Nozzed Fro Pimp Is Back!

[Loz]

Its true what they say about a pheonix rising out of the ashes! from all the turmoil that the site crash caused one truly great thing has emerged....

My "nozzed 'fro pimp" title is back!!

Go Stevo!! you da man

[SteveAudioX]

Nice one !

The man has been reinstated !

I like your new avatar Loz... :)

[Loz]

thanks mate,

check it out in more detail :

[this is the kind of car discription that would put 99% of dealers to shame!]

Please read below for the detail we have on this car.

The detail given is based on written information we have in our possession.  The pages are updated from time to time and any updates supersede all previous information given. The information below was last updated 03/11/03.

Aston Martin V8 Series III

(7.1 litre Auto with shift kit and low stall torque converter.)

Supplied new on : 29/10/73.

Colour : Kent Green Metallic.

Interior : Olive leather and Olive carpets.

The actual chassis number, engine number, registration number and names of previous owners are available on request.

Right from the outset, let us all realise that this is not what you may usually expect from a 1973 Aston. The £25000 Sterling restoration by Aston Main Dealers Hyde Vale Ltd together with more than £40000 Sterling spent on two engine rebuilds ensures the unusual.

This car is in beautiful condition.

We have the original copy of the Factory warranty Certificate in the name of Mr P. Harris as well as the early service stamped booklet.

The servicing and general maintenance documentation for the car stretching back to 1984 and earlier is outlined below. The data covering the period from '84 to '89 is nice but it should be remembered that, at the time, the car was simply a standard ageing Series III and had yet to be transformed into what is for sale today. The restoration by Hyde Vale Ltd during '89 and '90 recreated the car into something very special. The R.S. Williams Ltd, Goodwood Green Ltd and Ian Mason Ltd servicing and maintenance from this period of restoration further ratifies the transformed significance of the car. 

Prior to the Hyde Vale Ltd restoration, the servicing data in our possession is as follows :-

01/10/84 - £2293.89 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Complete engine rebuild including new starter, new timing chain set, new piston rings, new engine studs,  two new valves, new top end gasket kit, new bottom end gasket kit, new big end bearings, new main engine bearings, various bearings, oil cooler rads etc etc.

18/10/84 - £172.47 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Two brake servo overhaul kits, new thrust bearings, new hoses and complete set of new drive belts.

06/11/84 - £753.75 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Two new exhaust cam shafts and followers, full set of new exhaust valves, two new inlet valves and various paint work items.

11/02/85 - £1689.03 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Various new engine parts such as hoses, filters, stat, battery, oil cooler pipes, plugs and bearing caps.

04/04/85 - £2432.33 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Four new tyres, new light lens, new heater hoses, full service, some non specified paint work to the body.

26/04/85 - £567.04 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Refurbish road wheels, new set of front pads, new set of rear pads, filters, hoses, oils etc.

08/07/85 - £425.41 by Fernhurst Motor Company Ltd.

Remove rear calipers and overhaul, new pads and retaining bolts, new brake pipes, new vacuum hoses, new wheel nuts, etc.

08/01/86 - £394.31 by G.M. Vehicle Services Ltd.

Overhaul brake master cylinder, new rear brake pipes, new diaphram kits to both brake servos, bleed brakes, subsequently fitted a new brake servo as repair hadn't cured the problem, remove and drain the fuel tank, steam clean inside of tank, replace filters, flush out fuel lines, strip and clean carbs, tune engine.

07/03/86 - £538.62 by G.M. Vehicle Services Ltd.

Remove, repair and refit near side engine mounting and exhaust manifold, remove and repair heater control panel, general repairs and fluids.

08/04/87 - £98.56 by Aston Service Dorset Ltd.

Aston Martin Badge, oil filter, boot sealing rubber, gaiter.

12/05/87 - £476.80 by Aston Services Dorset Ltd.

Two new front brake discs.

It is at this point that the car transferred to Aston Martin Main Dealers Hyde Vale Ltd who undertook certain maintenance work as follows :-

12/04/88 - £891.17 by Hyde Vale Ltd.

