My First Drive

Obviously as soon as I turned 17, I was keen to start taking driving lessons and pass my test as soon as I possibly could. This was especially true for me, given the added incentive that my dad was happy, (or at the very least willing), to let me drive the Aston. Needless to say, I grasped this golden opportunity as soon as I could. However I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was somewhat apprehensive the first time that I got behind the steering wheel with the very real intent of actually driving. Nevertheless the overwhelming feeling was one of elation as I was finally able to drive the very car that had introduced me to the world of Aston Martin so many years beforehand.

AMV at home on the Driveway – Early 1990s

The view down the seemingly endless expanse of white bonnet, the distinctive roar and accompanying vibrations from the beating heart of the straight 6 engine, the oh so familiar aroma of old leather and petrol, all of these assaulted my young senses as I guided the car along the familiar roads of Rutland. Predictably from this point on, I was sure to embrace every opportunity to drive the car that was offered to me. I soon found that the creases along the flanks enabled the car to be placed with relative ease on the road, which was just as well as the lack of a nearside wing mirror would prove to be even more of a challenge otherwise. Judicious application of throttle was also a lesson that I quickly learned. No driver aids, relatively skinny tyres and a sufficient supply of power and torque were a surefire recipe for quickly learning the handling characteristics of rear wheel drive when my youthful exuberance shone through!

Chassis Restoration (take one)

Come the mid-90s, the car was suffering from the all too common issue of corrosion in the sills, floor and chassis, and so my dad had to find a local restoration specialist to do the necessary work. The work was undertaken by Spring Grange Restoration Ltd., who primarily specialised in restoring classics such as Triumphs and MGs, and hence were no strangers to the ravages of rust. The restoration work was completed to a good overall standard, when considering that the financial value of the car could not justify a complete ground-up restoration at the time. However as time would ultimately tell, the work had not quite gone far enough, but more on this later.

The 1st Restoration, following the Replacement of the Inner Sills – Mid 1990s

Unfortunately, my dad was not one for keeping a hold of receipts, (or really any form of documentation), so there is nothing in the way of service history for the period of time that he owned the car. Still as my dad buying this car started my lifelong love of all things Aston Martin, and the memories that were made with him and the car remaining amongst my fondest, I consider the gap in the car’s provenance to be a small price to pay indeed. In fact I subsequently learned that my dad kept the car for as long as he did largely because of my love of it, and with hindsight I believe that he may well have actually preferred his Stag, particularly from the way that he used to reminisce so fondly about it.

3^rd Owner (2001 to 2005): Mr. Peter Everington (my brother)

Unfortunately, the sudden and untimely circumstances of my dad’s passing, coupled with his inherent tendency to put such things off, meant that he had not gotten around to changing his will as he had apparently intended to, meaning that the car passed to my eldest brother instead of me. I only found this information out thanks to my mum, who was never happy that dad’s wishes regarding the car had not been fulfilled.

Consequently I do not have any information or history for this period of time. I do however recall receiving a phone call from my mum at one point, when my brother had visited her house, (where the car was still garaged), to try and start the engine. My mum asked me what the correct procedure was for starting it, as my brother had thus far been unable to do so successfully. I informed her of the correct method as I had been taught, however apparently by that point he had already flooded the engine via using the manual choke, (which is pointless with this engine), and flattened the battery in the process of trying.

My abiding memory of the legacy from this period is twofold. Firstly the gearstick gator gained a cigar burn sized hole in it at some point, (sufficed to say that this particular part of history had since been erased!) Secondly my mum lived in a rural area at the time, which coupled with the lack of use meant that some mice took up residency in the boot at one point, which predictably resulted in the normal associated unpleasant aftermath of rodent habitation.

Sat in the Garage in Rutland (complete with hole in the gearstick gator) – February  2006

At one stage my brother was looking into selling the car, as he was not using it enough to warrant keeping it, (in fact I have record of the fact that it was declared SORN for 2004), causing me to have to face the possibility that I may never get to see or drive the car again. Fortunately, (for me), AM Vantages were not as highly regarded or sought after at the time as they are today, and hence he struggled to find a serious buyer for her. My brother did succeed in selling the MVC 5 registration in his time as the keeper however, and hence the car was issued with its 4^th registration number, WEU 453L, an age appropriate plate issued by the DVLA that she still carries today.

My mum however had never been happy that what she knew to have been my father’s final wishes regarding the car had not been fulfilled and wanted the car to go to me. In order to ensure that this happened, my mum ultimately took direct action, purchased the car from my brother and had him sign the V5 over to me. This activity was completely unbeknownst to me at the time, as I was living down in Somerset, nearly 200 miles away from both my mum and the car. Consequently the arrival through the post of the V5 in my name came as something of a very pleasant, but somewhat overwhelming surprise.

