1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series One
Total restoration

 
 

 

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows:

Total restoration with a few subtle performance and reliability upgrades.
 
 
 

 

Update report - July 4, 2009

Many thanks to our friend and customer Bill Collings (world renowned luthier of Collings Guitars fame), who used one of his massive end mills to machine out the seized head studs from our DB4 engine. Thanks to Bill's efforts, we were finally able to separate the cylinder head from the block. That's the good news. The bad news is that the head has some nasty corrosion damage and it is going to be a huge challenge for us to save it. Fortunately, we like a challenge.

 
 
Block and head finally apart
Hole in # 6 combustion chamber
Water jackets corroded and crushed

 
 
 		    
 
     

 
 

Body now completely stripped...

First of all, many thanks to those of you who contacted me with your input and opinions on the issue of RHD -v- LHD. I received some very informative and helpful emails, including an answer to my question about how many of the 150 Series One DB4s were RHD from the factory. I learned that of the 123 cars listed on the AMOC register, it appears that the split is 54% to 46% in favor of the LHD cars, meaning my car is one of 66 RHD Series One cars on record.


 
Andy attacking the roof
Front RH wing is only panel
left to be stripped
  
     
 
An interesting collection of rivets
Crude patchwork beneath the
bonnet mouth
  

Looking for opinions...

I am undecided whether to restore this car to its original RHD spec, or whether I should convert it to LHD. I would be interested to hear opinions, one way or the other. What would such a conversion do to the value/desirability? Also, how many of the 150 Series One DB4s produced were RHD? Anyone know?

Fire me an email and let me know what you think. Thank you!


Special thanks to Andy who helped strip the left flank of the car in his own time yesterday.

 
 The DB4 has one of the prettiest
profiles in the automotive world
 Andy tackles numerous layers
of bondo and paint
LH rear wing much better
than its RH counterpart
 
 
 Surprisingly crude factory treatment
of the indicator/marker light plinth
 
 Front left wing has seen some
pain over the years
 
 
 
 
 
 More accident repairs above
the front grill
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This week I felt an irresistible urge to see some of that beautiful aluminum coachwork that has been hiding for many years beneath countless layers of bondo and paint. Starting with the right hand rear wing, which we knew had seen some pretty crude accident repairs at some time in the past, we broke out the paint stripper and got to work!

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
   
     

Finalizing the AM5 five speed kit
 Rear mount is extremely strong
View from beneath rear tans mount 
 
Conversion kit includes a new driveshaft
The complete Aston Martin AM5 five speed kit

I am delighted to report that I finally made time to install the new AM5 five speed this morning and everything fit into place perfectly. Other than having to trim the fibreglass top cover (which had already been rather crudely trimmed at the factory), this is a 100% bolt in installation.

My thanks to Team CJ technician Ray Silkwood who met me at the shop before 6 this morning. Working together we had the engine and new five speed installed and bolted down in less than an hour.
Engine and trans went in
very easily
Bolting the engine mount
brackets to the frame
Rear of trans supported
by a floor jack
     
Actually lots of room in the
tunnel for the new AM5
New engine mounts were
used
Shifter location was exactly where
we needed it to be!
     
Polyurethane trans mount and
super strong bracket
Everything bolted in place in
less than an hour!
A new cover will be fabricated
to sit on top of the OEM cover

More AM5 five speed development work.
 Custom made input shaft
 Pilot bearing re-installed for
trial assembly
So far so good! 
 
 
The nose of the input shaft was marked
so we could make sure it fit perfectly
in the pilot bearing
 Old slotted trans mount attachment
points will be utilised
Trans mount support bracket being fabricated from 3/16" plate steel
 
 
 
 Bracket is bolted to chassis, Poly 
mount will be bolted to trans
Polyurethane mount tried and
tested in our E Type five speed
A simple, but effective, trans
mount solution....

