1958 Sebring ? / Neat Old Photo

[AC Ace Bristol]

Posted on behalf of Tim Isles


Further to a series of email with Nik & Keith and numerous visits to collections of period racing photos. Have resulted in new information to complement this thread.[]
   .
   Gentlemen,
   
   Keith pointed this link out to me on the Stanford Collection website. I had not seen the pictures before. One of them shows all four Aces entered lined up    for the 1960 event...[]
   
   https://revslib.stanford.edu/?f%5Bmarque_ssim%5D%5B%5D=AC&page=2&q=albert+R+bochroch&utf8=%E2%9C%93
   .
   
   A very good collection of New Material....
   
   Tim Isles.

.

[slotcarone]

Great picture of BEX 1147. Still had that same exhaust and roll bar when I owned it in 1976.

[ACOCArch]

quote:Originally posted by tim isles
   
Sebring.
   Can anyone add anything?

   Peter Dechert' and Hap Dressel's personal accounts of the 1956 Sebring were reproduced in ACtions dated August 2007 and May 2008. Dressel's car (#37) was perhaps the final period International race appearance of Weller's light six engine.
   
   See earlier post regarding the 'T' prefix to race entry numbers.

[laurent1957]

Hello
   Iam Laurent PHILIPPE the owner of BEX 1147, the car is in France  ;
   Thank you
   Very nice picture . I am looking for all nperiod pictures of BEX 1147

[hawk289]

Nice photo of the Daimler and Ace in same Photo, Duncan raced in 1960 and 1961 a lot against the Ac Ace. Laurent if you go to Le Mans Classic, may bring the Daimler down next year.

[laurent1957]

Why not , will be very nice to see both cars there .
   It depends if I race there with another car ?

[nikbj68]

Originally posted by AC Ace Bristol
   BEX258..  ..  To be loved again...recently Bought by a True AC enthusiast...
   
   Car now in  really good hands and serious restoration in progress, priority in maintaining originality where ever posiible..[^].
   
   A future 100 point car that will be used, As intended when it originally left Thames Ditton in March 1957 heading for sunny  California...
   
   Hopefully regular reports will appear on the Forum.
   
   Keith....

Well, how's this for an update?!
   

   

   
   BEX258 now looking stunning in it's original colour, a true credit to the owner who has completed a fabulous restoration on an Ace with so many stories to tell. 8D

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
.Potential Sebring lead.


Can anyone following this old thread and or living  on the West Coast please follow up this lead,  (Not passing the  buck,  easier for someone more
local and in the same time zone...

Found this potential source of information which could yield more information  on the Ace Sebring Cars,  plus other racing Ace Bristol's in Period.

Extract from     " The AC Exchange "   Winter 1996/97 ..  ..  ..  Ron Leonard publication

Janos R Wimpffen of  "Motorsport Research Group ,LLC is compiling a reference book on the World Sports and GT Championships.  He has a list of
specific details needed to complete the AC  section of this book.  Requests for first names of known AC Drivers, Chassis numbers / color .. photos etc
 in the 1958 Sebring race head this list which includes specific information needed on specific on some European and South American races.

Contact:  Janos L Wimpffen, 9255 151st Avenue N.E, Redmond, WA<98052
phone  206-869-1831;  fax  206 869 1226.. 

Please note. ..  ...  Extract copied word for word.

A long shot for sure, as this was origonaly published  20 years ago , But surprising what can materialise from those dusty archives..
If you don't ask,  you don't get.  Any additional information on any  Ace Bristol racing in period ,  Appreciated ..

Hopefully some AC members and Classic Sports Car Racing  enthusiasts follow  up this potential lead.
Good Luck and thank you in anticipation....

Keith

[jrlucke]

Keith, interestingly he seems to live on Whidbey Island not far from Martin Rudow (Sports Racing Cars books) and within 50 miles or so from me. I'll try to get in touch with him.

John

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
.
John

Thank you,  Much appreciated ..

I sent a email to Tim Isles  yesterday and he in turn spoke to Tony Bancoft whom confirmed that he furnished  Janos with photo graphs, and racing data ,e.g.  Copy of Sebring race program  &  race result sheets  back in 1996,   When he was  researching  and co writing  Ace Bristol Racing along with John Mclellan.

Any new information  on any period racing of  Ace Bristol 's in USA  would  complement  the  history files of  present  Custodian's and  help update the official  ACOC Ace Bristol Register.   Especially appreciated by  Tim Isles & Tony Bancroft who  are continually adding new material to the Ace Bristol  Register.

John , Thank you  for your kind offer to follow up  this lead...
 
Keith

[bbrown]

Keith,
Here is your West Coast follow-up!
The book Janos was researching was entitled Time and Two Seats. 
It is a fantastic book, highly recommended.  Unfortunately, it is long out of print.
Many Aces are listed in the book.

Here is a link to Amazon for the book for those interested. 
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Seats-Decades-Distance-Racing/dp/0967225205
There are 4 volumes of photographic books that accompany the two volume Time and Two Seats books.
Light reading!   

Bert

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
Bert

Thank you for your prompt response,   Tim Isles confirms Tony Bancroft has a copy, I will give him a call tomorrow and arrange to beg, borrow or steal
these two volumes.

Seriously   I will arrange to view both volumes along with Tim Isles,   I am led to believe that majority of the photos relating to Ace Bristol's in these
two volumes were supplied by Tony Bancroft back  in 1996 when Janos was compiling racing data in preparaion for publication.

Thank you for the link.   and good luck with your  Ace Bristol  ( BEX239 ) restoration ..

Keith

[bbrown]

Keith,

You're welcome!   
The interesting thing about Janos is that he is a professional researcher and really knows how to stuff the book full of facts while making a very readable story about each race.  The books cover the history of the World Championship for Sports Cars from 1953 until 1992.  He is also very good at putting each race into context in regards to the current rules and the state of race car development at the time.  There is an excellent forward by Phil Hill if I remember correctly.  (my books are stuffed away in another room that I can't get to just now because of a project my wife is doing)

To illustrate how thorough Janos was, I used to work with a fellow who competed at Sebring in 1985 and 1986 with a car of his own design.  The car was called an OVS, which were the initials for O'Brien (my friend) and Van Steenburg, his partner, and of course, no one has ever heard of this car.  Janos described the car and even had a picture of it in his book.  After I showed Larry O'Brien the photo of his car, he went and bought the book the next day!

The body for BEX239 is coming along very slowly, I must attend to that.  The nephew of the original owner, Gordon Crowder, came by the house last weekend to view the car for the first time in nearly 60 years.  He was impressed that I had progressed to the point I am and he promised to deliver the horns he took off the car when it was wrecked 60 years ago! 

Bert