I pronounce "salt" as ["sQ:5t]. As far as the UK is concerned, I've read that both /"sQlt/ and /"sO:lt/ are used. Interestingly enough, the Cambridge Online Dictionary ( http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ ) gives only /"sQlt/ for the UK pronunciation, whereas the Longman Dictionary ( http://www.ldoceonline.com/ ) gives only /"sO:lt/ for the UK pronunciation. Go figure. ;-)
<<Does the sequence /Al/ even exist in c-c unmerged accents?>>
Definitely. Although some Americans, like Travis, merge most historic cases of /Al/ into /Ol/, a more conservative c-c-unmerged dialect (like New York) would have a whole bunch of worlds with /Al/, like "collar", "doll", "Molly", "follow", "hollow". In fact most American dictionaries, like m-w.com, list /Al/ as the primary or only pronunciation for these words.
<<Does the sequence /Al/ even exist in c-c unmerged accents?>>
Definitely. Although some Americans, like Travis, merge most historic cases of /Al/ into /Ol/, a more conservative c-c-unmerged dialect (like New York) would have a whole bunch of worlds with /Al/, like "collar", "doll", "Molly", "follow", "hollow". In fact most American dictionaries, like m-w.com, list /Al/ as the primary or only pronunciation for these words.