis just for the time being and press on with the JR build.  The new chassis jig can also be used for the JR chassis build, of course. We already have in place the base JR chassis parts ready for assembly.


I attach photos of the new PB chassis on its jig, which you’re welcome to publish on your site. I've attached photos of the PB MKII build from arrival to this day. I hope your club members will find it interesting. We now have available many new parts for Allards, also photos attached of such parts. In the next few weeks I shall add a parts listing to the Allard Sports Cars www.allardsportscars.co.uk website, along with further PB restoration photos on the blog attached.

I hope that your members will find it an exciting time for Allard.  My father and I have been discussing these ideas for many years now and it seems with the help of both the Allard Owners Club and the Allard Register we can achieve our goals. As for me, I've been behind the scenes for many years, watching and learning. 

I'm still learning each year that passes, but for me the time has come to go out on a limb and ring my bell so to speak. I've fifteen years experience in the automotive fabrication & design industry and feel quite confident that the construction of chassis and, even the build of complete turn-key Allards, is truly possible with the vast majority of work being carried out in house.              

We propose only to construct a few cars for exclusive enthusiastic customers, true followers of the marque.  The sole idea behind the JR project is an easy one to understand. The JR does not necessarily have to be road registered thus avoiding all IVA processes, which in turn means a much quicker build process. However the JR will still be constructed to HTP FIA level in order to be accepted to race in high profile events such as the Lemans classic in which I intend to do as soon as possible. We simply need to find an investor who wants to achieve the same.

My father has worked tirelessly on this project, and I wish his efforts will be recognized, as he's one of a kind. He brings much experience to the table. I'll keep you updated upon further developments as and when. As soon as the PB has it's paint we shall organize an open day, and perhaps all attendees can come to the workshop and then over to our local racing circuit for some photos.

Regards,

Lloyd Allard

Click here to view a gallery of the unrestored PB MKII

Click here to view a gallery of the restoration process

Click here to view a gallery of the chassis


Allard For Sale: M-808

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Chassi #808 has been with the same owner for 20+ years. The car is mostly original with the exception of the cosmetics which appear to have been updated within the past 20 years. Cloth top is in good condition, windows and door latches work properly all the brakes, steering, etc. have been gone over. Carburetor was recently rebuilt; the car does not burn any oil and is in excellent original condition as far as the mechanical aspects are concerned. Our records conflict on the delivery...one set notes the car was delivered to Bristol Street Motors on October 12, 1948 (or December 14), while another set notes it was delivered to Birmingham on October 4, 1948. The car has a blue exterior with brown interior (originally blue). The car is located in Astoria, NY. For more info, click here to visit Gullwing Motor Cars web site (selling the car for owner's family). The asking price is a reasonable $49,500.

Mecum Auction Preview: K2-1804

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On Friday August 16,  Mecum will auction this K2, chassis #1804 as lot #F150. This car was originally shipped to Los Angeles (Moss Motors?) on December 1, 1950. The car was originally painted blue, but is now looking good in BRG. This car is unique in that it was one of a few K2's to come equipped with a DeDion rear end. The car now sports Hallibrand wheels, Brooklands wind screens, and a Cadillac 331 with dual Carter carbs. 1804 was featured in the June 2010 issue of Auto Trader's "Classic Cars & Parts." To learn more about the car and see additional photos, please click here to visit Mecum's web site.

Mecum Auction Preview: L-743

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On Thursday August 15,  Mecum will auction this L type, chassis #743 as lot #T121. This same car appeared on Ebay a few years ago and doesn't look like it has changed much. The car was originally delivered to the Harris dealership on December 2, 1948. It was originally painted maroon with brown interior. Unfortunately we don't have any ownership information on this car, nor do we know when it was imported into the States. To learn more about the car and see more photos, please click here to visit Mecum's web site. If you like historic tour's...or even mud-plugging rallies, the L type is a great car.

PS: Just over 190 L's were built and we know of 53 that still exist!

A Nice Summer...

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K2 owner David Rossiter wrote us the other day...

"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.

Smiths Gauges - 1952

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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.

Mystery Car: P1 LKD 297

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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."

Good Stories: Goldschmidt & Burrell

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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.

The Allard Dragster is Complete!

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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.

An Interesting Palm Beach...

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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.

Allards in the movies

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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!

Keels & Wheels, 2013

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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.

-Bill Bauder

Page Updates: M2 & M2X

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We've finally created pages for the M2 and M2X. Believe it or not, but we had to a fair amount of research to confirm which was which since the documentation we had was both poor and inconsistent. Special thanks to David Hooper for helping us sort through the details. Finally, we'd like to extend a special thank you to Don Milligan who supplied us with the M2X scanned photos (and kept after us to create the page). Don, now it's our turn to pester you to restore that M2X! Click the photo above to view the M2 page. Click the photo below to view the M2X page. Enjoy!

Allard For Sale: Palm Beach 21Z-5155

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21Z-5155 is back up for sale. The new owner picked up the car a few months ago and after putting all of the pieces back together again...was surprised to find that pretty much everything was there except for the engine and trans. The only other thing he didn't have was time. Too many projects mean this car is going back on the market. We issued the car a replacement chassis plate (many Allards have lost their original chassis plates over time). The car is being listed for $17,500, which is a bit steeper than the original price of $5,000 a few months ago. This situation is different now though, since the car is known to be mostly complete. We're not sure if it's $12,500 more complete, but interested parties can always make an offer. Click here to view the ad on www.Bringatrailer.com and contact the seller. The car is in Turlock, CA (same town, different owner).

19 Cadillac Engine Tuning Tips

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  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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