1958 Sebring ? / Neat Old Photo

[jrlucke]

I wonder if the Devin featured in #6 here is the car? It has a 427 Ford engine. The seats look like AC items.
   
   I can find several photos in period but nothing describing the car.
   
   http://www.devinspecial.com/devin-specials.html
   
   Additional commentary on his Devins:
   
   http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/RonCummingsAkMiller.html
   
   AK Miller was quite well know in US racing/hot rod circles.
   
   Best wishes for the holidays Keith.

[AC Ace Bristol]

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   John.
   
   Thank you for a very interesting (new)  link.
   
   I emailed Devin Contact  ( Kreg Jones)  and also emailed Jim the Custodian of " AK Miller Devin"  .. Gallantracing@hotmail.com
   
   We wait in anticipation..[;)]
   
   I take this oppotunity to wish you, All ACOC members and contributors to the ACOC Forum
   
   Merry Christmas
   and a
   Happy, Healthy & Prosperous
   2014
   
   
   Keith..[:)]..[:)]

[AC Ace Bristol]

..
   Bloody Hell, that was quick , I wish all leads were as prompt and positive.[:p]..[:)].
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   .
   Keith,
   
   Thanks for the information. I was not aware of that. I'll post it soon. I was in contact with his mechanic once, a while ago. I'll see if I can dig up his info.
   
   I heard that Carol Shelby asked Bill Devin to build him a car and he turned him down. This was pre AC Cobra.
   
   I'll let you know if I can find anything out. Do you have any early pictures of the car?
   
   Thanks,
   
   Kreg Jones
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   .
   Interesting that Shelby was turned down by Bill Devin..
   
   Keith..[:)]..[:)]

[AC Ace Bristol]

Another response from  Kreg Jones:-
   
   Keith
   
   I found this:
   
   The fifth car carried the Devin SS body on an AC Ace frame with Frank Kurtis independent front and rear suspension. Yes, Frank was a big fan of independent suspension. The AC was purchased from Sterling Moss after Moss had put a rod through the Bristol block. Ak had been racing the AC with a small block Ford motor close to six months before Shelby had AC build his prototype Cobra. After running the car awhile, Ak mounted the Devin body. Later, Frank Kurtis offered to replace the suspension with a Kurtis design using mostly Ford parts.
   
   
   Kreg Jones
   Sent from my iPhone 5s

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
   Kreg.
   
   Thank you for the new information, I will give Stirling a call this afternoon..[;)].
   
   Cheers
   
   Keith..[:)]

[AC Ace Bristol]

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Reply  posted on behalf of  Kreg
   
.
   <b>Keith</b>
   
   
   Ak had no idea where his five Devin bodied cars where. Except one car, I think it was the
   Miller-Hanson Special red Olds powered car, was flipped by a later owner at a Drag Race strip ??
   
   Ak was a Devin body dealer. Bill Devin came by to visit Ak just before Bill passed away.
   
   One Devin was old into the country of Chile.
   The car is Ak Miller's first of five Devin bodied specials. This car was Chevrolet powered.
   
   
   That's all I have.
   
   <font size="2"><b>Kreg Jones</b></font id="size2">
   
   P.S.
   
   <font color="green">Your question reference ID of 1958 Sebring Ace Bristol.
    / AK Miller Devin, has been posted on the Devin Forum. . </font id="green">
   
   <b>Kreg.</b>
   Sent from my iPhone 5s
   .

[jrlucke]

Keith, I thought somewhere I'd seen a photo of an Ace with a very ugly cone attached to the grill.
   
   This is the Ford powered Ace at Bonneville.
   
   http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/competition/pics/bonneville_miller1.jpg
   
   I read somewhere that AK at one point switched to Ford power from Chevy because his employer Ford took a dim view of his racing with their competitor's engines.
   
   John

[AC Ace Bristol]

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   Keith..
   
   The info I have sent you was cut and pasted from some old emails. This info is from various sources / members and although in the public domain, I prefer you give credit to Devin Enthusiasts in general. (not just Me)
   
   If we found the car and owner I would gladly put them In touch.
   
   "I believe this is the car. This picture is from 64."-Kreg
   I found it online. ...
   Nik.... can you please post picture on my behalf...thank you
    .
   
   
   Lots of conflicting info on these cars. From research in Hot Rod coverage articles:
   1. First car built 1958 with tube frame, 340" Chevy and $295 Devin kit  body. 1st place
   2. New car for 1959 with Olds engine and similar body. 1st place
   3. 1960: same car, 4th place.
   4. 1961: same car, 1st place
   5. 1962: Same car but with new SS-style Devin body, 406 Ford. 1st place
   6. 1963: Same car as 1962, 427 Ford. 1st. Miller also entered an AC Ace with a 289 driven by Dan Morgan. DNF
   7. 1964: New car with AC chassis (from Morgan car?). New Devin SS body. 330" sbf engine. 2nd.
   8. 1965-66 Same car as 1964 but with 427 Ford. 1st both years.
   Corrections? Where are the cars now?
   
