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A well restored DB6 Saloon, RHD manual in Silver Birch with dark blue interior trim and PAS This car has been the subject of a thorough body, chassis and mechanical restoration by a well respected Aston Martin specialist and restorer, which was completed in 2008. Initially registered in the UK, this car has spent a considerable proportion of its life in South Africa prior to its return to the UK in 2005/6. During the restoration, the sills, chassis outriggers and rear suspension support structure were all replaced, as also all of the under-bonnet panels. These have been powder coated, undersealed and wax protected. The door skins were replaced and door frames restored. The outer panels were all stripped to the bare metal and repainted in Silver Birch, which has been completed to a very high standard. The interior carpets were all renewed in best quality dark blue Wilton. The interior leather trim remains as original and is in excellent lightly patinated condition, with only selective new leather for the door and under bonnet trim panels being required. The car is fitted with a Webasto roof, which has been overhauled in dark blue mohair. All of the external chrome trim has been re-plated to a high standard. The car has been given a full mechanical restoration, including the engine, transmission, suspension and brakes. The engine was rebuilt to 4.2 litres, with new pistons, liners and bearings. The cylinder head was rebuilt with new valves, seats and guides to full-unleaded specification. The triple SU carburettors were all fully overhauled and a new electronic ignition and immobiliser system were fitted. The car comes with a Harvey Bailey upgraded suspension. ______________________________________ Left Hand Drive Conversions As one of the leading specialists in Classic Aston Martin Motor Cars, we are increasingly asked for left hand drive cars. The availability of such cars is extremely limited. This is really not that surprising, when one bears in mind that only some 10% of those Aston Martins manufactured up until the introduction of the DB7were produced Left Ha d Drive cars. As a result, we find ourselves increasing asked “Can you do a right to left hand drive conversion?” We are perfectly equipped and always delighted to answer – “Of course” Many customers may well think that changing the specification of any rare car, such as an Aston Martin, would detract from both its originality and value. This may be the case if major changes are envisaged to the appearance or there is a major deviation from the original specification in some major mechanical item, such as fitting a Jaguar engine into a DB4. Indeed many clients may recall that years ago when Austin-Healeys and Jaguar E-Types were returning to these shores from the United States, mane conversions lowered the value of the car concerned. This was, sadly, largely as a result of the poor quality and lack of adherence to the original specification, and DETAIL of the right hand drive product. Here at The Aston Workshop that has NEVER been the case. We are, in fact, now routinely finding that valuable Aston Martins that have recently found new homes overseas, even to customers who normally drive on the right, are being bought and converted to Left Hand Drive and, in point of fact, that a premium is often achieved. As a result the value of a car converted from right hand drive to left hand drive is as much and often more than the cost of the conversion. There are however, a number of clear provisos in making this claim. First and foremost, the conversion has to be such that the car is precisely as it would have been had it been manufactured from new as a left hand drive car. The second key point to make is that the quality of the conversion has to be flawless, at least the equal of what was being produced at Feltham or Newport Pagnell “in the day” and that the car has the precise appearance of an original “export market” left hand drive motor car. Over the last year or so, the demand for these left hand drive conversions has risen substantially, particularly for the DB4, 5 and 6 models. Since the turn of the year we are seeing it increasingly now with the V8 models as well. As a direct result, The Aston Workshop have remanufactured or acquired just about all of the items that are required to do the “right to left” conversion. Be it on DB4, 5, 6 or a V8. Perhaps chief amongst these items is the Dashboard. As can readily be seen, the quality is superlative, and all of our dashboards are indistinguishable from the period correct, original items. Anyone contemplating a right hand to left hand conversion can be assured that the process is quite straightforward, taking no more than a few weeks to do, and that we are both experienced and skilled at doing them. If a left hand drive conversion is of interest, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We can certainly advise and readily provide an extremely competitive quotation for all work involved. _________________________________________ History of the DB6 The DB6 was announced and shown to the public for the first time at the London Motor show in October 1965 and shares its general specification with the DB5. The most obvious difference between the DB6 and DB5 were changes made to the rear body, the rear spoiler or KAMM tail and the lengthened wheel base to realise a 4 seat capability, reduced cost of production and an improvement in performance through reducing drag and lift at speed. Other changes led to modification to the front to reduce lift, improve cooling and this led to the fitting of quarter bumper bars as opposed to the full width ones fitted to the DB5. The use of unequal length trailing arms for the rear axle, required to enable the adoption of an increased wheelbase, also had the benefit of increasing the rear end roll stiffness which further improved the general stability of the new DB6. Despite all of the modification for the DB6, weight was only marginally increased and the no cost option of a full Vantage specification engine realised a performance for the DB6, which rivaled that achieved by the DB4 GT some years earlier and never achieved with the DB5. On the road, the DB6 is noticeably steadier and in general use a more comfortable car with noticeably better internal room for driver and passenger alike. General handling is at least as good as the earlier DB5 and the ride generally is more controlled and comfortable. All in all, the DB6 though planned as an interim model, had indeed achieved a worthwhile gain over its predecessor, all be it at the expense of some of the purity of line exhibited by the DB4 and 5. While the general specification of the DB6 resembled closely that of the DB5, its achievable maximum speed went up to 148 mph from 141 mph with correspondingly improved acceleration. _________________________________________ One of the finest DB6s presently available for sale, this car wants for nothing and will provide its new owner with many enjoyable years of use. The car drives very smoothly and quietly and performs with vigour. There is a large file documenting all aspects of its restoration and the later part of its earlier history. The car will come with a thorough service & new MOT. This car is highly recommended and will appeal to the purchaser who wishes to acquire a fully restored Aston Martin that shares many of the features of a DB5, with improved 4 seat family accommodation at considerably less than the cost of a similar DB5. Original literature: