Messages

61

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Bristol up-rated clutches

« on: April 11, 2019, 12:50:26 »

I suggest you speak to INracing. They supply various different Bristol clutch kits for road & race applications. I've fitted one of their standard 8" kits in a road car & other than having to swap over the spacer ring from the original cover plate ,it fitted & operated without any issues.

Regards Luke.

62

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: A.C. Bell Housing

« on: March 14, 2019, 06:04:08 »

RSX 5501 is only with me for chassis & body work & is currently stripped to a bare shell. I did have a passenger ride in the car some years ago but I don't recall there being any issues with engine stability or resonance. Yes, the Moss box fitted with an A type overdrive is a heavy bulky unit, not quite as heavy as the Zephyr motor though.

Something else to bear in mind regarding the zephyr engine mountings, is that they are substantially larger than the AC mounts & are fitted some distance above the crank centre line. They are also fitted in a "V" formation & I think these two factors provide adequate torque reaction damping.

Also, when looking at the installation of the light weight box, there is easily enough space to fit a similar fabricated mounting as per the Moss box bolted through the bottom of the bell housing. This strap type mounting could be fitted with the same rubber cotton reel type mounts & would directly align with the Moss box chassis brackets.

One further point with regard to the LW box. I seem to remember a photo in ACtion some time ago showing one of these boxes fitted a prototype AC flat twin or flat four engine. Maybe this proposed new range of engines was the original reason behind the development of the new gearbox type. It must have cost a considerable sum for such a small manufacturer to develop this new engine & box, before subsequently deciding the engine was not viable but at least they could still make use of the new gearbox design?

63

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: A.C. Bell Housing

« on: March 12, 2019, 07:39:25 »

Barrie,
The Ace & Aceca light weight gearbox installation does not have any bell housing or other torque dampening rubber mounts. The only mountings are the two front engine mounts & the large Triumph TR3 gearbox mounting. I'd also add that as the name implies the light weight gearbox is considerably lighter than the Moss box, with the main case being a magnesium alloy casting. Apart from the bell housing mountings on the Moss box the rear of the box is only supported by quite a small mounting with only a central 3/8" stud holding it to the chassis. Maybe AC thought that the larger TR3 mounting offered adequate torque damping?

Further to this, I'm presently working on a Zephyr engined Aceca fitted from new with a Moss overdrive box. This car was converted by AC from chassis AEX 780 to become RSX 5501, part of this conversion work was to rather crudely cut off the front bell housing mountings. As new mountings could have easily been fitted at the time AC obviously did not see them as necessary, even when fitting a 170HP spec Zephyr engine

64

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: A.C. Bell Housing

« on: March 07, 2019, 20:34:14 »

Well Barrie I think you deserve some kind of prize for the most esoteric AC question ever asked.

Therefore it also clearly deserves a comprehensive reply. The only reason I can think of for the access panel is to view the condition of the thrust bearing & possibly clutch. It doesn't make it any easier to swap them though when they need replacing.

I have an original lightweight gearbox (No. AC 21), it is only fitted with a somewhat crudely made aluminum cover sheared from a piece of 1/8" thick sheet & is identical to the cover on the only other lightweight box that I've seen. It does have the studs in the north south configuration as you state but the cover is on a raised plinth, as per the Moss bell housing so there was easily space to position the studs as per the earlier version.

I look forward to any further ramblings on this important area of AC design.

65

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Ace front uprights

« on: February 13, 2019, 16:03:45 »

I'm afraid he only has the rear uprights.

66

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Rear suspension upright

« on: February 11, 2019, 06:53:56 »

I've been asked to post the following contact for those in need of rear suspension uprights.

Please send requests to the following email. ted@adla.be

Regards, Luke.

67

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Hand Brake Support

« on: October 27, 2018, 13:03:37 »

I usually remake the floor panels, rear bulkhead & rear tunnel section in a stronger aluminium alloy (NS4 H14). I also increase the number of rivnuts holding the rear tunnel in place. The original rivnuts are 2BA threaded aluminium so I swap these for 5mm steel ones (2BA rivnuts in steel or aluminium now seem impossible to source). I find that the above mods result in a usable handbrake that doesn't flex or feel like it will pull out of the floor in use.

68

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Ace Lucas Wiring Diagram

« on: September 28, 2018, 07:16:37 »

Wiring diagram No. W29340 issued April 1955 shows the horn wiring as per later editions with no relay.

Interestingly, photos available online of AE23 show no horn relay fitted. I've also recently worked on AE31 ex works July 1954 which also has no relay.

I find it odd that a horn relay once fitted would have been deleted from subsequent models, as I see it as an improvement over the "standard" setup where all the electrical load, (all be it momentarily) runs directly through the horn switch contacts. I think this is also borne out by horn & I think overdrive relays being fitted to later Acecas.

All this being said many of the Aces made by AC Cars throughout the years of production seem to have differed in many small ways, maybe due to being hand made or parts shortages etc. For example, AE31 shows no signs of mounting holes in the rear body panels or mounting brackets for the fitment of rear overriders, although some of the cars built earlier clearly had them.

Regards Luke.

69

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Grommets or no Grommets

« on: September 20, 2018, 07:06:44 »

Yes, grommets are fitted to the rear holes around the aluminium spacer tubes. At the front there is no space to fit any grommets, as the overrider brackets are mounted directly against the body.

Regards Luke.

70

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Ace Overriders

« on: September 06, 2018, 08:14:47 »

I'm currently in the process of restoring Aceca AE503, it arrived together with a set of chromed steel tubular bumpers fitted with the later pattern overriders. After reading your helpful last post I had a closer look at the earliest photo that I have of 503 & yes, it's fitted with the earlier pattern overriders!

Therefore I'll also be ordering a set of four overriders to return the car to it's original configuration.Many thanks for your efforts in getting this project underway.

Regards, Luke.

71

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Aceca rear screens

« on: July 19, 2018, 20:30:31 »

The screen is 5mm thick & the lip of the aperture is 4mm thick.
Over time the rubber seals do tend to harden & shrink so maybe this is what's causing your current issue
The new rubber is sold off the roll by companies such as COH Baines Ltd. https://www.coh-baines.co.uk/search.php?search_query=screen+rubbers&x=0&y=0

New rubber seals are quite supple & easily conform to the large radius corners of the cars rear hatch.As you probably know the seal is finally tensioned into position by inserting the filler strip using a simple hand tool, some lubrication such as liquid soap often helps during this process.

Luke.

72

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Aceca rear screens

« on: July 17, 2018, 08:46:45 »

They used to be available from   http://www.plastics4performance.com/ & were at one time listed on their website, probably best to just give them a call.

Regards Luke.

73

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Ace starter

« on: June 28, 2018, 06:18:45 »

The AC engine starter is the same as the one fitted to some series 1 Land Rovers.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVER-SERIES-1-SERIES-ONE-ROVER-60-ROVER-75-STARTER-MOTOR-RARE-RMFD-/262492459334

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Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Fuel cap down pipe

« on: May 31, 2018, 08:20:39 »

New steel down pipes to suit the Ceandess filler necks are available from Acton Custom Enterprises in the US.
http://actoncobra.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43&products_id=301

75

Ace, Aceca & Greyhound Forum / Re: Ace harmonic balancer needed

« on: April 10, 2018, 19:47:54 »

Sorry for the late reply but if you want to stick with the original style damper they are available from Rodd Briggs in the uk. Here http://www.ac-6.co.uk/spare_parts_list_two%20Crankshaft%20Assembly.htm

Regards Luke.