AC Ace Bristol

This AC Ace Bristol, chassis BEX1115, left the factory in October 1959 for Texas. It is a late-production car with the factory Girling front disc brakes, and it still has its original Bristol 100D engine. The engine number matches the chassis plate on the bulkhead, and the important stampings are in the correct places on the doors, bonnet and boot hinges.

Unlike many US-delivered Aces, it seems to have had an easy life, and it keeps most of its original trim and weather equipment. It returned to the UK more than 30 years ago. It spent a long time in one collection, then with an owner who bought it in 2010 and died a couple of years later. After that it sat untouched in a garage for about a decade.

Recommissioning mostly covered perishable parts. The hydraulics got new cylinders or rubbers, and new front calipers and fuel lines were fitted. Ian Nuthall Racing rebuilt and upgraded the water pump and supplied a new stainless steel exhaust. There is also a new set of 16-inch wire wheels with Dunlop tyres. The history file holds invoices for earlier work, including an electric fuel pump and strengthened steering box mountings. The car is viewable in central London.