4^th Owner (2005 to Present): Mr. Stuart Everington (me)

So at the tender age of 27, I found myself in the incredibly fortunate position of being the very proud custodian of not just any Aston Martin, (if there is even such a thing), but the very car that had formed the foundation of my lifelong passion for the marque. To say that I was elated at this development was something of an understatement, as I had after all essentially been dreaming of this moment since I was 4 years old! However once the initial shock factor had subsided somewhat, the reality of the situation I now found myself in started to come into focus. As I mentioned previously, I was living in Somerset and the car was located about 200 miles away in Rutland, hadn’t run for a number of years, wasn’t taxed and didn’t have an MOT, so driving it down was not an option, (or certainly not a good one at least). Furthermore the rented property that I was living in at the time, with my fortunately very understanding and supportive partner Lisa, had a driveway, but did not have a garage that we could use.

I decided to take the approach of tackling one problem at a time, with the first order of business being to find somebody local to me to do some recommissioning work and get the car back where she belonged… on the road. Fortunately when investigations had been made into selling the car, my mum had gotten in touch with Philip Jones of Byron International, the renowned Aston sales specialist, in order to get some expert advice. I therefore decided to follow-up on this and made contact with Philip myself to see if he had any advice for how I should progress with embarking on my own journey of Aston ownership. Philip was gracious enough to share some advice with me, including letting me know about a local Aston Martin specialist called Davron, who he said would be able to work with me with respect to the necessary recommissioning work. Little did I know at the time just how significant this piece of advice was to prove to be.

Relocating and Recommissioning

After making initial contact with Davron to talk about the car and what might need to be done, the next order of business was to arrange for the car to be transported from Rutland down to the garage so that they could make a proper assessment. A suitable transportation service was soon found via the internet, and the necessary arrangements were made.

AMV gets Relocated to the South West from the East Midlands – December 2006

Predictably once the car had arrived at Davron and they had taken a look at what needed to be done, they discovered that there was quite a bit of recommissioning work that was required in order to get her back on the road. They did however get the engine running in short order, after having performed an initial inspection to make sure that there were no significant concerns, which showed me that AMV was keen to get going again. In order to complete the work that needed to be done in a more manageable way, we agreed that the tasks would be split up so that a big job would be done in one month, followed by some of the smaller jobs the following month and so on, until all of the necessary work had been completed.

The main issue that was found was that there was valve seat regression with an associated loss of cylinder compression, primarily due to leaded petrol no longer being available and the engine never having been converted to run on unleaded. A couple of options for dealing with this were discussed. Fortunately there was a less expensive albeit temporary work-around that would gain some time on the engine. This involved stripping the engine down to the point where the valve seat buckets could be removed, thus enabling them to be re-ground to the point where the valve seat clearances were returned to within tolerance. This was the less expensive option, albeit that the amount of time that it would buy could not be predicted, basically I was told that it could last for a matter of months or potentially years. However, the ultimate and inescapable conclusion was that the engine would ultimately require a complete rebuild. Needless to say, my eagerness to get back behind the wheel as soon as possible and limited available funding resulted in the temporary fix being selected, (and fingers being crossed).

Without getting into too much detail, some of the work that was required was as follows;

New HT Leads and HT lead tube, (which was missing)

Re-torque cylinder head

Re-core radiator

New viscous fan coupling

Re-conditioned power steering rack

New boot rigger, (corrosion), and repaired spare wheel well, (which had been damaged)

3 x New Weber Carburettors, (as the bodies of 2 had been cracked by over-tightening the adjustment screws)

Remove and re-grind valve seat buckets to increase clearances as required

Once all this work had been done, (which ended up being the summer of 2007), the car was ready for me to collect and enjoy.

Getting Re-Acquainted with an Old Friend

Predictably, as it had been quite a few years since I had last driven the car, it was with a mixed sense of excitement and trepidation that I finally got back behind the wheel to drive home. Any sense of apprehension was soon dispelled however, as I slipped back into the well-worn Connelly leather driver’s seat, soaked in the familiar aroma of old leather that is synonymous with such cars, (especially Astons), of that era, and cranked the engine into life. Suddenly all of the sensations that had been so familiar to me for such a long time were vividly brought back into focus. Much like reconnecting with an old friend that you haven’t seen for some time, somehow you manage to pick up right where you left off the last time you met, I now found myself reconnected with my oldest friend. I was comfortable. I was happy. I was home.

The drive home along the A30 was thoroughly enjoyable and uneventful. It did of course include a customary visit to the petrol station enroute, ensuring to add a bottle of Millers VSP, (lead replacement), additive to the tank, after all the engine had yet to be converted to run on untreated unleaded petrol. On arriving back home, I was then faced with the task of manoeuvring the car onto the driveway in front of the house where we rented our flat. Fortunately there was enough space, however the section of driveway that we had available to use was on an incline and immediately parallel to the road, which effectively required negotiating two 90˚ corners in quick succession, whilst avoiding some brick walls. After achieving this, the lack of garage meant that a good quality outdoor car cover was the only option to provide protection from the elements. Fortunately one of our annual pilgrimages to the Goodwood FoS provided the opportunity to obtain a suitable ‘ex-display’ cover for this purpose. The only slight issue was that they insisted that I take the cover from them at the point of purchase, which then meant lugging it around FoS for the rest of the day. This was fine… for a while, but the cover seemed to get increasingly heavy as the day wore on! Also, whilst it was an excellent cover, (and in fact remains so to this day), it was clear that a better long-term accommodation solution was required.

