In the 1951 AC entered no less than 3 cars for the then called RAC Rally of England. OPG 192 was entered as car 57 for the event, driven by Derek Hurlock, with co-pilot Jock Henderson.
The top image is on the Rest and be Thankful stage of the event and the second & third are believed to be Hastings, which hosted the finish of the 1951 event. The text at the base of the photograph stating the date as 1947 is clearly wrong as OPG 192 was ex Thames Ditton works in 1950.
All of the 3 images are of OPG 192 at the rally. The event was won by Ian Appleyard/Pat Appleyard Jaguar XK120 C.
Much more history is emerging and its is clear that it was a highly competitive and important car in the 50s' and we are building a data base of its activities.
The vehicle is now at the AC Heritage works and after a rapid check and oil change the car now runs and drives with some 'gusto' after some 19 years of neglect, it says something about the design and engineering all those years ago.
In the coming weeks a new image gallery will be opened to see whats been happening to the car, witch this space!
To view more images of OPG 192, click here>>
THE STORY OF OPG 192 (as written in 1986-87)
Early last September I heard from David Clark, the Club Secretary, that Derek Hurlock - the recently retired Chairman of AC Cars -was thinking of selling his old 2 litre saloon which had been the works development car. So my father and I arrived at The Manor, Long Ditton, to inspect it - but to begin at the beginning
In my early teens en route to one of our family holidays at Wittering near Chichester, we stopped for lunch at Pulborough. We went to look at the bridge over the River Arun and, parked nearby, saw a new AC 2 litre Saloon. My father, who amongst othermotoring enthusiasts at that time was highly critical of many of the post-war cars, rushed over the road and inspected it closely.
He beckoned me over and said, " this is one of the few truly distinctive hand-made British cars made today ". I never forgot this silver, 2-door Sports Saloon with its particularly light and spacious interior.
Over the years, I have had many interesting pre- and post-war cars including Delages, Bentleys, Astons etc., but not an AC.
So last summer I decided to try and find a really good 2 litre.When I visited Derek Hurlock, I had little idea that OPG 192 wasa rather special car.
She was made in 1950 and registered in AC Cars' name in November of that year. For the next few years she was the Works Demonstrator and Development car. In addition, she took part in many competitive events as well as providing David Hurlock with his everyday transport. This included taking hisfamily on holiday with, as he remembers, the luggage piled high on the roof rack.
In 1951, the company decided to replace the standard engine with a high performance version which was to be the next and final generation of the 2 litre six. This unit had shell bearings, nitrified crankshaft, 8 : 1 high compression pistons, high lift camshaft and an external crankshaft damper. This engine developed about 102 b.h.p. and was the forerunner of the unit which was to power the AC engined Aceca's and Ace's.
Being a one‑off, this engine was never given a number. The effect of this was to make a rapid and considerably livelier version of this model with over 90 mph obtainable.
Nearly 40 years have elapsed and Derek Hurlock cannot be precise about all the events he took part in, but two main events were the 1951 and 1952 RAC Round-Britain Rallies - where this car appeared as Mo's 52 and 126. (See photo on Page 30 of the book '2 litre to Cobra'). The first event was the Eight Clubs Race Meeting at Silverstone in 1951 with the newly-fitted, high performance engine which was hardly run-in and Mr. Hurlock was worried about pulling a piston.
A dramatic picture of the OPG in this race can be seen on page 93 of John McLellan's book 'AC and Cobra'.
After two years of hectic use, the company decided to use my car for an experiment. AC still believed in the use of semi-eliptic springs as a front suspension, rightly holding to the theory that this system gives more precise handling on a good road surface than any IFS available at that time.
However they were also aware that their car was also one of the last in manufacture still using the old system.
So, in 1953, their Polish engineering designer, Z.T. Marcewski, set to work to design an IFS suspension. the result was a very robust split-axle suspension - similar in layout to the one used by Allards.
Opinion as to the outcome of the exercise was rather mixed; the ride and steering on poor road surfaces was greatly improved, but made the steering somewhat heavier than beam-axled cars.
The company, seeing in the far and not too distant future the end of volume production for the saloon, lost interest in the future development of the IFS. Also at the time of experimentation, AC toyed with the idea of a 4 Litre Austin engine, a suggestion made by Weslakes, but the idea was wisely turned down.
Derek Hurlock continued to use OPG as his personal transport and also as the tender car for the team of Aces in the 1955 Alpine Rally. It was used throughout the 1960s and was finally laid in 1970 until 1 purchased it last year.
The overall condition of the car was very good with an exceptionally sound body and faultless interior, but the engine was very tired and the steering worn. I decided to rebuild the engine and this work I entrusted to John Surtees' ex chief mechanic, Michael Stepney. This he carried out with his customary thoroughness and attention to detail. We managed to obtain the last set of shell bearings from the Works (new sets are hopefully being made).
The main problem was the external crankshaft damper, originally made by Metalastic. The rubber compound had hardened and brokenup. To cut a long story short, Metalastic was unable to make new ones in small batches, but after going to a great deal of trouble, they found details of the exact rubber compound specification. With these details, I found a firm in Sussex who made a new mould to cast the rubber and reconditioned the damper perfectly.AC Cars at Brooklands now deal directly with this firm and are able to give a reconditioning service.
The steering box was rebuilt by Messrs. Leones of South Wimbledon and refitted. At the same time, we installed a VW steering damper. Next I changed the tyres from the existing old heavy-duty commercial type which came with the car to new Dunlop R.S.5s. The result ofthis work was a dramatic improvement with much lighter steering and a better car to handle. At some time in OPG's life, the colour of the car was changed from its original gunmetal grey to a rather startling opalescent bright blue, so last Easter, I resprayed it a sober dove grey, at the same time I attended to the inevitable numerous small cosmetic jobs.
Over this year I have covered more than 5,000 miles in her, competing at the AMOC Wiscombe Hill Climb and have attended a number of motoring events including, of course, National AC Day. Being my first visit to an AC event, I was struck by the welcome friendliness of other ACOC members. At the end of August, OPG performed the very important function of being my daughter's bridal car - looking splendid in white ribbons.
At this point I would like to raise a flag for the 2 litre saloon. My father was quite right in his remarks in the 1950s. I do not agree with comments made in various books describing the car as staid and conservative. It had for its time a highly individual body style - to the point of being eccentric. John Bolster commented to me once that he thought it resembled a 'flat iron' -in his inimitable peppery manner. Anyway, compared with many AC contemporaries - like Mk 6 Bentleys, RME Rileys, Rovers etc. - never can this be called conservative. It was beautifully made andremains today a good example and a joy to own. Compared with so many of the post-war, classic cars with big names, whose magic is more imagined than real, the 2 litre saloon is an honest-to-God thoroughbred which, mercifully, is still within the reach of the normal enthusiast's pocket.
A few weeks ago I visited Derek Hurlock at his splendid new home in Surrey and he helped me with details for this article.
While I was there, I took him for a ride in his old car and he seemed delighted with all the work that had been carried out. He very kindly lent me some interesting photographs of OPG competing in various events, particularly the two RAC Rallies.
OPG is a remarkably enjoyable car to own and with the added interest of her history and the unique IFS, I look forward to a long ownership. I have especially appreciated the encouragement and enthusiasm from various Club Members - in particular David Hescroff and my neighbour Colin Dunn, whose well-known 2 litre saloon is a true yardstick for any owner to aspire to.
Michael Leslie
Thanks to Ian Strange for the above story, which appeared in the December 1987 edition of ACtion.
