MA 200 - AC 428 Prototype

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by ClassicusHi Nik...for many owners of older cars originality can often be an extremely subjective and very touchy issue, so it would largely depend on what your own goals are...For me personally originality will always count for everything bar none...
   Think of it all perhaps like a very old and extremely valuable oil painting painted by your great, great grandfather that's been in your family ever since, yet is now badly in need of careful restoration. How important would retaining its originality be to you then Nik ? And what would you do ?...[;)]

   I have a pretty fair idea of the answers, I`m right there with you on the importance of originality, I`d much rather see a slightly tatty 'used & much loved' car than a gleaming, over-chromed, 'better-than-new' show car any day.
   Interesting choice of analogy, as my father & his wife run a picture restoring business!![8D]

[Emmanueld]

As Fruas' were hand built cars, each one is different so establishing originality is difficult. Engine have no numbers, just build codes, interiors are all setup differently etc. You can't have absolute originality, as long as the car is setup right this is what counts. Just drive them and enjoy! Take them to shows and let them be seen. Cars are not oil paintings, they are a mean to get you places relatively quickly.
   
   Enjoy!!  [}:)]
   
   Emmanuel

[Classicus]

quote:Cars are not oil paintings, they are a mean to get you places relatively quickly.

   From the flip side view as "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and the 428 being the most beautiful car I have ever seen, few oil paintings will ever come close to Pietro's masterpiece [;)]

[strada5300]

Coming in late on the discussion. I missed if the car has a coil spring suspension or leaf springs like the Shelby small block cars.
   Also the vent in the side wing (fender over here in the US) seems reminescent of Giugiaro's penchant at the time of putting side vents in everything from Maserati 5000s to the one off Ferrari swb 250GT he did for Carrozzeria Bertone. Has anyone talked to Giugiaro to see if he free lanced this on the side from Bertone?
   
   Also I missed seeing the rear 3/4 views. Was it posted?
   
   I got a laugh out of the engineers' disappointment in the six. I guess it takes a lot to admit you can't reinvent the wheel and Porsche had invented the wheel with the flat six.
   
   Congratulations to the owner who sees this car as significant as it is...
   
   California History Buff

[Peterw11]

Hi Strada:
   
   I've been dropping in and out of this thread, (mostly out,lately) and if you've read my posts, can see that I share your interest in this particular vehicle, and have done so for many years.
   
   Mark Gold, the newest owner of MA 200, had linked his Photobucket page in another thread, which contains a few more additional pics of the car, including a rear end shot which, AFAIK, had never been previously published.
   
   You can find it at http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n20/markgold/.
   Just copy and past it into your browser and it should come up.
   
   I just visited the page and noticed a new picture added, that being a black and white photo of the 289 V8 in situ.
   
   Hopefully Mark will continue to add new pictures so that those interested can get a better idea of what this lovely design looked like when original built.
   
   In addition, the shop which is currently restoring the car, The Creative Workshop in Florida, has added a few new pictures of the car in it's present dissassembled state, as the restoration work continues.
   
   Just cut and paste:
   
   http://www.thecreativeworkshop.com/Pages/page%20Daily%20pics.htm
   
   and their site will come up.
   
   They seem to be making quite a bit of progress, considering how difficult it must be to restore a one-off, hand built car such as this beauty.
   
   As far as the suspension goes, it seems to be as unique as the car (and the original engine design) itself.  Neither leaf or typical Cobra coil sprung, it appears to be a protoype inboard coil with rocker arms setup, never used before (or since), on a production AC chassis.

[msgsobe]

Hi All,
   
   Just checking in.  The resto is moving along faster than anticipated, as the car is fully cooperating!  There was some electrolysis where the aluminum meets the space frame, which has been dealt with, but otherwise, most of the body was amazingly intact. it's really fun guessing where parts came from, for example, the rear license plate lights came from a 356!
   
   here's a pic Trevor Legate was kind enough to share with me, Taken at Silverstone, the first test of the 427 Cobra.  MA 200 is in the background. That's Chris Amon with the helmet! We assume Derek Hurlock drove MA 200 to the meet.
   
    IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n20/markgold/silverstone.jpg[/img]

[Peterw11]

Hi Mark:
   
   Great to hear the resto work is progressing so smoothly.  The uniqueness of the car and the careful stewardship of it's relatively few previous owners seems to have paid off.
   
   Let's face it, you don't find too many 40 year old cars that haven't had one or two dented panels or fallen victim to the tin worm.  It's obvious that the car has lead a fairly pampered life.
   
   Given the fragility of it's hand formed aluminum panels, it's even more remarkable.
   
   I can see the Porsche parts on the rear bumper now that you've given the heads up, (I doubt I would have made the connection otherwise).
   
   Did you get a list of the parts sources in the paperwork that came with the car?  I think I see Rover P5 in the front turn signals and taillights, but I could be wrong.
   
   The trunk locks look pretty generic, they could have even come from my MG TD as they are similar in function, if not identical in appearance.  The lid itself could have come from a Gordon-Keeble, although I'm sure AC built one specific to this project. Unless it's fiberglass rather than aluminum...then it could very well be from GK.
   
   And I've yet to figure the source for the bumpers...I'm guessing they were one offs as well.
   
   Do you have any shots of the interior?  Love to see what that looks like.

[msgsobe]

Hi peter. yes the bumpers are one offs..there is a list of some of the generic parts in the notebook kept by marcewski that came with the car. heres a pic of the interior, we know the seats, even tho they are really cool, are not original.