BEX 437 INFORMATION?

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
   Jonathan..
   
   Thank you for your recent email and picture.  
   
   A Great Find..[:p].
   
   Good to  learn existance and location  of another Ace that has Racing History and had fallen off the ACOC  radar..[].
   
   When you visit Lyle Johanson, can you please take a series of photos and furnish Tony Bancroft, Tim Isles  and I with additional photos including that of the Chassis Plate and interior.
   
   When viewing BEX437 Can you please ask Lyle Johanson to furnish us with copy of any Period  Ace Racing Photographs and Racing literature e.g. Race programms, Race Results etc,  Ever Hopefull that he may have track and Paddock/Pit Photos of BEX333 and other Ace's raced in Period 1958 through 1964. (in NW USA, Vancouver and BC)
   
   Hey!.... Might even have the odd  period photo of you competing in
   your MG TC.[?]
   
   THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR SHARING.. ..[]
   
   Enjoy the visit.
   
   Keith ..[]

[1744]

Apolgies to Lyle, owner of BEX437 with my typo of Lyle's sirname which is Johanson.
   
   I look forward to visiting Lyle shortly in West Vancouver and will ask him about further history and early photos etc. As I am not capable of posting images, I will email them to possibly Keith for him to do that task.
   
   Cheers,
   
   Jonathan Parker

[nikbj68]

LOL!!!!

[bex316]

On behalf of Jonathan and Keith here is BEX 437. Hope to see more of them in due time! Great find!
   
   Jerry
   
   

[AC Ace Bristol]

quote:Originally posted by nikbj68
   
LOL!!!!
   

   
   I in TURN will FORWARD to Nik my PA, whom Posts pictures with great ease, Where as many of us make a dogs breakfast..[]
   
   Jonathan..... Have a good meeting with Lyle and get him to join the ACOC,  We will all appreciate more pictures and confirmation of Racing History of BEX437 and
   other Aces racing in Period with / against   BobConstabaris..[]
   
   BONUS Lyle may have a period picture of Jonathan racing his MG TC.
   
   Nik.... I O U  yet more Beer.....[]hic..[:0]... Hopefully I  haven't  exceeded my Credit Limit?
   
   Seriously,  Thank you Jonathan for meeting up at the recent Car show and engaging with Lyle...  Looking forward to more information.
   
   Keith..[]..[]

[Laurence Kent]

I heard from Lyle Johanson today. The American Ace-Bristol owner who told me in the mid-80s that BEX 437 was in a field in Delta, British Columbia, had obviously been wrong about that car's identity...as well as the other fellow who said it was in the Eastern U.S.A.
   
   Lyle has checked his records and is now amending some of his information. He didn't obtain the car in '72 or '73, but rather in July of 1975. It had a Chevrolet 283 motor at the time, which he replaced with a Chevrolet 350 from a '72 z-28 Camaro. It is still with that motor. Also, the dashboard was replaced with a custom wooden one, with all original gauges replaced with American ones. A non-original 1970s "space-age" steering wheel with a "Cobra" emblem was added.
   
   Lyle doesn't think he will be restoring the car, but rather, possibly letting it go.
   
   I am really glad that my original call for information yielded results, and wish to thank the ACOC and all those who had a hand in bringing to light some information on this car.
   
                    Sincerely,
   
                               Laurence Kent

[nikbj68]

Here are Jonathan`s photos of BEX437, courtesy of Keith. I know I`m your P.A, but do I have to wear those skirts? []
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   What a great find, and let`s hope that someone can get this Ace back on the road sometime soon, she looks pretty good for all the time she`s stood untouched!

[AC Ace Bristol]

Nik ,  Alias Nicki
   
   What you wear is up to you..  Oh! by the way Sue wants her high heels back ..[] ..and We thought We knew you.
   Well, The Secrets out..[:0]
   
   
   Joking apart..[]
   
   Thank you for posting Jonathan's Pictures of Lyles BEX437 Ace..[]
   If Lyle does decide to sell, let's hope it gets de-Cobraised and is reunited with a Bristol engine & Gearbox and says goodbye to the 1970s Wooden Dash.
   
