Question 1

How many AC Acecas were built?

Accepted Answer

A total of 328 AC Acecas were built at Thames Ditton, Surrey, between 1954 and 1963: 151 with AC's own Light Six engine, 169 with the Bristol engine, and just 8 with the Ford Zephyr unit. Some published sources quote around 300 or 326; 328 is the accepted figure.

Question 2

What is the difference between the Aceca, the Aceca-Bristol and the Aceca 2.6?

Accepted Answer

They are the same car with three different engines. The Aceca used AC's own 1,991 cc Light Six, a design dating to 1919. The Aceca-Bristol used Bristol's 1,971 cc six, derived from the pre-war BMW 328. The Aceca 2.6 used a tuned 2,553 cc Ford Zephyr engine.

Question 3

What engine does the AC Aceca 2.6 use?

Accepted Answer

The AC Aceca 2.6 uses a 2,553 cc Ford Zephyr straight-six, extensively reworked by Ken Rudd's Ruddspeed concern with triple carburettors and up to around 170 bhp. It is not an AC engine and not an enlarged AC unit. It is a Ford engine, and it made the 2.6 the fastest Aceca.

Question 4

Why does the Bristol engine look like a twin-cam when it isn't?

Accepted Answer

The Bristol six keeps its camshaft low in the block, but its exhaust valves sit across a hemispherical combustion chamber and are operated by long transverse pushrods running right over the top of the engine to a second rocker shaft. Two rocker covers result, giving a convincing twin-cam appearance.

Question 5

What do the AE, BE and RS chassis prefixes mean on an AC Aceca?

Accepted Answer

AC's chassis prefixes identify the engine fitted when the car left the factory: AE for the AC Light Six, BE for the Bristol engine, and RS for the Ford Ruddspeed unit. An X after the prefix, AEX, BEX or RSX, denotes an export car built in left-hand drive.

Question 6

Is the AC Aceca related to the AC Cobra?

Accepted Answer

Directly. The Cobra is built on the same lightweight tubular ladder chassis, designed by John Tojeiro, that underpins the Ace and Aceca. In 1961 Carroll Shelby approached AC's Charles Hurlock about fitting a Ford V8 into it. The Cobra that resulted, unveiled in 1962, is the Aceca's mechanical descendant.

Question 7

Was the AC Aceca the first hatchback?

Accepted Answer

No, it was the second. The Aston Martin DB2/4 of October 1953 is widely credited as the first production car with a lift-up rear tailgate. The Aceca followed a year later, in October 1954, making it the second production car in the world to feature what we would now call a hatchback.

Question 8

What is the difference between an AC Ace and an AC Aceca?

Accepted Answer

The Ace is the open roadster; the Aceca is the fixed-head coupé built on the same chassis and running gear. The Aceca is better trimmed and better insulated, adds a fastback roof with a lift-up tailgate, and is only slightly heavier, and thanks to better aerodynamics, slightly faster.

Question 9

How do you pronounce Aceca?

Accepted Answer

Aceca is pronounced "A-see-ka".

Question 10

What is an AC Aceca worth?

Accepted Answer

Values vary widely with engine, originality and history. The Bristol-engined car is the most sought-after, with good examples generally trading from the low tens of thousands for a project to around £220,000 for the very best. These figures move constantly and should be checked against current auction results.

The AC Aceca
& Aceca-Bristol

AC's elegant fixed-head coupé, hand-built in Surrey.

UBR 135, 1958 AC Aceca-Bristol

One silhouette, three characters.

Aceca

Aceca-Bristol

Aceca 2.6

Quick answers about the Aceca.

Do you own an Aceca?

The AC Aceca& Aceca-Bristol