1957 AC Ace-Bristol
- Engine
- Overhead-valve inline-six with hemispherical combustion chambers, over 120 bhp, four-speed transmission
- Colour
- Black
A 1957 AC Ace-Bristol, one of 466 produced, shipped from the factory in black over a red interior on 20 December 1957 and sold new in Virginia. The car spent most of its life in the Washington DC area before entering prolonged dry storage for roughly four decades, preserving the great majority of its original paint, interior trim, and fittings. With just over 33,000 miles recorded, it later joined a prominent New York sports car collection, where the original Bristol-derived engine was professionally rebuilt.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$201,600
- 1957-12-20 → 1957Factory deliveryAC Imports, Arlington, Virginia (dealer)full documentation
Vehicle shipped from factory in black with red interior and retailed new through this US dealership in the Washington DC area.
- 1968 → 2010Acquisition unknownGerald F. Curtin, Jr.partial documentation
Vice-president at Du Pont's petrochemicals division, based in Wilmington, Delaware; drove the car briefly then stored it in his family garage for roughly four decades at approximately 33,000 miles.
- 2010 →Private saleJim Taylorpartial documentation
Prominent sports car collector based in Gloversville, New York; commissioned a rebuild of the original engine by restorer Paul Tsikiris and had the exhaust routing modified, but left the car otherwise unrestored.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Engine rebuildPaul Tsikiris
The original Bristol-derived inline-six was rebuilt by a specialist in British sports car restoration.
Work carried out during Jim Taylor's ownership after 2010.
- —Modification
Exhaust routing was altered to exit beside the passenger door, improving the acoustic character of the car.
Carried out during Jim Taylor's ownership in conjunction with the engine rebuild period.
- —Bodywork
Minor touch-up work applied to areas of paintwork that had degraded, blended carefully to match the surviving original factory finish.
Car was not restored; the majority of original paint was retained.
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