AC engined Ace
AC Engined Ace
A Local AC Engined Ace
Rudspeed Engined AC Ace
Bristol Engined AC Ace
AC Engined Ace
AC Engined Ace
AC Ace Details
Supercharged AC Engined Ace
AC Engined Ace
AC Engined ACE
Bristol Engine ACE
Bristol Engined AC ACE
Ruddspeed Engined AC ACE
AC ACE Bristol Engine
AC Engined ACE
Bristol Engined AC ACE
AC ACE Bristol Engine
AC ACE - Bristol Engine
AC ACE Bristol Engine
AC Engined ACE
Engine Bay Details
AC Ace Interior Details
AC Ace 234
AC Ace Bristol Engine
AC Engined ACE with Lightweight transmission (Not fitted at the factory)
AC Engined ACE
Ac Engined Ace- Sold at Bonham's Goodwood Members Meeting 2018 for £205K
AC ACE Bristol Engine from France
The first production AC ACE
Bristol engined ACE
AC ACE Bristol Engine
AC Engine ACE with exposed Aluminium Body
Bristol Engine ACE
AC ACE Recreation using many AC parts (Story to this car below)
I saw this car at the Bonhams Auction at the Goodwood Revival 2018. It looks like it did not sell with an ambitious estimate of £150-£180K. The car has been built to an amazing standard. The only thing that let it down were a few details and its unusual provenance and that might have put of buyers. Cracking car though in all respects.
1960/1997 AC Ace Roadster Registration no. YFH 54 Chassis no. SABTVRO3727134839 (see text) *Built from a genuine Ace chassis and components purchased from the AC factory *Lightweight factory bodywork *Special aluminium cylinder head and magnesium cased competition gearbox *Overdrive fitted *Completed in 1997 FOOTNOTES In the 1970s, this Ace's owner was restoring an AC Aceca, '8 HPL'. During the restoration he made many visits to AC cars in Thames Ditton and got to know the Service Manager, Fred Larrimore. In 1981 AC Cars were closing their Thames Ditton factory, and he was able to buy the chassis from an Ace that had been dismantled and returned to the stores (see invoice on file). Fred Larrimore provided nearly all the parts to complete the car, pointing out that these were not necessarily from the Ace chassis in question but that they were of contemporary Ace origin. The parts included aluminium bodywork comprising front and rear wings; front quarters and internal panels including the inner wheel arches, boot sides and floor; and also the main bulkhead panels front and rear with some of the minor fill-in panels. Other body parts included unused superstructure tubing to make up the body, and also included the bonnet, boot, and door frames. The rear wings were made from 18-gauge aluminium rather than 16-gauge, and apparently had been made for a lightweight competition Ace that was never constructed. The body was completed on an Ace 'buck' by Aubrey Finburgh at Classic Autos, including the in-fill panels between the wings. The superstructure was completed by Tom Bowhill of Cheltenham, who also attached the bodywork to the frame. A new cockpit floor was made together with door panels, boot, and bonnet, all attached to the ex-works tubular framework. At this time the main scuttle tubing was changed to stainless steel to prevent corrosion from the open ends that are exposed to the road. The small tubes that secure the inner wishbone pins likewise were changed to stainless as the inner wishbone pins tend to seize in the mild steel ones and become extremely difficult to remove. The parts from the factory included all the running gear and transmission. The transmission included an AC lightweight competition gearbox (magnesium casing) and a standard ENV differential. All the suspension parts are of factory origin, including wishbones, uprights, stub axles, etc. The braking system with Alfin drums is factory, as is the steering mechanism that includes an original wood-rim steering wheel (these were made by the 'Cheltenham Shopfitting Company' now long gone). An overdrive was added after the car's completion. The AC engine supplied with the parts was not of the correct type, being a UMB saloon unit. In discussions with Peter Duckett of AC Cars, the vendor was told that, according to the works 'bible', the engine originally in this chassis was 'CLBN 2422', which was removed and ended up in chassis 'AE1171'. Numbered close to the original, an appropriate engine ('CLBN 2410') was obtained from Nigel Dawes and rebuilt by Rod Briggs. Very importantly, this engine is fitted with one of only three aluminium cylinder heads made by the works. The whereabouts of the other two is not known. Fred Larrimore stated that the head was the one used by Bob 'Sideways' Staples in his racing Ace (AE01 previously sold by Bonhams) and returned to the works when a valve spring broke. It was included in the spare parts purchased by the vendor. The valve spring was replaced and with shims to line up the rocker arms (the aluminium head is about 1 mm longer than the cast-iron one and this alters the rocker standard spacing) plus a new camshaft. The seats are factory items but needed alteration from Ace 2.6 (or Cobra?) to Ace shape. With the exception of the ammeter, all the instruments are factory .New cotton-insulated wiring has been employed in the reconstruction. The hood and frame are proprietary items, while the tonneau is factory but was for a left-hand drive car and has been converted. The windscreen is a curved late Ace style purchased from the factory and fitted in a frame made by Brasscraft. |
An original flat screen and frame is available. An aluminium fuel tank was purchased from the factory. The exhaust manifold is a copy of the original one fitted to the vendor's Aceca and was made by Len Hartley, who used to make manifolds for Formula 1 racing cars. A number of such manifolds were made for ACOC members. John Tojeiro was taken for a ride in the completed Ace around the Cambridge Lanes and commented that the roadholding was 'better than he remembered'.
On completion the car had been registered as 'DMT 70'. Unfortunately, it transpired that the DVLA did not agree that the vendor of the registration number 'DMT 70' actually owned it (although this was disputed). After lengthy discussions with AC Cars and the DVLA, and following an inspection of the car, it was agreed that the Ace was an exceptional case and that an age-related number ('YFH 54') could be allocated. During this time, Fred Larrimore signed a sworn affidavit confirming that the car was a genuine AC chassis and that the chassis number was believed to be 'AE1172'. This was corroborated in a letter from the AC factory. However, the chassis had not been stamped and accordingly the DVLA issued its own number, which is present on the AC factory chassis plate. This Ace won the AC Owners' Club's Willoughby Trophy for the Best Amateur rebuild in 1999, and the Porter Shield at the Bugatti Owners' Club's Concours in 2012. It has featured in the ACOC magazine and is listed in the ACOC AC Ace Register as 'AE1172'. Photographs of the car under reconstruction may be found in the history file together with a detailed list of the parts used in its construction and their origin. |