 
A little interior work, more R&D with the AM5 five speed....and an absolutely gorgeous aluminium expansion tank!
 ]
 Removing the rear seat back
 
 
 
 
 Some of the original 'beige' 
leather exposed
Fibreglass rear arm rest 
 
 
 
 
 Some of the original trimmer's 
penmanship!
Inner wing exposed 
 
 
   
Suspension bolt revealed
 
 
A little digging with the
screwdriver reveals more rust
Hand formed expansion tank 
 
 
  
 
 One of my favourite possessions!
The AM5 adaptor plate 
3/8" studs will attach to
original bellhousing
 
 
Bolting the old bellhousing to
the new five speed
  
Checking clutch function
 
 
Oodles of room for the action of 
the clutch slave
 
 Cylinder head is still putting up
a gallant fight....

A 5 speed transmission for my Aston....
Yesterday, I decided to put some work into designing a five speed transmission for the DB4. Given where I am in the overall restoration process, you could be forgiven for thinking that I might be jumping the gun a little! However, experience (with the development of Jaguar performance parts) has shown that now is in fact the ideal time to take all my critical measurements and to begin the painstaking trial fitting process.

Having already developed a highly successful five speed transmission for the E Type Jaguar, I must admit we had a big head start when it came to designing one for the Aston Martin. Our Jaguar box (the CJ5) is based on the Tremec T5 WC (World Class) transmission. It is a quiet, smooth shifting box that can handle in excess of 400 ft/lbs of torque. It also has a wide range of ratio choices and overdrive options.

Needless to say, I need the Aston version of my five speed (the AM5) to be a bolt in conversion that requires zero body modification and places the shifter in precisely the same position as the original. Having taken my preliminary measurements, I am delighted to report that the development of the AM5 is going to be a breeze compared to the challenges we faced with the E Type box. Some of the photographs below show how (dimensionally) similar the David Brown four speed and the CJ5 five speed are.

Once I have the first article AM5 built, I will bolt it up to the stripped engine block and install it in the car. At that point all that will remain will be to take a precise measurement for the new driveshaft, and to design the rear trans mount bracket.
 Unbolting the trans from the
engine is straightforward
Clutch slave/fork is exactly the
same principle as the E Type
Engine stabilizor bracket removed
from lower bellhousing
 
 
Interesting 2 piece flywheel 
Clutch same as early E type 
Ring gear secured to flywheel
by clutch pressure plate bolts....
 
 
Very light (12.5lb) flywheel
assembly
Pilot bearing in crank 
Removing the bearing 
 
 
 
 Lots of measurements were taken
throughout....
Throw out bearing identical to
early E Type
 
 
 
Original bellhousing will be retained
with the AM5 transmission
B/housing secured to DB box with
 9 x 3/8" studs
 
 
 With seal retainer removed....
There is lots of room for the new
input shaft
An adaptor plate will allow us to
bolt the AM5 to the DB b/housing
 
 
 
Speedo drive assembly almost
identical to E Type...
Comparing the two transmissions
side by side
 
 
Watch this space....
Ultimately, we will have identical 
shifter centre lines and height
All that remains is to manufacture a new
input shaft and adaptor plate...
 

A couple of days ago I decided to remove the dash from the DB4. You might think such a basic task shouldn't present too much of a problem to a chap with his own restoration business.....but boy, would you be wrong! I had been forewarned by one of my advisors over at the AMOC (thanks, Arne!) that I was about to undertake what he decribed as an 'absolute bastard of a job'. I see no reason ever to doubt Arne's word again.

The task would have been considerably easier had I not come across such a cosmopolitan mixture of screws and bolts of every conceivable size...all thoughtfully located in some of the most inaccessible locations. Most of my labour was performed upside down with my hands and arms thrust through the jagged internals of the dash, blindly floundering in the dark looking for a fastener that vaguely resembled the size and shape of the tool I had squeezed up behind the dash. For a tall guy with dodgy knees and a bad right elbow, having to repeatedly extract myself from the dash to find a different tool was a complete pain in the arse.....literally. Even with Arne's helpful suggestion of how best to tackle the job, it took me five solid hours of contortion, swearing, and extreme physical discomfort to get the dash out.

