Messages

61

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / AC ACECA IN NEW ZEALAND

« on: April 13, 2011, 06:33:15 »

quote:Originally posted by HOFFMAN
   
Thanks for the information and photo's of AE617.The car is now back in original touring condition.
   Roll cage and engine breather have been removed.I will post some current photo;s soon.
   
   Can anyone help with breed of whitworth open ended spanners used in Bristol engined Aceca's tool tray?
   

   As a follow up to Greg's reply, here's a link to an old thread detailing the Aceca tools and tray (from a AC powered Aceca). I hope you find this useful.
   
   http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1158&SearchTerms=aceca,tool,tray
   
   John

62

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / AEX567 Back also...

« on: February 27, 2011, 07:06:26 »

Whether it makes sense or not, it would be great to see this bent out of shape old Aceca brought back to life.

63

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / AEX567 Back also...

« on: February 27, 2011, 03:51:40 »

Wow, $32,500 so far and the reserve has not been met??

64

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / AE547 Aceca

« on: February 03, 2011, 21:01:58 »

quote:Originally posted by lew
   
A lot of banging and clattering from the back,almost as if the diff was falling out

   Lew,
   
   My Aceca had a loud clunk coming from the rear end (mainly when starting out in 1st after backing up) and general chatter and rattles when driving down the road. You may want to look beyond moving parts to possible cracked or corroded structural supports. During the restoration of my car we discovered that the upper shock mounts were broken, and many of the space frame members holding up the rear of the car were corroded or cracked requiring repair. Some of the obvious space frame failures were located where the space frame is exposed to the elements in the rear tire wells. I also had the rear end completely rebuilt (with a newer set a gears), the bushings supporting the rear end replaced, and all the suspension bushings, hubs and axels replaced…  The car is not back on the road yet, so I don’t know if I’ve licked the problem, but I think I’ve exhausted the possible causes.
   
   I hope this helps with your troubleshooting.
   
   John

65

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Walt Petersen "Mongoose"

« on: January 05, 2011, 07:45:21 »

Keith / John:
   
   I just got back from a long Christmas break and caught this forum post. Thanks for posting the Article and info on the Mongoose. The wealth of AC information that emerges for some of these forum posts is amazing.
   
   Best to the both of you for 2011! Hopefully the New Year brings many new bits of AC history to the Forum. []
   
   John
   AEX521

66

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca for sale in CA

« on: December 15, 2010, 01:15:38 »

quote:Originally posted by aceaceca
   
Walt Petersen built the "MONGOOSE". It was one of the early V8 powered AC roadsters. The guy he built it for took driving lessons from Shelby at Sears Point I think it was. He drove the car in those sessions and I think Shelby was impressed with the thing. There is a Hot Rod magazine article detailing the Mongoose. I have it here somwhere but could not put my hands on it. Walt is still about and retains an Aceca. A friend of mine owns the Bristol engined roadster his wife once raced. Walt lives up in Washington state now.
   

   Interesting bit about the MONGOOSE…I know of at least one V-8 Ace (I believe it was a Buick 215ci) that Walt built for the son of the guy who had the 289 installed in my car. His name was Dennis Snook and was the link to my father’s purchase of my Aceca. I don’t think this was the “Mongoose”, although you prompted me to do some on-line research. I discovered that Shelby did open the “Shelby School of High Performance Driving” at Riverside International Raceway (in Southern Cal) in 1961…just after his decision to quit racing and before the development of the Cobra. I’d be interested in seeing the Hot Rod Magazine Article if you can find it. I believe Walt may have been located in the Southern California area around that time. I will have to contact Walt sometime to see what light he can shed on this story. It is a good idea to retrieve as much history as we can from these custodians of AC history…before it’s too late!
   
   btw - My dad still stays in contact with Walt and informed me that Walt got rid of his Aceca a few years ago (AC engined one I believe). He also confirmed that Walt’s wife (Fran) did race back in the 50’s…in fact “that’s how they met”…as Paul Harvey would say…”and that’s the rest of the story”…
   
   John

67

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca for sale in CA

« on: December 04, 2010, 02:29:34 »

quote:Originally posted by jrlucke
   
It most likely was your car. As I recall it was red and possibly the owner lived in San Jose.
   

   
   We lived near the San Jose area at that time so it was likely my father you spoke with. Your reference to understanding that my Aceca had “some linkage to the development of the Cobra” probably had something to do with the fact that the detailed records I have on the engine conversion indicate that the engine installer (West Weisenborn of Grand Prix Automotive in Chicago – another AC specialist of that time) contacted Shelby to source parts and get advice on the conversion as early as Jan 1963 and they received “fine cooperation (from Shelby) if they weren’t out racing somewhere”…
   
   I really enjoy the history of our vintage cars and vintage racing in general…wish I had more time to devote to research. The forum seems like a good way to begin such research…who knows what will be unearthed.
   
