Description
1971 Aston Martin DBS V8 FI Factory 5 speed manual
Genuine factory produced 5 speed ZF manual dog leg gear box.
Original matching numbers, paint colour and trim complete with Aston Martin Heritage Trust Certificate
An exceptional investment opportunity to acquire one of the rarest variants of the Tadek Marek V8 era. Of the 402 DBS V8’s produced over a 2 year period, only 140 manual right hand drive models left the Newport Pagnell Factory.
The early cars were more powerful than the later carburettor version, changed due to revised emission laws. A lot of the early models were changed to carburettor. This example still retains its original Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injection unit.
The car has covered 64, 400 miles and once belonged to the, then Wales area representative of the Aston Martin Owners Club.
It comes with a large folder full of history from the early seventies up to the late eighties, containing bills for servicing and hand written letters about the car between the owners and service department, old mot certificates and invoices for parts bought over the years.
Also included is the original instruction book and DBS V8 workshop manual.
The Aston was bought in 1986 By a Mr Kelk of Caerphilly Wales. He ran the car for around 18 months before parking it in his garage at home. It then stood there hidden away for 33 years before being bought by the previous owner to my wife. The car was then taken to a garage in Weston Super mare for recommissioning work. Unfortunately Covid hit and the car sat there for another 5 years. It had been stripped down ready for repairs to the sills but the fabricator never returned back to work after Covid and the project stalled.
I was originally offered the car in 2023 against a late Ferrari I had at the time. When I viewed the car it had deteriorated considerably from the video and pictures I was sent of it, due to being left outside with a sheet over it. I therefore declined the deal, but kept in contact with the guy for the next three years.
At the end of last year The previous owner contacted me to say that he wanted to dispose of the car as the garage wanted it removed from their premises. But we couldn’t come to an agreement on the value of the vehicle, so he entered the car into an online auction.
At that time the car was stripped down with no interior in it. It was out side with a sheet over it, looking very sorry for itself. A fuel pipe had burst and the contents of the fuel tank was in the boot, along with all of the nuts and bolts from the interior and seat belts etc swimming in it. Also the clutch was seized. Because the trim had been removed, there was no way of checking that everything was there. Consequently, it didn’t reach its reserve.
After acquiring the car, we had it delivered to a garage to have the sill replaced and underside and body structure assessed.
The car has been Waxoyl rustproofed from a young age. That, along with being stored inside for a long period of time, has been kind to the car.
The underside is in remarkable condition and to my knowledge has never had any welding (apart from the recently replaced outer sills). The body structure was in excellent condition with no rust concerns in any of the usual areas. The garage also reported that there had been a new stainless steel exhaust system fitted at some point which was in excellent condition. I’ve since checked the service history and found that it was fitted in the late eighties just before being parked up.
We had the gear box removed whilst the interior was out. The fork arm on the bell housing had seized making the clutch inoperable.
The clutch plate was also stuck to the flywheel. We had the fly wheel skimmed and a new clutch and slave cylinder fitted before refitting the trim back into the car.
Other items fitted include:
New oil coolers
Oil change
Oil filter
Air filters
Fuel filter
Reconditioned fuel tank
New fuel tank level sender
Reconditioned fuel pump
New engine fuel pump supply and return pipes
New battery
5x refurbished GKN alloy wheels,
5x new period pattern tyres and polished wheel nuts
Stainless steel wiper blades
NOS Rear light clusters
Re chromed rear bumper
NOS Seat belts
New number plates
The car is now up and running. I have driven it and it appears to run well. The gear box operates lovely and changes through all gears as it should. The engine sounds good but could do with being tuned/ set up. It is MOT exempt and tax free. Although the car is very solid and looks very presentable, it is far from perfect. It would benefit from an upholstery refurbishment, The paint work has micro blistering on the roof and bubbling around the front and rear screens. There are also scratches and marks around the car. So could do with a full re spray to make perfect.
