Messages

Actually Dave Hutchison and I are putting this show together. The response from owners has been enthusiastic thus far. We are still seeking a 12/24 Empire and/or Royal if anyone knows of one whose owner might like to participate. Bill Jackson who drove for the AC Team at Sebring in the 1950's has agreed to be our featured speaker and to provide access to his personal archives. If any member is near Philadelphia in late February or early March stop by the museum.
   Cheers,
   Pete Rohrbacher

Did not receive e-mail, perhaps the address is stale. Current is p.rohrbacher at verizon.net
   Pete R.

Bryan,
   Bill Woodbury was a friend and sometimes crew chief for Bill Wonder the second owner of BEX 308 when he raced the car in '58 and '59 and he also originally sold the car to it's first owner John Willock. I know both of these elderly gentlemen and will be happy to discuss it with them if you forward details. I am quite sure that Bill Woodbury is deceased but he had a daughter who was  married to the third owner of 308 who I have been unable to track down, perhaps there is something in the memorabilia that would help.
   Pete R.

CSX2287 belongs to Dr. Frederick Simeone and is normally on display at his museum located just outside the Philadelphia International Airport. The car is virtually unmolested from its racing days and I don't believe the good Doctor has any intention of "restoring" it. I have seen the car many times; it is in running condition and well cared for by the museum staff. If you are ever in Philly stop in to the museum; if you appreciate old race cars you will not be disapointed.
   http://simeonemuseum.org/
   Pete

Peter,
   I know of at least one Ace that has used your option 1. It requires plug welding both edges every few inches to prevent buckling of the web to obtain the stiffness improvement. I looked at that approach and was not happy with the increase in stiffness obtained unless you go to a very heavy web. The moments of inertia (proportional to bending stiffness) for several possibilities are:
   Ace standard tube .083
   Aceca standard tube 1.034
   10 Ga web insertion   add  .24
   2.75 x .12 tube insertion add  .857
    Your option 2 would not be very effective in adding stifness for the amount of material used; it would be more effective with the square section rotated 45 degrees to provide 2 webs and 2 flanges in the loaded direction.
   I suspect options 3 and 4 are more trouble for less gain than either the square or tube insertion.
   Pete

Peter,
   With a 289 installed I would encourage you to stiffen things up a bit. The video referenced in the link above is my car and I have complete details and pictures of how it was done; but Mikes description is very close. The modification effectively doubles the chassis stiffness but it is a lot of work. Both main tubes in 308 were bent in several places and required straightening prior to sleeving; 308 was raced and wrecked hard, so how many of the bends were from that I don't know. I can tell you that standing on the bare chassis before reinforcement caused a significant deflection and that the body was cracked in many places around the door openings. The tubes were driven all the way through without any problem; the worst part was the noise, and if Dorian's work is "bodging" as mentioned on this site I'd like to meet what you chaps call a real craftsman, the man is highly skilled and an artist to boot.
   In terms of handling; you'll never find a chassis designer who believes chassis flex should be part of suspension design. 'Nuff said.
   Let me know if I can help.
   Pete

1938 16/80 for sale in New Jersey:
   
   http://www.steelwings.com/product/6753/278

You all know that those hundreds of top-secret satellite AC factories built way more of these fiberglass beauties than Thames Ditton ever built of those flimsy aluminum contraptions. Some even came with the ever popular "Create your own VIN kit" option.

Rinsey Mills' book "AC Six-Cylinder Sports Cars in Detail" has a bit of information on the splash guards on page 245 including a photo of the medallions affixed to the mesh identifying the patent number as 413355. The date of the patent would give a good approximation of the time when these guards were first fitted. The application was in January 1933 and the patent issued in 1934.
   Pete

Thank you Keith and Luke. Tim Isles sent me some pictures of 313's glove box door that, when coupled with Lukes info, will take care of that issue. The PRS7 switches for the Jags have very long mountings for use with thick wood dashes while those for metal dashes are much shorter. There is some indication that Triumph may have used a two speed PRS7 in some model but I haven't been able to confirm. The different mounting lengths may account for some of the part numbers. Either way they seem to be scarce as hens teeth.
   I found a knob with Tims help at Bill Tracy Jaguar in Florida. It has the correct shape and is labled WIPER but does not appear to have the speed positions marked. When I get it I will attempt to provide pictures of the knob and the Jaguar switch that I have.
   Pete

Keith,
   The wait is fine with me; once I have such a fine, shiny, new cap in hand I'll have to finish a car to put under it to display it properly!
   Pete

The pilot shaft and spline dimensions match my Borg Warner T-10 from the early 60's. These boxes fit GM V8's including the small block Chevys and the BOP 215 that became the Rover.
   Pete

Dimensions of the pilot shaft and the input shaft spline would help.
   Pete

Peter,
   If you can open an AutoCAD file I can send you a drawing of the suspension dimensions I took off of 308 and the resulting instantaneous centers for various suspension positions. The analysis returns results for rack length very near what Ben Yates provides and I wound up using one of his kits on 308. The original long track rods on a worm and sector Ace are not even close to eliminating bump steer which is, of course, the position Shelby American came to when they convinced AC to change over to R&P. Tojeiro had it about right if you eyeball his original chassis design with the short rack.
   If you think of the Ace front suspension as an equal length parallel arm design you are not far off; which means the rack length has to be just about the dimension between the lower wishbone pivots and the rack height needs to keep the tie rod parallel with the lower arm to effectively minimize steering input on suspension deflection.
   Pete
   
   P.S.: As an ignorant young man I tried a rack from an MG Midget in the early 70's and it was too long; but at least the car didn't wander all over the road!

Rob,
   Check page 66 of "Ace Bristol Racing", that's 308 after a crash at Lime Rock in April 1958 and the Michelin logo is clearly visible on the front tire. Can't get documentation for "period correct" more definitive than that! I was told the hot set up at the time was to run Englebert's; but they were prohibitively expensive for most guys.
   Pete