The usual caveat applies that most of the following photographs are for my own reference purposes and may not be of much interest to anyone else!
 
 
Engine and trans before
steam cleaning
 
 
A little more presentable! 
 
 Now to the dash....
 
 
First I removed the underdash 
panels 
 
The famous radiator shutter
chain removed
 
 
Heater conrols...
Ref photo 
 
 
 
Ref photo 
Ref photo
 
 
 
 
 
Controls were easy to remove 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last of the gauges removed 
Wiper motor tucked up behind the LHF
of the dash
 
 
 
 Ref photo
Make sure you have a long and unbroken 
lifeline before starting a DB4 resto...
Time to remove the fascia 
 
 
 
Something special about that grill
shaped fascia
 
 
 Not sure why I took this upside down
picture of a hanging wrench...
I had to remove the aluminium
glove box to get to the last of the bolts
holding the dash in place
Heater gubbings dominated the firewall with
the dash removed
 
 
 
5 solid hours of work.... 
....time for a Guinness
 

Sunday was a long day, although at least I seemed to make some decent progress. As usual, many of the photographs below will probably be of little interest to anyone else as they were taken for my own reference.

Thanks to the good folk over at the AMOC web for their encouraging and informative emails!
Not sure what all these numbers mean?!
This is obviously the engine number,
which matches the factory build sheet

 
Generator looks very similar
to those used on 3.8 E Type
Huge factory trans cover
The David Brown 4 speed exposed
     
 
Speedo drive and cable
Trans serial number matches AM
build sheet
     
Unbolting the output flange
Time to disconnect everything
attached to the engine
This bracket held the RH cam
cover vent tube
     
Starter also E Type-esque
I removed the shifter because it looks like
it will be a tight squeeze on the way out
An encouraging first look at
the floors
     
I am delighted with how solid the
main floors appear to be
Seats removed - driver's side was a bitch
because someone had previously buggered
up the runners and the mounts
Passenger floor
     
Reference photos for when....
I come to swap the handbrake to
the opposite side of the car
Seat rail mount will need repair
     
Handbrake mechanism
This nut was a double bastard and actually
caused me to blow out my right knee!
Reference photo
     
LH inner sill looks good
  
Reference photo
     
Note how some of the alloy trim
is stamped with the chassis number
  
Are these aluminium panels available
new? I hope so...
     
Rust in the box section of the sill
More rust...
Original beige interior was really
quite yellow!
     
Notice how one headliner was installed
directly on top of the original
Ref photo
Ref photo
     
Ref photo
Steel screws through aluminium =
lots of corrosion
Pillarless lines a nice
feature of of S1 cars
     
 
LH quarter light removed
Time to yank the engine and trans
     
It needs to be at quite an angle
to clear the front cowling
  
Engine bay now almost bare
     
Head will be easier to remove
with engine out of car
A good days work.....
Deserves a reward!

I spent a few more hours in the engine bay today, although I have to admit that the going was a little slower than I would have liked! Most of the following photographs are for my own future reference, although some of them should make wonderful 'before' pictures when the car starts going back together. I also took a series of measurements in relation to the new CJ5 five speed transmission we are developing for this car.

In case you were wondering, yes, the cylinder head is still stuck solid...although I remain blindly optimistic that I will have the thing on my work bench in the next couple of days!

I have received an encouraging email from someone over at the Aston Owners Club who apparently stumbled across the CJ website and found my Aston page. Maybe one of them can answer the question relating to the last photograph in the following sequence?
Reference photos left to right #1
#2
#3
     
#4
#5
Brake booster was my first
target today
     
This nut (marked 'X') was an
absolute bastard to remove!
Booster finally removed after much cursing 
and a couple of scuffed knuckles
Reference photo for wiring
lay-out to fuse boxes
     
 
Fues boxes removed
Firewall caked in some sort of
cork insulation
     
Remote starter came away with a 
slab of cork....
  
