1950 Allard J2

[craterface]

I have been looking for a cool event car that is eligible for everything, including the Mille Miglia. This car might actually get in and it has really neat US history. In the Mille Miglia, the older car, the better the chances on acceptance, generally speaking. So my friend and I got in and did it in 2015 in his 29 Chrysler, which was reliable and comfortable, but very slow. V Max was 65 mph downhill with a tailwind. So the J2 is and entirely different animal. Right now it has an incorrect Chrysler 392 Hemi from 1957, but I bought a rusty 1951 Cadillac sedan and have had Mario at VSR pull the 331 engine and transmission to put in the car. Hopefully he will have time to do the transplant In late 2020 or early 2021. The car was bought new by Fred Wacker, who raced a series of Allards. This car raced at Watkins Glen in Sept 1950, Sebring on 12-31-50, which was the first ever race at Sebring, and in Argentina in March 1951. I was able to confirm all this by looking at the SCCA quarterly magazines that they have in the archives of the Revs Institute in Naples. The man who installed the drivetrain was named Frank Burrell and he worked for Cadillac. He designed a custom two carb intake to replaced the stock intake. His son Barry Burrell is still alive and sold me the custom intake and has provided advice. Anyway, here is a photo as the car sits now. And an old photos from Sebring. Car will go back to black with Steelies.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tferrer]

Fantastic!

 

[dave v. in nc]

That doesn't look like any fun at all...great pic at Sebring. I love it.
I'd put that in my 20 cars I'd like a ride in...

 

[Ohmess]

What a great car. I'm available if you need a wing man for your upcoming Mille Miglia.

 

[JFENG]

FWIW, a racing buddy of mine recently had his J2 redone from top to bottom at KTR European Motorsport (Ayer, MA). They know the J2’s inside and out. If interested contact me off list or call KTR and talk to Bob. Their specialty is restoration and support for vintage race cars and high-end vintage sports cars. Not cheap but very experienced. Many of their clientele have done MM, Goodwood, CA Mille, etc so they also have reasonably global contacts.

 

[JFENG]

What a great car. I'm available if you need a wing man for your upcoming Mille Miglia.

Isn’t the entry fee over $10k this year?
And you need to be comfortable at high speeds without a roll bar, headrests or safety harness. Some folks can’t reconcile that mix of fun and risk.

 

[craterface]

FWIW, a racing buddy of mine recently had his J2 redone from top to bottom at KTR European Motorsport (Ayer, MA). They know the J2’s inside and out. If interested contact me off list or call KTR and talk to Bob. Their specialty is restoration and support for vintage race cars and high-end vintage sports cars. Not cheap but very experienced. Many of their clientele have done MM, Goodwood, CA Mille, etc so they also have reasonably global contacts.

Thanks Jon. Car is in pretty good shape as it is, but cooling system is being overhauled since the car was unused for last several years. Re-doing radiator and water pump. Will get it useable as it sits. I am going to send it to Mario, since I have full confidence in him from my CSL resto and he has done also done an Allard before. The car will never be raced, just set up for touring events. It really just needs paint, a correct dash and instruments, and drivetrain swap. Frame, body, brakes, steering, suspension are all good.

 

[craterface]

Isn’t the entry fee over $10k this year?
And you need to be comfortable at high speeds without a roll bar, headrests or safety harness. Some folks can’t reconcile that mix of fun and risk.

Entry fee is 13k. And yes, it is a little risky. But it is street driving so you can go as fast or as slow as you like.

 

[Stevehose]

Fun!

 

[mulberryworks]

My dad was a joker. He had a J2X in red before I was born.
It had a 55 gallon fuel tank in the trunk. The gas pumps of the day would only pump 25 gallons and then have to be reset by the attendant. He would wait until it was almost empty and go for a fill up. They would start to wonder after the first reset and then after the second one they would start looking under the car to make sure it wasn't running out on the ground.

 

[craterface]

My dad was a joker. He had a J2X in red before I was born.
It had a 55 gallon fuel tank in the trunk. The gas pumps of the day would only pump 25 gallons and then have to be reset by the attendant. He would wait until it was almost empty and go for a fill up. They would start to wonder after the first reset and then after the second one they would start looking under the car to make sure it wasn't running out on the ground.

Yes! Mine has a 40 gallon tank. With the current engine setup it appears to be getting 3-4 mpg. The J2X was redesigned for an even bigger tank.

 

[Sooner]

How cool, beautiful car!