1 of 63: 1953 Allard K-3
This 1953 Allard K3 has undergone what the owner refers to as a museum-grade restoration, and is now ready to move on to a new owner. One of only 63 K-3s ever built, these rarely come onto the market. You will find this Allard listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Glen Haven, Colorado, it is being offered for sale with a clear title. The opening bid for this Allard has been set at $220,000, but there is also a BIN option available for $300,000.
The history of Allard as a manufacturer was short and sweet. Founded by Sydney Allard in south-west London in 1945, they remained in operation until the company became insolvent and ceased operation in 1958. During that period they manufactured 1,900 cars, and most of these were powered by American V8 engines. This particular car was manufactured in 1953 for Major General Kern Metzger, who only had the privilege of enjoying the car for two years before he passed away in 1955. The history of the car from there becomes vague before it recently underwent a full restoration. The body of the Allard is manufactured from aluminum and is said to be accident-free. The body has been stripped to bare metal and restored before receiving a new coat of paint. The underside of the car has also been carefully restored, and the photos indicate that it is immaculate. The seller claims that the car has not covered any miles since the restoration was completed. One thing that I do find unusual is the combination of wheels fitted to this car. The K-3 was fitted with either wire wheels or steel, but I’ve never seen the combination of both before. I get the impression from this that some of the supplied photos were taken before the restoration was completed.
As you can see from this shot, the quality of the paint finish on the Allard is deep and faultless. With a car of this rarity and value, that is to be expected. Every surface on the car has been carefully restored, and both the paint and all of the exterior trim items shine exactly as they would have done when the car rolled out of the Allard factory in 1953.
This is another photo that makes me believe that it was taken before the restoration was completed. The interior presents beautifully, and once again the attention to detail is stunning. The K-3 was the most expensive model that Allard had built to date. The fit and finish of the interior is all that you would expect from an exclusive car of this era, and while a great deal of thought went into fitting a bench seat to allow seating for three, no provision was incorporated into the design to allow the fitment of a heater or demister. While the interior of the car looks stunning, the trim is missing off the driver’s door but is present on the passenger door. As I said, perhaps the photo was taken prior to the completion of the restoration.
One of the areas where there was a lack of consistency with the K-3 was the engines offered to power the vehicle. For a low-volume manufacturer who only built 63 examples of this model, the fact that they offered and fitted engines supplied by five separate manufacturers must have made building the car a difficult and time-consuming task. This car is fitted with a 331ci Cadillac V8 engine, which is backed by an automatic transmission. The entire drive-train underwent restoration along with the rest of the car and has done no miles since it was completed.
The rarity of the Allard K-3 is best demonstrated by its recent sales history. Since 2007 there have only been nine examples sold in the USA. The highest price achieved was in 2014, and that example sold for $220,000. This one is an extremely nice car, but I would really like to know what the story is behind the odd wheels and the missing door trim. If these issues have now been addressed, then the seller has done themselves and the car a huge disservice by not including completed photos in the auction or clarifying this in the ad text. If the car is complete, then thanks to the fact that the economy has improved since 2014, I wouldn’t be surprised if this Allard surpasses the previous sales record.
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Comments
Beautiful car. As to the wheels, I have to respectfully disagree with you. I am sure the problem has NOT been addressed. No one in their right mind trying to sell a pretty rare car for 200k to 300k would do so using photos of a unfinished restoration if indeed the restoration is now complete. It defies logic and common sense.
https://barnfinds.com/precious-metal-1953-allard-k-3/ deja view
i know that this site uses a collection of writers all toiling away into the wee hours of the night by candle light to hammer out these little vignettes of automotive sales for our enjoyment. i also know they “occasionally” reproduce an article on the same vehicle a second, or rarely a third time. so my question is, if the vehicle has already been written up do they get paid to write it up the second time?
Ugly AZZ car.
Michael, even if it were unfinished, it’s STILL worth more than you will likely earn in 3 lifetimes. “Ugly AZZ” or not…..
I believe Sydney Allard started building cars, usually with big American V8s or 12s in the 1930s. Long before Ol’ Shel basically perfected the concept. But of course Reid Railton was also on the same track, same time.
It looks like either Sydney Allard stole the design from the Austin A 40 Sport or the other way around.
Nice catch. They do look alike in many ways.
The A40 Sport (a misnomer!) was built for Austin by Jensen,who also used US engines (Ford/Nash/Chrysler).
The Austin A40 Sport was a scaled down Jensen Interceptor.
Could well be Rhett. Very similar looking. Good catch.
I think the seller will probably have trouble with price resistance on this attempt, in part because the car is offered on Ebay. Maybe one of the big glitzy collector car auctions would be better, but not likely Ebay.
The Sports Car Market Guide says that the median auction sale price paid for K3s in very good / excellent has been $88K recently. That’s pretty far from the current asking, which is down from the previous asking.
The front bumper is crooked.
Fred V
The rear disc wheels may have been ordered so the car could be drag raced. In any event, the seller needs to explain this very odd combination of wire and disc wheels. The rear tires also appear to be larger than the front tires.
Have always liked the Allards, but way out of my price range!
fella near here almost exclusively restores/maintains these (4 in garage right now).
This advert is only 4 those who know these cars – an intro (“YooWoo guys, 1 over here.”) If in the know, a f/u contact will happen. The Coloradie guy gets his product out there, known. We assist w/that here. It will come up several more times until rolled into another garage.
Greetings All,
The $300K buy it now price says he wants to let people know it’s for sale in the future.
Seems pretty optimistic to me.
Gorgeous work, but why no pics of the engine?
$220.000 ? I don’t see it. A kit car would likely look as good and a lot less $$$$$$.
If you have to ask, you will never understand.
Auto museum or rich collector with deep pockets.
I agree with those of you that said or hinted at a “revisit” to this car on this site. It’s also been relisted on ebay again (how many times ?) without the “buy it now” price. Being an old military guy myself (Happy belated Veteran’s Day !) I tried to find more out about the General, and not much to be found, certainly nothing about any racing career. Oh, well. Anyway, too bad this one didn’t have a version of the Chrysler “Firepower” Hemi….