1973 Aston Martin V8 – 5 speed manual with Weber carburettors


Details

Aston martin has produced bespoke sports cars for over 100 years. The company began in 1913, when founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford realised their desire to build distinctive, high quality sports cars that were both exhilarating to drive and a beauty to behold. Martin regularly competed in hill climb races at Aston Clinton, and a simple combination of the name of the event and the driver gave birth to one of the most famous automotive marques. Source: www.astonmartin.com

Whilst Aston Martin produced some wonderful cars in their early years business was always a struggle and the company was severely disrupted during both World War I and II. The company went bankrupt on more than one occasion and has endured many different owners throughout its history.

David Brown acquired Aston Martin in February 1947 and the first car produced during his ownership was the Aston Martin 2 Litre Sports, later known as the DB1, which was built in extremely limited numbers from 1948 to 1950. This was succeeded by the Aston Martin DB2 in 1950, which featured a new double overhead cam straight six engine of 2.6 litre (2580 cc) capacity, and was a car that really put post war Aston Martin on the map. The David Brown era was arguably Aston Martin’s finest with the company winning LeMans in 1959 and the sixties producing the legendary DB4, DB5 and DB6 models.

The DBS was introduced in 1967, initially powered by Aston Martin’s tried and true 6 cylinder engine, however, it was soon offered with a 5.3 litre V8 engine.

Amid challenging financial times in the early 1970’s Aston Martin again changed hands in 1972, and soon after released its new model the Aston Martin V8. The V8 was a huge success for Aston Martin and the model essentially remained in production for the next twenty years.

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer an early Series 3 Aston Martin V8.  Being a Series 3 example, this car has four Weber carburetors which replaced the fuel injection system of the previous model.

The car is chassis number V811076RCA with engine V5401076. There is a heritage certificate on file which confirms the car is ‘matching numbers’.  The certificate also confirms the car is a UK delivered factory RHD example that has a build date of 2nd November 1973 and a dispatch date of 23rd November 1973. It was originally ‘cairngorn brown’ with a ‘natural’ interior and specified as Weber carburettors, manual transmission, over riders, lockable centre arm rest, fog and spot lights.

The car was delivered new to Lazenby Garage Limited in the UK and first registered as OJU 555M (issued in Leicestershire).

History:

  • – Two owners until 28/12/1979.
  • – 28/12/1979 – acquired by D&M Symons (Michael Symons)
  • – 06/09/1985 – sold by Richard Stewart Williams Ltd – London, UK to Philippe A De Backer from Zaventum, Belgium.
  • – The car was painted blue sometime in Philippe A De Backer’s ownership.
  • – 8th May 2004 – sold by Bonhams at their ‘The Aston Martin Sale’ in London, UK to a dealer.
  • – 28/07/2006 – purchased by Damian Kimmelman from London, UK.
  • – 23rd May 2008 – purchased by the current owner from Runnymeade Motor Company, Buckinghamshire, UK and subsequently imported in Australia.

The current owner has had contact with the previous owners of the car – Kimmelman and De Backer, both who indicated that they sparingly used the car which collaborates the mileage as noted below. It is most likely the car has travelled less than 5,000 miles whilst in the UK from 1985 until 2008 and only a futher 2,000 miles since then in Australia. The car most likely had a speedo change sometime early in its life and a letter on file notes the travelled mileage as 75,000 miles when sold in 1985. I would therefore assume the car has travelled a total of some 82,000 miles.

A km/hr speedo was fitted in the UK before the car was exported to Australia. Today the odometer reads 3,344 km.

I would describe the car as a ‘nice driver’. The paint is glossy, though on closer inspection there are some defects including a split on the rear boot lid and another on the left hand rear quarter panel. The chrome is of similar condition, presentable though there is some pitting evident. The glass and other exterior trim are in good condition.

The interior is in a similar condition to the rest of the car. It is presentable though on closer inspection the seats and other leather trim are slightly discoloured in places and there is a crack in the walnut veneer.

The car starts easily and it drives well. The current owner has fitted a Vantage spec Harvey Bailey ‘Handling Package’ and AP Racing brakes which give the car a very solid feel on the road. He also replaced the front grill, fuel pump and starter motor with ‘higher spec’ items. All of the original components will accompany the car. The engine pulls strongly and the gearbox is smooth. The car has just had the Weber carburetors rebuilt.

A recent mechanical inspection has confirmed good compressions across the eight cylinders ranging from 155-170 psi. The car will need some work to bring it up to speed, the most urgent requirement would be to the cooling system which needs: refurbish / replace the radiator, replace all of the cooling system hoses and assess other fittings.

The car has a good history file, original workshop manual (and a copy) and a parts manual (copy) as well as an assortment of spare parts.

The prices of the DB4, DB5 and DB6 models have gone through the roof so the V8 presents relatively good value in this market.


Specification

  • Aston Martin V8
  • 1973
  • Coupe
  • Manual
  • 3,344 km
  • 5340cc

SOLD

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