Messages

76

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca AEX567 on eBay

« on: October 16, 2009, 05:59:36 »

Jay,
   
   Thanks for the update. I also hate how that pesky work thing gets in the way. It keeps me further from the hobby of owning a vintage car than I desire. Have you figured how you are going to shape the front end if you go with the original Ace nose and mustache? I wonder if there are any old wooden bucks on this side of the pond or are they all in the UK.
   
   John

77

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

« on: October 16, 2009, 05:41:13 »

Keith,
   
   Great news! I find the history that our cars have to tell one of the best aspects of owning a Vintage car. Thanks for sharing what you’ve discovered. I look forward to seeing some of the old photos. How about posting a few digital photos of the racing plaques...I’m curious to see what they look like.
   
   Cheers,
   
   John

78

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Hood locks

« on: September 11, 2009, 02:39:42 »

Gus
   I assume you are talking about the chrome caps…one of my hood lock caps was broken and I purchased a pair (so that they would match) from Ron Leonard.  He has reproductions of the “T” handle key available also...and he lists the hood latch in his parts list but some of his parts are "no longer available". Worth checking. You will have to reach him by phone (970-259-0108) since he is old school…not hooked up to the web.
   
   John

79

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca AEX567 on eBay

« on: September 09, 2009, 08:02:08 »

quote:Originally posted by aex125
   
Hi Roger and welcome,
   To me it looks like a Saturday afternoon with a hammer and dolly, followed by some polishing and you'll have a very original car with a pleasing patina.[]
   Let us also hear a bit about that Cobra experience.
   Jay
   

   
   Jay
   
   For you it “looks like a Saturday afternoon with a hammer and a dolly”. As I recall, you have an Ace that needs a nose job to fix a bad…abandoned…attempt to make a Cobra out of an Ace.  In fact, the photos you posted of AEX1078 when you brought it home make both AEX 567 and AEX561 look like easy restoration projects.[] BTW...how's it going with AEX1078?  Are you considering restoring the original Ace bodywork or are you going to go with an Ace 2.6 front end? How about starting a new thread on the status of your “project”? I am sure fellow forum readers would be interested in hearing about your progress.
   
   John

80

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca AEX567 on eBay

« on: September 04, 2009, 05:25:40 »

Roger,
   
   Another welcome to the club!  I am the other Aceca owner that Peter mentioned and live a few miles from Greg in Santa Rosa. There is one more Aceca that I know of about 10 minutes north of Santa Rosa in Windsor, and I am sure that there are a few Ace owners in our area as well. You may want to join the ACOC soon as they are planning to publish a new member directory in the near future (it has been a few years since the last one was published).
   
   I am glad to hear that you plan on returning AEX567 back to her proper glory. Feel free to contact me at Aceca289@aol.com and I will assist you to the best of my ability to locate parts and resources that you may need to take on the restoration.
   
   You may want to check out Robin Woolmer’s web site called the AC engine Project. He provides a great resource for restoring AC engines! This might give you some encouragement to the daunting task of making that AC engine run again.
   
   Link:  http://www.ac-project.co.uk/
   
   Best of Luck,
   
   John

81

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca AEX567 on eBay

« on: August 30, 2009, 01:29:49 »

AEX567 made it on to Bringatrailer.com soon after this forum post...this could have contributed to the interest in this car.
   
   Link: http://bringatrailer.com/2009/08/23/softer-than-steel-shortened-1957-ac-aceca/#more-2019
   
   I am curious to find out what happens to this car.
   
   John

82

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Source for an ACECA Radio

« on: August 06, 2009, 03:04:47 »

quote:Originally posted by Robin A Woolmer
   
I do not know if you are still looking but CIP1.Com in Califoria have just announced a retro radio for about $260
   
   'www2.cip1.com' It is Califoria Inport Parts Ltd 1124 Fir Ave.PMB 108 Blaine WA 98230
   
   They seem to have modern internals & are fitted to retro VW's
   

   Robin:
   
   Thanks thinking of me. I decided to abandon the new remote (hidden) or retro radio idea for now and try my luck with a vintage unit. Your timing is uncanny! I just purchased a vintage radio a few days ago. Here is a link to an almost identical radio from the same seller on e-bay (this seller has several of these radios along with many others).   http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350231030795&category=80741&_trksid=p4340.m183&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%252BIA%26itu%3DIT%252BSI%252BUA%252BUS-BWR%252BUCI%252BPSS%252BUCC%252BCRS%26otn%3D8%26ps%3D33
   From what I have discovered this radio was produced from 1963 – 1967 (and likely beyond with modifications). It is transistor based and has been tested (fingers crossed). I opted to avoid earlier tube based models. The interesting thing about this radio (and many others such as the Becker radios…) is that there is a 6 prong DIN plug at the back for Aux input (didn’t know they had that in the 60’s). What’s more interesting is that some clever Nerd has figured out how to use this Aux input to wire up an IPOD / MP3 or CD directly into the back of the unit. Apparently the quality of the sound through this connection is touted as being good. I suspect that means good with respect to 60’s technology! The stereo output from the IPOD is converted to mono (since this unit is mono), sooo I will have a mono system. At least that fits with the original single speaker stock arrangement that I have in my Aceca. I think I will add a few more speakers (hidden as best as possible) for a “Mono Surround System”. Wow, that sounds kind of sophisticated[]. I am curious to see how this all sounds when I get it hooked up. They do make a 7 pin DIN plug for slightly newer stereo radios that will retain the stereo output from the IPOD.
   
   Here is a link to a website that Greg (AKA 59 Aceca)  sent me that sums up much of what I discovered in my research (plus some more)    http://www.jimpaul.tv/mga/mods3.htm   A Google or e-bay search for Blaupunkt  or Becker vintage radios will lead anyone to many vintage radios.
   
