Ace Overriders
It may not be generally known that A.C. bought in a special pattern overrider for the early Ace. I wish I knew who the suppliers were; there is a family resemblance to the items used on the 2 litre Saloon and the contemporary Lea Francis, but neither are identical. Some 70 cars were so fitted before a change was made to buy in the different overrider being supplied for the Standard 8.
The early pattern seems to have become unavailable around AE 93 or 94 . Perhaps the supplier discontinued operations and A.C. had to look elsewhere ? Perhaps it was to accommodate the Aceca tubular bumper bars ? Although at least one Aceca (AE 504) used the early overrider. In any event it seems that when carrying out repairs the later pattern has had to be used and examples of Aces with early overriders on one end, with late overriders on the other have been found. This looks really strange.....
A project has been running in the Club to reproduce these rather good looking early overriders. The research has covered the globe from New Zealand to California to draw on the expertise we have amongst the membership. The great challenge to be overcome is to produce the tooling and this is expensive, however we now have the 3D scans and drawings, but before we take the next step of starting the production process we need to get an idea of what size of batch to put in hand. The figures below are based on 15 car sets which is guided by a survey of early cars and might well be somewhat conservative. As in all these Club projects, if it runs, there will be no guarantee that any further batches will be possible. This is the chance to get early Aces back to their original, better looking, specification. The quality of the finished overrider will be every bit as good as the original and in fact the plating is likely to be superior.
There is a scheme already running (see Keith Lessiter's advertisement in ACtion) to supply overrider brackets to suit the later cars and Keith has agreed to add the very different, early type, bracket to his offer. There is also the question of the simple spacer tubes used on the rear mounting brackets; they are identical to the later cars and can be cut from suitable aluminium tube. The fasteners required are all off the shelf 3/8” and 5/16” BSF nuts and bolts. We will publish dimensions of spacer tubes and fasteners, along with some fitting notes, at a later stage.
Individual cars will vary in their needs: There will be cars which have lost everything, cars which need only a correct bracket and every possible combination in between. This being the case it is the intention to offer the parts on a single item basis rather than in sets. However fitting one new shiny overrider alongside a 60 year old worn example might not be an ideal result – perhaps best considered in pairs ?
The projected costs for each Overrider, ready to fit, polished and triple chrome plated are dependant on batch size, exchange rates and applicable custom duties, they are likely to be in the range of £88 to £98, but only for launch customers. Later purchases, if there are any in stock, will have to be priced significantly higher.
To join the scheme as a launch customer and order overriders we will need a deposit of £45 per overrider:
First send your deposit to 'Thames Ditton Spares Ltd.' bank sort code 30-98-77 account no. 01414758. For overseas members IBAN GB50LOYD30987701414758. Use as reference your surname followed by '-ORS.' For example 'SMITH-ORS'.
If you wish to pay by cheque, made out to Thames Ditton Spares Limited,
send to:
C.T. Pearce,
Tree House,
Yopps Green,
Plaxtol,
Sevenoaks,
Kent.
TN15 0PY
UK
Secondly confirm your order to bird@oldmanse.net and if you have any technical questions please ask me.
If writing send to
B.P.Bird,
Manse of Premnay,
Kirkton,
Insch,
Aberdeenshire.
AB52 6QF
UK
Just for information, if a car has lost everything, this is the complete set of parts you would need, but remember this offer is just for the overriders and we will address the other easier items if we can get enough support for the overriders:
4 off overriders
2 off front brackets
2 off rear brackets
2 off short rear spacers
2 off long rear spacers
8 off fasteners overrider to bracket
4 off fasteners bracket to chassis, front
4 off fasteners bracket to chassis, rear
This is the best information we have on the situation with early Aces:
Those fitted with correct early style:-
AE27.
AE28.
AE32.
AE41.
AE40.
AE43.
AE64.
AE65.
AE66.
AE79.
AE83.
AE89.
Those missing overriders altogether:-
AE22.
AE25.
AE26.
AEX31.
AE35.
AE46.
AE51.
AE63.
AE86.
AE88.
AE94.
Those with incorrect (mostly Ford Prefect) overriders :-
AE29 (rear only.)
AE33.
AE34.
AE36.
AE38.
AE39.
AE42.
AE45.
AE49.
AEX54.
AEX55.
AEX61.
AE68.
AE70.
AE71.
AE72.
AE74.
AE75.
AE76 ( front only.)
AE78.
AE92.
AE93.
Attachments:
AE 40 with correct fitting
AE 65 front with correct fitting
AE 65 rear with correct fitting
AE 32 front and rear with correct fitting
Acknowledgements to the Overrider Team:
Rob Hendriks
Brian Horwood
Keith Lessiter
Barrie Bird
9th April '18