My V8 Vantage

[shinjuku]

Intro

Well, here she is, my pride and joy. New to me, not new to the UK roads, though low miles. 2006 Vantage, Tungsten with black obsidian interior. My first Aston, hopefully not my last. Whether I go forward with mods on the car or save up for a newer model... jury is still out. Anthracite wheels are nice on a daily driver for sure, and I'm on the younger side of AM ownership, and don't yet own a pair of red chinos (pair from mum in the post).



I am split on the V12 side skirts, and would quite like to get the AP lowering springs to sink her down 22mm. I would also like V12 wheels to fill out the arches a little more (width ways), and am considering the AMR mesh grille.

Rattles

I totally love the car, the sound, the handling, the image, the driving position... everything except the rattles that have started over the last month. However, what's prompting me to post this right now is that I fixed three rattles and squeaks yesterday that were driving me mad. Didn't exist when I bought the car, but made it feel about 10 years older than it is (2006 V8 Vantage), especially on our lovely potholes and even road surfaces.

After speaking to AM and being quoted £150 to inspect (i.e. just "look") where the problem might be, I decided to get in there myself and see what's what.

Rattle #1:
Tinny rattle coming from the front passenger side. I originally thought in the door... it's difficult to diagnose when driving—after tapping around the dash with a clenched fist, it was obviously coming from the very top air vent area. Tapping the vent confirmed this.



OK great, but how do you get this thing out? You'd need to be a very co-ordinated, strong 4 year old, or you need some kind of plastic spudger tool like what you get with computer disassembly kits. So that's what I wedged under the vent all the way around until it popped out of its clips.

Once out, I found the culprit. It wasn't the vent itself, but this screw and washer beneath. Must have come loose in the summer after extensive heating and then having the air conditioning on etc. Plus, my dodgy driving. The screw is a pretty shape so get yourself some star-shaped screw driver extensions and tighten up that bad boy.





Rattle#2:
Cheapo plastic rattle sound, again coming from the passenger side. Using the same fist, I tapped around the entire dash until I found it was the very bottom of the glove box, underneath... that the tyre pressure sensor monitor system was not fixed in place (long since been turned off I think) and my plan was to fix it down but I accidentally unclipped it from wherever the hell it's supposed to go, so now it's sitting in my glove box. Sorted.





Squeak #1:
Interesting one this. Passenger side AGAIN (most underused side I suppose), this time from the rear quarter. I thought oh crap, perhaps the suspension is going or some expensive thing like that, but no... this one was the trim at the top squeaking against the tiny glass C pillar window. Unsure whether I have fixed this yet as I only hear this when cornering right under higher load, and then I can't easily look behind myself to my left. I removed the trim and put it back in place with a bit more gusto—if anyone has a tip for this particular part/trim against glass, it would be appreciated.

My plan is to update this thread with my Aston Martin journey.

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rog007 said:

Looks lovely!

I'd thought about mods too, then watched 'Worlds Most Expensive Cars' and thought I'd give it a fighting chance in 50 years time when at auction and originality would be key!

Thanks, and something to consider!

avinalarf said:

Congrats on your new Aston.
Looks good just as is IMO.
Helpful tips on rattles.

Thank you!

RobDown said:

Great post.

Is it worth someone starting a thread on "how to fix rattles" so it's easy to find in future from a search? Or a thread with rattle in the title at least.

Thank you! I did originally make this a rattle thread, but then also wanted to make it "my vantage" thread. I have found numerous rattle posts throughout these forums, but none with the rattles I had discovered. Perhaps if there's the option for tags in posts it would be useful? If not, the word should bring people here from searches I suppose. Rattle rattle rattle!

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Jon39 said:

Welcome.

Your car looks terrific.

Like your very clear guidance about dealing with the rattle.
As already suggested, a Rattle thread or perhaps FAQs, would enable people to find your information in the future.

Go ahead with your mods idea. Hopefully my car will be the only one with Series 1 original bodywork eventually. (Joking).

Enjoy.

Thanks Jon

Any mods will be fully reversible, and I will keep all original parts—the side skirts are the hardest too choose. I do like the current look so maybe any change would just be for the sake of it and not worth it. Will leave it for at least a year and see how I feel.

Edited by shinjuku on Sunday 16th July 12:57

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Thank you all for your comments, and compliments.

I do plan on making the car "my own", and agree with @V8VPete really—the car is for me and me only. I'm not going to be modifying the car beyond what many would find acceptable; OEM parts for 99% I imagine, but I'm not saving the car for its next owner—this isn't a Patek Philippe watch, nor a car I've bought with a big balloon bubble payment and am flipping in 2 years

Enjoying my Aston journey so far, and also this fantastic forum.

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So, it's 200-cell cats and a remap for me tomorrow. Can't wait!

I'm debating the N420 rear diffuser, carbon mirror caps, a front splitter.. .then which sills? The GT4 sills @telum has are rather nice.

