Greyhounds

[Kiwi 2Litre]

Greetings, I have watched the forum for some time now and participated occaisionally but have never seen any postings about people restoring late type Greyhounds. Are they not popular or were there not many made? The model history on this site shows one photo and just says that they were the family mans version of the Aceca with the same choice of engines. Does this mean they were made with AC, Bristol and Ford engines? If so I would like to know more about the Ford engined version. Particularly which gearbox it used and did it have the Raymond Mays head etc? Any links to other sites with pictures of Greyhounds would also be appreciated. Thanks, Ian.

[johngoose]

Hello Ian, thanks for raising Greyhounds on the Forum !
   Yes there were only 84 cars made, mostly with Bristol engines, and only two with Ford 2.6, one as a prototype and one re-engined I think by the factory. I have not seen either of these and don't know which gearbox but would guess that the engines are standard. They live not far from me so I'll have another go at seeing them. Greyhounds were for many years not much sought after and not very valuable - the Bristol engine and gearbox was worth more than the car and consequently quite a few Greyhounds lost their engines to Aces, Acecas or Cooper Bristols. Sadly this is still happening. So there are quite a few Greyhounds running around with non-standard engines - Triumph, Rover, Ford V8 etc. Greyhounds are covered reasonably well in the AC books and Rinsey Mills did some nice research for his new very fine book. The one Greyhound in New Zealand has now moved to Australia.
   If there is anything you particularly want I could mail to you directly
   A Good New Year to you all
   John

[Larry]

Hi Ian and John
   
   Just to correct John
   
   I'm currently restoring a 1962 Greyhound BEF 2579 one of 3 left hand drives ever built - running a 1962 ford 260 V8 in Whangarei New Zealand - planning to have it running (parading) with the Historic Racing and Sport car clubs meet in December this year to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the AC Greyhound
   
   I'm really enjoying the rebuild and having a target date helps with the motivation
   
   Regards
   
   
   Larry

[nikbj68]

I don`t understand why the Greyhound is SO overlooked by the masses...best of luck with your restoration Larry, just make sure the MkI Cobra guys don`t try to swipe that motor of yours!!!

[Larry]

the rumour has it the 260 was installed (overseen) bu Carrol Shelby but i can't confirm. The cam is radical too hot for the street and fitted (confirmed)pre 70's Running a 1965 toploader box - **** she will fly (probably not corner)

[johngoose]

Hello Larry,
   Apologies, apologies - so sorry to have forgotten about our mail exchange less than a year ago !
   It was great to hear of 2579, we hadn't had news of the car for a long time and I'm very pleased to know your project is going well. I'm sure you'll enjoy the car on the road, l look forward to hearing more about it
   All the best
   John

[Kiwi 2Litre]

I am trying to put together a 2 Litre saloon that has been played around with previously, at one stage having a sidevalve Ford V8 in it and later a Jaguar. Iknow the whereabouts of the original motor but the gentleman who has it does not want to part with it even though it is only his second spare engine for an earlier car. I have part of another motor but to put an AC motor together is going to cost me more than the car would ever be worth so I figured that a Zephyr was the next best thing. I was curious about the gearbox the factory used. It would not be easy to adapt the Moss box to a Zephyr even if the Jag input shaft was used to get a spigot or a piece was made to bolt to the back of the crank. I work part time for a company that makes bellhousings so will probably fit a five speed conversion. I cannot image the company going to the expense of a Mays head on a saloon but did they use triple carbs or just a stock Zephyr? I was also hoping to find something about how the engine was mounted. I have a set of 1& 3/4" SU's and will do a bit of work to the motor so hopefully it will go well. Perhaps you could sent me a message Larry with details of the meeting you mentioned? Many years ago I did a lot of work on 221 Ford V8's as we were running Stock Cars which had a 240 c i max limit. Cheers, Ian.