   John

68

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca for sale in CA

« on: December 02, 2010, 20:33:29 »

quote:Originally posted by jrlucke
   
I'm wondering if this is the same Aceca/Ford that I had a conversation with the owner at a shop in Livermore in about 1973. This shop seemed to do work on several AC's. The owner indicated that there had been some linkage to the development of the Cobra.
   

   
   Was the car you saw in 1973 red? If so it was likely my father’s Aceca (AEX521, which I now own and not the one at Fantasy Junction) as my dad's Aceca was serviced in Livermore during that time. And…the shop you are referencing would most likely have been International Auto-Car located on Second Street in Livermore owned by Walt Petersen who was one of the top west coast AC experts and maintained many bay area AC’s from the early 60’s up till the mid to late 70’s, including many AC’s that were raced locally. Walt also worked for a West Coast AC distributer in the 50’s before opening his shop in Livermore.
   
   The Aceca in the link at Fantasy Junction claims to have been converted in 1963 (which may be true), but it’s engine pictured appears to be a later 289, or has had many modifications as evident by the many newer parts and lack of the oil fill spout at the front of the engine which is a trade mark of the early 289’s. Rinsey Mills “Original AC Ace and Cobra” details what some of the early unmolested 289 motors looked like. <correction - I see the listing states that the engine is a 302, which were introduced in 1968...now that I think about it I think this car appeared on e-bay a few years back>
   
   John

69

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca BE 603 Racing at Infineon this past weekend

« on: June 11, 2010, 22:21:35 »

Rob,
   
   Nice article…great to see an Aceca being flogged around the track…the only thing better would be to have been there to take in the roar of the engines. I’m disappointed to have missed the event…maybe next time.
   
   John

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Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Race set up for an Aceca Bristol

« on: April 29, 2010, 04:03:10 »

Rob,
   
   Sounds like fun!  I wish I could have made it down from Santa Rosa to Laguna Seca last weekend to see an Aceca in action.  Are you going to make it up to the Sonoma Historic Motorsport Festival at Infineon Raceway on June 5/6? Hope to see you out at the track sometime soon.
   
   John
   AEX521

71

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Race set up for an Aceca Bristol

« on: March 21, 2010, 04:30:08 »

Here is a link to an Aceca that was campaigned quite a bit about 7-10 years ago. I remember an article that Alastair wrote in an edition of AC Action (March 2000) about one of his La Carrera Panamericana runs. Based on the article, this guy really liked to drive his Aceca hard and enjoyed the experience. Does anyone know if he is still a member of the ACOC and runs his Aceca on Rallies anymore?
   
   http://www.alastaircaldwell.com/cars_acAceca.shtml
   
   Looks like I answered my own question. Looks like he came in 1st in class and 6th overall in a Rally in Iceland in 2008. This guy sure likes to travel!
   
   http://www.alastaircaldwell.com/2008_iceland.shtml

72

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / More Pics of Racing Aces

« on: March 04, 2010, 04:04:08 »

Keith,
   
   Thanks for the overview on how the Registers works. We should all be thankful to have individuals who are willing to devote the time to keeping such records. I am now interested to see what information the Aceca registrar has on my car and/or what information I can provide. The owner of my Aceca from 62 to 68 was an ACOC member (Al Snook), and I know the car left the factory as the personal car for the AC distributer in Chicago (Charles E King). At most I may have one more owner to fill in the ownership history.
   
   I agree that this forum is a great place to share information and maybe open the door to some distant (maybe not so distant) history.
   
   Cheers,
   
   John
   AEX521

73

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / More Pics of Racing Aces

« on: March 03, 2010, 20:12:26 »

Keith,
   
   I’m fascinated by all the research that club members are doing and all the bits and pieces of history being unearthed. It’s especially interesting when all the puzzle pieces get put together as with your ACE. You mentioned that “Tony Bancroft and Tim Isles are investigating both cars and inputting any new data to the Ace Registers”. Can you (or anyone else) tell us how the registers function? I’m imagining dossiers being compiled on all of our beloved cars in a smoke filled room filled with investigators and the files being locked up in a vault at the end of each day. [] I’m curious about what type of information is kept and how it is filed on all our cars. I suspect it varies between the various registers of the different models.
   
   Thanks,
   
   John
   AEX521

74

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / BEX148 (Engine 100C2 3289)

« on: October 30, 2009, 04:25:37 »

According to the Factory Records BEX148 left the works on April 18 1956 bound for Venezuela. Sounds like a Venezuelan racing connection here. What is the chassis number of the other Ace?
   
   John

75

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Racing History BEX333 (1957-1964)

« on: October 17, 2009, 23:51:19 »

Keith:
   
   What nice rewards for your perseverance! I’ve heard about these plaques but I’m not too familiar with them…I take it these were meant to attach to the dash…but were more often thrown in a drawer or memento box. I bet it’s very rare that they are ever reunited with the car’s current owners.
   
   Best,
   
   John