AC Cars
AC Cars Group Ltd. is a British specialist car manufacturing company and one of the oldest independent car marques in Britain. Based in Weybridge, Surrey (see also British motor industry).
It began as Weller Brothers in 1901, becoming Autocarriers Ltd in 1909 and using the 'AC' logo. The company moved to Thames Ditton, Surrey in 1911 and grew into a substantial car manufacturer. In 1930 the company was bought by the Hurlock family.
In 1953 the firm began production of the AC Ace, a lightweight chassis with a Bristol six-cylinder engine the car raced at Le Mans in 1957 and 1958. When the company lost access to the Bristol engine in 1961 the owner, Charles Hurlock, was approached by Carroll Shelby to use a Ford V8 in the Ace chassis, producing the AC Cobra in 1962. The Cobra was a dangerously over-powered roadster, and is commonly blamed for the introduction of the 70 mph limit on British motorways. Although a major factor in the decision, after being caught doing 196 mph during a test run1, a recent spate of accidents in foggy conditions also helped the introduction of the limit2. The Cobra was sold to Ford in 1965 and production of the original ended in 1969.
They also built a three wheeled microcar, which, also, had an aluminum body.
The company was sold to Ford and Autokraft in 1986 and became AC Car Group. The group was sold again in 1993 and went into receivership in 1996 but was rescued from administration, as AC Car Group Ltd, and continued car production. Later the factory was sold and slimmed down and later opened up in Frimley in 2001. There the activity was concentrated on repairs, restorations and the production of the MkII and MkIII 289 and 427 FIA Roadster. In October 2004 the factory in Frimley closed down and was moved to Guildford.
In 2005, AC Cars relocated to Malta and announced plans for expansion. The first new vehicle chassis was shipped in May. A new company, AC Cars Manufacturing (USA), will begin operations near Bridgeport, Connecticut, next year.
Mechanical details
ACs were available with two body styles and two engine/transmission combinations (in addition to the microcar). These engines each had about two liters displacement, but different bores, strokes and powers. The best known engine is the Bristol, the design for which was taken from BMW during or after World War II, and which was built by Bristol Cars for its own cars, and sold to AC. This had two sets of push-rods and two sets of rocker-arms opening the exhaust valves to allow a cross flow "hemi" combustion chamber in a compact space.
The other engine was AC's own single overhead camshaft product, which had a longer stroke and less power but was cheaper and lighter, putting the car in direct competition with Porsche. It is difficult to guess why the rear-heavy Porsche has been the more successful of the two.
Road and Track reported on a satisfactory Chevrolet V8 conversion before the Ford "Cobra" V8 version appeared.
The body styles were the Ace roadster and the Aceca coupé. All bodies were aluminum.
The rear suspension was independent with upper and lower leaf springs, like the front of a Panhard. This was changed when the Ford V8 was used.
When the original and 427 Cobra projects ended, Shelby produced Cobras with Mustang bodies and AC built its own American V8 engined cars.
For historical reference one should look at Allard.
References
External links
de:A.C. nl:AC (auto) no:AC Cars sv:AC Cars
Notes
Link 2: When was the 70 mph motorway speed limit introduced in Britain? (www.speedlimit.org.uk) [2]