Aston Martin advice from Bamford Rose independent specialist
Discussion
BamfordMike said:
Zod said:
If you would give us a menu of costs, I might come along and see you. As things stand, I have no idea whether you'd be billing me £5K, £10K or £35K.
Good point, and nothing would be simpler than to update website and this thread with prices.Thing is, have to be careful, we are being watched.
Had no end of project clients who found Bamford Rose website and this forum on their Mrs laptop / devices snooping round for prices no doubt. Not that they were under the cosh not to enhance their cars, simply that the same amount of dosh invested in the car would have to be 'invested' in bags, shoes and spa weekends.
Of course there are exceptions, Speculatore's Mrs and Y100's better half even belted their partners enhanced cars around the track, Mrs G even drove some very tidy lines when i was following for a bit!
For 510 to 570 BHP (all the kit mentioned in the post) is £6500+VAT
Here is the development power curves of Lance.
Some have seen this graph and said, do you know what, the delta of just the manifold will do me so remove cams - this is £5500+VAT, a decat and ECU remap is £500+VAT for 20BHP ish and a devilish soundtrack
Now please burn after reading!!!
AMDBSNick said:
Hi Mike,
Good to see your thread back up and running with some excellent info.
For the benefit of all as we're asking about costings. What is the "true" replacement cost of CCM's inc VAT and fitting please?
Nick
Hi Nick.Good to see your thread back up and running with some excellent info.
For the benefit of all as we're asking about costings. What is the "true" replacement cost of CCM's inc VAT and fitting please?
Nick
Up until recently the discs could be bought separate from pads, front discs were £2265 each, pads were £634 so a pair discs and pads inclusive VAT was £6196, but, this was non bedded-in and not including fitting.
The bedding-in is important because the procedure is approx. 60 KM's requiring numerous full to dead stop on ABS braking from 100MPH - try doing that around the North Circular with inexperienced driver and is one reason the factory now only supply a bedded-in option at £7182 inclusive VAT minus fitting fronts, and £6145 rears.
We have come across many cars where the brakes were changed and the bedding-in procedure not completed as required, the end result is significantly less braking efficiency to the point of incorrectly bedded-in brakes being dangerous.
We will supply and fit bedded-in fronts for £6250 inclusive VAT and £5415 rears
Bincenzo said:
Mike, great to see you back at the keyboard, and no it wasn't me that disturbed your cup of tea last week! Did Adrian get the side number? 
you know the involuntary reaction where one arm arches over body to protect whilst bending away from danger, well, the bald one was doing that. What with that and the plane crossing at warp factor 9 50 ft off ground, no he didn't manage to get the wing number. Surprising, cos I'm sure he could have seen how worn the tyres were it was that close. I think the gps was bust and they were using roman road as nav I dont think we ever welcomed project TeaSpoon the BR way on this forum
So, what better way than to combine the release of Teaspoon with another news feature.
As of today - Brit Pack Straddles pond!
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/aston-martin/34...
TeaSpoon goes global - Thanks for walking through our door and the journey with us William - its been fab!
Brit Pack Straddles Pond.....
Hi 6Speed Aston Martin board; owners, prospective owners and fans of the brand alike.
My name is Mike.
It is my great pleasure to be here in the US via our approved installer, partner an purveyor of brand Bamford Rose; British Automotive Repair of Scottsdale Arizona.
http://britishautoaz.com/
http://www.bamfordrose.com/
Greg of British Automotive Repair joins myself and Adrian of Bamford Rose as board sponsors and starting today we will be active on this forum to help answer questions and discuss Bamford Rose unique range of enhancements for your Aston Martin – we hope you like what you see.
We are very excited about the prospect of providing the same bespoke, tailored upgrade service Bamford Rose has become famous for in England to discerning US clientele. Together with creating a car personalized to individual owner’s specification, the same as we do in England, we now also look forward to making some great friends and having great experiences with US clients along the wonderful bespoke enhancement journey.
For those who don’t know Bamford Rose or have visited PistonHeads of UK, Bamford Rose is Worlds Ultimate Independent Aston Martin Specialist based in England. We devote our attention to Aston Martin repair, service but importantly we are unrivalled market leader of bumper-to-bumper enhancement and upgrades.
