The Allard of the Future

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The following is a imaginative look at what an Allard might be like today. This concept is brought to us by none other than famed Allard racer Bill Pollack (seen above winning the 1950 Pebble Beach Road Race). You can imagine the impact that racing these beasts has had on Mr. Pollack...where he still imagines them tearing up the tracks and turning the automotive world inside out. Thank you Bill!

I have often wondered what prompted Sydney Allard, to build a sports car. In the late 30s and 40s he was involved in a sport known as “Trials”. It was very popular in Great Britain. The trials consisted of 2 men, in a small car trying to negotiate deep mud. Often, the participants would find themselves heavily mired in an endless sea of the sticky stuff. Mostly, the cars were Austin 7’s or the like, with tiny engines, low power and little to say for themselves. The enthusiasts, would strip the fenders, lights, windshields etc. to lighten the cars as much as possible. I am sure, that Allard quickly noticed that those cars with the somewhat larger engines probably did better.

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The Moss Files, Part 6

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In this instalment, Al writes to the AMC about his near success at the first Pebble Beach Road Race, which very likely would have resulted in an Allard victory if it weren't for a bit of bad luck! Mr. Moss also provides some constructive criticism while sharing a bit of growing frustration with the build quality of the cars. Click here or the image above to read the 2 page letter.

The Moss Files, Part 3

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Today's installment features a letter from Mr. Davis confirming Moss Motors as a distributor. It's interesting to note that the J2 was not priced at a premium...in fact it was their most affordable car! This isn't a big surprise since the J2 is such a simple car in comparison to the K2, P, and M-types. As a bonus, page 2 is a brief announcement of Allard's 3rd place finish in Le Mans just a day earlier. Click here or the photo above to view the 2-page pdf.

The Moss Files, Part 2

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Here's a great letter from January 30, 1950. Mr. Davis is writing to Al about Roy Richter who's Bell Auto Parts have been given the rights to sell the J2...the only problem is that Bell Auto Parts is located within Moss Motors' exclusive sales territory. Additionally, Mr. Davis also outlines all of the exterior paint, interior leather, and cloth top colors. Click here or the photo below to view the pdf.

The Moss Files, Part 1

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Apart from being a shrewd businessman, Al Moss was also a historian. Whereas most Allard dealers tossed out their old papers, Al saved a treasure trove of air mail letters and telegram correspondence between himself and the Allard Motor Company. We are pleased to announce that Al has passed this documentation onto us so we can share them digitially with all Allard enthusiasts. Over time, we'll share the more interesting documents.

To get us started, here's a letter from the Guv'nor himself. This is the only letter from Sydney addressed to Al. All other correspondence was from either Mr. Davis (Export Manager) or the Service Department. Click here or the image below to view it as apdf. Enjoy!

80 Years of the Flathead

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I know we’re a tad late celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Ford Flathead (March 8, 1932), but I couldn’t pass up a chance to pay tribute to the engine that made Allards what they are. When most people think of Allards, they think of the “Cad-Allards” that were so dominant in the early 50’s. However, it was the Flathead that started the legend.
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Success! The 1952 Monte Carlo Rally

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There's probably no better way to commemorate Sydney Allard's win in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally than by posting a firsthand account of their ordeal. The author is unknown, but it's assumed to be either Sydney or Tom Lush. We've also included photos of the rally that we doubt you've ever seen. Enjoy!

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The crew for this Rally consisted of Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton and Tom Lush, and the crew arrangements were that Sydney and Guy should share the driving and Tom to be responsible for navigating and time keeping. The same crew had done the Rally previously and this arrangement had proved satisfactory.

We selected Glasgow as our starting point; the alternative starting places in Europe meant too long a time away from the office desk, and when the starting list was published we found we were the last but one to leave, there being 72 people; in front of us. Mrs. Allard and her sisters, who wore also driving in an Allard, were 15 numbers ahead of us and this order was of course kept until their unfortunate retirement some 300 miles from Monte Carlo.

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The Monte Carlo Rally, 60 years later

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Over the next few days, we'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton, and Tom Lush winning the Monte Carlo Rally in an Allard P1. The event started on Tuesday January 22, ending on Sunday the 27th. For those of you unfamilar with the classic Monte Carlo Rally, the event was a long distance road rally which emphasized navigation and timing on open roads as opposed to the special stage rally format we have today. In 1952, competitors started the rally on Tuesday January 22 from select cities all over Europe. Start cities included Glasgow, Oslo, Stockholm, Munich, Palermo, Lisbon, and Monte Carlo. The Allard team chose to start from Glasgow because they felt it would provide the most favorable weather conditions en route to Monte Carlo. In 1952, the weather would play an important factor, with the Alps blanketed in thick snow the route would be treacherous. 328 teams started the rally...only 167 finished.

In over 100 years, only 5 Britons have won the "Monte" and only one driver has won in a car bearing his own name. The driver and car were both named Allard.

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.

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!