So what have you done with your Aston today?
Discussion
I went for a 250mile dirve....
From Home 2 hours north to Bury to check the progress on the paint job of the Lancia Stratos Replica I'm building..It's quite ....erm.....green
Then 30 mins further NW to see my parents for a cuppa.
Then instead of coming back down the M6 and across the A50 back home I took a slight detour!
Went SE to Glossop and over Snake pass.A journey I used to make a lot when I studied / lived in Sheffield and use to travel back to the folks in Lancs. It's a bit bleak and uninteresting at the top.
Then down to ladybower and on to Derwent where the Dambusters used to practice and there is a small memorial. Fitting as the Anniversary of the raids is 16/17 May.
Then back out to Ladybower and the A57 before dropping into Sheffield and heading back home down he M1.
From Home 2 hours north to Bury to check the progress on the paint job of the Lancia Stratos Replica I'm building..It's quite ....erm.....green
Then 30 mins further NW to see my parents for a cuppa.
Then instead of coming back down the M6 and across the A50 back home I took a slight detour!
Went SE to Glossop and over Snake pass.A journey I used to make a lot when I studied / lived in Sheffield and use to travel back to the folks in Lancs. It's a bit bleak and uninteresting at the top.
Then down to ladybower and on to Derwent where the Dambusters used to practice and there is a small memorial. Fitting as the Anniversary of the raids is 16/17 May.
Then back out to Ladybower and the A57 before dropping into Sheffield and heading back home down he M1.
Sheffield was known for crap roads when I first moved there in 1988. Left in 2005 and they hadn't got any better!
Previous owner spent a lot of cash on the car. Basically all the N400 spec upgrades (wheels, suspension, sills and engine) as well as front and real CF diffuser / splitter.
Previous owner spent a lot of cash on the car. Basically all the N400 spec upgrades (wheels, suspension, sills and engine) as well as front and real CF diffuser / splitter.
I'll swap 'my' roads for your car 
Snake is a great road but how things have changed! Speed limts are now all 50mph and lots of traffic that it's almost impossible to overtake safely. Not like in the late 1980s when me and mate where in his 1969 mini with all our belongings, going pretty much flat to the floor the whole way. Or my trips over in the early 1990s on an RD350LC trying to get it into three figures
Green is really difficult to photograph. In the 'flesh' it's probably not quite as vivid to be honest. But it is pretty in your face. But with a car like a Stratos you can;t be a shrinking violet!
Snake is a great road but how things have changed! Speed limts are now all 50mph and lots of traffic that it's almost impossible to overtake safely. Not like in the late 1980s when me and mate where in his 1969 mini with all our belongings, going pretty much flat to the floor the whole way. Or my trips over in the early 1990s on an RD350LC trying to get it into three figures
Green is really difficult to photograph. In the 'flesh' it's probably not quite as vivid to be honest. But it is pretty in your face. But with a car like a Stratos you can;t be a shrinking violet!
Edited by LPH on Friday 17th May 23:55
Edited by LPH on Friday 17th May 23:57
A new V12S was ordered at the factory in 2017 with lots of "Q" extras including a GT12 carbon fibre bonnet, the original factory painted V12S bonnet was also delivered with the car and I purchased it this week
It is being shipped to the paint shop I use and will now be painted Titanium Silver.
Managed to source a set of Carbon Vents at a very reasonable price, just need to order a new sound insulator for the bonnet underside.
Looking forward to getting it fitted to my V8 Roadster
It is being shipped to the paint shop I use and will now be painted Titanium Silver.
Managed to source a set of Carbon Vents at a very reasonable price, just need to order a new sound insulator for the bonnet underside.
Looking forward to getting it fitted to my V8 Roadster
Finally fixed my driver side window issue. Symptoms were that when the window was going down it would become very laboured mid way and sometimes stop. A second ‘go’ with the switch and it would free itself after a bit of a groan and complete the movement. Going up was fine.
Turned out that the rubber seal/trim on the inside of the window had become distorted and high in a specific area so when the window went down it was getting dragged onto itself and causing resistance against the glass. 20 minutes, some deep breaths and a very sharp blade to cut away the excess and it works perfectly again.
Thought this might help if someone else has this issue in future. Easy fix.
Turned out that the rubber seal/trim on the inside of the window had become distorted and high in a specific area so when the window went down it was getting dragged onto itself and causing resistance against the glass. 20 minutes, some deep breaths and a very sharp blade to cut away the excess and it works perfectly again.
Thought this might help if someone else has this issue in future. Easy fix.
LPH said:
Bit slow! But then again my last car was well over 400bhp tonne so the V8V is a bit down on that.....
Very easy to cover distance in and even with the heavy clutch it's pretty manageable in stop start city traffic. Seems comfy too, Over 5 hours of driving today and feel fine.
