Meet the new boss: Allard’s Tailwagger II

By Mick Walsh

| 4 Feb 2022

Classic & Sports Car - Meet the new boss: Allard’s Tailwagger II

Ford ‘flathead’ V8s have a long tradition in American speed culture, but in England a series of spectacular specials built by Sydney Herbert Allard and his south London crew were among the fastest sports cars during the 1930s.

Many owners of exotic Alfas and Bugattis frowned upon these Detroit-powered lightweights, but in trials and sprints few could match Syd and his loyal customers.

The start of Allard’s V8 compulsion was the acquisition of a Ford Tourist Trophy team car, and in early 1936 he built his first special based around a crash-damaged Model 48 Coupe.

This car was Sydney Allard’s personal machine in 1936-’37

Registered CLK5 and with Grand Prix Bugatti bodywork fitted to a trimmed and stiffened Ford frame, this rudimentary flyweight machine was the sensation of the trials scene.

With the bespectacled, one-eyed Londoner at the wheel and his brave wife Eleanor squashed alongside, he ripped up off-road sections, ‘flattie’ roaring raucously and independent Ballamy front suspension dangling down as CLK5 launched to the end of each section.

In 1937, to promote his young marque, Allard – known affectionately as ‘The Guv’nor’ – even attempted to drive up Ben Nevis in CLK5 before an unfortunate roll, but orders came in fast for replicas of his demon machine.

Having sold the original, however, it was another two years before Allard had time to build another car for himself.

Sydney Allard and wife Eleanor power FGP 750 up a trials stage in 1938

In late November 1938, the workshop at Adlards on 3 Keswick Road, Putney, was a busy place, with mechanics working all hours to finish the boss’ own special, FGP 750, in time for its debut on the London-Gloucester Trial on 3 December.

Wearing no paint to keep down the weight, the car looked fantastic with its bare aluminium body by Abbott of Farnham.

Driven by Martin Soames, the new machine caused quite a stir when the 3.9-litre V8’s crisp exhaust note was heard pulling into the car park at the Anchor Hotel in Shepperton for the start of the event.

Motor Sport scribe HL Biggs vividly reported the colourful scene as the cream of trials competitors gathered around FGP 750, its polished bodywork reflecting the festive fairy lights around the hotel.

This famous ‘flattie’ remains competitive today

‘A beautiful job with narrow hips and enormous rear tyres,’ enthused Biggs. Together with Guy Warburton in CLK 5, the stark Allard pair dominated the event, storming all of the sections to claim the only two clean score sheets of the huge entry.

With Sydney taking the wheel for the rest of the season, FGP 750 became very much The Guv’nor’s personal machine, just as CLK 5 had been from 1936-’37.

Faster, lighter and more powerful, the new special was the talk of the paddock, taking seven consecutive Premier Awards.

Along with Warburton plus Ken Hutchison in FGF 290, the Allard ‘Tailwagger’ trio claimed 10 team awards.

The tuned twin-carb ‘flattie’ in all its glory

Always in search of more power, Syd and his team tuned and refined FGP 750 with spectacular results.

The exhaust flow was improved with a special manifold, and he continually experimented with carburetion.

From spring 1939, Allard focused on speed events in the bare-metal road rocket where again its dramatic performance set the pace.

Prescott was his speciality, and at the May meeting no sports car could match FGP 750 as he ended up with the fifth-best time, among the single seaters.

‘Always in search of more power, Syd and his team tuned and refined FGP 750 with spectacular results’

At Wetherby the pattern continued, Syd winning his class and setting a new sports car record, but in June he decided to totally rebuild ‘Tailwagger II’.

The block was bored out to 4.8 litres and an early Edelbrock manifold carried a pair of twin-choke Strombergs.

The crank was changed to a 91A, which drove the fan and enabled the bonnet line to be lowered.

The ports were polished, the flywheel was lightened by 13lb and, using a 3.56:1 axle ratio, FGP 750 recorded a 16.8 secs standing quarter-mile.

The V8’s torque spins the rear tyres

Never satisfied, Syd raised the compression again and, with wider 7in tyres and a passenger alongside, clocked 0-60mph in 8 secs and a flying half-mile at an astonishing 105mph. Such performances were not without incident.

Syd returned to Prescott in August, where on his first run he spun exiting Pardon and dropped down the bank until a tree stopped his progress, bending the chassis.

In typical form, the car was sorted in the paddock and ran again later in the day, when it went even faster to claim the sports car record that stood until after WW2.

It took a brave person to sit alongside Syd, particularly when competing, but Motor Sport’s Bill Boddy agreed to ride in FGP 750 at Horndean on the South Downs. The flat-out run set fastest time, but ended with a dramatic roll after the finish.

