A Family Effort...

By Lisa Stec & Anna Brownell

My husband Jim and I consider ourselves to be ‘normal people’ who associate past years with family events such as births, marriages, deaths and historical events. For example, my husband and I got married shortly after moving to Madison WI to start our new jobs. We put an addition to our house shortly after our son was born, and I gave birth to our daughter six hours after the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.

My parents and uncle Paul, on the other hand, have measured time by the cars they owned, raced, traded with each other, or wrecked. For example, my mom bought groceries home in an Allard J2X Le Mans when she lived in Ohio where my sister was born. My parents bought the ‘68 Mustang after my brother was born so we could have a family car. My dad subsequently sold the J2X LM to my confirmed bachelor uncle Paul for ‘pocket change’.

Uncle Paul truly enjoyed his unencumbered family status which allowed him to buy and KEEP a wide array of vehicles that piqued his interest. They included a Corvette that was his daily driver for several years, a miniscule Berkeley roadster that his friends helped him carry down to the ‘drive-in’ movie theater he had set up in his basement, and the Zephyr Land Yacht tractor. He was truly intrigued by the Allard Company and the cars they manufactured and raced. He owned three Allards during my lifetime – Fred Wacker’s second J2 ‘8-Ball’, the J2X LeMans that he bought from my parents, and my personal favorite – a green 1950 P1 saloon.

The P1’s original owner was Sir Paul Pechell, who sold it to John Desmond Cropper in 1959. Colin Frank Bridle owned it from 1962 until 1966, before selling it to Erwin Zimmerman who shipped it from South Hampton to his home in New York. Uncle Paul purchased it from Mr. Zimmerman a year later and drove it about 900 miles back to his home in Milwaukee. He drove the car quite a bit those first few years, and even raced it a few times. In the spring of 1969 he drove the P1 down to Florida for the 12 Hours of Sebring, and took it for other lengthy trips in 1970.

However, the most important trips were Uncle Paul taking my sister, brother and me to the local frozen custard shop on a regular basis. My sister and I would sit in the back seat where our feet would not touch the floor. We peeked out the back windows and proudly waved to the neighbors, with Uncle Paul hanging his right elbow out the window, always grinning as we went for dessert.

Time marched on as my brother, sister and I went to school, got jobs and started buying our own cars. The P1’s brakes stopped working, so Uncle Paul parked it in his garage. No one started the car for a number of years, and it eventually languished on for 30+ years. Paul took some teasing about owning three non-functioning Allards, but he remained ambivalent about that. As the proud owner of three Allards – he admitted to being more of an aficionado than a mechanic.

Over the years Uncle Paul accumulated many car enthusiast friends. One local collector in particular, Ron Schneider, convinced and helped him get the J2 ‘8-Ball’ running. He enjoyed driving it for a while, and even had it on display at an Elkhart Lake event. However, his failing health made working the pedals difficult. Then he traded his J2X LeMans to Chuck and Colin Warnes for a beautiful, hemi-powered K3 that had enough power to make an experienced driver squeal with delight. At this point he had two of his three Allard running. But as he got older, he was more interested in riding in the comfort of a coupe than a roadster.

My husband and I offered to help him with the P1, as it was my sentimental favorite and I wanted to repeat those trips to get frozen custard with him. My daughter and I took out the gas tank and Rob relined it, and my husband and son freed up the wheels so it would move around. The P1 was then moved to Ron’s shop, but unfortunately Uncle Paul passed away before we could continue to work with him on the project.

There were many cars and possessions that needed to find a good home after Paul passed away in 2015. My brother was to be the steward of the J2 ‘8-Ball’, and the K3 was sold at the Bonham auction in Monterey. Meanwhile, the P1 ice cream shuttle was still sitting with brakes that didn’t work and the gas tank in the trunk.

My husband and I discussed taking on the project. It was potentially within our budget and experience, and we were on the cusp of being ‘empty nesters’ with need of something to do. So, we took on the project with the invaluable experience of my father, and assistance from my mom, brother, our kids and friends. How hard could it be?

Uncle Paul had said it just needed the brakes looked at and the leaky gas tank repaired. Well, not exactly. The engine had green mush in it, some of the wooden floor boards were rotted and the engine had a cracked block and the shift linkage was a vague mystery.

So – we replaced the engine with a re-built Ford flathead, and replaced the column shift with a Ford three-speed floor-shift transmission. Brake work included a new master cylinder and wheel cylinders, along with a new parking brake. Once the gas tank was re-installed, the tie rod ends were replaced, the wheel bearings were packed, and a new exhaust system was installed. Just short of two years later the P1 drove out of our garage under its own power!