Since birth of Bamford Rose in 2010 we had both the desire to enter US with our services, and we were frequently contacted across the years by many US owners wanting a piece of the Bamford Rose magic that we created for owners in UK. However, we were continually frustrated not to be able to offer our services to US owners, but that is in the past now. One of the reasons for us not to service US market was that we decided never to ship parts in a box, period. Not that mail order is any problem, it’s just a fact that mail order is that, mail order, and it’s not for us. The only service we were / we are prepared to offer is personal, managed by us at all stages and finishes with our seal of approval over all works conducted for every car. We learnt that from project definition through to waving goodbye to a bespoke project car that every car needs slightly different tweaking, every owner has slightly different needs during the project and should the need arise continued onward aftersales care must all be managed by one-stop-shop, meaning that we decided we either wait until we could offer the complete one-stop-shop or we offer nothing at all.
Thankfully absence in the marketplace has now ended! It has taken a long time for Bamford Rose to find a partner of sufficient competence, ability and who shares the same values for quality and attention to detail as we do, but the search is over. Bamford Rose now enters US exclusively through approved and trained partner, Greg of British Automotive Repair Arizona. But our commitment to a Bamford Rose seal of approval for every car will no doubt see Adrian and myself waving goodbye to project cars personally until Greg’s team is in-all-intents-and-purposes – Bamford Rose.
For Greg and his team at British Automotive Repair the step into new-era (DB7 / Vanquish and Gaydon era) Aston Martin cars is nothing new. But now aided by Bamford Rose pedigree to resolve the problems nobody else can fix, together with care and service to the highest possible standard, British Automotive Repair will strengthen their position in marketplace to be the ultimate independent Aston Martin Specialist for USA. Both in the workshop at Arizona and here on this forum, we are here too to help out with technical matters. Although 6speed online the same as PistonHeads UK is indeed already well supported by posters who have great depth and knowledge of these cars, but if we can help with routine matters as well as the bespoke – just ask!
For each Aston Martin model we have enhancement and upgrades which are as minor or as major as each owner wishes for the direction of his car. Bamford Rose is all about drive-in then drive-out night and day transformation, but also minor upgrades too such as ECU re-flash, high flow cats are of course available, and all with Bamford Rose brand values such as; seamless integration, never a CEL or driveability flat spot and for me the most important – no matter the depth of the project, even if major strip and rebuild, the car never shows any witness marks of being molested, worked on or any evidence of taking a spanner to, Bamford Rose upgrades stand for, 'as if the original auto maker had done it themselves'.
The extent of our upgrades will come to light after many posts across time, but for today its easy to start with a project currently in at the UK dream factory.
Project TeaSpoon - every project gets a name, its the rule
Teaspoon started life as std 4.3L manual which drove in @ 380BHP, Teaspoon drove out @ 480BHP wrapped in a tailored suit.
Engine:
4.3L to 4.7L conversion to Bamford Rose GT4 racing engine build with Blue printed and gas flow ported cylinder heads.
Tuned equal length Exhaust headers / 200 cell density cats.
N400 style air box upgrade.
3 position Switch for manual control of exhaust bypass valves, fully open / fully closed or as per std switch speeds.
ECU Remap.
Lightweight Flywheel.
Twinplate heavy duty organic material friction plate clutch.
Suspension;
Chassis stiffening plates
Upgrade rear anti-roll bar and bushing
Fixed rate damper upgrade although upgrade to full electronic switchable soft / stiff mode work is ongoing now
Brakes:
315mm front discs / 4 piston caliper upgrade to 380mm discs 6 piston caliper
Wheels / tyres;
HRE one-off custom design wheels with brushed finish
Michelin Pilot super sport for road / Pirelli Trofeo tyres for track
Exterior;
Latest style V12 Vantage carbon surround grille and mesh
Vantage S lower bumper and carbon splitter
N400 Side sills
Carbon rear diffuser
Paint high gloss black roof to seamlessly blend with trunk
Interior;
V12V Zagato door card inserts,
Zagato roof panel and rear environment panels
Piano black ski-slope and side steps
Last but not least, the stamp of approval!
|http://thumbsnap.com/ntYobNU3[/url]
So, what better way than to combine the release of Teaspoon with another news feature.
As of today - Brit Pack Straddles pond!
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/aston-martin/34...
TeaSpoon goes global - Thanks for walking through our door and the journey with us William - its been fab!
