One to Buy: ex-Mary Seed 1956 AC Ace Bristol
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Despite having initially been powered by AC’s own almost prehistoric engine, a combination of light weight and excellent handling characteristics enabled the Ace and Aceca to become serious contenders in all manner of motor sport disciplines.
However, when AC began to offer the highly regarded Bristol two-litre straight six in a variety of tunes from mid 1956, those that wanted to compete with an Ace or Aceca suddenly had a considerably more potent power unit available to them.
One customer that opted for a Bristol-powered Ace was Mary Seed who took delivery of chassis BE167 as a wedding present from her husband, Commander Peter Seed, who led the Venom Jet Squadron on the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.
First registered on April 19th 1956 and dispatched on May 10th, BE167 was the first Bristol-engined Ace exported to Australia. Ordered for competition use as a replacement for Mary Seed’s Austin-Healey 100, BE167 was configured in White with Black upholstery and went racing almost as soon as it arrived in the Southern Hemisphere.
Mary Seed’s first outing in her handsome new machine was at Bathurst for a round of the New South Wales Road Racing Championship during October 1956 where she placed third overall.
Following a couple more outings at Bathurst, February 1957 saw BE167 used for a series of speed runs at Carathool in the Riverina District of New South Wales. The event, which was sponsored by Ampol Petroleum and generated major publicity, saw Mary Seed become Australia’s fastest female driver with a 112.95mph run over a flying kilometre to break the class E record for cars of between 1.5 and 2-litres.
With the Seeds returning to London, the Ace (which had continued to see occasional competition use) was sold to Oliver Steel in early 1959. As part of the Sydney-based Leaton Motors Race Team, Steel had BE167 further enhanced by tuning the engine to 140bhp, adding a hood scoop and changing the colour to the Leaton team livery of light yellow with a black stripe.
The highlight of BE167’s 1959 campaign was second overall and first in class for Doug Chivas in the soaking wet New South Wales Road Racing Championship contest at Bathurst in October. Subsequent owners Ray Hopwood and Ron Marshall then raced BE167 until 1961.
More recently, the car returned to the UK in 2015, since which time it has undergone a ground up restoration by Brooklands Cars in Weybridge with whom it is currently offered for sale.
The matching numbers engine and overdrive gearbox are in road tune and the car (which also retains its original chassis and body) is accompanied by the original flat windscreen, tonneau cover, hood, side screens and a remarkably well documented history file.