New Adventures

First things first though, now that AMV was back on fine form once again, it was time to start putting some more miles under her wheels and attending some events.

Goodwood Festival of Speed – June 2007

One of the first such adventures was to make our annual pilgrimage to the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS). My abiding memories from this trip were that despite Goodwood being bathed in sunshine, there was torrential rain whilst driving to and from the event. The Goodwood traffic didn’t do me any favours either, as the clutch was incredibly heavy, to the point where I was surprised not to be walking around in circles due to over developed left leg muscles when we arrived! I also recall that our rear seat passenger, (our friend Marc, with whom we were to have a number of petrolhead adventures with in the years to come), somehow managed to fall fast asleep on the return journey, despite the less than subtle exhaust note, (I did say that the rear seats were surprisingly usable).

Retro Run and Silverstone Classic – July 2007

One of the starting points for the Retro Run drive for classic cars to the Silverstone Classic event happened to be the Aston Martin Works Service department at Newport Pagnell, so it seemed only fitting that we should take part on our way to the event. We found ourselves in some superb automotive company for the run itself, which served to further enhance a very pleasant drive through the East Midlands countryside.

Aston Martin Reserved Parking at Newport Pagnell prior to starting the Retro Run to Silverstone

Finding a New Home for AMV – Winter 2007-2008

As previously mentioned, living in rented accommodation and having to leave AMV parked outside on the driveway during the better weather, and in storage over the winter months, was decidedly sub-optimal. We therefore started house hunting in the winter of 2007, and of course one of our primary criteria was that the house had to have a large garage, (ok so this may have been my one overriding priority). Frustratingly this seemed to be misinterpreted by a number of estate agents, causing them to send us details for a number of properties with single garages. When explaining to them that these were insufficient for our needs, they asked us what we wanted to do with the garage space, then seemed to be quite surprised when we responded “put a car in it!” Fortunately a potential property was found, albeit that the length of garage space available seemed slightly marginal. The owners must have wondered why we spent quite so much time in the garage with a tape measure on our 2^nd visit, whilst we checked and re-checked the dimensions. We did successfully manage to satisfy ourselves that the garage would be suitable however, which made our minds up, we had found our new home. Now all that remained was for us to actually purchase it.

Of course, measurements are one thing, but the reality could be quite different. The time of reckoning came when the better weather arrived and we retrieved AMV from winter hibernation and brought her back to her new home. It was with a distinct sense of trepidation that we swung into our new driveway, opened the door and crossed the threshold into the garage. Had our measurements been accurate? Would it be deep enough to enable us to close the door again? In short… Yes… Eureka!

AMV on the driveway at her new home - September 2008

AMOC Area 4 at Barrington Court – July 2008

Staying a little closer to home, we attended our first local area AMOC meet at Barrington Court. We very quickly learned what a thoroughly friendly and gregarious bunch our fellow Aston owners were, and both ourselves and AMV were warmly welcomed into the fold. In fact a number of the people we first met at that event were to become firm friends.

Classics at Sherborne Castle – July 2008

Shortly afterwards, we paid our first  visit to the ever popular Classics at Sherborne Castle event, which resulted in a surprise encounter. As we parked up, the AMOC Area 4 rep at the time, Andrew, came up to the door to welcome us and told me that I had a friend at the event, only I hadn’t met him yet! Much to my surprise, Andrew then informed me that a fellow AM Vantage owner, Ian, had brought his Silver Birch example to the event. Specifically, this car turned out to be chassis no. AM/6016/RA. Predictably, we spent quite a bit of time examining and admiring each other’s examples, comparing the multitude of minor differences that existed between them.

Just to put the significance of this into some form of context, in the years that we have been attending events with AMV, this was the first time that we had ever encountered another example at the same event. To this day, this has only ever been repeated twice since. Just as remarkably on this occasion however, it turned out that they lived just a few miles up the road from us!

Two AM Vantages together at Classics at Sherborne Castle - July 2008

AMV making a friend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed - June 2007

Resting on the National Circuit at Silverstone at the Silverstone Classic - July 2007

Lunch at the Royal Oak in the New Forest - June 2008

In some very good company with AMOC at Barrington Court - July 2008

Aston Martin: A Car for Life

Back in the 1990s, Aston Martin used the phrase ‘A Car for Life’ to advertise its cars, however for a number of people, this had been true of the company’s products for a long time before then. In my particular case, it was an example of an obscure model from a turbulent time, in both the company’s history as well as the wider world, that would come to epitomise the very essence of that strapline.

The AM Vantage 1972-1973

The Aston Martin Lagonda Limited company had been sold by David Brown to an investment company called Company Developments in 1972. The company was only manufacturing the AMV8 at the time, however in April the new owners announced that a new model would be introduced alongside it. The curious decision was made to call the new model the AM Vantage, a moniker that had hitherto been reserved for the company’s high performance models, despite the fact that it was to be fitted with the lower specification straight six engine. In so doing, the company created their final model to be fitted with the classic AM hallmarks of: a) wire wheels, (which were no longer suitable for the higher weight and power output of the V8 engine), and b) the Tadek Marek straight six engine. In fact this engine, in one form or another, had been at the heart of all of Aston Martin’s road cars, starting in 1959 with the DB4, to the DBS which ended production in 1972, (after having seen some initial development in the crucible of motorsport, powering the DBR2 and DBR3 sports racing cars between 1957 and 1959).

