1937 AC '2-4-6' Coupe

Description

Exceedingly rare and handsome AC; one of perhaps 10 made and three surviving; recent £35k mechanical overhaul and only 8,000 miles since; current owner since 2005; always in regular use; large history file; forced sale due to illness


"Experience has taught us that a large and increasing number of discerning motorists dislike the full saloon with its frequently empty seats, and yet there are many who appreciate the privacy of the Coupe type of body, but who occasionally require to provide accommodation for four and sometimes even six passengers. This new 2-4-6 fixed head Coupe fills that want and is undoubtedly the car for theatre, dinner or golf.

When being used as a two-seater, the luggage space is amazingly capacious, allowing even for a trunk to be accommodated owing to the sensible wide doors. If the weather is inclement, two can be carried in a novel hammock type of seat still under the roof; when the sun shines two more can be comfortably seated in a very spacious and extremely comfortable dickey. An important factor is the extremely large rear window which opens so that outside passengers do not feel excluded from the social amenities of the party."

As the marketing blurb rather laboriously explained, the AC 2-4-6 Fixed Head Coupe was so named because it could carry two, four or six passengers – not because it was a two-door, four-seater, six-cylinder car, as is often stated.

Launched in 1937, it had AC’s famous John Weller-designed, 1,991cc overhead-camshaft, six-cylinder engine under its elegant bonnet. With an RAC rating of 16hp, it produced around 60bhp – 80bhp depending on the state of tune and was mated to a four-speed synchromesh gearbox which gave it a top speed of 70mph – pretty impressive for the period.

The 2-4-6 sat on the improved, under-slung, 9' 7" wheelbase Two-Litre chassis which had been unveiled at the London Motor Show in October 1933. Other noteworthy features included an opening front windscreen, automatic chassis lubrication, built-in jacks, Bendix brakes and Telecontrol shock absorbers, all of which were incorporated in the contemporary 16/60hp and 16/70hp models.

Exact production figures are uncertain, but it seems likely that no more than 10 were made in this particular body style, of which only three are thought to survive today.

First registered in Surrey in December 1937, this particular 2-4-6 Coupe comes with a large and interesting history file including a notebook which names all the previous recorded keepers (six in total, all within a 60-mile radius of the AC factory in Thames Ditton) plus details of any significant maintenance known to have been carried out over the last 80 years or so.  

It is often said that no two AC cars are exactly alike as they were usually made to special order and the factory were well-used to tailoring each car to fit the owner’s particular requirements.

GPA 984 is no exception to this rule and has several special features requested by the original owner, a Mr Smith of Slough. It is the only known Coupe with a sliding sunroof – most had a solid roof although there is a reference in the history file to a period photo of another 2-4-6 also fitted with a sunroof so it was presumably not unique in this regard.

It also has the ENV ‘back-to-front’ change gearbox to the right of the driver (with a gated lock on reverse) which was purposely specified by Mr Smith instead of the centre-change Moss gearbox also offered. He also specified a bench seat rather than individual front seats.

Originally fitted with a single carb, Mr Smith had it converted to SU triple-carb spec at the AC factory in the late-1940s, also having a modern electric choke fitted at the same time – a recent innovation adopted by other prestige post-war car marques and mighty fine it still works today. Mr Smith had actually gone to AC to trade the 2-4-6 in for a newer model but was unconvinced by what was on offer and elected to upgrade his Coupe instead.

The documents on file suggest that the car has never been taken apart and fully restored, just kept in good running order with any issues attended to as required. It seems that the bodywork was sympathetically restored in the late-1960s/early-70s when the car was repainted in dark blue (originally AC Grey/Blue). The interior was also refurbished at around the same time.

Our vendor acquired GPA 984 at a BCA auction in 2005 (for £17,740) at which point the car had been owned for the last 15 years by a Mr R Waldron Brown of Newbury. Although it was in running order, it was in need of recommissioning having been parked up in storage for 11 years.

