The Kenyan M...and a gift for a father.
/We've said it before...the best thing about running this site is the people and stories that find us. The other day, we received an email from Nick Goodey who let us know that his father had owned an Allard back in Kenya in the mid 50's. His father David was in the RAF and the car was an M he bought from an Indian in Nairobi who said it was imported by a previous owner who intended to enter it in the Coronation Safari Rally (1953)*. The steering box was well worn and he “Obtained"a box off a LHD Ford V8 Pilot which, when fitted and the vertical drop arm re-positioned reversed the steering! David bought the car in 1957 in Nairobi and it was sold in early 1958 as he needed a saloon for longer trips on game photo shoots and adventures.
[We checked the archives and found that six Allards were exported to Kenya. It appears as though this car was chassis 819; shipped on December 17, 1948; it was painted black with blue interior. We also checked the entries for the 1953 Safari Rally and no Allards were listed as entrants.]
Fast forward 60 years or so and son Nick wanted to get his dad David a gift to remember his old Allard. Being a bit of a craftsman, Nick created the wireframe sculpture below of his fathers old M. The sculpture is almost 18" long! We were so impressed with the wireframe so we asked Nick if he accepts commissions. Nick replied that he does, with the basic pricing around NZ$250, 200GBP, or US$285 and varies due to size and detail. If you are interested in discussing a commission with Nick, click here to email him.