Chuck Warnes and son Colin Warnes own a very rare Allard J2X Le Mans which is nearing completion after a restoration started in 2013. Chuck and Colin have been great supporters of DMTRG and we look forward to seeing this car in the paddock and on track.
J2X-LM-3149 was acquired in 2013; the car had been unused for the past 60+ years. It was delivered to Noel Kirk Motors who sold it to George Sawyer. George and his driver Thorton High raced the car a few times before it passed onto new owner Francis Hodges who raced it at Pebble Beach in 1954. The car was then sold to Dan Parker (Parker Pen) who drove it cross-country to Wisconsin with his wife. Parker raced it a few times and then it passed on to Jerry Dunbar, and then to the Brownell family in 1958. The car has just been fitted with a roll bar in preparation for vintage racing in the next year or two.
Photo of Colin’s son Jacob, below, was from Pebble Beach 2023 where they printed old race photos on large banners that covered the temporary fences
For background information: The J2X Le Mans… For the 1952 Le Mans 24-hours race, new rule changes required fully enclosed wheels. Allard quickly developed new, barchetta-style bodywork to meet the regulations and called the resulting car the J2X Le Mans. Between nine and fourteen such cars were built, fitted with various American V8 engines as per Allard practice. While one of the fastest Allards ever, the design was past its time and was never fully competitive in the period. Two cars competed in the 1952 Le Mans, but both cars retired in the fifteenth hour. The best results were a second place in a 1952 Formula Libre race at Snetterton, and a handful of victories in American SCCA races. (Wiki)
See also this car by Googling Allard 3149 and at http://www.allardregister.org/restoration