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The grill is the original, it has been disassembled and rechromed, in the picture it is just picking up the glare.  I used the Cobra style overriders because I didnt like the way the factory bumpers mounted to the body on the front or the rear and i wanted to tuck them in a little closer for a really clean look, thats also why i didnt install the emblems, i shave those away on every build we do.

Does anyone know what amount this ended up selling for?

I put a message in with suntec, but I think you are right, I think that's a generic form.
   
   I called Pilkington and they said they have never heard of an Aceca, said that the only AC they can get glass for is the original bodied Cobra.

That dash is coming along great.  Thanks for all the pics and the write up, it has been a tremendous help during my build.

Thanks so much for the heads up on those websites, I was familiar with hawk cars as I love their 289 body, but I didn't know they did batches of the AC discs. I had been petrified of cracking the linings on the drums as haven't been able to source spares.  My plan b for upgrading the brakes was to build custom caliper mounts then mount a set of Nissan non vented rotors that had perfect dimensions and spacing to fit behind the stock wheels. I really didn't want to see modern Nissan brakes threw the spokes. As far as the wheels, I had no desire to go wider, because as you guys have mentioned, wider tires=more stress. I did however switch to modern radial tires. Boy were they easier to balance. I had a set of new reproduction firestones on it, but I just didn't like the way it looked, and couldn't justify having lower performance tires it just for the sake of originality, especially with how many non original parts were already on it.

Cobra inspired is definitely a better description of these cars. I only know of maybe two actual replica builders and both of them have pictures and serial numbers of the original cobra that was used to model the new bodies.  Thanks for the info on the front disc conversion, I didn't know the TR3 would fit, I'll look into that as a future option.

Here is a shot of the new engine installed
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Luckily for me (and my grease gun) that was just a little light trickery on the retainer ring on the outside of the cap that made it look like another grease fitting, but I did do a doubletake and go back and look at the car.  I thought I was going crazy for a minute.  To address your statement on the Rear end of the car in a very long winded way;
   
   When I purchased the car (sight unseen), we really didn't know what kind of shape it was in.  I found it on a website called bringatrailer.com that linked to its ebay page.  What I was most concerned about was having a clean body and at least mostly unmolested frame.  What I have been looking for for quite a while is an original Ace or Aceca that was rough enough, or missing enough to warrant not only a complete restoration, but a true resto mod, bringing its performance in braking, steering, and acceleration right in line or above  anything modern.  The drivetrain that I wanted to put in was a new 5.0 Coyote Ford motor, with a 6 speed and Ford IRS.  The goal was to use nearly all Ford components including the front and rear unequal length control arm suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, etc.  The width difference is dramatic to say the least, and custom aluminum fender flares would have to be moulded on and a considerable amount of the original body would be lost, as well as pretty much any portion of the frame that wasn't holding the body on.  Needless to say, this idea is quite blasphemous to some, but what I wanted was a car that really couldnt be brought back, or one that could but would require a rebody or so much work that its originality would already be lost.
   That was the plan, until we got the car.  It looked like it had been driven into a garage in Southern California, had the guts pulled, started to strip the body and forgotten for 40 years.  There wasnt a speck of rust (except for inside the gas tank) and the suspension and steering were not only salvageable but in fantastic shape. I had the entire body and frame soda blasted to try to find anything wrong that could justify such an aggressive modification, even getting so far as to start to mock up what would be required to get the rear subframe mounted in. I just couldnt bring myself to cut anything.
   While we were debating what to do with it, I received a package in the mail.   It was a forwarded package from the previous owner (from around 1971) it contained tons of hand written and typed correspondence between himself (A dentist in LA) and the AC factory, and original letters from the AC Owners club welcoming him to their community of 15 Members nationwide, with only 4 in Cali.
   The fact that we knew the original motor was long gone, and that it had a V8, but that too was long gone was one of the biggest reasons why we wanted such a radical build out of it.  After reading all the letters and information on it, we found out it had a Chevy 265 V8 (the first Chevy small block) sometime in the late 50's/early 60's, then was given up for a Ford 260 V8.
   After reading this, it just seemed wrong and cruel to do the resto-mod, especially because I already knew a guy who had a 64' Ford 260 for sale that came with the Borg Warner 4 speed.
   We changed our plans and started the build that you see now.
   I wanted to keep what we had intact and build around that base as cleanly as possible.  Everything about these cars is so beautiful in its simplicity, so I wanted to show off as much of that simplicity as possible.  The parts that were missing, I tried to recreate using the same handcrafted look that these cars originally had, but not being afraid to stray away from the original configuration of, say, switches or type of light, hence the modern headlights, amber turn indicators and Overrider bumpers moved closer to the body.
   Getting back to the rear end, prior to moving forward with the new plan, we pulled the rear diff, and inspected the guts.  All of the bearings were in fantastic shape, and luckily the bearing numbers still indented on them referenced over to modern bearings, I wish I could say the same for the Girling brake parts, those part numbers go off into oblivion never to be seen again.
   The 260 Ford puts out similar power to the Ruddspeed 2.6, and our goal was to not overbuild the motor for the chassis, specifically the brakes, which is why we chose not to go with a 289 or bigger.  The brakes were upgraded with larger capacity Wheel cylinders and a modern master cylinder, but as you've already stated, I think heat will be a bigger enemy to the car than stopping force.  but that will come down to the driver ;)

John,
   
   You are spot on, there were a couple of boxes of parts, but the list of parts that were missing was probably longer than the list of parts that it had. As far as the interior, I had a most of the dash, but only two partial gauges.  Luckily they saved the aluminum gauge shroud. I'll be posting some detailed pics of the interior build in a few days here.

Here is a link to the tie rod dust boots.  They make them in red and black. I've used them on every build and haven't had any issues.
   http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=9.13101

To answer your questions in order;
   
   The rain gutters were removed in or around 1971, and I received them in one of the many boxes of parts that came with this build. They were slightly tweaked either from removal or years of sitting around. I've always been a fan of keeping cars as clean looking as possible and alway go emblem less, so I decided not to reinstall them.
   
   This is being done by The Coulson Group, based in Phoenix AZ, that is my shop, you can see our other builds at Facebook at www.Facebook.com/thecoulsongroup
   
   The poly bushings are made by energy suspension,  I an get you the part numbers if you would like, they make the tie rod bushings in two different sizes, and if memory serves these are the smaller ones.

And just for good measure, here is a shot of the last car that I built.  Its a Factory5, powered by a 4.6SOHC Motor and a 5 speed trans. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Factory 5 products, but It is far more satisfying to be working on a proper AC and a true aluminum body.  I chose the color after I saw an F250 driving down the road in this color.  I asked him at a stop light if I could get his paint code off of it.  It turned out he had it special ordered in that color as its not standard on the Super Dutys, so he was excited to give it to me.  I have painted 3 vehicles this color and get nothing but compliments on it.  Initially when I got the Aceca I wanted to paint it a close to original color, but I just couldn't resist  [/URL]

The Ford 260 Before:
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   And after:
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   Rear Suspension Before:
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   After:
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Engine Bay shots before:
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   and After, just prior to installing the engine:
   
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Here are some before and after pics as requested.  I have plenty more, so if anyone would like to see a detailed write up of the build similar to the detailed and awesome BE 646 build just let me know and Id be happy to oblige
   Here is AEX542 when I received it
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   bringing it home from paint (Finished in a modern Ford color called "Sterling Grey Metallic")
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   as it sits in my shop right now
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