Inspired or idiotic? "Cheap" V8 Vantage
Discussion
Since Covid hit, I've been WFH and this is now permanent. I therefore decided that I didn't need a shed for the daily commute and this would be my last chance of a fling with a raucous V8 before they are legislated or priced off the road.
I'm far from loaded, and I really wanted to avoid borrowing, so my budget was limited to the sale proceeds of my turbo-nutter modified Fiat Coupe and my unbelievably versatile and reliable Alfa Romeo GT diesel plus some very determined saving-up. All of this meant that my target market for a V8 Vantage was very much entry-level. However, for me, thirty grand is still an awful lot of money and not something I could easily recover from if I bought a lemon.
I'm aware through bitter experience that buying at the cheap end of the range for any car is asking for trouble, so I was petrified (and still am) that an entry-level Aston from the cheap end of the classifieds could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. I did a LOT of research and got a lot of help from the very knowledgeable folk in the PH Aston sub-forum. I saw several cars and learned a lot about the specs and options. After several disappointing viewings, I found a car that looked and felt right. It's a manual 2007 4.3 Coupe with 60,000 miles in Onyx Black with slightly rare 20-spoke wheels and a Sandstone leather interior. I nearly didn't go to see it as I wasn't struck with the colour combination and wheels, but when I saw it in the flesh, I was hooked. I would have preferred a non-black/grey/silver colour, but they are few and far between and often command a premium. Sadly, "interesting" body colours are often accompanied by "challenging" interiors.
It wasn't perfect - problems I spotted on the viewing and test drive:-
Dealer photos
The first thing I did was have four new Michelin PS4S fitted - at least I wasn't worried that the car would spit me into the scenery now.
Early impressions are:
It's booked in for an appraisal and a full service at Aston Engineering in Derby - the clutch needs bleeding as the pedal feel is poor. I'll also get them to look at the headlamp aim (way too low) and the geometry, as it has a bit of rear-end bump-steer when cornering hard.
The paintwork is very swirly, but my youngest son and I are both enthusiastic amateur detailers, so it will get a full paint correction and ceramic coating when the weather warms up a bit.
I have a feeling it is going to break my heart (and my wallet) at some point, with a hefty unexpected bill. I'm budgeting £1k a year for maintenance and I have a decent reserve for the inevitable big bill. I desperately need to avoid modding it, as the return on investment is poor (one of the downsides of a non-turbo lump). If (when) the clutch finally gives up, I'll have a lightened flywheel and twin-plate clutch fitted, which I'm told is transformative. I also suspect it will need dampers at some point, which will probably be Nitrons or Bilstein, as they get rave reviews from owners.
I'm very aware that compared with some other Reader's Cars, this is pretty tame. However, for now, I'm just chuffed to bits to own one of the best looking cars of all time (subjective, I know, but there aren't many detractors)
Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
A bridge too far? by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
I'm far from loaded, and I really wanted to avoid borrowing, so my budget was limited to the sale proceeds of my turbo-nutter modified Fiat Coupe and my unbelievably versatile and reliable Alfa Romeo GT diesel plus some very determined saving-up. All of this meant that my target market for a V8 Vantage was very much entry-level. However, for me, thirty grand is still an awful lot of money and not something I could easily recover from if I bought a lemon.
I'm aware through bitter experience that buying at the cheap end of the range for any car is asking for trouble, so I was petrified (and still am) that an entry-level Aston from the cheap end of the classifieds could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. I did a LOT of research and got a lot of help from the very knowledgeable folk in the PH Aston sub-forum. I saw several cars and learned a lot about the specs and options. After several disappointing viewings, I found a car that looked and felt right. It's a manual 2007 4.3 Coupe with 60,000 miles in Onyx Black with slightly rare 20-spoke wheels and a Sandstone leather interior. I nearly didn't go to see it as I wasn't struck with the colour combination and wheels, but when I saw it in the flesh, I was hooked. I would have preferred a non-black/grey/silver colour, but they are few and far between and often command a premium. Sadly, "interesting" body colours are often accompanied by "challenging" interiors.
It wasn't perfect - problems I spotted on the viewing and test drive:-
- Stone chips to the side skirts / sills
- Paintwork flaking on the bottom of the passenger door
- Condensation in one rear lamp
- Slight crazing of the plastics to one headlamp
- Rear tyres 75% worn and eight years old and front tyres 11(!) years old
- Front discs very slightly warped
- Grille looking a bit shabby
- Gas struts wouldn't hold the bonnet
- Satnav screen wouldn't lift
- Boot carpet was wet
Dealer photos
The first thing I did was have four new Michelin PS4S fitted - at least I wasn't worried that the car would spit me into the scenery now.
