1955 AC Aceca Coupé Competition

For sale by auction on Saturday 29 November 2014 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
Based on the open two-seat AC Ace. the Aceca was a hand-built
grand tourer in the British tradition with ash wood and steel
tubing used in the construction. One notable feature was the
hatchback door at the rear making the Aceca only the second car. br/>after the Aston Martin DB2/4. to incorporate this element. The
hardtop coupe made its debut in 1954 and shared the same 1991cc. br/>two-litre engine with the Ace and offered similar levels of
performance.

The main difference between the Aceca and Aceca-Bristol was the
engine; both used a straight-six unit but the Aceca shared its
90hp. 1. 91cc overhead camshaft AC engine with the lighter AC Ace
while the Aceca-Bristol used a 125hp 'D-Type'. 2000cc unit sourced
from Bristol Cars.

Factory records show an AC Cars build completion date of 14th
September. 1955 - Chassis AEX 525 with the original two-litre
engine fitted and registered as an export model. It was therefore
lefthand drive and subsequently delivered to Portugal in
1955. In 1962. a Portuguese nobleman. Francisco Jose
Gentil Heredia. bought a new one of the rare. 35 factory produced. br/>2. 6 litre Ruddspeed AC Aces - RSX 5009. He had it returned to the
factory a number of times to increase the specification to Stage
Four tune (Details within the history point to Stage Five tune in
reality) and fitted with Borrani wire wheels. Although officially
'road-going'. the car was later raced in Europe. including
Cascais.

Tragically. however. the car suffered fire damage on a European
ferry dockside in August 1964. This caused extensive damage to the
aluminium bodywork and interior. It was stored for some years. in
this condition. until Heredia's brother decided to carry out a
mechanical transplant to the Aceca he then owned. The 2. 6 litre
Ford engine & ancillaries were professionally transplanted from
the ruined Ace to this Aceca. (a modification that became accepted
and approved by AC Cars who. by this time. were fitting either the
Ford 2. 6 litre engines or Bristol 2. 2 litre engines to their
production models). Also fitted were triple Weber carburettors. a
Raymond Mays head (CL28694). a Moss gearbox. front-wheel disc
brakes and rear drums. Ace front and rear over-riders and 15"x 6"
Borrani wire wheels. The owner also had the front of the car
lightly re-modelled to Ace/Cobra 'long-nose' dimensions. naturally
in aluminium.

In c. 1975. the car was exported to America where it remained
until 2006 and this important example became extremely well known
in the USA during its early history through the VSCCA and Historic
Racing during its 29 years ownership with Mr. Warren Wegele and was
reported to have always been a top ten finisher with a podium
finish (2nd) in August 1989 at Meadow Brook Historic Races
at Waterford Hills. MI.

Between 1987 and 2002 the car appeared at the following
events;

Meadowbrook Historic Races - 1987. 1988. 1989. 1990.

Pocono VSCCA - 1988.

Pittsburgh Grand Prix - 1988. 1991. 1992. 2001. 2002.

Mid Ohio - 1992.

Whilst in the States. a roll cage was also fitted and the
suspension modified by the renowned engineer and race driver. Chris
Lawrence (class winner - 1962 Le Mans) and who was also racing a
'Cobra-beating' Aceca on the West Coast. During 2007. the car was
re-commissioned for the UK and. apart from light road use. has had
some shake-down runs at Prescott and the 'Wings and Wheels'
display/runway run at Dunsfold where it was reported to cause more
of a sensation than the Cobra's.

It was featured in Classic & Sportscar's 'Discovered'
section (page 33. June 2007) and also numerous editions of the ACOC
club magazine 'AC tion' including a lead article in April 2007. It
is also shown on the AC website under the 'Wings and Wheels'
feature. The car is also included in the book 'AC Six Cylinder
Sports Cars' by Rinsey Mills showing the Ace driven by Heredia that
became the donor to the Aceca following the Ace's disastrous fire
and this tragic episode is reported in the book.

This car is truly unique as it is the only one in the world
having such history and provenance. In spite of spending all of its
life abroad. the car is well known in terms of reputation
especially by members of the ACOC UK. An extensive file and race
action video comes with the car. The history file is extensive and
it is currently taxed and comes with a current mot test certificate
valid until the end of 2015.


Eligible for a host of historic events both here and abroad. the
car is currently under review by the Competitions Dept at Goodwood
with a view to acceptance for the 2015 Goodwood Revival.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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