End of an era......

For me, at least....

This afternoon, I watched as the Coupe that I've owned for the last eleven years burbled up the road with the new owner at the wheel. Apart from a brief period in about 2002 after I wrote off my first Coupe, this is the first time I've been without one since the turn of the century. I am already regretting the sale - I knew I would, but the car did less than 1,000 miles last year and sitting outside on the drive was doing it no favours at all, even though it was under a cover. Another couple of years and it would have needed far more work to rescue than it currently does.

The new owner has some pretty big plans for the car - a full restoration and respray, almost certainly with subframes off, so the underside will be as good as new again. Possible standalone ECU to get the absolute best from the car. I always wanted the car to go to someone that would carry on giving it the attention it needs, rather than someone that's going to thrash it and put it into the scenery. I think I've landed lucky and it looks like it's going to be in good hands.

The new owner has been lurking on this forum for a while and will hopefully make himself known at some point.

I now have a modest stash of spares that I need to sell on - just waiting for a response from one of the Mods to allow me to list everything out in a single advert rather than flooding the For Sale section with loads of ads.

I has been a great couple of decades on the forum, and like loads of ex-owners, I'll certainly pop in from time to time to see what's happening. I'm not sure what I'll get next - my Westfield is huge fun and satisfies my appetite for tinkering, but it's highly anti-social (no screen, roof or heater means crash helmets for all but the shortest trips, which makes conversation nearly impossible). I'll probably wait until the barmy secondhand prices have subsided before deciding, but I really fancy a last-hurrah in a noisy V8 before they are banned or priced off the road.

Hi Nigel,
First time I have been called a lurker . I guess I just didn't post much before as both my previous two Coups were unmodified and ran without problems.

The drive up to Scotland went smoothly (apart fit the 90 minute logjam on the M6 - my left leg got a good workout on the clutch

Once I got past Liverpool the road was a lot clearer and I struggled to resist the temptation to explore the full speed potential . But I got some nice mid range pulls on the twisty roads from Carlisle to Stranraer . I actually followed a police car all the way as he was doing 80, so he could hardly book me without condemning himself!

I will take the car to my mechanic in the next few weeks to make a full list of everything that needs done, then gather up all the parts to do it in one go.

The cold start doesn't appear to be as bad as you suggested. I may be able to live with it so will see how it goes.

Not just a lurker but also a newbie. I'm glad to hear Nigel's Coupe has a new owner (I couldn't justify another high power Coupe, not with my recent history of not being able to keep them un-SORNed) but I was interested in the comment about following a police car at 80...I'm not sure I would be that brave!

Being I Friday evening I guess that he was off duty heading home for the weekend so probably didn't care

Hi Simon - glad to see you've made yourself known - you'll get huge support from this forum for your gradual restoration of my your Coupe

You're right - the cold start isn't bad, but it was fairly warm this morning. As with the rest of the description of the car, I would rather be accused of a pessimistic description, than glossing over a problem. As I said while you were at my house yesterday, the cold start will be worse in cold weather and occasionally, you'll need to catch it on the throttle as the revs drop. Normally, if it runs for 30-60 seconds after starting, it will be fine for the rest of the day.

You're obviously committed to "the cause" - 30 hours round trip to collect a car shows you were serious!

As promised - if you need anything (even if it's just how to turn the radio off... ), just get in touch

Good to see you are surviving Coupe cold turkey so far

As you say, you have probably been over critical with the descriptions.

The suspension is fine for me. You were probably comparing the current ride with the standard Coupe suspension. But I am comparing it to my SL55 on 19 inch low profiles on KW Variant 3s , so for me it isn't an issue.

The cold start is just part of running a modified car . I will see how I get on over the next couple of months.I will either decide to live with it or spend the extra cash to go for an aftermarket ecu plus remap.

Hi Nigel,

I'm happy and sad at the same time to see that it's gone I always had it in my head that it was there but would have needed a windfall to have pulled the trigger on actually buying it.

I have my own fun and games to deal with my car, so I know I'll be busy enough., but pleased you managed to get your sale to somebody who sounds like they will appreciate it.

I would say good luck Simon, but I know from years of being on the forum that anything that happens to the car, it couldn't have been cared for any better by Nigel!

Austin

Sad day indeed to hear that you finally sold the car Nigel, it's taken a few years to say the least But it is also nice to see the new owner posting on here already and the car isn't going to disappear off the forum

Thanks.

The main reason I bought it was that Nigel hasn't skimped on the spec of the modifications. That way it has the best chance of the mechanicals lasting the course.

The underside and bodywork needs some remedial work but that is the norm for a 20+ year old car.

Hopefully nothing too serious appears when we start to strip things down

End of an era indeed , just rejoined after nearly a decade away. I give you one tenth of that

In the full 20yrs I've dipped in and out of this forum you have always been a solid source of information (and parts!!) - Enjoy the V8 , not a bad last hoooorahhh.

KR

Kenny

Pretty sure I saw it leaving Nigel. It was heading towards the Stags leap at a leisurely pace so didn't think it was you driving
What flavour V8 are you going for?

Hi Daz - looking for an Aston Martin V8 Vantage - not massively fast, but achingly pretty and sounds glorious. Prices have risen though, so I’m having to save hard

Very nice mate. I look forward to hearing it going down the bypass!
I know what you mean about prices too as I have just picked up a 996 which have also started to rise quite quickly.
We'll need some pics when you get it

Where abouts are you Val? I'm in Finistere

I am from Prague, Czech republik

Just a quick update....

I'm missing the Coupe a lot more than I thought I would, especially when I come up against something fast.

However, I've just bought the Coupe's replacement, which is easing the pain a little.... ;-)

You don't need to go fast in THAT!

Do you need to dress up to get in it though?

