1950 Allard J2 Roadster

Sydney Allard was an ingenious and competitive specials builder in the U.K. after World War II. Driving his own cars he won the British Hillclimb Championship, led at LeMans, and in 1952 won the Monte Carlo Rally outright, narrowly beating Stirling Moss.

The cars of Sydney Allard, Britain's premier competitor, and builder just before and after World War II, had established such a reputation that orders came from throughout the free world for cars built by his works of about 250 employees.

About 1900 Allards of all types were built between 1946 and the mid-fifties with the J2 and J2X perhaps being the most well-known models. With the Cadillac engine fitted as an option, these two models became formidable competitors on the post-war U.S. sports car circuits.

During 1949, the J2 was announced, a handsome two-seat sports roadster that was both a road and competition car. Differing from the earlier Leslie Ballamy-designed split-axle, swing-arm front suspension, the J2 came with coil springs up front and a DeDion-type rear assembly replacing the previous live axle, giving the new line remarkable handling for the time.

Engines of J2s for the British market ranged from 85 horsepower Ford 'flathead' V8s to a Mercury 'flathead' V8 of 152 horsepower. J2s were often shipped to United States buyers without engines and gearboxes and were usually fitted with overhead valve American V8s made by Cadillac, Oldsmobile or, during late 1951, Chrysler's new 180 horsepower Hemi.

Any American V8 made an Allard a formidable performer - the 427 Cobra of its time. Sydney's works built cars to order, and this car is a one-off example of custom body work.

This Allard, J2 1733, was purchased by its current owner in 1986, having spent its previous 22 years in an open-sided shed. Removing it from this shed required jacking up the center of the car because the frame rails were rusted in half. Upon disassembly, finding an identification tag from the Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, led to the discovery that it had been used as a test bed vehicle for a top secret sports car development project underwritten by the Murray Body Company.

Additionally, it was learned that this was the only J2 Allard produced with full front wings, as opposed to the standard cycle fenders.

With 89 J2 Allards built, almost all with cycle fenders, the order specified all-enclosing front bodywork that was judged to be too expensive to replicate as a regular model. During restoration, this Allard was discovered to have been the development test-bed of a sports car for the Murray Body Company.