Not sure what this oval patch
is for?
     
The same patch removed from the
upper left of the firewall
Note wood backing beneath screen
pillar trim
Back of screen pillar still the
original beige colour
     
Everything inside the car is very
much 'hand made'
Backing of glove box door fell
off when I open it
I
     
 
     

Slowly but surely, I have been stripping out the engine bay. Everywhere I look are signs of very poor workmanship in the past - it really is a crying shame that this great old car has been so badly neglected.

The cylinder head is stuck solid, presumably by virtue of the steel head studs 'welding' themselves to the aluminium head and block, although we should have it loosened up in the next couple of days. What I can see of the engine and cylinder head internals has given me cause for hope that we will be able to save them. Watch this space!
 Crudely welded heater box screwed
to two blocks of wood??
Timing chain assembly clearly
visible with valve covers removed
Mix and match studs and nuts are
indicative of poor quality workmanship
done in the past
 
 
 Removing the upper chain cover
Not entirely dissimilar to the
venerable XK engine
Soaking the head studs with
penatrating oil
 
 
 
 We will leave her hanging overnight
and see if anything budges!
In due course we will make a new
aluminium expansion tank
 

Today I got to spend a few hours in the engine bay of the Aston - and unfortunately I must report that the day didn't go too well. As you can see from the photographs below, my new parts wish-list is going to include pretty much anything aluminium that ever came into contact with coolant. The waterpump literally fell apart on me when I removed it, as did the thermostat housing, but more worrying still was the state of the front cover - which is corroded beyond repair.

Trying to keep a positive attitude(!), I have been telling myself that Bob Fountain (The Aston Workshops) will no doubt be able to sell me all the shiny replacement parts I am going to need. Continuing with the positive vibe theme, I have just about convinced myself that the head and the block will be servicable.......I certainly hope so, because I don't think Santa can stretch to one of those new, magnificent looking 4.5 litre blocks I have seen advertised in the owners club magazine!
First job is to remove the
carbs and intake manifolds
With the carbs removed......
The view inside the head was
not very encouraging!
     
Thermostat housing fell apart
  
More fatal corrosion
     
This waterpump neck....
simply fell off!
Front cover is corroded
beyond repair
     
   
I hope new water pumps 
are available!
    

More shiny new parts......this time a high torque gear reduction starter motor made for me by the Keith Gustafson, who makes our Jaguar starter motors. I also have Hayward & Scott in England making me a pair of special polished stainless steel exhaust manifolds. It will be a long time before I need them.....but I couldn't resist!

A thing of beauty...

One of the things I like best about my business is that I get to make (or have made) some seriously cool stuff. The new Aston Martin radiator pictured below really is a thing of beauty. Tipping the scales at just 13lbs and upgraded to handle over 400 HP, it also represents a prodigious performance upgrade over the original.

The restoration gets underway!

Yesterday I awarded myself half a day off from my CJ office duties and spent some quality time with the Aston. For me there is no better therapy or form of stress relief than to crawl all over a classic car, scratching my knuckles, banging my head and getting oil under my finger nails. These days the opportunity to spend time in the workshop doesn't present itself very often, so yesterday was something of a treat for me.

When you look at the photographs below it might not look as if I achieved much in the 5 hours I worked on the car. In fact, I feel like I got quite a lot accomplished and certainly learned a good deal about how these cars are put together. Unfortunately, the car has sustained a pretty decent hit in the right front at some time in its past, so Bob Fountain's prediction that a complete new front clip might be in my future appears to be correct. Really the only decision I have to make is whether to buy a nose section (from midway along the wheel arches forward) or a complete assembly (everything from the windscreen forward).

One thing that slowed my progress somewhat was the fact that (presumably following the front end collision I mentioned above) somebody had literally bondoed the right hand headlamp bucket into place. In fact, most of the right front corner of the car has been sculptured from bondo and fibre glass! It took me a full hour just to chisel the RH headlamp bucket away from the wing.

The next task will be to pull the engine and transmission, something I hope to find time to do next week.
LH headlamp bucket was
simple to remove
RH unit had to be chiseled
away from the wing!
A mixture of fibre glass
and bondo
     
Headlamp area was obviously
pushed back in collision
Crude factory plate rivetted in place 
to hold side and indicator lamps
Data and coachbuilding tags
removed for safe keeping
     
Bonnet held on with 2 simple
split pins - 30 seconds to remove
Familiar looking dizzy is date
stamped 4/59
We will build an (uprated) aluminium
replica of the radiator
     
Radiator mounting brackets were
rotten
HP sapping fan might
have to go.....
Note totally corroded water pipe
full of powdered lime
     
Un-Aston-like chicken wire
is actually original equipment
Grill is in excellent
condition
Although someone thoughtfully
braised the mesh to the surround
     
Unfortunately, the cut might be
further back towards the screen!
Screen came out in just
a couple of minutes
Note rivets peeping through
beneath the edge of the wing
     
Another view of the corroded
water pipe
This front end will end up mounted 
on the wall of the CJ Workshop
Note fibre glass and bondo up
inside grill opening
     
 
I will work out an alternator
conversion at a later date
I couldn't resist!
  

Before tearing into the DB4 and reducing it to a very expensive pile of parts, I put it up in the air and took the following photographs showing the rather sorry state of the under carriage. Clearly we have lots of rust repair ahead of us and lots of new challenges!

Earlier today I spoke with Bob Fountain of the Aston Workshop in Beamish, England. Bob graciously answered my many questions about the sequence I should follow in disassembling the car. I also quizzed him about the availability of certain repair panels as I obviously want to avoid reinventing the wheel and attempting to repair panels which it makes more sense to replace. Apparently most (8 out of 10) of the DB Astons that the Aston Workshop restore receive new front ends. As my car has clearly been in a front end collision at some time in its past, it is quite likely that I will be biting that particular bullet a little deeper into the restoration process.

With the staff in the CJ Workshop working flat out on customer's cars, I will be doing much of the work myself, at least initially. I am looking forward to the challenge - and to learning more about the way these great old cars were put together.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
I have an exciting update for you today! My family back in the UK have been doing some detective work for me and one of the things they did was to place a letter in the Yorkshire Post asking for any information regarding Mr Mainz, the first owner of our DB4. Yesterday, as a result of the insertion in the Yorkshire Post, we received a letter from a Mr Malcolm Holmes stating that he used to work for Mainz & Sons in the early 1960's. Mr Holmes remembered the Aston Martin very well and said he even got to drive it on a number of occasions. Even more encouraging, Mr Holmes was pretty sure that Mr Helmut Mainz was alive and well and living in Harrogate.

Less than 24 hours after hearing from Mr Holmes, we were thrilled to receive the following letter from Mr Helmut Maintz himself.

Subject: Your letter to the Yorkshire Post

Re your letter to the Yorkshire Post and the Telegraph & Argus asking for info about a DB4 Aston Martin car which was sold in 1960 by David Brown of Huddersfield to A Mainz & Son of Bradford of which I was the owner:

Unfortunately the car did not perform to expectations and I did not keep it for long. On the suggestion of David Brown (the then owner of Aston Martin) I drove the car to Posnan in Poland where both David Brown and A Mainz & Son were exhibitors at a trade fair. The car was put on display on the David Brown stand presumably as light relief from the heavy tractors they were famous for.

My return journey from Poland took me via Berlin, Hanover and Hook van Holland. Between Posnan and Berlin the roads were very poor at that time except for the last 20-30 miles into Berlin which had been the prewar AVVS car racing track. Probably to vent my frustration after miles of Polish cobblestones I put my foot down only to be engulfed after very few minutes in clouds of steam from a blown cylinder head gasket.

