Allard JR-3408

The list of car companies offering continuation cars seems to be growing every month. So far Bentley, Lister, Cobra, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and even Alvis are offering turn key ‘continuation’ versions of their iconic cars from years ago. The continuation cars from these companies all share a common trait that affects their authenticity…they have nothing to do with the original companies or founders that built those cars. However, there is one company that is different.

In 1929, Sydney Allard built his first special – a Morgan 3-wheeler converted to 4-wheels and started racing it. Sydney went on to create the Allard Motor Company which built a number of significant cars and helped transform the automotive market around the world. From there, son Alan joined his father in drag racing and went on to publish an early guide to turbo-charging in 1982. In 2005, Sydney’s Grandson and Alan’s son, Lloyd joined the family business offering a range of custom fabricated aluminum radiators, fuel tanks, and other components for a range of vintage and modern cars.

Alan and Lloyd stayed in close contact with the Allard community and through that, Lloyds fabrication skills were sought out in 2013 to help bring a variety of tired Allards back to new. Along this time, Alan and Lloyd were urged to bring one of the rarest and sought out Allards back to the market. The car below was been built in part, to test the market for the revival of Allard as a specialist car manufacturer once again, after a gap of some 60 years

What you see here, is JR chassis #3408, the result of over 90 years of automotive experience from a family that has history of building some of the most unique automobiles to ever turn a wheel. The bulk of the car was fabricated personally by grandson Lloyd while son (and father) Alan handled the fine details like panel fitment, trim, and dash assembly. Sydney was a very hands-on car builder and would have be very pleased to see what his progeny have created. The body was the only major fabricated assembly that was outsourced; with that work being trusted to Sean at Historical Motor Works using the original JR bucks.

Sadly, the JR designer, Dudley Hume passed away on May 31, 2019 unable to see the finished product. However, he was instrumental in helping Lloyd and Alan as he had assisted Sydney some 65 years ago. Dudley retained virtually all of the original build drawings which the family used in recreating the JR. JR 3408 was not built from 3D scans or CAD models of donor cars like other ‘continuation’ cars utilize. This car was built from the original velum paper drawings that guided the construction of chassis’ 3401-3407.

The car utilizes as many original components as possible including the spindles, brake back plates, Lockheed brake parts with Alfin drums, Marles steering box, Bluemels steering wheel, Smith’s gauges, and even the spare wheel spigot in the boot. The only modern upgrade is a ‘Period E’ bolt in roll cage to meet FIA regulations.

3408 is powered by a Cadillac 331 V8 producing 300 bhp at 4500 rpm. The engine breathes through two 4-throat Carter carburetors. Drive is transferred through a stout LaSalle 3-speed transmission to a Halibrand quick change differential. The car rides on 600 x 16” wire wheels with Allard knock-offs. 3408 is equipped with only a driver side door, matching the build of the 1953 Le Mans cars (if you want your own JR, it can be equipped with a passenger door as non-Le Mans cars were similarly built).

This JR has been approved by the FIA which means that it is eligible to compete in FIA sanctioned events throughout the world.

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a car a ‘replica’ or a ‘continuation’ and how JR 3408 should be categorized. Really, this car defies attempts to categorize it as it was physically built by the family whose name it wears on the bonnet with the help of the designer that created it. What is JR 3408? It is an Allard.

JR 3408 is being offered by RM-Sothebys at its London Auction this coming October 31, 2020. If you would like to learn more about this car or enquire about having a JR built to your needs, please visit www.allardsportscars.co.uk or email Alan and Lloyd at info@allardsportscars.com.

The Allard JR

The Allard JR was first conceived by designer Dudley Hume in early 1952. In 1952, the Le Mans organizers dictated that cars could no longer race with motor cycle-style fenders; an iconic feature of the popular J2. In late 1951, Allard started delivering the new J2X, which notably featured Dudley’s revised front suspension with parallel pivots. The goal was to race the J2X at Le Mans in 1952, but they had to create a new enveloped body car by the mid-June race. Dudley wanted to race the new JR model that he was designing, but the car would not be ready in time. The decision was made to quickly adopt a C-type style body to the J2X and thus the J2X Le Mans was born.

Dudley continued to work on the JR, incorporating a number of features that he had implemented on a variety of Allards he had developed. Most notable was the chassis, which used the P2’s twin tube chassis concept that increased rigidity significantly over the old formed channel design. Dudley also incorporated his revised split axle front suspension from the J2X that brought the design more in line with creator Leslie Ballemy’s intent. Additionally, the JR adopted the new Palm Beach’s 96” wheel base and narrower 51” track. Finally, the JR was specifically designed to use the Cadillac V8 which was more compact and lighter than the Chrysler Hemi that Allard raced in 1952. Arguably the most significant feature of the new JR was the stunning aluminum body that cut a slim profile and looked just plain fast.

The first JR (chassis 3401) was exported essentially as a prototype with virtually no development work to American Erwin Goldschmidt in March of 1953. Goldschmidt found the overall handling quite unruly and struggled to come to grips with the car.

It’s no secret that Americans loved big and powerful V8’s. It should be no surprise that the leadership of the US Air Force loved agile sports cars with powerful engines – and Allard was the leading supplier of that alluring combination. In early 1953, General George Griswold, General Curtis LeMay, Colonel Schilling, and Colonel Reade Tilley agreed to buy three JR’s if the team’s 1953 Le Mans entry was accepted. Fortunately, Allard’s entry was accepted, and in June the company fielded two JR’s; #4 (chassis 3402) was raced by Sydney Allard and Philip Parker while #5 (chassis 3403) was driven by Zora Arkus Duntov and Ray Merrick.

[Note: Although General George Griswold did not purchase a JR, he commissioned the creation of the Allard K3. He wanted an open sports car that would accommodate him and his three daughters sitting side by side!]

[Note: Did you know that Duntov snuck away from his new job at GM in Michigan to race for Sydney? Management was furious when they found out, but Zora somehow turned it into a teaching opportunity and instructed the GM brass about Le Mans and what it took to be competitive – tools that would help refine Zora’s Corvette into what it is today.]

Leading up to Le Mans, the USAF provided significant aid to help develop the two cars. On two separate occasions, USAF airfields in the UK were opened to Allard so they could test gear ratios, acceleration, and top speeds. Additionally, in practice just days before the race, the #4 car blew an engine. Never fear, the USAF saved the day by sending a new engine overnight from the US by military transport to a nearby French airfield!

At the start of the race, famously Sydney jumped to the lead on the first lap. Unfortunately, Sydney came in on the 3rd lap with a destroyed differential. The #5 Duntov-Merrick car pressed on running 560 miles at an average speed of 98 miles per hour before the engine gave up on the Mulsanne Straight. Sadly, this would be the last time Allard raced at Le Mans.

In total, seven JR’s were built and all are accounted for today. Below is the brief status of each car:

Chassis #3401; Completed March 28, 1953; LHD

Originally sold to Erwin Goldschmidt. Soon resold to Bob Bucher who raced the car (nicknamed “Big Jake”) in the Northeast with much success. The car is currently being restored

Chassis #3402; Completed July 25, 1953; RHD

Sydney’s #4 race car at Le Mans. Purchased new by Col. Schilling who sadly crashed in the car and died. Currently in a private US collection

Chassis #3403; Completed August 5, 1953; RHD

Duntov’s #5 race car at Le Mans. Purchased new by Col. Tilley and raced extensively in the US. Currently in a private German collection

Chassis #3404; Completed early 1954; RHD

Intended to be Le Mans backup car, but not finished in time. Purchased new by General Le May and raced extensively in the US. Currently in a private UK collection

Chassis #3405; Completed early 1954; RHD

Purchased by Tommy Sopwith. Fitted with an Armstrong-Siddley Sapphire engine and rebodied and called the “Sphinx”. Currently in a private UK collection

Chassis #3406; Completed early 1955; LHD

Purchased new by Norman Moffat of Canada and raced. Currently in a private US collection

Chassis #3407; Completed early 1955; RHD

1956 Earl’s Court show car, fitted with aero head rest, raced by Sydney. Currently in a private UK collection and recently restored by Allard Sports Cars

Nice Engine...

A few period photos of a freshly completed Cadillac engine install into a brand new J2X. Any ideas on the chassis #? At first we thought they were of Fred Warners J2X, but his car was RHD, while this is a LHD car. The engine was likely installed/tuned by Detroit Racing Equipment (photos courtesy Barry Burrell).

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For Sale: Allard K1-165

We are pleased to present Allard K1-165 for sale. This car was one of the earliest Allards exported to the US. This K1 was one of three cars exported on August 8, 1947 – these were cars 3, 4, and 5 that entered the US.  Our records indicate it was originally painted red with a brown interior.

The seller, John Miauccoro has owned the car for 12 years now, having raced it competitively with the VSCCA for 10 of those years – the owner before had raced it for 7 years prior starting in 2005. It has been raced up front at lime Rock, Watkins Glen New Jersey, and New Hampshire.

Back in 2015, the seller received an email from a gentleman by the name of David Ward he originally found the car in the late 50s and ended up purchasing it in 1960. Dave states that the car has always been green and has always had the small mouth grill.  He first saw the car in Michigan.

The car was on display at the Watkins Glen Auto Museum in the mid-70s where David Ward was the manager of the museum. Mark Perlmen was the previous owner to John and over the past 20 years it has been maintained to pristine condition. All documentation of each owner since Dave Ward will be passed on to the purchaser. 

The engine is a 390 Cadillac and was built by John Harden/Chris Campbell of The Vintage Connection in Oklahoma City. The engine has JE pistons, Eagle forged connecting rods, Competition camshaft, nitrate crank, billet timing gears, ported and relieved heads, high torque starter, and is adapted to a T4 Richmond close ratio transmission. It has custom headers and 350 CFM Carburetors. The engine has been dyno tuned between 362 hp at 6200 RPM and 401 hp at 6200 rpm. Over $23,000 was spent with The Vintage Connection building the motor and transmission. The rear end is a Ford 9 inch with drum brakes. The front brakes are Lincoln drums vintage 1946/48. The suspension has been fine-tuned with special rated springs and revised geometry. The seller states that this is a magnificent handling Allard and that you will enjoy it on both the Road and track.

The car is being offered for $90,000 and it is located in Albany, New York. Interested parties can contact the seller via email.

Allard For Sale: J2-1851, #15 - SOLD!

A very special racing Allard has just come on the market. J2-1851, aka #15 is probably best known as the sister car to the famous West Coast racing J2-1850, aka #14 of owner Tom Carstens. You may recall that #14, as driven by Bill Pollack dominated pretty much every race it entered until it was nearly destroyed in a post-race demonstration lap at Pebble Beach in 1953. #15 was owned by Carstens racing partner Dave Fogg and you could say that Carstens drove for Fogg, just as Pollack raced for Carstens! In fact, Carsten’s raced and won in 1851 (original configuration) at the Pebble Beach Novice Race in 1951.

You could say things changed a bit for 1851 after the demise of 1850. Fogg and Carstens had learned a lot about the challenges brought about by front & rear suspensions of the J2, so they set about improving things with 1851. First off was the front suspension, which was converted to upper & lower transverse leaf springs, which eliminated the unfortunate variable wheelbase design of the J2. In the rear, the diagonal trailing arms were replaced with dual parallel trailing arms. The transmission was replaced with a nearly indestructible mid-30’s Cadillac LaSalle 3-speed…and then with a more competitive Jaguar 4-speed. The wheels were changed to Hallibrand’s. Finally, the most visible change was routing the exhausts out of the right side body cowell. These modifications allowed #15 (at the hands of Carstens) to dominate club racetracks and hill climbs in the Pacific Northwest until 1958 when the car was sold. 1851 maintains all its unique features that made it so competitive, which isn’t surprising since it was restored by Tom Carstens and Dave Fogg!

In case you were wondering, 1851 was ordered on December 19, 1950 and shipped on January 30, 1951. It was delivered to British Motor Car Sales in Washington. It was originally painted black with a red interior. 1851 was equipped with Cadillac engine mods, wire wheels, windshield, and top.

Click here to watch an interview on YouTube with Tom Carstens about #14 & #15.

Click here to read about Dave Fogg's early years with #15; "First Remembrances of Allard"

Click here to read Dave Fogg's detailed review of the modifications to #15 (it's very interesting!); "Much Modified Allard"

See below for a few old letters about 1851 from the Allard Register archives.

May-June 1977 issue, letter by Tom Carstens

April-June 1987 issue, Letter by Dave Fogg

The K1 Restoration Resumed – At Last !

-Mel Herman

A few years ago I bought a K1 - KWJ 770 chassis number 458 back in March 2007 and promptly started to strip it down for rebuilding. All was going well and the chassis rebuild progressed with much speed until….. we decided to sell our house and build a new one .

Those of you who have ever embarked on such a task or have ever watched the agonies of those participating in such an endeavor will know that what you hope (and pray) will be a straightforward and enjoyable exercise never usually is.

Now my background is architecture and construction so you would think (well we did anyway) that we wouldn’t fall into the pitfalls of others – no such thing! What started and received planning permission as a single story house with a roof height restriction very quickly became something larger and more complex. A first floor was added by further excavation and lowering the ground floor, adding complications with retaining walls, adjusting surrounding garden and patio levels etc, etc, etc.

Having excavated further into the ground I then decided (or was encouraged by friends) to construct a wine cellar - it would have been cheaper to have bought a vineyard in France.

I won’t go on, but suffice to say the house is now finished, we love it, but at the time it put paid to the K’s continuing restoration…we had other things to occupy us.

Whilst all this was going on I made the decision to fit a Cadillac 331 engine into the car. I prised one from Dean Butler who had just bought it on Ebay in the ‘States, was an unknown and would likely need a complete rebuild so I approached Neil (Biggles) Bennet to rebuild it for me to hot road spec.

Neil had rebuilt the Frenchie I have in my M type and is a whizz at hotting up flatheads. He holds a class record at Prescott and races at Pendine Sands with “Boz” his famous Flathead powered Batten Special . When asked whether he would be interested in rebuilding my ohv Cad engine he immediately agreed.

He goes about things thoroughly with considerable thought, enthusiasm and an abundance of technical ability and the first thing he wanted to know was what I wanted to use the car for. “Hillclimbing” was my immediate response. Now I’ve never competed on track but having watched my Allard buddies (and Biggles) competing at Prescott and Shelsley I thought I must have a go, it looks fun.

Whilst we were involved with our house build, Biggles researched the Cad rebuild and we agreed on the final spec. I wanted a good, reasonably fast and hopefully reliable engine with enough torque to hopefully worry Dave Loveys up the hills.

In February I collected my “New” engine. New ? I think it is better than new:

• Engine stripped and chemically cleaned.
• Rebored and crank reground.
• Heads leveled.
• New forged 2618 alloy Venolia pistons heat treated to T6 for extra strength.
• CR increased to 10:1
• Stronger valve springs.
• Fast road camshaft.
• Lightened flywheel.
• Electronic distributor.
• Holley 650 carb.
• Mild head porting.
• Fitted with a purpose made “Rattler” Torsion Vibration Absorber.
• Whole rotating assembly dynamically balanced. (You can see a short video on YouTube of my engine on the balancing rig. https://youtu.be/_8zE79mI_b8)

I also decided to fit a Jaguar gearbox and was fortunate in being able to tease a bellhousing adaptor and adaptor plate from James Smith to this end. I took the gearbox to Biggles for rebuilding as well and the whole assembly is now in the rebuilt chassis and looks fantastic with it’s polished aluminium rocker covers.

The bodywork has gone off to be stripped and a new scoop put in the bonnet (Holley needs headroom) and I need to get a new wiring loom from Autosparks then the next stage can continue – don’t hold your breath for the next episode though I’m also refurbishing a boat .

That’s all Folks, for now!

For Sale: Allard K3 3192

Click here or on any of the photos to view the gallery

The Allard Register records show that 46 of the 63 Allard K3’s produced still exist. Chassis 3192 is one of the most original preserved Allard K3’s.

This car was delivered to Noel Kirk Motors on Los Angeles on July 9, 1953 where it was fitted with the 331 Cadillac engine and three-speed transmission that it still retains – along with left hand remote shifter located in the door well. 3192 was ordered with green paint and green interior and it still carries that original color combination (most K3 interiors have been redone in black or tan). The car was repainted and the original seats were re-done in 1990 prior to the Monterey Reunion. Also included are the original tool kit, Smith’s side jack, and chrome Noel Kirk badge.

The car’s original owner, Dan Schacht of LA, put 23,000 miles on it before knee problems forced him to park it in 1962. The current owner, Dr. Martin Allard (no relation to the UK Allard family), purchased the car in 1979. Despite the 17-year hibernation, the only work required was some minor tweaking to free up the stuck Lincoln Zephyr gearbox.

Martin has driven the car on a regular basis, putting about 26,000 miles on it over the past 35 years. In 2012 Martin and his K3 completed every mile of the North American Tribute Mille Miglia. This unrestored K3 was featured on the 1980 Allard Owners Club Christmas card, and looks just as handsome today as it did 34 years ago.

Martin has decided it is now time to part with 3192. This 2-owner car is located in Carmel, CA and is being offered for $165,000. Interested parties should the consignor Mohr Imports...please click here to contact the seller.

From the desk of...

Erwin Goldschmidt was probably one of our favorite Allard racers. Not only was he an outspoken supporter of the Allard marque, but he was extremely competitive. As early as June of 1951, Erwin realized that his 331 Cadillac powered J2 would soon lose out to Chrysler's new 331 Hemi. Desperate for more speed, Erwin wrote the following letter to the Cadillac Engineering Department in order to persuade them to share their latest speed secrets. Click the image below to view the complete letter and the response.

Special thanks again to Barry Burrel for sharing another great find from his father Frank's archives.

Correspondence from years past...

Few people realize the significant roll the Allard Motor Company had in General Motors. Sure many Allards shipped to the US were fitted with Cadillac engines, but they were also fitted with Chrysler, Lincoln, GMC, and of course Ford power. In 1952, Ed Cole was Chief Engineer at Chevrolet where he was tasked with developing the legendary small block V8. He was also friends with US General "Butch" Griswold, who was in command of the Third Air Force in the UK. Butch was a regular at the Allard plant and was good friends with Godfry Imhof. At that that time it was next to impossible to get anything imported into the UK, let alone a hot rodded American V8. That's where the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," comes into play. Imhof wanted to upgrade his J2 and read about Fred Warner's J2X (pictured above) that had been equipped with a hot Cadillac engine that was serving as a Chevrolet test mule. So Imhof talked to Butch, and Butch talked to Cole. In the end, we don't know if Imhof ever got his engine, but if you read the letters below; you'll get to learn more about the "Warner" engine.

Click here to read the "Warner" letters (Acrobat pdf)

Special thanks to Barry Burrell for sharing these letters. Barry's dad Frank, was General Foreman of the Cadillac Experimental Garage. Frank also handled Fred Wackers Allard and was invited by Curtis LeMay to support the Allard team at the 1953 Le Mans.

For Sale: Cadillac Engine Parts

West Coast Allard friend and Kurtis racer Joe Harding is clearing out his stock of 50’s era Cadillac engine parts. If you are interest in anything, contact him at Bubbree@aol.com. The parts are located in the LA area. 

Heads:	Price:
Pair of 1461727-8 with valves	$         500
Pair of 1454022-3 with valves	$         500
Pair of 1456439-40 bare head	$         300
1454253-4 bare head	$         300
Pair 1459736-7 with valves	$         500
1454022-3 bare head	$         300
Some of the heads are 390's, they have rocker shafts with them and will bolt straight to 331 blocks for a lot more power. The rocker shafts go with the 390 heads.
Blocks:
1456291 with heads 1454022 standard bore	$      2,500
1456291 with heads 1456439	$      2,000
1456291 short block +030 bore (has pilot bushing in crank for manual box)	$         600
1460704 short block standard bore	$         700
Core parts:
Water pumps (5)	$         100
Generators (7)	$         150
Valve covers (12)	$           20
Push rods (42)	$           20
Flex plates (5)	$           20
Breather tubes (4)	$           10
Starters (4) - 331's & 390's	$         150
Fuel pumps (4)	$           50
331 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)	$         750
390 adapter bell housing to manual transmission (2)	$         750
Intake manifolds with carbs 1949 – 1956 from $100 to $2,000 for a complete original tri-power set up.

Good Stories: Goldschmidt & Burrell

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.

Allard Register #61

 Click here or the photo above to download issue #61 of the Allard Register. We hope you enjoy it!

The Moss Files, Engine Installation

Here's a few more photos from the Moss files. The car in question is K3-3169, which was actually sold by Noel Kirk Motors to a Mr. William Valentine. What's it doing Al Moss' shop you might ask? Well, this was likely the first Allard sold by Noel Kirk and his shop didn't know how to install the engine (a Cadillac in this case), so they called up Al and asked if he would do it. Conveniently, Noel sent along a helper to assist with the project...and that was the last time Al did an engine installation for Noel. This second owner car is currently owned by Dr. Martin Allard (no relation).

Allard Register #60

We are pleased to present you with issue #60 of the Allard Register. Please click here or the photo above to download the pdf version of our newsletter. Inside you will find a recap of the Sonoma Vintage Races, rebuilding a Cadillac 331, Bill Pollack imagines the Allard of the future, two K3's go on a play date, and the latest Allard news. We hope you enjoy!