   Whatever.   It's great to learn that anothert Ace has resurfaced and is now accurately registered in the  ACOC Ace Bristol register.[]
   
   There's a Bristol engine for Sale in NZ c/o  ACOC member:-
   Glen Smytheman,    kiwiacebristol@hotmail.com
   
   
   Keith ..[]..[]

[Laurence Kent]

I just thought I would clarify something about BEX 437, as its original owner, Bob Constabaris, is no longer with us.
   
    As some of you know, my Ace, AEX 443, got BEX 437's gearbox, instruments, exhaust, badges and 100 D-2 motor (upgraded to "S" and beyond in 1960-61). The engine swap occurred in the late 1960s, once Constabaris had stopped racing his Ace and handed it over to his wife in their divorce settlement. She promptly sold it and that's when the car's "Cobratisation" with a GM 283 began.  I know this from having interviewed Constabaris on three occasions, plus I once spent the better part of a day doing research through the files of the Sports Car Club of British Columbia, which indicated that all of Constabaris' racing had been done with the original Bristol D-2 #804 motor, in racing categories E,D,C and even B! He never raced his Ace with an American V-8. Where things did get a bit confusing was as of 1968, when Constabaris acquired a single-seater racer, but kept the original racing number he had used with his Ace-Bristol. In most entries only his name and racing number are mentioned, leading one to inadvertently assume that he continued racing BEX 437 for a while--which was not the case.  Adding a bit to the confusion surrounding Constabaris' ownership of BEX 437, is that quite a few years later he bought another Ace-Bristol. He told me he had missed his original one a lot, except that this second one was never raced. He would only drive it in the streets. I can remember seeing this cream-coloured one parked outside one of his Mr. Mike's restaurants, on Granville and 70th in Vancouver. This was in the late 1970s.
   
   When I aquired AEX 443 with BEX 437's drivetrain in 1985 I knew nothing about AC prefixes. Several mechanics who saw the car's upgraded D-2 kept saying: "Wow! That's Bob Constabaris' Westwood racer". For years I thought I had his car, until gradually I started learning more and more, and doing more and more digging.  Now that BEX 437 has surfaced, my car's amalgamated double identity and history is now settled.
   
               Cheers!
   
                       Laurence Kent

[maretlyle]

Hello feveryone...
   As the owner of "missing" BEX 437 this my first post since I discovered this most enthusiastic crowd!
   After much reflection, I think I really should find a new, perhaps more caring, home for this delightful vehicle. Having owned it since July of 1975 it is like selling someone in the family but I truely think it is time to move on!
   
   Question: suggestions as to determining its value and where do you think
   I should list it? Any ideas would be deeply appreciated.
   
   In the meantime, I shall clean it up and get it running again as it is a VERY healthy and incredibly powerful machine.  (Sorry about the Z28 engine, I was very young and foolish at the time!) Cheers folks.

[nikbj68]

Welcome, Lyle! It must be one of the hardest decisions to make, and I`ll bet once you have her running again, that decision may become harder!
   When was she last run? If it was really late 70`s then you have a talent for long-term storage!!! I`ve seen cars look worse after 5 years in a garage!
   The engine swap, body(were these done post-Constabaris?) & dash mods will knock down the potential value slightly, but the current market LOVES a barn-find, so don`t be too enthusiastic about your clean-up(but ask politely that no-one else kneels on the fender, see 7th pic above).
   The more competition history you can document the better, and I`m sure the Ace would fly in any of the big name auctions, but don`t worry, even on eBay you might get back more than you paid for her![]
   A serious, concours, body off restoration will run to many tens of thousands of dollars, and a really serious restorer would want to speak big numbers with Laurence to reunite Ace with the Bristol D2S, but then you could be looking at a $250-300k car.
   As she stands now, my gut instinct is between a third and half of those figures, but I`m NO expert!(But I`m sure one will be along shortly)
   
   Whatever you chose, all the best, and thanks again for stopping by here.  [8D]
   
   
   [EDIT] On second thoughts(...and having viewed  Your Website), put potential buyers in your hot tub at sunset. TOP DOLLAR guaranteed!!! Wow, what a place! [8D]

[French Frie]

BEX437 is now for sale here [}:)] :
   
   http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C501505
   
   is it a bargain ? anyway, I'm sure it would interest someone here ...

[pjbowman]

Car is sold!

[French Frie]

... To you  [] ?

[pjbowman]

Unfortunately no....missed it. Sold within 1 day of listing.