New stainless steel stage one lower manifold, new stage one exhaust cruciform, new left hand intermediate silencer, new right hand intermediate silencer, two connecting pipes, new rear silencer boxes, new engine mounts.

14/04/88 - £23.59 by Hyde Vale Ltd.

New exhaust down pipe gaskets, clamps etc.

26/04/88 - £110.06 by Hyde Vale Ltd.

Two new intermediate exhaust mountings.

05/07/88 - £4.21 by Hyde Vale Ltd.

Oil filter and sump plug.

This is, so far, quite a nice history in itself, especially as we also have the following MoT's in our possession :-

09/06/86 at 40156 miles.

11/05/87 at 41629 miles.

17/05/88 at 44292 miles.

27/11/89 at 46117 miles.

01/07/91 at 46960 miles.

28/09/92 at 50028 miles.

14/10/93 at 53367 miles.

16/12/94 at 54182 miles.

10/04/96 at 55072 miles.

22/05/97 at 55513 miles.

13/05/98 at 56210 miles.

01/12/98 at 56831 miles.

10/06/99 at 57066 miles.

15/06/00 at 59653 miles.

11/08/01 at 61020 miles.

14/09/02 at 63007 miles.

06/09/03 at 64808 miles.

HOWEVER, IT IS AT THIS POINT THAT HYDE VALE LTD ARE GIVEN THE GO AHEAD TO VERY HEAVILY RESTORE THE CAR. THE WORK UNDERTAKEN IS OUTLINED COST £ 24,789.59 STERLING AND THE WORK CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING :-

Remove rear bumper and rear under valance, disconnect and remove the exhaust system. Dismantle and remove the front suspension and steering rack. Disconnect and remove the rear differential, de Dion tube, radius arms, drive shafts and rear shock absorbers. Remove the boot trim and fuel pump. Disconnect and remove all fuel lines. Remove all carpets. Strip outer skins from doors. Re-build door frames as necessary and fit new door skins. Remove all underwing panels. Cut out lower wing sections and all corroded chassis sections. Cut our corrosion to boot area, fabricate and weld in new sections. Hang doors and adjust brackets to accept window frames. Prepare and paint underside, underseal and wax oil all repaired areas. Prepare and paint the car as necessary. Machine polish coachwork. Refit trim, carpets and seats replacing as necessary, connolise all leather work. Assemble doors and adjust apertures, fit new door seals as necessary. Refit boot trim. Fit new fuel pump and refit fuel lines. Fit second hand inner wheel arch panels and seal as necessary. Fit service exchange starter motor. Clean and paint differential, mountings and de-Dion tube. Fit new rear brake discs to differential. Overhaul brake calipers and shim as needed to suit new discs. Overhaul front brake calipers. Re-assemble front suspension with new parts as necessary. Bleed brakes. Refit exhaust system and underpanels. Refit rear bumper. Road test and adjust suspension angles. Submit for MoT test. 

There is a four page list of the new parts used in the restoration. The more significant items are as follows :-

All necessary chassis components such as, new jack tubes,

chassis outriggers etc.

2 x door skins.

1 x right hand rear half panel.

4 x rear suspension radius arms.

1 x starter motor.

1 x shock absorber link.

8 x upper wishbone bushes.

4 x king pin gaiters.

8 x bushes.

2 x steering rack gaiters.

2 x track rod ends.

2 x large brake pistons.

4 x small brake pistons.

brake seal kits.

1 x front Koni shock absorber.

6 x front brake caliper pistons.

front brake seal kit.

Set of hand brake pads.

Set of rear brake pads.

5 service exchange road wheels.

2 x lower king pins.

1 x cradle.

3 x diff mountings.

2 x front brake discs.

1 x new brake caliper.

1 x reducing valve.

1 x boot seal.

4 x wheel motifs.

1 x battery master switch.

Door links and seals.

Various hoses, grommets, seals, o-rings, screws etc etc.

Remember, the work was done by an Aston Martin Main Dealer (Hyde Vale Ltd) so the standard of work could be expected to be high.