Early impressions are:
- Every drive is an event
- Despite being 15 years old, it's a very nice place to be
- All the controls are heavy, but very feelsome. Clutch, gearchange, steering all have significant weight.
- Whilst it's not slow, it isn't hugely fast either - it wouldn't see which way an A45AMG or RS3 went
- The noise is absolutely epic, especially at the top end of the rev range
- The fuel consumption is absolutely tragic - I've had two tanks over 20mg (just) - the rest have been high teens. On full throttle in 4th gear, the instantaneous fuel consumption shows as 4.3mpg.
- Some factory parts are off-the-scale expensive, but there are many alternatives (eg Mazda RX8 pollen filters for £20 instead of the identical Aston items at about £120)
- The throttle response (due to the very heavy flywheel) is poor - can't easily blip the throttle on downchanges
- Reverse gear ratio is stupidly high - about midway between first and second - very easy to stall it
- I wish it had the optional bluetooth integration to save spoiling the lines of the dash with a phone holder
- The Satnav is truly awful - poor routing and terrible graphics. I shouldn't have bothered mending the motor for the motorised satnav screen....
It's booked in for an appraisal and a full service at Aston Engineering in Derby - the clutch needs bleeding as the pedal feel is poor. I'll also get them to look at the headlamp aim (way too low) and the geometry, as it has a bit of rear-end bump-steer when cornering hard.
The paintwork is very swirly, but my youngest son and I are both enthusiastic amateur detailers, so it will get a full paint correction and ceramic coating when the weather warms up a bit.
I have a feeling it is going to break my heart (and my wallet) at some point, with a hefty unexpected bill. I'm budgeting £1k a year for maintenance and I have a decent reserve for the inevitable big bill. I desperately need to avoid modding it, as the return on investment is poor (one of the downsides of a non-turbo lump). If (when) the clutch finally gives up, I'll have a lightened flywheel and twin-plate clutch fitted, which I'm told is transformative. I also suspect it will need dampers at some point, which will probably be Nitrons or Bilstein, as they get rave reviews from owners.
I'm very aware that compared with some other Reader's Cars, this is pretty tame. However, for now, I'm just chuffed to bits to own one of the best looking cars of all time (subjective, I know, but there aren't many detractors)
Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrA bridge too far? by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrEdited by Nigel_O on Thursday 24th March 14:53
Edited by Nigel_O on Thursday 24th March 14:55
Edited by Nigel_O on Wednesday 6th July 18:03
coldel said:
what a car to break your V8 duck with.
Not quite my V8 duck - I had a Rover SD1 when they were current, plus a Rover P6 when they were cheap classics and I also did a very stupid thing 20 years ago and bought a Ferrari F355 that I couldn't really affordAston is the most satisfying though and definitely the best-sounding
Edited by Nigel_O on Saturday 15th October 10:02
Update
Just got the car back from the rather capable people at Aston Engineering in Derby. Surrounded by all manner of pre-Gaydon cars, my lowly V8V was probably the cheapest car there.
However, I really wanted a thorough check-over by people that really know what they are doing, and I’m guessing a factory-accredited heritage workshop fits that bill.
So, I was slightly worried that as well as a full service, they were going to find something I wasn’t prepared for.
I was right - they found something….. thankfully, it was confined to evidence of a really low speed bump on the near side front corner. The headlamp adjuster had been broken and the near side air box was cracked. A new adjuster was about fifty quid and they managed to plastic-weld the air box, so it cost very little, especially as they were already in that area to replace the air filters.
They also bled the brakes and clutch, commenting that the fluid was really black. Sadly, it hasn’t solved the soft pedal feel when it’s taken to the redline, but the pedal feel is generally a bit better and it doesn’t slip, so it can wait for a while.
They also spotted a slight weep of air con fluid around the condenser, so I guess I’ll have to budget for one pretty soon. Today was the first warm-ish day since I bought the car and the air con was only slightly cool - one to be done before summer, I think. Looks like a condenser is about £400, so not too bad compared with some AM parts prices.
So - I’m £1,200 lighter, but I now have a car that I’m confident is not a lemon - a good feeling.