1972 Aston Martin AM Vantage Press Photo (© Aston Martin Heritage Trust Collection)

The decision to use the Vantage name for the model was inconsistent with its usage up to that time, and would be further compounded by it consequently being used once again for the later higher performance versions of the AMV8. However, it was somewhat prescient of what was to happen in 2005, when the name ‘Vantage’ was adopted for the company’s new ‘entry level’ offering in their ‘V-H series’ of cars. Of course this has now been accepted as the new normal in the world of Aston Martin, as Vantage is the name that has been adopted for the company’s driver focussed, sportscar oriented model.

The AM Vantage was to be a particularly short lived model in the Aston Martin range however, with a mere 70 being produced between May 1972 and July 1973. Essentially the car was a continuation of the DBS, being mechanically the same under the skin, (or at least as much as it can be when considering that it is a hand built British car from a low volume manufacturer). The main differences were mostly cosmetic, as the early AMV8 body was used with its two single 7” headlights in place of the DBS’ two twin 5½” quartz iodine installations. The front of the car was also redesigned, with the shape of the radiator opening being clearly more reminiscent of the DB3S sportscar racer from the 1950s. The 5-speed manual gearbox also ran the same ratios as used in the DBSV8 and AMV8, which were different to those used in the 6-cylinder DBS. Finally the dished steering wheel was leather trimmed, in place of the wood rimmed wheel fitted in the DBS.

Exactly why only 70 were built seems to be somewhat of a mystery, possibly this was all that demand stretched to for the ‘lesser’ 6 cylinder model, at a time when the overall demand for expensive, thirsty performance cars was at a historical low point. After all, the world was in the middle of an oil crisis. However there is an unsubstantiated hypothesis that there may well have been 70 of the straight six engines left at the factory from the DB6 / DBS production days, so instead of letting them go to waste, they were simply fitted into a batch of cars from their current production run. Conjecture perhaps, but there is some circumstantial evidence to reinforce this idea, in that 68 of the 70 production AM Vantages were fitted with the standard ‘Vantage specification’ Weber carburettors, whereas two cars had the SU units as normally found fitted to the standard spec engine. Unless the original owners of these two cars particularly specified the fitment of SU carburettors in place of the Webers, it would seem to me that the factory may have been using up parts from their inventory.

Noteworthy AM Vantages

Chassis No.	Items of Note
AM/6002/RA	Earliest example known to still exist. Used for press photos in period. Currently owned by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust
AM/6033/RA	1972 Earls Court Motorshow car
AM/6039/RA	My car!
AM/6067/L	The only left hand drive examples built and the only ones fitted with SU carburettors
AM/6068/LA
AM/6070/RA	The last 6 cylinder car produced by Aston Martin for 21 years, until the launch of the DB7

AM Vantage AM/6039/RA

1^st Owner (1973 to 1982): Mr. John Millen

This car started life on the 9^th April 1973 at the Newport Pagnell factory and was likely the 39^th car off the line, (assuming that the chassis were produced sequentially from AM/6001/RA to AM/6070/R). She was subsequently delivered to the HWM Aston Martin dealership in Walton-on-Thames on the 11^th July 1973, having been purchased by the first owner, Mr. John Millen, owner of the Millen Machine Tool Company. The car was initially supplied with the registration number RPL 632L, however this was subsequently changed to the private plate 2 MMT by Mr. Millen. Originally painted in the very 70s colour of Cornish Gold acrylic paint, (hence the ‘A’ suffix in the chassis no.), the car was also right hand drive and equipped with a Radiomobile stereo radio, (one of these is the ‘R’ suffix in the chassis no.). She was also originally fitted with the Borg-Warner 3-speed automatic, (or perhaps more appropriately slush-o-matic), gearbox, but more on this later.

Cornish Gold AM Vantage

Not much else is known about the early days of the car’s life with her original owner, apart from the service history, as documented via the original service booklet;

Service History 1973-1981

Date of Service	Mileage	Details of Service
28/08/73	00953	500 miles service
28/08/73	00953	1000 miles service
17/01/74	03120	2500 miles service
08/06/74	05780	5000 miles service
05/10/74	07460	7500 miles service
21/02/75	09388	10000 miles service
06/10/75	12700	12500 miles service
01/04/76	16080	15000 miles service
20/12/76	17930	17500 miles service
03/06/77	19614	20000 miles service
14/10/77	21565	22500 miles service, car resprayed in Cricket White
05/01/79	26359	25000 miles service
09/07/79	28040	27500 miles service
02/04/80	30070	30000 miles service
11/04/80	34690	32500 miles service
26/08/80	39782	35000 miles service
10/03/81	45410	Total engine rebuild
23/07/81	51950	5000 miles service, suspension rebuild
27/10/81	54710	Mini-service, exhaust replaced (stainless steel system)

2^nd Owner (1982 to 2001): Mr. Graham Everington (my dad)

The car seems to have spent its first eight years in Middlesex, so it is unknown exactly what led to her ending up at a used car dealership in Leicestershire in 1982, where my late father traded his pride and joy, a Triumph Stag that he had rescued from a barn and had restored to his specifications, for the Aston. During this time, the car had lost its 2 MMT registration, presumably having been retained by the first owner, and instead gained the plate MVC 5. As I was 4 years old at this time, my recollection of the details of when my dad first got the car are not too good. However I do recall going with him to collect the car, (which ranks as one of my earliest memories), and the impression that this made on my young consciousness was indelible. That was how I was first introduced to the Aston Martin marque, and from that moment on it was to become my lifelong favourite.

