Busy times for TML 209
This issue, I wanted to bring you up to date with events concerning my 1948 Allard M, TML 209, known as Bessie. The story really begins way back in 2021 when I had Bessie out for the first time in the year.
Out on the road I applied the brake pedal on the Phase One Lockheed single-leading shoe brake system. The response was its usual self with the pedal going halfway down. The rear hydraulic brakes incorporate those horrible bisector units, which were a great success on Bedford lorries and used into the 1970s by the Luton-based company, but don’t work so well on an Allard. The Allard Phase One brakes are not the easiest to set up, but I am determined to end up with a good solid pedal. The answer I suppose is to put a small servo on, but that would be non- original.
On this occasion, on the second application the brakes squeaked, and so I was concentrating on them and not on the fact that I hadn’t checked that the offside door was shut properly, something you have to do with any Allard. By now I had covered 500 yards, and as I turned left the driver’s door flew open and slammed into the B pillar, creasing the door and also the rear panel in the process. Luckily nothing was behind me.
I couldn’t quite believe what had happened, and I noted that around the door catch area some of the aluminium had ripped out. Colin Anton was with me, and he got the tool kit out and we placed the metal back into position as best we could. The hinges were certainly well stretched and the top one was bent, but by lifting the door up we were at least able to shut and lock it.
The following day there was nothing for it but to phone my insurance brokers. I was asked to upload pictures of the damage to their website and to obtain some estimates. Now that was easier said than done, as you need to go to the right people who have experience with wooden frames.
Having never been in this situation before, I consulted Mervin at Just Historic Cars at St Leonards on Sea, plus Allard and Bristol owner Richard Wade. That eventually led me to Nigel Baker at Kingswell Coachworks, among a few others. All of the estimates were around £6000 and took some weeks to obtain. And yes you did read that correctly – £6000!
After agreement from the insurance company, I chose to go to Nigel Baker’s business at Battle, East Sussex. They have completed various exotic classics for well known personalities as well as common people like myself, and everybody said good things about Nigel’s team.
On the required date I drove the car over to Battle. I took off the rear Smiths prismatic Ace light box, as the glass was cracked, the letters needed cleaning up and the metal parts were going slightly rusty. Taking the box to pieces was a nightmare as the glass was well sealed in and I had to break the laminated glass to get it out.
The reason the glass had cracked in the first place was because the top frame was not
staying flat and instead pressing down on the glass in one place. I decided to buy a piece of 4mm thick sunlight-protected Perspex, but for whatever reason it came five times larger than I ordered. I cut it to size with a wood saw and cleaned it up with a file, keeping the protective covering on at all times.
The prismatic letters were washed and repainted white, and I sand blasted the frame section after covering up the electrical contacts. It all took some time to do, and finally I sprayed the box with primer and top coat black aerosols. I then resealed the glass with Geocel Superior black sealant and adhesive. The art of this is not to put too much on as it dries quite quickly, but it all turned out well and the letters now glow well when illuminated.
The accident damage was completed on time, and I agreed to pay to have the nose cone and the bonnet resprayed too as the paint was bubbling in a few places. My greatest worry was whether Nigel could match the colour. The answer was yes, but it took nearly a day for the team to get the colour right.
We were also concerned that an offside rear wheel bearing might have gone, but it turned out to be the wheel that was loose, yet another Allard trait. Nigel tightened it up, but when I got home it was loose again. The problem is the piecrust wheels get worn around the stud holes, and when tightened up the wheel nut then bottoms out against the brake drum and not the wheel’s 60 degree taper.
I phoned Belcher Engineering and asked for a full set of wheel repair washers as they call them. This cures the problem to a certain extent, but a couple of Allard Owners Club members are trying to have 20 sets of wheels made and have invested many thousands of pounds in the project. It’s an on- going saga and they unfortunately have not been successful with what’s been produced so far.
With the car back home, I replaced the rear lamps as the chrome was peeling off. These are early Morris Minor Lucas type L549 lamps which I bought from Charles Ware at Bristol. They are good quality with a heavy cast body, but they did not fit. After turning over the lamps I had removed, I noted they had been filed to fit the wing shape. This took some doing as my new examples were heavier-built internally, but after a couple of evenings with the file I had taken enough off to refit the handed lamps. I had to adjust the wiring as no earth wire was supplied, but the end result was acceptable.
The next job was to cut the rear exhaust silencers off, with Colin making sure the sparks did not end up near the petrol tank using my leather apron. I made up two new stainless steel sections, having bought the kit of parts I needed from 304 Stainless at Worcester for £134. I have also been fiddling with the brakes, and have cleaned all the dirt from the four inner wings and repainted them in the process. Sadly the brakes aren’t really any better!