By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, Barnfinds.com

Hagerty called the Allard “one of the most visceral and thrilling rides of the 1950s,” and considering stiff competition from the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar and more, that’s one heck of a compliment. But when you consider the seat-of-the-pants engineering of Sydney Allard’s cars, namely the American V8 power plants and split-beam axle suspension characteristics, visceral almost seems like an understatement. To take things a step further, Sterling Moss once commented, “The only people who could drive an Allard are Sydney Allard and fools.”

But there’s no denying the success Allard’s cars had, and the fact that they’re worth big money today — six figures in many cases, or close to it. With that value and provenance in mind, you wouldn’t much expect to find cars like this one — a project car with serious potential, buried on Barnfinds.com’s classified section.

Sydney Allard had been building cars for 20 some years by the time he made his most iconic and successful cars, the J2 and J2X. The J2s were built with all the wild features people had grown to expect to see from Sydney’s cars. Rear ends were fairly standard with a De Dion tube setup, but front suspensions were comprised of a swing axle with coil springs, which allowed for wild camber changes when driven hard. The standard engine was a 3.6-liter Ford flathead boasting 85 hp, and a 4.4-liter Mercury engine upgrade was available uprated to 110 hp.

But of course a good deal of Allard’s cars were exported to the U.S., and all without engines, leading crafty Americans to get even more wild under the hood. Early Chrysler HEMI engines, hopped-up flatheads and other V8s soon found their way into Allard J2s, amplifying the cars unique driving characteristics, and intensifying the lore surrounding the Allard marque.

Good Allard J2s grab six figures all day long, with the best concours-condition cars reaching into the mid $300,000 range, all of which makes this find all the more unusual — an incomplete Allard J2 project car listed exclusively on Barnfinds.com.

There’s no price listed, not much of a description and only a handful of photos, but still we’re enticed by the bare aluminum and the potential in this J2. From the photos, it looks like the major pieces are present, namely the body, running gear and dash, but there doesn’t appear to be a driveline included. No matter though, because the options are plentiful with this car. Source a hopped-up flathead, early Chrysler HEMI or Oldsmobile V8 driveline and you’re off to the races — literally.

Clearly the seller knows their Allards given the number present in the shop background, so expect to pay fair value for the car. But what that fair value is, is a tough question.

Find the ad here on Barnfinds.com.