‘48 Allard on eBay with a Ford Flathead V8

[Cartravel]

I'm the owner of this car. I was already interested in Ford flatheads when I discovered Allards. They are unique and I thought they looked nicer than Fords of the era. I can answer a few questions.

I've just gone through the brakes. They are hydraulic in front and at the rear they are hydraulically activated mechanical (see schematic). This was strange to me, but were commonly used in the UK, especially for trucks. They could easily be converted to standard Ford.

The engine is a '37 style 21 stud. As noted the rear axle is like a 35-36 Ford. At one point, I had a Columbia for it, but never got that done. Allard was the official Columbia dealer in the UK. The Ballamy front axle arrangement was a simple way to give independent front suspension. The modification was done in the UK on other solid axle cars. It works and gives a nice ride.

The chassis frame is very similar to Ford's, but it is boxed, a common modification of hotrods here in the US. This stiffens the frame and avoids the rusting issues of Fords.

The UK economy was devastated by WWII. After the war there was a major effort to export and imports were avoided. Flatheads were available from the Dagenham factory, so most cars sold in the UK were flathead powered, but they were frequently hopped up with either finned aluminium heads (copied from Edelbrock) or with an Ardun. Allard had a close relationship with Duntov and was the UK dealer for Ardun heads. To avoid importing engines, the Cadillac powered Allards in the US usually had the engine installed by the US dealer. At one point I had an Cad-Allard K-2 roadster and an Ardun head setup, but that '51 Cadillac engine was so sweet I couldn't bear to replace it.

The body is a coach built style with aluminum over an ash frame. This was a common method used on low production cars, e.g. Lincolns thru '39. The fenders are steel. The ash frame is the Achilles heal of these cars. Fortunately, this one was completely rebuilt by the previous owner during the car's restoration which was completed in the early 1990s.