I had to nurse the car back to Berlin where I was unable to find a replacement and instead had to wait around for several days for the makers to fly out the part. My upset was the greater because David Brown sought to put the blame on me for my failure to fit an "oil cooler" which they recommended to prospective clients who intended to use their cars at high speeds for sustained periods.

I felt that this should have been a standard fitting on such an expensive car and as a result of their nonchalant attitude I sold the car shortly afterwards.

Helmut Mainz

I have written back to Mr Mainz and will keep you posted as further information comes to light!

Report date - March 19, 2004
I am delighted to report that the DB4 is now safe and sound at Classic Jaguar. The car is very much as it was described by the eBay seller, so I could not be more pleased with my purchase. The following photographs are as much for reference purposes as anything else, although some of them may also be of general interest.

I would love to think the indicated mileage of 13,530 is correct, although of course that would seem to be highly unlikely. The glove box contained a handful of invoices dating back to the mid 1970s when a man by the name of Michael A. Waldman of Indianapolis, Indiana owned the car. Are you still out there in the classic car community, Michael? Needless to say, I would love to make contact with Mr. Waldman, assuming he is still alive.

We have learned from Aston Martin Heritage that the number plate (SKY 925) is original to the car, having been issued in Bradford, England in 1959. Incidentally, the car was last registered for the road in Indiana in August, 1976.
 CJ Dyno is temporary
parking place for DB4
Engine bay (ref 1) 
Engine bay (ref 2) 
 
 
 
Engine bay (ref 3) 
Engine bay (ref 4) 
Engine bay (ref 5) 
 
 
 
 Engine bay (ref 6)
Engine bay (ref 7) 
Data plate 
 
 
 
 Body built under licence
from Touring of Milan
Famous grill 
S1 cars had no over riders 
 
 
 
Number plate has been with
car since new
Doors open very wide 
Everything is nicely
trimmed and well finished
 
 
 
Soon to be LHD?
Original trim has been dyed
black (originally beige)
Gorgeous steering wheel 
 
 
 
Headliner in remarkably
good condition
13,530 miles on odometer
Beautiful art deco horn
 
 
 
 Reutter reclining seats still
extremely comfortable!
Familiar Aston wing vent 
David Brown badges... 
 
 
 
Front and rear... 
Someone was a little careless
at one time!
Hides in good condition,
particularly in the rear
 
 
 
 Cross hatch aluminium looks
same as 63 E Type dash??
Jack in boot 
Recliners still work
perfectly

As I wait for the DB4 to be delivered (allegedly tomorrow) I couldn't resist buying a 1/18 scale model on eBay the other day because it is the same colour scheme with which my DB4 left the factory. Although I think the 'Peony Red' looks quite distinguished, I don't think it's for me. I am also rethinking my original idea of doing the car 'Silver Birch' as it seems everyone does their car that colour, presumably because of the James Bond connection. I am currently leaning towards one of the Aston Racing Greens, which are kind of a mid metallic green, something akin to Jaguar's Opalescent Dark Green. Anyway, plenty of time to make such decisions - the car hasn't even arrived yet!
Peony Red - Original livery for our DB4

It is with a certain amount of pride that I introduce you to the latest addition to the Team CJ fleet, a 1960 Aston Martin DB4. One of only 150 Series One cars built, ownership of this gorgeous car represents the realization of a boyhood dream for me.
I bought the DB4 on eBay with a winning bid about 30 seconds from the end of an auction on February 29. Although I don't expect to have the car back at CJ for a couple of weeks, I couldn't resist announcing its impending arrival to the world!
Engine repaired under warranty a number of times
I just got off the telephone with an incredibly helpful gentleman at Aston Services in Dorset, England. Armed with the chassis number of my DB4 he immediately located a build sheet for the car which he duly faxed through to me. The build sheet also includes a record of various repairs that were carried out under warranty during the first few months of the car's life. This list makes interesting reading!
I suspect Aston Martin were relieved to get this particular car out of warranty!
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