***

With a recorded mileage of 47305 miles, the car was offered for sale by R.S. Williams Ltd who undertook the following pre sale work :-

New battery.

New heater switch and relay.

New air horns.

Central locking adjusted and reset.

Cam covers removed, timing chains tensioned and valve timings set.

Carbs and inlet manifold removed, car converted to twin-vacuum take off.

Carbs cleaned and overhauled.

New right hand exhaust manifold.

New plug leads.

Ignition timing and mixtures reset.

Steering rack adjusted.

New front shock absorbers fitted.

New air conditioning condenser and drier fitted, system recharged.

New steering column universal joints fitted.

New water hoses.

Service exchange radiator fitted.

10000 mile service.

The gentleman who subsequently bought the car, Mr H. of Ramsgate had R.S. Williams Ltd undertake the following additions :-

30/03/92 - £1915.25 by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Fit Oscar India spec front bonnet, prepare and paint.

23/04/92 - £505.25 by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Supply and fit additional driving lights.

**

Mr H. then made the gigantic decision to have R.S. Williams Ltd convert the engine to their 7.1 litre specification. This cost £23500 Sterling. Remember also that this is still the original engine which is nice in that, whilst modified to the R.S. Williams Ltd spec, it remains a matching chassis and engine number car.

The work involved is summed up as follows :-

Remove engine and gearbox, clean and repaint engine bay, overhaul gearbox and fit shift kit, fit gear box oil cooler. Strengthen the engine mountings and fitting later type rubber mountings. Converting the engine to 7 litre spec with the following modifications to the standard 7 litre specification :- Small bore inlet ports, modified 42mm carburettors, S.1 camshafts, 9.0:1 compression ratio, new low stall torque converter.

***

The following work subsequently undertaken by R.S. Williams Ltd :-

21/05/92 - £642.28 at 47730 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Fitting Vantage spec steering wheel, removing and refitting uprated differential mountings.

3/06/92 - £120.80 at 48849 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Carry out first service on the engine, fitting aluminium gear box sump, fitting new thermostat, lubricate speedo cable.

12/11/92 - £91.22 at unknown miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Supply new indicator switch.

***

Obviously now that he had the much greater torque and power, Mr H then presumably turned his attentions to the ability of the chassis to cope and apply the power to the road wheels. He commissioned R.S. Williams Ltd at 54173 miles to undertake the following suspension upgrades :-

Fit new front anti-roll bar, new front suspension bushes and links. 

Fitting full Koni shock absorber conversion kit.

Fitting 4 new tyres.

5000 mile service, new off side wheel bearing, deglazing the front discs, re-trim driver's seat, clean car underside, resetting steering geometry.

All costing £3378.57 Sterling.

***

12/04/96 - £1676.38 at 54992 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Replace 4 x rear wheel bearings and oil seals. Rebuilding drive shafts with new universal joints. Tracing and rectifying various electrical and dash board noise faults.

16/10.98 - £278.11 at unknown miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Service exchange starter motor,

***

At this point with 56448 miles , R.S. Williams Ltd offer the car for sale at £36000.00 Sterling.

***

The car became the property of Mr T. of London who continued the "good work" as follows :-

11/11/99 - £172.02 at 58180 miles by Ian Mason Ltd.

Lubricate speedo cable.

29/09/00 - £1776.20 at 60107 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Fitting new speedo cable, fitting new speedo head and setting to correct mileage, road test and calibrate new speedo, new rear diff mountings, new track rod ends, reset front tracking, new brake vacuum hose, reseal exhaust, rectify door mechanism fault, carry out major service.

03/10/00 - £123.37 at 60107 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Remove, rectify and refit seat belt.

19/12/01 - £1011.15 at unknown miles by Goodwood Green Ltd.

Full service including oil, oil filters, spark plugs, diff oil, coolant, etc. Also fitting two new front seat belts.

12/02/02 - £540.50 at unknown miles by Goodwood Green Ltd.

Remove underseal from wheel arches and car underside. Sand down stripped areas and coat with red oxide. Coat all arches and car underside with two coats of Stonechip.