Brit Pack Straddles Pond.....
Hi 6Speed Aston Martin board; owners, prospective owners and fans of the brand alike.
My name is Mike.
It is my great pleasure to be here in the US via our approved installer, partner an purveyor of brand Bamford Rose; British Automotive Repair of Scottsdale Arizona.
http://britishautoaz.com/
http://www.bamfordrose.com/
Greg of British Automotive Repair joins myself and Adrian of Bamford Rose as board sponsors and starting today we will be active on this forum to help answer questions and discuss Bamford Rose unique range of enhancements for your Aston Martin – we hope you like what you see.
We are very excited about the prospect of providing the same bespoke, tailored upgrade service Bamford Rose has become famous for in England to discerning US clientele. Together with creating a car personalized to individual owner’s specification, the same as we do in England, we now also look forward to making some great friends and having great experiences with US clients along the wonderful bespoke enhancement journey.
For those who don’t know Bamford Rose or have visited PistonHeads of UK, Bamford Rose is Worlds Ultimate Independent Aston Martin Specialist based in England. We devote our attention to Aston Martin repair, service but importantly we are unrivalled market leader of bumper-to-bumper enhancement and upgrades.
Since birth of Bamford Rose in 2010 we had both the desire to enter US with our services, and we were frequently contacted across the years by many US owners wanting a piece of the Bamford Rose magic that we created for owners in UK. However, we were continually frustrated not to be able to offer our services to US owners, but that is in the past now. One of the reasons for us not to service US market was that we decided never to ship parts in a box, period. Not that mail order is any problem, it’s just a fact that mail order is that, mail order, and it’s not for us. The only service we were / we are prepared to offer is personal, managed by us at all stages and finishes with our seal of approval over all works conducted for every car. We learnt that from project definition through to waving goodbye to a bespoke project car that every car needs slightly different tweaking, every owner has slightly different needs during the project and should the need arise continued onward aftersales care must all be managed by one-stop-shop, meaning that we decided we either wait until we could offer the complete one-stop-shop or we offer nothing at all.
Thankfully absence in the marketplace has now ended! It has taken a long time for Bamford Rose to find a partner of sufficient competence, ability and who shares the same values for quality and attention to detail as we do, but the search is over. Bamford Rose now enters US exclusively through approved and trained partner, Greg of British Automotive Repair Arizona. But our commitment to a Bamford Rose seal of approval for every car will no doubt see Adrian and myself waving goodbye to project cars personally until Greg’s team is in-all-intents-and-purposes – Bamford Rose.
For Greg and his team at British Automotive Repair the step into new-era (DB7 / Vanquish and Gaydon era) Aston Martin cars is nothing new. But now aided by Bamford Rose pedigree to resolve the problems nobody else can fix, together with care and service to the highest possible standard, British Automotive Repair will strengthen their position in marketplace to be the ultimate independent Aston Martin Specialist for USA. Both in the workshop at Arizona and here on this forum, we are here too to help out with technical matters. Although 6speed online the same as PistonHeads UK is indeed already well supported by posters who have great depth and knowledge of these cars, but if we can help with routine matters as well as the bespoke – just ask!
For each Aston Martin model we have enhancement and upgrades which are as minor or as major as each owner wishes for the direction of his car. Bamford Rose is all about drive-in then drive-out night and day transformation, but also minor upgrades too such as ECU re-flash, high flow cats are of course available, and all with Bamford Rose brand values such as; seamless integration, never a CEL or driveability flat spot and for me the most important – no matter the depth of the project, even if major strip and rebuild, the car never shows any witness marks of being molested, worked on or any evidence of taking a spanner to, Bamford Rose upgrades stand for, 'as if the original auto maker had done it themselves'.
The extent of our upgrades will come to light after many posts across time, but for today its easy to start with a project currently in at the UK dream factory.
Project TeaSpoon - every project gets a name, its the rule
Teaspoon started life as std 4.3L manual which drove in @ 380BHP, Teaspoon drove out @ 480BHP wrapped in a tailored suit.
Engine:
4.3L to 4.7L conversion to Bamford Rose GT4 racing engine build with Blue printed and gas flow ported cylinder heads.
Tuned equal length Exhaust headers / 200 cell density cats.
N400 style air box upgrade.
