A collection of links to some of my Aston projects
Discussion
For those of you who may have not seen some of the other projects/mods on my Aston on 6speed, here are the links to the threads where I posted about them in case you find them interesting. I have done several other mods, these are just the ones that I documented:
Porterfield Brake Pads
Back in the '90s I helped a company called Porterfield Brakes to develop the pad application for the Lotus Esprit. So I went back to them to help develop a solution for the Vantage/DB9 as well.
Ipod/USB/Bluetooth Integration
I didn't want to spend the ~$2,000US that Aston wanted for their iPod Integration kit, so I worked with a company called Dension to adapt one of their interfaces to the Vantage/DB9.
Piano Black Waterfall Facia
I decided to convert my metal finish waterfall facia to the Piano Black seen on many newer cars.
Custom Concealed Valentine 1 Radar Locator Install
I wanted to mount my Valentine 1 in a way where it would not be obvious from inside or outside the car, so I made a custom Alcantara-covered fiberglass maplight housing to conceal the unit and then mounted a remote display in the ashtray.
Blue Alcantara Interior Trim
The Obsidian Black and Phantom Grey interior in my car was a bit drab so I decided to spruce it up. Others had hired professional upholsterers to add some red trim, so I chose to go with blue Alcantara and, of course, learn to do it myself.
Alcantara Steering Wheel
I had a spare steering wheel lying around after buying an extra one on eBay in order to add cruise control functionality to my car. So, time for another project and what better than an Alcantara wheel in blue to match my previous project? I also added a DBS Shifter during this time too. It shows in the pictures, but I didn't document it.
Some of my photography for the Aston Martin Book
Thanks to some of my connections, I got to spend a day learning automotive photography from the great Tim Wallace. Tim is the official photographer for Aston Martin, Bentley and many other great marques. Here I show some of the pictures I created for an Aston Martin book I did called "L'Art de la Vitesse" using the skills I learned from Tim.
Other Links about my Car Photography
My Buddy, Scott Kelby, introduced me to Tim Wallace (mentioned above). Scott is the best selling author of technology books on Amazon and runs a media empire that includes online training and a bi-annual event called Photoshop World which educates tens of thousands of people each year on different types of photography and the tools of the trade. Scott wanted to take pictures of my car and he documented the results on his daily blog.
Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers
Why buy Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers when you can spend hundreds of dollars teaching yourself how to do it yourself?
Ghost Stripe
I put a blue brushed metal stripe on my car using car wrap vinyl. The result was a little "bold", so after a few weeks, I re-did it using matte gray aluminum film instead for a more subtle look. Pictures of both are here.
Whole Car Wrap
I saw a post by one of the sponsors called Impressive Wraps where they had wrapped an entire Vantage S in matte blue. It was gorgeous. Being the (sick) way I am, I decided, "Hey, I can do that!". Little did I know it would take me a month and a half!
Car Wrap Lessons
I decided to document some life lessons for those contemplating a car wrap on their own.
Hopefully these links will inspire you to take on a few projects as well. If you do, please document them. I would love to see them
Porterfield Brake Pads
Back in the '90s I helped a company called Porterfield Brakes to develop the pad application for the Lotus Esprit. So I went back to them to help develop a solution for the Vantage/DB9 as well.
Ipod/USB/Bluetooth Integration
I didn't want to spend the ~$2,000US that Aston wanted for their iPod Integration kit, so I worked with a company called Dension to adapt one of their interfaces to the Vantage/DB9.
Piano Black Waterfall Facia
I decided to convert my metal finish waterfall facia to the Piano Black seen on many newer cars.
Custom Concealed Valentine 1 Radar Locator Install
I wanted to mount my Valentine 1 in a way where it would not be obvious from inside or outside the car, so I made a custom Alcantara-covered fiberglass maplight housing to conceal the unit and then mounted a remote display in the ashtray.
Blue Alcantara Interior Trim
The Obsidian Black and Phantom Grey interior in my car was a bit drab so I decided to spruce it up. Others had hired professional upholsterers to add some red trim, so I chose to go with blue Alcantara and, of course, learn to do it myself.
Alcantara Steering Wheel
I had a spare steering wheel lying around after buying an extra one on eBay in order to add cruise control functionality to my car. So, time for another project and what better than an Alcantara wheel in blue to match my previous project? I also added a DBS Shifter during this time too. It shows in the pictures, but I didn't document it.
Some of my photography for the Aston Martin Book
Thanks to some of my connections, I got to spend a day learning automotive photography from the great Tim Wallace. Tim is the official photographer for Aston Martin, Bentley and many other great marques. Here I show some of the pictures I created for an Aston Martin book I did called "L'Art de la Vitesse" using the skills I learned from Tim.
Other Links about my Car Photography
My Buddy, Scott Kelby, introduced me to Tim Wallace (mentioned above). Scott is the best selling author of technology books on Amazon and runs a media empire that includes online training and a bi-annual event called Photoshop World which educates tens of thousands of people each year on different types of photography and the tools of the trade. Scott wanted to take pictures of my car and he documented the results on his daily blog.
Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers
Why buy Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers when you can spend hundreds of dollars teaching yourself how to do it yourself?
Ghost Stripe
I put a blue brushed metal stripe on my car using car wrap vinyl. The result was a little "bold", so after a few weeks, I re-did it using matte gray aluminum film instead for a more subtle look. Pictures of both are here.
Whole Car Wrap
I saw a post by one of the sponsors called Impressive Wraps where they had wrapped an entire Vantage S in matte blue. It was gorgeous. Being the (sick) way I am, I decided, "Hey, I can do that!". Little did I know it would take me a month and a half!
Car Wrap Lessons
I decided to document some life lessons for those contemplating a car wrap on their own.
Hopefully these links will inspire you to take on a few projects as well. If you do, please document them. I would love to see them
Edited by KarlFranz on Tuesday 18th March 21:31
Speculatore said:
Would you be so kind as to PM Me with the price you would charge to make one of the RADAR detector housings for me, including the upgraded lights?
Thanks
Sorry, but that was a one-off. This is just a hobby for me. I'm not in the business of making car parts. My projects sometimes take weeks or months but they are just for my enjoyment. I do them for the education and as a sort of therapy. Having to do them for money or for someone else would take all the fun away. I hope you understand. Thanks
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