This vehicle was manufactured on 25th August 1961 and was bought new in the UK by Glasby’s, a Rhodesian Bristol and AC Agent who took his family to the UK to collect the car and then toured with it before returning with it to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) that same year. It was first registered in Rhodesia on 30 December 1961 to David Riley through Glasby’s Garage in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. Eric Glasby then bought the car himself.

Eric Glasby was a well-known driver in Southern Rhodesia (as was), starting with MG’s before the war and making a big name for himself in local saloon races in the 50s.  Mr. and Mrs. Glasby were winners in the 2 litre Class B 1500 mile Ndola Rally in Northern Rhodesia in 1955 in a Bristol 401.

The car was sold to Maurice Gill of Salisbury (Harare) and then back to Eric Glasby again, before it was sold to Jack Clough of Durban in the eighties. Jack then sold it to Garth Mekisich in South Africa and later bought it back from Frost Brothers,  “Purveyors of Horseless Carriages” Knysna, Western Cape.

Jack Clough found the 2-litre Bristol 100 D2 lacking in torque and fitted the 2.6  Raymond May's converted  Ford engine with the Jaguar all-synchro overdrive gearbox.  This unit was far more suited to the car. It was not a Ruddspeed car.

Jack Clough owned four ACs and competed in the nine-hour race in Durban where his AC Ace Bristol won its class and came third overall. That car is also now in the UK.

Jack parted with it once again when Hannes Pickard, in Cape Town, South Africa, purchased it on 9th March 2015 and restored it in 2017.

GP59 finally bought it in July 2023 and imported it to the UK on 15th September 2023.

Chassis No.: BEF2560

Original UK Registration: 604CGT