I have a new email buddy with a '34 Plymouth coupe in New Zealand. The car he bought was built back in the '60s and just got pics of the engine from him. Anyone here that can tell me (and him) more information about the Allard speed equipment on this engine? Thanks.
I dont know much about Allard, but I know a guy with a pair of NOS heads so i would be interested to know as well b/c he is never going to use them so Bump!
Did he also copy the Cadillac engines and other American parts in many of his cars? I'm sure he built his heads and other pieces because he could. He was a true innovator and hot rodder
If you google Allard speed equiptment it tells about the Ford and Mercury flatheads that Allard used, as well as his reasons for making these parts himself.
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Allard made his own speed equipment for the Ford engine because of Englands exorbitant import duty on U.S. parts, though he based them on the American items. His cylinder heads, for example, were copied from Eddie Edmunds, his dual intake manifold from Eddie Meyer.[/FONT] [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Americans who bought an Allard with a Mercury engine soon found that it really had the 1937/early-38 Ford 21-stud unit, with the water pump in the block and the water outlets in the center of the cylinder heads. Those who tried to put American speed equipment on the British-built V-8 often found things didnt fit right, and a 24-stud Edelbrock head, for example, wouldnt fit at all. The intake manifolds were interchangeable, so that was no problem The statements in this article make no sense to me. It says, as you pointed out, That Allard made his stuff because of high duty costs. In the next paragraph it says some of the the American parts didn't fit the British built flatties such as the heads. So why would he want to import US built heads and pay stiff duties for parts that didn't fit anyway? And again, he bought Cadillac engines, Olds transmissions and other US parts for his cars. If the duty on an intake manifold was enough to kill the deal, I wonder what the charge was for a new Cad engine? [/FONT]
You have things out of order. The high duties prompted him to assemble his own engines with parts he made, hence the fit problems. Had there not been such high taxes, he would have gotten it all from the US, so no fit problem.
If he made his heads to fit a 21 studder, how come the pic shows a 24 stud? I think the author of the above info (whomever it maybe) is a little mixed up.
Allard started as essentially just an ambitious rodder, turned into a minor builder (first reproducer of Deuce frames!) of cars for sale, became for a while an UPSCALE builder because of $$ when sportscars and racing them became popular here in early fifties... His big cars were Ford based (so both British and US stuff in use) and he started building frames when the supply of junk British deuces ran out. When he was poor, British engines, the zillions of 1937 type 221's made during WWI, though he probably had access to the numerous Canadian 239s that were used in all the Imperial armies. His own Caddy powered car was a big deal, very expensive stuff to import, but many cars were sent here without engines because it was cheaper to get the Cad and then Chrysler stuff her and of course American racers had $$$. England was BROKE and import duties raised money or forced people to buy British after the war. Late in the company history he built a small line of cars for British sale based on the small Ford line, Anglia type stuff. Normal people could not afford the $ for V8's and lots of gasoline over there.
As far as I know, he did not make heads for the British 221's. LOTS of Canadian 239's powered WWII vehicles, so he could probably get them without importing anything new.
Mike Hooper, who owns the '34 Plym Cp sent some pics up of Allard Ardun literature that he has. Now probably this has been posted some time in H.A.M.B. history but I can't find it so here it is again or in case it has not.... And he states the car was actually built in 1959, rather than the '60s as I thought. A historical Kiwi hot rod!
Just noticed this thread Allard 21 stud heads I have an intake too with similar casting numbers to the heads but no Allard logo. Rich
HOTRODDICKIE, Beautiful flatty. Just a note. I had one of those original steel blade metal fans actually fly apart due to the "work hardening" of the blades over many years of flexing. The blades went thru my hood and radiator. I was standing beside the fender. It missed me.
I'd like a set of Allard heads to go with my gauges. Then again, I'd like a car to put them in too...
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