Gassman
Automotive
This is the first car sold of the eighty-three AC Greyhounds produced. The car was sold through Ken Rudd Limited, to an owner in England, where it remained until the early 1970's. It was then acquired by an owner in Southern California who began restoration and placed the car in storage in 1976. The car was acquired in 2013, after 37 years in storage, by its current owner who undertook a three year, frame-off restoration completed in April 2016. The car was painstakingly restored to its original specification with handmade aluminum coach work powered by a Bristol 100B2 engine. It has matching numbers with just over 36,000 original miles. Scroll down for photos and documentation of the restoration.
April 13, 2016:
The greyhound restoration is completed. The car left today for the Kiewah Island Concours in South Carolina. It turned out absolutely fabulous. Check out the completed photos at the bottom of this page.
March 15, 2016:
The next exhaust has been installed. Final bits are being installed/repaired on the car and it is again nearing completion.
February 24, 2016:
The engine/transmission has been stand tested and installed into the car and is in working order. The interior has been installed and is completed. The trunk lid and rear window are installed. The rest of the chrome and trim are installed. The finishing bits are being added and tested as we near restoration completion.
December 8, 2015:
The interior is being installed and is coming together nicely. The engine is mounted on the stand. We are just waiting for the exhaust headers to come back from being black porcelained, and then we can begin stand testing on the engine.
November 17, 2015:
The engine rebuild is coming along. The transmission and overdrive have been mated and are ready to mate to the engine when it is completed. George has installed the headliner, recovered the dash, and is preparing to install the rest of the interior.
October 14, 2015:
New brakes and brake lines have been installed in the front. New steering arms have been custom fabricated and will be installed new. The radiator has been installed as well.
September 2015:
Suspension and steering components are being installed and set to the correct angles. Chrome trim and bumpers have been installed.
July 30, 2015:
The seat covers are being fabricated by our upholsterers, and the assembly is beginning. The firewall/footwells have been installed, and our metal man has fabricated new inner fenders.
June 3, 2015:
The body has been moved to assembly area. Rebuilding of the engine will commence as soon as the parts from England arrive. The foot well, spare tire well, and rear seat well are having the body work done in preparation of paint.
April 29, 2015:
The car is now painted! Dee sprayed base and clear coats today. The color is stunning, and we cannot wait to get it out into the sun to truly appreciate the shine!
April 21, 2015:
The frame and underside were painted last week. Today, the jambs of the doors, trunk, and hood were painted and sanded. The doors, trunk lid, and hood were painted today, and the rest of the car is being prepped for paint. The color turned out fabulous!
April 14, 2015:
Second coat of primer was applied. The car has been sanded again, and is getting ready for paint. The underside is ready for undercoating today, painting the rest of the car later this week.
March 31, 2015:
Body work is completed on the car, and today the first coat of primer was applied. Dee is already sanding the primer in preparation of any further body work that is necessary.
March 17, 2015:
Bodywork steadily continues. The car is quickly becoming close to being ready for primer.
March 9, 2015:
Johnny is straightening the aluminum in the front fenders, as Dee and Andrew continue body work.
March 3, 2015:
Body work continues on the car as body filler is applied and sanded down to a smooth, even finish.
February 23, 2015:
Metal work is completed on the car, and it has now been moved to the body shop. Andrew, Dee and Johnny began body work on the car today.
December 22, 2014:
Metal work on the body continues including repairs of current dents and other issues with the metal.
December 2, 2014:
Dee and Brandon mounted and aligned the doors, hood, and trunk lid yesterday.
Here is a detailed list of what has been done to the frame so far:
We removed all of the suspension and the rotisserie and took it to a shop to put it on a frame machine. We were able to pull the “z” out of the frame and get everything at the back of the car square without distortion of the body.
Since the upper and lower control arms are mounted to the upright via a tube there is 0 adjustment for caster, camber, and wheel base. We cut the frame where they had welded it, and installed an inner 1/8” steel sleeve that we were able to plug weld through thus taking a weak area and making it stronger than any other part of the frame. We then cut the tube 1 ½” shorter on each side of the upright, and made a bushing for each side, upper and lower, allowing us to use a floating rod rather than 2 bolts.
We then loaded it and took it back to the alignment shop and put all the suspension on the car and wheels, and put it on his alignment machine, this time being able to slide the control arms forward and backward, and we were able to achieve the proper 100” wheel base, the caster was within a ¼ of a degree on both sides, which is excellent, and the camber on the left side was positive x number of degrees which we corrected by machining a ¼” off the mount for the upper ball joint, thus bring the top of the a-arm in which achieved proper camber. The end result was a miraculous exact readings of caster, camber, king pin inclination, and tow. The rear a-arms are towed out instead of 1/16” in. We intend to correct this by making an offset bushing for the mounts. There is no evidence of damage in the rear and I truly believe one of the reasons these cars were rated as driving “vaguely” is nothing in the suspension area was exact by any means. We hope to have dramatically improved the handling even though a tremendous amount of work was required.
The top sections of the shock mounts and a-arms, due to their design, had held water and were very rusty, so we completely cut them off and fabricated entire new tops which allowed us to dial in the front suspension. The adjoining square rods which strengthen the suspension as well as the points for the body to mount to, have been replaced due to trust as well. We also fabricated the top section where the batteries sit, and have adjusted them so the fiberglass foot well section now fits in.
We removed the entire lower a-post mounts and frame sections, as well as the jack points, and fabricated all new metal and have welded them in.
November 20, 2014:
The frame metal work is completed. It is straightened, rust free, and off of the rotisserie now. The car went out for another alignment since completion and is now ready for body work to begin.
November 4, 2014:
Brandon continues replacing frame components that are either not straight and/or are rusty.
October 30, 2014:
The frame was discovered to be twisted, so we sent the frame/body to a local shop to straighten it. After returning, more modifications were necessary to straighten the body to the frame. Over the last week, Brandon has been strategically cutting out pieces of the frame to both straighten, and to remove rusted parts.
September 29, 2014:
Paint removal continues on the rest of the body panels including the door, hood, and trunk lid.
September 22, 2014:
Dee sprayed the initial coat of primer on all of the bare frame and interior metal to prevent rust throughout the body work process. Body work will commence on this car shortly.
September 17, 2014:
After being mounted in the rotisserie, the car was glass-blasted by Chris yesterday. All paint was stripped from the body and frame, and car will be ready for the initial primer coat today or Monday.
September 3, 2014:
The rotisserie was freed up yesterday and the AC is getting ready to get mounted on it this week.
August 27, 2014:
Paint removal is completed and body work will begin soon.
August 20, 2014:
Body work was started yesterday by stripping the existing paint. Dave and Bj are still working hard to remove all of the paint today.
August 18, 2014:
The body has been moved to the body shop to commence body work soon.
April 8, 2014:
Dis-assembly continues as the rest of the interior is removed, and the rear brakes and suspension is being removed.
March 25, 2014:
The engine, transmission, and neighboring components were removed today. Dis-assembly will continue, followed by the car being put on a rotisserie for a complete body and paint job.
Watch the removal of the engine and transmission
November 4, 2013:
We started the motor for the first time in years. Everything seemed to run smoothly and restoration will begin shortly.
