Is this a well known Pre 89 Vantage?
Discussion
Hi Aston Congoscenti
Does anyone perhaps know this beauty? What are they like to drive and maintain if used 3-5k miles a year? Also is this what they call a POW spec? A favourite car ever since uncle took me to St Johns wood for a cricket trial in his one. He had volante in v.similar spec. Only got one or two rides in it and my own old man liked his german cars thoughts Astons were rubbish so don't know much about them - ooze character. I'd use as much as poss.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12691947
Does anyone perhaps know this beauty? What are they like to drive and maintain if used 3-5k miles a year? Also is this what they call a POW spec? A favourite car ever since uncle took me to St Johns wood for a cricket trial in his one. He had volante in v.similar spec. Only got one or two rides in it and my own old man liked his german cars thoughts Astons were rubbish so don't know much about them - ooze character. I'd use as much as poss.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12691947
Hi there.
Most contributors on this forum are Gaydon era owners, hence the lack of responses.
I entered the classic Aston market after much research in 2020 with a nice 1972 AM Vantage. It shares the same basic William Towns designed body shell as the V8 you’re looking at, but with the earlier 4.0L straight six. See pic below.
I don’t know the V8 car in the ad personally, nor do I know the dealer. It’s at the high end of pricing for this model. The XPack was widely regarded as England’s first supercar with a 170mph top speed. Check out this link I quickly found that gives you some basic details on the V8. Again, I don’t know the company in the link.
https://www.sportsclassicslondon.com/Model-Guides/...
As far as running a classic Aston is concerned. You need to buy a good one. Restoration costs are high. Running costs: Budget £1.5k for an annual service. As far as fuel consumption is concerned, mine will average 16mpg on a good day - expect worse from the V8 ??
You’ll get a lot of looks and positive comments wherever you go. The cars are great to drive and have no issues keeping up with modern traffic - especially the X Pack V8.
I would consider contacting the Aston single marque specialists such as Nicholas Mee, RS Williams or Aston Engineering. (There are others). They will happily give you all the info you need.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Most contributors on this forum are Gaydon era owners, hence the lack of responses.
I entered the classic Aston market after much research in 2020 with a nice 1972 AM Vantage. It shares the same basic William Towns designed body shell as the V8 you’re looking at, but with the earlier 4.0L straight six. See pic below.
I don’t know the V8 car in the ad personally, nor do I know the dealer. It’s at the high end of pricing for this model. The XPack was widely regarded as England’s first supercar with a 170mph top speed. Check out this link I quickly found that gives you some basic details on the V8. Again, I don’t know the company in the link.
https://www.sportsclassicslondon.com/Model-Guides/...
As far as running a classic Aston is concerned. You need to buy a good one. Restoration costs are high. Running costs: Budget £1.5k for an annual service. As far as fuel consumption is concerned, mine will average 16mpg on a good day - expect worse from the V8 ??
You’ll get a lot of looks and positive comments wherever you go. The cars are great to drive and have no issues keeping up with modern traffic - especially the X Pack V8.
I would consider contacting the Aston single marque specialists such as Nicholas Mee, RS Williams or Aston Engineering. (There are others). They will happily give you all the info you need.
Hope this helps and good luck.
I own one of these sensational cars
Lovely miles on that one and it’s not overpriced imo. Mileage is king.
Watch the following video and turn your volume up loud. If this doesn’t make you tingle take up fishing.
Had mine 14 yrs after wanting one since I was a nipper. I will never sell it.
Worth talking to Dylan Miles if you want unbiased advice. He’s down to earth and has immense knowledge on all Astons.
Lovely miles on that one and it’s not overpriced imo. Mileage is king.
Watch the following video and turn your volume up loud. If this doesn’t make you tingle take up fishing.
Had mine 14 yrs after wanting one since I was a nipper. I will never sell it.
Worth talking to Dylan Miles if you want unbiased advice. He’s down to earth and has immense knowledge on all Astons.
vpr said:
I own one of these sensational cars
.
I think that an OI is my ultimate Aston - even more so then the DB5 or DB6. Sadly, unless Euromillions intervenes, it is well beyond me. Years ago I had a friend who had a DBS V8 (non-Vantage) with the auto box, and I was privileged enough to drive it.
vpr said:
Watch the following video and turn your volume up loud. If this doesn’t make you tingle take up fishing.
https://youtu.be/1hv_DEwnJTQ
Thank you for posting that video. To me the sound it makes is reminiscent of the sound of Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt (I'd have the Charger, even though it looks like it handles like a Tea Clipper). https://youtu.be/1hv_DEwnJTQ
Now how do I get my 4.7 V8V to sound like a 6.3 litre Tadek Marek V8?
