AC Owners Club Forum
AC Owners Club Forum => Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum => Topic started by: Heyitsderek on January 09, 2020, 23:00:24
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I’ve got an Aceca project that I have been having a difficult time identifying. I can’t seem to much in the way of identifying numbers on the car except for 526 stamped inside a door near the hinges. I’m assuming that would be it’s an Aex 526 or bex 526? If so where could I find more build information on the car? It’s located in Los Angeles and I was going to sell it as well if anyone’s interested. It’s a LHD car and a lot of work had been done to make it a V8
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Hi Derek!
As just discussed i am very interested and hopefully we can find an agreement!
Best,
Eddie
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Ebay link
http://ebay.us/RL3QYA?cmpnId=5338273189
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Looking at the eBay advert something’s odd. The Aceca AE526 carried reg SOC1 and was found along with a ace and greyhound in a Tripple garage. ( thread on this site somewhere)
It was blue as I recall , but was low miles and barn find state.
Unless this is the result of a brutal restructuring / attempted restoration of same car (exported/ Lhd conversion/ v8 ready).
The AE526 registration SOC1 is now on a different car.
Also looking at door stamping on eBay photo the 6 is marked out and a 7 pin punched in? Also dash is lhd which 526 was not.
So not sure what actual this car is?
Graham
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you are correct that AE526 was found as a barn find in the UK and it is registered in the UK and undergoing a full nut and bolt restoration
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Ill be at the car warehouse again tomorrow to try to find some other numbers. I have tried in the past with no success.
Just to confuse things more if you look at the photo that shows the top of the driver door this car used to be blue at one point.
AE 526 please correct me if I am wrong was supposed to originally be green?
If there is someone who could point me in the direction of some site or page that shows photos of where all the vin numbers could be found on the car it could be helpful and appreciated
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If you join the club then you are able to download the registers
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Do I recall correctly that the chassis number was often stamped on the hatch back lock (the bit that engages with the body)?
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I can assure you the car you are looking at is NOT AE526 and you are correct AE 526 is green. It is still right hand drive and safely undergoing restoration in the UK
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Chassis number on Ace and Aceca, found on Door hinges, Boot hinge, bonnet hinges and Tail gate hinge. and Engine mount ( which obviously has long been lost along with Chassis Plate.
Often Chassis number also found written on reverse of Dash and underside of seat tub.
As stated earlier, AE526 is secure in UK and undergoing full restoration.
For more details , Join the ACOC ( On Line ) and contact the AC Aceca registrar .
Keith
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Does AE527 still exist- could it be this car?
Why would the door plate be stamped with the 6 changed to the 7. To early to be a Bristol aceca though if number is lower than 571.
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Flying Horse.
Yes. AE527 does exist, I have various photos dating from the 1982 through to 2017 substantiating the condition / existence of AE527.
!'m not a Aceca man, So best refer to .. .. .. " Marc Atkinson" our AC Aceca Registrar .
Keith
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Are all the numbers on the car supposed to match chassis numbers?
Every location have the same number?
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Derek
Each AC was hand built in Aluminium , as there were multiple bucks The chassis number would be stamped on each major component in order to ensure
doors, boot, bonnet and tailgate followed body contours, alignment and correct fit.
Dimensions are similar but not necessarily the same, hence they are not always interchangeable.
I have found that If you look closely at Aces. Aceca's and Greyhounds even the nearside is not a 100% mirror image of the offside. AC's are individual hand built cars, not mass produced like Jaguars or Austin Healeys.
Keith
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How about the AC engine number? The last 2 digits (91) are visible in one picture. I am surprised there is even an AC engine present if the plan was to build it with a V8. Even if it is not the original engine to the car (in which case it would lead to the actual VIN of the car) it could possibly still provide a lead to its identity.
Jerry
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Hi All:
The Aceca in question has been sold to me. During the rebuild, we will be completely stripping the body and frame and hope to find at least one other possible VIN number after we have removed the paint etc.
As far as I can determine, the motor, transmission, and overdrive that are included separately with the car are not original to it; at some point they seem to have been shipped from the UK. I assume that they came from a single car, but whether it was an Ace, an Aceca, or something else I don't know. The motor number is CLB 2416 91 NT. However, any information regarding the VIN of the car the drive train came from, or indeed any info about my car, is most welcome. Given that the two possible numbers found on the left hand door frame (526 or 527) are those of existing cars in the UK, it is indeed a puzzle.
Any information any one can add about the original VIN of my car or the source of the included drive train is extremely welcome.
Thanks for any help!!
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Could it be BE576 as that had a V8 and the grille in the picture on Eby has the slot for Bristiol start handle, and this car ended up in the states?
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Thanks for your reply! It could not - the numbers 526 are very clear. I've attached a photo of the numbers, which are near the upper hinge of the left hand door. The windshield of the car has the two lower corners sharply angled, which I believe means it's an earlier car. I don't know when (that is, by year and VIN) the windshield shape changed, perhaps someone in the club knows? That would at least put an upper boundary on the age, which would help.
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I think its not clear its 526--the 6 is crossed out with an x in your photo and pin punched 7-you would have to pull a lot more evidence from round the car that its 526. Its also LHD so would be AEX not AE.
