Messages

Hi Hans, or is it James?

Sorry but I checked my emails and can't find any reference to your request for parts. I have had a number of exchanges of email with James P but he was looking to sell parts from 3 Frua chassis. I wonder if you have my correct email address which is published in ACtion and has never changed. As Terry said there was a spares list in the Feb 2023 ACtion and if you would like to send me a list of parts you need I can quickly confirm what is available either from the Club or from other sources. As I'm sure you know, we ACOC officers are all unpaid for our services to the Club and its members. The Essex barn is over 3 hours drive from my home so any visit is likely to involve 8 or 9 hours which is a big commitment for me. If you would like to meet me there with a trailer, I will be happy to give my time to help load any you parts you need once we confirm they are available and we have sorted out payment.

Good to hear you are cracking on with your project and I will be happy to confirm progress in the Frua register if you let me know chassis number etc.   Andy.

Steady Thomas! Yes we can discuss 2025 whenever you like and I am happy to help with ferries or whatever I can.   Many thanks.

Thanks to all the ACOC members who made the event such a success. There was a super display of cars in the ACOC / AC Club de France Enclosure, we had a wonderful dinner with the French Club on the Friday night and an al fresco dinner at our chateau on Sunday night. All the mechanical car problems were overcome and everyone managed to complete the trip with a smile!

TTM, you are so right about the internet losing the nuances of face to face conversation. In my message to Gary, I tried to describe the Le Mans package which was offered by the ACOC to its members, and quantify the number of happy souls who enjoyed their experience.
I spoke to Gary in the ACOC Enclosure and was glad to see his 2 litre Saloon there. I would much prefer that he continues to be an ACOC member and makes a positive contribution to the Club. He has every right to his own opinions, but doesn't appear to value the enormous amount of hard work done by a small number of people, all for free, for the benefit of the membership.
Sadly I have a bit of a problem with the word "entitled" when benefitting from the efforts of unpaid volunteers. I don't tend to talk a lot, but just get things done without any expectation of reward and I always end up out of pocket. Maybe that's just the way I am, and I certainly do not criticise others who freely do the same for me. I am sure there are others who could do a better job than me, but when I look round for help those who talk the talk are nowhere to be seen.

Having already organised 3 ACOC trips to Le Mans Classic, I would love to hand over to someone new. Please form an orderly queue and register your application for the job!

Gary we all have the rights to our own opinions.
You seemed to enjoy the hospitality within the ACOC and AC Club de France enclosure at last weekend's Le Mans Classic. You appeared happy to take advantage of our pre-ordered ticket package with a special Clubs Only infield car pass for your AC 2 Litre Saloon allowing you to park in the ACOC Enclosure.

The basic stats for the ACOC Le Mans Classic tour were:
2   x Chateaux exclusively booked for the ACOC members
15 x Ferry tickets Portsmouth to St Malo return available at discounted price to ACOC members.
44 x ACOC members participating in the tour, with 25 cars of which 12 were ACs.
46 x ACOC and AC Club de France members attended a joint dinner on Friday night at a restaurant in Arnage with complimentary Champagne courtesy of Robert Sarrailh and ATS Le Mans.
33 x ACOC members enjoyed Sunday evening dinner at one or our Chateaux.

That all took a lot of organising and our AC Owners Club goes to great lengths to provide excellent value at this and other events which are available to all of our members. It is a shame if you no longer wish to be part of it, but perhaps you will have second thoughts. You may also have noticed a few younger members and sons of members turning up at Club events. The age demographic is a problem with all car clubs these days and is an issue which the ACOC is trying hard to address.
Take care,  Andy.

Hi Gary,
So far I have about 10 cars and 14 people who have replied to my request. The dates will be 29th June 2023 to 3rd July 2023. I have booked our 2 Chateaux as usual, but I was waiting for some feedback before booking tickets and ferries as I don't want to expose the Club to losing money on unused tickets. I'll try to get down to ordering tickets in the next week.
Cheers, Andy.