The Allard script is seldom seen

During WW2, FGP 750 was sold and in 1942 it was acquired by Hutchison. Keen to smarten up his new acquisition, Hutchison went against Allard’s ‘less is best’ philosophy.

Back at Abbott, the body was painted an opalescent blue and various components were chromed and polished.

Motor Sport’s 1944 road test, entitled ‘Detroit Magic’, described the car as ‘concours’.

Hutchison kept FGP for four years then in ’46 sold it to Lady Mary Grosvenor, youngest child of the super-rich Hugh Grosvenor, second Duke of Westminster.

A keen rally driver with Riley Sprites during the ’30s, she’d been tempted by something more powerful but the aristocrat never gelled with the Allard, which must have looked incongruous outside the family seat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire.

This Allard’s current owners are considering stripping the paint to restore its bare-metal finish

After the Elstree sprint, Grosvenor sent the car back to Adlards for a rebuild and a new Mercury engine. Her luckless outings continued to frustrate, with a misfire at Fordingbridge and a broken fanbelt at Shelsley.

FGP 750’s impressive grunt and jumpy chassis reportedly spooked Grosvenor, so in ’47 she sold it to Anglesey-based enthusiast Henry Pritchard.

The trials scene had changed, with a focus on lighter, more nimble machines, but despite high petrol prices Pritchard soldiered on with the thirsty V8.

The car was a regular at northern events and the Welshman clearly enjoyed FGP 750, keeping it for 16 years.

This historic Allard is now enjoying a new lease of life

Yorkshire-based garage owner Maurice Bethell then bought the car in 1966 to join a diverse collection stored around his hometown on the edge of the Pennines.

But Bethell’s father didn’t like the Allard and, convinced his son was going to kill himself in the lethal device, demanded he sell it.

By chance, theology student Des Sowerby was commuting to Durham in his old Ford Pop in the late ’60s and would regularly stop en route at an interesting garage in Ingleton.

“I slowly gained the owner’s confidence and he showed me his other cars,” recalls Sowerby.

Des Sowerby has been associated with this car since the late 1960s

“Maurice had been collecting stuff for years, and I spotted a sporty shape behind a Model T under a cover, which turned out to be the Allard.

“I was looking for an MG, but this brutish machine tempted me. I couldn’t afford the £1000 he wanted, but he agreed to hold it until I could find the money.”

After relocating to south Wales, Sowerby borrowed a Land-Rover and trailer to transport the Allard to a farm near the school where he worked.

This historic Allard has proved a happy car share for Sowerby (seated) and Rose

Despite assurances that FGP 750 was a runner, it proved a challenge: “We towed it with a tractor but it wouldn’t start, then we discovered a core plug was missing.

“The engine came out and was fixed, yet it still wouldn’t run so I decided to totally rebuild the car.”

The project dragged on due to work and various moves before Sowerby returned to Durham and joined the North East Restoration Club, then based in an old dairy in Wolsingham.

The stripped chassis was sandblasted and at last the build progressed: “After another move to London for work I met Allard guru John Patterson, who proved a great help.”

Denis Jenkinson was a big fan of this Allard

In 1981 Sowerby was contacted by Denis Jenkinson, who was keen to write a story on the Allard he’d watched charging up trials sections before WW2.

‘The sight of “Syd” in his shirt sleeves driving the stark FGP 750 was the personification of the hair-shirt syndrome, which obviously affected a speed-crazy youth of eighteen who was watching from the sidelines,’ wrote ‘Jenks’ in Motor Sport. ‘Many Allards were famous but FGP 750 is the Allard for me.’

The visit from the famous journalist spurred on Sowerby and Patterson, and in 1982 the project was displayed at the Brighton Classic Car Show on the Allard Owners’ Club stand.

“The marshals love the V8 rotavator, which on fast, wet sections throws up 40ft rooster tails of mud and sounds fantastic”

A loss of storage again stalled the rebuild but Sowerby, who’d still not heard the car run, never gave up hope: “I regarded it as part of my unfulfilled adolescence and didn’t wanted to sell.”

Then in 2013 he got a call from Jon Rose, a vintage-car enthusiast who was looking for something powerful in which to do trials.

“We had a chat, and at the end of the call Jon proposed the idea of sharing FGP,” says Sowerby.

“I invited him over to see the car and we really hit it off.”

The famous Tailwagger team signwriting on this Allard’s bonnet

After an introduction to trials with the Vintage Sports-Car Club, Rose was hooked: “I was a passenger to Tim Dutton in his Ford Model A, and loved it.

