DB4 - Anyone Recognize or Remember This Car ?

[avinalarf]

Trexthedinosaur said:

avinalarf said:

Trexthedinosaur said:

Good lord that is stunning, my favourite car, well a DB4 Zagato, but that would do

DB4 Zagato.....that's everybody's favourite Aston.
That's like saying Marilyn Monroe is your favourite blonde.

Well if you are wishing for something, no half measures.

Just work a bit harder.....£10 mil will get you one.
Or if you can't manage that .....only £900K......will get you a recon DB4 5 series Vantage.

[hornbaek]

Nice thread. The great thing about the DB4 is that a well sorted car is as good to drive as it is to own which cannot be said about all classic cars where some look better than their on road behaviour. Lamborghini Miura springs to mind. It’s achingly beautiful but crap to drive.

[avinalarf]

hornbaek said:

Nice thread. The great thing about the DB4 is that a well sorted car is as good to drive as it is to own which cannot be said about all classic cars where some look better than their on road behaviour. Lamborghini Miura springs to mind. It’s achingly beautiful but crap to drive.

I have read that early DB4's were prone to overheating but I presume that this was resolved in later models. Your car does not appear to have suffered from this.
I also had no problems with my DB6 Mk2 btw.

[RobDown]

I have it in my head that series I and 2 had problems with oil oberheating which was solved with series 3 by adding an oil cooler

It sounds like you were lucky if your DB6 didn't have trouble. I had major problems with my 5 as did/do many others - hence the popularity of the Kenlowe fan kits. I guess it's partly the radiators not being the most effecient (replacing those also popular) and partly a question of when the engine was last rebuilt

And as for the sauna like interior conditions, I had a lot of sympathy for those fitting discreet air condition units (but it wrecks the originality!)

[silverspeed]

RobDown said:

I have it in my head that series I and 2 had problems with oil oberheating which was solved with series 3 by adding an oil cooler

It sounds like you were lucky if your DB6 didn't have trouble. I had major problems with my 5 as did/do many others - hence the popularity of the Kenlowe fan kits. I guess it's partly the radiators not being the most effecient (replacing those also popular) and partly a question of when the engine was last rebuilt

And as for the sauna like interior conditions, I had a lot of sympathy for those fitting discreet air condition units (but it wrecks the originality!)

My 6 has never had overheating issues either pre or post engine re build. I spoke to Aston Engineering about it at the time of re build and they suggested no additional cooling was required if the engine and cooling system were maintained correctly . To date they have been correct but no doubt that statement will come back and bite me at some stage. the built in sauna is an issue - lots of insulation later and its still an issue which isn't as bad . Decided to pass on the £10k retro fit air con option and agree it destroys originality. The one area that does cause issues ,that's still unresolved, is fumes with windows down . Lots of theories, lots of actions but still there . Now looking at extending the exhaust beyond the line of the rear bumper .

[DB4DM]

Fumes in the cabin were a known issue in the DBS because there was a gap around the boot latch which would allow fumes to be sucked through from under the rear valence. I have no similar issue with my DB4 as the exhaust protrudes beyond the bumper and I suspect the aerodynamics at the rear are different without a low pressure area caused by the Kamm tail. I'd start by checking the integrity of the boot seal

I have both Kenlowe and belt driven fans on my car, the Kenlowe is only really needed in slow traffic and helps reduce running temp by 5-10C. The oil cooler also makes a significant difference. My other car which does not have one gains heat very quickly in slow traffic, so to compensate I just raise the bonnet to let the hot air out (the wing vents are obscured by servos etc)

[RobDown]

Yes it was traffic jams I used to fear, nervously watching the temperature gauge

I guess when they were built, slow traffic really wasn't a problem (and the car park otherwise known as the M25 hadn't been built!)

[DB4DM]

On leaded 4 star fuel my very tired engine ran at 82C. After rebuild and conversion to lead free it runs at 88C. It had an electric fan from new but we uprated it significantly as part of the rebuild and polarity change

[hornbaek]

My engine is an upgraded 4.7L engine with triple SU's built by RS Williams and fully reversible with additional cooling. The cooling issue was in the Series I and II as somebody has already mentioned. Series III was fitted with an oil cooler visible under the front bumper. The cabin still gets pretty hot despite insulation and improved airflow but not enough to merit an aircon. However I understand why some owners would want to fit that I just haven't found it necessary (but my wife does complain).

[spyker138]

I had my DB4/355/R for five years until this Summer. It was a wonderful pure drive, light, narrow and a such a terrific straight six pull, not to mention the sound! I used it a lot including camping at LM.

Never had major issues - had brake servo replaced, couple calipers rebuilt, both which I think was due to lack of use before I got it. It did tend to run hot in very bad traffic jams in France (as did I to be honest). At one car show at LM, temps in the 90's, the car was getting hot and I stalled it and couldn't restart it. Assumed to be vaporization so just left it for ten mins, it was fine.

I kept mine original in all respects, no electric fans, aircon etc. The ventilation of windows and rear quarter lights was good enough.

Wonderful car but became worth too much to keep, for me at least.

Edited by spyker138 on Wednesday 18th October 14:26