AC Ace AEX-1010 Found

[fastpace]

A couple weeks ago my wife and I visited my father-in-law and worked through things we could do to help him downsize.  As part of that, was to go through the cars he owned which included a 1964 Cobra 289 Rack and Pinion car in pieces, a 1968 GT500 which he's the original owner, and a 1959 AC Ace.

Why didn't I have a father in law like this?  I am so jealous.  The car looks fantastic.  Good luck with the restoration (s)

Yes I have been quite lucky, but it has actually worked out great for both of us.  His 2 kids and wife never took interest or supported his car interests so it was something he kind of did on the side, but never had the time to dedicate himself to as he spent it supporting family activities.  So now he has someone in the family also interested, so when I visit he gets to the chance to tell all the different car stories and just talk about the different evolutions of the industry.  It's really a side he has kind of had to keep to himself for the last 50 years, and now having the means and support to the hobby is a bit new to him.

Hello Fastpace, You have a very interesting project. I have available a completely  new rebuilt CL AC 2 litre engine which I now do not need, this might be of interest to you if you want to bring the car back to original. Let me know if you would like further details.
Leo

If Fastpace doesn't have interest I'd like some further details on your engine

Thanks in advance

We're not in a position to take on the conversion of the Ace back to an AC engine at this time, so please feel free to engage for your usage.  It will likely be at least 1-2 years before we would consider conversion back as we keep primary focus and funding towards the Cobra restoration first.

[musicman]

Ok, keep in touch and lets see what happens.

[James Eastwood]

Looks v original with the exception of the engine. I couldn't see engine mounts to comment. I also tried to work out what the triangular bracket bolted underneath the rear wishbone was??

[AEX146]

Dear Fastpace,

Thank you for posting the photos of AEX1010.

Just to try and answer you questions:
1. The overall condition of the car looks good and it doesn't look as though there's any serious damage to be concerned about.  Clearly there's some rust on the chassis tubes but it doesn't look serious. From my experience the main chassis tubes can sag in the middle and this causes the bodywork around the doors to crack but t doesn't look like you have that problem. Indeed the bodywork looks in pretty good shape.
2. As regards the foot boxes: I am pretty sure they would have had to be altered to get the new heavier-duty and wider transmission installed. The fact that the battery has already been moved to the boot/trunk is a plus in my opinion because it makes space to extend the foot box and move the pedals back a few inches. People are a lot taller than in the 1950's and the foot box on an Ace is quite short.
3. Engine mounts. Photo 27 looks as though it might be a Weller engine mount but then I presume some adapter plate has been made in order to fit the Chevy small block. If it is a Weller engine mount you may see the chassis number 1010 stamped on the top face.

Kind regards,
Ben

[AE 501]

Dear fastpace,

the engine mounts seem to be ok for the Weller engine. The foot boxes must have been expanded to fit the V8. Same as with my car AEX 201, where they tried to fit a Corvette engine. The mounts for the original Mossbox seem to be in place as well, but the accelerator pedal is not original. And there is a strange stiffening plate in the middle of pictures 9 and 10 on the inside of the rear wishbone?

Chris