Messages

16

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Rear spring dimensions and rates

« on: October 04, 2021, 18:00:36 »

Does anyone have information on the rear coil springs on the Ace Brooklands please? I'm looking to get some uprated ones to try and stiffen up the suspension and get rid of the well-known 'thump' at the rear end. Trouble is, I don't quite know where to start! If anyone has any information no matter how trivial, please help with some answers!
Many thanks!

17

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Hood power

« on: December 02, 2020, 16:48:03 »

Many thanks! I shall take a look at it all tomorrow to see what I can find!

18

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Hood power

« on: December 02, 2020, 12:28:28 »

Is there anybody out there who can help me on this one? Does the power supply to the hood mechanism have a fuse? Does anyone know where it's located? My car has a working pump, a tested ECU, correct level of hydraulic fluid and no apparent leaks on any of the hood hydraulics. With the engine running, none of the lights regarding hood operation work. Any ideas welcome!

19

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Convertible hood

« on: December 01, 2020, 10:30:48 »

Many thanks! I had exactly the same problem - motor immersed in water and pretty rusty inside. Stripped it down and cleaned it up, bit of grease, connected it to a 12v battery and it spun up with so much torque it disappeared across the workbench and pulled the leads off the battery......
Bought a spare brand new one for £50 many years ago from the spares department at Brooklands, the last one off the shelf!
I've searched in the boot compartments before now and have turned up with an online 3 amp spade fuse which seems to be for the radio / aerial but no other fuses. I'll have another search just in case I've missed it.....

20

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Windscreen Surround/Seal?

« on: November 30, 2020, 17:17:52 »

Hi Max,
As far as I know, it's off some sort of Renault but I don't know which one........

21

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Convertible hood

« on: November 30, 2020, 17:15:53 »

Gentlemen,
my interest in these issues stemmed from the hydraulic pump 30Amp fuse blowing continously on my Ace, caused by a seized pump motor;
plus the problems people have with the ECU unit. I looked around for a new pump and found that Audi and Peugeot used similar
pumps for their 1990's models from Power Packer. Replacements are not cheap., so I stripped and cleaned the motor and that fixed the problem.

A few observations:
-  When looking for parts for the Ace I usually find they have been sourced from other vehicle manufactures or their suppliers. I.e Peugoet/Citroen, BMW, Porsche, Ford Europe and North America etc.
- Looking at similar cabriolet solutions on other vehicles I found that Audi, Alfa and Peugeot models from the 1990's
had the same open and closing sequences and used ECU and hydraulic pump components from "PowerPacker".
- I found that the same roof operation sequences are used for the Peugeot 306 cab, Audi 80 cab and Alfa Romeo 916 Spider, and that they  are illustrated in videos
on Youtube, e.g.  search for "Peugeot 306 cabriolet roof problems", see one example  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0shorR_3JAw
- I searched for a more detailed description of the system used and I found a high level description of the Peugeot 306 with schematics from an
Australian site Peugeotlogic.com, look under the Workshop page, then Body Work. There you will find a guide provided by the Peugeot Cabriolet Owners Club.

I'm not suggesting you can transplant another roof onto your Ace, but this at least describes the roof operation principles in more detail than any
 other information I have found sofar.
God Jul /Paho
P.S. The Alfa hydraulic pump appears to have a 12 pipe manifold similar to the Ace.

Going back through older posts regarding hood operation (or lack of it!) i came across this one from Paho. My hood mechanism is completely dead, no operating lights on the dash etc - the motor is fine, the ECU checks out as fine and all the hood pivots are free. Seeing the bit about a 30 amp fuse blowing, I've been through the fuse lists in the car's handbook and can't find one listed in either the central fuse box or the Auxiliary one! Is this a separate fuse and where do I need to look to find it please? Any help most welcome as I feel such an idiot standing behind the driver's seat trying to pull the hood up manually......!

22

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Top Ball Joints

« on: November 30, 2020, 16:54:51 »

The part number is CAC9938 and there are several manufacturers:
Borg and Beck £22.69 inc VAT
Lemforder       £35.17 inc VAT
Jaguar             £63.74 inc VAT
They're all sealed for life and available from SNG Barratt Ltd - they have an online website and are Jaguar spares suppliers.

Rather glad I solved the problem - the next step was going to be selling the car for spares......

23

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Top Ball Joints

« on: November 30, 2020, 14:56:08 »

For those who have puzzled over what make the top ball joints are from on the Ace Brooklands, I have now got the answer! I previously thought Jaguar and I can now confirm that they are off any of the following:
Jaguar / Daimler 420
XJ6 series one, two and three
Jaguar XJ-6
I now have the new one fitted without problem and a fresh MOT with no advisories!

As a further query, did anything come of producing a source list of parts for the Ace Brooklands? Unless one is produced soon, the relevant knowledge will disappear forever and the very existence of our cars will be in jeopardy!

24

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Convertible hood

« on: May 08, 2020, 17:47:08 »

Don Trimming in Erdington, Birmingham made me one last year for just under £1000. They had the car in for  about five days and made to fit in mohair. They've been in business for ever it seems and can be strongly recommended without any reservations.

25

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Register Update

« on: February 11, 2020, 10:49:40 »

Hi John,
By stripping an Ace Brooklands, does that signify breaking for spares or it is going to be a rebuild?

Kind regards,

Patrick.

26

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Windscreen interior vertical trims.

« on: February 11, 2020, 10:46:21 »

Many thanks for that? Mine appear to be made of steel covered in a thin foam layer then finally covered in alcantara. The alcantara has worn through at the edges and the underlying steel has rusted. I can't see any signs of GRP so maybe AC used a different material for the Ace Aceca. The joys of AC ownership....!

27

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Front Suspension Mods

« on: February 04, 2020, 13:57:12 »

Hi Max,

Many thanks for your reply! I've got an early XJ6 / Jaguar 420 top ball joint for comparison but haven't got round to taking the Ace wheel off to check the dimensions. I've searched a whole load of Ford ones such as Sierra, Mondeo, Granada etc, but there's no similarity at all to any of them. Once I've checked dimensions, I'll post my findings here.

28

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Parts List for Ace Brooklands

« on: January 30, 2020, 14:50:20 »

Great idea! This forum would be the ideal place as it's a good place to visit and doesn't get cluttered with information on other models which would be irrelevant to the Ace Brooklands. I'm happy to put all of the information together and post the complete list, plus any revisions that come to light over time. My email address is pandbmoynihan@yahoo.co.uk - once I've gathered a selection of answers to make up a parts list, I'll post it on this forum.

29

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Front Suspension Mods

« on: January 30, 2020, 11:48:41 »

Hi Max,

Do you by any chance know what the top ball joints are off? They look a little like XJ6 ones, but are they?!

30

Ace 'Brooklands' Forum / Re: Top Ball Joints

« on: January 30, 2020, 11:45:59 »

I'll try John Abel and Steve Hall - if they don't know........