Here’s one you don’t see everyday, and especially in the U.S.: a 1951 AC 2-Litre saloon, an aluminum-bodied tourer with a respectable amount of performance on board for the era it was made. Said to have been stored in a shipping container after its owner passed away, the AC is said to remain in excellent condition with leather “..as soft as a bomber jacket.” Find it here on craigslist with no price offered (and go here if the ad disappears.)
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Michael for this find. The AC is surprisingly complete, with matching hubcaps, bumpers, lenses and all glass intact. The aluminum body is quite handsome if not curvaceous and the original British number plates seem to be the ones that predate the more recent yellow and white plates. The long-term storage in a shipping container may at first seem like a warning sign, but the AC appears to have held up well despite where it was parked.
The interior is shockingly nice, with lovely red leather seats, handsome woodgrain dash, ornate gauges and a backseat that looks unused. The seats almost certainly had to have been redone in the past, making you wonder if this AC underwent a minor restoration at some point under the prior owner’s care. The foot pedals are my favorite part, emblazoned with the AC logo. The details are killer on this swoopy sedan, with a tool kit that looks like the car was built around it and other places where the AC logo is subtly woven in.
The AC 2-Litre seems to have been intended as an early grand tourer, with upwards of 85 b.h.p. and capable of hitting speeds in the range of 80 m.p.h. This 2L mill features three Weber carbs, according to the seller, but does not run at the moment. The seller hasn’t done anything to the AC since removal and doesn’t really know …”what this baby is worth.” He seems open to a bit of horsetrading, but this is still one of those arrangements where the seller is being coy about the price – which is never amusing. Still, a neat car worth saving.
Those look like SU carbs, Jeff…
A very cool find.
What a rare and wonderfully kept car.
The carburators are not Weber but SU. Much more commonplace in Britain in the period.
Good luck to ne next owner I wish I could be
Less tuning as well ( :
SU carbs. Skinner’s Union, invented by a British plumber in the ’20s or ’30s I think. Good carburetors, set ’em and forget ’em.
I like the AC but if ever there was a car begging to be chopped, this has gotta be it.
Didn’t Skinners Union have something to do with slaughter houses? I remember it as an aside in some documentary about British cars I watched once.
Semaphores in the roof rear pillars ?
And to think this is it’s offspring!
Nah, that is the offspring of the Ace.
Lovely! But an AC could never be made of “aluminum,” only “aluminium.”
It’s definitely a rare one, only about 1200 produced.
I think this would be way cool if it were polished to a mirror finish like the Kirkham Cobras of a few years ago.
Just because it’s aluminium.
This is just stinking cool, why couldn’t I have been born rich instead of good looking! Its a curse you know, I would be ok with being ugly with a good looking British rarity such as this. Besides if your rich ugly can be fixed.
@Jeff Lavery.
What makes you think that the front seat leather is not original? I used to own a one owner 1939 Austin Heavy Twelve Phaeton that had been standing in a removal company warehouse for over 14 years and the leather seats, front and rear, were still in very good condition and after an hour or so looked as good as new. The same with a 3.8L E Type that I bought a couple of years later, which was No. 8 off the production line, and had been owned by a doctor that was stored on his son’s farm in the barn for about 30 years after he died. If you look after leather then leather will look after you.
Why was the dead doctor stored in a barn for 30 years?
Lovely! Me want.
She needs to come home to our miserable weather and be my Sunday driver.
“aluminum body is quite handsome if not curvaceous”
Strange syntax for a car which has curves all over it. And the registration number is an old UK number
AC 2 litres were ugly in their day, engine design dating back to 1919, chassis is pre-WW2 and the price was enormous. So not a great success. They now have some charm, this looks like a very restorable survivor.
But a 2 litre Bristol would be much preferable for me!
“aluminum body is quite handsome if not curvaceous”
More correctly wood framed body with aluminum panels.
ccrvtt,
I was thinking the same. Strip off the trim and send the body to an Airstream restorer. Shoot it with clear and you should be good to go.
Wow, that rear end looks a lot like the “inspiration” for the Benz Maybach CUV concept just unveiled in Beijing. This is nice; that MBM is hideous! Just sayin’
Wow, that rear end looks a lot like the “inspiration” for the Benz Maybach CUV concept just unveiled in Beijing. This is nice. That MBM is hideous! just sayin’
I fully restored and drove a ’51 2Litre back in the 2000s – in the UK. Still have some spares..The seats look original. From the photos its generally very good – but not ‘like a 10 year old car’, come on!
A good test of condition of the wooden frame is (1) the bodywork below the boot and above the number-plate (hinged spare wheel holder) – there’s no oil flying around so the ply inner wings go followed by the frame – and the aluminium splits – none showing on the photos – a good sign. (2) the doors droop – and this shows with a scar on the chrome AC door plate where a ‘supporting wheel’ rubs through to the brass – none showing on the photo. The engine is the bog worry – all aluminium and very prone to corrosion id the antifreeze not kept up. You can get new liners and even blocks if your pocket is deep enough. I sold my OK spare bare block in 2005 for £1,500 – parts are not cheap. Definitely worth restoring.
those daze guys still wore hats, no chop plez