1933 AC 16/56 Drophead Coupe

Description

One of no more than around 25 made and perhaps 10 surviving; interesting history; in the previous ownership for over 50 years and in the current ownership for 13 years; desirable overslung chassis with original Weller 2-Litre six-cylinder engine; unfinished restoration project in a completely dismantled state; many spares included; forced sale due to illness

AC's famous John Weller-designed 1,991cc overhead-camshaft six-cylinder engine entered production in 1922, by which time the firm has been taken over by SF Edge. A prominent Edwardian racing driver, Edge had petrol running through his veins and knew that there was no better way to sell cars than success in competition. He turned his back on the rather pedestrian vehicles that had formerly underpinned AC’s success in favour of far more sporting machines.

In 1922 an AC became the first 1,500cc car to cover the mile at over 100mph, and in 1926 a 2-litre model became the first British car to win the Monte Carlo Rally. Financial difficulties saw AC taken over by the Hurlock brothers in 1930 and the marque's reputation for producing well-engineered six-cylinder sports cars continued under their ownership.

In 1933 Kitty Brunell famously became the first woman ever to win the RAC Rally behind the wheel of an AC 16/66 four-seat tourer, registration number ACP 80. This car had an overslung chassis, a design which was changed in 1934 for an underslung chassis.

This particular Drophead Coupe has the 2-Litre Weller engine fitted to the overslung chassis, number L81, and is believed to be a 16/56 model. These were fitted with a single carb engine but were often uprated in period to a high-performance triple carb set-up, as found on the RAC Rally-winning 16/66 model. This car is fitted with triple carbs but it isn’t clear if it left the factory that way or they were added by a later owner.

The green continuation logbook shows that it was first registered in August 1933 as APK 22, correspondence from the AC Register stating that the first owner was a Mr JL Martin of London. It is believed that he is the famous architect Sir John Leslie Martin (1908 – 2000) who played a key role in the redevelopment of London after World War Two, his best-known building being the Royal Festival Hall.

It was subsequently owned by an RAF officer stationed in Cheshire who sold the car to a Ray Hughes of Chester in the late 1950s. There is an old black-and-white photo of Ray and some friends gathered around the car shortly after he had bought it, which we have reproduced here. An old MOT shows that it was still on the road in 1971, at which point it was showing 9,941 miles on the clock. There are also some historic invoices for parts and work carried out in the 1960s.

Our vendor was a friend of Ray’s and tried for many years to buy the car from him, finally succeeding in prising it out of his hands in 2013. By this time the car had been sat outside for several years under a tarpaulin and was in a dilapidated state, as shown by many photos on a USB stick – some of which are reproduced here.

He stripped the car right down with the intention of restoring it to its former glory but unfortunately he didn’t get much further than restoring the overslung chassis (L81) before he became unwell and work stopped completely.

Over the years he had also collected many spares for the car and he has kindly drawn up a list of the major parts present as follows, but is by no means comprehensive:

Clutches x 2

Flywheels x 3

Dynamos x 3

Starter motors x 2

Exhaust manifolds x 2

Engine to gearbox plates x 2

Hood frame

Front axle

Rear axle

Front and rear bumpers

Steering column

Wheels x 5

Front and rear panels and wings

Original overslung chassis, number L81, restored some time ago

Weller engine sumps x 3

Weller engine heads complete with cam etc x 3

Original Weller engine block UMB79 plus two spares, UMB260 and UMB45

Weller engine crankshafts x 3

Triple SU carbs with adaptors for Weller head plus spare set of adaptors

Single carb

Various Weller engine spares, timing chains, valve springs etc.

Quantity of pistons and con rods

Front lights

Front and rear springs

Water pumps x 2

Fuel tank

ENV73 gearbox

AC radiator

There is also a brass plaque for the car stamped S88 which is believed to be the body number of the car (see photos). A letter from AC Cars Ltd dated January 1968 states that they believe L81 to be one of only around 20 – 25 of this model made before they switched to making the Greyhound. As most of the AC records were lost in the war, it is hard to pin down exact production figures.

 Our vendor also contacted the AC Register who were not aware that L81 still existed, although they did know of another ten cars which did survive – L22; L26; L30; L40; L49; L56; L57; L62; L69 and L71. They also stated that the last car made was L86, making this car the 5^th from last to be made.

On offer here at no reserve, this is potentially a very valuable car, the overslung models being extremely rare and sought-after in AC circles. We are told that prime examples have changed hands for six-figure sums in the past.

What it needs now is an enthusiastic new owner with the time and the expertise to get it back on the road where it belongs. The parts alone must be worth a fair chunk of money on their own.

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com