Taking early retirement after the demise of the Inner London Education Authority there was plenty of time for boats and it was only with my inevitable interest in computers that I would be exploring Allard cars on the internet. The manner in which I had part- 8 ed with the Steyr was still a very ‘sore point’. However I took the plunge and purchased a copy of the Tom Lush book ‘Allard the Inside Story’, a history of the Company. The content in my view is largely correct as I remember it in relation to my 15 years with the Company – but perhaps I need to challenge some items which have been taken out of context.
The Allard history on the Internet was quite vast and inevitably I entered into the discussions on a number of items which were raised on the Yahoo site. A good source of information which continues to this day to provide a source of how, where etc Allard information could be obtained. My first Allard contact was with one John Allard, with something relating to with the Allardette. I must say that that the interest shown by the Americans towards the J2/J2X, along with the K1 and K2 was an eye opener. At that time (1992) Allard American values were far in excess of what I could ever believe – a tribute to the high standard of their restoration. Also, J’s and K2’s were very active in classic car racing. In the UK, Allards were no longer advertised in the £100 bracket but were well into the £20/35,000 price bracket. Jim Tiller was still very active with the ‘Old Fella’ and an item in Autosport stated that he was off to Bonneville to try and achieve 200 mph on the Salt Flats.
I would have probably have steered clear of getting involved in anything Allard if it had not been for an email from Jim Tiller and Andy Picariello in the USA, asking if I was the same person who had answered a technical query on his J2 way back in 1964. Andy reminded me that the power bulge ordered from the Company was still outstanding! In addition, he said he was coming to England for the annual AOC dinner and would be attending the monthly Club Night at the Marquis of Granby on the Portsmouth Road in Esher – he would like to meet!
Did I want to get involved, I was not really sure? Boats were now my hobby and since taking early retirement we had rebuilt Feodora which was a second home to us.
We had also invested, along with Pat’s sister in a canal boat Puddleduck, so boats were becoming a full-time hobby.
