1951 Allard J2 news, pictures, and information

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Roadster
Chassis Num: 1912

This vehicle is a 1951 Allard J2 with chassis number 1912. This car was a factory assisted rally car owned and driven by Cryil Wick throughout Europe with Sidney Allard's blessing. It is powered by an eight-cylinder Cadillac engine rated at 300 horsepower. There is a four-speed Jaguar gearbox and Lockheed, Alfin drum brakes. The car is fitted with a 12-gallon fuel tank.

This Allard was purchased by its current owners in 1984. It was treated to a restoration and first raced in a vintage race at Riverside Raceway in 1985. The owners have entered many races in southern California with VARA, HSR and other vintage race groups. the car has been accepted at Monterey Historics many times over the last twenty years. The most exciting race was the 1990 event in which Allard was the featured 'marque'. The car came in 1st among the eight Allards and 3rd overall.

Production of this type, K2 was about one hundred over several years. The car originally had
a Ford engine and the Cadillac was installed about twenty-five years ago.

Roadster
Chassis Num: 99J1787

The Allard J2 was powered by the reliable Ford flathead engine and was easily modified and maintained. There was a split beam swinging arm front suspension with coil springs and a deDion-style live axle with inboard drum brakes. The brakes were sourced from the Jaguar XK 120 but modified to better suite the much lighter Allard. The bodies were simplistic two-seaters with cycle fenders and a pair of Brooklands aeroscreens.

This example is chassis number 99J1787. It was shipped new to the United States delaer Roy Rictor near the close of November in 1950. It was raced by 'Boss' Clark, a movie house owner in Lynwood, Washington, and raced under his own sponsorship as 'The Guild 45th.' This Allard was originally fitted with a Cadillac engine and raced at Santa Barbara and at other locations on the west coast. The split front axle with replaced with a straight unit early in its life to improve the handling. It still retains this modification in modern times. It is believed that this car was also used in the movie Written on the Wind from 1958, starring Rock Hudson and Lauren Bacall.

In March of 1962, the car was sold to the wife of Jack A. Goffette. While in their care, the car was given a 1957 Corvette 283 cubic-inch V8 engine and mated it to a four-speed Corvette transmission. The car still has both of these items. The Goffettes used the Allard in competition at the Seattle International Raceway and at Thunderhill.

The car would pass through several more owners before coming into the care of the current owners. Since then, it has been given a restoration with no expenses spared on performance or quality.

In 2009, this Corvette powered Roadster was offered for sale at the Automobiles of Amelia Island auction presented by RM Auctions. The car was estimated to sell for $200,000 - $250,000. The lot was sold for $154,000, including buyer's premium.

In 1929 Sydney Herbert Allard began working in the Adlards Motors garage, an official Ford dealer, preparing racers for international motor racing. His Allard Specials quickly proved their potential and Allards reputation began to build. After racing motorcycles and three-wheeled Morgan's, he began racing four-wheeled vehicles. During World War II, the Allard Motor Company repaired military vehicles. Though their duties kept them very busy, Allard still found time to design and build sports cars.

In 1936 the first Allard Special, commonly referred to as the CLK5 because of its registration number, had been created using Ford products. It sat atop a Ford 40 chassis, outfitted with a Ford flat-head V8 engine, and given a Bugatti Type 51 body. The cockpit was pushed back as far as possible with much of the weight resting on the rear wheels. The lightweight construction and ample ground clearance made the Allard Special a formidable opponent on the racing circuit. This success translated to increased interest in a production version of the Special. Prior to World War II, a few Specials were created that were powered by the Ford V8 or a Lincoln V12. The flat-head engine and its manifold design was its Achilles heal, which often overheated at high speeds. Nevertheless, the Specials continued to be highly competitive, though produced in limited numbers.

After World War II, Allard introduced the J1. Under the hood was a 3.6 liter Ford V8 engine matted to a three-speed manual gearbox. The engine continued to suffer from overheating problems and was criticized as being underpowered. The front suspension was a split axle with a live axle in the rear. Transverse leaf springs were also used in the front and rear. The J1 carried a full body with removable wings which could be replaced with cycle fenders, leaving the J1 prepared for road and track. In total there were twelve examples of the J1 produced.

The J1 was quickly followed by the K1, a two-seater sports car. Produced in larger quantities, the K1 was profitable and provided means in which to continue their race car creations.

The next iteration of the Allard race cars was the J2, introduced in 1950 and designed similar to its J1 sibling. The transverse leaf springs of the J1 were replaced with coils and the live axle was changed in favor of a De Dion setup. The engine was moved even further back putting extra weight on the rear tires, a design Allard continued to favor. The Ford side-valve V8 was the engine of choice however a variety of engines were used including Cadillac's pushrod V8 and Chrysler's HEMI.

A year later the J2X was introduced which was nearly identical to the J2 but had its engine moved forward providing more cockpit room. The J2X Le Mans and JR were enclosed bodies and the final iteration of the J2 racer.

Sydney Allards greatest appearance at a sporting event came in 1950 when he and Tom Cole drove a J2, powered by a Cadillac engine, to a first in class victory and third overall finish at the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans race. This was truly an impressive accomplishment and a testament to the abilities of the automobile. The Allard J1, J2, and J2X racers have dominated racing on many continents and continue to provide stiff competition in modern Historic sporting events.

In 1959 Allard was forced to cease production due to financial difficult and rising competition from other marques. A total of 1908 Allards had been constructed.

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