Auto force shells

Auto Kraft Shells Limited
legal form	Limited
founding	1959
resolution	?
Seat	Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire , United Kingdom
management	Sturgeon, Powell
Branch	Bodies , automobiles

Auto Kraft Shells Limited was a British manufacturer of bodywork and automobiles .

Company history

The company, headed by Sturgeon and Powell, was based on Southmill Road in Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire . In 1959 the production of car bodies and kit cars began . The brand name was AKS . Regular production ended in 1962. The last of a total of around 400 vehicles was built in 1965.

vehicles

The only Continental model was available in several versions. The vehicles were based on a chassis from Ford of Britain , optionally from the Ford Eight or the Ford Model C Junior . Both had a wheelbase of 228 cm (90 inches ).

According to one source, other chassis with a similar wheelbase could also be considered.

The first Mk 1 version appeared in January 1959. In July 1959, the Mk 2 version with hardtop added to the range. In March 1960, the four-seater Mk 3 version of the first model followed. In July 1961 another Mk 2 appeared , which was similar to the first model. Its hard top was removable. The last model Mk 4 was a simplified version. It was priced at £ 55 as a kit .

Only a few vehicles still exist. This includes one with the British license plate KBH 800 , whose chassis comes from Buckler Engineering .

The auction house H&H auctioned a vehicle for £ 3,136 on October 16, 2013. The year of construction 1965 and the 1147 cc engine from the Triumph Spitfire point to a late one-off piece.

literature

• Steve Hole: AZ of Kit Cars. The definitive encyclopaedia of the UK's kit-car industry since 1949 . Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2012, ISBN 978-1-84425-677-8 , pp. 22 (English).

Web links

• Ford special vehicles: AKS (accessed December 12, 2014)
• Photo from 800 KBH (accessed December 12, 2014)
• Photo of the 1965 vehicle (accessed December 12, 2014)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Steve Hole: AZ of Kit Cars. The definitive encyclopaedia of the UK's kit-car industry since 1949 . Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2012, ISBN 978-1-84425-677-8 , pp. 22 (English).
2. ↑ Chris Rees : British Specialist Cars. Postwar low-volume production cars and kit cars . Windrow & Greene, London 1993, ISBN 1-872004-22-9 , pp. 144 (English).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Auction ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 12, 2014) 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Ford special vehicles: AKS ( Memento of the original from July 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 12, 2014)