3 position Switch for manual control of exhaust bypass valves, fully open / fully closed or as per std switch speeds.
ECU Remap.
Lightweight Flywheel.
Twinplate heavy duty organic material friction plate clutch.
Suspension;
Chassis stiffening plates
Upgrade rear anti-roll bar and bushing
Fixed rate damper upgrade although upgrade to full electronic switchable soft / stiff mode work is ongoing now
Brakes:
315mm front discs / 4 piston caliper upgrade to 380mm discs 6 piston caliper
Wheels / tyres;
HRE one-off custom design wheels with brushed finish
Michelin Pilot super sport for road / Pirelli Trofeo tyres for track
Exterior;
Latest style V12 Vantage carbon surround grille and mesh
Vantage S lower bumper and carbon splitter
N400 Side sills
Carbon rear diffuser
Paint high gloss black roof to seamlessly blend with trunk
Interior;
V12V Zagato door card inserts,
Zagato roof panel and rear environment panels
Piano black ski-slope and side steps
Last but not least, the stamp of approval!
|http://thumbsnap.com/ntYobNU3[/url]Mike,
About engine durability and the V12 "tick"... What is the "abuse" that can result in failed small-end bearings? Why is the V12 seemingly vulnerable to this? Anything out of the ordinary that causes it? Is it likely that a V12 driven hard but with mechanical sympathy should run 100K miles or more without needing a rebuild?
I ask because a V12V is the only car that tempts me from my V8V.
Speaking of which, is the V8 (either 4.3 or 4.7) more tolerant of abuse than the V12? Is the V8 generally a longer-lived engine?
About engine durability and the V12 "tick"... What is the "abuse" that can result in failed small-end bearings? Why is the V12 seemingly vulnerable to this? Anything out of the ordinary that causes it? Is it likely that a V12 driven hard but with mechanical sympathy should run 100K miles or more without needing a rebuild?
I ask because a V12V is the only car that tempts me from my V8V.
Speaking of which, is the V8 (either 4.3 or 4.7) more tolerant of abuse than the V12? Is the V8 generally a longer-lived engine?
Speedraser said:
Mike,
About engine durability and the V12 "tick"... What is the "abuse" that can result in failed small-end bearings? Why is the V12 seemingly vulnerable to this? Anything out of the ordinary that causes it? Is it likely that a V12 driven hard but with mechanical sympathy should run 100K miles or more without needing a rebuild?
I ask because a V12V is the only car that tempts me from my V8V.
Speaking of which, is the V8 (either 4.3 or 4.7) more tolerant of abuse than the V12? Is the V8 generally a longer-lived engine?
Hi.About engine durability and the V12 "tick"... What is the "abuse" that can result in failed small-end bearings? Why is the V12 seemingly vulnerable to this? Anything out of the ordinary that causes it? Is it likely that a V12 driven hard but with mechanical sympathy should run 100K miles or more without needing a rebuild?
I ask because a V12V is the only car that tempts me from my V8V.
Speaking of which, is the V8 (either 4.3 or 4.7) more tolerant of abuse than the V12? Is the V8 generally a longer-lived engine?
Exactly when was implemented i'm unsure, but the connecting rod supplied today is different than previous for V12. Looks like the small end bearing material has changed together with additional channel / groove for oil flow, so clearly a running change was done for a reason, if that was related to combat a known problem i can't say, could equally have been changed because they swapped supplier and the changes are best practice in today's engineering.
That comment is important because in our experience of numerous ticking V12 engines, the mode of failure is small end bearing wear which causes faint ticking which goes mostly unnoticed (but on a few cars that visit our shop for basic service we can hear it looming as problem and the owner is blissfully unaware). However long it takes? the wearing small end causes piston to rock / rotate out of control, rings to flutter at high engine speed which starts to wear liner oval. At this stage, the oval liner (piston slap) and worn little end (faint tick) alerts the owner that the engine has an issue - cant avoid but notice because the engine sounds like an old ticking Talbot tapper. At this point also, oil consumption is normally a little high because the engine is internally breathing excessive oil through breather circuit system / back into inlet manifold. At this time its engine removal, strip, re-liner and engine / car rebuild. This is a pain because should this happen to an older high miler DB7 or DB9 the repair value Vs the cars market value questions if its economic to repair - Scary to think DB9 is in that category in 2014 but is a dilemma more than a few BR customers had to battle with.