The car in the photo from OP is one of the last V8 Vantage, if it were a 'PoW' it would command a much higher premium. The PoW was what Charles requested as the spec of his 40th birthday present from Gulf royalty, I think Emir of Bahrain. Charles specced a Volante with a Vantage engine, deleted the wheel arch and spoiler extensions, added wood gear stick and a few other minor mods to interior such as re-purposing the ashtray into storage for mints for his polo ponies etc. As well as then owner Victor Gauntlett, a few more of Newport Pagnells well heeled clients got wind and ordered the same. Snobbery is such a curious thing (c) M, 1969. As the car in the photo is not a Volante, and retains the sill, arch and airdam extensions, and is wrong colour, its not a 'PoW spec' car.
As well as the Gaydon cars normally discussed on this forum, I too run one of these old V8's, and I also bought in 2020. Mine is a 1979 Oscar India (OI). The fated 'Vantage' sold from 77-89 is just a tuned Oscar India. Other than the engine mods (heads, cams, bigger carbs, manifolds & valves) the only difference between OI V8 and post '78 Vantage is the front airdam and manual box as opposed to the Chrysler 3 speed slusher fitted to the standard OI. There's a handful of earlier 1977-78 V8 Vantage around - it was launched about a year before the OI in more 'bolt on' form based on the Series 3 car.
I've added the airdam, fitted a modern-ish 6sp manual from a V12 DB7 (as it looks Simon Kidston did with the lovely thing in his Video) - talking of his youtube channel, I'm sure that this https://youtu.be/whzFkx86Tyo will quickly become a favourite of people on here....
With cosmetics and gearbox sorted, and Ronal wheels, Michelin PS4 and big bore straight through pipes literally just going on (in the photo its still wearing its original GKN 15" wheels, which I'm keeping), I'm considering engine rebuild to provide the extra go that Simon's factory enlarged 6.3 had, to complete the transformation into, as near as dammit, 'Vantage spec' - though, of course, it will, in modern terms, never, ever, be anything other than old, heavy and slow. That cost is something to consider though, especially as there is nought currently wrong with my lump. I dyno'd it in November 2021 and it was putting out a healthy-ish 260 brake, which I'm reliably informed is not bad (There was a bit more exaggeration with quoted figures back in t'day!)
They are a hoot to drive - yes a modern transit is probably faster but that is not the point. Getting in one is like time warp. Maintenance is not cheap only due to the cost of bits, but it is easy. Where things get expensive is in repairs and restoration. These things can be genuine money pits!
As well as the Gaydon cars normally discussed on this forum, I too run one of these old V8's, and I also bought in 2020. Mine is a 1979 Oscar India (OI). The fated 'Vantage' sold from 77-89 is just a tuned Oscar India. Other than the engine mods (heads, cams, bigger carbs, manifolds & valves) the only difference between OI V8 and post '78 Vantage is the front airdam and manual box as opposed to the Chrysler 3 speed slusher fitted to the standard OI. There's a handful of earlier 1977-78 V8 Vantage around - it was launched about a year before the OI in more 'bolt on' form based on the Series 3 car.
I've added the airdam, fitted a modern-ish 6sp manual from a V12 DB7 (as it looks Simon Kidston did with the lovely thing in his Video) - talking of his youtube channel, I'm sure that this https://youtu.be/whzFkx86Tyo will quickly become a favourite of people on here....
With cosmetics and gearbox sorted, and Ronal wheels, Michelin PS4 and big bore straight through pipes literally just going on (in the photo its still wearing its original GKN 15" wheels, which I'm keeping), I'm considering engine rebuild to provide the extra go that Simon's factory enlarged 6.3 had, to complete the transformation into, as near as dammit, 'Vantage spec' - though, of course, it will, in modern terms, never, ever, be anything other than old, heavy and slow. That cost is something to consider though, especially as there is nought currently wrong with my lump. I dyno'd it in November 2021 and it was putting out a healthy-ish 260 brake, which I'm reliably informed is not bad (There was a bit more exaggeration with quoted figures back in t'day!)
They are a hoot to drive - yes a modern transit is probably faster but that is not the point. Getting in one is like time warp. Maintenance is not cheap only due to the cost of bits, but it is easy. Where things get expensive is in repairs and restoration. These things can be genuine money pits!