Rectify front and rear carb float levels and clean spark plugs.

15/03/02 - £981.36 at 62452 miles by R.S. Williams Ltd.

Remove intermediate silencers, connecting pipes and rear silencers and fit sports exhaust system using new clamps. Clean and polish rear silencers and refit. Clean and regap plugs.

09/04/02 - £1123.01 at 62549 miles by Ian Mason Ltd.

Full engine tune, clean carbs and reset float levels, new distributor vacuum hose set, check ignition timing, service exchange alternator, all new drive belts.

15/10/02 - £149.48 at 63037 miles by Ian Mason Ltd.

Clean spark plugs, check oil and coolant levels, new reverse light fitted.

***

At this point Mr T. had the engine totally overhauled by the highly respected MOTORMAN ENGINEERING LTD. The work was completed 18/03/03 which was approx 1400 miles ago. The work cost £16,476.16 Sterling and included :-

Remove engine, fully strip to component form, clean and inspect all parts. Measure crank shaft journals, supply and fit new main and big end bearings. Remove existing liners. Fit new special length liners. Bore and hone to give finished size equivalent to 7.1 litres. Supply and fit forged aluminium pistons complete with pins and rings. Hone connecting rod small ends to size. Check and rebuild oil pump. Re-build lower half of engine using new gaskets, seals etc. Fully strip the cylinder heads, pressure test. Rectify any cracks and porosity, machine and hand work heads. Machine out guide bosses. Make and fit solid guide bosses, weld and machine to accept new lead free guides. Machine head faces, recondition existing valves, cut valve angle faces, fit lead free inserts. Machine angles and fit valves. Send heads for double overnight Ultraseal (vacuum impregnation). Fully assemble heads. Re-shim and set tappet clearances. Fit heads to block with new special gaskets. Re-use existing timing chains and parts. Complete engine rebuild, check and refit carbs, linkages and ancillaries. Fit engine to gearbox and refit into chassis. Send radiator for specialist repair. Send engine on low loader for specialist engine tune by Alec Slade.

The parts used not mentioned in the above work are as follows :-

Valve springs computer tested, new set of high tension head studs and nuts, water pump checked and reused, new set of sump bolts and washers, lock wired on, new oil filter, two new engine mounting spacers, new thermostat, new radiator pressure cap, new viscous coupling for fan.

It is interesting to read in the Motorman Ltd documentation that the crank mains and big end bearings were all deemed to be in an as new condition. 

***

This Aston is an extraordinary and unique driving experience. Imagine how much it would cost to recreate? Since we purchased the car we have arranged paintwork upgrades at a cost of £1763.55. It now awaits it's next proud owner. We imagine this person is looking for something "special" and  will understand the undoubted seniority of this car. 

£ 29,995

(Including delivery to a UK mainland address)

[SteveAudioX]

Thats superb !

But it's a fine example Loz..

[Steve]

i live about 5 miles from Astom Martin Dorset .. had a guided tour type of thing from my mate who's old man owned it...

dribbled over all those classics!

[Loz]

I'm off for a tour of the newport pagnall factory in December to get a better feel for the AM V8 that I am after. loads of cars and nobody selling at me. nice and easy way to get familar with EXACTLY what I want.

envy you being introduced to the brand before me, git!

:P

[lexussport]

It is good to see that BLMC were not the only ones producing crap quality in the 70's

It's cost £69,000 in repairs since 84 (73-84 no history) or £1700 ever 1000 miles :P

Remind me never to buy one......

[Loz]

Dave,

a £23,000 engine conversion (7.1 litre R.S. Williams conversion) is hardly a repair!

nor £4k on running gear mods to cope with the power.

That would be like saying an IS is a bad buy cos Si Skippy spent £25k+ on "repairs"

Dave, were you on the wind up, young man?

[Loz]

....that said... they did have a bad rep for falling apart and the Bosch Mech FI was notoriously troublesome till tech advanced and they were able to set them up more easily.

Handmade they may be, but back then they were still dodgy sheds for the most part. Still love em though. heart over head everytime!

;)