Finally, the fuel consumption has been pretty awful. A lot of the driving has been local, and, erm, “enthusiastic” so the last tank was 16.3 mpg. £1.60 per litre means about 45p per mile, but I really don’t care - every journey is such an event.
Future developments will be something to hook the phone into the car for music streaming and phone calls - some kind of Bluetooth box of tricks. Also going to do a full paint correction, as it’s very swirly and has a few scratches - waiting for some warmer weather first though…
Just got the car back from the rather capable people at Aston Engineering in Derby. Surrounded by all manner of pre-Gaydon cars, my lowly V8V was probably the cheapest car there.
However, I really wanted a thorough check-over by people that really know what they are doing, and I’m guessing a factory-accredited heritage workshop fits that bill.
So, I was slightly worried that as well as a full service, they were going to find something I wasn’t prepared for.
I was right - they found something….. thankfully, it was confined to evidence of a really low speed bump on the near side front corner. The headlamp adjuster had been broken and the near side air box was cracked. A new adjuster was about fifty quid and they managed to plastic-weld the air box, so it cost very little, especially as they were already in that area to replace the air filters.
They also bled the brakes and clutch, commenting that the fluid was really black. Sadly, it hasn’t solved the soft pedal feel when it’s taken to the redline, but the pedal feel is generally a bit better and it doesn’t slip, so it can wait for a while.
They also spotted a slight weep of air con fluid around the condenser, so I guess I’ll have to budget for one pretty soon. Today was the first warm-ish day since I bought the car and the air con was only slightly cool - one to be done before summer, I think. Looks like a condenser is about £400, so not too bad compared with some AM parts prices.
So - I’m £1,200 lighter, but I now have a car that I’m confident is not a lemon - a good feeling.
Finally, the fuel consumption has been pretty awful. A lot of the driving has been local, and, erm, “enthusiastic” so the last tank was 16.3 mpg. £1.60 per litre means about 45p per mile, but I really don’t care - every journey is such an event.
Future developments will be something to hook the phone into the car for music streaming and phone calls - some kind of Bluetooth box of tricks. Also going to do a full paint correction, as it’s very swirly and has a few scratches - waiting for some warmer weather first though…
Chatted with the very helpful people at Aston Installations yesterday.
Firstly, I have to admit to not listening to much music when I'm driving. Even when I was tooling around in my mega-mile Alfa GT diesel, I'd often drive for several hours without the radio or CD. Now that I have a tuneful V8 to listen to, I'm even less likely to have any music playing.
So - there's no way I'm spending close to £2k to have the full Apple CarPlay gubbins fitted - OK, it would be great to be able to use the inbuilt satnav screen to show Waze from my phone, but I've survived many years with a phone in a holder on the dash, so I'll continue with my cheapskate ways for now.
However, AI also do a Dension / Bovee set up for about £675 fitted - still a chunk of money, but somewhat easier to justify than the full CarPlay solution. From what I can see, the Dension is about £300 retail anyway and the Bovee another £80 on top, so it's a fairly decent price. Seeing as I haven't had a nasty surprise with the service bill, I might splash out a bit (or my Yorkshire ways might prevail and I'll keep the money for when the inevitable big bill arrives).
The only other aspect of the car that I'm going to have to work hard not to get sucked into is the performance. I came from a very highly modded Fiat Coupe 20VT, with over 480bhp in just 1300kg, so the V8V is a bit underwhelming in comparison. It just feels like it could handle another 100bhp without flinching. That said, I sold the Coupe because it was just too quick (50% higher power to weight ratio than the Vantage), so I need to learn to live within the Vantage's capabilities. I need to resist spending money on performance mods, simply because the return on investment is so low. I guess it's all relative - the Vantage isn't exactly slow....
Firstly, I have to admit to not listening to much music when I'm driving. Even when I was tooling around in my mega-mile Alfa GT diesel, I'd often drive for several hours without the radio or CD. Now that I have a tuneful V8 to listen to, I'm even less likely to have any music playing.
So - there's no way I'm spending close to £2k to have the full Apple CarPlay gubbins fitted - OK, it would be great to be able to use the inbuilt satnav screen to show Waze from my phone, but I've survived many years with a phone in a holder on the dash, so I'll continue with my cheapskate ways for now.