Does anyone have any recommendations for wheels with a tungsten car? One option is lowering and spacing my current wheels via DAE.

Finally, does anyone have a set of red lights that that'd sell to me for a nominal sum whilst I sort out my clear rear lights? I will be expanding on my write up with a drying procedure etc but I know this has been done to death.

Video of exhaust mods to follow later in the week.

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OK, so the Bamford Rose exhaust is great. Brought my 4.3L car to life. Mike and Adrian also went over the car with a fine toothcomb, and reattached a handbrake spring at the rear, which has removed the final [major] squeaking noise. Car feels really planted now—looking forward to new tyres and geo setup in the near future.

Bought another set of clear rears—it's subjective I know but I do think they suit Tungsten cars (and others) very well. I do like red mind you.

Still undecided about spacers and bodywork mods. I do like the V12 sills... but then should I do splitter, diffuser, and bonnet? Sometimes I like the no-sills look, other times I like the V12 lines.

I also made myself a mount for the gopro at the front, so in addition to the rear quarter I now have a nice view down the road ahead.



Video

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For those interested, I'm going to post (probably quite a lot!) on my Tumblr blog.

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MegaCat said:

OP your car looks fantastic as it is. Why not enjoy it as is for a couple of years and then see if anything is really needed?

Thanks MegaCat. You're probably right there. Dechrome has its appeal as does the N420 rear diffuser... but you're probably right!!

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Shot of the steering wheel



Regarding mods... I am still split. On the one hand, keep it as it is and it costs me nothing. Flip side - dechrome and AMR grille, V12 sills and N420 diffuser... and some new wheels.

Being as I am split I will sit on it for a bit and see how things go.

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northernmedia said:

Watching with interest Martin

Thanks mate! And thanks for putting up with all my questions

Small DIY job this week after work one night; black bonnet vents.

Before:



After:





Completely different light, mind you, but I think it's a nice mod.

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rancidswan said:

Might be a silly question, but how did you do the black grill mods, was it as simple as unbolt and spray with black (satin) paint?

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Next up, probably a few more bits on black accents, such as window surrounds, grille, wing mirrors, and tailpipes.

As she stands:

[

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Winter health check takes us into Christmas

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ChilliWhizz said:

Location looks familiar

Indeed!

New front grille too...

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I have a new job in Switzerland... so I am tentatively putting the car up for sale...

The Ad.

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Car sold to a fellow forumite, which I am glad about. He was the first to view, so actually was one of those "first to view will buy" adverts, and I did write it honestly and tried to include everything I would have liked to know as a prospective buyer.

I will miss the Aston, but really it makes sense to have an LHD on the continent really. What I get next, mind you, is completely undecided. I'll definitely have another Aston but might play the field a little first.

What a car.

Everyone else, drive them in good health. It's been a pleasure to meet some of you, and when I next visit the UK I'd love to attend a meet or something

So long, and thanks for all the smiles.

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Andyt25 said:

As soon as your car came up for sale the advert dragged me in. Brilliant advert and stunning looking car. As an early car it looked like one of the best out there. There was even a thread over on SportsMaserati where it got a mention for how lovely it looked as a few are thinking about getting into an Vantage. Well done on the sale the new owner has a great looking car.

Thanks Andy. It's really nice to hear that

Obviously miss the car a lot - currently using my mum's Nissan Note to get around...!

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Well, I’ve relocated to Switzerland, and don’t need a car for my daily commute, but I am looking for a set of wheels. I could get something more “normal” and practical, and just get on with life, but then I keep looking at nicer cars.

There’s a decent Boxster S (981) for sale locally to me, and they are practical and probably fast enough, and definitely will be newer feeling than my Vantage. Having said that... I keep looking at cars, such as a Corvette C6 and C7... which do look cool and will be fast, but then I keep coming back to the Vantage. In some ways I feel I should try something new but I just can’t stop looking at them. I know how beautiful they are and how good they sound. A lotus Evora might be an interesting shout I suppose.

Most of them here are autos, which I don’t really want. I really liked the gearbox in the vantage and would have another with it. But it limits me. Also, I could hold out for a 4.7 model. At the very least I guess I would go newer than my last (lovely) car for the newer seats and possible factory Bluetooth etc.

Any advice/tips? I mean, I know I’m in the Aston forum...

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That's nice but out of budget unfortunately.

Going to look at a sportshift roadster.

I did love my manual coupe but the weather is good here and as an occasional use car the roadster has its appeal, especially for the summer. Dunno. The coupe always looks great, mind you.

Really missing my car

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Didn't like the sportshift. I knew how to drive it just fine, but decided that there was no point in "making do" for something not quite what I was after.

I have driven an F-type V6S 'vert which was really quite nice. There is also a V8R coupe for sale miles away that I might consider... it's no Aston but there are none in my budget here and I am getting itchy feet and can't narrow down the car I want until a suitable Vantage makes its way to me.