This 1953 Allard J2X may fool you at first, but the asking price of just $9,950 clues you in pretty quick that it’s not the real deal. This is a kit car variant of the classic (and valuable) Allard J2X that arrived in the U.S. sans engine and enabled American enthusiasts to drop in all manners of domestic V8s. While this kit may lack the provenance, the same performance options still apply. Find it here on eBay located in New Mexico and listed with the option to submit a best offer.
The Allard is sold with an old Georgia registration; how it ended up in New Mexico isn’t divulged. Numerous companies dipped the proverbial toe into building Allard replicas, and even today, Allard Motor Works will build you the replica of your choice. This example may have been created by Elite Enterprises of Minnesota, which fashioned a number of kits in the 1980s.
The photos I’ve seen of the completed replicas reveal a kit car that looks fairly attractive, and does a decent job of honoring the original achievement. These are definitely an acquired taste in the looks department, so it wouldn’t surprise me that the Allard kits aren’t big sellers. The seller says the bucket seats included with this example remain in good condition.
The Alllard J2X replica was discovered after years in storage, during which time several valuable components were stolen. There is no drivetrain, rear end, or front suspension, which may be what the seller is referring to when he mentions parts going rogue while stored. There’s still plenty of potential here, especially since Allard was hardly loyal to any one engine builder.
Hmmm interesting. Looks like it was together or mocked up. Lots of detective work to see what kind of running gear it was designed for. Guess you would have to decide if its worth the dough. Kit cars are in a class by themselves, seems like some are worth the coin, and others aren’t worth anything. If you decide to take it on, good luck. Would make a cool looking car.
Cheers
GPC
If it were mine, I’d put a modern 5.3 vortec Ls engine in it, fab some kind of ifs
And irs and make a mean track car out if jt
does anyone know of a plastic jag body: 120/c/d/etc? i have a chassis etc that needs one!
michael/roarrr
dolphinporsche@cs.com
Greetings All,
I remember these kits when they came out. If you had halfway decent skills, you could end up with something that looked like an original.
While $10K isn’t bad for a kit, its incomplete and its a design that is a lot cruder than a Cobra or 250GTO. I don’t mean the fibreglass work is sub par. Its just as bodies go, this one is a lot easier to do in metal than most, especially the two I mentioned.
Couple that with missing parts, there are better deals out there.
My Dad had an original that was Chrysler powered, it had a bench seat that was original to the car, buckets were available also, though not sure which was optional, probably the buckets. The bench seat meant lockable trunk access.
I’m curious what type of front suspension this is set up for. The originals had mildly terrifying front swing axles made by cutting a Ford beam axle in half.
I built several of the kits that were manufactured in Pass Christian, Mississippi. I used a mustang 2 front end and an 8.8 rear. Mostly 289 Ford or 350 Chevy. They were a decent kit but took some skill to build.
331 cadillac with modern efi and a tremac 6 speed, speed, some kind of Corvette suspension, be pretty excoting
As I recall, the front suspension on the originals was pretty scary- basically a Ford straight axle cut in half, with the inner ends attached to the front crossmember – a swing axle setup, like the rear axles of an early VW or Corvair. At the Monterey historics in the mid-70s, there was a Chrysler Hemi powered one that was a real handful in the hairpin – as soon as the driver gott back on the gas, the front end of the car would lift up over a foot, and it would plow like crazy. Probably the easiest way to go on this puppy would be a Mustang 2 setup by Heidt’s or Fatman- rack & pinion, disc brakes & coilovers. A smallblock Chevy would be more than adequate – the early J2s were flathead Ford powered, and pretty quick in their time.