Drowned V8 Vantage
Discussion
Hey everyone!
I originally posted this in another forum but it is shutting down, so copying over here. I am going to dump what I have so far, and update as I continue.
A mate and I have been talking for a few years now about buying a project car for us to work on, that would be fun to drive, easy to learn the tools on and relatively cheap.
With the unfortunate flooding at the beginning of the year meaning a glut of cars with no appreciable mechanical damage coming up for auction, as stat write offs, we thought this might be a good time to buy something for cheap, that we could fix up and take to the track on weekends.
There were many choices for which parts would be relatively cheap and available, Toyota 86's, fast hatches, we even thought a family sedan stripped out and put on better suspension might be fun!
This.... did not pan out.
Between us we have changed a radiator on a Kia Cerato, completed a pre-apprenticeship certification and installed an oil cooler on a 370z.
Introducing..... a flooded, no keys, stat write off... 2015 Aston Martin Vantage v8 GT.
What have I done.
I originally posted this in another forum but it is shutting down, so copying over here. I am going to dump what I have so far, and update as I continue.
A mate and I have been talking for a few years now about buying a project car for us to work on, that would be fun to drive, easy to learn the tools on and relatively cheap.
With the unfortunate flooding at the beginning of the year meaning a glut of cars with no appreciable mechanical damage coming up for auction, as stat write offs, we thought this might be a good time to buy something for cheap, that we could fix up and take to the track on weekends.
There were many choices for which parts would be relatively cheap and available, Toyota 86's, fast hatches, we even thought a family sedan stripped out and put on better suspension might be fun!
This.... did not pan out.
Between us we have changed a radiator on a Kia Cerato, completed a pre-apprenticeship certification and installed an oil cooler on a 370z.
Introducing..... a flooded, no keys, stat write off... 2015 Aston Martin Vantage v8 GT.
What have I done.
Edited by Dbeat16 on Monday 1st August 05:36
So far I have two issues:
One, the seats will not move. When power is connected the lights in the doors turn on, computer boots up but nothing from the seats. Anyone know if there is a manual way to move power seats?
Two, the fusebox that houses the fuses for the seats has obviously taken water damage and all the fuses have corrosion. I have reached the fusebox (behind two plates, in the passenger footwell but cannot remove it due to a broken mechanism that would ordinarily let me disconnect all the wires.
Oh, almost forgot. There's also mold. A fair whack of mold.
One, the seats will not move. When power is connected the lights in the doors turn on, computer boots up but nothing from the seats. Anyone know if there is a manual way to move power seats?
Two, the fusebox that houses the fuses for the seats has obviously taken water damage and all the fuses have corrosion. I have reached the fusebox (behind two plates, in the passenger footwell but cannot remove it due to a broken mechanism that would ordinarily let me disconnect all the wires.
Oh, almost forgot. There's also mold. A fair whack of mold.
Well, the last couple nights have been fairly fruitful. Interior has had a good going over with vinegar and a rag to get the most obvious mold out, and smells and feels much better.
Both rear lights have a bit of a condensation leak so they have been taken out, three bolts each. They will be taken home for drying and safekeeping.
Taking the lights out has uncovered a lot more dirt and mud, which will be cleaned in the near future. This has also happened when i've removed the end-cap interior, for want of a better term, from both ends of the dash. you can see where the mud has flowed along the rail here, but not gone higher, so i am hoping the majority of electricals have survived nicely.
Speaking of, I am picking up a bunch of new fuses tomorrow which will hopefully fix the power seats issue and let me remove them for cleaning, also letting me get the battery out from behind the drivers side seat for charging and assessing.
Onwards!
Both rear lights have a bit of a condensation leak so they have been taken out, three bolts each. They will be taken home for drying and safekeeping.
Taking the lights out has uncovered a lot more dirt and mud, which will be cleaned in the near future. This has also happened when i've removed the end-cap interior, for want of a better term, from both ends of the dash. you can see where the mud has flowed along the rail here, but not gone higher, so i am hoping the majority of electricals have survived nicely.
Speaking of, I am picking up a bunch of new fuses tomorrow which will hopefully fix the power seats issue and let me remove them for cleaning, also letting me get the battery out from behind the drivers side seat for charging and assessing.
Onwards!