Yeah your Elise was a bit of a nuts one. I did a gradual progression from the supercharged exige to the V8V via an NA Evora so the wasp in a jar of the exige was a bit of a memory. Would love one alongside but not in place of. The V8V is a great GT car which is more my need these days but I do miss a lotus for the weekend. Very easy to cover distance in and even with the heavy clutch it's pretty manageable in stop start city traffic. Seems comfy too, Over 5 hours of driving today and feel fine.
This morning the Vanquish had a nice run to the factory, first drive since a recent service - new rear boots and the like.
A massive thank you to Mark for the hospitality and his time, I've only been the factory a couple of times, but each experience is special for me. It's sometimes easy to take these things for granted; the cars we own are so much more than just a form of transport. There are so few Astons in existence relative to other performance / bespoke marques. Each and every one is quite unique and they're all special (just my view).
Interestingly, the assembly line now being predominantly 2nd century cars, contrasts with when I was last there in 2017. But the work going on, the hand built touches and attention to detail - very special cars, talented people. The last of the Rapide AMR's were rolling through production, along with some DBSS Volante's and DB11 AMR's.
Then we went for a spin in the DBS Superleggera. I'd not driven one until today. It's difficult to describe how good a car it is; when you let it off the leash, it's a weapon. I was prepared for the amount of torque and acceleration (race cars and such), but I didn't expect it to handle so well. Quite how it sticks to the road and grips like a limpet, I don't know - but it's a staggering bit of kit.
Thank you again to Mark and everyone at the factory - brilliant day out for me
A massive thank you to Mark for the hospitality and his time, I've only been the factory a couple of times, but each experience is special for me. It's sometimes easy to take these things for granted; the cars we own are so much more than just a form of transport. There are so few Astons in existence relative to other performance / bespoke marques. Each and every one is quite unique and they're all special (just my view).
Interestingly, the assembly line now being predominantly 2nd century cars, contrasts with when I was last there in 2017. But the work going on, the hand built touches and attention to detail - very special cars, talented people. The last of the Rapide AMR's were rolling through production, along with some DBSS Volante's and DB11 AMR's.
Then we went for a spin in the DBS Superleggera. I'd not driven one until today. It's difficult to describe how good a car it is; when you let it off the leash, it's a weapon. I was prepared for the amount of torque and acceleration (race cars and such), but I didn't expect it to handle so well. Quite how it sticks to the road and grips like a limpet, I don't know - but it's a staggering bit of kit.
Thank you again to Mark and everyone at the factory - brilliant day out for me
NFC 85 Vette said:
This morning the Vanquish had a nice run to the factory, first drive since a recent service - new rear boots and the like.
A massive thank you to Mark for the hospitality and his time, I've only been the factory a couple of times, but each experience is special for me. It's sometimes easy to take these things for granted; the cars we own are so much more than just a form of transport. There are so few Astons in existence relative to other performance / bespoke marques. Each and every one is quite unique and they're all special (just my view).
Interestingly, the assembly line now being predominantly 2nd century cars, contrasts with when I was last there in 2017. But the work going on, the hand built touches and attention to detail - very special cars, talented people. The last of the Rapide AMR's were rolling through production, along with some DBSS Volante's and DB11 AMR's.
Then we went for a spin in the DBS Superleggera. I'd not driven one until today. It's difficult to describe how good a car it is; when you let it off the leash, it's a weapon. I was prepared for the amount of torque and acceleration (race cars and such), but I didn't expect it to handle so well. Quite how it sticks to the road and grips like a limpet, I don't know - but it's a staggering bit of kit.
Thank you again to Mark and everyone at the factory - brilliant day out for me
Have to agree with your description of the DBSS experience. It is staggering. However, ignoring the financial aspects, I found it difficult to imagine owning and using it in the real world. So for now I will be sticking with the Vanquish.A massive thank you to Mark for the hospitality and his time, I've only been the factory a couple of times, but each experience is special for me. It's sometimes easy to take these things for granted; the cars we own are so much more than just a form of transport. There are so few Astons in existence relative to other performance / bespoke marques. Each and every one is quite unique and they're all special (just my view).
Interestingly, the assembly line now being predominantly 2nd century cars, contrasts with when I was last there in 2017. But the work going on, the hand built touches and attention to detail - very special cars, talented people. The last of the Rapide AMR's were rolling through production, along with some DBSS Volante's and DB11 AMR's.
Then we went for a spin in the DBS Superleggera. I'd not driven one until today. It's difficult to describe how good a car it is; when you let it off the leash, it's a weapon. I was prepared for the amount of torque and acceleration (race cars and such), but I didn't expect it to handle so well. Quite how it sticks to the road and grips like a limpet, I don't know - but it's a staggering bit of kit.
Thank you again to Mark and everyone at the factory - brilliant day out for me
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