However, AI also do a Dension / Bovee set up for about £675 fitted - still a chunk of money, but somewhat easier to justify than the full CarPlay solution. From what I can see, the Dension is about £300 retail anyway and the Bovee another £80 on top, so it's a fairly decent price. Seeing as I haven't had a nasty surprise with the service bill, I might splash out a bit (or my Yorkshire ways might prevail and I'll keep the money for when the inevitable big bill arrives).
The only other aspect of the car that I'm going to have to work hard not to get sucked into is the performance. I came from a very highly modded Fiat Coupe 20VT, with over 480bhp in just 1300kg, so the V8V is a bit underwhelming in comparison. It just feels like it could handle another 100bhp without flinching. That said, I sold the Coupe because it was just too quick (50% higher power to weight ratio than the Vantage), so I need to learn to live within the Vantage's capabilities. I need to resist spending money on performance mods, simply because the return on investment is so low. I guess it's all relative - the Vantage isn't exactly slow....
DanG355 said:
If you want a fast fix then a driving day in a Caterham/Radical/Atom is a better bet.
I have a confession to make - my other mid-life crisis is this..... just over 170bhp and 600kg. No screen, roof or heater. Not massively fast, but extremely entertaining in the right conditions.
DSC_1386 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrSturdyHSV said:
I was reading the thread and waiting to say "supercharger?" at the end, it appears you're probably already considering it... 
I can't deny that the power hike would be welcome, but it would cost 2/3 of what I paid for the car and it wouldn't add much value (in fact it would probably put a lot of people off)If I had another £20k, I'd have bought a much newer Vantage S or maybe even a Rapide
Nope - I'll learn to live with 380bhp - if (when) the clutch needs doing, I might get a remap to complement a lightened flywheel, but that will be about it.
As I see it, there are two "problems" with the performance
1) It doesn't FEEL fast - most of the performance is right at the top end, so you have to wring its neck to get it to go quickly (which isn't a hardship with THAT noise...) That said, it's all relative and even at 7/10 driving, it still covers ground fairly rapidly. I wouldn't see which way a well-pedalled A45AMG or Focus RS went, but that's not the point - if I wanted turbo-nutter performance, I'd have kept the Fiat and indulged in a bit of giant-killing.
2) The throttle response is really slow - blipping the throttle on downchanges is near impossible. It's partly down to a very hefty flywheel and partly down to mapping for a smooth drive, rather than making it the last word in responsiveness. By all accounts, a lightened flywheel and a twin-plate clutch transforms the driving experience and a gentle remap helps make the best of the new lightweight drivetrain.
So - like many cars, it's not without its flaws. However, I can forgive it almost anything for the way it looks, the way it sounds and the way it makes me feel when I'm driving it.
I was once fortunate enough to own an F355 for a couple of years. It was 60% more expensive than the Aston AND this was 20 years ago, but for some reason, the Aston just feels more special to own and drive.
I reckon it's just one of those cars that gets under your skin and to be honest, I'm rather enjoying it..... :-) The fact that it comes from the bargain end of the price range just satifies the Yorkshireman in me even more
1) It doesn't FEEL fast - most of the performance is right at the top end, so you have to wring its neck to get it to go quickly (which isn't a hardship with THAT noise...) That said, it's all relative and even at 7/10 driving, it still covers ground fairly rapidly. I wouldn't see which way a well-pedalled A45AMG or Focus RS went, but that's not the point - if I wanted turbo-nutter performance, I'd have kept the Fiat and indulged in a bit of giant-killing.
2) The throttle response is really slow - blipping the throttle on downchanges is near impossible. It's partly down to a very hefty flywheel and partly down to mapping for a smooth drive, rather than making it the last word in responsiveness. By all accounts, a lightened flywheel and a twin-plate clutch transforms the driving experience and a gentle remap helps make the best of the new lightweight drivetrain.
So - like many cars, it's not without its flaws. However, I can forgive it almost anything for the way it looks, the way it sounds and the way it makes me feel when I'm driving it.
I was once fortunate enough to own an F355 for a couple of years. It was 60% more expensive than the Aston AND this was 20 years ago, but for some reason, the Aston just feels more special to own and drive.
