In a message dated 3/9/01 2:10:24 AM Eastern Standard Time, ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
writes:
<< Bob,
The car experiences of fellow List members are some of the most
interesting reading. Let's hear about it and how about some history of the
AC?
The Big Brass Buicks are pretty sought after throughout the Horseless
Carriage hobby. Few moderately priced cars will perform with
them................Ardun Doug >>
................Sometimes you just get lucky, back in the late 1980's I was
going through a new issue of Hemmings Motor News and saw an ad for a 1912 AC
threewheeler in the next town north of me. I called and went to see it that
night. The discription I got over the phone was accurate, it was a 1912 AC,
it was all apart, and there were major parts missing (frame and body), this
car wanted to follow me home! This was the first model that AC built, and was
called the Auto Carrier, a inexpencine delivery vehicle used in cities. In
1963 a two seater AC,with the help of Carrol Shelby and a 289 Ford became the
Cobra. The little three wheeler was a one cylinder powered unit that mounted
under the single seat behind the delivery box. It had a tiller steering
sysyem with stamped steel spoke wheels. I started on the restoration, but for
some reason desided to part with it, which was a good thing for the little
AC! I placed an ad in Hemmings and go a call from someone in North Carolina
that had one and wanted pictures of mine and details. Off they went, and soon
I got another call about the car from a fellow in New Hampshire. This guy was
really into AC's, and wanted the car. I'm real big on first come first served
and the fellow in North Carollina was first and the photos were just mailed.
The fellow in New Hampshire understood this and had been in that situation
before, he also said he was sending a check payment in full in the event that
the first guy pulled out. I called down south a few day later, and it took me
a while to realize that the guy only wanted to look at the photos, and had no
intentions on buying the car! I delivered the AC remains to New Hampshite and
six years later saw the car on the show field at the AACA meet in Hershey,
Pa. You really need a photo now, I can't discribe how nice the car looked, it
won its class, and later that year won the Edge Award for best restored
Foreign car in AACA Eastern division. The owner has since added the AC that
was in North Carolina and another to the stable, that is 3 of the 6 that
exist in the world, and I'm happy to have been caretaker for a while. Bob in
Connecticut
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