Seriously - congrats. What a great looking car- and your still stirring your own gears!

Its looks smashing!

Regards

MM

XXX don't seem to dress much at all!

Nice motor, don't start moding it you'll know where you'll end up!

Stunning - I’m sure it will go some way to easing the pain!

Very nice Nigel.
I haven't heard it rumbling around town yet. Switchable exhaust for the first mod?

Haven't driven it much yet - working from home means I rarely leave the house on a week-day

V8 Vantages have the (in)famous Fuse 22 - pulling the fuse means that the valves in the exhaust remain open. Previous owners have clearly pulled the fuse, as it's nowhere to be seen AND the valves have been open for so long that they've seized in the open position. It's not really a hardship, but I'll be fixing it so that I can make the exhaust quieter when I'm not in the mood. I already have the electrical gubbins to allow remote switching once the valves are freed off


Tinkering has already started, but currently confined to bringing it back to near-perfect standard condition. I don't think I'll do any performance mods, as the expenditure is huge for very little gain (dowsides of naturally-aspirated). However, there are a few tricks to improve throttle response and general driveability, so these will be on the list for when funds allow.

I'm missing the Coupe and I keep finding myself checking back in here to see if there are any bargains available. However, the pain is alleviated somewhat by the new car....

V8 Vantage

The Aston is MUCH slower than the Coupe - the Vantage quarter mile time is only a second or so better than a standard Coupe and compared with my old Coupe, I reckon its a couple of seconds slower 0-100 and about 4.5 seconds slower 60-120. It's also (surprise) MUCH thirstier - I'm getting 17-18mpg

However, it's just such a lovely place to be and despite the glorious noise of the 5-pot, the Aston is just in another league sound-wise

Nigel, I am sure the cockpit is a place of luxury with all the trimmings and gadgets to go with it. The fuel economy maybe painful but the surround sound effects must more than make up for it. Hope you enjoy it as much as your Coupe

I think your opening sentence might indicate it's not necessarily the end of an era, these bu***rs get under your skin in a way few others do. Mine isn't as powerful as my old one and nowhere near as powerful as my Alfa but if I were to choose it'll be the coop everytime.

I was once taken out for a spin in MrCooper's V8 Vantage. A manual box with long gearing, that sound track, and the sense that you're sitting over the rear axle certainly make for a real sense of occasion (especially while casting your eye over the gorgeous interior) but the performance was somewhat underwhelming. It's almost as if the sound doesn't quite correlate with the acceleration you're experiencing.

How about a GMR Supercharger

There's something about the car that makes it feel like you're going faster than you actually are - I've often settled into a comfirtable cruise and looked down to find I'm doing a sedate 65mph. Similarly, I've sometimes burbled through town to find I'm doing less than 25mph.

The performance does get "lively" right at the top end of the rev range, but which time the noise is genuinely explosive and very entertaining. Not sure how they managed to get it past noise tests, although I suspect the tests are done with the exhaust valves closed

TBH, I'm happy with the performance. It's plenty quick enough, but outright speed isn't what its all about. One of the problems with my old Coupe was the inverse of the Aston - by the time the Coupe felt it was travelling quickly, it was actually travelling VERY quickly.

Basically, the Aston is hugely entertaining at anything from 50-100mph, wheras the Coupe needed to be at 100 before it even felt like it was trying.

As for the supercharger - £18k

Oh WOW an Aston Vantage congratulations.

The car looks stunning Nigel, I'm sure you are enjoying every minute of it.

For so long a Vantage was my dream car I told everyone I would buy one. I visited the Aston centre in Cambridge and was hooked on a hammerhead silver that had done 30K, high mileage for a six year old Aston apparently. It had just had a new clutch and was sitting at close to the price I was going to pay to order a new Audi TTRS. The chap in the Aston showroom was really nice, he provided us with great coffee and brochures that were more like books.

I was talked out of getting the Aston by a couple of friends, both of whom have owned a lot of exotic motors. They said that as my plans were to go on long euro road trips the Aston would be most unsuitable, they said it would ruin me in maintenance and devaluation, due to the miles I would do. Their opinions really worried me so I backed out. Annoyingly almost three years later I have done fewer than 10K miles of touring. Also car residuals have held really strong especially for desirable cars so I could have bought the Aston used it as much as I have my TTRS and probably sold it today with little loss, judging by current prices

Seriously enjoy the car mate, from your pictures it really does look absolutely stunning. I know from test driving two of these just what an occasion it is to drive the Vantage. I don't have too many regrets in life but never owning a Vantage will just have to be one!

Hi Bob - I seem to remember you mentioning a Vantage many times while you were pondering the next purchase.

For what it's worth, the TTRS will be (much) faster, more reliable, more economical, more comfortable, easier to live with - everything you need from a decently-quick car that you intend to do a few miles in. However, the looks and noise of the Aston more than make up for it - every drive is an event and the appreciation from other road users is amazing. People just seem to be appreciative of an Aston, whereas anything with a Porsche or Ferrari badge would just attract jealousy and negative comments and you'd NEVER get let out of a junction!

There's still plenty of time - £30k will get you into a 4.3 and £40k will bag you a 4.7. I have a feeling (a hope!) that prices have bottomed out. In fact I think they might just be on a rise, as the very cheapest V8Vs were c £25k a year or two ago. If you're confident your mileage will stay low, then it's surely an itch you have to scratch.

Stop it, I seriously don't need to get those Aston dreams started again I have looked at renting one for the Day / weekend. It's not cheap and requires large deposits, but it's an option.

Hopefully travel will be easier this year and I'll get overseas again in June. Frustratingly in July the warranty and full euro cover that I took when I purchased the car will expire. Really worth getting all that for 2020 & 2021 when the car didn't go anywhere