Wasn't there a grey 2 litre with a 428 Frua chassis and running gear? I'm sure I saw it down at Goodwood 5 or 6 years ago.  Andy.

Gary I think you will find Council Minutes have been published in the last 3 ACtion magazines. Thank you David and Chris!

Andy.

PS. Might I suggest that for the current £45 a year, all ACOC members receive 10 fun packed colour ACtion Magazines, the opportunity to join other members at a Dinner Dance, a National Meeting at an interesting venue with Concours, an International Meeting in Europe, A fully inclusive Classic Le Mans trip, A Peaks and Dales rally, free Technical support, commissioning of spare parts, reserved space at Silverstone Classic and other events like Hampton Court, and and and! It makes my GRRC annual membership of £315 look rather steep! AMOC is £95 and Porsche Club GB is £75. I think we get amazing value for money and if any members would like to give their time to organise additional events like track days and BBQs, all they need do is say so. I am sure the ACOC Council will take their offer seriously. Andy.

The AC Marque has a huge sporting history, from Brooklands in the early 20th century to the Goodwood Revival 2022. You name it, and AC have been there, Monte Carlo Rally, Le Mans 24 hrs, World Sports Car Racing, they have always produced winning cars. The AC Owners Club has organised many events each year for members to use their cars as they were designed, including Hill Climbs, Auto Tests, Races and Sprints. The Club's most prestigious event has been their Goodwood Sprint, which in the past has attracted a paddock full of ACs. Sadly as the value of the cars has increased at about the same rate as their owners have aged, the ACOC Sprint has needed to invite other like minded clubs to take part in order to keep the event viable.

Our traditional November date had suffered from bad weather for a couple of years, so we tried something different and took the September slot a week before the Revival Meeting. We now realise that in September many of our regular competitors are still racing in other series, or preparing for the Revival itself. For that reason and influenced by the Covid pandemic, our numbers have been down for the past 2 years causing a financial loss, as the VSCC and other Clubs had meetings which clashed with our September date. By going back to November we may have to take a chance on the weather, but will be assured of a much better list of entries.

This year the event was rather low key due to the death of Her Majesty the Queen, but we still managed a great turnout of Acecas, and in the past we have seen Aces, Mk IV Cobras, Brooklands Aces, 3000MEs, PVTs, 2 Litre cars and vintage ACs. It is a shame that unlike the Bentley Drivers Club so few sons and daughters of AC Owners take part, as that is how we could ensure the future of such events. It would also be a shame to lose our only remaining competitive event and with it our reason to belong to Motorsport UK, which keeps us up to date in the 21st Century.
I believe the plan is to give our Sprint one more try in 2023 by reverting to our November slot at Goodwood, and maybe to share the organisation with another Club. If we can make it work as it has so many times in the past, then we can decide about 2024 and future events. If it doesn't work then I fear we will have to cancel future sporting events which will put the ACOC on a death spiral. To keep an event running is so much easier than starting from scratch, and once we lose the kinetic energy we have built over many decades, it is unlikely to ever resume.

For that reason, I would ask all those who love their cars to come along, encourage your friends, sons, daughters or grand children to get involved and enjoy our wonderful AC cars as they were designed and not as museum pieces.

Looks absolutely gorgeous and I have been contacted by the garage on behalf of the new owner. Let's hope to see it at future ACOC gatherings.

Andy.

Thanks Peter,

I don't need one myself but I will be happy to forward any requests I hear of.

Andy.

I'm with you on that Barry, try 1/16" total toe in at the front and see how that feels. I normally run parallel at the back on an Ace and a gnat's of toe out on the Cobra.

Hope all is well with you Nik. Yes I'll try to be at the revival in a couple of weeks time.

I have received an email from one of our ACOC Members who wishes to remain anonymous, confirming that MG Wright was in fact Jock Wright who was Service Manager for AC Cars before Fred Larrimore. He cross referenced books by McLellan and Bancroft, and Rinsey Mills both of which mention Jock Wright. Another mystery solved!  Andy.