Test runs were soon made to get dessert around Madison. But the trip I was really looking forward to was to take the P1 back to Milwaukee, and take my parents to Leon’s, the best frozen custard shop in town, and meet up with Ron Schneider for a trip down memory lane.

For me, this car represents a happy childhood memory that I was able to relive with my husband and family, as well as special friends. So now I have started making my family history in terms of the cars we own.

Born again...

-Andy Leach

The folks in Australia and New Zealand are an enterprising lot. What do when the roof of an Allard P1 gets chopped off? You turn it into K1 special…of course!!

Below is the story of Andy Leach and his P1-K1 special.

Chassis P1 1956 was exported on March 22, 1951 and sold to Tom Collett in Dunedin; it was the first P1 to arrive in New Zealand. The car was painted black with a maroon interior.

The car was presumed lost, but was actually parked up in a barn in Cargills Castle in Dunedin. The Collett's owned Cargills Castle and the farm surrounding it. The car would've been stored in one of the barns (up to the top right of the picture attached), for 50 years plus. The story of the decapitation comes from Tom’s great grandson (the last owner of the Castle) who tells the story that back in 1960, some teenagers approached a railway track crossing with the arms down and drove over at high speed. It broke the pillars on the left and right side holding the roof to the body. So the roof was removed. Must of given them a bloody good scare…I wonder what they told dad!?

So there it sat, in one of the castle barns, until Andrew McDonald of Sumner Christchurch learned about it 5 - 6 years ago and arranged to purchase it. Sadly, Andrew passed away two-thirds into the restoration. He'd also consumed a lot of monetary resources. Surprisingly, the car survived the Christchurch earthquakes! The Sumner district was hit very hard and a lot of homes had to be abandoned and demolished

Now we come to the point where I learned of the car.

I was trolling an online auction site 2 ½ year back and he spied an unusual car while looking at a 1962 TVR. Truth be known, I was looking for a project, something like an early MG, Jags XK 120, 140 or 150's series, etc., etc.

Beth McDonald (Widow) came back to me and shared that it was an Allard. She shared some pictures. 8 months of waffling and negotiating with the widow and Andy took ownership of the project. It’s a horrible feeling negotiating such things, because you want to do business with a social responsibility, but you still need to get it for the right price to finish it. We met in the middle.

Andrew McDonald had died of cancer at age 52. I made a promise to myself, that I would finish it with my boy Luke. And now the car is nearly done

It's helped to have a terrific old hot rodder and Flathead mechanic down here in Auckland, New Zealand too, Chris Piaggi of C & R automotive. I thought I could handle the old flatty, but once again, those old world trade skills and knowledge are priceless.

I feel it is a very good Interpretation of a K1, using all Allard running gear end to end. It’s come out terrifically. A real eye catcher.

Today as I drove mine legally on the road for its very first time in 55 years, and dropped it down and gunned it in second down the motorway at 90+ miles an hour, I thought about Andrew McDonald and applauded him to have the hindsight to save this terrific car. It's a real eye catcher and I get an awful lot of stares.

My Panel beater is fitting the side vents and doing a fine cut and shine as I type before sexy picture time. Watch NZ Classic car magazine, full feature and sexy pin up photos coming. Looking forward to a wonderful spring and summer of driving and clubbing. It's going to be tremendous fun…

Maybe this should be known as Andy's Allard, given it's had two careful owners called Andy?

Caption Contest!

The Stec family is hard at work on their P1...head on over to our Facebook Page and share your best caption. 

The P1 Road Test

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Allard P1. Let’s be honest, it’s not the prettiest car in the world. However, when you compare it with the competition at the time, I think it was actually pretty attractive from a “form follows function” perspective. The competition featured a lot of chrome and sweeping curves that made them look more glamourous than they really were. Engine-wise, all of the P1’s compatriots at the time we powered by straight 6 engines (or less), while the P1 and Ford Pilot were powered by war surplus Flathead V8’s.

We’re all familiar with Sydney Allard’s 1st place finish in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally. But the Guv’nors P1 was by no means a standard P1…it was more of a P1X, featuring coil sprung front suspension and a DeDion rear suspension. The flathead powering the car was also the more powerful Mercury 24-stud flathead with Allard dual carb manifold and aluminum heads*…plus a few other tricks that we don’t know about. When you think about it, the P1 was really one of the first muscle cars – in stock trim it was relatively anemic, but with a few of the option boxes selected, you could blow the doors off of just about any other tin-top on the road.

Unfortunately very few P1’s remain today, we know of a little over 40 cars out of the 559 cars that were built – and a handful of those 40 or so cars have been converted to J2 replicas. Even rarer is finding a running P1 here in the USA, we know of only 3 or 4. Fortunately one of those cars resides at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. The TBAM owns chassis #1885, which was originally sold through Bristol Street Motors on January 13, 1950. It was painted grey with a marron interior. The car was imported to the United States in 1958. The Emmanuel Cerf was kind enough to take me for a spin in the car and he even offered me the keys!

1885 is in very good mechanical and cosmetic condition. It has been lightly restored and maintains what appears to be the original factory build quality. The doors close with a solid clunk, but there is a fair amount of flex. The seats are comfortable and I must say the suicide door entry is a pleasure – it’s a shame the design is frowned upon today.

Driving the car was a bit of a mixed bag. Acceleration is quite good, especially when keeping in mind that this was a British passenger car from the late 40’s. The steering was heavy and the car wallowed a bit, but it was smooth at speed. My biggest frustration though was with the 3-speed column shifter. The shift linkage is quite complex, consisting of what can best described as a couple of scissor linkages that miraculously shift gears with a deft movement of the shift lever. I struggled with finding first gear from neutral – at one point the linkage jammed completely at an intersection. Fortunately the Cerf’s mechanic came to our rescue and was able to fix it after a few minutes. Apparently the scissor linkage can lock up on itself when handled incorrectly by a ham-fisted American like myself.

Other than that, the car was fun to drive. By no means does it handle like a ’56 Chevy Bel Air, but they are two completely different cars. A Chevy or Ford from the mid 50’s had the benefit of being created by hundreds of engineers and designers; and put together on a production-based assembly line. The J1, K1/2, L, M, and P1 cars essentially shared the same chassis layout with the only variations coming in wheelbase and a later switch to coil springs. Allard had just a few draftsmen & engineers; the cars were styled by Sydney and friend Godfry Imhoff! Even comparing Allard with its contemporaries of Austin, Alvis, Jaguar, and Triumph – what Allard accomplished with the P1 and the other cars was pretty amazing.

When driving the P1, I could imagine the car with 50% more horsepower, tuned suspension, and fresh tires blasting through the Alps like Sydney Allard. Sadly the shifter quickly brought me back to reality. However, with some more seat time I’m sure that I could come to grips with that blasted shifter. If I ever bought a P1, I would give serious consideration to converting it over to a floor mounted shifter. Sacriledge! I know, but in the name of drivability, it should be considered.

While the standard flathead was fairly anemic, it was easily tuned. In America, there was a wide variety of tuning parts available to the intrepid hot rodder. Unfortunately American tuning parts were nearly impossible to obtain in post war Europe – while exporting was essential to rebuilding post-war economies, importing foreign car parts wasn’t exactly at the top of the governments priority list.

-Colin Warnes

*The Allard dual carb manifold is a direct knock-off of Eddie Meyer’s manifold – it was replicated without Eddie’s permission. The Allard aluminum manifold was a direct copy of Edelbrock’s flathead manifold, which was apparently done with Edelbrock’s blessing. The parts were acquired by Reg Canham on a trip to the US in 1948 and smuggled back to Britain as carry-on baggage aboard his Trans-Atlantic flight.

The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to meet interesting people and to travel around the country (along with some foreign destinations) from time to time. I work in the packaging machinery industry (the food you buy has to get in those boxes or bags somehow) and have been lucky enough to get to know the Cerf family; who are also in “the business” with their company Polypack. If you are an automotive enthusiast from the Southeast, then you are likely familiar with the Cerf family that hails from Tampa Bay, FL via France. Patriarch Alain, along with twin sons Emmanuel and Olivier run the company alongside their Tampa Bay Automobile Museum (TBAM) which houses a collection of eccentric automobiles that you will find no equal to here in North America. The collection is devoted to automotive engineering oddities and the unique personalities that created them. The TBAM also happens to own a very nice Allard P1.

Unfortunately my company doesn’t have any customers in the Tampa Bay area so I’ve never had a good excuse to visit the Cerf’s and their collection. However, this past November, the Cerf’s and Polypack hosted the annual meeting for our industry trade association (PMMI) – this was the perfect opportunity to see their cars and hopefully test drive their P1 (see separate road test).

