42 The engine was to be a motorcycle unit, driving one rear wheel by Vee-belt and chain, and the steering arranged through the single front wheel. The body was to be a self-colored GRP molding in blue and white, to be manufactured by a specialist company in Haddenham, some 25 miles from the works. Detail design of the steering and suspension was undertaken by David Hooper and Dudley Hume (Allard employees), and Gil Jepson was a motorcycling enthusiast as well as being a highly competent development engineer. Gil was given the task of building the first Allard Clipper. The chassis frame was a simple structure, welded up from light channel section, and suspension was by means of compressed rubber blocks. The first chassis was completed by early February 1954, but the basic design was unsound and the use of unsuitable engines made Jepson’s task doubly difficult. Various types of Anzani (Italian motorcycle engines) and JAP (J.A.Prestwich Industries; UK) units were tried, along with modifications to the final drive layout. But these problems were put down to teething troubles by the highly articulate Herr Gottleib, an in a spirit of unbounded optimism, a separate company was formed under the title of Allard Clipper Company (proprietors Encon Motors Ltd) Retailing arrangements were made with two of the largest motorcycle dealers in the country, and after seeing the chassis they placed substantial orders for early delivery. The press was informed that, “The Allard Clipper has been designed as a low-cost runabout, to be built alongside the range of conventional Allard cars….and with a 346cc Villiers engine will give an average fuel consumption of 70 mpg, and a maximum speed of over 40 mph….the price will be 255 guineas.” A brightly colored three-folder pamphlet was prepared, bearing some highly imaginative artist’s impression of the car (which appeared to be about 20 feet long!) while Jepson, Hume and others at the Allard works were struggling to make the project viable. The workshop floor at Encon’s was partially cleared, and an assembly rack similar to the one used at Park Hill was installed. This had the added refinement of a “dipper” tank, to be filled with black paint, into which each frame would pass before the components were added. A large quantity of the required channel-section steel was ordered and stored at Encon’s pending the anticipated large-scale production as soon as the teething troubles had been eliminated.
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