Edited by Calinours on Friday 4th February 19:06
Edited by Calinours on Friday 4th February 19:08
Edited by Calinours on Friday 4th February 23:25
It's not a POW but an X Pack, hence the premium. It's also 30 plus years old with very low mileage, and has been treated to maintenance at AM Works in Newport Pagnell. I'd certainly want to pore over the service history, in particular for age related preventive or corrective maintenance. If you're serious about it then a sensible investment is to get an independent inspection, and THE specialist for V8s is Rikki Cann in Essex
Fixed price annual servicing at AM Works is around £1600 a time plus the cost of unforeseen items, and if the car is cosmetically good, you'll want to keep it that way
I budget about £5k a year for maintenance of my 2 1960s era cars, but some years it easily gets to £10k. For insurance, I use Lockton, the AMOC broker, and annual premium is around £1300 given the cars' values
Fixed price annual servicing at AM Works is around £1600 a time plus the cost of unforeseen items, and if the car is cosmetically good, you'll want to keep it that way
I budget about £5k a year for maintenance of my 2 1960s era cars, but some years it easily gets to £10k. For insurance, I use Lockton, the AMOC broker, and annual premium is around £1300 given the cars' values
PS, until at least 2005 the car was owned by a member of AMOC, so it may well also be worth consulting the Registrar of the AM Heritage Trust to see if they have history. From looking at the advert photos, it's in lovely condition cosmetically, but do get it looked over including a road test. Such an independent inspection will be something over £600 plus expenses
Calinours said:
and talking of his youtube channel, I'm sure that this https://youtu.be/whzFkx86Tyo will quickly become a favourite of people on here....
Thank you - enjoyed that immensely. And I still think the brutish Aston looked the best of the bunchCalinours said:
They are a hoot to drive - yes a modern transit is probably faster but that is not the point.
Really? The Vantage was the fastest production car in the world at one point - I can't believe the Transit has come on that muchLTP said:
Calinours said:
They are a hoot to drive - yes a modern transit is probably faster but that is not the point.
Really? The Vantage was the fastest production car in the world at one point - I can't believe the Transit has come on that muchCould it be a reference to cornering !
Even Rikki Cann's hugely modified racing version, does most of the overtaking on long straights.
Wonderful to watch and listen when the power is fully applied.
Before I bought mine this was one of the best sources of information
https://astonmartins.com/car/v8-vantage-v580x-or-x...
I have owned mine for coming up to 20 years put nearly 40,000 miles on her much to VPRs disgust and loved every second.
I have spent as much on her as I paid and she is far from perfect.
She is not as quick around Castle Combe as my Elise but will hold her own with most modern stuff and on a trip from Somerset to north of Edenborough last year proved what a GT realy is.
Rikki is definitely the man to trust as he does not buy and sell them so has no axe to grind.
https://astonmartins.com/car/v8-vantage-v580x-or-x...
I have owned mine for coming up to 20 years put nearly 40,000 miles on her much to VPRs disgust and loved every second.
I have spent as much on her as I paid and she is far from perfect.
She is not as quick around Castle Combe as my Elise but will hold her own with most modern stuff and on a trip from Somerset to north of Edenborough last year proved what a GT realy is.
Rikki is definitely the man to trust as he does not buy and sell them so has no axe to grind.
Dewi 2 said:
Could it be a reference to cornering !
Even Rikki Cann's hugely modified racing version, does most of the overtaking on long straights.
Wonderful to watch and listen when the power is fully applied.
Is there that much of a driving difference between a earlier v8 and the x pack?
It seems like there's a lot of room for mechanical improvement in these no matter the starting point, with various engine, brake and suspension upgrades to your liking, including the massive 7L upgrades offered by Aston Engineering, RS Williams etc.
Would be a hard pick between a 4.7L upgraded and upgraded DB6 or a V8 X Pack. Of course the v8s are cheaper in convertible form than a DB5 or Db6 which are around a million now USD for a drop top.
Very very neat and timeless vehicles.
It seems like there's a lot of room for mechanical improvement in these no matter the starting point, with various engine, brake and suspension upgrades to your liking, including the massive 7L upgrades offered by Aston Engineering, RS Williams etc.
Would be a hard pick between a 4.7L upgraded and upgraded DB6 or a V8 X Pack. Of course the v8s are cheaper in convertible form than a DB5 or Db6 which are around a million now USD for a drop top.
Very very neat and timeless vehicles.
Beckson said:
Is there that much of a driving difference between a earlier v8 and the x pack?