As with most museums, the TBAM is a great place to host a party. Some of the cars were moved around to accommodate the caterers, wet bars, and a couple of hundred guests. This being a special event hosted by the Cerf’s, they gave us the VIP treatment. Are you familiar with the Fardier de Cugnot? It is the first self-powered vehicle, which was first demonstrated in 1770 by its builder Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot. The Cerf’s built a replica based of the original steam-powered Fardier which amazingly still resides in a French museum, although it is missing several bronze components that were “liberated”. The Cerf’s replica is authentic to the original, except for a few minor differences made to the boiler in the name of safety & usability – the original Fardier had a few critical design flaws because the technology was still developing. The great thing the about the Cerf’s Fardier is that it’s not a static display…they drive it! We were fortunate to get to see it go for a drive in the museum/company parking lot. Let’s just say that it isn’t fast, but it is an amazing technical achievement for a 245+ year old machine.

The TBAM is a litmus test for car nuts. When you walk in, you see all sorts of beautiful cars with interesting names. A fake car nut will casually walk around, taking notice of the DeLorean or the nice Mustang and then quickly leave. A real car guy will stand in front of the 1953 Hotchkiss and try to figure out how they managed to build an aluminum front boxer engined, front wheel drive car with an integrated transmission and transverse coil spring double A-arm suspension. A real car nut will notice that the Mustang is not just any ’65 Mustang, but that it features a Ford sanctioned Ferguson all wheel drivetrain and Dunlop anti-lock brakes…no doubt where Ken Block got the inspiration for his Gymkhana 7 Mustang!

There are just too many cars to highlight here, but some that deserve a close look are any one of their eight Tatra’s, the Avion Voisin - C7 Chastness (art deco masterpiece), the three-wheeled Mathis VL 333, the Ruxton, and the Gerin Aerodyne Prototype.

The Gerin Aerodyne is probably my favorite car in the collection, which also happens to be the most recent addition to the collection. The Aerodyne was built in 1925 by Jacques Gerin and features a very interesting laminated wood and aluminum aerodynamic chassis. The front & rear suspension, engine, and transmission feature some very complicated castings that must have been very expensive back in 1925 for this one-off vehicle. I could have stared at the Aerodyne all day; soaking in all of the intricate details.

In addition to the automobiles, the design aspect of the museum itself is a treat. Being French, it should be no surprise that the Cerf’s brought some style to the architecture of the museum. Additionally, the Cerf’s serve as patrons to the local art community and throughout the museum you’ll find a number of unique paintings and sculptures.

When you visit, you may be lucky enough to run into family Patriarch Alain. If you do, take some time to ask him about their self-designed & installed 1,000 panel solar array that produces 270 kW. Or you can ask him about petrol vs. electric vs. hydrogen powered vehicles…if you have strong opinions about any of them, be prepared to earn a thing a two about hydrogen power, of which Alain is a vocal advocate.

Next time you are in the Tampa Bay area, make a point to set aside at least a few hours to visit the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum…you won’t find a collection of cars like it anywhere in North America. The TBAM (www.tbauto.org) is located at 3301 Gateway Centre Blvd., Pinellas Park, Florida 33782 and you can contact them at 727.579.8226 or info@tbauto.org. 

-Colin Warnes

Confessions of a "Tinbasher"

One of our favorite things about publishing this website are the interesting people that find their way here. We received an email the other day from Roy Walter who used to work at the coach builder Hilton Brothers. Hilton Brothers were responsible for building the saloon (P1) bodies. Below is a brief look at what life was like for those who built our cars.

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When I was in the forces it was an offence to keep a diary-I suppose it was in case of capture and the subsequent betrayal of serious secrets,-so I never got into the habit, and I've always regretted it. I have problems with dates, but I think I went to work for Hilton Brothers in early 1951. Panel Beaters were an elite bunch in those days, we were mostly head hunted. The factory was basic in terms of plant and facilities. The Coachbuilders or chippies (wood workers) as we called them were upstairs on the first floor where the offices were. One of the Hilton Bros was the boss up there and we seldom saw him. For that matter we didn't see the other brother much either. The Panel shop was run by a certain Bill Merritt.

The completed wooden bodies came down to us in a large lift, and we "tinbashers" formed the aluminium panels. Two guys were responsible for the roof panels, which included the cant rails, the peak over the windscreen and the two panels forming the rear light. I usually took care of the sides over the rear wheels, the boot panels and surrounding bits. Another guy did the boot lid and both doors. All these panels had to be welded together, and during this time, the skeleton skin was supported, resting on the peak at the front and the boot at the back. When the whole thing was finished and tarted up, we all lifted the skin up manually and dropped it on to the wood body, where it was fixed on by panel pins under the body. Such sophistication! 