Fair bit of progress over the weekend, managed to get the fusebox out of the passenger side footwell and take it apart. it went from looking like this:
To this:
Using a combination of an air gun, iso alcohol spray and a toothbrush. I then used a connection cleaning solution on all the pins and fuse sockets, and installed new fuses all round. While doing all this I discovered some evidence of the parts bin they used for this car:
Finally I wanted to see if I could upgrade the wheels on my Z with my new asset, sadly:
Decided to actually start the cleaning process on the exterior of the car, so started with the wheels today. The amount of clay that came off was absurd! Before and after was night and day, as you can see.
Gave the rest of the car as much of a bath as I could, what with the windows not yet able to close. Found a whole new shade of white underneath, she's much prettier now!
Finally, one of the scariest things I have to do, drill a hole (or two) in the rear lights to get the condensation out of them. I will need to reseal the entire outside of them but have to wait till they dry.
To this:
Using a combination of an air gun, iso alcohol spray and a toothbrush. I then used a connection cleaning solution on all the pins and fuse sockets, and installed new fuses all round. While doing all this I discovered some evidence of the parts bin they used for this car:
Finally I wanted to see if I could upgrade the wheels on my Z with my new asset, sadly:
Decided to actually start the cleaning process on the exterior of the car, so started with the wheels today. The amount of clay that came off was absurd! Before and after was night and day, as you can see.
Gave the rest of the car as much of a bath as I could, what with the windows not yet able to close. Found a whole new shade of white underneath, she's much prettier now!
Finally, one of the scariest things I have to do, drill a hole (or two) in the rear lights to get the condensation out of them. I will need to reseal the entire outside of them but have to wait till they dry.
Bit of work last night, started working on the body to pull it apart. Finally got the wheel liners out, of COURSE they had a single bolt that was under the rear bash plate, so I took that off too. Amazing to see the covering of mud on EVERYTHING, going to be a lot of cleaning in the future I think...
Note to self... BUY POWER TOOLS! spent a good half hour getting all these bolts from the bash plate with hand tools, never again.
Finally, check out how stiff the body is! This is with the car only jacked in front of the rear tyre, and have a look at the front, off the ground!
Note to self... BUY POWER TOOLS! spent a good half hour getting all these bolts from the bash plate with hand tools, never again.
Finally, check out how stiff the body is! This is with the car only jacked in front of the rear tyre, and have a look at the front, off the ground!
Pulled out the center console and found more dirt / mold, yay. I'll be pulling it apart completely to make sure I get it all, don't need a recurrence of blooms:
While on the interior, if anyone can confirm my hunch that this is the same controls as a Ford Fiesta?
Pulled off the covers for the spark plugs, they seem easy enough to get to with the use of a wobble joint, may paint the covers before putting them back on. Still tossing up colour combinations as I will be painting the calipers at some point as well.
Took the car outside and pressure washed the bottom of it with the wheel liners off, down along the insides of the skirt and selectively on the engine bay, a bunch of muck came off and it's looking a lot better.
Finally I've pulled off the intake filters and box, they are located under the headlights so you can guess their condition. I'll be cleaning out the box and replacing the filters soon, hopefully can find some reusable ones.
While on the interior, if anyone can confirm my hunch that this is the same controls as a Ford Fiesta?
Pulled off the covers for the spark plugs, they seem easy enough to get to with the use of a wobble joint, may paint the covers before putting them back on. Still tossing up colour combinations as I will be painting the calipers at some point as well.
Took the car outside and pressure washed the bottom of it with the wheel liners off, down along the insides of the skirt and selectively on the engine bay, a bunch of muck came off and it's looking a lot better.
Finally I've pulled off the intake filters and box, they are located under the headlights so you can guess their condition. I'll be cleaning out the box and replacing the filters soon, hopefully can find some reusable ones.
Brave, but I admire your enthusiasm!
I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be wise to get all the electronic stuff working before tackling the cosmetics? I imagine there are a fair few ECUs on these that will need attention?
How are you going to tackle sourcing parts? I guess this is where a project like this will ultimately succeed or fail.
Best of luck
I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be wise to get all the electronic stuff working before tackling the cosmetics? I imagine there are a fair few ECUs on these that will need attention?
How are you going to tackle sourcing parts? I guess this is where a project like this will ultimately succeed or fail.