Dad with his Triumph Stag (and my brother Tony’s) on tour through France – Early 1980s

The Robin Hamilton Connection

The original gearbox was not in good shape when my dad first got the car, and so he arranged for the car to go to the renowned AM specialist Robin Hamilton to have a 5-speed ZF manual gearbox fitted in place of the original 3-speed auto, an upgrade that I remain eternally grateful for. Robin Hamilton had a great deal of experience with these cars, having raced a heavily modified DBS V8 called RHAM 1, or “The Muncher” due to its appetite for eating through brakes when it raced at Le Mans in 1977 and 1979. This is also where the car got the ‘Nimrod’ window sticker in the rear windscreen, as Robin Hamilton was also involved in the development of the Aston Martin Nimrod Group C sportscar racer that would compete in the 1982 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans.

Aston Martin Nimrod - October 1982

Robin Hamilton's DBS V8 RHAM 1 "The Muncher"

The 1982 AMOC Summer Concours

In the summer of 1982, the car was entered into the Newcomers Class at the Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC) Summer Concours event, which was held at the Newport Pagnell factory. Clearly the condition of the car suitably impressed the judges, as she scored highly enough to be awarded 2^nd place in the class. Unfortunately there were pine trees overhanging the driveway of the house we lived in at the time, which had resulted in a collection of pine needles collecting in the fuel filler cap wells. These had not been cleared out prior to the event and apparently that led to points being lost and ultimately resulted in 2^nd place. The car still wears the plaque commemorating this accomplishment on the glovebox lid to this day. These days I tend to get my enjoyment from driving the car rather than fastidiously cleaning and meticulously maintaining her in an ‘as original’ condition, and so even matching this result in such an event now is highly unlikely.

AMV at the AMOC Spring Concours Newport Pagnell - July 1982 (© Aston Martin Heritage Trust Collection)

AMOC Summer Concours Results 1982

Making Childhood Memories

Beyond these specific events, my memories of the car during my formative years mostly involve riding around in the, (surprisingly useable), back seat whenever my dad chose to get the Aston out, which was not as frequent an event as I would have liked! I have to say that, whilst I would never recommend riding in a car without a seatbelt, I did manage to survive doing so, as to this day the car does not have any rear seatbelts fitted.

AMV at home on the driveway (gathering pine needles!) - Summer 1980s

For some reason I remember always particularly liking the way that the orange coloured interior downlights above the stereo and bank of rocker switches in the centre console stack looked whenever we were driving with the headlights on, hence I quite looked forward to travelling at night.

The strangely appealing orange glow of the centre console

I also distinctly recall that because my dad didn’t really drive the car regularly enough, the engine was always reluctant to start. The rule of thumb that I worked out over time from witnessing my dad’s attempts to start the car, was that as soon as the engine coughed for the 1^st time after cranking over for a while, then it would tend to start on the next attempt… or sometimes the time after that! The jeopardy was whether this would happen before the battery gave out. Needless to say my dad had to make frequent forays into the boot to wrestle with removing the battery box lid and attaching a battery charger. I also remember him having to change the battery quite frequently. (These days I use a battery conditioner to maintain the battery and have also had a high-torque starter fitted).

There was one occasion where I remember going on holiday with my mum somewhere in the UK, (I forget exactly where), with my dad following on and joining us later after he had finished work for the week. He elected to bring the Aston for the trip but had recently had some Pirelli tyres fitted, which were softer than usual compound. When he eventually arrived at the hotel, he was in a very bad mood, as he had managed to pick up not just one, but two separate punctures enroute! He never fitted Pirelli tyres to the car again.

Another time when my dad had picked me up after school, I convinced him to take me for a longer drive in the car rather than just driving straight home. During this particular drive my dad elected to (safely) pass a line of slow moving vehicles on a well sighted section of road, just before we noticed a blue flashing light following us. Soon after pulling us over, it became clear that the policeman was more interested in having a closer look at and finding out some more about the car than he was concerned about the burst of speed that had been employed. In fact the reason he gave for pulling us over wasn’t excessive speed, rather that he was concerned that there was a hole in the exhaust due to the noise that the car had been making. Once my dad explained that was unlikely as the exhaust system was made from stainless steel, he let us go on our way.

