AE547 Aceca

[lew]

The Aceca has evaded the Somali pirates and has successfully travelled the 450k from Cape Town to my home in George.Running at about 120kph the fuel consumption was about 11lt/100k.Not bad considering the o.d is dysfunctional.
   A few issues.
   It tracks very badly in cross winds and I suspect wheel alignment.
   Does a kangaroo hop(it is from Aus!!) at low throttle openings,suspect to rich on the pilot jet.I checked the carbs are balanced but the  the pilots have been soldered and drilled
   Interior noise level is deafening.I am sure it will be much better when interior is in!A lot of noise seems to come from the engine compartment.Any suggestions on quietening an Aceca would be most welcome.I did have the sense to take ear plugs with me for the trip so it wasn't too bad.
   A lot of banging and clattering from the back,almost as if the diff was falling out,will look in the next few days
   No where to stretch out left leg (sciatica nerve problems).Will probably move the dip switch to create some space
   
   Could someone please help with MAX ignition advance  for a 100D2. This car is fitted with a Mallory twin point system and I don't know its advance curve so I need the MAX advance setting please.
   
   There is no bonnet stay, could some one please tell me how this was fitted,where it pivoted from etc.
   How is that boot opening!!about the size of a letter box,had to get on my knees to get anything in. There has to be a better idea.
   Lew

[bex316]

As far as I know Acecas came from the factory fitted with padding under the bulkhead and dashboard, unlike Aces. This might help somewhat in the noise department. Does your car still have it? Probably there are also better insulating materials available nowadays compared to the original material.
   
   Regarding the banging and clattering from the back, it could also be caused by the suspension not properly tightened or even more so by loose or too long UJ bolts.
   
   Jerry

[AC Ace Bristol]

Lew
   
   Congratulations on rescueing AE547 from OZ !
   
   First things first,
   
   Jack her up , sit her on 4 Axle stands, crawl under with a set of spanners and a Bloody big grease gun.
   
   The banging from the rear or underneath, could well be loose UJ
   bolts, worn suspension (Poss lack of fresh grease) or even worn splines.
   
   As Jerry points out, the Aceca has extra insulation  to the interior, and fibreglass footwells etc,  Noise travels so check engine and  gearbox mounts, exhuast mounts and differential mounting.
   
   The Aceca is always noisier than the Ace, simply due to the tin top making the Aceca into a sound box / Drum,  Later Acecas even had additional insulation inside the roof area to make it quieter.
   
   Good Luck with curing the various ailments, Enjoy !! ..[]
   
   Please post a few pictures B4 you start major work, yes !! certain parts may have been previously restored ..[?]
   However we all set our own standards,  Some  peoples interpretation of restoration really leaves a lot to be desired ...[]
   
   Keith .. []

[kenn]

have kicked myself for years for not buying AE 547 in Perth ,i think it was 1975 and at that time it had a ford or holden 6 with 3 SU's and apart from the engine was in good original condition, and priced around $1800 but what might interest you most is that i'm sure the seller said it had come from South Africa to Perth.
   Oh and at that time  it drove with no unpleasant noises.The colour was almost an orange red.
   Ken

[pls01]

Lew,
   Good to hear the Aceca is moving.  I did some work on ignition advance sometime back.
   
   Background: I was taught by racing engine builders to set timing at the MAX advance.  Setting at idle is not accurate.  With radial cams and cam timing, the idle is too lumpy to get an accurate reading.  Most engines like 30-35 BTDC at full centrifugal advance.  Usually all the centrifugal advance is in by 3000 rpm.
   
   On to the Bristol 100D2:  I set it at 35 BTDC at full advance and the engine ran terrible.  No power, ran hot.  I advanced it further and found 50-55 was good.  It seems way too much and I thought something was mismarked.  In 2007, I rebuilt the engine, used a degree wheel that confirmed the timing marks.  I also extended the scale on the flywheel.  I believe every tooth on the file is 1.5 degrees.  I can double check if you want.
   
   By the way, how did a Mallory twin point get installed?  Did the whole distributor get changed or did the fit the point plate inside the Lucas distributor?
   
   Peter

[lew]

Thanks guys.The mallory is a complete distributor.The previous guy fitted it not me .I've only had the car for 4 days so am still scratching thru it.I agree with you re ignition,it should always be set at maximum advance particularly as I have no knowledge of the mallory advance curve. The info I recd from Geoff Dowdle in Aus who built the engine is that the timing should be 32-35 degrees at 3,500 and 42-45 degrees at 5,000.
   The problem with old fashioned combustion chambers is the pointy pistons and the way they effect flame travel, the higher the compression the worse it gets!
   I have an old F1 car fitted with an Alfa engine and this has to run at 51 deg so I can well believe your 50 -55
   I will start at Geoffs 45 and keep advancing and see what happens.will report back.
   I am off to the workshop now to fight a recalcitrant o/d unit!
   Lew

[pls01]

Lew,
   A correction to my post: "I believe one tooth on the flywheel is 1.5 degrees".
   
