John Tojeiro remains one of the most significant British sports car engineers of the post-war period, even if his name is less widely recognised than some of the marques his work helped shape. As an engineer and chassis builder, Tojeiro produced individual chassis to order, and his influence runs directly into the story of the AC Ace and, later, the Shelby Cobra.

Among the most important of these early cars was LOY500, the Tojeiro Bristol commissioned by London car dealer and racer Cliff Davis. Davis already owned JOY500, a unique Tojeiro-built car powered by a 1500cc MG engine, and LOY500 followed as a more potent development using Bristol 2.0-litre power. Its success was immediate, and the design attracted the attention of AC, who adopted the chassis concept and paired it with their own engine to create the AC Ace.

LOY500 won frequently enough for Rolls Brothers to make Cliff Davis an offer for the car. Following a later road accident, replacement parts were ordered from John Tojeiro and the car was repaired. The damaged original chassis is reputed to have remained with the car for a time and was later photographed in the March 1972 issue of Auto Enthusiast, leaning against a tree at Geoffrey Marsh’s Marsh Plant premises alongside axles and springs.

According to the history supplied, Cliff Davis retained LOY500 but sold the damaged chassis and associated parts to John Baker in 1982. That collection reportedly included the chassis, a dismantled engine and gearbox of unknown origin, suspension, brakes, Turner alloy wheels with 1950s Continental 500/15 racing tyres, and an unusually designed radiator. It is this Tojeiro Bristol “kit” which is understood to have become the car now offered here: KOU406.

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John Baker began the build shortly after acquiring the chassis and parts, although funds limited progress. Importantly, Baker invited John Tojeiro to inspect the chassis, and Tojeiro confirmed it as one of his own, while apparently being unable at that time to identify exactly which individual car it had belonged to.

In 1987/88 the project was sold with an unfinished short-tail body to Kevin Webb and Barry Salmon. The car was then brought to completion circa 1992. During this process, the suspension components and brakes were rebuilt and serviced, while new leaf springs, correct instruments and a new wiring system were installed.

As presented today, KOU406 is not merely an attractive historic sports racing car; it is a highly unusual Tojeiro Bristol with a fascinating chain of history, period engineering significance and a direct connection to the world from which the AC Ace emerged.

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