Classic Aston Martin V8's
Discussion
Hello CQ8,
Nice story about your two V8's.
I got particularly interested by these lines:
"I always thought that once something was repaired you could forget about it but not with this car. We replaced a number of components two or three times. The Mechanical Fuel Injection pump kept leaking, despite being rebuilt, so that had to come off and be sent back to the company that reconditioned it the first time. The problems just went on and on..."
Could I ask you a bit more about the symptoms which you had as a probable result from the leaking pump? I have an almost fully refurbished series 2 AMV8, but it has now become clear to me that the FI pump has not been touched except for some settings and it seems to be leaking like hell. Oil level in the pump far above normal and also some oil bath around the pump base on top of the engine. The car is a very bad starter, it has problems with dropping back to idle and it suffers from horrifying engine run ons when I turn it off. It also suffered from high speed knocking, but this has now been pushed back with the help of some fumbling with the ignition timing. Do you recognise these symptoms from the time that you had a leaking FI pump?
Nice story about your two V8's.
I got particularly interested by these lines:
"I always thought that once something was repaired you could forget about it but not with this car. We replaced a number of components two or three times. The Mechanical Fuel Injection pump kept leaking, despite being rebuilt, so that had to come off and be sent back to the company that reconditioned it the first time. The problems just went on and on..."
Could I ask you a bit more about the symptoms which you had as a probable result from the leaking pump? I have an almost fully refurbished series 2 AMV8, but it has now become clear to me that the FI pump has not been touched except for some settings and it seems to be leaking like hell. Oil level in the pump far above normal and also some oil bath around the pump base on top of the engine. The car is a very bad starter, it has problems with dropping back to idle and it suffers from horrifying engine run ons when I turn it off. It also suffered from high speed knocking, but this has now been pushed back with the help of some fumbling with the ignition timing. Do you recognise these symptoms from the time that you had a leaking FI pump?
Hi Magicam,
Apologies for the delayed response, I wasn't expecting any comments on the thread so hadn't checked back for a while.
The main feature I had with the leaking pump was the central Vee between the cylinders filling up with fuel. Luckily I spotted it before anything serious happened but if I'd have gone around a corner too quick the fuel would have sloshed over the sides of the engine's Vee onto the hot exhaust manifolds....
My DBS V8 was running so badly that I had large amounts of black smoke coming out the exhaust. To the point where I was stopped in London by the police because they could not believe the car was legal!
If the pump is set up correctly, then the car should run much better regardless of whether it is leaking or not. The issues you are describing do sound like over fueling.
When everything is working, the cars can run very well. But it will never be as good as an electronic injection system. My suggestion is to have the pump rebuilt and then set up by someone who is familiar with these Bosch pumps. The knowledge did not exist when these cars were new and the resulting problems lead Aston Martin to switch back to the simpler carb set up. But variations of the Bosch Mechanical fuel injection pump have been used in numerous Porsches and Mercedes of the era with success and there are people out there who do understand them.
I haven't had the chance to drive my V8 and it is now back in storage. But when it was being moved around between storage and trimmers, they also found it difficult to start. This was cured after I had an Aston Specialist spend a day setting it up and the car, I'm told, now runs very well. I'm hoping to go and see it when the lockdown is lifted to confirm.
Please feel free to PM me and we can discuss in more detail.
Apologies for the delayed response, I wasn't expecting any comments on the thread so hadn't checked back for a while.
The main feature I had with the leaking pump was the central Vee between the cylinders filling up with fuel. Luckily I spotted it before anything serious happened but if I'd have gone around a corner too quick the fuel would have sloshed over the sides of the engine's Vee onto the hot exhaust manifolds....
Magicam said:
"The car is a very bad starter, it has problems with dropping back to idle and it suffers from horrifying engine run ons when I turn it off. It also suffered from high speed knocking, but this has now been pushed back with the help of some fumbling with the ignition timing. Do you recognise these symptoms from the time that you had a leaking FI pump?
What I would say with these issues is that they sound very much like the problems I had with my DBS V8 before the pump was rebuilt. Although these are very primitive systems, they do require setting up even when they have been rebuilt. Poorly set up MFI systems can cause all sorts of issues from problems starting through to poor running. The system will chuck too much fuel into the engine and when this happens over a prolonged period of time the excess fuel washes the oil off the bores and leads to premature wear in the engine.My DBS V8 was running so badly that I had large amounts of black smoke coming out the exhaust. To the point where I was stopped in London by the police because they could not believe the car was legal!
If the pump is set up correctly, then the car should run much better regardless of whether it is leaking or not. The issues you are describing do sound like over fueling.
When everything is working, the cars can run very well. But it will never be as good as an electronic injection system. My suggestion is to have the pump rebuilt and then set up by someone who is familiar with these Bosch pumps. The knowledge did not exist when these cars were new and the resulting problems lead Aston Martin to switch back to the simpler carb set up. But variations of the Bosch Mechanical fuel injection pump have been used in numerous Porsches and Mercedes of the era with success and there are people out there who do understand them.
I haven't had the chance to drive my V8 and it is now back in storage. But when it was being moved around between storage and trimmers, they also found it difficult to start. This was cured after I had an Aston Specialist spend a day setting it up and the car, I'm told, now runs very well. I'm hoping to go and see it when the lockdown is lifted to confirm.
Please feel free to PM me and we can discuss in more detail.
Hello,
Firstly I’d like to congratulate you on seeing this through... and thank you for taking the time to keep everyone updated with a thoroughly fascinating story.
I find myself in a somewhat similar position and wish I had come across your post much earlier.
I have bought 2 DBSV8s over the last couple of years.
One is in great original condition (I bought it in Switzerland) and the other I bought from an auction in Monaco - but needed much more work than envisaged!
I have had both of them shipped to Dubai where I live so finding the right people to work on them - is half the fun!
I know people will hate me - but I’m actually considering sympathetically resto-modding one - so I can use it daily!
Anyway, I’m nearly there...but you might be able to help... you mentioned some of the switchgear was Lucas and used in Fords?
I have a very floppy indicator stalk and wondered if you knew where I might get one? Or part number etc?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Firstly I’d like to congratulate you on seeing this through... and thank you for taking the time to keep everyone updated with a thoroughly fascinating story.
I find myself in a somewhat similar position and wish I had come across your post much earlier.
I have bought 2 DBSV8s over the last couple of years.
One is in great original condition (I bought it in Switzerland) and the other I bought from an auction in Monaco - but needed much more work than envisaged!
I have had both of them shipped to Dubai where I live so finding the right people to work on them - is half the fun!
I know people will hate me - but I’m actually considering sympathetically resto-modding one - so I can use it daily!
Anyway, I’m nearly there...but you might be able to help... you mentioned some of the switchgear was Lucas and used in Fords?
I have a very floppy indicator stalk and wondered if you knew where I might get one? Or part number etc?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
RayHas said:
Hello,
Firstly I’d like to congratulate you on seeing this through... and thank you for taking the time to keep everyone updated with a thoroughly fascinating story.
I find myself in a somewhat similar position and wish I had come across your post much earlier.
I have bought 2 DBSV8s over the last couple of years.
One is in great original condition (I bought it in Switzerland) and the other I bought from an auction in Monaco - but needed much more work than envisaged!
I have had both of them shipped to Dubai where I live so finding the right people to work on them - is half the fun!
I know people will hate me - but I’m actually considering sympathetically resto-modding one - so I can use it daily!
Anyway, I’m nearly there...but you might be able to help... you mentioned some of the switchgear was Lucas and used in Fords?
I have a very floppy indicator stalk and wondered if you knew where I might get one? Or part number etc?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Hi Ray,Firstly I’d like to congratulate you on seeing this through... and thank you for taking the time to keep everyone updated with a thoroughly fascinating story.
I find myself in a somewhat similar position and wish I had come across your post much earlier.
I have bought 2 DBSV8s over the last couple of years.
One is in great original condition (I bought it in Switzerland) and the other I bought from an auction in Monaco - but needed much more work than envisaged!
I have had both of them shipped to Dubai where I live so finding the right people to work on them - is half the fun!
I know people will hate me - but I’m actually considering sympathetically resto-modding one - so I can use it daily!
Anyway, I’m nearly there...but you might be able to help... you mentioned some of the switchgear was Lucas and used in Fords?
I have a very floppy indicator stalk and wondered if you knew where I might get one? Or part number etc?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thank you for your kind words.
I had real problems with the indicator stalk. As WilliamP says, all the parts are Lucas. I ordered from these guys:
https://www.autoelectricalspares.co.uk/column-swit...
Specifically I ordered:
Lucas 39719 119SA indicator column switch
Lucas SQB118 39553 119SA 37H8050 indicator column switch
These were part numbers I got from someone on the Aston Martin Owners Club forum. But when they arrived, they didn't quite work. But my restorer found one on - line. He said, "It took quite sometime to find one which did all the required operations (indicators, dip and flash) and an email confirmed it would flash – so I took a chance. Its probably not the exact one the factory would have used but it works. I had to change the stalk with one unit we already had, some fettling to the support member for clearance and position adjusting for all operations."
So it was abit of a bodge job. But I didn't have an indicator stalk to begin with, they were missing so you have that in your favour. It might be that you can buy something with similar internals and cobble something together to stop yours being floppy? The two stalks I didn't use were only £25-£30 each so worth a shot?
Not much has happened with the car recently. It's safely tucked up in storage and I haven't been able to see it due to lockdown. However, with the weather improving and restrictions easing I am hoping to get up there in the next month or so. I will then take her for a tentative first drive.
I did enter the AMOC virtual concours that the club put on to provide some distraction in late Feburary. To my great surprise the car won the Newport Pagnell V8 class! Although not a true concours, it's still a nice accolade to have and there were some lovely V8's entered.
I did enter the AMOC virtual concours that the club put on to provide some distraction in late Feburary. To my great surprise the car won the Newport Pagnell V8 class! Although not a true concours, it's still a nice accolade to have and there were some lovely V8's entered.
Not a huge amount to report but I have driven the car for the very first time!
I had low expectations, my DBS V8 never drove that well if I'm honest, and as this car was assembled from boxes of bits, I expected the same. It took a few goes to fire up from cold but once it was running the ticker was very even.
Out on the open road, it took me a good for miles to get a feel for the gearbox. Not just the dog leg first but which ratios to use, where they actually were (as opposed to where I thought they should be) and the action of slotting the lever back into gear. It all felt very slow and mechanical but once the gearbox warmed up the ease of change was much improved.
I was incredibly nervous to drive the car, the restoration was an emotional roller coaster. Would the finished article live up to the dream?
I am pleased to say it really did! The car was fantastic, leagues ahead of my old one. The engine was so smooth and pulled cleanly through the rev range. The gearbox was never going to be the slickest but there was a joy to mastering the change and the torque of the engine meant you only really needed second and third on the country roads around the Cotswolds.
I met up with a good friend of mine who drove up from London in his Testarossa. We rendezvous'd at the Mather Collectables in Moreton in the Marsh, had a nose around the cars for sale and then enjoyed a spirited drive across country to a pub for lunch.
I'm pleased to report that the V8 was able to hold it's own against the Ferrari, helped a little by the bumpy surface and narrow width of the roads. Following lunch, a last drive back to the storage facility on my own to drop the Aston off and collect my car before the long trek home gave me time to savour the experience of piloting the Aston. The view over the bonnet, the smell of the leather, the induction roar of the engine and the rumble from the exhaust. It was fantastic.
It was so good in fact that I decided to move the car closer to me in Devon. It may still be sold but at least this way I may get a few more drives in before she has gone. I'm very, very happy with the finished car.
I had low expectations, my DBS V8 never drove that well if I'm honest, and as this car was assembled from boxes of bits, I expected the same. It took a few goes to fire up from cold but once it was running the ticker was very even.
Out on the open road, it took me a good for miles to get a feel for the gearbox. Not just the dog leg first but which ratios to use, where they actually were (as opposed to where I thought they should be) and the action of slotting the lever back into gear. It all felt very slow and mechanical but once the gearbox warmed up the ease of change was much improved.
I was incredibly nervous to drive the car, the restoration was an emotional roller coaster. Would the finished article live up to the dream?
I am pleased to say it really did! The car was fantastic, leagues ahead of my old one. The engine was so smooth and pulled cleanly through the rev range. The gearbox was never going to be the slickest but there was a joy to mastering the change and the torque of the engine meant you only really needed second and third on the country roads around the Cotswolds.
I met up with a good friend of mine who drove up from London in his Testarossa. We rendezvous'd at the Mather Collectables in Moreton in the Marsh, had a nose around the cars for sale and then enjoyed a spirited drive across country to a pub for lunch.
I'm pleased to report that the V8 was able to hold it's own against the Ferrari, helped a little by the bumpy surface and narrow width of the roads. Following lunch, a last drive back to the storage facility on my own to drop the Aston off and collect my car before the long trek home gave me time to savour the experience of piloting the Aston. The view over the bonnet, the smell of the leather, the induction roar of the engine and the rumble from the exhaust. It was fantastic.
It was so good in fact that I decided to move the car closer to me in Devon. It may still be sold but at least this way I may get a few more drives in before she has gone. I'm very, very happy with the finished car.
FastAndy said:
And any updates ??
No, no updates of any note unfortunately. The car is in storage and hasn't been driven. The storage company spotted what they thought was a leak from the fuel injection pump so I sent the car for investigation with a specialist but they were unable to replicate the leak despite driving it extensively. They did however fix a couple of niggles that they picked up.They also cleaned up the engine and engine bay as it was quite dusty
Here's a lovely shot of the underneath which shows how clean it is
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