Looking back on an old restoration, carried out with us in 2015 the car is currently back for servicing and maintenance before it heads off to Europe for the Summer.
We thought this would be a good opportunity to look back on this project and share some photographs with you. Here are some taken of the car, sat outside Botleys Mansion on a beautiful Summers day in 2016.
(Photo credit to reef-design.co.uk)
The AM Vantage, released in May 1972 alongside the visually similar V8 and with an engine virtually identical to that of the DB5.
Production of the car lasted for just over a year with only 70 examples having been built, 68 with right hand drive.
This particular car has triple weber carburettors and was also Victor Gauntlett’ personal car built for him in 1973, hence why this is such a highly specified and special vehicle.
Carry on reading for a brief summary of this restoration.
Tadek Marek designed 4.0-ltr, 6-cylinder engine.
Visual differences between the AM V8 and DBS can be seen below. With credit to astonmartins.com. (Astonmartins.com)
Once the vehicle was stripped down, we began by removing the front end from the body, there we discovered a previous poor job on the wing. This was corrected and re-welded.
We also fitted new inner wing panels and new outriggers on the O/S and N/S.
Inner and outer sills were fabricated using mild steel and fitted due to corrosion.
Further areas were attended to including the engine bay and wheel arches.
We fabricated two new door skins in aluminum, once the door frames were media blasted we made some necessary repairs and fitted the skin to the frame. The doors subsequently had gapping along with the bonnet and boot lid.
The six-cylinder 4 litre engine and gearbox was cleaned and detailed.
Along with this, the cylinder head, fan motor, starter motor and alternator were overhauled. Plus the radiator and heater matrix.
A complete wiring loom was replaced in the car.
Whilst the vehicle was stripped to bare metal and painted the exterior chrome parts were sent to our trusted partner for high quality re-chroming.
The car was fitted with new headlights, front grille, wire wheels and tyres.
The interior was completely re-trimmed in Connolly magnolia leather with navy blue piping by our coach trimmer Mike.
Seat belts were replaced including new clasps, steering wheel, dash and console also re-trimmed.
Final checks with James before she went home to be enjoyed by her owner.
Thinking of carrying out a similar Aston Martin project, be sure you have found the best company with a commitment to excellence and all of the core values of a family run business.
Some previous Aston Martin projects include Peter Agg’ DB3S, DB2/4, DB4, DB4 GT, DB5, DB6, DB6 Shooting brake, V8 and DBS. We will get round to blogging about these soon but photographs can be seen in our gallery. Click Here
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