   I like your explaination of why the Bristols run so much advance. The 30-35 BTDC for more modern engines with little or no dome and 50-55 on the high domed Bristol correlates with your experience.  By the way, I am running 9.5:1 CR and an Isky cam with a little more lift and duration.
   
   You may be able to get the Mallory advance curve by calling them with the distributor number.  I've found companies like Isky, Crane, Malloy support their products.  Maybe they are tired of small block Chevys and just want something different.  I'm in the USA if you need some help with it.
   
   Peter

[AEX566]

Lew,
   Keith is right about grease, but I'd advise taking it a step further: undo all the shafts and suspension pins f&r that are greased and check for dried old grease that may block one side of the grease passage on the suspension pins, in the passages of the bronze thrust washers and/or possibly some of the four passages in each ujoint.  Broke a rear hub carrier years ago when the lower pin locked up- Sure I had greased it but the one end was blocked by old dried grease. The ujoints are common item and are worth replacing if at all questionable.  Pulling and disassembling the half shafts also allows a look at how they fit & are lubed 50+ years on. Suspect you'll also find at least one grease tit is bent, or has a broken spring.
   Good luck with your Aceca, may you have many miles of fun with it.
   Art

[lew]

Guys,
   Thanks.Kenn I wished I had bought it for $1800, I am even ashamed to tell my long suffering family what I paid for it.
   As far as I am aware the chassis,engine and gearbox have been mechanically restored about 4000 kms(strange car has km speedo and all geared correctly and rather accurate using a gps)so I assume all bushes replaced at that time.will check with the previous owner. With the wheels on the ground there is a lot of movement when rotating the prop back and forth.All uj have been replaced and prop and drive shafts balanced.This he told me.No obvious wear on wheel and hub splines. I suspect a bit of wear in all the drive line splines and this adds up.Thought of pulling the diff nose but this looks rather awkward!
   My intention is to replace all bronze bushes with self lubricating engineering plastic ones(vesconite). Frankly to serve 3 purposes 1)to be able to fit offset bushes to get wheel alignment/camber more accurate and 2)I am too old and lazy to keep greasing the bronze ones and finally 3)it saves a lot of mess!
   When I get round to it I will let you all know how it works out.
   I have had the dash out(simple job) and have covered the glass fibre behind dash bulkhead with a self stick roof flashing sealer strip with a ally foil on one side.Its about 3mm thick and has made a difference to the engine noise in the car. I can now hear the exhaust!!
   Prior to this it was like sitting in an aluminium kettle drum with a 6 cylinder engine as a roaring companion.
   Still haven't quite got the kangaroo hop out of it at low throttle when pulling off..Does anyone have any ideas on the tension that should be on the anti torque rubbers fitted at the engine g/b interface?
   back to work
   Lew

[kenn]

Lew ,a few years ago there was an Aceca MPH speedo for sale here in Aus.i spoke to the seller ,to see if he had any other Aceca parts, he told me he had seen AEX 566 in Darwin some years before so i guess that speedo may have been from your car.Will try to track it down if I can.
   Ken

[David Byng]

The reconstruction of my Aceca, BE601 continues to make progress. I was encouraged by David Royle who rebuilt Bill Goyder's Aceca to put in additional soundproofing while the car was in pieces. I'm using Sound X soundproofing/noise deadening stuff - £150 for 128 sq ft, it comes in reels about 4" wide, impressively sticky backed. Mine is from Thompsons of Macclesfield. I've no idea how much I need but the more you buy the cheaper it gets. Time will tell how effective it is.
   Best wishes,
   David Byng

[lew]

Peter

[lew]

Peter,
   How do you find your Isky cam,did you lose a lot of bottom end with it compared to the standard 100d2 one.

[pls01]

Lew,
   I can't really compare. It's had the Isky since 1962 and I never drove with the stock cam.  It idles OK at 850rpm, pulls smooth to 3500 then it really wakes up.  I would say the power band is a bit towards the top end but still useable for the road.
   
   Wish I was back in the sunny RSA.  I worked at ESKOM Kendal Plant near Whitbank.  We had 1.4 meters of snow so far and I had to shovel off the roof of the garage for concern of collapse.
   Peter

[lew]

Peter,
   We are sweltering out hear 31 cel today plus humidity but at least I don't have to worry about snow co lapsing my roof!
   Lew