Proving that passion is sufficient to accomplish your dreams
Discussion
Hello everyone !
I'm very happy to join this forum after so many visits, seeking my next RHD car and so, my next venue to England : )
The DB7 has always retained my attention since I saw a yellow 3.2 Volante for the first time (in picture...I was 6 years old I think, I'm now 31).
I've had all the cars I dreamt when younger (in total I passed 45 owned car I think...), from little old Alfas (33 1.3s) to higher standards (M5 E39, CLK55, S8...).
But that couldn't have been complete without an Aston Martin.
So... I owned a first i6 in 2015. A right hand drive Blue Auto 3.2 with cream interior. The color combo was superb but the car wasn't in very good shape... And I wasn't able to go back home with it since the differential broke down in the first 100 miles driven (locking one wheel before entering highway).
I was really disapointed and sad to conclude my adventure this way. This car was a bargain, and I would have been happy to repair it myself but it broke down very far from my home and that wouldn't have been possible for me to fund the transport.
in 2018 I was wandering on classifieds as usual and finally found another bargain DB7 from an obscure Swiss website.
This was a Vantage. A manual Vantage. In Almond Green livery. With cream and green interior (if you belived the ad, because the only picture was a google Image in fact).
It goes without saying that all my senses were in alert.
It was announced at 12 000CHF (I think it is like 9 000£).
It was 30 miles from my job location. I saw this at noon, and went to see it immediately after finishing my job.
But the next steps will be described in a future post... Leaving you in somme kind of a Cliff Hanger situation
Just a hint : I bought it.
Want some more ?
(please excuse me if my english is not reaching your usual standards )
I'm very happy to join this forum after so many visits, seeking my next RHD car and so, my next venue to England : )
The DB7 has always retained my attention since I saw a yellow 3.2 Volante for the first time (in picture...I was 6 years old I think, I'm now 31).
I've had all the cars I dreamt when younger (in total I passed 45 owned car I think...), from little old Alfas (33 1.3s) to higher standards (M5 E39, CLK55, S8...).
But that couldn't have been complete without an Aston Martin.
So... I owned a first i6 in 2015. A right hand drive Blue Auto 3.2 with cream interior. The color combo was superb but the car wasn't in very good shape... And I wasn't able to go back home with it since the differential broke down in the first 100 miles driven (locking one wheel before entering highway).
I was really disapointed and sad to conclude my adventure this way. This car was a bargain, and I would have been happy to repair it myself but it broke down very far from my home and that wouldn't have been possible for me to fund the transport.
in 2018 I was wandering on classifieds as usual and finally found another bargain DB7 from an obscure Swiss website.
This was a Vantage. A manual Vantage. In Almond Green livery. With cream and green interior (if you belived the ad, because the only picture was a google Image in fact).
It goes without saying that all my senses were in alert.
It was announced at 12 000CHF (I think it is like 9 000£).
It was 30 miles from my job location. I saw this at noon, and went to see it immediately after finishing my job.
But the next steps will be described in a future post... Leaving you in somme kind of a Cliff Hanger situation
Just a hint : I bought it.
Want some more ?
(please excuse me if my english is not reaching your usual standards )
randlemarcus said:
Your English is a lot better than our Schweizerdeutsch, so crack on.
And yes, more please, with pictures.
Haha that's good to read!And yes, more please, with pictures.
I'm not in switzerland though, but I'm near Geneva, in the other side of the border (France, so).
So yes... I cam to see the car and finally bought it, with limited ideas of how I'll be able to get out if this... Risky situation.
Risky ?
Yes. I reasonably don't have the money to own a db7 or to make it repaired.
Repaired?
Ohhhh yes! I bought a DB7 Vantage with a broken engine, half disassembled, that did not moved for more that 5 years.
And guess what? That wasn't the sole issue (but I discovered it afterwards, of course).
Maybe very few of you have already seen the story of this car since I manage a Youtube Channel and have published 13 videos about this adventure. However, I'll get back into this with picture this evening !
So... We were at the discover at the car. Let me say that I was shocked... This was the 2nd time I saw a db7 Vantage IRL and damn it was already gorgeous even in this poor and ashaming situation :
There were bits and pieces all over the place, but almost everything was there
|https://thumbsnap.com/DU9FIoTn[/url]
[url]
The front subframe was removed to get the oil pan out and inspect the failed rod bearings / connecting rods. I saw the massive scratches located onto every of the 2 rear cylinders related parts.
This was 10 min after I saw the car for the first time.
I wasn't discouraged.
I came back to home. Thought about how I would be able to fund this purchase and called a friend that liked the CLK55 W209 I had at this time. We agreed on the price and I sent my price offer to the owner of the DB7.
He accepted.
2 weeks later, I went back to the Aston with a towtruck and brought it back to home.
The front subframe had been 100% reassembled with the frame.
The week after, I began dismantling the engine to facilitate its removal :
Actually, I remember that removing the first screw was quite difficult for me because I already found the db7 so beautiful and it was so akward to see that in my property that it was already a great source of pleasure : )
There were bits and pieces all over the place, but almost everything was there
|https://thumbsnap.com/DU9FIoTn[/url][url]
The front subframe was removed to get the oil pan out and inspect the failed rod bearings / connecting rods. I saw the massive scratches located onto every of the 2 rear cylinders related parts.