   I hope this helps anyone else who might be looking to install a radio in their vintage ride.
   
   John

83

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Source for an ACECA Radio

« on: July 06, 2009, 02:21:40 »

Jay’s and Robin’s suggestions led me to research into the possibility of sourcing a hidden radio with a remote control (hey, if I can think of it...someone else has most likely invented it). Right off the bat I came up with this link.   http://www.vintagevibes.net/Stereos/secretaudio.htm    There may be other units also available.  Now all I have to do is to find a place to hide the unit and discreet locations for quality speakers.
   
   With this solution, I would purchase a vintage radio (on e-bay) to fill the old void for the original radio to make things look right.  Greg (aka 59 ACECA) sent me a link for nice vintage radio on e-bay...so I’m almost there.
   
   Thanks for the help!
   
   John

84

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Source for an ACECA Radio

« on: July 02, 2009, 05:31:29 »

Jay,
   Good thought, although I'd still have to buy a dummy radio that looked right to fill the hole…and the glove box would be an inconvenient location in my Aceca since the only way to open it is with the key (the later Aceca’s have a push button release).
   Thanks,
   John

85

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Source for an ACECA Radio

« on: July 02, 2009, 04:38:18 »

Juergen,
   I checked it out on-line and this unit has way more features that I need and the cost is high. I would like to get a more basic radio that will have a way to hook up the Ipod (if possible) while looking appropriate in the vintage dash.
   Thanks for the suggestion.
   John

86

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca Legroom

« on: June 28, 2009, 08:06:43 »

Alan,
   I am glad you found the seating information helpful.
   
   The transmission tunnel in my car is larger than normal in order to house the Borg Warner T10 Trans and a Lincoln Overdrive unit installed with the 289 in 1963. This is what required the seat rails to be removed in the first place. The seat modifications should be able to be made without modification to the stock transmission tunnel. It would be good to take some measurements to make sure since the room available for the seat narrows at the back due to the rear tire wells and the tire wells on my car needed minor modifications to allow the seat to go all the way back. If I were making similar modifications to a stock Aceca, I’d surely keep all the bits and pieces to allow restoration back to stock seat rails in the future.
   
   Jay is correct when he mentioned the Aceca foot boxes being fiberglass. I suspect someone who knows how to work with fiberglass could extend the foot box. However, moving the pedal box for the clutch and brake may prove more difficult as it is welded to the frame. And, the throttle linkage would likely need modification as well. Maybe others have done this mod but it sounds like a lot of work to me.
   
   John

87

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca Legroom

« on: June 27, 2009, 02:13:39 »

My Aceca (AEX 521 -1955) has a drop headliner which was the norm for the early Acecas. The factory did away with the drop headliner in later Acecas by gluing the liner to the aluminum roof panel which adds about 1” to 1-1/2” of head room. I am 5’-11” and fit into it without scraping the headliner and my father (who is 6’-4”) drove it for 30+ years without an apparent problem (although he has always had a military haircut and probably scraped the headliner). One thing that probably makes the difference is that the lower portion of the seat adjusting tracks have been removed and the seat mounted directly to the floor panel (due to transmission tunnel mods made for the engine conversion in 1963). With the seat tracks removed the seat can be mounted lower and further back. I am in the process of a complete interior restoration and have pushed the seat back an additional inch or two (from where it was when my dad drove the car), removed the portion of the tracks mounted to the seat, and had the seat slightly reclined to where it almost touches the bulkhead. I also had the steering column (which is adjustable) shifted up giving more leg room.  The leg room is great for me with the seat in this position and the seat could go forward and still not be a problem. The short reach to the steering wheel has also been improved as well (no more steering wheel at your chest) My dad had to spread his knees out to the side to compensate for the lack of leg room prior to my recent change to the seat mounting (I guess it did not bother him too much considering how much he drove the car). A longer foot well would certainly help the situation.
   
   The driving position for many early sports cars is certainly not up to what we are used to with today’s cars. That is part of allure of driving these old cars (although some careful modifications can make the experience more enjoyable). If you are set on an Aceca you should try some out for size as some peoples height is in their legs and for others in their torso. You could always have a Zagato roof fabricated if the head room is problem.[]
   
   Good luck in your search.
   
   John

88

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / badges

« on: June 22, 2009, 04:47:19 »

Anyone following this post should check the new post on the general forum entitled "AC Emblem Inquiry".

89

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / badges

« on: June 15, 2009, 12:11:19 »

quote:Originally posted by 59 Aceca
   
Gus and Jay,
   
   I don't know how fussy you are, but the reproduction badges are missing a fair amount of detail.  I currently have a couple of them mounted on my Aceca.  Over the course of about a year I've sourced two originals on Ebay (from the UK) and will be putting them on the car soon.  The photo below illustrates what I'm talking about.  The one on the right is the reproduction, the one on the left an original.  They come up from time to time.  If you're not in a hurry, I think they're worth the wait!
   
   - Greg
   
   Greg
   
   Are you sure your "reproduction badges" are not the original badges that have been re-chromed?
   John
   
   
   

90

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Aceca Door Pockets

« on: May 28, 2009, 06:29:45 »

Peter,
   I still have the original door panels from my Aceca (a bit worn and tattered since they sat outside for a few years). They are at the upholstery shop being used as patterns for my new door panels. I won’t have them back until near the end of June. I would be glad to ship them to you to use a pattern or take some photos and measurements when I get them back. Let me know if that works with you. They have an additional leather strip element (about ¾” wide – mounted on a thin strip of wood) running about 4”-5” off the bottom of the panel which I think looks sharp compared to the large uninterrupted sheet of leather at the bottom as usually seen on Aceca door panels.
   John
   AEX521