I have seen some cars run VERY low on oil, mostly due to failed PCV circuit and owner not checking oil between service intervals enough - was this the catalyst for wear, this low oil level which did not result in a failure but a wound? This is the abuse i talk of, general lack of maintenance which causes wear state. This is important because there is the related issue of high oil consumption caused by the failed breather circuit which results in VERY low oil level, and if left to run for too long, causes failed big end bearings (last in oil supply chain cylinder journals 6 and 12) but this is a different end result / failure than the 'tick' which takes longer to fully develop. When failure is 'in the moment' the big end bearing disintegrates, connecting rod snaps and immediate failure of engine instead of and engine 'limping' with a tick.
The 'tick' doesn't seem to cause widespread problem to DB7 or Vanquish but is not unknown. Seems to be mostly an issue for early DB9 because as of yet, we have not seen problem on a 470BHP DB9, or any later 510BHP spec V12. Conversely there are some early high miler DB9's out there that are fine too, meaning that the only advice i can give without definite rhyme or reason is to avoid a problem by whatever the car, at pre purchase inspection have someone listen to engine who knows what they are listening for.
In terms of taking abuse, they are all the same, they all pass Fords stringent high speed sign off tests. What appears to be letting the side down is either abuse (low oil level) which is not a problem any auto maker can be held accountable for, or a problem time / use specific which the simulated tests never captured, whatever that may be.
BamfordMike said:
Speedraser said:
Mike,
Many thanks for your reply and explanation -- very helpful.
BTW, are there any durability issues that specifically affect the V8?
no probs.Many thanks for your reply and explanation -- very helpful.
BTW, are there any durability issues that specifically affect the V8?
No, none, bombproof. Front cover leaks are common, ancillaries can fail but base engine durab is solid
My interior is finally getting there:
Centre HVAC Console and gear linkage surround came back from the paint shop today; I did some masking around the heater controls to keep the back-lit graphics and CD entry back-lit dashes after the paint was applied. Slight cover over windscreen shape in order to keep uniformity and symmetry, but this won't be seen when fitted. Paddy is going to complete polish and then Ge-tech Serum tomorrow to make the panels look "piano black",
Old style console:
Centre HVAC Console and gear linkage surround came back from the paint shop today; I did some masking around the heater controls to keep the back-lit graphics and CD entry back-lit dashes after the paint was applied. Slight cover over windscreen shape in order to keep uniformity and symmetry, but this won't be seen when fitted. Paddy is going to complete polish and then Ge-tech Serum tomorrow to make the panels look "piano black",
Old style console:
"3 position Switch for manual control of exhaust bypass valves, fully open / fully closed or as per std switch speeds."
Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
moveover said:
"3 position Switch for manual control of exhaust bypass valves, fully open / fully closed or as per std switch speeds."
Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
Hi Nick.Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
Consider it 'done' on your car when we see it next week should you wish for it
Yes, quiet throughout the rev range including cold start
No, no damage / detriment to engine except losing a few BHP above 5500 rpm
Any potential damage would be isolated to VERY excessive back pressure causing piston top ring land to compress onto the top / second ring and pinch them causing leakage. I know this back pressure figure and with valve closed at 7500 rpm and we are an absolute world away from it. The knowledge of this back pressure figure came from an engine failed in the way i state so is all tried and tested actions from data.
BamfordMike said:
moveover said:
"3 position Switch for manual control of exhaust bypass valves, fully open / fully closed or as per std switch speeds."
Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
Hi Nick.Hi Mike
Re the above, does this mean we now have the option of having the valves closed throughout the whole rev range? Is there any risk to the engine from build-up of back pressure at high revs? At the moment, I just have the fully open / open at 4,500 rpm, but would be interested in the fully closed option too if this was possible.
Thanks
Nick
Consider it 'done' on your car when we see it next week should you wish for it
Yes, quiet throughout the rev range including cold start
No, no damage / detriment to engine except losing a few BHP above 5500 rpm
Any potential damage would be isolated to VERY excessive back pressure causing piston top ring land to compress onto the top / second ring and pinch them causing leakage. I know this back pressure figure and with valve closed at 7500 rpm and we are an absolute world away from it. The knowledge of this back pressure figure came from an engine failed in the way i state so is all tried and tested actions from data.
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