This was 10 min after I saw the car for the first time.
I wasn't discouraged.
I came back to home. Thought about how I would be able to fund this purchase and called a friend that liked the CLK55 W209 I had at this time. We agreed on the price and I sent my price offer to the owner of the DB7.
He accepted.
2 weeks later, I went back to the Aston with a towtruck and brought it back to home.
The front subframe had been 100% reassembled with the frame.
The week after, I began dismantling the engine to facilitate its removal :
Actually, I remember that removing the first screw was quite difficult for me because I already found the db7 so beautiful and it was so akward to see that in my property that it was already a great source of pleasure : )
Edited by Stalje on Tuesday 18th February 15:37
Edited by Stalje on Tuesday 18th February 15:39
EVR said:
What happened to the car? I mean, why she was in this dire state in the first place?
That's a very good question and I think I now have all the pieces of the whole story.The last owner used it almost every day for some years, reaching 140 000 km at the odometer (~80 000 miles).
He probably stopped driving it due to... A failing gearbox and very sketchy rear end. I discovered later that the 3rd and 4rth gears synchros were shot and the rear gear fork probably bent.
After some years of inactivity, he tried retarting it but the engine wasn't turning.
He sent it to a Citroen shop (yes...) and they tried to free up the engine. They filled it with lubricant and finally got it to turn... At the price of 2 broken rod bearings that turned into the connecting rods, scratching it as the crankshaft as well.
Edited by Stalje on Wednesday 19th February 09:05
Sebastian Tombs said:
Ahh, I've watched all your Youtube videos on this car. Impressive work. Welcome!
Nice to know some of you already knew that db7 : ) and glad to know that you liked it !EVR said:
What a horror story, especially the Citroën part! 
Je vais regarder tes vidéos, je suis moitié français, donc aucun souci pour la langue.
haha alors en effet ça devrait te faciliter la tâche car j'ai quand même quelques doutes sur la qualité des traductions automatique basées sur la transcription Française. Dommage que ça prenne autant de temps à faire à la main...Je vais regarder tes vidéos, je suis moitié français, donc aucun souci pour la langue.
So... The next steps were quite obvious, removing the engine and gearbox assembly, which is very light and compact as you can see
Divorce of the engine & gearbox :
And dismantling the engine. With the most stressful moment : spreading the block to remove the crankshaft caps :
And finally lifting the heavy crankshaft (36kg)
Then... There was 2 ways :
the hard : replacing the 2 failed rods, rectificating the crankshaft and putting the biggest bearings for this engine (i found the right parts on Rockauto for a 3.0 Ford V6... Perfect fit) and by the way removing the heads and replacing the costy bolts etc...
Or... The easy way, finding another v12 :
Next episode another time, if there is some interest
Divorce of the engine & gearbox :
And dismantling the engine. With the most stressful moment : spreading the block to remove the crankshaft caps :
And finally lifting the heavy crankshaft (36kg)
Then... There was 2 ways :
the hard : replacing the 2 failed rods, rectificating the crankshaft and putting the biggest bearings for this engine (i found the right parts on Rockauto for a 3.0 Ford V6... Perfect fit) and by the way removing the heads and replacing the costy bolts etc...
Or... The easy way, finding another v12 :
Next episode another time, if there is some interest
So... After this nice trip to England meeting a fabulous car enthusiast, it was urgent to get this engine into our beloved Aston...
After some routine maintenance on it (replacing all the seals and the pilot bearing)... :
I had to reassemble all the wiring and pipes, as well as the anciliaries
After some hours of work it was time to try a start and then maybe here the V12 roar for the first time...
Damn I rearly felt this moved just by hearing an engine...
That was the conclusion of many hours of work, search and money spent.
What a nice reward...
I kept reassembling the car to move it into my garage, finally ! Without the bonnet and with the air filter out, it's such a beast to see !
After that, I managed to replace both rear sides lower radius bearings that were totally shot and were probably the main reason the car was not driven any more. It must had been very scary at speed!
My first drive was short (volontary) but very entertaining and full of new information about issues to solve
To be followed ...
Mod edit: Url link removed
After some routine maintenance on it (replacing all the seals and the pilot bearing)... :
I had to reassemble all the wiring and pipes, as well as the anciliaries
After some hours of work it was time to try a start and then maybe here the V12 roar for the first time...
Damn I rearly felt this moved just by hearing an engine...
That was the conclusion of many hours of work, search and money spent.
What a nice reward...
I kept reassembling the car to move it into my garage, finally ! Without the bonnet and with the air filter out, it's such a beast to see !
After that, I managed to replace both rear sides lower radius bearings that were totally shot and were probably the main reason the car was not driven any more. It must had been very scary at speed!
My first drive was short (volontary) but very entertaining and full of new information about issues to solve
To be followed
...Mod edit: Url link removed
Edited by Scrump on Friday 21st February 06:47
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