“I bought a Morris Major but it was a disaster. After trying other cars, I started looking for something more exciting and hit upon the idea of a pre-war Allard.”

Having done his homework researching the 12 cars built, Rose discovered that many had been scrapped and that FGP 750 was the most original survivor.

The instruments are set to the left of the steering wheel to lower the scuttle

“Des agreed to show me the car, which was at the bottom of his garden.

“It was a non-runner with no brakes and, after the share was agreed, he was happy for me to sort and use it. He loved the idea of it competing again.”

The Allard was moved to Rose’s Oxfordshire workshop and, after a thorough inspection, the ‘flattie’ was ready to fire up: “Des intimated that the motor had been rebuilt and it did run, but really badly with lots of spitting back through the Strombergs. After adjusting and balancing the carbs it became usable.”

Next came the chassis, with the steering and Hartford friction dampers checked and lubricated.

This is what this famous Allard was built for – and where it thrives

The discovery of the damage incurred during Syd’s off at Prescott confirmed the car’s pre-war history.

“With tracking sorted and new Blockley tyres, I entered VSCC Prescott. The carburetion was binary, like a switch, which made it exciting.”

Initially Rose focused on speed events; once a misfire had been cured by getting the Scintilla magneto rebuilt, FGP 750’s famed performance returned.

“I’m no great driver but the Allard is quick,” confirms Rose.

The battery has been moved to the tail and it now has an aluminium radiator

“In the sports car class it’s only matched by the Talbot T150s. At Chateau Impney it was the sixth-fastest car over the first 60ft, including single-seaters!

“We soon wired the doors shut because they kept popping open, and fitted a central seat support to prevent me sliding into the passenger seat on right-handers.”

After honing the car’s drivability, Rose felt he was ready for trials.

The four-spoke Bluemel’s steering wheel

Further sorting included an aluminium radiator, new carbs, an air compressor to re-inflate the tyres after sections, and relocating the battery to the tail.

Vinyl seats were made to save the leather originals, and new wheels sourced at Beaulieu Autojumble.

The return to the hills came at the VSCC’s Hereford Trial, where FGP 750 proved perfect for steep, straight power runs but a handful on the tight sections designed to challenge nimbler Austins.

The Allard’s shock absorbers are loosened off for trials

“The marshals love the V8 rotavator, which on fast, wet sections throws up 40ft rooster tails of mud and sounds fantastic,” says Rose, “but you have to control the loud pedal because it can quickly get out of shape.”

With more experience he began to gain first-class awards and even a win.

Sowerby eventually had his own indoctrination as a passenger/bouncer on the Cotswold trial, appropriately based at Prescott where FGP 750 has so much history.

The Allard’s cockpit is fairly basic, with flat seat squabs

“It was a bit of a shock,” he recalls, “but it confirmed what a great friendship we’ve built up. I like to think Sydney is looking down and having a chuckle. The Allard gets very muddy and takes days to clean, but trials are the best fun in motorsport.”

An invitation to try Tailwagger II for myself doesn’t disappoint.

Slipping behind the broad, four-spoke Bluemel’s steering wheel, the cockpit is basic with flat seat squabs.

The dash cluster is dominated by a large KNH rev counter on the left-hand side above the passenger’s essential grabhandle.

First is left and back, in the same plane as reverse, for this three-speed ’box

The scuffed floor says it all about the hairy rides this famous car has given, while the three-speed gear gate is marked out in pen on the steering boss: first is left and back, in the same plane as reverse.

The long, Bugatti-style fly-off handbrake sits outside the cutaway body.

The flathead V8 has a distinctive woofly note, so loved by bank robber Clyde Barrow, but this sidevalve would leave any of his tuned getaway Fords for dust.

Once you’re used to the long but defined gear gate, the acceleration is spectacular.

The Allard’s body flex demands its doors are wired shut for competition

With a looser set-up from the trials season, the Allard demands respect on the road where it has an unnerving tendency to wander due to the independent front end and strong rear weight bias.

Overcorrect the light, high-geared Marles steering under power and you’re soon heading for the bank – it’s better to relax your grip on the wheel and let it find its own way.

Thankfully Rose has set up the cable-operated drum brakes splendidly, and for added assurance the handbrake is taut and strong.

Within a few miles it’s easy to appreciate why Jenks and others so loved this rugged charger.

Our Mick Walsh relished a chance to drive this storied Allard

After WW2 the trials world changed due to the high price of fuel and the trend towards smaller Austin- and Ford-based specials.

The Allards disappeared and more than half were scrapped, but eight decades on the inspiring car share between Sowerby and Rose has revived that tradition, as once again this famous ‘flattie’ roars through woods and over hills.

Images: James Mann

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