GC8609

[stephenalbrow]

Just thought I would google the registration number of my lovely old AC and what a delightful surprise to see recent pictures of it whizzing round Brooklands and lined up for concours d'elegance. I bought the car about 1960 for £49-10s when a student at King's College, Newcastle and ran it as daily transport for many years as a student, a young pilot in the RAF and then for Morton Air Services at Gatwick. I sold it around 1974 I think. I did all the maintenance myself and was responsible for abandoning the Stromberg carburettor in favour of triple SUs, which made a big improvement in responsiveness and avoided frequent interruptions of fuel supply due to clogging. Better Brooklands than Oulton Park because the suspension on quarter elliptic springs was rather skittish. It originally had snubbers on the rear but as these had had the straps cut off before I bought it I think I removed them. It was a lovely car and I often drove long distances between Tyneside and Crawley, usually overnight. Very civilised with wind-up glass windows, a wide comfortable bench seat with a nice RH gear change, and a good electric windscreen wiper in contrast with my previous car, a 1927 Jowett which had a suction type which used to stop working just as you pulled out to overtake a lorry in the pouring rain on the old single carriageway A1. Rod brakes made its survival unscathed in the hands of a young motorist something of a miracle. The original colour had been champagne as I recall, but the previous owner had painted it blue, and I went rather darker with Vauxhall Empress Blue cellulose all over. If the present owner would like to get in touch I would be pleased to let them have a few pictures and field any questions. stephen@globevideoservices.co.uk..

[Old Crock]

Hello Stephen
   
   Great to reminisce on old cars - we all do it, remembering a particular car or model that was so trustworthy, as your AC.
   
   Quite a few vintage AC's have had their Stromberg carburettor removed, replaced with triple carbs and this having some thinking, wrongly, they had bought an S F Edge Special, (a model offering the option of three carbs in the 1920's). GC 8609 is an Aceca model; early models had windows pulled up by straps and the later ones, like yours, with window winders. GC 8609 was one of the last from the S F Edge days, some saying it was registered in 1929, others even 1930, but nonetheless after the liquidation of AC (Acedes) Cars Ltd. It shows the last modifications by the old guard, the car having not only the taller radiator but also front wings with somewhat pointed front edges and the wings being straight, not curved, at the running boards. The headlights now being mounted higher also. The original colour, you describe as champagne, was called 'Nutria' by the factory, and the combination with usually brown wings was popular at the time, even used by Bentley Motors.
   
   I remember GC 8609. I think it was blue when I first saw photos of it. Then, in the 1980's, I saw it in Gloucestershire when owned by Martin Quick. I visited him one day to talk AC's and took the photograph below outside his house. As you can see, the car was now back to 'Nutria' with brown. I have a few more photos of the car from more recent years, courtesy of Steve Gray and Brooklands Motor Company, and some are captioned below. I have forwarded your posting to Brooklands for the attention of the current owner, and hopefully he'll get in touch with you.
   
   The car performs in races and hill climbs and to give a flavour click the link below to view a video of GC 8609 accelerating up the Brooklands hill. As you will see, it is not driven gently but given full welly!
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3fOWmSMr1Q
   
   GC 8609 in the 1980's
   
   Recently at Brooklands
   
   Recently at Brooklands
   
   Recently at Brooklands
   
   Recently at Montlhery