I reckon it's just one of those cars that gets under your skin and to be honest, I'm rather enjoying it..... :-) The fact that it comes from the bargain end of the price range just satifies the Yorkshireman in me even more
Edited by Nigel_O on Monday 17th October 18:25
DodgyGeezer said:
I know that mpgs are (pretty much) the last thing on your mind where you buy something like this but one thing I will say is that I'm absolutely shocked at how poor it is on fuel 
Agreed - buying a sub 20mpg car as fuel prices hit an all-time high was probably not my smartest move. However, my worst tank is 16.3mpg and average is close to 19. It'll probably do closer to 25mpg on a long cruise.I reckon that 2/3 of the fuel goes into making the car move and 1/3 is used solely to make the noise......
The noise is SO addictive that I reckon this is where most of the reports of poor mpg come from - it's really difficult not to give it some beans and once you've done it, you slow down so you can do it again.
I need to go to Birmingham so I can "evaluate" the A38 tunnels.....
Paul1984 said:
Good to see another 4.3 vantage on here, I’m 3 years in to ownership now and it still puts a smile on my face! They really have aged well, here’s mine…
Oof! - that's gorgeous! That's one of my preferred colours when I was searching for a Vantage. I convinced myself not to have black or silver, but all of the darker metallic cars I looked at were a bit shabby or needed mechanical work. When mine popped up for sale, I dismissed it at first due to the colour and the wheels. However, I found myself at a loose end one weekend, so went to view it and found I really liked the combination.It’s Fuse 22 on a 4.3 V8 Vantage and it has already ‘fallen out’….
TBH, the exhaust flaps are only closed between (IIRC) 1,500 - 4,000 rpm anyway, so I guess it’s just for low-speed trundling and cruising. I put fuse 22 back in and couldn’t really hear much difference, so when it ‘fell out’ again, I just left it….
Bonnet gas struts were one of the first things to be fixed - less than £30 a side for AM genuine replacements - this is what we mean about crazy prices - some items are normally priced and some have ‘AM tax’ added
TBH, the exhaust flaps are only closed between (IIRC) 1,500 - 4,000 rpm anyway, so I guess it’s just for low-speed trundling and cruising. I put fuse 22 back in and couldn’t really hear much difference, so when it ‘fell out’ again, I just left it….
Bonnet gas struts were one of the first things to be fixed - less than £30 a side for AM genuine replacements - this is what we mean about crazy prices - some items are normally priced and some have ‘AM tax’ added
Edited by Nigel_O on Friday 25th March 07:26
Shnozz said:
Nigel_O said:
TBH, the exhaust flaps are only closed between (IIRC) 1,500 - 4,000 rpm anyway, so I guess it’s just for low-speed trundling and cruising. I put fuse 22 back in and couldn’t really hear much difference, so when it ‘fell out’ again, I just left it….
If Fuse 22 has been out for some time already, you might find that the flaps have seized in any event. Mine had.There's a leak from the vacuum pipes that actuate the valves, so the vacuum pump is constantly running when the fuse is inserted. Once I've fixed it, I have a remote switch that takes the place of the fuse and allows the flaps to be left open, or controlled by the ECU
one of the items on the growing to-do list....
Update
One of the points recorded by Aston Engineering was that the aircon condenser had a tiny leak. As the weather got warm last weekend, I put the aircon on. It then transpired that the leak was indeed, tiny, but it had clearly been there for ages, so there was no gas left in the system.
A lot of stuff under the skin of a V8V is parts-bin stuff from Volvo (famously the satnav), Ford and a bit of JLR. There are many parts with a Ford or Volvo (or even Mazda) part number that are absolutely identical to the Aston part, but without the 5-10 times inflation that occurs when it's given an AM part number.
So - I was convinced that Aston wouldn't have gone to the lengths to create a bespoke aircon condenser when there would be all manner of compatible stuff in the Ford stable - I was wrong....
Just shy of £400 later and I have a genuine condenser on its way, together with the OE O-rings, as the originals are presumably a bit crusty by now.
Still - at least I'll be physically cool when the sun comes out, instead of just kidding myself I'm looking cool...
One of the points recorded by Aston Engineering was that the aircon condenser had a tiny leak. As the weather got warm last weekend, I put the aircon on. It then transpired that the leak was indeed, tiny, but it had clearly been there for ages, so there was no gas left in the system.
A lot of stuff under the skin of a V8V is parts-bin stuff from Volvo (famously the satnav), Ford and a bit of JLR. There are many parts with a Ford or Volvo (or even Mazda) part number that are absolutely identical to the Aston part, but without the 5-10 times inflation that occurs when it's given an AM part number.
