There are few things we love more than getting our hands on an Aston Martin which has seen better days.
When we see an Aston Martin that's been neglected, ignored or badly treated, we instinctively want to do everything we can to make two things happen.
The first of these is to get the car back on the road, being driven the way it was built to be driven. The second is to recreate that blend of style, form and elegance on four wheels that every Aston Martin embodies.
For Driving Or Showing?
For some owners, the aim of restoration is to recreate a pristine version of a car which is designed for the world of the Concours and prize-winning. These cars are aesthetically and mechanically perfect.
For others, it's more about having an Aston Martin which is a joy to drive and extremely good to look at. We specialise in knowing exactly what it will take to deliver either of these options based on what our customer needs.
Not Just About Bling
We've seen some restorations which have either clearly concentrated on making a car look good - and not even getting that right - while ignoring essential mechanical work (we've even blogged about some of the worst Aston Martin restorations we've seen).
The problem is that a restoration that focuses on the bling while ignoring the basics is merely storing up trouble. It can result in a car that looks pretty good when it rolls away from the workshop but soon starts to cause its owner unnecessary pain. This isn't the kind of restoration work we carry out on Aston Martins, but we have, many times, put these cars right for their owners.
Make The Car Usable
One approach to the restoration of a classic Aston is to concentrate on getting the car running and functioning as smoothly as possible, without making it cosmetically perfect. As we've said before, this creates a vehicle that's a joy to own and drive without making is so aesthetically perfect that taking it out is too much of a worry. It leaves the cosmetic fine-tuning for another day.
This kind of restoration will focus on things like rebuilding the suspension and the brakes, and on making sure that the engine is running beautifully.
For many of our customers, that's the first part of a long term restoration process. Later on, and again in stages if they want, they can start thinking about restoring the aesthetics of the car to as good or even better than the day it left the showroom.
Different Kinds Of Barn Find
The classic image of an Aston Martin that needs restoring is one found under a tarpaulin in a barn.
In a case like this, you might expect to be looking at a chassis which is completely rotten and has to be restored before you do anything else. But not every barn find is the same.
We've recently had an Aston Martin that had spent thirty-something years in a barn in Sweden, and the chassis is completely sound. Importantly, it hadn't had any bodged-up repairs throughout its life.
On the other hand, you might get a car with the footwells full of water and the floor falling out. The good news is, we're here to sort it either way, and we've done just that countless times.
Hand In Hand
Having mentioned the importance of the condition of the chassis, it's worth pointing out that if the chassis is bad, the condition of the bodywork is usually in the same state. In other words, if you're restoring a car which has got a completely rotten chassis, there's a good chance that the bodywork is also going to need a lot of attention.
Now, some people enjoy the edgy look of original and unrestored bodywork, it's something we're not entirely opposed to ourselves. But in the Aston Martin world, the bodywork usually has to be in pristine and visually stunning condition.
We do see some owners who want to keep the originality, but most don't.
Even if your final destination isn't to be the winner of the Concours section, one of the thrills of driving an Aston Martin is the sheer beauty of the car.
Nuts and Bolt Restoration
You can call it a body-off restoration or a nuts and bolts restoration, but it basically involves restoring every aspect of the car that needs to be repaired to return it to its former glory.
In many cases, the condition of parts of the car, like the chassis, is so compromised that you have to remove large sections of the body to access the places that need working on.
When we work on a car, we take a long hard look before deciding which parts of the vehicle can be restored and which will have to be replaced. The aluminium bodywork of a neglected Aston Martin, for example, will often corrode and start to puff up, and the only way to deal with this is to cut out the metal and replace it.
When it comes to accessing the chassis and other parts of the car, we might have to remove the front bodywork as well as the door skins, and of course, all the seals will be replaced.
We rarely end up having to remove the rear wings and the roof, but we'll do whatever it takes to complete an effective and authentic restoration.
Concours Winning
We believe that Aston Martins were built to drive and to enjoy driving. But that doesn't mean that we can't deliver the kind of high end, ultra well-finished restorations that deliver Concours ready vehicles. For discerning customers with the right budget we have, on countless occasions, delivered just such cars.
So although our customers generally like to take the vehicles we restore and get back to enjoying the thrill of driving, when they want to do Concours they know that they have a car which is capable of winning.
The Restoration You Need
Our customers know that they can rely on us to deliver the restoration they need. Whether that's getting the mechanics of a car back into tip-top condition to make it completely roadworthy, or stripping their car down to create a vehicle that's as good if not better than new.
No matter what it takes, we deliver perfect Aston Martins. Cars that win shows, cars that make our customers happy, cars that make sure you drive more and worry less.
