The Mystery Allard

A few years ago I found this photo of a strange looking Allard on eBay. It was definitely a J2X-based Allard, but I had never seen or heard anything about it before. J2X’s have front cycle fenders, whereas the fenders on this J2X were merged into the body by someone who knew how to work aluminum. The caption stated that the photo was from the races at March AFB (Riverside) in 1953. I saved the photo, wondering if this could be my barn find.

Several months later I bought my dad Art Evans’ book, “Pebble Beach Road Races,” which republished all of the programs and race results from that venue. I borrowed the book and was surprised to find a large photo of what appeared to be the same car, with a few cosmetic modifications in the 1955 program. A quick scan of the entry list identified George Naruo as the entrant and John Barneson as the driver. Checking the previous years’ programs revealed that Barneson was listed as the owner and entrant in 1953 along with finishing 2nd in 1954.

I looked up John Barneson on the racing history web site, www.racingsportscar.com and it showed that he raced an Allard from 1953 to 1955. Further searches on Google showed that Barneson was the original owner and driver of the Hagemann Chrysler Special (currently owned by Allard J2 owner Steve Schuler). (Jack) Hagemann was a racecar fabricator from the Bay Area who had built a number of successful sprint cars and hot rods, including the Chrysler Special in 1955. Could Jack have been involved with the Barneson J2X?

Using a few internet search tricks, I tracked down Jack Hagemann’s phone number– and nervously cold called his number. An elderly man answered the phone and cautiously listened as I explained why I was calling. Fortunately it was Jack, and thankfully he decided that I wasn’t a crackpot. We spoke for ten minutes or so, but unfortunately Jack didn’t recall too many details about the car. However he did remember the following:

Yes, he modified the body for ‘Barney’, but he couldn’t recall why. Nor did he remember what color it was painted. George Naruo was an engine builder from the Bay Area – one of the best – who built a very hot Cadillac engine for Barney’s J2X. He also recalled that Barney’s mechanic was a guy named Roy. That was it; Unfortunately Jack Hagemann passed away a few months later.

I subsequently learned that Barney had died in 2006, and was survived by his wife Martha. After another awkward phone introduction, Martha decided to help me out. She said that she had a few photos from Barney’s racing days, and she would be happy to loan them to me. She also confirmed that Barney and his mechanic, Roy Verbeck had remained friends, and she gave me Roy’s last known phone number. She also volunteered to talk with Barney’s nephew Tom to see if he could assist me.

My conversation with Roy was very entertaining. He had several colorful stories about Barney and the Allard – blurred together with a few stories about the Hagemann Chrysler Special. Barney was apparently a big, boisterous man who was quite a party animal during race weekends – to the extent that Roy had to go out and qualify Barney’s Porsche 356 Carrera GT for a race at Santa Barbara one year. Fortunately Barney had sobered up enough to start the race – and finished fourth.

Another story revolved around the 1955 Pebble Beach Race. Apparently the main race was on a Saturday and it was very wet. Barney was doing some practice laps and spun the car on the main straight, just missing the judging tower. Unfortunately he did hit one of the judge’s cars parked on the side of the track. The result of the collision can been seen in the photo below. Barney was OK, but his right front axle was toast, forcing the team to pack up and head back to their hotel.

However, later that day, a man knocked on Roy’s door and handed him a paper bag containing the right front axle from his own J2X that was out due to engine problems. Roy promptly got to work and replaced the damaged parts while Jack Hagemann “straightened the fenders as good as new”. According to Roy, Barney took the car out the next day and won his race. Unfortunately Barney is listed as a DNF for the main race due to a crash. And none of the primary races list him as a finisher. However there were a few shorter support races, so it’s possible that he won one of those. Roy confirmed that Barney never raced the car after Pebble in ’55, and he believes that Barney sold the car in ’57.

Barney is on the right, with his ever present cigar

From there, the search for the mystery J2X went cold. I did however get a chance to talk with Barney’s nephew, Tom who was 8 or 9 around the time Barney raced the Allard. He described Barney as the black sheep of family who lived life to the fullest. He flew transport planes in WWII, joining RAF in Canada before joining the US Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He was a smooth and quick racer, and taught Tom how to downshift in his 356 Carrera. Tom didn’t have too many specific memories about the Allard, but he fondly remembered going for rides in it around the block. He also recalls his mother helping Barney buy a Chrysler Hemi after he blew the Cadillac.

I later ran across the January 1984 issue of Car Collector magazine, which featured a red J2X that had the same hood and oil cooler scoops as Barney’s J2X, but without the ‘pontoon’ fenders. Was this the same car? I learned that the car was owned by the Blackhawk Collection at the time the magazine was published, but unfortunately they no longer had any information on it.

Around this time, Bob Lytle, historian for the Allard Register had lost his battle with cancer. My dad and I inherited the Allard Register archives and with it, a database on all the Allards produced. This included a binder from Sydney Allard’s right-hand man, Tom Lush that contained the early histories of all the J2’s, J2X’s, and K3’s ever produced. One night as I was digging through these archives, I struck gold when I found a J2X (3208) that had been ordered by Kjell Qvale’s British Motor Car Distributors in San Francisco and sold to John Barneson. I then went to the database that revealed 3208 was currently a part of the Clive Cussler collection. My dreams of finding the Hagemann J2X lying in a barn had been dashed.

I spoke with Clive a few years ago to see what he knew about the car. When Clive bought the car, he was told that it had been owned by an American serviceman who had taken it to Japan for several years. He was pleasantly surprised when I informed of the racing history for 3208 in the early fifties. The next part of the mystery involves finding out what happened to the pontoon fenders and the car from 1955 to the late 70’s…perhaps Dirk Pitt can find out in his next adventure?

PS: I later found some color film that showed 3208 in action – it was painted red with a blue stripe sweeping up the middle of the car from the grill.

PPS: I was hoping to someday publish this article in a car magazine devoted to bad writing, but after the recent passing of Clive Cussler, I felt it was a good time to share the story of his J2X. His J2X was also the cover car for his 2016 book, “Built to Thrill”. As Allard enthusiasts, we can also agree that Clive Cussler’s best Dirk Pitt adventure was the book, “Shock Wave” which featured Dirk’s J2X. Thanks for the adventures Clive!

-Colin Warnes