So - I was convinced that Aston wouldn't have gone to the lengths to create a bespoke aircon condenser when there would be all manner of compatible stuff in the Ford stable - I was wrong....
Just shy of £400 later and I have a genuine condenser on its way, together with the OE O-rings, as the originals are presumably a bit crusty by now.
Still - at least I'll be physically cool when the sun comes out, instead of just kidding myself I'm looking cool...
Another update - genuine AM aircon condenser was fitted today by the tame mechanics at the Italian specialists in Birmingham that I used to use when I had my Fiat and Alfa. Bizarrely, The Aston is exempt from the Birmingham Clean Air Zone charge - not sure this is what Birmingham City Council had in mind in their push for non-polluting cars....
The old condenser was a bit fiddly to get out, but not too bad - obviously a fair bit of thought had gone into the design, so that it lifts stright out with only a handful of bolts to undo. The fans had to come out first, which is when we spotted the "Jaguar" logo on the housing. Then, as we were removing other bits, we also spotted Volvo labels on the front crash sensors. Still, I guess it made a lot of sense to use stuff from the Ford / JLR / Volvo / Mazda stable, rather than designing bespoke stuff. Just a shame that the aircon condenser itself was an AM-specific part.....
It's nice to have cool air though - when the weather was modestly warm last weekend, I found that the heat-soak from the engine made the cabin very toasty indeed. I also found that the aerodynamics of the car means it can't be driven at much above 50mph with the windows open without awful buffetting getting into the cabin. It was worse than driving the Westfield, which doesn't even have a windscreen.....
Other than that, it's been another month of glorious noise and 16mpg, all for the same price as a new Peugeot 3008
The old condenser was a bit fiddly to get out, but not too bad - obviously a fair bit of thought had gone into the design, so that it lifts stright out with only a handful of bolts to undo. The fans had to come out first, which is when we spotted the "Jaguar" logo on the housing. Then, as we were removing other bits, we also spotted Volvo labels on the front crash sensors. Still, I guess it made a lot of sense to use stuff from the Ford / JLR / Volvo / Mazda stable, rather than designing bespoke stuff. Just a shame that the aircon condenser itself was an AM-specific part.....
It's nice to have cool air though - when the weather was modestly warm last weekend, I found that the heat-soak from the engine made the cabin very toasty indeed. I also found that the aerodynamics of the car means it can't be driven at much above 50mph with the windows open without awful buffetting getting into the cabin. It was worse than driving the Westfield, which doesn't even have a windscreen.....
Other than that, it's been another month of glorious noise and 16mpg, all for the same price as a new Peugeot 3008
There are some bits of the V8V that are a joy to behold - the design that's gone into various parts, the materials used - just lovely.
Then there are the part-bin bits, such as the Volvo sat-nav, key and various switches - they grate slightly, as the quality just isn't the same as the rest of the car.
Then there are the plain stupid bits. In both bumpers, there are small grilles that are made from recycled Pukka pie tins and given the very thinnest of coats of paint. They look awful.
Today, I decided to take them off and paint them. This task was quickly abandoned when I found that the rear bumper has to come off the get at some of the securing bolts - crazy design...
However, I also found another infuriating bit of cost-saving. In the rear bumper, there's a trim "blade" that's held on with four stainless screws - very nice. This is then spoilt by the stainless screws locating into a cheap and nasty chunk of pressed mild steel with a couple of nuts tacked on.
Having struggled to get the screws out, there was no way I was putting the rusty plates back in, so I made some replacements from aluminium. I would have used stainless, but my drill bits are cheap sacrificial jobbies and my tap & die set just wouldn't be man enough for the job. Still - two bits of home-made aluminium are going to last a lot longer than the OE Aston bits....
Then there are the part-bin bits, such as the Volvo sat-nav, key and various switches - they grate slightly, as the quality just isn't the same as the rest of the car.
Then there are the plain stupid bits. In both bumpers, there are small grilles that are made from recycled Pukka pie tins and given the very thinnest of coats of paint. They look awful.
Today, I decided to take them off and paint them. This task was quickly abandoned when I found that the rear bumper has to come off the get at some of the securing bolts - crazy design...
However, I also found another infuriating bit of cost-saving. In the rear bumper, there's a trim "blade" that's held on with four stainless screws - very nice. This is then spoilt by the stainless screws locating into a cheap and nasty chunk of pressed mild steel with a couple of nuts tacked on.