Best of luck
romeodelta said:
Brave, but I admire your enthusiasm!
I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be wise to get all the electronic stuff working before tackling the cosmetics? I imagine there are a fair few ECUs on these that will need attention?
How are you going to tackle sourcing parts? I guess this is where a project like this will ultimately succeed or fail.
Best of luck
Hey Romeo, cheers for the input! At the point I was up to i didn't actually have the key as yet, so couldn't test a lot of the electronics. Since then I have acquired the key and set about doing so with a ThinkDiag 2 gadget, which has pulled up the following errors:I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be wise to get all the electronic stuff working before tackling the cosmetics? I imagine there are a fair few ECUs on these that will need attention?
How are you going to tackle sourcing parts? I guess this is where a project like this will ultimately succeed or fail.
Best of luck
I have pulled the RCM out and given it a clean, the board itself is fine but the bracket holding it was pretty powdery. After pulling it out I accidentally nudged the key in a little too far and the engine turned over, which it had not done previously, so I believe the RCM had been shorting.
As far as parts, luckily there is quite a bit of exchangeability between these and Ford, Land Rover etc. so non-cosmetic items will hopefully not be an issue. There does not seem to be any mechanical damage so suspension and other mechanical parts aren't a concern.
Catching up to the present, I have drained the oil and removed the filter while also taking out the thread, oops! looks like I need a bigger allen key.
Exhaust has been removed as well, and spent the last few weeks drying out as the muffler was still sloshing clay laced water. It all looks to be in good condition though so can be safely set aside.
After this I have started pulling the front of the engine apart, taking off the oil sump, thermostat (I think) and the tensioner, along with the belt. Another Ford part!
Finally, after disconnecting everything i can (so many hoses/pipes/sensors) the RHS valve cover has come off, and luckily the interior of the engine looks clean, with only an oily residue. This is huge as if the seals had leaked into the engine it would have meant a rebuild. Sadly when checking the spark plugs I have bought the wrong ones, so hopefully will have the correct ones coming soon.
Cheers for reading, will update whenever I can, all feedback is welcomed! I am aware I have fully jumped in the deep end but so far it has been fun, and the goal to have my second dream car before 25 is keeping me motivated. TIA!
Exhaust has been removed as well, and spent the last few weeks drying out as the muffler was still sloshing clay laced water. It all looks to be in good condition though so can be safely set aside.
After this I have started pulling the front of the engine apart, taking off the oil sump, thermostat (I think) and the tensioner, along with the belt. Another Ford part!
Finally, after disconnecting everything i can (so many hoses/pipes/sensors) the RHS valve cover has come off, and luckily the interior of the engine looks clean, with only an oily residue. This is huge as if the seals had leaked into the engine it would have meant a rebuild. Sadly when checking the spark plugs I have bought the wrong ones, so hopefully will have the correct ones coming soon.
Cheers for reading, will update whenever I can, all feedback is welcomed! I am aware I have fully jumped in the deep end but so far it has been fun, and the goal to have my second dream car before 25 is keeping me motivated. TIA!
mike74 said:
It's the mold that would be the real no no for me with a car like that, it's likely taken hold in all sorts of places that are impossible to get at no matter how much you strip the car down, the seat internals etc.
Luckily everything above the seat bottoms has escaped this, the seats themselves (once i work out how to take them out without the motors working) will be sent off for new foam and the upholstery will have a thorough cleaning. You Sir are mad!
Will be following this thread.
Did I call you mad? I meant brilliant.... But mad.
Look in the Frequently Asked Questions Wiki, there may be help for you in there, including taking apart the dashboard, how to dry out the rear lights etc.
Yes , there are lots of Ford, Volvo parts as the design dates from Ford ownership
Will be following this thread.
Did I call you mad? I meant brilliant.... But mad.
Look in the Frequently Asked Questions Wiki, there may be help for you in there, including taking apart the dashboard, how to dry out the rear lights etc.
Yes , there are lots of Ford, Volvo parts as the design dates from Ford ownership
Bold project, one from which 99.9% would run a mile, all the best!If your going to use the car on track mostly (i think you guys cant put write-offs back on the road) you will find you need to do a lot of work to the brakes, suspension and if my experience is anything to go by the gear selector primary cable
Edited by IainWhy on Monday 1st August 11:00
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