We used mostly 18swg aluminium sheet. We usually cut our own panels up from patterns hung up on the wall. Welding was done by the usual method, OXYGEN and Acetyline bottles. One of us held up the panels to be joined, the other one welded them. We didn’t work in pairs; we just called out for help when needed. The one pair that always worked together was the pair who did the roof panels. These were too big for one to handle on a wheel, so they travelled a bit backwards and forwards from one side to the other then back the other way until the panel had enough shape. Then they welded on the surrounding panels. Hilton Bros never had a power hammer-they frightened the life out of me anyway. We rarely used hammers at all. Mostly it was bashing them judiciously with mallets, bossing mallets and sandbags, then smoothing them out with the [English] wheel. The welding process distorted the panels, and we took care of that with a flipper in one hand and a handweight in the other.

I think there were six of us altogether, not counting the old feller who was a wingmaker. He had been a pre-war wingmaker in the British motor industry, forever telling us how easy we had it. There were a number of other guys who worked on the same floor. They were "fixers." They secured the panels to the wood frames, secured the bonnets, boot lids and doors, plus windscreens. Then the bodies went back upstairs to have the trim installed. Yes, the chippies made the frames for us to work to, but we didn't often get to see them. I mentioned Bill Merritt before. He was the panel shop foreman, responsible for inspecting everything we made; a man with an eagle eye. When he wasn't inspecting, he would help out on the floor. A nice guy. Came from a long line of undertakers so he said, recounting with great gusto some of the gory details.

All British factories had a tea break at 11:00am and usually 3:30pm. We didn’t have a luxury canteen .We kept some planks against the wall, formed a circle with some drums and that was our "canteen." Washing was even more basic; a bucket with cold water and a bar of soap! The toilet was a disgusting old urinal. Eventually, we became fed up with all these primitive conditions, and making no headway at all with Messrs Hilton, we went on strike! All we got was promises, but luckily I got an invitation to work at Hoopers on Rolls Royces later on in 1952. Same sort of money but much more civilized. Sadly none of the old coachbuilding firms exist anymore. Even the Rolls Royce bodies are made in Germany from pressings then tarted up before sending them over here.

Hoopers was an entirely kettle of fish, in that everything was organized. The chassis came in with the customers name on the windscreen, and we tinbashers worked in gangs of five to a car. The gangleader was paid for the whole car and we divided that price by mutual agreement between us, which worked out quite well. Mostly we were doing Silver Clouds , sometimes the occasional Bentley. My contribution was doors, which was challenging because the wing shape ran right through the doors. There was no getting away with any slack. The inspector wore sugar bags when he worked, and I don't think I ever did a door without his chalk marks on it. I was there about eighteen months. 

I only left Hoopers after pressure from my father, who, whilst in his late seventies started a business making shopfittings. My brother, an artist designed the product and made all the tools for him and the business took off. So much so that the whole thing ran away with him. Unless he could find someone trustworthy to organize things while he was outselling it was going to fall apart. Within a year our turnover was a million pounds annually. I had ceased to be a panel beater and became a Company Director. My life story stops here. I only mentioned it because I needed a good reason to give up tinbashing!

PS: I had a big disappointment some months ago. Driving on a local motorway in driving rain, I actually overtook an Allard saloon. I couldn’t make him understand my frantic hand signals. He probably thought I had an ulterior motive and I gave up in the end as I had to be elsewhere. The first Allard I had seen for sixty odd years too, and I wanted to tell him we were connected. Ah well. Ce Le Vie!

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Thanks for sharing Roy!

Correspondence...

We love to hear from our readers, especially those that write us with memories of an Allard their family used to own. We received one of those letters a few days ago from Roger in the UK, he writes...

"I was browsing your site as my father had an Allard P1 saloon in the 1950's.  He bought it second hand sometime after Allard's success at the Monte Carlo Rally.  I know this because my father was rather chuffed when his brother in law saw it (the brother in law was a keen rally enthusiast and saw my father as a stuffy solicitor I think) and was rather envious of the car because of the win.

The car was black with the large grill and had the registration number WMC 515.  The car was always called William by the family because of its number plate.

I remember very little about the car as I was very little when we had it.  I remember my father got the car up to 90 mph on one occasion and was very amused when I piped up from the back saying "A braver man would have done a hundred".

