The Aston Martin DB4
The Aston was recently the subject of Jonny Smith's 'The Late Brake Show' - as can be seen here: The Late Brake Show video
The plan was to get the car into a driveable condition, and then film it going up my mate's farm track. In order to do this, I knew that there were several pressing issues that needed addressing; I still have a couple of jobs to do, but it's mostly all done. I actually drove it for the first time this week, albeit only across the yard.
1. Using the original fuel tank and pump was not an option as I didn't want to disturb them at this stage. I therefore fitted a temporary plastic tank and Mallory electric fuel pump along with new hoses.
2. The brakes clearly need to work, so I stripped out the master cylinder and calipers and rebuilt them with new seals, pads, etc. I also replaced most of the brake lines and master cylinders. All three of the rubber flex hoses were completely blocked with crystallised brake fluid, so they were replaced too.
3. New inner tubes have been fitted to the tyres which were re-used as it is not intended to drive the car very far or very fast (or on public roads).
4. The clutch master and slave cylinders were stripped and rebuilt. The clutch didn't want to free off at first, but after starting it in gear (with the car on axle stands) I was able to make it work nicely.
5. The oil and filter are next on the list to be changed. At cranking speed (i.e. without the engine running), it produces a rock-steady 55 psi of oil pressure, and when it's running this goes up to 75 psi.
6. Things like the wheel bearings, propshaft joints, etc. have been checked.
7. The water pump has been completely rebuilt with a new spindle, seal, bearings, etc.
8. The driver's door was falling off, so I removed it and fabricated a temporary lower hinge support as there wasn't enough metal to reattach it in the original manner. When the car gets restored, this will be straightforward to fix.
I filmed most of the above operations, so will publish the relevant footage in due course!
Here are a couple of short update videos:
The Aston just after being dragged out from the back of the garage.
The Aston before and after having a rudimentary wash-down. It now not only runs, but drives too - having had several weeks of attention to things like the brake calipers, both master cylinders, water pump, new inner tubes, a carb rebuild, etc. It still needs a body-off restoration, but at least it looks less of a heap now!
Two photos of the car looking particularly beautiful taken some time in the early 1960's in what appears to be somewhere in London. Note that it has the Peony Red paintwork, chrome wheel rims and white-wall tyres that it left the factory with. There is also no sun roof - my current belief is that this was fitted and the horrible gold paint applied in Portugal whilst in the care of the second owner. I was told that the car was bought from a Portuguese diplomat in around 1970, but was unsure about this until I found two stickers from a garage in Lisbon on the inner face of both side doors.
Note - I don't know who took the pictures, so don't know who to credit.
A short video of the Aston halfway through a wash-down: https://youtu.be/TDF0T4e6P9s
A video of the Aston being driven from the yard into the garage: Video 4 https://youtu.be/leIXv_h5FFM
