Project BLOFELD - Delivery Day
Discussion
Well, as some of you know I collected Project 'BLOFELD' from the 'Bamford Rose' clinic yesterday. The initial reason for taking it there was because the manual gearbox was almost unusable when cold, particularly in 1st and 2nd gear. It was that bad that I 'Almost' took it back to the Main Dealers and asked them to exchange it for another DB9 (Auto) that they had for sale at the same price. Acknowledging that I had actually waited over 18 months for a manual (And only missing out on Tony Halls lovely green one because I was on holiday when he sold it) I thought I would search around for an alternative solution.
Before my DB9 I had a heavily modified XKR for over 8 years with all of the enhancements carried out by an independent specialists rather than a main dealer, who to be honest did not have the know how or resources to do the enhancements that I knew was available. So the obvious question was "Are there any 'Independent Enhancement Specialists for AM as there are for Jaguar"?
I found 3 options, Appleby, McGurk and Bamford Rose. At the time there was a specific 'Bamford Rose' 'sticky' on the AM forum which I read with interest in particular the work done on 'Yeti's' car, also a manual DB9. After a few email exchanges I decided to drive up to the BR Clinic and have a chat with Mike and Adrian regarding the issues with selecting 1st and 2nd Gear and after a test drive with both of them they both agreed that a Lightweight Flywheel and Twin Plate clutch would go some way to eliminating the problem that I had. I had a budget from the sale of the XKR so discussed what I could get within that budget (Yes! Georgina agreed, after all, I had paid for all of the enhancements on my XKR out of my own pocket so she agreed that I could spend it on the DB9 if I wanted). (True story).
There will be a separate thread posted by BR Mike listing what I eventually had done as the project seemed to 'Snowball' quite a bit.
What I will say is that the gear changes are silky smooth and the clutch is now really easy to manage with no 'Over revving' or clunkiness whatsoever. The switchable suspension is unbelievable and makes a massive difference particularly as I had the 'Sports Pack' before which was a pretty harsh ride.
Anyway, some delivery pictures...
Before my DB9 I had a heavily modified XKR for over 8 years with all of the enhancements carried out by an independent specialists rather than a main dealer, who to be honest did not have the know how or resources to do the enhancements that I knew was available. So the obvious question was "Are there any 'Independent Enhancement Specialists for AM as there are for Jaguar"?
I found 3 options, Appleby, McGurk and Bamford Rose. At the time there was a specific 'Bamford Rose' 'sticky' on the AM forum which I read with interest in particular the work done on 'Yeti's' car, also a manual DB9. After a few email exchanges I decided to drive up to the BR Clinic and have a chat with Mike and Adrian regarding the issues with selecting 1st and 2nd Gear and after a test drive with both of them they both agreed that a Lightweight Flywheel and Twin Plate clutch would go some way to eliminating the problem that I had. I had a budget from the sale of the XKR so discussed what I could get within that budget (Yes! Georgina agreed, after all, I had paid for all of the enhancements on my XKR out of my own pocket so she agreed that I could spend it on the DB9 if I wanted). (True story).
There will be a separate thread posted by BR Mike listing what I eventually had done as the project seemed to 'Snowball' quite a bit.
What I will say is that the gear changes are silky smooth and the clutch is now really easy to manage with no 'Over revving' or clunkiness whatsoever. The switchable suspension is unbelievable and makes a massive difference particularly as I had the 'Sports Pack' before which was a pretty harsh ride.
Anyway, some delivery pictures...
avinalarf said:
Smashing car David,I know you will get much enjoyment from it.
Was the gear change problem specific to your car or is it a common problem ?
Can't help thinking you should have called it "Project Blow Job" though.
Did Nick get the inspiration for the interior colour for his DBS after seeing yours ?
The gearbox issue is well known on Manual DB9's particularly selecting 1st and 2nd when cold.Was the gear change problem specific to your car or is it a common problem ?
Can't help thinking you should have called it "Project Blow Job" though.
Did Nick get the inspiration for the interior colour for his DBS after seeing yours ?
I have no idea why I would have considered calling it 'Project Blow Job' unless it is some reference to my sexual orientation....