I am pretty sure it was this car that to open the boot you lifted it until the support clicked and to lower it you lifted it and when it clicked you could lower it down again.  If the boot is like that then this is the one that fell on my father's back when he was leaning into the boot, which produced a lot of swearing.  I know, I was standing next to him!

During the 1950's the family holidayed in Pembrokeshire.  As we lived in north London we would set of long before dawn. This is long before the Severn Bridge or motorways and the journey took all day.  We would drive there and back in the Allard.  On one occasion we were well into the journey when my father suddenly realized that when he was cleaning the car the previous day he had forgotten to put the hub caps back on.  So we drove all the way back home to put them on.  On another trip to Pembrokeshire it was discovered that the boot hadn't been closed properly and some Wellington boots had fallen out.  It shows how little traffic there was then that on retracing our steps they were found in the road where they had fallen out.

My father replaced the Allard in the late 50's with a second hand Humber Super Snipe Mk IV.  Four doors, larger, but not as sporty."

Thanks for writing Roger!

Another Missing Family P1...

We're not sure what it is about P1's, but they seem to have found a real soft spot in the heart of their previous owners. Of all the requests we get to track down missing cars, the vast majority of them are for P1's. It's not hard to see why...distinctive styling, big V8, sporty suspension (for a late 40's sedan), and suicide doors...very cool. Please see David's request below and click here if you can help us!

Hello fellow Allard lovers.

Firstly, thank you for your web-site that has motivated me to track down the Allard my father brought to Australia in 1956. It was a black P1 that was sold originally to the steel works manger in Swansea (Wales). Photo of it here in Australia attached.

My father sold it due to parts being difficult to access. He told me that he heard that the car was later used for racing in Victoria (Australia). Any help with tracking down this car (I am an avid car restorer) would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards, David Richards.

Mystery Car: P1 LKD 297

Ian Rose recently contacted us to see if we had any news on his father's P1, registration LKD 297. Unfortunately our chassis database doesn't have a corresponding chassis number for the registration plate. If you know anything about this car, please leave a comment or click here to send us an email.

Ian writes..."It was involved in an accident in late 1958/early 1959 when a lorry ran into the back of it whilst waiting at traffic lights on the A.30 near Camberley in thick fog. It was probably written-off. I know my father never got it back again, though the damage was confined to the rear end."

Back in time...

Our good friend Kerry Horan sent in the clipping above from the July 1967 issue of Road & Track. By digging through our chassis database, we believe the P1 is chassis 1720. Basically it's the only RHD P1 with black paint and a maroon interior that ever made it to America...that we know of at least. The JR is chassis #3407 that resides in the Mallya Collection. Our records indicate that the car shipped to the US in September 1962 after leaving the car of long time Allard enthusiast Rupert de Larrinaga.

Visit the Allards @ Techno-Classica Essen

Once again, the Allard Continental Group will be hosting a stand at the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Germany this March 21-25. The Group's booth will be located in Hall 3, Stand 105. This year they will be celebrating the 60 year jubilee of the overall victory of the Rally Monte Carlo 1952 By Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton and Tom Lush. They will have Darrel Allard's P1 and a Palm Beach MKI (modified in the spirit of the Red Ram*) on display. Additionally, they will be hosting their annual Continental-Allard-Owners Meeting (9th meeting) on Saturday March 24. They will meet at the stand at 12:15 and then proceed to lunch at 12:30 in hall 3, Bistro of Schloss Hugenpoet. If you would like to attend, please click here to contact Hans-Albert Oppenborn. We will post a follow up story and photos...

We hope you can make it!

Demolition Derby - Allard Style

Special thanks to David Brown for letting us know about these videos from Mildenham in the UK. If you look carefully, you will find an Allard P1, aka "The Jackal" racing and wrecking it's way around the track.

Mike Knapman from the AOC was able to track down some info on the car, here's what he found...

"The car was donated to the racer on condition that it must not be sold before it was raced. The car had stood in a garden for a very long time so dash had rotted away and wings about to fall off.  Rear axle and engine scrapped. Rear axle now a Ford Transit and the engine is from a Granada.  Other drivers were not happy about the strength of the Allard's chassis.

 In first race one steering arm broke but was welded. The P1 made it to the final "Destruction Derby" less its bodywork but clad only with its roll-cage and heavy gauge race mandatory roof. It was one of last three cars left running and received an award for Best Entertainer. A fitting end for a P1 maybe, but not necessarily the final curtain."

Allards @ Amelia Island - The Photo Galleries

Click here or the photo above to view our five photo galleries from the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 11 in Florida. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Colin Warnes