A New Allard Book...

I recently received a very heavy bankers box from UPS. In it, was Gavin Allard’s newly published two-volume 800+ page “history” of the Allard Motor Company.

Who is Gavin? He’s a talented architect who just so happens to be the grandson of Sydney Allard, and son of Alan. In his spare time, Gavin is also the archivist and historian for the Allard Motor Company. Over the years he has collected a trove of documentation, photos, literature, books, trophies, and knick-knacks related to Allard cars.

I can’t even count the number of Allard histories that I’ve read…in books, magazines, and online - it's amazing how many ways people have tried to retell the Allard story. Rather than retelling the Allard story through words, Gavin came up with a truly innovative way to tell the story. Yes, of course Gavin’s book uses words, but they are merely an accompaniment to the images contained within. Digital technology has allowed Gavin to create and print high-resolution scans of the archives that he has amassed. The volumes contain beautifully presented scans of ALL the existing Allard factory records, along with never before seen photos & literature of the cars (both production and specials), the dealerships that sold Allards, the parts suppliers, and many other interesting bits. To my knowledge, these books break new ground in the world of automotive journalism, I’ve never seen anything like it.

The first book focuses on the records, presenting them in a way that the reader feels like they are handling the actual documents. For the researcher, there is a handy index which lets one search for all references related to their chassis. The second book presents the pictorial history of the company from multiple perspectives. Let’s be honest, many of us buy automotive books for the photos - rarely do we read the printed words. This book takes advantage of that tendency by minimizing the word count and maximizing both the quantity and size of the large, hi-resolution images, presenting them in a clean, uncluttered layout.

The collection is available from Dalton Watson Fine Books and costs $175, which includes shipping to the USA or UK. That price may seem steep for two books, but I can attest that it is not. Consider these books an investment and they are worth every penny.

If you are an Allard enthusiast, there are two books you must have in your library. The first is Tom Lush’s, “ALLARD, The Inside Story” the incomparable written history of Allard from Sydney’s right hand man. The second is now Gavin Allard’s “Allard Motor Company: The Records and Beyond” which is now the incomparable visual history of Allard from Sydney’s grandson.

To order your copy, go to https://www.daltonwatson.com/Allard-Motor-Company-Beyond-the-Records-p/allard.htm

Review: Allard The Complete Story

-Charles Warnes

My automotive library, as such, includes the two previous Allard books – ALLARD the INSIDE story by Tom Lush, and ALLARD by David Kinsella. Both authors do an excellent job of portraying the history of the Allard marque, and I have found them to be invaluable references over my 37 years of Allard ownership. Both books were published in 1977, and both are out of print.

As one might expect, Alan Allard’s (with co-author Lance Cole) newly published ALLARD – THE COMPLETE STORY details his father Sydney Allard’s motorsports passion, endeavors, and successes. The authors also provide detailed descriptions of the array of Allard models – ranging from the home-built ‘prototypes’ of the early 1930’s, up through Allard’s dragsters in the 1960’s.

This book shares insight from Alan’s intimate perspective of being born and raised in the Allard family. It provides more insight into how Sydney, with his strong automotive interests, was able to get his father Arthur Allard to support his pursuit in the automotive field, rather than in the family’s thriving construction business. This included Arthur’s financial and managerial support to the Adlard Motor Company, a conveniently named Ford dealership the family purchased in 1930.

The close Allard/Adlard affiliation provided a degree of financial security during the Great Depression that supported Sydney’s motorsport interests and endeavors, and played a foundational role that morphed into the Allard marque over the next 20 years. This affiliation helped Allard establish the Ford truck repair facility for the duration of World War II. This, in turn, provided Sydney Allard and his associates with practical experience in setting up a successful auto manufacturing operation in the post war years.

By the early 1950’s, Allard found themselves facing and dealing with the reality that limited capital and obsolescent shop facilities were not compatible with the need to develop and mass produce cars in that new era. As a result, Sydney Allard made a practical business decision to withdraw from automobile production. However, his role with the thriving Adlards Ford dealership still provided him with the resources to continue pursuing his ‘first love’ of developing and competing race cars in hill climbs and rallies – and to begin exploring the intriguing world of dragsters.

Tom Lush’s and David Kinsella’s books stop some 45 years ago, so Alan Allard’s book does a good job of bringing Allard enthusiasts up to date with chapter’s devoted to Allards in the USA, the Allard Owner’s Club, Allard diversification and Allard sports cars.

When two authors work on a collaboration it is not unusual for some minor typos and editorial issues ‘slip through the cracks’, and that is the case with this book. Despite that, I found ALLARD – THE COMPLETE STORY, to be an interesting and insightful work that will be an integral part of my automotive library.

ALLARD THE COMPLETE STORY

We are excited to announce that a new Allard book has arrived! Alan Allard, together with Lance Cole has put together a thorough history of Allard, from Sydney’s first special to the cars today. We’ve just received a digital copy to review and have only had a chance to skim through it, but it appears to be very complete with lots of great photos. We hope to publish a complete review here in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can purchase your copy today…

To purchase a signed copy, click here (takes you to the Allard Sports Cars site)

To purchase a copy from the publisher, click here

The book will not be available to purchase from Amazon until March 23, 2021, but you can click here to order an advance copy.

Weekend Heroes 2

Tony Adriaensens is at it again...With the original Weekend Heroes sold out many years ago and the continuous demand he decided to make a revised and upgraded edition titled 'Weekend Heroes 2.' He started this new book on the 1950s California sports car racing scene almost 8 years ago and the result is a stunning 3-volume set of over 1500 pages, covering about 90% of the races and events between April 1950 (Sandberg hill-climb) and December 1957, the last race at Paramount Ranch. Both southern and northern California races are covered.

He intends to go printing in November 2019 with a pre-sale at €399 (around $450) instead of the retail price of €449 (around $500) exclusive shipping. Don't miss this one! Stay tuned for more info.

Orders are taken via PayPal using corsa@pandora.be - don't forget to enter name and address. DHL shipping for this 22lb beast is $56 to the USA and €25 to Europe.

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We've had the pleasure of reading the original "Weekend Heroes" and it is amazing. The photography, history, quality, and heft...the price may seem expensive, but trust me, it's worth every penny. We’ve also helped identify various Allard photos for the second installment…all of which have never been seen before. If you are a fan of 50’s sports car racing…this book cannot be missed. CW

Everybodies favorite Allard Racer, Bill Pollack

Here's a few video clips of Bill Pollack promoting his racing memoirs, Red Wheels and White Sidewalls with Bob Schmitt. Bill has led a long and full life...with that he has accumulated many stories, most of which are true (we think).