There is also blue paint under the red in the roof area which may be original and 526 was green.
Not trying to be problematic but if 526 is (According to others) in the UK ,RHD and undergoing restoration , what do you have?
Will be an interesting story no doubt.
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Yes, I understand and do agree that it's probably an AEX car - but the 52 is quite clear, wouldn't you agree? So if they are correct, it would have to have a VIN from 520 to 529. 526 and 527 have already been ruled out, leaving the remainder. If it's not 52X, then why are those numbers there? As has been pointed out, the cars were built by hand individually, so it seems unlikely that it's a door from a different car - and even if it is, that still means the door came from a 52X VIN.
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The other interesting thing is that the numbering is stamped on wood.
I am happy to be corrected but this is the first time I have ever heard of AC doing this.
However the font looks period.
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The other interesting thing is that the numbering is stamped on wood.
I am happy to be corrected but this is the first time I have ever heard of AC doing this.
However the font looks period.
BE646 had also it's number stamped into the wood (doors).
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Ash frames were mostly stamped with the car number e.g. G'hound boot frame and Aceca door frames. I have never seen the works use a centre punch to alter a number. Despite various components being hand fitted and numbered for individual vehicles there are many examples of the works doing a mix and match to finish and/or repair cars. In this case the numbers on the substitute items would not match the car number.
I would be pretty confident that the door numbered '526 was so marked at Thames Ditton and that the alteration to a centre punched '527 was a subsequent non works alteration.
If '526 is available in the U.K. it would be interesting to see the number stamped in her door. Looking at all the '52x possibilities would not move you further forward. It is almost certain that the car number will be shewn elsewhere in the structure when you look. Be careful when you clean the back side of panels as under the dirt, oil and underseal there may be a scribbled number, made by a panel man with a lead pencil, after he had achieved the correct fit.
Finally can you look back through any surviving paperwork to find any identification of of chassis or engine ?
Last chance maybe an enquiry to DVLA to see if the Registration Mark has any history recorded: Originally the registration documents would shew the information you seek, even part information would help - for example a keepers name on Logbook or V5 might tie in with a name on the Aceca register.
Good luck with the project, nice to see the correct engine going back in the car
Barrie
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Hi All
I own AE 526 with all correct documentation, full history of all owners including AC build log confirming first owner. Not only is every part marked and stamped 526 but the car also carries the original correctly stamped chassi plate. It is correctly registered with the DVLA and I have had confirmation all is present and correct from the DVLA
The car is on the last stages of a full nut and bolt restoration and hope it will be on the road again soon
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Vincent just one question: Why would you suppose this was an AEX Aceca ? The photo' seems to shew the steering wheel as a RHD car and that is a UK Registration Mark on a UK style number plate. Surely it will be an AE number ?
Barrie
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I think the car you are looking at above is not my car, it's the "real" AE526, which is in the UK. My car is LH drive and has no plates etc. I've attached a couple of photos.
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The dash photos in the add tell you this car was LHD and therefore will be an AEX........It is too early to be a BEX car.
So you have already narrowed it down ( a bit )
When stripping the paint back I would take great care and try to identify the original colour as if no other marks can be found this may be your only chance of really narrowing it down to a handful of options.
Good luck, Luke
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Given Aceca doors are a pain to fit, if there were a number of cars in assembly at the same time could a door not have been swapped even with stamped numbers to get a better fit?
I posted the picture of Ae526 bearing its number SOC1 when it was pulled from the garage where it sat with the greyhound and ace when discovered.
The second mystery is how AE526 lost this number SOC1 when the car had no mot ( even mot exempt cars must get an mot to transfer the number) so the plate not Legally transferable , and is just finishing a nut and bolt rebuild. I assume SOC1 is not going back on AE526 as it’s on a Ferrari at present. How can that happen? Is it right?
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Hi
I am the owner of AE526 and have been restoring it steadily since acquiring it once it had been recovered with the other two cars. It is registered as such with the DVLA and yes I was puzzled by the loss of its number plate? It is now registered as 948YUS and I hope to have it back road worthy in the near future.
David
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Hi All!
Today I made a close search of the car and found what must be the correct VIN number (photo attached). My car is AEX 531, apparently lost until now. I found the number punched into the wood frame of the rear hatch between the two hinges. The car is listed in the 2014 register as AEX 531, Ex Factory 03/10/1955, steel blue body and red interior. As of 2014, nothing was noted for last known owner, location, or additional information. I've attached a photo of the number and another of the original paint. As suggested by a poster, the numbers on the door (526/7 must have been the result of swapping doors during assembly.
Many thanks to all of you for your comments and useful advice! I will be asking lots of further questions about various bits that are missing from the car, and appreciate your patience and help.
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For some reason the number photo did not post. I hope it works this time ...
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Vincent,
That’s good news and on the main body .I hope you put the AC engine/ box and overdrive in instead of a v8 project as suggested by the original seller.
The pin punch of 531 seems similar to the punching/ changing of 526 to 527 on the door so probabaly something done during assembly of several cars but I was not even born in 1955 so not qualified to say.
Graham
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Response to 30th Jan post by DHAceca:
Dear David,
I can provide a bit more information about the registration number and original engine of your car AE526.
My e mail address is Benedict.morgan@yahoo.co.uk