The Hawk AC Ace re-creation
This page is a diary of events in our build. To see all the individual elements in the build hover over the 'Build' Sections and a drop down menu will appear. The only reason to keep this diary is to get a sense of the time taken and the milestones of the project achieved.
August 2016 - The start of it all.
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Ireland and back in 36 hours
Gerry Hawkridge has sent the build manuals Got quite a lot of advice re the engine The dashboard slowly comes together |
September 2016Seen the Hawk AC Ace body in the mould at Hawk Cars
Went to Beaulieu to get parts Went to Hawk Cars to meet up with Gerry Spoken with Burlen SU re carbs Found 2 gearbox builders that can do an overdrive unit Found distributor rebuilder Sourced Exhaust manifold plates Rod Briggs sent dynamo bracket drawings Talking to Rod Briggs re sourcing engine mounts Spoken to Speedy Cables re instrument reface Chatted to CCK Historic re AC engine build |
We managed to jump the que due to rotation at Hawk
Sold some parts and found a few dash items Gerry is only 40 minutes away. Made a plan for the build Need to take carbs off engine block Need to contact to get sorted Need to contact to get sorted Fitted like a glove - Thanks Mike CES Folkestone will fabricate I have 2 three fixing mounts the ace was 2 fixing The instruments are a tall order but getting there. CCK do incredible work - the best! |
October 2016
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Spent hours researching and finding instruments
Now have correct engine mounts thanks to Rod Briggs |
We have all we need to create a full set of matched instruments other than the orange lens in the warning light on the RPM guage.
The engine mounts will need a sleeve as the bolt thickness is different to the AC 2 litre mounts. |
November 2016
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Spent most of November meeting people and sourcing suppliers and parts
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Met some great folk from the AC Owners Club. Really helpful and knowledgeable - thank you for your time.
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December 2016
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Nice to see my Hawk AC ACE project featured in the
289 Register Magazine. Thanks to Phil Riley the Editor for putting it together. Phil works very hard for the Register and deserves all our support in anyway possible. 
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Andrew Mulhearn the administrator of the 289 Wiki has put together Tech-talks via Skype so builders can get together no matter where they are. I think this is an amazing initiative and look forward to the conversations.
Carbs have finally gone off to Burlen SU for refurb Expecte back in March 2017.Ptevious experience with Burlen tells me this will slip to June/July 2017 - and that is why I sent them off early in the build. Looks like I haves ourced an overdrive for the Moss box. Have sourced the centre boss and horn push for the steering wheel with working indicator controls etc. Colour still is an 'Undecided' as my wife will probably drive this car it needs to have her preferences:-) |
2017 - Another year begins
January 2017
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This month will be about organisation. I have other classic cars so they need some attention this month and February.
The AC build will be back with a vengence in February. I'll finish up the airfilter restoration so all 3 are complete this month. I have 2 workshop dolly/platforms to make. One for the body and one for the chassis. I found having a raised dolly to build my Triumph TR on worked really well and I could easily move it around the workshop. I build it out of old pallets and plywood - wheels come off Ebay. Gearbox has been split from the engine. The Dynamo plate has been removed so we can use it as a pattern to make a blanking plate. |
The dynamo brackets have been worked out in terms of manufacture.
I did buy a second hand trailer so I can transport engines and gear boxes - it needs a few modifications. 1st Tech-Talk via Skype this month with the 289 Register. It went really well and I love the format. I reckon all clubs should do this as it really brings people together. 
Click the logo to go to the 289.register.
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February 2017
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A lot has happened in February. Created the CAD drawings for the dynamo brackets.
Spent a few hours with an original AC engined ACE and I can't thank the owner enough. It explained how a few things go together and made sense of quite a bit. I took plenty of reference pictures as a guide. I will get the air filters finished by the end of the month. Amazingly got to see a Bristol AC ACE and took some pictures of how things go together.
Air filers finished, have started on the horns. |
Have spent a bit of time clearing up the workshop and getting organised.
I have also spent quite a bit of time talking to AC Owners and sourcing parts. We are almost there on the hard to find items. Quite amazing really that it has come together so well. Just need to understand the suspension and mounting a little more and try to work out the slave bracket. Bought an overdrive and spare fan. The bearing shaft in the fan housing is twisted so not sure it is useable. The overdrive needs to be mated. We'll see if this can be done!!
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November 2020
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Bit of a gap in reports but this is due to Coronavirus shutting the country down and life in general. I am pleased to report that the Hawk Ace is moving well.
I have been spending time with Andy at Amtech. Andy builds the Hawk chassis. The Hawk Chassis is really made for Triumph engines, MGB engines and BMW so an original AC Ace engine is a bit of a departure from the plan. As such, a lot of bespoke fabrication has been required but northing too complicated for the Hawk team. In fact, if anything, it is going together rather well considering all of the changes we are making. The result of all of this will be a plan for anyone else thinking of using an original Ac Ace engine in a Hawk build. It has been really great to have the technical ability and knowledge of Andy at Amtech and the support of Gerry at Hawk to make this project a reality. The pictures on the right show where it all is at present. A note of measurements to be taken. The biggest issues have been the gearbox clutch pedal as the pedal in an AC 2 litre is connected directly to the box. So this needs a hydraulic solution. The Radiator has mounted well but the soldered plate and hose tube needs to be redone to get a better joining angle to the thermostat housing. The inner box that covers the front wheel drives side needs to be reduced. As I write we are still working out by how much. The exhausts are not such a great fit but we have a plan for this. To get the mechanical fan working we need to create quite a few mounting options and a hard look at the pulley configuration is needed. |
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