He promptly sent the car to West Hoathly Garage of Sussex for a thorough recommissioning and a new MOT which it passed in October 2005 with just one advisory for a worn front tyre, the bill for this lot coming to £3,455. The indicated mileage at this point was 6,298 miles.  

To better suit modern road conditions, it was also fitted with flashing indicators discreetly incorporated into the front side lamps and either side of the rear number plate (the original semaphore trafficators were in working order but have been disconnected). Much of the wiring and associated electrical components were also replaced or updated for safety reasons and the charging system has been uprated with electronic voltage control and a two-brush dynamo.

In 2006 it became apparent that the engine was down on power so, on the advice of the owner’s club, it was sent to AC guru John Sichel of Tonbridge for a full rebuild with instructions to: “Please do whatever is necessary to bring it back to a reliable touring engine, so that it will last at least another 70 years”.

As so often happens, one thing soon led to another and Sichel was to work on the car for the next two years, a quick tot-up of the bills showing that some £35,000 was spent during this time.

Apart from a full engine rebuild with new pistons, liners, bearings etc, other work included: cylinder head rebuilt and upgraded to run on unleaded fuel; gearbox service; clutch and flywheel balanced; propshaft rebuilt and balanced; splined hubs and drive shafts replaced or repaired; drive shafts restored; brakes overhauled; complete new exhaust system; reconditioned starter motor and dynamo; axle/diff rebuilt with cwp ratio changed from 5:1 to 4.5:1 for more relaxed high speed cruising. A new set of Excelsior 475/500X19 tyres were also fitted.

The car was then in regular use over the next 15 years, the MOT history showing the mileage rising from 6,583 in 2007 to today’s total of 14,967 miles. Well-known to the AC Owner’s Club, there are many souvenirs of events attended including the ACOC Sprint at Goodwood in 2007; Prescott Vintage in 2009 (a 320-mile round trip); 73^rd GRRC Goodwood Members Meeting in 2015; the AC Reunion gatherings at Brooklands in 2015 and 2016; the VSCC 85^th Anniversary Celebration at Brands Hatch in August 2019 plus regular trips to the  Goodwood Revival Meeting, the last in 2023.

Always driven to these events from the owner’s home in East Sussex, correspondence on file relates how the AC was usually the ‘go to’ car of several owned by the vendor during this period as it has “much better performance than my Alvis 12/50”.

Old insurance certificates show that it had an agreed value of £35,000 in 2013 and there are various invoices for more recent upkeep, including a new windscreen in 2017 and a service and thorough grease-up of the suspension and all the grease points in September 2021.

Supplied with a large and interesting history file, it also comes with much useful technical literature relating to the model plus two instruction manuals and a book on the AC marque.

As you can see in the photos, this exceedingly handsome AC Coupe has the odd blemish to the paintwork here and there and a slightly tired interior which would respond well to some sympathetic TLC. More importantly though, it has only covered around 8,000 miles since it was so extensively and expertly overhauled by the late John Sichel so it should be fighting fit mechanically.

It has been starting easily and running sweetly as we have moved it around on site, with healthy oil pressure and a notably smooth and quiet engine, although we did note a slight tapping from underneath at idle which sounds like nothing more than a loose exhaust mounting.

Last driven on the road about 18 months ago, the vendor is now well into his 90s and has recently suffered a fall which means that he can no longer work on the car, let alone drive it, hence the reason for sale.

The only other 2-4-6 Coupe we could find a record of selling in the last 20 years or so was chassis number L554 which was sold by Bonhams in 2018 for just under £40k but had a Jaguar XK 3.4 engine fitted in place of the original AC two-litre unit.

One of only three such cars known to survive in the UK, with perhaps another couple hiding in private collections on the Continent, this supremely elegant and well-historied AC is on offer here at a very modest guide price. All it needs now is an enthusiastic new owner who can add their own chapter to its interesting 89-year-life to date and continue to preserve it for future generations to enjoy.

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com