Having struggled to get the screws out, there was no way I was putting the rusty plates back in, so I made some replacements from aluminium. I would have used stainless, but my drill bits are cheap sacrificial jobbies and my tap & die set just wouldn't be man enough for the job. Still - two bits of home-made aluminium are going to last a lot longer than the OE Aston bits....
Edited by Nigel_O on Monday 17th October 18:27
Finally got grumpy enough with the swirly and scratched paint to do something about it. I have this week off and I've also press-ganged my youngest son who is fairly handy with detailing and paint correction. The offer of letting him use it for a couple of days for his regular commute seems to have helped with the enthusiasm....
The whole car has been painted previously and not done very well (I knew this when I bought it) so there are lots of blemishes IN the paint which no amount of polishing is going to fix. The current aim is to get the car to a very decent "10-foot" standard while I save up for a proper respray.
Borrowed an ex-boss's garage, as the weather isn't trustworthy enough to do it all outside.
Day 1 of 3
Quick wash, then into the garage and up on axle stands - wheels off and sent to my regular refurb place, as they were worse than I thought they'd be - some bubbling on the inner barrel, looks like it's had a brake fluid leak at some point..
Find the worst of the scratches and swirls
Got the car masked up ready for the first stage of machine polishing - all done now (with some small pieces of yellow masking tape to tag the areas where a bit more work is needed tomorrow)
Tomorrow will be the finishing stage of the machine polishing, followed by ceramic coating. Depending on time, we'll probably have a go at the wheel arches too - not pretty....
More photos soon....
The whole car has been painted previously and not done very well (I knew this when I bought it) so there are lots of blemishes IN the paint which no amount of polishing is going to fix. The current aim is to get the car to a very decent "10-foot" standard while I save up for a proper respray.
Borrowed an ex-boss's garage, as the weather isn't trustworthy enough to do it all outside.
Day 1 of 3
Quick wash, then into the garage and up on axle stands - wheels off and sent to my regular refurb place, as they were worse than I thought they'd be - some bubbling on the inner barrel, looks like it's had a brake fluid leak at some point..
Find the worst of the scratches and swirls
Got the car masked up ready for the first stage of machine polishing - all done now (with some small pieces of yellow masking tape to tag the areas where a bit more work is needed tomorrow)
Tomorrow will be the finishing stage of the machine polishing, followed by ceramic coating. Depending on time, we'll probably have a go at the wheel arches too - not pretty....
More photos soon....
Edited by Nigel_O on Saturday 28th May 09:27
Day 2 of 3 - another day with the DA polishers....
We got the finishing machine polish done today, along with the Autoglym ceramic treatment
Much better than the "before" piccy in my post yesterday
Obligatory reflection shot...
Tomorrow will be sorting the manky wheelarches, applying a final wax coat and fitting the newly-refurbished wheels. Can't wait to see it out in the daylight, as indoor flourescents are great for highlighting the remaining paintwork blemishes, but a pain when trying to work out when to stop chasing the tiniest marks.
We got the finishing machine polish done today, along with the Autoglym ceramic treatment
Much better than the "before" piccy in my post yesterday
Obligatory reflection shot...
Tomorrow will be sorting the manky wheelarches, applying a final wax coat and fitting the newly-refurbished wheels. Can't wait to see it out in the daylight, as indoor flourescents are great for highlighting the remaining paintwork blemishes, but a pain when trying to work out when to stop chasing the tiniest marks.
sdh2903 said:
That looks tons better 
How did you find the autoglym stuff to use?
It was very easy - clean down with the prep fluid, then apply the ceramic fluid, wait a few minutes for it to haze, then buff off.How did you find the autoglym stuff to use?
My car's paint isn't very good (badly-prepped and poorly applied - I suspect it was a quick blow-over to make it shiny for a sale). However, it is now massively better than it was and it will probably mean I can live with it for another year or so while I contemplate a full respray or a later 4.7 instead...
Finished......
Seven hours per day for two people over three days gives an indication of how bad it was.
I owe my son a huge favour and I appear to have volunteered to return the favour on his Jaaag XJ, which is rather larger than the Aston, so I'm not sure who got the better deal....
Anyway - some final piccies
Wheelarches done - surprising what a difference it makes to have properly black wheelarches
Wheels on and ready to go
After two days of dull, overcast weather, the sun even came out for the Grand Reveal
I was aiming to get the car to a "10-foot" standard, but we've gone way better than that. There are a couple of stonechips visible from a distance, but you'd have to get to within a couple of feet of the car to start to see the defects in the paint. Just about every defect that remains is IN the paint, caused by poor prep or application - nothing that can be solved with mopping and waxing.
