Reputed to be the Oldest of the British Motorcar Manufacturers', the AC Motor Company started life a far cry from the legendary Cobra.
1901 saw a young engineer, John Weller, started the Autocar & Accessories Car Company, with the expertise and funding from a wealthy London businessman, John Portwine.
It took them until 1904, before they produced and launched their first vehicle, known as the 'Autocarrier'. This was a three wheeled, 5.6hp air cooled single cylinder delivery vehicle or light van, followed by, in 1907, the Sociable, a passenger carrying version and so named because the passenger sat alongside the driver, which was unusual for the time, as most other vehicles that were available used the tandem seating method, this continued in production until around 1915.
The company was renamed Autocarriers Limited, which is the first recorded use of the AC name. They also moved into a factory in Thames Ditton and in 1913 they started manufacturing a 4 wheeled Motor Car.
The 'Autocarrier' was going from success to success, with most large Southern English Companies and Department Stores having a least one, even the British Army were using modified 'Sociables' as Machine Gun Carriers.
Although a limited number of vehicles where still being produced, AC turned their manufacturing capability to the production of Shells and Fuses during World War One.
After the war they had designed and built several new vehicles with 10 and 12 hp engines and later replaced these with a six cylinder, 16hp engine. Up until 1953 AC didn't produce any further three wheeled vehicles, instead concentrated all their efforts on four wheeled production. The Australian Racing Driver and Businessman, S F Edge, started to build up a shareholding in AC Cars, gaining full control in 1922. In 1922 the name changed again to AC Cars Limited. In about 1923 Edge was also Managing Director of William Cubitt & Company, who had entered the car market with the Cubitt Marque, but was out of business by 1925.
Edge switched the contract for purchasing engines for the AC car from Anzani, where he also sat on the board, to Cubitt, who produced what was essentially a copy of the Anzani design. S F Edge purchased AC cars outright for 135,000 in 1927. When AC collapsed in 1929, Edge sold his interest in the company to the Haulage Business Owners, William and Charles Hurlock, who continued to produce Hand Built Cars in small numbers. During the 1930's AC had several racing and rallying successes and in 1933 won the RAC Rally with Kitty Brunel at the wheel.
The company continued with this very limited production up until the outbreak of World War Two, the last car being delivered in May or June 1940. During the war years the factory focused full time on the war effort.
The AC Company started production again in 1947, producing the 2 litre Sports Car and also began production of fiberglass, three wheeled, BSA Motorcycle Engine powered Single Seat Invalid Carriage for the British Government. The production of these Invalid Carriages continued until 1975/6.
In or around 1953, AC went into the manufacturing of a 3 Wheeled Micro Car, affectionately named the 'Petite', this had a Aluminum Body and was powered by a Villiers Single Cylinder 2 Stoke 346cc Engine. These were priced at around 400 but never captured the British Public's favour and were discontinued around 1958.
AC deviated from car production and manufactured 4 Trains, namely 4 Coaches and 3 Powered Cars, for the Southend Pier Railway in Essex. These Trains were still running up until 1976.
1953 saw John Tojeiro redesigning a lightweight chassis for the ACE Sports Car, powered by John Weller's Six Cylinder 2 litre Engine. The Bristol 135bhp Engine was also tried out in this car and it achieved success at the races of 1957 & 1958 in Le Mans
1901 saw a young engineer, John Weller, started the Autocar & Accessories Car Company, with the expertise and funding from a wealthy London businessman, John Portwine.
It took them until 1904, before they produced and launched their first vehicle, known as the 'Autocarrier'. This was a three wheeled, 5.6hp air cooled single cylinder delivery vehicle or light van, followed by, in 1907, the Sociable, a passenger carrying version and so named because the passenger sat alongside the driver, which was unusual for the time, as most other vehicles that were available used the tandem seating method, this continued in production until around 1915.
The company was renamed Autocarriers Limited, which is the first recorded use of the AC name. They also moved into a factory in Thames Ditton and in 1913 they started manufacturing a 4 wheeled Motor Car.
The 'Autocarrier' was going from success to success, with most large Southern English Companies and Department Stores having a least one, even the British Army were using modified 'Sociables' as Machine Gun Carriers.
Although a limited number of vehicles where still being produced, AC turned their manufacturing capability to the production of Shells and Fuses during World War One.
After the war they had designed and built several new vehicles with 10 and 12 hp engines and later replaced these with a six cylinder, 16hp engine. Up until 1953 AC didn't produce any further three wheeled vehicles, instead concentrated all their efforts on four wheeled production. The Australian Racing Driver and Businessman, S F Edge, started to build up a shareholding in AC Cars, gaining full control in 1922. In 1922 the name changed again to AC Cars Limited. In about 1923 Edge was also Managing Director of William Cubitt & Company, who had entered the car market with the Cubitt Marque, but was out of business by 1925.
Edge switched the contract for purchasing engines for the AC car from Anzani, where he also sat on the board, to Cubitt, who produced what was essentially a copy of the Anzani design. S F Edge purchased AC cars outright for 135,000 in 1927. When AC collapsed in 1929, Edge sold his interest in the company to the Haulage Business Owners, William and Charles Hurlock, who continued to produce Hand Built Cars in small numbers. During the 1930's AC had several racing and rallying successes and in 1933 won the RAC Rally with Kitty Brunel at the wheel.
The company continued with this very limited production up until the outbreak of World War Two, the last car being delivered in May or June 1940. During the war years the factory focused full time on the war effort.
The AC Company started production again in 1947, producing the 2 litre Sports Car and also began production of fiberglass, three wheeled, BSA Motorcycle Engine powered Single Seat Invalid Carriage for the British Government. The production of these Invalid Carriages continued until 1975/6.
In or around 1953, AC went into the manufacturing of a 3 Wheeled Micro Car, affectionately named the 'Petite', this had a Aluminum Body and was powered by a Villiers Single Cylinder 2 Stoke 346cc Engine. These were priced at around 400 but never captured the British Public's favour and were discontinued around 1958.
AC deviated from car production and manufactured 4 Trains, namely 4 Coaches and 3 Powered Cars, for the Southend Pier Railway in Essex. These Trains were still running up until 1976.
1953 saw John Tojeiro redesigning a lightweight chassis for the ACE Sports Car, powered by John Weller's Six Cylinder 2 litre Engine. The Bristol 135bhp Engine was also tried out in this car and it achieved success at the races of 1957 & 1958 in Le Mans
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Rooster Reno as been in the British Motor Trade for the last 40 Years and he as developed a Website especially for Classic Car, Truck, Tractor and Motorcycle Enthusiasts. He adds content to this site daily, so go check it out, How To Restore Classic Cars We feel sure you will find many articles of interest.
