Messages

Good morning Barrie,

I was/am an automation engineer for most of my career, then in the last 15yrs I became a Fire & Gas Engineer for the Oil & Gas industry on the North Slope of Alaska. Not a LOT of application with these cars, but it has endowed me with a lot of common sense & ingenuity when it comes to the mechanical world:-)

My first effort at a restoration was a 1947 Chevy Thriftmaster truck I bought at 15 for a $100. Drove it all through High school, and 4 years of college before I tore it down to put a 283 V8 in it but moved 2000 miles away and had to leave it behind:-( Gave it to another friend for a father/son project which his wife did not approve of. I tried to get the truck back, but it was long gone before I found out what was going on.

This will be a restoration of a completely different class!

I hope to soon bring the car to my home to South Carolian and really begin going through it's condition and develop a restoration plan.

Olan

Keith,

My dads full name was Olan L Atherton (I am Jr), In the time fram that he bought the Ace he was living in and around Dallas, TX, Garland, TX and I know he was traveling between Florida and TX regularly, I have heard him tell stories about some of his trips back and forth including short visits with law enforcement along the way. He had a really heavy foot and loved this car. The picture of myself and my sister with dad and the car was taken in Pine Bluff, AR at my grandparents home so he could have listed it as his residence as well.

I will be going back to my stepmom's in a couple of months to continue delving through more of the things he left behind. I hope to find more treasures related to the car.

Tim mentioned that the car would have left the factory with a tonneau, I just noticed what looks like it might be a tonneau and/or maybe some remnents of carpet in the bonnet photo that I took. I had thought it was long gone. Next time I am there I will look closer at the engine and bonnet compartments and take some more photos.

If he did race any SCCA events it would have been in this Southeast US area. He moved to CA in 1965 sometime and I have never heard him mention racing out there, and I know the car was never titled or licensed in CA, I have documents indicating that he stored the vehicle to avoid CA's onerous environmental rules at that time.

Barrie,

I look forward to the opportunity to learn from the wisdom and experience in this group. I recently retired from the engineering world, and am certainly in need of the challenge, I am finding retirement a bit of a challenge at this point. I am always up for a new opportunity to learn and expand my horizons, and I find the AC an exciting new direction.

As far as the rollover bar in the picture from 1961, I have not located it yet, but my dad had become a bit of a harder after he retired, and I have only begun tos scratch the surface of his "collection". It is going to take years to work my way through his past, just trying to get my stepmoms house livable again for her at this point.

My Dad was single/divorced when he bought the AC and I have heard many stories of him racing during that period though I have not yet found any proof. I had assumed the bar was factory, but it may well not have been. Based upon your comment it sounds as if you have not seen one like it before?

Thanks again for your replies,

Olan

Thank you for the kind words Robin, I look forward to the challenges that come with this beauty:-)

Olan

I have recently become to owner of the above mentioned Ace, and am beginning to inquire about restoration (myself or Professional).

My father bought the car new in 1961 and drove it for about 2 years, after which it was placed in a garage for the next  40 years. Some time after that my dad moved it out on to the driveway where it sat with one tarp after another for the next 17 years. My father passed away in January and the car was willed to me. I have had the original title changed to my name, but have not hauled the car back to South Carolina yet as I am pursuing restoration options and do not yet know where it needs to be taken.

I have photo's of the car without the tarp on it and it is in rough condition though not what I would call bad. The last time I know it was run was about 27 years ago and at that time had a bad babbit bearing on the water pump. At the time it was the only known issue with the car. Now it will need a complete restoration.

Look forward to hearing from other owners with restoration experiences. I look forward to getting this old girl back on the road. I have been looking forward to actually driving this car since I was 5 years old (See attached pic)

I have submitted my online application for membership in the club but have not heard anything as of yet.

Thanks for your comments in advance,

Olan