Touring the Newport Pagnell Factory – August 1993

In 1993, my passion for all things Aston Martin also gave me the inspiration for a suitable subject for the special project that I needed to do as part of my GCSE Design course. I decided that it would be a good idea to compare and contrast the processes, techniques and products of a bespoke, traditional hand-built car manufacturer with those of a mass-production manufacturer, which thanks to the efforts of an enthusiastic and co-operative teacher, ended up being the Ford factory at Dagenham. Naturally I felt that my father’s long-term ownership of the car gave me the perfect rationale for choosing Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. as the small volume manufacturer, and hence provided the introduction to a letter to the company requesting a tour. Fortunately my letter found its way to a gentleman called Roger Stowers, who had been at Aston Martin for many years and worked in the capacity of official company historian. It was only later that I was to learn just how legendary of a figure Roger was within the company, and how immensely fortunate I was to have had this amazing opportunity.

Needless to say, he was happy to arrange a tour of the Newport Pagnell factory and Works Service department for me. I think I must have managed to make a suitably good impression on Roger, as he seemed to be impressed by my ability to identify all of the cars that were being worked on in the Works Service department at the time. I distinctly remember that he asked me about one particular car, which I identified as a DB4 GT Zagato, to which he was gracious enough to concede that I was partially correct. Roger then proceeded not only to enlighten me that it was in fact a DB4 GT Zagato ‘Sanction II’, but also how to distinguish between it and an original example. Sufficed to say that I have never forgotten this vital piece of information, (it’s to do with the geometry on the rear, right hand side suspension setup in case you were wondering). Many years later, thanks to the fantastic work undertaken by the enthusiastic and helpful staff at the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, I discovered that Roger had actually photographed AMV at the AMOC Summer Concours event at the factory in 1982. What was even better is that they were able to get prints made up of those photographs from their archive for me to have.

The factory tour was no less spectacular, or informative, than the Works Service department had been. Roger was the most engaging and informative tour guide that anybody could ever hope for and seemed to be friends with every individual who worked in the factory. My overriding memories are of the, (very loud), sounds of aluminium panels being hand beaten into shape by the craftsmen on the shop floor, before ultimately being assembled to form the Virage Volantes that were being built on the line at the time. Then, after this painstaking process had resulted in a complete body taking shape, it was coated in white spirit, put under a set of bright spotlights and subjected to the expert eye of the final inspector. He then proceeded to mark every tiny imperfection that he could see in the body panels, resulting in any marked panels being removed and reworked until it was deemed to be fit for purpose. To me this was the ultimate example of the incredible craftsmanship and individuality that formed such an integral part of every one of the cars that came out of the Newport Pagnell factory.

I was also fortunate enough during my visit to see both examples of the V8 Vantage (V550) that existed at the time. This was much to my delight, as this car had already made a significant impression on me after having consumed all of the information I could find on it, (long before the internet became the inexhaustible resource that it is now). Not only that, but I was also lucky enough to get the opportunity to have a thorough look around Project NPX, (the prototype DB7 and the single example of the model in existence at the time), which was being prepared for a forthcoming appearance at a motorshow event. By way of a tenuous link to the AM Vantage, the DB7 was also fitted with a straight six engine, albeit this time with the addition of a supercharger. A powerplant that hadn’t been seen in a production Aston Martin for 21 years.

The V8 Vantage press car heading out for a drive from the factory - August 1993

The DB7 Prototype (Project NPX) at Newport Pagnell being prepared for a Motorshow – August 1993

The following article appeared in Revolution, the on-line magazine of MotorsportUK.

Today, International Women's Day 2024, seems a most appropriate day to add it here.

Enjoy...

AstonOwners.com is attending its first UK national show.  We have been allocated a large stand at the NEC for the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show at the NEC in Birmingham.  

The show runs for 3 days from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March 2024.

Visit us on stand 3-285. This stand is opposite the auction so we expect a lot of interest. We are busy designing our stand and have  organised a couple of attractive Astons. In keeping with the Practical Classic theme we will be demonstrating both the printing of 3D spare parts and the diagnosing and repair of Electronic modules.

With lots of real technical experts on our stand it will be well worth a visit if you are interested in keeping your Aston on the road.

Subscribers save £3 off adult day tickets and £2 off child, family or multi-day tickets booked in advance.  Use the club discount code  S24CC883.

Winter is coming, and with those long trips to visit relatives for Christmas it is essential to check the weather en-route.   AstonOwners.com provide this service free to our subscribers using our Driving Weather page

There are Apps out there that allow you to do this, and at first glance some of those even appear to be free, but you usually need a subscription for them to work properly, and you only find this out after spending time learning how to use it. ( The dreaded In App Purchase trap! ) 

Subscribers are able to plan a route using Google Maps to which AstonOwners.com add the forecast along the route.  You end up with a map like the one below.  Useful features provided are:

• Set a departure time and get timed forecasts along the whole route.
• View a detailed listing of all the forecasts along the route.  (This includes weather warnings and snow depth)    
• A 7-day forecast is  available for both the start and end locations.  
• Quickly choose the start and end locations from Google's extensive 'Places' database and/or our Aston-friendly places database  
• Once you have your route you can send the directions to your phone's  Google maps App and get the verbal instructions from the nice Google lady....

For a long trip that covers changes in altitude and geography, this is an invaluable service provided free by AstonOwners.com.   

