This car was first registered in June 1949 to a Dr. Ashley Abraham of Cockermouth in Cumberland (now Cumbria). Dr. Abraham sounds like a real car sports car enthusiast.as a letter on the file records that he traded his Frazer-Nash BMW in to buy the Allard, keeping it for several years before trading it in for an AC Ace Bristol. He apparently had two medical practices, one in Cockermouth and one in Carlisle and he used to regularly try to beat his own time on the 25 mile journey between the two surgeries, much to the annoyance of the local police who couldn't catch him!
The Allard subsequently passed through several owners' hands before being acquired in 2005 by racing car engineer James Ricketts (nephew of well known vintage racer Duncan) who currently race prepares two ERAs and two Freddie Dixon Rileys amongst other cars. James bought it in a fairly dilapidated state and set about rebuilding it as a fast road car with potential for use on hillclimbs and sprints. He dismantled the engine to find it was all new inside, he replaced the innards of the gearbox and generally checked over the rest of the car's mechanicals to make sure it was all in good condition. The chassis already had a shortened rear end so he decided to body it as a typical 1950s racing special whilst retaining the original very distinctive Allard radiator cowl which came with the car - the nett result is a very purposeful looking machine which looks like it's going fast before you even start it! James took a good selection of pictures of the car before and during its rebuild - these are on a CD in the file so you can see what has been done.
The 3.6 litre Ford V8 engine fires up very readily and setlles down to a nice steady tickover. Once it is warm you will find that a bit of pressure with your right foot will produce some very purposeful exhaust noises accompanied by some fairly rapid progress down the road as the engine has plenty of very useable power. The steering is surprisingly light and very precise, the ride is good as the chassis and suspension feel nice and taut and the brakes stop you perfectly well so you can indulge in very some enteraining raw wind in the hair motoring. In summary it would probably be fair to say it is not a particularly sophisticated car nor is it likely to win you many prizes at a Pebble Beach concours d'elegance but it is loads of real fun to drive and offers the potential for you to get involved in some competitive motoring if you fancy having a go - all of this is available for what is not a vast amount of money when you consider what you are getting!
The Allard subsequently passed through several owners' hands before being acquired in 2005 by racing car engineer James Ricketts (nephew of well known vintage racer Duncan) who currently race prepares two ERAs and two Freddie Dixon Rileys amongst other cars. James bought it in a fairly dilapidated state and set about rebuilding it as a fast road car with potential for use on hillclimbs and sprints. He dismantled the engine to find it was all new inside, he replaced the innards of the gearbox and generally checked over the rest of the car's mechanicals to make sure it was all in good condition. The chassis already had a shortened rear end so he decided to body it as a typical 1950s racing special whilst retaining the original very distinctive Allard radiator cowl which came with the car - the nett result is a very purposeful looking machine which looks like it's going fast before you even start it! James took a good selection of pictures of the car before and during its rebuild - these are on a CD in the file so you can see what has been done.
The 3.6 litre Ford V8 engine fires up very readily and setlles down to a nice steady tickover. Once it is warm you will find that a bit of pressure with your right foot will produce some very purposeful exhaust noises accompanied by some fairly rapid progress down the road as the engine has plenty of very useable power. The steering is surprisingly light and very precise, the ride is good as the chassis and suspension feel nice and taut and the brakes stop you perfectly well so you can indulge in very some enteraining raw wind in the hair motoring. In summary it would probably be fair to say it is not a particularly sophisticated car nor is it likely to win you many prizes at a Pebble Beach concours d'elegance but it is loads of real fun to drive and offers the potential for you to get involved in some competitive motoring if you fancy having a go - all of this is available for what is not a vast amount of money when you consider what you are getting!
