50's Sportscars CARS
AC Ace 1958
THIS brief test report is primarily a recheck on the AC Ace-Bristol test published in April of 1957. The AC company has recovered from its fire and is now back to full production (about 50 cars per month). In line with their policy of continuous improvement, the latest cars have GirIing disc brakes arid the D-type Bristol engine with 9.00:1 compression ratio, known as "stage 2." It develops a.bout 5 more brake horsepower than the stage 1 powerplant.

The Bristol engine deserves its fame. Though an old, design, it has been thoroughly tested and proved, and few, if any, engines can show as good a record of racing successes. The D-2 version is not a "cooking" unit, designed for quiet, docile motoring around town. It will do that rather well, however.

This particular car was loaned to us by its owner, William Klingensmith, and was driven by Roy Jackson-Moore during the performance checks. The odometer read just over 10,000 miles and it had been raced three times.                                                                                                                     

The hard use to which this AC had been subjected was barely discernible. The transmission was perhaps a shade noisier than originally, but there were no other noticeable signs of deterioration. The engine had been given a tune-up and, for the full-throttle test work, it was necessary to use colder plugs (KL~ TENL-I00). On direct factory recommendations, no carburetor jet changes had been made, though some owners use richer jets for racing. The gear ratios. given are identical to those of the previous test car, which we had mistakenly listed as having a 3.64 axle. For comparison purposes, here are the acceleration data:

Top speed remains about as ,before, though in this test we were hampered by a light cross-wind which made 115. plus miles per hour a little too exciting for passenger comfort. The car feels safe to the driver under such conditions.

The AC is designed and built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. There are no luxuries, and a genuine dual-purpose sports car should have none. Functional extras like an oil cooler or a roll bar are available from the factory. This is a car to be raced, and its domination of the 2-liter production class does not appear to be in danger.

Author: ArchitectPage