• Australian Grand Prix history
• Hidden away for 40 years
• Much restoration completed
• A very rare opportunity…

This is a car with a remarkable history.

Allard cars are pretty special… A forward-thinking car creator of the post-war era, Sydney Allard saw opportunity in fitting American V8 engines into light, British-built bodies. Allard found immediate success producing racing and sports cars. Competition success followed, at Le Mans and the Monte Carlo rally among many others.

Various models were offered. The K-series sports touring cars was more road-usable than its J-series sibling but offered equal performance and excitement. Allards were fast, lightweight roadsters, with a more sophisticated chassis than most US offerings at the time. From 1949-52, 117 K2s were sold. Very few made it to Australia, though a handful were sold new here, including this car which was sold new in NSW.

Its owner entered the car in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix, held at Albert Park, in Melbourne. This is one of few 1953 AGP cars surviving today, over 70 years later.

In the 1950s the Allard became the property of Bob Dykes in Sydney. Dykes was well known in hot rod circles and was one of the founders of the Thunderbirds Rod & Custom Club in the early 1960s (which still exists). The history file with this car shows photos of the car at events and includes various documents from the early 1960s.

The Allard came to WA, then in July 1983 became a long term project for a well-known professional restorer. In the ensuing 40 years, considerable work was done on the car. Much mechanical work was done, the chassis restored, bodywork was renewed where necessary and repaired elsewhere, readying the car for paint. The steel wheels were replaced by a set of wire wheels. The car ran under its own power at one point for testing during the rebuild.

However, several other cars were restored by the owner while the Allard took a place in the background. Parts were sourced and work on it was occasional. Unfortunately, the owner passed away before he could complete the work on his cherished Allard.

Today the car sits in primer. Clearly there is much to be done, but a great deal of the hard work has already been completed, to a high standard.

Caroll Shelby of AC Cobra and Ford GT40 fame and Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the Chevrolet Corvette were “Works Drivers” for Allard in the 1950s and there is no doubt that Allards influenced their cars. Light weight alloy body, V8 power, torque and simplicity, roadster styling and compact size made ideal and successful competition cars. Many cars of this era are underpowered, ponderous, overweight and not a lot of fun to drive. However this Allard with its light weight, lusty Cadillac V8, independent front end and well-located rear axle – that V8 soundtrack – will be tremendous to drive.

Once completed it’s sure to prove an exciting car – and with its Australian Grand Prix competition history and rarity would be welcomed at exclusive events around the world. Equally it would be a great fun car for use in club events, historic motorsport and shows anywhere it attends. An unusually rare opportunity…

Please request an email with full description and more photos from paul@classicrally.com.au

Paul Blank Classic Car Broker MD28143