V600 Cat D

[Stick Legs]

marky1 said:

Thanks everyone for the info. Will give this one a skip.

If I had the coins I’d still be keen.

1) Get it inspected. I dealt with the chap who runs Runnymede & found him to be quite straightforward.
Can’t see you wanting to have a good look underneath to be a problem.

2) Even if it has been bodged you can rectify it at your leisure. Obviously if it drives okay, buy it, enjoy it, correct it at a later date.

For me the V550/V600 is my absolute dream car & if the opportunity arose I would find a way to make it work.

3) If it is okay-ish but not right, and you bought it, enjoyed it & subsequently had it restored / corrected then you’d be an absolute hero in the Newport Pagnell AM V8 community for doing so, and the car is SO well known that I would suggest the money spent would be recouped when the values inevitably climb.

Your choice obviously but that’s my $0.02 & what I’d do if I could.

[marky1]

I don’t suppose anyone would have any info on this one? Google search of VIN shows nothing really. Is the Automatic less desirable?
Out of interest can a V550 still be sent back to Aston to be upgraded to a V600? (Apologies if that’s a stupid question). I really don’t know a lot about these cars but really want to try to find a good one, ideally in LHD too. Thanks everyone.

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1996-aston-mar...

[V8LM]

IMHO, auto is far less desirable and doesn't suit the car at all. If one wants to cruise, the manual car can pull away (slowly) in 3rd gear and go all the way to over 100 mph. Or buy a V8 Coupe.

This car has the V600 brakes.

Edited by V8LM on Sunday 7th July 14:48

[DickyC]

I have a feeling the auto wasn't offered as standard and was very reluctantly supplied by AML because there wasn't one available at the time to take the power. The car would be supplied with an auto box, the box would fail and be replaced under warranty and keep being replaced until the warranty ran out. The next time it needed replacing, the owner was on his own, reminded it was the car that had the warranty, not the gearbox.

[rev-erend]

Pretty sure I have talked with the owner, now lives in Cobham and he said he was selling it.

[V8LM]

DickyC said:

I have a feeling the auto wasn't offered as standard and was very reluctantly supplied by AML because there wasn't one available at the time to take the power. The car would be supplied with an auto box, the box would fail and be replaced under warranty and keep being replaced until the warranty ran out. The next time it needed replacing, the owner was on his own, reminded it was the car that had the warranty, not the gearbox.

Or her

[marky1]

Thanks for the replies. Anyone know how feasible (and costly) would be to have it changed back to Manual?

[DickyC]

marky1 said:

Thanks for the replies. Anyone know how feasible (and costly) would be to have it changed back to Manual?

RS Williams are probably the people to ask. They were involved in the development of the car.

[DickyC]

V8LM said:

Or her

True. My apologies. Curiously, in the past I've looked unsuccessfully for pictures of that very car. And there was another one in a more subtle 'champagne' pink.

[V8LM]

This. Was originally a rather nice blue.

[marky1]

DickyC said:

RS Williams are probably the people to ask. They were involved in the development of the car.

Just as an update. Spoke to them today. Near impossible to do unless you have a manual car that wants to swap to auto. They also said parts in general can be very tricky to the extent they won’t work on these cars for new clients anymore. As an example they mentioned impossible to get new ECU’s.

[DickyC]

marky1 said:

DickyC said:

RS Williams are probably the people to ask. They were involved in the development of the car.

Just as an update. Spoke to them today. Near impossible to do unless you have a manual car that wants to swap to auto. They also said parts in general can be very tricky to the extent they won’t work on these cars for new clients anymore. As an example they mentioned impossible to get new ECU’s.

No ECU, no go. A half million pound, two tonne ornament would have limited appeal.

Years ago an early example (with just 550 bhp) was advertised for months in MotorSport for £90,000. The new price had been £180,000. It had very few miles and full AML service history and its depreciation worked out at £20 per mile. But at least it functioned.

[AstonMartinV8Vantage]

Auto to manual can be easily done and they don't need ECU's when converting back it's just a very costly exercise in obtaining the parts. Also another note RSW had no involvement with developing anything on Vantage or V600.

[marky1]

Sorry just to be clear I am not saying it needs a new ECU to convert. They just mentioned that parts are getting hard to find for these cars, one of them being ECU's.

[Discendo Discimus]

I know it's not in keeping with a fully original car, but to save it becoming an expensive ornament why wouldn't you fit an aftermarket ECU? Your car would then be back on the road and you'd also have far better control over the map should you wish to have a play.

[ds666]

Discendo Discimus said:

I know it's not in keeping with a fully original car, but to save it becoming an expensive ornament why wouldn't you fit an aftermarket ECU? Your car would then be back on the road and you'd also have far better control over the map should you wish to have a play.

Not sure how easy fitting an aftermarket ECU is - I guess it depends what the OE ECU uses as inputs and outputs to and from the rest of the car .

[Calinours]

ds666 said:

Discendo Discimus said:

I know it's not in keeping with a fully original car, but to save it becoming an expensive ornament why wouldn't you fit an aftermarket ECU? Your car would then be back on the road and you'd also have far better control over the map should you wish to have a play.

Not sure how easy fitting an aftermarket ECU is - I guess it depends what the OE ECU uses as inputs and outputs to and from the rest of the car .

Setting up/configuring can be a bit time consuming but is relatively straightforward for anyone with reasonable electrical and calibration skills. An aftermarket ECU is just a few hundred pounds. A modern aftermarket ECU will handle far more i/o's than that old hector ever had and be way more configurable. Properly set up, it would likely make even more power than the V600 (if ine wished) and run far more sweetly and reliably. It may well be only numbers produced and perhaps a little of the natural conservatism of owners that has stopped soneone already having done it and off the shelf options being available.

[Stick Legs]

The Virage owners web page have successfully reverse engineered their becm on those cars so I can’t see the Vantage being insurmountable.

https://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/archive/i...

Essentially it’s a big blown V8.

Hardly unique.

[ds666]

Calinours said:

ds666 said:

Discendo Discimus said:

I know it's not in keeping with a fully original car, but to save it becoming an expensive ornament why wouldn't you fit an aftermarket ECU? Your car would then be back on the road and you'd also have far better control over the map should you wish to have a play.

Not sure how easy fitting an aftermarket ECU is - I guess it depends what the OE ECU uses as inputs and outputs to and from the rest of the car .

Setting up/configuring can be a bit time consuming but is relatively straightforward for anyone with reasonable electrical and calibration skills. An aftermarket ECU is just a few hundred pounds. A modern aftermarket ECU will handle far more i/o's than that old hector ever had and be way more configurable. Properly set up, it would likely make even more power than the V600 (if ine wished) and run far more sweetly and reliably. It may well be only numbers produced and perhaps a little of the natural conservatism of owners that has stopped soneone already having done it and off the shelf options being available.

Oo , get you . Care to sort out the Ptecs for the Vanquish ? ?
Quite .

[V8LM]

Stick Legs said:

The Virage owners web page have successfully reverse engineered their becm on those cars so I can’t see the Vantage being insurmountable.

https://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/archive/i...

Essentially it’s a big blown V8.

Hardly unique.

Vantage would be easier, esp if had a working ECU to play with, since it’s a Ford EEC IV as opposed to two Alphas.

There might had been some reprogramming/tinkering needed to get the car to idle properly with the auto box.