1957 AC Ace Bristol

Lot details
Registration No: 225 HTR
Chassis No: BE368
Mot Expiry: May 2013

Introduced in October 1953, the AC Ace was essentially a reworked version of 'LOY 500', the striking John Tojeiro-designed sports racer with which motor trader Cliff Davis had notched up six wins and four seconds that season (in addition to being placed ninth overall at the Goodwood Nine-Hours). Lured into collaboration with the Thames Ditton manufacturer by the promise of a £5 per car royalty fee (capped at £500), Tojeiro ensured that the new model's ladder-framed tubular chassis enjoyed the same handling prowess as its competition forebear, by equipping it with all-round independent transverse-leaf suspension.

Styled after 'LOY 500' (itself modelled on the Carrozzeria Touring-clad Ferrari 166 MM Barchettas), the Ace was arguably even more handsome. It was initially powered by AC's own 1991cc OHC engine, but the availability from February 1956 onwards of another straight-six - Bristol's eminently tuneable 1971cc unit - gave the aluminium-bodied two-seater a welcome boost in both sales and performance. Upgraded with optional Girling front disc brakes in 1957, Ace Bristols achieved considerable success at Le Mans (1957: 10th o/a & 2nd i/c, 1958: 8th o/a & 2nd i/c, 1959: 7th o/a & 1st i/c) as well as dominating the Sports Car Club of America's production championship for classes E (1957-1959), D (1960) and C (1961). By the time the model was phased out in 1962, just 466 AC Ace Bristols are thought to have been produced.

This `matching numbers' Ace Bristol - chassis BE368 - vacated the AC production line in November 1957 bound for the company's Worthing distributor Ken Rudd. In those days it was Pale Blue with a Black and Red leather interior and came equipped with Black hood and tonneau and the recently-standardised disc front brakes. It was purchased by one John Anstis of Fordingbridge, Hants who furnished it with his private registration `JA 5' and had it suitably prepared for sprinting and hillclimbing. It was fitted with a radiator cowl and, for a period at least, with a pair of aero screens in place of the standard windscreen. In order to tease a touch more performance from the Bristol engine, he had the cylinder head reworked by Mike Hawthorn's TT Garage at Farnham.

Anstis ran the Ace in some 16 events between June 1958 and April 1960. He achieved class wins at Gosport (October 1958) and Brunton (April 1960), but his finest achievement with the car was FTD at the famously wet Brunton meeting of April 1959, when mud from the paddock coated the startline and most of the hill, leaving the more powerful contenders floundering. By cunningly lowering the tyre pressures to a mere 10 pounds, he was able embarrass all the other competitors - including Ken Rudd in his Ace. Apparently Anstis only did one circuit race - a five lap club event at Goodwood. It included a Le Mans start and, to save time, he left the ignition on, unaware that the rules did not allow such a move. Unbeknown to him, a zealous marshal switched it off again, leaving the poor owner wondering why the engine wouldn't respond to his frantic jabbings of the starter button. Needless to say he was last away as a result, but still managed to finish fourth.

Moving up to a Cobra, Anstis advertised the car for £425, inclusive of hard top and many extras and spares, in April 1965, at which point it passed in quick succession to: J. M. Macdonald-Peattie, O. S. Waterlow, a Mr Parker and D. Wostenholme before being acquired by Philip Rambaut of Macclesfield, Cheshire in October 1972. He apparently treated the AC to a thorough refurbishment in early 1973 and raced it for a number of years afterwards - in 1974 it was awarded the ACOC Buckland trophy for being the most successful of the ACs racing that year. It then passed to H. Kenshole and P. Dicker, both of whom also competed with it. While in the latter's care it benefited from a competition restoration by Paul Lanzante, during which the engine was balanced and equipped with lightweight pistons and a racing exhaust and the steering changed to rack and pinion.

In 1993 it was purchased by Jean Claude Castelein and in 1996 by Ian Montgomery, who invested £2,500 in the car with Denis Welch who, among other things, overhauled the overdrive unit. During this period it was campaigned on the Tour Auto and Liège-Rome rallies. The vendor acquired the car (these days registered as `225 HTR') in July 2007. He has continued to keep the Ace up to scratch, treating it to a £5,000 overhaul by Blakeney Motorsport that included an axle rebuild, a £1,500 rewire by Winston Teague and £2,700 worth of new chrome wire wheels and tyres. He currently regards the bodywork, (now Red) paintwork and gearbox as "very good", the Black leather trim as "excellent" and the engine as being in "good order".

The AC is now offered complete with hood, tonneau, hard top, curved windscreen, side screens, a range of original parts and spares, FIVA ID and old FIA papers, plus an MOT into May 2013. A very well-presented Ace of exceptional provenance, and a potentially sound investment with which one could also have an immense amount of fun.