MollyGTi said:
That's great Dave but what about the driving experience?! Wish I was back at Millbrook today to join in the fun! Let's see if you can find the right words to describe it?! 
Hi Molly, We decided not to bother with Millbrook on the Sunday. A further 1.5 hours drive over from BR and then a 3 hour drive home afterwards put me off a bit. I managed a full 3 hours on the Saturday driving locally with both Mike and Adrian so became 'comfortable' with the car then. I had a 2 hour drive home on Sunday (Perfect weather for it) so by the time I got home all was good.The car itself is completely different. The gear change is really smooth and now really easy for fast gear changes during acceleration and of course now pulls smoothly up to a new red line of 7000rpm. The new 'Loud' button is really useful and a great toy. It basically acts as 'Fuze 22' control box.
The switchable suspension is superb. As I had the sports pack before the ride was quite 'Hard' and of course a permanent setting. The new switchable suspension gives me the option of a smooth 'GT' ride (similar to me previous XKR) and in 'Firm' mode the car really stiffens up and turns in to a 'Track Beast'. As the roads were a bit slippy we stayed in 'GT' mode most of the day as it actually aided in grip and control. For the 2 hour drive home on the Sunday I was in 'quiet' mode with 'GT' suspension selected.
The new larger from brakes are 'Really effective' with me as the passenger trying to operate the imaginary 'Passenger footwell Brakes' on a number of occasions. The 'New Brakes/ABS' demo was really effective which consisted of going from 'Speed' to full on brakes and dead stop is a very short distance. This was a great confidence boost knowing what the car is capable of.
All in all the 'Delivery' drive taught me one thing.....The car has a limitation........Me!!!
Liking the new sills, are they Virage or later DB9?Collected the paperwork from Mike at Rockingham with a few photographs.
Work Carried out:
Home collection
Bamford Rose 450 to 520BHP performance upgrade
Pinnacle Exhaust manifolds
200 cell density cats
High lift inlet cams
DBS inlet manifolds
Carbon valley plate cover
Lightweight Flywheel / Twin Plate Clutch
Bamford Rose chassis and suspension upgrade:
Electronic dampers / performance springs
Switchable stiff / soft mode control system
car lowered 10mm
glass control button
Front and rear DBS Under tray stiffening trays
Bamford Rose Brake upgrade:
380mm front discs
GT4 suspension uprights
6 piston callipers with BR livery
Bamford Rose Exterior upgrade:
2013 DB9 Side skirts,
Ceramic coated exhaust tips,
Anodised front grille
Rapide ‘S’ badge
Bamford Rose Interior upgrade:
DBS Gearshift lever
Carbon gear lever surround
Carbon side sills
Glass buttons for exhaust valves and suspension
Bamford Rose embroidery on headrests and dashboard
Full Service and MOT
On delivery due to amount of work carried out with dynamic increase in power and handling the offer of a Millbrook day to 'Learn the Car'. (Before being let lose on the public road...)
Work Carried out:
Home collection
Bamford Rose 450 to 520BHP performance upgrade
Pinnacle Exhaust manifolds
200 cell density cats
High lift inlet cams
DBS inlet manifolds
Carbon valley plate cover
Lightweight Flywheel / Twin Plate Clutch
Bamford Rose chassis and suspension upgrade:
Electronic dampers / performance springs
Switchable stiff / soft mode control system
car lowered 10mm
glass control button
Front and rear DBS Under tray stiffening trays
Bamford Rose Brake upgrade:
380mm front discs
GT4 suspension uprights
6 piston callipers with BR livery
Bamford Rose Exterior upgrade:
2013 DB9 Side skirts,
Ceramic coated exhaust tips,
Anodised front grille
Rapide ‘S’ badge
Bamford Rose Interior upgrade:
DBS Gearshift lever
Carbon gear lever surround
Carbon side sills
Glass buttons for exhaust valves and suspension
Bamford Rose embroidery on headrests and dashboard
Full Service and MOT
On delivery due to amount of work carried out with dynamic increase in power and handling the offer of a Millbrook day to 'Learn the Car'. (Before being let lose on the public road...)
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