It seems like there's a lot of room for mechanical improvement in these no matter the starting point, with various engine, brake and suspension upgrades to your liking, including the massive 7L upgrades offered by Aston Engineering, RS Williams etc.
Would be a hard pick between a 4.7L upgraded and upgraded DB6 or a V8 X Pack. Of course the v8s are cheaper in convertible form than a DB5 or Db6 which are around a million now USD for a drop top.
Very very neat and timeless vehicles.
In reality there isn’t huge difference between a 1969 DBS V8 (top speed 160) and a 1989 X-pack (top speed 170). It’s essentially the same car. Aston didn’t have any money to invest so changes and upgrades were minor and gradual. The only notable milestones were the front end restyle to ‘AMV8’ in 1971, the move from early Bosch FI to Weber carbs in 1973, the Vantage/Oscar India evolution in 77-78, the intro of EFI and improved console on standard V8 in 1985 (though the vantage continued with the necessary OI bonnet bulge and Weber 48s to the end). Even the X-pack was just a bit more tuning work to wring a little extra top end power from the by then ancient 1960’s 2-valve lump, just wilder cams etc.It seems like there's a lot of room for mechanical improvement in these no matter the starting point, with various engine, brake and suspension upgrades to your liking, including the massive 7L upgrades offered by Aston Engineering, RS Williams etc.
Would be a hard pick between a 4.7L upgraded and upgraded DB6 or a V8 X Pack. Of course the v8s are cheaper in convertible form than a DB5 or Db6 which are around a million now USD for a drop top.
Very very neat and timeless vehicles.
The RSW 7.0 option is definitely worth considering when the time comes for an engine rebuild - it’s going to take the engine to a genuine 400-440bhp. However, putting this in context this alone will cost way more than the cost of a good Gaydon 4.7! It would make the car reasonably quick again in a straight line, about as fast as a 10yr old super hot hatch until the first corner. No matter what anyone were to do, these things will never be really quick even by the standards of 20 years ago, a 1950’s tech chassis (and brakes, tyres etc) carrying nearly 2 tons could never be.
None of that is the point. These things are just cool and a part of the history of one of the greatest and oldest automotive names which somehow, despite the odds, continues to survive. they deserve looking after. I've driven one of the even earlier 6-cylinder cars, its a similar story as regards performance, though with less creature comforts, older chassis, gearbox etc. Who wouldn't want a DB5 though?
but how about this for drama..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it6Hny77PPM&t=...
There is no logic to buying any classic car, especially an expensive one, though only a large capacity cross plane V8 can make a noise like that! A classic Aston will almost certainly cost you a fortune, you will end up ‘getting to know it’, and you perhaps end up driving it 2k per year and arguing with the Mrs about the man maths behind spending 50k to rebuild the engine to make it a little more exciting to drive... But every time you get in, every time you enter the bight interior, see the 70's slim pillars, instruments, radio, feel and smell the old leather, decades old lingering oil, glue and faint tobacco smells you are transported back to a time when it would have been dad or grandad driving a car (maybe not an aston) from a similar era, choke on, exiting garage in fog of burnt oil and unburned petrol, lights barely able to cut through the darkness, you an excited small boy on an unbelted passenger seat urging dear old long departed dad in the drivers seat to put his foot down
Edited by Calinours on Saturday 5th February 10:32
Edited by Calinours on Saturday 5th February 10:35
Thanks all. Most helpful 
Edited to say this is the one Dylan was advertising for £435k last year. Could be the same car? Lovely.
https://masonandsons.com/products/1989-aston-marti...
Edited to say this is the one Dylan was advertising for £435k last year. Could be the same car? Lovely.
https://masonandsons.com/products/1989-aston-marti...
Edited by Desert Dragon on Saturday 5th February 15:28
Love this one too but i expect will be silly amounts of duty to be paid on her. Prefer the darker interior won't get so messed up wearing jeans etc. I actually don't mind a car thats done a few miles like this one as they generally tend to be in better mechanical condition used more as older cars.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12394231
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12394231
I don’t think you can compare DB4/5/6 with the V8 Vantage. The DB cars are from a bygone era. They are oldtimers, whereas the V8 Vantage is the first of almost modern car. You can easily cross continents in a well sorted V8 Vantage. It is a supremely comfortable (and brutal if you floor it) car to drive.
Looks are deceiving however, so buy only with competent advice and proper due diligence.
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|https://thumbsnap.com/s9LRewds[/url]
Looks are deceiving however, so buy only with competent advice and proper due diligence.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/s9LRewds[/url]Edited by hornbaek on Saturday 5th February 16:15
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