Become a subscriber

(Photo: RAF)

A chance conversation over a rather special dinner at the Guildhall in London in June 2023, resulted in an amazing day out for 50 AstonOwners.com subscribers.

Anthony King had kindly invited Gillian and I along to a gala dinner to celebrate his election to the Worshipful Company of Coach Makers and Coach Harness Makers. The warm summer evening had a motor racing theme with several luminaries – and a few cars - of the Le Mans-24 Hours Race present (Derek Bell, Andy Wallace, Martin Brundle, et al). I found myself sat next to the Executive Officer of RAF Brize Norton, Jim Davies. His interest in Aston Martins and mine in military aircraft soon resulted in an idea to bring the two together.

Roll forward to late September and plans were in place for a rather special day out, all in support of Services Charities, including the RAF Benevolent Fund. More on that later.

The day consisted of mustering at The Classic Motor Hub in Bibury for a delicious breakfast and some well-deserved coffee, many of the attendees having driven well over 100 miles to get there. Fortunately, the sun shone, even if the roads were a little damp from overnight rain and in some cases decorated by farming activities, to put it politely.

• Our day started with breakfast at the Classic Motor Hub in Bibury
  

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• There was time enough only for a quick look around there – with thoughts for many of going back another day – before 25 Astons set off for RAF Brize Norton, about 30 minutes’ drive away.

  There was a little fun trying to find the gate, too much for satnavs it would seem. As Gillian said, “the RAF can plan flights of aircraft to pass over Buckingham Palace with to-the-second accuracy and we couldn’t arrive at their gate on time”. C’est la vie, as we say in Oxfordshire!

  After the anti-explosives sniffer dogs had allowed us to pass, we convoyed to our first photo stop: in front of the huge A400M Atlas transport aircraft. What an impressive piece of kit that is! The RAF’s professional photographer took shots of each car and its occupants before we parked up at our designated reception centre where my contact and organiser of our day, Sqn. Ldr. Jamie Garrett, welcomed us and outlined the plan:

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• Tea, coffee, biscuits, souvenir shop and (unexpected) goody bags, plus my opportunity to sell raffle tickets to win items that nearly every driver had donated… there were almost more prizes than people!
• Split into groups to have a look inside the aircraft’s immense loading bay and upstairs to the unexpectedly spacious cockpit. It’s at this point that we discovered we could, after all, take photographs… great news, although on previous instructions, some cameras/phones were left in cars.
• Group photo of the cars with and without occupants at the rear of the aircraft.
• Escort off the air station to continue our adventures.

Our tour of the Atlas included chatting with a load master and witnessing the ramp operation. We then sat in the cockpit seats as the controls were explained to us (thankfully, in layman’s language). Our view from there included ‘real time’ through the windscreens, ‘virtual’ via the on-board screen and ‘head up’ through the pilot/co-pilot displays. All the while, the remaining cars were being photographed outside so that no time was wasted and our visit zinged along apace.

An unusual view from the cockpit of the A400(M) Atlas... Brian Small's Vanquish and Dean Taylor's DB4.

Herding people and cars into position was a job for the military!

Gillian and Andrew Fawkes's 1978 V8 is hardly camouflaged!

Jamie had put the word out so that his classic/sports car owning colleagues might come along. Consequently, our convoy to the aircraft was led by a gorgeous original Fiat 500 (not an official RAF car!) and our departure was led by Jamie’s fabulous Mini 850 DeLuxe that was owned by his grandfather… Jamie’s relationship with that car and his efforts to restore its magnificence is a story worthy of a classic car magazine. If anyone has a photo of those convoys, we’d love to see them.

The stunning 1960 Mini 850 DeLux owned by our host, Jamie Garrett, and previously his grandad

Further surprises included the Aston Martin Bristol team being invited to photograph the latest DB12 and DBX models at the loading ramp of the Atlas, no doubt a great shot for their PR, and both Jamie and I being interviewed for BFBS Radio… not something I’d prepared for!

The DBX of Aston Martin Bristol will fit easily in there... and cope with the otherwise Aston-unfriendly ramp lip!                (Photo: Aston Martin Bristol)

Our waved cheerios as we departed RAF Brize Norton were followed by the short drive to Little Bampton where we were welcomed by Steve of Alpine Eagle Restorations, a business that focuses mainly on vintage Rolls Royce and Bentley cars. There was a lovely selection of completed cars and work-in-progress to wander around. Alpine Eagle is one of many small specialist businesses focussed on the classic car world at that location. All had agreed to us parking there (thankfully) and to show us around their facilities.

Our host, Steve, runs Alpine Eagle Restorations who focus mainly on vintage Rolls Royce and Bentley cars

The M.B. Shop restores classic Mercedes Benz cars. Owner, Krasimir Kremakov, waxed lyrical about the cars and the processes involved in their renovation and maintenance.

Krasimir Kremakov (in short sleeves) explains the processes he employs to turn rusting hulks into award winning classic Mercedes

We then wandered to JL Historics where hugely enthusiastic apprentice, Tom Mika, showed us both the cars being worked on (from Zagato Alfa to Healey and pre-war Singer) and the machinery and techniques he employs. We spent a good while discussing the ‘English’ wheel before leaving there for our base, the Minster Mill Hotel.