Seven hours per day for two people over three days gives an indication of how bad it was.
I owe my son a huge favour and I appear to have volunteered to return the favour on his Jaaag XJ, which is rather larger than the Aston, so I'm not sure who got the better deal....
Anyway - some final piccies
Wheelarches done - surprising what a difference it makes to have properly black wheelarches
Wheels on and ready to go
After two days of dull, overcast weather, the sun even came out for the Grand Reveal
I was aiming to get the car to a "10-foot" standard, but we've gone way better than that. There are a couple of stonechips visible from a distance, but you'd have to get to within a couple of feet of the car to start to see the defects in the paint. Just about every defect that remains is IN the paint, caused by poor prep or application - nothing that can be solved with mopping and waxing.
Edited by Nigel_O on Saturday 28th May 09:30
When I bought the Vantage, I pretty much knew everything that wasn't quite right - I've had (thankfully) very few surprises.
One of the things I knew about was a very slight judder in the front brakes - it could be felt when braking really gently down to a standstill. Apparently, the front brake ventilation on the Vantage isn't great, so they can suffer with lack of cooling - something I'm very familiar with from my Fiat Coupe.
Something I was also familiar with from my Fiat days was that not all "warped" discs are actually warped and sometimes a re bedding-in can cure the judder (which is actually caused by uneven deposits of pad material on the disc surface). Last week, I had a bit of a jaunt around north Wales and although much of the driving was quite sedate, some of it was fairly quick and I've now found that the warp was indeed a warp and its now much worse, so new discs are in order.
Of course, the correct thing to do is to replace with standard items, which can be had for very reasonable money compared with genuine AM discs (eg below £100 per disc). However, man-maths crept in and I've gone for 2-piece floating discs with a grey-anodised bell to match the calipers (didn't fancy bright silver). While I was there, I somehow managed to upgrade from the standard 355mm discs to 380mm, which comes with billet caliper spacers and new caliper bolts. The new bigger discs are lighter than the old smaller ones, so there's my justification....
Also, while I was abusing the bank account, I decided that re-fitting the existing pads was probably not a good idea (despite there being loads of material left), so after lots of Googling and reading of owner reviews, I've gone for some Porterfield R4-S pads.
They should be here in the next couple of weeks - photos to follow....
One of the things I knew about was a very slight judder in the front brakes - it could be felt when braking really gently down to a standstill. Apparently, the front brake ventilation on the Vantage isn't great, so they can suffer with lack of cooling - something I'm very familiar with from my Fiat Coupe.
Something I was also familiar with from my Fiat days was that not all "warped" discs are actually warped and sometimes a re bedding-in can cure the judder (which is actually caused by uneven deposits of pad material on the disc surface). Last week, I had a bit of a jaunt around north Wales and although much of the driving was quite sedate, some of it was fairly quick and I've now found that the warp was indeed a warp and its now much worse, so new discs are in order.
Of course, the correct thing to do is to replace with standard items, which can be had for very reasonable money compared with genuine AM discs (eg below £100 per disc). However, man-maths crept in and I've gone for 2-piece floating discs with a grey-anodised bell to match the calipers (didn't fancy bright silver). While I was there, I somehow managed to upgrade from the standard 355mm discs to 380mm, which comes with billet caliper spacers and new caliper bolts. The new bigger discs are lighter than the old smaller ones, so there's my justification....
Also, while I was abusing the bank account, I decided that re-fitting the existing pads was probably not a good idea (despite there being loads of material left), so after lots of Googling and reading of owner reviews, I've gone for some Porterfield R4-S pads.
They should be here in the next couple of weeks - photos to follow....
Shnozz said:
So the 4.7 upgrade plan has been shelved?!
No - just delayed a little. I've spotted two 4.7s recently in my desired spec and budget, both of which had received recent twin plate clutch upgrades, but both of which had sold quite quickly.I can see me selling my Westfield, as it's not getting the use it had when I first bought it and my tinkering obsession is now being directed at the Aston - this will give me the funds I need to upgrade to a 4.7.
I just need to steer well away from V12s, as I'm told its one of the worst things a V8 owner can do (from a wallet perspective..)
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