Description
The AC3000ME is a rare car from AC Cars (originally Auto Carriers Ltd, one of the oldest British independent car makers). Over the years, the company has liquidated and re-launched many times but continues to this day with a development of the legendary Cobra.
The 3000ME is a mid-engine sports car produced between 1979 and 1985, with a GRP body around a steel platform chassis with front and rear subframes. All cars, 106 in total, were factory-built, 76 by AC Cars in Thames Ditton then 30 by AC Scotland. Power is provided by a Ford Essex V6 engine, as used in the contemporaneous Capri, mounted transversely; the gearbox has an AC alloy case fitted with Hewland gears and it sits under / behind the engine. Interior trim was cloth as standard but leather seats were optional. Some cars have been fully rebuilt mainly due to chassis rust problems, with a stainless steel chassis and / or galvanised subframes as a long-term solution.
While somewhat lacking in raw power (after-market turbocharging was used on 17 cars, with mixed results), the 3000ME still provides a rewarding driving experience and is a practical touring car for 2 people, with front and rear boot space and decent fuel economy.
This particular car was first registered in 1985 and is (by my reckoning) the 11th from last built, part of the Scottish production run. As per the V5C (current and in my name) there have been 7 previous owners; thanks to the AC Owners Club, the full ownership history is known, but unfortunately there is little by way of service records. To the best of my knowledge the car is original and standard, except for the electrically heated front screen and the tyre sizes (detailed below) which have been upgraded for optimal handling balance.
I acquired towards the end of 2018 after if failed to sell at auction against a reserve of £15k; at this time it was a non-runner ‘requiring light recommissioning’. I did the necessary mechanical and electrical work, fitted Powerspark electronic ignition and a retro bluetooth radio, MoT’d and used from mid-2019 until the pandemic hit. It drove very well, the gear change requiring no more than the usual dexterity. The speedometer reading does not fully reflect the miles I covered, as the hub drive was seized (ultimately repaired by me after a promised replacement failed to materialise). The last thing I did was refurbish the wheels and fit new tyres (NanKang, 195/ 60R14 front and 215/ 60R14 rear, replacing the standard all-round 205/ 60R14s). At this point, everything worked except for the fuel reserve solenoid.
From 2020 until last week It was under cover in an inaccessible corner of my barn; now liberated it rolls freely, the engine turns over (have not yet tried to start), but the clutch is stuck (a common problem that can usually be resolved temporarily by warming the engine in neutral then starting in gear with the pedal depressed, or permanently by changing the clutch friction material). The paintwork is generally poor, worse than the pictures suggest, with blisters and cracks in the gel coat. The interior trim is largely present and correct, with a couple of small holes in the cloth covering of the drivers seat and a missing finger-grip from one of the heater sliders. The doors close securely but require realignment, passenger side being worst. While the floor pan is not perforated and the sub-frames seem sound, I know that the longitudinal box sections are corroded ( it fails the “ruler test” in one or two places – paraphrasing the AC3000ME. com buyers guide, “... insert a flat rule between the top of the sill seal and the sill, if it goes in 2 inches there are severe rust problems”). On the plus side it does not seem to have suffered accident damage and is complete and original.
Given the foregoing, in my opinion a full body-off restoration will be required.
