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If you're valve timing is okay, then you might want to check that the distributor isn't over-advancing as the revs pick up. Check the centrifugal weights, etc. Big end trouble seems unlikely.

Mine came off after cranking the engine to use the compression (on the unaffected cylinders). If there's still say, 100psi, for some cylinders, that equates to about 500lbs lift concentrated around that cylinder. I also hammered in wooden wedges between the gasket layers.
   
   I've known others who suspended the front of the car, hanging on the cylinder head, which applies about 1400lbs force - but being careful how it is attached to a hoist, so as not to risk cracking/breaking the head.

Yay! Glad to hear it's resolved. Amazing that a specialist didn't know which way it rotates.

I haven't seen that livery before, but many of the 2 tone schemes on Bucklands may have been unique. I have a Saloon, rather than a Buckland, but its original paint has red-oxide primer with grey undercoat over it. I hope the archaeological dig goes well... but don't strike oil :)

The symptoms you describe could also be the result of polarising the wrong way. Have you experimented polarising the opposite way, and then see if it generates when turned in its normal direction? A wrongly polarised generator won't have any output. I hope you can resolve this without added expense.

I'm glad to hear that the control lives to be cooked another day :) If the dynamo will motor, but won't generate, then maybe its internal connections are incorrect? I hope it gets returned swiftly and fully resolved.

Sorry of hear of the latest trouble. Never had any problems with mine, although I'm tempted by the electronic conversion. Is yours beyond repair, such as damaged coils? I don't know what the repro boxes are like, but it might be your cue to try the electronic conversion on your cooked unit? Keep your starting handle to hand for any trips!

Oh my word! That really is terrible luck. I hope that you do recover your lost funds. A quick Google image search brought up this car on the Barn Finds website:
   
   http://barnfinds.com/motoring-monday-1950-ac-2-litre-2-door-saloon/
   
   The reg. no. you were given, is almost the same as a derelict 4 door AC, TPC842, that was auctioned 3 years ago in the UK:
   
   https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19767/lot/264/
   
   Note the selling price (£805 UKP) which was unbelievably low for one with a servicable engine.

The engine number on the brass plate will be the original, and presumably says UMB1751. You'll have to check the number on the dynamo flange to find if it has changed engines. Those carbs should liven up its performance. I hope this AC has good wood :)

The main oil outlet from the sump's filter body, is the one pointing to the right of the car, with a T-junction for the pressure gauge pipe. The main feed pipe then goes straight into the block to the main bearings. Full flow filters are inserted in place of this main feed pipe. On most installations I've seen, the 2 connections for the bypass filter were blanked off. On one engine, they had fitted a by-pass pipe, but I would have thought the lack of resistance, would cause too much oil to flow down it, instead of into the bearings.
   
   Robin's AC Engine Project website describes a filter that incorporates a relief valve after the filter, to ensure that the correct supply pressure is maintained. This will need an extra pipe for surplus oil to return to the sump.
   
   I haven't come across oil coolers on the 2 Litre, and am not sure if it would be needed?
   
   There are plenty of electrical/electronic upgrades that one can consider: Electronic fuel pump, electronic control-box, and LED lamps including built-in flashing indicators.

Full flow filtering is certainly a wise move. I noted your mention of installing electronic ignition, as I know of an AC with the "123 Ignition" distributor (with great results). It will be interesting to monitor how well these perform. My wood frame drawings were used in the restoration of your AC in the 1990s. Sadly, I only discovered your AC lived near me, when it came up for sale this year! Best of luck.

The manifold mounted silencers, are just that: Silencers. Each pulse of exhaust expands into the silencers, dissipating noise into the insulated chambers. As the pressure drops in the pipe, gases flow back out of the chambers. By having the silencers at right-angles to the pipe, and opposite each other, I believe it minimises the effect of reflected pressure pulses reaching the exhaust valves (the effect that Jam2 was referring to above). It needs to be minimised because those silencers are too close to the engine, and the manifold branches are unequal lengths. The down side to these silencers, is the large amount of heat released under the bonnet.

I was simply addressing a technical issue raised by others in this thread, and not the overall topic.

"...it has performance and/or behaviour modifications through the application of modern technology."
   
   It doesn't automatically follow that modern technology is involved. Understanding of the old technology becomes gradually wider spread over the years, too.
   
   Regarding 3 wheeling, as I explained earlier, simple mathematics shows that chassis stiffness is a very small factor. An infinite increase in stiffness will only increase wheel lifting by a minute amount. I've measured twist on my 2 Litre using the car's static weight to twist on 3 wheels, and this produces 0.1 inch deflection at the wheel. Most car chassis from the 1930s onwards can be made to 3 wheel if you provide a big difference in front and rear roll stiffnesses.
   
   The pertinent question is "why would you want a big difference in front/rear roll stiffness?" It's probably pointless on a beam-axled car. It makes sense on a Lotus Cortina because the front roll-centre is lower than the rear one. On an AC Cobra, it may be a question of sharp handling, balance, etc. Maybe also as a knock-on effect of other mods (old or new tech)?

Is that the same Portugese Buckland mentioned and pictured in this thread?
   
   http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2677
   
   Ian