Aston V8 or DBS V8? (70s vintage)
Discussion
I've got a hankering for one or other of the above. Does anyone have views on the relative merits? I know the DBS has always been considered a bit of a poor relation but I've always quite liked the look of the front end. I would be looking to spend no more than £20-30k (less if I can get away with it!). Appreciate any views/experiences.
Chris
Chris
What do you want to know? The DBS V8 and V8 range are great cars, but very different from a lot of other cars. Not necessarially worse, but different. Big, heavy, but very fast and handle surprisingly well.
The DBS V8 has long been thought of as the bargain, with the crisp early styling and the powerful fuel injection engine, but its reputatoion keeps values low. The carb'd V8 is a great car, and can be modified into Vantage x-pack spec with 440bhp+.
No two cars are the same, and often the two sides of the same are are different. Their owners will persoanlise theirs still further- one famous car has a longer wheelbase then all the rest.
The amoc forum has a lot more info on them
Will
DBS V8
The DBS V8 has long been thought of as the bargain, with the crisp early styling and the powerful fuel injection engine, but its reputatoion keeps values low. The carb'd V8 is a great car, and can be modified into Vantage x-pack spec with 440bhp+.
No two cars are the same, and often the two sides of the same are are different. Their owners will persoanlise theirs still further- one famous car has a longer wheelbase then all the rest.
The amoc forum has a lot more info on them
Will
DBS V8
The early fuel injection cars had a deserved reputation for unreliability- the factory didnt really know how to set them up, and the dealers certainly didnt- hence lots of rough running, etc (they have eight throttles, which need to be matched to the fuel injetcion openings, and couple that with Opus ignition and you have lots of headaches).
These days the knowledge is there to set them up properly, and they are quicker then all the carb'd cars except the Vantage. But they still need a lot of servicing to get them right, so many prefer carbs even now...
When I bought mine I didnt want a fuel injection car especially- I wanted the best condition car I could afford. Its still a lot better then buying a cheap version of the car you actually want.
These days the knowledge is there to set them up properly, and they are quicker then all the carb'd cars except the Vantage. But they still need a lot of servicing to get them right, so many prefer carbs even now...
When I bought mine I didnt want a fuel injection car especially- I wanted the best condition car I could afford. Its still a lot better then buying a cheap version of the car you actually want.
Check the sills. They all seem to go and are part of the structure and need replacing more often than you may think. My father rebuilt a '72 DBS V8 FI Auto when it was about 8 years old and had done 50k miles. It was rotten though it looked great. He sorted out the Bosch Mechanical FI as well. This car is probably the most expensive ever Aston to maintain. I was offered a '82 Vantage in 1998 that had done 120000 miles. The owner had boxes full of bills for the car totalling £130,000, yes £130,000. I think the sills had been done at least twice. Good luck.
Edited by boxer365 on Wednesday 17th January 13:24
Edited by boxer365 on Wednesday 17th January 13:52
wadgebeast said:
Thought the general view was that carbs are better than fuel injection. I always preferred the V8 nose to the DBS though. If you saw one of those coming up in your rear view mirror, you'd shift out of the way sharpish....
The last of the DBS V8 cars with Fuel Injection had the new single headlight nose of the V8 with carbs.
In line with my reply above, you must get one of these cars inspected by an Aston Expert before buying one. The money you spend on the inspection will be the best money you ever spend.
Edited by boxer365 on Wednesday 17th January 13:56
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