A.C. 

GB, 1908 to date

(1) Autocars and Accessories Ltd, West Norwood, London S.E. 1908-1911

(2) Autocarriers (1911) Ltd, Thames Ditton, Surrey 1911-1922

(3) A.C. Cars Ltd, Thames Ditton, Surrey 1922 to date

This make succeeded the Weller and was a John Weller design developed from a commercial 3-wheeler, the AutoCarrier (hence the initials) with a single-cylinder rear-mounted moiv engine, 2-speed epicyclic gear and tiller steering. These side-by-side two-seater A.C. Sociables were made up to World War 1 and sold for less than £100, but in 1913 the company brought out a 10hp 4-cylinder light car with a 3-speed gearbox in the rear axle; the engine was a 1.100cc Fivet. A modernized version with electrics and a disc transmission brake appeared with the 1½-litre side valve Anzani engine in 1919, the giving way to A.C.’s own power unit in 1925 – the fours were dropped at the end of 1928. Also at the 1919 London show was Weller’s famous 1.991cc single ohc wet-liner six, an advanced power unit for its day. It did not get into production unitl 1922, but it remained in the catalogue until 1963, by which time output had gone up from around 35bhp to 103bhp. Under the aegis of S.F. Edge, the company’s director from 1921 to 1929, A.C.’s were raced, through their main interest was long-distance record work. A 4-cylinder car took 57 records at Brooklands Track in 1921; J.A. Joyce’s 16-valve ohc 1500cc single-seater covered 100 miles in the hour from a standing start in 1922; and Gillet broke the World’s 24-hour Record at Monthlhéry in 1925 on a 2-litre six. The 6-cylinder car of the Hon. Victore Bruce and W.J. Brunell became the first British entry to win the Monte Carlo Rally in 1926. In 1925 4-cylinder cars sold from £300, the cheapest six being £90 dearer, 4-wheel brakes were an optional extra, being standard on the 2-litre by 1927. All these cars retained the rear-axle gearbox, though the disc transmission brake did not last long.

Financial difficulties supervened in 1929, and virtually no cars were made for a couple of seasons, though the 1930 Magna series boasted hydraulic brakes. Th Hurlock brothers bought the company in 1930, and the 2-litre emerges in 1933 as a sporting machine with mechanical brakes and a conventionally-mounted 4-speed gearbox, in 56bhp and 66bhp versions. These cars were made on a bespoke basis, prices starting at around £435. Pre-selector boxes were available from 1934 and standard 1935 versions had synchromesh, while cars sold in 1936 had engines of 60 and 70bhp with an 80bhp sports engine available in a special short-chassis two-seater model. A 90bhp super-charged engine was listed in 1939.

A.C. resumed car production in 1947 with a saloon in the modern idiom. This had a 74bhp engine, and hydro-mechanical (full hydraulic from 1950) brakes, but retained its semi-elliptical springing up to the end of production in 1957. Some 3-wheeled monocars for invalids were made with 250cc B.S.A. motor cycle engines, and in 1953 came the Petite, a 3-wheeler roll-top convertible with rear-mounted 350cc Villiers power unit; despite a price of under £400, this never really became popular and was dropped in 1958. 1954 saw the advent of the Ace sports two-seater, a tubular-framed machine with all-independent suspension designed by John Tojeiro. With an 85bhp A.C. engine it could top the 199mph mark, and was later made also with 2-litre and 2.2-litre Bristol and 2.6-litre Dagenham Ford engines. Front disc brakes were standardized in 1960. In 1963 this car was developed into the Cobra (inspired by the American Carroll Shelby) with disc brakes all round and a 4.7-litre oversquare American Ford V8 engine developing 330bhp.

A Cobra finished 4th at Le Mans in 1964, but between 1965 and 1968 Shelby American Inc were responsible for the marketing of the 7-litre type, all Cobra production being abandoned in the latter year. From 1966, however, A.C. offered a luxury convertible or hardtop with Frua bodywork and a 7-litre Ford V8 engine, available with a 4-speed manual or an automatic gearbox. This 428 series was continued into 1973 at a price of £7.010. A.C. also made a special single-seater 3-wheeler for invalids with single-gear automatic transmission, wheel or handlebar steering, and fiberglass coupé body, powered by a 500cc 4-stroke twin engine.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcars. MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

DeSoto

US, 1913 – 1916

DeSoto Motro Car Co, Auburn, Ind.

The DeSoto appears to have succeeded the Zimmerman. This was a large car with a 55hp, 6-cylinder engine, which was furnished with a compressed-air starter. The DeSoto model Six-55 five-seater touring car sold for $2185.

US, 1928 – 1960

Chrysler Motors Corp, Detroit, Mich.

The DeSoto was launched in 1928 as a 3.2-litre side valve six to compete with Oldsmobile, Pontiac and the cheaper Nashes. Styling and general design of the DeSoto were in line with the 1929 Chryslers, and at $885 for a DeSoto sedan 90.000 were sold in the first twelve months. A 3.4-litre straight-8 DeSoto on a 9ft 6in wheelbase was announced for 1930 as the world’s cheapest 8-cylinder car. However, DeSoto suffered badly in the Depression, and in 1932, when flexible rubber engine mountings and free wheels were made available, sales dropped to 26.000 DeSoto cars.
The DeSoto disappeared from the British market about this time, though certain ‘Chrysler’ models listed in England (the Mortlake, Croydon, and some of the Richmonds) were in fact DeSoto cars in all but name. A 6-cylinder version of Chrysler’s advanced unitary-construction Airflow, the SE-type with a 4-litre engine, was brought out in 1934, but was an unsuccessful as its bigger sister. Later DeSotos followed regular Chrysler lines closely though in later years there was a tendency for DeSoto to move into a higher price class than Dodge; by 1952 DeSotos started $300 higher than the companion make.
By 1939 the DeSoto cars for sale were being made with independent front suspension, hypoid back axles and column change. There was a choice at DeSoto of two 6-cylinder engines and three wheelbase lengths, the longest of these being reserved for seven-seater bodywork – DeSoto continued to offer a really roomy family car right up to 1954. A 4-speed semi-automatic Vacumatic transmission became an option in 1941, but DeSoto’s big post-war change of models did not take place until 1952, when the division followed Chrysler’s lead in adopting the oversquare ohv V8; the DeSoto version was of 4½-litre capcity and developed 16-bhp. With the advent of Chrysler’s ‘flight sweep’ styling in 1955, the side-valve sixes were dropped and the standard engine in a DeSoto was now a 4.8-litre eight, giving 185bhp in Firedome guise, and 200bhp in Fireflite form. Though this redesigning saved Chrysler sales generally, the slump in the medium-price class had an adverse effect on DeSoto and in 1959 the DeSoto division was merged with Plymouth. Last of the DeSotos were the 1961 models, unitary-construction cars with a choice of three engines: Plymouth’s 145bhp ohv ‘slant six’ as used in the Valiant, and V8s of 230 and 265bhp, the two former only in Canadian DeSotos. Production of DeSoto cars ceased in November 1960 after only a few had been delivered.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS
The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com