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Author: Subject: Rarer than rare and very scary
Mr Whippy

posted on 12/11/14 at 12:57 PM Reply With Quote
Rarer than rare and very scary

Having had an Allegro in the dim and distant past the idea of what must be a jelly like convertible version is mind boggling almost as much as the price that's been asked for it - £7450 swooooonnnn....


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ReMan

posted on 12/11/14 at 01:27 PM Reply With Quote
"Crayford announced the Allegro convertible in Autocar June 1975. The body shell, once decapitated, was found to be one of the weakest Crayford had ever encountered. In fact too weak to be converted into a fully open car so Crayford went for the extended sunshine roof option. Even after the most extensive strengthening procedures the shell still lacked rigidity, it was rumoured Jeff Smith at Crayford threatened to fill the sills with concrete.

"





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Slimy38

posted on 12/11/14 at 02:41 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
"Crayford announced the Allegro convertible in Autocar June 1975. The body shell, once decapitated, was found to be one of the weakest Crayford had ever encountered. In fact too weak to be converted into a fully open car so Crayford went for the extended sunshine roof option. Even after the most extensive strengthening procedures the shell still lacked rigidity, it was rumoured Jeff Smith at Crayford threatened to fill the sills with concrete.

"



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Dick Axtell

posted on 12/11/14 at 03:56 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
"Crayford announced the Allegro convertible in Autocar June 1975. The body shell, once decapitated, was found to be one of the weakest Crayford had ever encountered. In fact too weak to be converted into a fully open car so Crayford went for the extended sunshine roof option. Even after the most extensive strengthening procedures the shell still lacked rigidity, it was rumoured Jeff Smith at Crayford threatened to fill the sills with concrete."


......and that, folks, is the reason why its so rare!!!





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Xtreme Kermit

posted on 12/11/14 at 04:41 PM Reply With Quote
Can you just see a super sexy corner of the 'quartic' steering wheel there???
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dhutch

posted on 12/11/14 at 05:35 PM Reply With Quote
Like it!
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bi22le

posted on 12/11/14 at 05:57 PM Reply With Quote
I live just up the road from the crayford factory in crayford.

its now a citreon garage and has no hint of what it once was, a shame really.

Ford also had a couple of crayford cars. I dont know howmanuy other makes crayford converted.

Back to OP. thats as ugly as it gets!





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D Beddows

posted on 12/11/14 at 08:15 PM Reply With Quote
My Allegro was that colour

I actually remember it quite fondly rather surprisingly..........

It had a roof though

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ken555

posted on 12/11/14 at 09:24 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
" it was rumoured Jeff Smith at Crayford threatened to fill the sills with concrete."


But most of the owners did, or chicken wire and filler !






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woodster

posted on 13/11/14 at 11:11 PM Reply With Quote
I did my driving lessons and passed my test in a mustard coloured allegro ...... Happy days
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spiderman

posted on 14/11/14 at 02:16 AM Reply With Quote
Prefer the truck parked next to it, what ever it is?





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Xtreme Kermit

posted on 14/11/14 at 08:37 AM Reply With Quote
mustard colour = 'Harvest Gold' as I remember it...
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pewe

posted on 14/11/14 at 12:33 PM Reply With Quote
Tales from the day:- 1) a mate who traded in leather borrowed his wife's Allaggro estate to make a delivery as his Volvo was off the road. Went OK until the next morning when his missus opened the garage to find the front windscreen cracked.
Transpired that the body shells were so weak the leather (pretty heavy in bulk) had stretched the body causing the crack.
2) An uncle was caravanning and went to admire a neighbours new Allaggro. Asking if the newly fitted tow-bar went in OK the proud owner opened the boot to reveal a structure like the Forth Road Bridge PLUS showed him the bracing under the bonnet! Again the structure was so weak there was a strengthening rail which ran from the rear ending up in front of the passenger footwell!

Convertible - I don't think so.....

Cheers, Pewe10

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kingster996

posted on 14/11/14 at 12:51 PM Reply With Quote
An Allegro! Fell off the ugly tree and hit sticks on the way down, but I think the Capri rather suits the drop-top look...

http://www.crayfordconvertibleclub.com/conversions/ford/capri.html






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britishtrident

posted on 14/11/14 at 12:54 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by spiderman
Prefer the truck parked next to it, what ever it is?


Either a pre-ww2 or just after ww2 Bedford, the ones built during ww2 had a much simpler and rugged design of bonnet. http://wheels-and-wings.org.uk/1952-bedford-truck.htm
Bedford trucks started out as Chevrolet trucks assembled from kits (with the famous stove bootbsix engine) and gradually evolved to become more British. They were killed off in the Thatcher era because the government forced the British Army to order Leyland trucks.

[Edited on 14/11/14 by britishtrident]





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Mr Whippy

posted on 14/11/14 at 01:09 PM Reply With Quote
yeah my orange one had some issues,

1) While jacking at the back of the sill it went right through the floor and the car stayed where it was pushing the rear seat base up

2) As a teen I noticed two valves on the metal pipes in the engine bay running from the back to the front suspension so got the idea of letting out some fluid to lower the car, it dropped to the ground like a stone and my dad had to drive 5 miles to the dealer with no suspension at all to get it pumped up

3) My dad decided to replace the body filler and newspaper with some metal (old washing machine side) and while welding up the sill set fire to the carpet he hadn't bothered to remove! Fortunately I noticed and put the fire out but the carpets and bottom dash were damaged

4) On the way home carrying boxes in the front the cigarette lighter got pressed in and melted a big hole in the dash

5) The twin carbs float chamber jammed and poured petrol all over the road for miles and soaked the engine bay which removed the paint in there, amazing it didn’t go on fire

6) Came home one night and hit a dead dear on the road which caved in the front

7) A new front was welded on but the car was twisted which wore the tyres out on the front and it skidded on manure on the road and ended on top of dry stone dike which ripped off the hydraulic suspension pipes so again my dad had to drive it home with no suspension!

8) Tried to take it to a dealer to trade it in for a real car but only got half way there and the radiator blew up and then the head gasket went so it was scrapped

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Xtreme Kermit

posted on 14/11/14 at 05:00 PM Reply With Quote
Conversion of TR7 to estate... Hmmm

http://www.crayfordconvertibleclub.com/conversions/triumph.html

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woodster

posted on 15/11/14 at 11:22 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Xtreme Kermit
mustard colour = 'Harvest Gold' as I remember it...


Hahaha ..... That's exactly what my driving instructor said when as a 17 year old spotty kid I called it ' must ard'

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