Details of Cars

AC 2-Litre: the post-war saloon with a 1922 engine

AC

1951 AC 2-Litre saloon
A 1951 AC 2-Litre saloon. Photograph: Andrew Bone (CC BY 2.0). Photo by Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The AC 2-Litre is a saloon that AC of Thames Ditton in Surrey built between 1947 and 1956. It used a 1,991 cc six-cylinder engine that the company had first offered in 1922, and its aluminium-panelled body on a wooden frame sat on a conventional steel chassis. Two-door and, from 1952, four-door saloons were sold, along with a small number of drophead coupés and Buckland tourers.

AC 2-Litre at a glance

AC 2-Litre key facts
Maker AC Cars, Thames Ditton, Surrey
Production 1947–1956
Body aluminium panels on a wood frame; steel chassis
Body styles 2-door saloon; 4-door from 1952; drophead coupé and Buckland tourer from 1949
Engine 1,991 cc straight-six, aluminium block, wet liners
Carburettors three SU
Power 74 bhp (1947); 85 bhp from 1951
Front suspension rigid axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs
Rear suspension rigid axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs
Brakes hydraulic front, cable rear until 1951; 12-inch drums
Wheels 16-inch from 1951
Road test (The Motor, 1948) 80 mph; 0–60 mph in 19.9 s; 23 mpg

This page is based on English Wikipedia only, so its figures could not be checked against a second source.

History of the AC 2-Litre

An engine from 1922

1953 AC Buckland tourer
A 1953 AC Buckland tourer, the open version of the 2-Litre. Photograph: David Merrett (CC BY 2.0). Photo by David Merrett from Daventry, England, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The car’s wet-liner, aluminium-block, six-cylinder engine of 1,991 cc was the unit AC had first offered in the AC 16 back in 1922. By 1947 it was fed by three SU carburettors and produced 74 bhp, more than twice the 35 bhp claimed for its original commercial application. In 1951 output rose to 85 bhp. The engine outlived the car and continued to be offered in other AC models until 1963.

Body and chassis

The aluminium-panelled body was fitted to a wooden frame and mounted on a conventional steel chassis with rigid axles front and rear and semi-elliptic leaf springs. The 2-Litre was the first AC to use hydraulic dampers. Until 1951 it had a hybrid braking system, hydraulic at the front and cable at the rear, with 12-inch drums. The car changed very little during its ten-year production run, though the wheel size grew slightly to 16 inches in 1951.

On the road

A two-door saloon tested by The Motor magazine in 1948 reached a top speed of 80 mph and accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 19.9 seconds, with fuel consumption of 23 miles per imperial gallon. The test car cost £1,277 including taxes.

Design and features

  • Long-lived six: the 1,991 cc engine was a proven AC design dating back to 1922.
  • Light body: aluminium panels over a wooden frame kept weight down.
  • Comfortable chassis: rigid axles and leaf springs, with hydraulic dampers for the first time on an AC.
  • Gradual improvement: more power in 1951, larger wheels the same year and a four-door option from 1952.

AC 2-Litre versions

  • Two-door saloon: the original body style, in production throughout.
  • Four-door saloon: added in 1952.
  • Drophead coupé: a small number built from 1949.
  • Buckland tourer: an open tourer offered from 1949.

The 2-Litre’s six-cylinder engine also powered later AC models such as the Greyhound. The Cobra replaced AC’s six-cylinder line, and more cars are in the AC collection.

Sources

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