I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel on the restoration of
my 1975 Aston Martin V8. When I bought the car 4 years ago, it was in sad
shape. The compression was low. The suspension was bad. And the
electrical system ... However, the body was in excellent condition and the
interior was a little worn but still very good. Also, as Aston's go, the
price was right [don't ask - it still hurts]. Due to unforeseen
circumstances, the car wound up in storage for 2 years. Time was very
unkind to my royal blooded BBC [hence, the diminutive Princess Margaret].
I discovered that the rings had collapsed, and the compression was < 80
in 7 cylinders. The suspension was not just bad, but scrap metal.
The Aston is a deceptive car. Because it is largely built by hand, it
appears to be very accessable for DIY jobs. The mechanics are pretty
conventional and generously spaced. Simple, right? Dead wrong. The
Aston was designed to be built, not repaired. Often, you can clearly
see what you want to repair, but you miss being able to swing a wrench
or socket in there by a whisker. It is designed to be disassembled and
assembled in one specific order. The size of Aston components also
tends to defy generic automotive tools and techniques. For example,
the uncompressed length of the front springs is about 4 feet. Putting
these suckers on the [coil-over] shocks took a great deal of creativity
in adapting the spring compressor.
Last fall, then front suspension got completely rebuilt. Besides the
aforementioned spring problems, it was pretty straight forward.
Installing Koni shocks and the Aston ball joint mechanism [a complex spring
loaded affair] is, of course, a job requiring 3 hands. About this time, I
discovered little modifications that would preclude it from ever being a
concours car. The black/beige interior was dyed all black; it was a good
job, but not original. The cost of restoring this to concours would be
astronomical. Therefore, I decided to take a few liberties in other areas
of the car as well as long as they did not alter the "essence" of the
Aston. Performance, reliability, and drive-ability take precidence over
"car art" in my book.
This winter, I got into the rear suspension. Everything was OK
except the Armstrong lever shocks and links. I opted to dump the
Armstrong's and go with the Koni rear tube shock conversion that became
factory standard on the `77 AMV8s. I'll take performance over concours
any day; the difference in handling is amazing even with the engine
pretty far gone. The rest of the winter was spent going over the entire
electrical system. The old SU AUF-406 fuel pump (same as the V-12 E-type)
is located in the boot and emitted strong gas fumes and funny noises. As
related to me by many a stranded Aston owner, these things are notoriously
unreliable even if recently rebuilt; they recommended replacing it with
a good old American fuel pump. So I chucked it in my storage
shed and replaced it with a Malloy rotary vane racing pump. No fumes, no
funny noises, just a slight whine and peace of mind. After cleaning up
numerous corroded connections, the electrical system is fully functional.
The stereo which must have been added in the late `70s was badly
installed junk. I gutted everything and installed a modest but eligant
Blaupunkt tuner/casette/amplifier a la later AMV8s. Bach accompanied
by the throaty roar of the Aston's tuned exhaust - MARVELOUS.
The last big project is the engine. The engine was pulled 2 weeks ago.
Disassembly is a very slow process. Every step was video taped; the
part labelling was double checked; and discrepancies with the factory
manual were noted. Another aspect of the rebuild is making sure
after market parts do not alter the emissions significantly. The Aston's
emissions are marginal at best and the Smog Nazis love to fail exotic
cars. Finally, I lucked out. The rings had deteriorated
to mush, but the cylinder liners and pistons are in excellent shape. A
slight hone is all that is needed. Whoa, not so lucky. The B bank
(passenger) head had been rebuilt by some bozo. The valve lash spacers
had been randomly installed and at least 3 valves are damaged. Report
from the machine shop is due by the end of the week. If no new
disasters occur, I will be on the road by mid-June.
End of saga. Sorry for boring many of you and cluttering your mailboxes.
Ron Knipper
Optilink Corp.
(707)-795-9444
optilink!rons350!knipper
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