1961 AC Aceca - RS 5500

RS 5500 left the AC factory on 14 July 1961 with the registration number 950 CPO, with engine number S177324E. It was equipped with triple SU carburettors, a manual choke plus a Raymond Mays cylinder head, serial number 28649 and an overdrive.  The vehicle is still fitted with these as of 2023 and therefore is a matching numbers car. The original colour was AC’s Angel Blue and the interior was light beige. The car used frame number AE 806 which was originally intended to be an AC engined Aceca. It is the first of the eight Ruddspeed 2.6 Acecas and one of the four right hand drive cars. Of the eight cars, six are still known to exist. One had been crashed and written off and there is no trace of the other since it was exported new to Spain.

The first owner was a Mrs Levy. Little is known of the subsequent owners but it was owned by Thomas Keeper in 1968 and then Malcolm Ryley in 1970 from whom Simon Bathurst Brown  bought it in 1972, it was in very poor condition.

Over the years it has been totally restored. A bare metal body restoration was carried out by Mitchell Motors in 2005 who repainted it in Simca colour Metallic Calanque Blue which is very similar to AC’s Guardsman Blue. Three new SUs with an electric choke were acquired when AC cleared their stores at a Thames Ditton. It has been
re-trimmed in black leather with grey carpet and fitted with inertia reel seat belts. A replica Ruddspeed rocker cover and a six-branch exhaust manifold with a twin exhaust stainless steel system are fitted. The original radio has been converted to FM. It has also been converted by Ben Yates to the original John Tojeiro rack and pinion steering system designed for the Ace.

In 2015/16 the engine was totally rebuilt with new valves, guides, seats, pistons and bearings etc by Ford engine expert, Bill Holgate. As of 2023 it has been taken twice on the Fougères Rally in France. A 1971 MOT certificate, when the car was ten years old, shows the mileage as 35,757. As of September 2023, it is 41,363. This could well be the correct total mileage to date.

We would love to hear from anyone has more information on the car or would like to add to the history please feel free to contact us here at AC Heritage.