Her Majesty's DBS Restoration Update: Engine Startup Videos!
Gebruder Gumbold
San FranciscoPosts: 541MI6 Agent
Dear Friends,
Following 6 years of parts gathering, machine work, delays,disappointments, and all in that roller coaster known as an Aston Martin restoration, I completed work on the engine stand, and with my engine builder, we fired her up for the very first time.
In this video, we have the sparking plugs removed, fuel pump and coil switched off, and the engine run at starter cranking speed, to get oil pressure. This is a solid practice, and you can do this after prolonged inactivity as well. Here we go...
Next: Plugs back in, coil and fuel pump switched on, and it is now time to fire her up for the first time. The video that you are about to see is an authentic, unedited real life startup of a freshly restored engine. No TV tricks or gimmicks. Enjoy...
...And there you have it! That cantankerous water pump misbehaved for a while, even leaked for a spell, then settled down nicely as things heated up. During initial startup, things squeal, leak, and protest. Just let her run, and let the heat cycle. Loads to do this weekend: sync carburettors, pull and read plugs, flush the Evans Primer and fill with Evans Waterless Coolant. I will be fiddling with timing and idle speeds, and reading the plugs to see how our idle mixture settings are. Of course, there is no substitute for driving the DBS, which puts a load on the engine; however, running on a test bed helps seat the rings before a load is applied, and we can check for oil and fluid leaks, and rectify them easier than in situ. A few more heat cycles and it will be time for a head re-torque.
Before the engine will be installed in the car, I will perform an oil service and change over to 20/50 from the 30W break in oil.
Hope you've enjoyed these short videos. Will post more as time permits.
Cheers,
Tom
OHMSSDBS.com
Comments
Wow that’s a big moment! Sounds pretty sweet to me 😊
An auspicious moment in the restoration, Tom. Well done.
On course for a 2023 unveiling? We need to get the Royal College of Arms booked up.
"It is ahhh-live!" Would that be Dr. Frankesteen? You know, he's a brilliant surgeon, and could do something about that hump...
Looking more like 2024, as I've directed most of my energy into the customer's DB6, that allows me to finance the DBS project.
I have one final (hopefully) batch of plating, and now zinc suddenly is hard to find in the Bay Area. Of all things! Environazis are really strangling the auto business with petty laws these days. They want to wipe out all classics in a few years.
Thanks as always for the kind words,
Tom