   Kreg Jones.
   
   Sent from my iPhone 5s
   
   
   Kreg & Devin Enthusiasts.
   
   We all love our classic/historic Sports cars especially those with competition /racing History.
   
   In order to confirm and build accurate record of/on  individual cars we need to seek and share data whilst it is still available from those who raced in period e.g 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately many pilots are now either 80/90 years old or no longer with us, plus
   the old grey cells can often unintentially distort facts. Then accurate history of our cars is lost forever.[;)].
   
   Any new information on Racing Devins  which materialise from this thread will be shared with you and your members.[;)]
   
   With only two small pieces of Ace Chassis left, there is little chance of confirming ID, However maybe some one knows what became of the Aluminium Ace body when AK MIller discarded it for the Devin Fibreglass Body.[?]..[?]
   
   Keith..[:)]

[aex125]

Keth, There was a time I thought AEX125 may have been Ak's Bonneville car and I did some research into Ak and his Ace. Unfortunately, Ak had passed a year earlier and while I could not talk to him, I did talk to his mechanic Jack Lufkin who was still working in the place that was Ak's old shop. According to Jack, Ak installed the Ford V8 well before Shelby built his first car, and the body change to the Devin occurred 1964 or 1965. Jack was not aware of where the body went, but it definitely no longer in the shop in 2006.
   
   As an FYI, here is a picture of the 427 powered Devin bodied "Cobra" crossing the Pikes Peak finish line in '66. I use the term Devin bodied Cobra since I found many period articles that referred to the car that way.
   
   http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/motorsports/1966-pikes-peak-hillclimb/
   
   Jay

[nikbj68]

Originally posted by AC Ace Bristol: "I believe this is the car. This picture is from 64." I found it online-Kreg . ...

And here is the photo:
   

[jrlucke]

Here is a photo of the Ace at Bonneville as referenced in the letter from AK. It is from a 10 page or so article in Rodder's Journal (issue #32). THe article mostly deals with his hot rodding and Pan America road race escapades with his hot rod sports car "El Caballo".
   
   
   
   I did see (on the Cobra forum?) a comment from a former neighbor kid who recalled seeing 2 Ace's in AK's garage one being the Ace which received the V8 treatment. He also recalled Carol Shelby visiting on various occasions and AK giving Shelby rides in the Ace around the neighborhood. The sight and noise of the car were quite impressive to the neighborhood kids!

[AC Ace Bristol]

quote:Originally posted by slotcarone
   
I see a paragraph about BEX 1147--I used to own this car.  I bought it about 1972 and at the time I was told that it was originally purchased from Grossman motors but I had no idea it had racing history.  It did have a small windscreen that could replace the stock one and also had a roll bar.  The windshield was curved like a Cobra rather than flat like most other Bristols.  Here is the real kicker--I sold it for $1900!!!
   

   
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   Mike.
   
   I received email this evening from Phillipe Laurent (16/02/2015) ACOC Club France member who is the new owner of BEX1147 and is researching it's History which hopefully will include data on Sebring Aces.[;)]
   
   He would like to get in contact with you.
   
   If you are interested can you please confirm your email address..[?] and I will pass it on. In the meantime I will send email request via the ACOC forum...[;)]
   Philippe is joining the ACOC so should in the long term hopefully complement this thread and the Ace Bristol Register with new material...[^]
   
   Keith..[:)]

[ACOCArch]

quote:Originally posted by Jim A
   
I'd guess that the "T" is for something like "temporary" allowing the car on the track under the numbers assigned to AC.
   
   I believe the 'T' stood for 'Training' - a designation widely used in Formula 1 and other classes, well into the 1970s, where a second car carried the race car number during 'practice'.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[nikbj68]

Here's a great photo from Sebring in 1960 showing Duncan Black driving our very own John Abel's Daimler SP250, chasing down the Ace of Mike Rothschild/Bob Grossman.
   

[AC Ace Bristol]

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   Nik
   
   The Photograph is even better when you note,  Ace Bristol # 34
   (BEX1147) is ahead of the Daimler SP250.. Still a great Picture
   one of many From  John Abel's  Daimler 250 Archive..[^]
   
   BEX1147 was owned and driven by Bob Grossman and co driven by Mike
   Rothchild,  Finishing 21st Overall and  2nd in 2.0 litre GT  class..[;)]
   
   Ace Bristol Register confirms BEX1147 now resides in France.
   
   Keith..