JL Historics' apprentice, Tom Mika, explains how he's going to turn this rough piece of aluminium bodywork into a beautiful fender

That evening we were joined for dinner by Jamie and the station’s senior chaplain, Rev (Grp. Capt.) Colin Weir who kindly offered to open proceeding by saying Grace. It was brilliantly penned and delivered, so much so that it received a round of applause rather than the usual Amen!

A few toasts during the minimal formalities included ‘absent friends’, both for its wider context and by name for Anthony and Jim who had inspired the event but couldn’t be there on the day. Another celebration was Su’s ‘special’ birthday that she made sure we all knew she was enjoying… brilliant!

Birthday girl, Su Williams, smiles (not just) for the camera

Clockwise from left: Liz Jaehme, Beverley and Mike Jones, Sara Parry, Dave and Sarah Bryers, Gillian and Andrew Fawkes
(photo: Su Williams)

Clockwise from left: Gary Ungless, Rex Thornborough, Kevin Hawney, Rev. Colin Weir RAF, Jamie Garrett RAF, Brian Small, Kevin Hall, Liz Ungless, Gill Print   (photo: Su Williams)

Clockwise from left: Racheal and Lloyd Parker, Janet and John Rees, Laura and Rod Baker, Rob Parry, Angela and Richard Newberry   (photo: Su Williams)

Clockwise from left: LLoyd Berger, Kaz and Adrian Stanway, Sally and Steve Richards, David Such, Tanya Pritchard, Neil Woodward  (photo: Su Williams)

Jamie Garrett, centre, is about to receive a gift from the group from organiser, Andrew Fawkes (R) as Rev. Colin Weir looks on.
Clearly, the respective organisers got the message about dress code!

Departures for home on the following day included a visit for 10 of us to the relatively small but comprehensive Atwell Wilson Motor Museum in Calne, Wiltshire. Again, we were welcomed warmly, this time with home-made cakes, before our informal tour and onwards home.

Atwell Wilson Motor Museum Director, Paul Ellis, explains the history of the museum and the route around the displays

Totting up the various donations and raffle ticket sales revealed that our collective efforts had raised the huge sum of £2,600 for Services charities. Truly a high note to end on.

Thank you all for being there, for contributing and for making the event so memorable.

The happy troop before departing RAF Brize Norton.
Far left is Rex's 'stealth Aston', a last minute replacement for his sulking Vanquish!
(photo: RAF)

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Footnote: Each car received a lovely surprise goody bag gift from our RAF hosts:

Duck Chinuck (or is that Dook Chinook?) bath toy enjoys a different type of bathing.

That's all folks!

AstonOwners.com has become a full trade supporter of the FBHVC. We feel that this is a very good use of some of our subscription income. 

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs exists to uphold the freedom to use historic vehicles on the road. It does this by representing the interests of owners of such vehicles to politicians, government officials, and legislators both in the UK and (through the Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens) in Europe.
 
There are over 540 subscriber organisations representing a total membership of over 250,000 in addition to individual and trade supporters.

A very worthy organisation.

We found this road when looking for a break from the main IC1 road to Portimao.

If heading South to Portimao on the IC1 leave at the sign for Monchique.

Follow the Monchique signs turning left over the small railway track onto the N267.

Stay on the N267 for about 17miles towards Monchique.  This is a quite tree lined road with some viewing stops.

Monchique is a pretty little town in the mountain range of Serra de Monchique about 30 minutes drive from Portimao.  If you head for the centre you will arrive at a cobbled square with a few cafes for a stop off.

Or you can continue by turning left by the fountain in the main square and follow the sign to Foia to take the N266-3 towards Foia. 

This will take you up a steep hill where you will find the restaurant  Luar da Foia.  There is parking in front and a small car park over the road.  From the outside this looks like any other cafe/bar but walk through and there is a terrace with the most amazing views over the valley below.  Even though it was lunchtime they were happy to serve us a coffee and cake.

From here we re-traced our route back to the centre and followed the Portimao signs to take us onto the N-266 to Portimao. Another scenic road that inevitably ends up in a more built up area as you approach Portimao.

The view from the cafe terrace...

More viewing stops

If travelling from Santander take exit 272 from the A8 towards Unquare/Panes/Potes/Picos de Europa to join the N-621.

The first section of the road is sweeping bends through villages but soon starts to give you views of the mountains ahead. After Panes the bends become tighter and the road follows the river.  

After entering Potes the road bends to the left signed N-621 La Vega, but we recommend continuing straight on into the centre of Potes following the road to the right over the bridge were you will find a large free car park.  There are plenty of cafes and shops here to take a break.

Turning right out of the carpark will take you along to the Picos Mountains where the road ends at the Parador de Fuente Dé (see Aston friendly places) and a cable car to the top.  

If you retrace your steps to the junction for the N-621 you will be rewarded with around 50 miles of bending mountain roads with several viewing points to stop and admire the view. 

From the top the road continues to bend around through tunnels and across a river ending at Cisterierna.

A few views you can enjoy along the road: