New Vantage owner, saying hello! (Also QS exhausts info)

[burnout3]

Well, exactly a month later, all of the initial work is done and I collected the vantage today!

There'll be a few pics, as promised, along with some info on the mods done so far, plus future ones....

Here's the first exterior pic.

[burnout3]

More exterior shots

[burnout3]

The exterior work has included -

Full bonnet respray
Repaint wiper arms
Private plate
All stone chips removed
Stone guards fitted
New RHS headlight washer

I want to make it clear that I have no connection with any of the companies/individuals listed, but I do feel praise is due when you receive excellent service. I hope this ok?

Re-trimming - Alcantara steering wheel, gear knob and gaiter and centre armrest was all done by Joe at Trimdeluxe in Littlehampton. Another excellent guy to deal with, really good value and excellent work. (Internal pics to follow)

Bluetooth Parrot and Ipod intergration, along with hard-wiring a new Tomtom Go 5000 - I can't recommend highly enough Connor (and Simon) at John Kleis audio in Reading. The quality of their work and flexibility has been top-notch. I considered their Aston Martin Satnav upgrade (they can swap out the Volvo one for a new Garmin unit) but in the end I just went with the Parrot, Ipod bits and stand alone Tomtom.

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:17

[burnout3]

Internal bits -

Brand new bespoke seats
New sill plates
New door pulls
New door cards



The only bits that I felt dated the car were the steering wheel, gear knob, gaiter and the centre armrest, hence why they were retrimmed in alcantara

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:17

[burnout3]

I'll be doing the internal LED lights mod tomorrow, as per this thread -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

All bits bought on Ebay for a small outlay

I've already done the superb key mod as per this thread -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&a...

Although I took it a bit further, by wrapping the key too -





The key wrap was courtesy of this Ebay listing -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190644878903?_trksid=p20...

[burnout3]

I bulk bought the transponder tags to get the little Aston logos to go on the key fob, so I have a few spare. PM me if you're interested...

Other bits and bobs-

Picked up a Quicksilver Sport exhaust from a great guy on here. It sounds absolutely superb, exactly what I was after!


Already been in touch with Tony Hall, so I'll be getting some custom sill plaques and stereo/satnav knobs at some point.

Got another top tip via PM for manifolds etc, so here's the list of planned mods -

1. Manifolds and 200-cell cats (probably with a return to the OEM back box, then with a 3-way switch fitted)
2. Twin-plate clutch - again, top marks to my Indy, the clutch was replaced as a matter of course, so it'll be a long while (even with London driving) before I need to replace it, but I will go for the upgrade one day.
3. Gloss black vinyl wrap for the roof
4. Red calipers


Other possible mods -

1. N400 side sills
2. Rear diffuser
3. Alloy swap - I'm keeping an eye out for the 10-spoke DT alloys. As soon as a pair come up at a reasonable price, I'll get them swapped over.
4. Who knows, but the list keeps growing!

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:18

[burnout3]

Just wanted to offer a huge thanks to all the contributors on here (and various PMs), a mine of information! Got my insurance through Locktons thanks to another thread on here, total bargain!

And all of the info/ mods/ expertise has been gleaned through so many excellent threads, from Grant's book through Karl-Franz alcantara inspiring threads to Tony Hall's THUGs! They've all helped me to make my car my own.

I'll keep this thread updated as I do more mods to the car in future.

Burnout3

[Ken Figenus]

Great project mate. Good too hear good about suppliers too - we are all quick and right to to criticise - so nice one. On sills and other bolt ons I think the car looks svelte, integrated and understated and beautifully smooth as-is. Its why we buy them - stunning looks! Bolt on lumps often detract on road only cars IMHO.

[tonyhall38]

looking good...;)..except for the knobs and sill plaques...

[burnout3]

Ken Figenus said:

Great project mate. Good too hear good about suppliers too - we are all quick and right to to criticise - so nice one. On sills and other bolt ons I think the car looks svelte, integrated and understated and beautifully smooth as-is. Its why we buy them - stunning looks! Bolt on lumps often detract on road only cars IMHO.

Thanks Ken - yeah, had some great work & service. Still not sure about bolt-ons, as you said. Different alloys and red calipers are definitely going to happen (when I can locate some at reasonable prices), as will the roof wrap, as they're all easy to return to standard.

[BravoV8V]

burnout3 said:

3. Alloy swap - I'm keeping an eye out for the 10-spoke DT alloys. As soon as a pair come up at a reasonable price, I'll get them swapped over.

Are these the wheels that you're looking for?



If so, good luck with your search. It took me well over a year before I managed to get a full set together. (The last one came from Germany!) They all then went back to the manufacturer, Rimstock, to get refurbed to OEM standard.

[GlynV8]

Great looking car.
The seats look very nice.
Good that it is now on the road - enjoy

[burnout3]

GlynV8 said:

Great looking car.
The seats look very nice.
Good that it is now on the road - enjoy

Thanks Glyn, very happy with it! The sound is precisely what I was going for, cheers


Tony - just deciding on the wording for my sill plaque, then I'll be ordering!

[burnout3]

BravoV8V said:

If so, good luck with your search. It took me well over a year before I managed to get a full set together. (The last one came from Germany!) They all then went back to the manufacturer, Rimstock, to get refurbed to OEM standard.

Agghhhh, over a year! Those are the ones, look stunning!! You must be a lot more patient than me.... I have considered buying them one a at time to build a full set, but was worried I'd end up buying a full set half way through the process and would need to sell the others again (I just missed out on a full set with tyres, for an excellent price). I probably won't do anything until the New Year now anyway, so I'll see what's out there. Thanks for the info though.

[Bincenzo]

I toyed with the idea of getting DT turned wheels above, but opted for the original SportPack V1 wheels,which I think suit the early Vantage a little more. That said, if you're going to install N400 sills and slap on some carbon fibre, then the more moder wheels may suit the car better. Here's mine post change, before it was the same as yours:

[Ken Figenus]

Those wheels so just work. Love them.

[JS1500]

I love what you're doing with your car but the best looking wheels for an early Vantage are the regular 19" ones.
Those Sportpacky ones above are ok, best of a bad bunch but generally the oem wheel choices for the Vantage are awful. Those twin spoke jobbies with the diamond cut face are pretty horrible and don't suit the car, sorry to anyone who has them but it's the truth.

19" BBS LMs with grey centres are what I want but I can't find them in Vantage fitment (nor can I afford them).

[Bincenzo]

JS1500 said:

I love what you're doing with your car but the best looking wheels for an early Vantage are the regular 19" ones.
Those Sportpacky ones above are ok, best of a bad bunch but generally the oem wheel choices for the Vantage are awful. Those twin spoke jobbies with the diamond cut face are pretty horrible and don't suit the car, sorry to anyone who has them but it's the truth.

19" BBS LMs with grey centres are what I want but I can't find them in Vantage fitment (nor can I afford them).

Awful according to individual taste, of course. I'm personally not a fan of slapping on non OE wheels on a car, as to me it looks like an attack from Halfords. Awful. But that's my opinion.

[BravoV8V]

Bincenzo said:

JS1500 said:

I love what you're doing with your car but the best looking wheels for an early Vantage are the regular 19" ones.
Those Sportpacky ones above are ok, best of a bad bunch but generally the oem wheel choices for the Vantage are awful. Those twin spoke jobbies with the diamond cut face are pretty horrible and don't suit the car, sorry to anyone who has them but it's the truth.

Awful according to individual taste, of course. I'm personally not a fan of slapping on non OE wheels on a car, as to me it looks like an attack from Halfords. Awful. But that's my opinion.

The 'truth'? Mwhahaha. I'm a frayed knot.

Like Bins says, matters of styling invariably come down to personal opinion. Personally, I find the 'stock' wheels a bit dull (most V8Vs from that era have them), I'm not fussed about the SP1 wheels (sacrilege I know but they look too much like most modern BMW wheels to me) and I think that the 10 spoke DT wheels are the best current OEM wheels. (They are also a little bit lighter than the 7 spoke wheels so there is a slight performance advantage as well).

However, I wouldn't try claiming that what I have just written is the 'truth' though. Just the way I see things.

[northernmedia]

I really quite like these non oe wheels