10x01 - Aston Martin DB7

[bunniefuu]

My mission is to find a
car with a touch of class.

This feels to me much more like an
Aston Should Be, a gentleman's cruiser.

Aston Martin may be forever
associated with special agents.

I feel like Bond.

Bond had the cube branch of the
car freeze motor and I've got Ed.

It could be the heater matrix
leaking which would be a nightmare

because I'd have to take the
whole dashboard out to change it.

Can we fix up this elegant
machine without breaking the bank?

I buy the cars, yes, and Ed fixes them up.

And hopefully, we
sell them on for a profit.

When the DB7 was launched
in 1994, most people agreed

it was one of the most
beautiful cars ever made.

In the 90s, Aston was in
trouble and new owners Ford

had to do something fast
to save them from oblivion.

So they chucked them an
early F-Type concept that

Jaguar had been working
on and the result was the DB7,

which sold 7,000 units and
become Aston's biggest selling car.

Powered by a
supercharged 3.2 litre straight

six and pushing out
335 brake horsepower,

it can do 0-60 in under six seconds.

Purists at the time looked down
on the DB7, calling it a Jag in drag.

But today, values are
on the up and if I'm ever

going to find a bargain
Aston, now is the time.

DB7s may be the cheapest
Aston around today but

it doesn't necessarily
mean that they're cheap.

In fact, out there online,
I am finding cars but

they all seem to be between
20 and 30,000 pounds.

And that's far too much money for us. I'm
looking for something I can really steal.

I don't want to spend more than
13 grand but finding an affordable

DB7 on the usual websites is
proving much harder than I expected.

I'm going to have to try something else.

Over the last 30 years, I've
built up quite an extensive

collection of black book
contacts in the motor trade.

Some of them started off selling Fiestas
but now they're selling Aston Martins.

So I'm going to give a few
of my friends in the trade a

call and see if I can come
up with anything out there.

Tony, it's Mike. I'm looking for a DB7.

I'm looking for a cheap DB7 to say
15,000 pounds, maybe a bit cheaper.

Nothing. Is that Dominic? How are you?

335 breakable.

Right, so anything wrong with it?

What do you mean special wheels?

You can email me over
some pictures, anything

you've got about the
car, that'd be fantastic.

Looks like I've found an
Aston that is in my budget.

Cheers Dom, thanks. Here's the email now.

It looks alright.
The pictures look pretty cool.

Yeah, DB7 in blue.
Not too sure about the wheels.

It's got a grey interior.

The problems are that
the car's had water ingress.

That means that water's got
inside the c*ck at some point.

He reckons it could just
do with some new rubbers.

The only cars out there online
at that price either seem to have

been rolled on their roof, caught
fire, or they're accident damaged.

So for 13 and a half grand, I
reckon it's definitely worth a trip.

The Aston Martin DB7 may
be the cheapest of Astons,

but they're still expensive
to fix if they go wrong.

It must be cheap for a reason.

I really need to keep my eagle
eyes peeled and use all my car

dealing instincts to make
sure that it's the right car for me.

But at 13 and a half
grand, it's such a cheap car.

In fact, it's Astra money,
and you wouldn't catch

James Bond driving around
in an Astra, would you?

Wow, look at this. A Wheeler
dealer steps onto Aston Martin turf.

And there it is, an Aston Martin DB7 Coupe.

And here's Dom. Hello mate.

Good to see you again.

Yeah, good to see you.
Now tell me about this.

It's an early DB7,
what we call a Series 1,

finished in mendic blue
with grey leather inside.

Needs a little bit of tidying.
That could be where you come in.

Right, so the paintwork looks alright,
doesn't it? I like the colour, very nice.

And it's lovely and straight, isn't it Dom?

I mean, it doesn't look like it's been
dented or marked or scratched in any way.

Not too bad at all, doesn't need
anything sort of overly structurally.

These wheels, are they the Saturn alloy?

They are.

They just look horrible.

They're quite a taste, I suppose.

Yeah, I suppose they're
valuable to the car, aren't they?

They are, they are.

Let's have a look at
the engine, if I can, Dom.

Of course, no problem at all.

The throbbing heart of any Aston
Martin, I'm looking forward to this.

There it is, 3.2 straight six.

Yeah, with a supercharger
tucked way down there.

Looks a little bit wet
down there in places.

They may have the odd leak
and stuff, but nothing too serious.

Can we fire it up? Can we have a listen?

No problem at all.

The engine sounds lovely.

There's a little bit of
a blow coming from...

Yeah, mechanically it's
good and quiet, but there's a

little bit of blow coming
from the exhaust manifold.

That's going to be a pretty tough
job to do on one of these, isn't it?

Not overly easy to get at.

Obviously, you're going
to have to remove some

of the beautification
panels, as they call them.

I love that, beautification panels.

You can turn it off now.

Let's have a look inside this interior.

Oh, very nice.

Grey leather, pipe blue, lots
of leather up on the dashboard.

Warner interior console.

Well, it looks all right.
Does everything work?

Everything does work.

Would say this one has got a
slight water leak into the car.

Going to have a look into that.

Well, that shouldn't affect the way that
it drives, and that's what's next for me.

Is there any chance I can give
it a little blast down the road?

No problem at all.
You're more than welcome.

Let's get those keys off you.

Look at me.
I'm driving an Aston Martin TV7.

Wow, what a fantastic privilege.

I'll tell you what, what a car.

You can really feel it under
your right foot, and so you should.

You know, this car's got
that silky smooth, straight

six engine that's got a supercharger bolted
to it, and good for 335 brake horsepower.

0-60 in this car, five and a half
seconds top speed, 165 miles an hour.

It's unlike the V12 Aston Martin,
which is much more frantic.

This feels to me much
more like an Aston should be,

a gentleman's cruiser
to just waft you along

and get you to where
you need to be going.

On the road, this old Aston
Martin feels a little bit skittish.

Under acceleration, it
wants to go to the right.

I want to take my foot off
the accelerator onto the brake.

It wants to pull. Oh, violently left.

It feels like the steering
geometry is out of kilter.

Either that, or because the
car feels sort of lazy on the road,

there could be something
wrong with the tyres.

Another problem with this car is
this, that the glass is steaming up,

and it's making it difficult
for me to see out of.

I love the fact that
Dominic confessed that

this car has got a water
leak in it somewhere,

but on a car like this, that
could be a major problem,

because just to replace a door rubber
on something like an Aston Martin,

that could be hundreds of pounds.

Dom's being very fair with his price.

He's asking £13,500,
which I think is cheap,

but if I can get this one
just that little bit cheaper,

it would make a whole heap of difference,

and it would be like driving the
crown jewels to the workshop.

So I'm going to go back,
see if I can do a deal.

Well, Dom, I do like it.

You enjoyed that then?

I did enjoy it.

I'm just a bit fearful of the
amount of work we might find.

I appreciate you've got to put
in some time and some effort,

but you've got the
basis of a really good car.

You say you want £13,500.

I do.

With the amount of work, I was
thinking I'd offer you £12,000.

I can't go as low as that.

I will do you a bit of a deal.

OK, like what?

Trade sale, take it away today.

Yeah.

£12,500.

Hold out your hand.

Yes.

Just bought myself a DV7.

Wicked.

Can't believe it.

So I'd back myself a James
Bond-style car for a steal,

but will the reality live up to the image,

or have I bought myself
a licence to lose money?

Only time and Ed will tell.

The purists say that the DV7 is a
Jag in drag, but you know what?

I think they could be wrong
because DV7 prices are rising.

And this car will never be cheaper.

£12,500.

Hold out your hand.

Just bought myself a DV7.

But there are a few issues with this car.

Looks a little bit wet
down there in places.

On the road, this old Aston
Martin feels a little bit skittish.

And when things do go wrong with an Aston,

they start to cost a lot of money.

I don't believe it.

I've just bought an Aston
Martin, and I've paid £12,500.

Surely this is the cheapest Aston Martin

that's ever been for sale in
this condition in the country.

And there's only one way
the price of this car is going,

and that's upwards.

Now, some of you may be
thinking this car isn't really

a classic, but not only
is it a classic of today,

it's a huge classic of tomorrow.

Miss Moneypenny, Mr Brewer
has never looked so good.

It's all going well with this car.

I'm over the moon with it.

Except for this skittish handling.

At the moment, I'm feeling
shaken and not very stirred.

So what's the deal with this car?

Well, we need to take this old
Aston Martin that's not been loved

and turn it into something
that's been cherished.

The truth is, it's never
going to make £20,000,

but we should be able to
make 16 or 17 grand out of it.

So your mission, Agent
China, if you choose to accept it,

is to take this Aston Martin
and to make it fighting fit.

Oh, mate!

You've got us an Aston Martin.

How about that then, son?

That is fantastic.

How good is that?

How much was it?

£12,500.

I think I will give you a
pat on the back for that.

That is fantastic.

For an Aston Martin at our workshop.

I know, it's good, isn't it?

Do you like it?

All right, Em.

Yeah, it's...

It's looking really tidy, actually.

I mean, the bodywork looks good, yeah.

But the first thing, I'd say the wheels,

cheap is the wrong word, but they
don't look, you know... I've got you.

Yeah, they're very 90s, these wheels.

They're Saturn alloy wheels.

The aficionados prefer
these because these come off

advantage, and I think
they're a much better wheel.

I'll tidy them up in one way or another.

Maybe we should perhaps do something...

Yeah, do something at the front end.

Well, I'll tell you one of
the things you can do.

See this grille?

That was right in the 90s, wasn't it?

Nice and black,

but these days we'll want a bit more bling,
so maybe we could do something with that.

Yeah, OK.

Yeah, have a sit inside.

It's like a gentleman's club in there.

You'll like it a lot.

Hey, look at that.

Lever seats, piped blue,

lever steering wheel, lever dashboard,

walnut interior.

Lovely Ford switches.

I can smell a bit of a fog in here.

Have you changed your after show?

I am, yeah.

I'm an odor of the blue filth.

No, what that fog is, Ed, is a
little bit of damp inside the car,

and if you pull up those carpets, which
you'll see, there's a bit of moisture.

I reckon it's just a leak
coming from a door seal.

Or it could be the heater matrix
leaking, which would be a nightmare

because it has to take the
whole dashboard out to change it.

So thanks for that.

Pop the bonnet and fire her up.

Oh, yeah, no problem.

You'll like the engine.

For your eyes only.

I see today, very good.

There seems to be six cylinders missing.

Ah, see, there you go.

Another one who wants a V12.

I like the straight six,

and I'll tell you what,

this car's got 335 brake horsepower,
straight six, 3.2, so it's a good engine.

It does sound good, but
also I can hear a kind of,

I don't know, a little bit
of a blow or something.

Exactly.

And I thought it was
coming out of the manifold.

Yeah, it sounds plausible.

I mean, okay, if it's
only just an exhaust leak,

I can probably deal with that.

Fantastic.

So what does it drive like?

Well, the engine is good
and strong, the gearbox is fine.

The handling though, that's something else

because it's a little
bit skittish on the road.

It pulls to the left,
it pulls to the right,

but then I've had a look at all the
tires and there's an odd one on it.

That would definitely
make a big difference.

Okay, so I've got to sort out the tires

and probably by the sound
of it, the tracking as well.

Well, your mission on this car, Ed,

is to keep the spend really low.

I reckon just a couple of grand,

but you know, nobody does it better.

Well, it's only a couple of odd jobs.

Like it, like it.

Let's get it in the workshop.

We've actually got an
Aston Martin in our workshop.

And when you think back
in the day when it was new,

this DB7 would have
been over 70,000 pounds.

The fact that Mike got it for 12 and
a half grand is absolutely incredible.

However, since the car
has been in the workshop,

I've noticed a bit of oil on the floor.

So my first job is to find
out where it's coming from

and the best place to do
that is from underneath.

Now the only sign of any oil
leaking seems to be in this area.

It looks like it's coming
from this pipe here,

which looks like it's going to
be connected to the oil cooler.

You've got like a rubber hose going onto
a steel pipe and they're crimped together.

And obviously over time,
and it's been nearly 20 years,

that rubber may have perished, it's been
shaken around perhaps, but it's now leaking.

Now it's not that serious at the moment,

but if you imagine that was to get much
worse and actually blow off altogether,

then all of your engine
oil, which of course is under

pressure at this point, will
actually then leave the engine.

You could end up seizing
it or just blowing it up.

So I'm going to have to change it.

Changing the oil pipes
that feed the oil cooler

starts with draining all
the oil from the system.

So out comes the sump plug.

The oil catcher keeps the floor clean

and makes it easy to
dispose of the oil responsibly.

Then the sump plug goes back in
and it's time to disconnect the oil pipes,

which are underneath the oil cooler.

Typically there's
loads of stuff in the way.

The front under-tray and bracing
comes away easily enough,

but behind that there is a power steering
radiator that has to be released too.

I can now see finally our oil cooler pipes.

We've got these hoses that
come up here onto some steel pipes

and those steel pipes then attach through
a union onto the aluminium oil cooler.

Now unfortunately therein
lies a bit of a problem.

You get this galvanic corrosion

because of the two dissimilar metals
and ultimately what that means is

you can't actually get
them apart very easily.

But of course we're going to
change both hydraulic pipes

so I can actually sacrifice these
to make it easier to disconnect

that on the bench and therefore
hopefully we avoid the risk

of actually damaging
the oil cooler as well.

Right, time for an air saw
and the usual safety garb.

I simply cut through the oil pipes,

keeping my oil catcher to hand as there's
bound to be some oil still in the system.

Once the pipes are cut, it's
still a bit of a faff to get them out

as they're rigid and
rather an awkward shape.

It's all a bit of a tight squeeze but with
a bit of Patience, not my strong point,

they finally come out.

With the pipes cut, the oil cooler
itself can be lifted out from above.

Thank goodness.

Well here is our oil cooler and it
pretty much is what it looks like,

which is a radiator, but of course
it's for cooling oil rather than water.

The problem we've got is
because they only made 7000 DB7s,

parts can be a bit more expensive
than on a more mass-produced vehicle.

Now we're already paying about
£500 for the replacement hoses

and if I can't get these
unions off our oil cooler,

I have to pay another £500 to
buy a replacement one of those

so it is quite an incentive
for me to get these

off without ruining
our little oil cooler here.

The unions are very corroded
but I really want to try and

save our oil cooler so they
are going to have to come off.

Any more force and I'm
going to start causing damage.

Now I could resort to loads of
heat but of course this is full of oil

so it's kind of flammable,
could be quite dangerous.

The thing I'm going to do is
just cut a little slot in this nut here

and that's going to relieve
the pressure and hopefully it'll

help me unwind it and also
clean the threads as it goes.

Time to grab the angle grinder.

I've got to be very
careful about how far I cut.

Too deep and I'll damage the threads
of the unions and ruin the oil cooler.

That is such a shame.

So having triumphantly
managed to get the

connector off is actually
so corroded underneath.

I just don't think we can use it.

This is bad news.

But with a car like this,

a temporary fix is never going to do.

That's the trouble with prestige cars,
they come with prestige parts prices.

Mike said we need to keep the
spend down to a couple of thousand

and it's already cost us
over a grand on just one job.

This could start to
become a real problem car.

Well here is one of our new hydraulic pipes

and you can see they've
now changed this to aluminium

so when it's attached to the oil cooler
there'll be similar metals and won't corrode.

What we've got to do now is somehow
thread it through this tiny, tiny space.

It's a bit like trying to thread one's
way undetected through a villain's lair.

But eventually the new pipes are in
place without too many scraped knuckles.

Then all I need to do is connect them
up to the underside of the new oil cooler.

And while the oil is
drained out of the system

it makes sense to
change the oil filter.

It's easy to do and only costs 12 pounds.

Top tip, put a film of oil on the top
of the new filter so it seals properly.

Next I replace all the bits that I took
off to get access to the oil cooler pipes.

So now everything's done
up, it's time for some oil.

The Aston has a high
performance supercharged engine

so it doesn't make sense to
skimp on the quality of the oil.

It might not be cheap but I'm
using premium fully synthetic.

The car will need 8 litres to fill
it so oil in, then crank the engine

to make sure the oil
has got to all the parts it

should have including those
new pipes and oil cooler.

Then check the level and top up again.

A quick check under our Aston.

Have we got rid of the leaks?

Well that's fantastic, there are no signs

of any oil leaks from under the engine
anymore and although it was an expensive fix

it did have to be done
at some point or other

so at least now the new owner
will have that peace of mind.

Now Mike's given me a ring

and he wants me to take the wheels off.

because he's got a cunning plan.

Right, this is one of the wheels.

off our Aston Martin DB7
and now it's off the car

it really does look like it's off
a Mazda sports car, doesn't it?

The thing is, I don't want to change them

because they are the proper
Saturn alloy for that motor.

What I want to do is
give them a modern twist

so I've come to a company
who reckon they can help me.

Hello Mike.

How you doing mate, you're Jacob yeah?

Yeah, nice to meet you Mike.

Nice to meet you too.

Right, now, this is my
Aston Martin DB7 wheel.

So what can you do with it for me?

What I can do for you,

we're going to change slightly the
colour for you for shadow chrome.

That's a nice modern colour.

Yeah, that's right.

Okay.

What do you need to do first?

I need to take the tyres off first.

Okay, go for it.

It turns out that getting the tyres off

really is the easy bit.

What comes next involves
the kind of clothing normally

reserved for soldiers
training for chemical warfare.

Now Jacob's going into
the acid stripping container.

The reason I don't want to go in there
is because it's got methylene chloride,

methanol and hydrofluoric acid
and it will strip anything that's plastic

or paint based and already
outside it really whiffs.

I'm scarpering.

Even though I don't
want to be anywhere near

the acid bar for more
than a few seconds,

the wheel's staying there for 20 minutes.

I'm amazed there's anything left.

After they're dipping acid,

the wheels are transferred to an
Aqua blast machine for cleaning.

and Jacob is letting
me handle the controls.

The machine cleans the remaining
acid and paint residue using

a combination of powdered
glass and high pressure water.

You can see it lifting the
dirt off, can't you already?

That's amazing.

Now the wheels are right
down to the bare alloy,

they're ready to be powder coated.

This is a process where the wheel
has an electric current applied to it

which attracts the paint which is
being sprayed in a powder form.

The advantage is that it
creates a very even coat.

The layer of black powder paint
now needs to be melted into a liquid

which means baking it in an industrial oven
for 20 minutes at probably gas Mark seven

just time for me and
Jacob to grab a cup of tea.

Look at that.

Ah, that is fantastic.

So now all that powder coating has been
liquefied together but it's very black.

Where's the silver?

Yeah, now we're going to
spray it with chrome silver.

Chrome silver.

Okay, go on then.

The final stage is to overlay the black
paint with silver paint, creating a deep,

almost three-dimensional colour effect,

a neat trick.

Hey, look at that.

Hasn't Jacob done a fantastic job?

That's what I meant.

Look, a modern twist on an old wheel.

They look absolutely brilliant.

They cost £65 each.

I can't wait to get it back in the
workshop, see what Ed thinks.

The wheels may not have cost a fortune

but our cheap Bond car
is starting to get expensive

with its leaking oil pipes
and broken manifolds.

The question is, can we still turn
a profit on our aristocratic Aston?

And Aston Martin for
just 12 and a half grand

is a steal but then
there's a reason it's cheap.

This skittish handling, I'm
feeling shaken and not very stirred.

I can hear a little bit
of a blow or something.

I thought it was coming
out of the manifold.

Let's hope the DB7 is a good
investment and not a beautiful money pit.

Now, when Mike handled it,

the enemy of this car, we did notice

there was a bit of a noise
coming from the exhaust system.

It sounded like something
wrong with perhaps the manifold

and I can hear it's
definitely from around this

area but I can't really
see any obvious blows.

So the next thing to do is get
a trusty bit of paper on a stick.

Not very high tech, I know.

And then just start wafting it around
in places you suspect might be leaking.

So right at the very top,

just underneath the manifold there,

I can actually see a little bit of
movement on this bit of tissue

which means there is some exhaust
gases escaping from somewhere up there

but on closer inspection,
I can actually see

a kind of crack in the
bottom of the manifold.

So at least that was quite easy to find.

The hardest bit now is going to be getting
that off and swapping it for a new one.

The manifold is bolted to the engine block

and feeds the exhaust
gases out of the engine

and into the exhaust system.

To get to it, the first thing I need
to do is remove the heat shield.

So with the heat shield out of the way,

I can now have a look
at the exhaust manifold.

Well in fact there are actually
two, one for each half of the engine,

and they've both got a dirty great split

or crack in them from
the top round to the bottom

which is why obviously the
exhaust doesn't sound right

because most of the
exhaust gases are going to be

escaping into the engine bay rather
than going out through the whole system.

So to get those manifolds off the
engine block is going to be quite tricky.

Because of all that expanding and shrinking

because of the heating
and the cooling process,

those nuts are almost certainly
going to be well on there.

As always, using
penetrating oil should give me

a fighting chance at
getting those nuts undone.

Well I think I've been rather lucky because
all of the nuts that hold the manifold

to the engine have actually
undone reasonably easily.

I was expecting to have to
break out the oxyacetylene.

All I have left now are
the four bolts, or nuts,

that actually hold the
manifold to the downpipe.

But they're looking
quite difficult to get to.

The answer is a very
long reach socket extension

and a good bit of
old-fashioned brute force.

Once the bolts are
undone, the manifolds lift out.

Well here is our pair of exhaust manifolds.

You can see much more clearly on the
bench what we could nearly see in the car

and that's the extent of
the damage or these cracks.

You've got one here
that's over an inch long

and then there's another
one that actually goes

from one side of the flange all the way over
the top and then down to the other side.

It's the same pretty much on
the other half of the manifold.

Again you've got a crack going all
the way around from flange to flange.

And then the other one
has actually got holes in it

so you're going to have even more exhaust
gases leaking out, making more noise.

And the problem is it's actually
quite difficult to repair cast iron.

It's actually probably a
better option in this case

to go with some brand new
Aston Martin genuine parts.

At least that way then the new
owner's got the peace of mind

you've got new parts instead of
a repaired slightly dodgy old one.

The manifolds don't
come with blanking plates

so I need to rescue them
from the old manifolds

and then attach them to the new ones.

Then put the new studs in place

and the new manifolds are
ready to be fitted to the engine.

New sealing rings fit between
the manifold and the downpipes

and new gaskets sandwiched between
the manifolds and the engine block.

As always, finger tighten the nuts first
and then tighten up to the correct torque.

Overtightening could strip the threads.

A crow's foot spanner
sorts the difficult bolts

that attach the exhaust
back onto the manifolds.

And finally, the heat
shield is fitted back in place.

Right, well our brand new
manifolds are in position

everything's done up so let's
see what it sounds like now.

There we go, problem solved,
it sounds so much better.

Ed, how you doing mate?

Alright sir.

Man with the license to drill.

I'm going to have to stop you with these
James Bond puns mate, it's just not cool.

What's up with you,
somebody rattled your cage?

It's just really frustrating, obviously
we're trying to restore this car on a budget

and the thing is, the first thing
we had to sort out was that oil leak

ended up having to change the
oil cooler and the hydraulic pipes

it's cost over a grand just for that and
then to sort out the noise in the engine

there was a crack in both
manifolds, had to replace them as well.

so we're just racking up a huge bill.

Ed, don't worry about
it because you have to

appreciate we are
working on an Aston Martin

it's always going to cost a bit
more than we originally planned

but I have found ways to stem the flow of
cash in fact, I've been out sorting this.

you know those very
expensive Aston Martin alloys?

Well I found an inexpensive
way of giving them

a bit of a facelift they
look good, don't they?

They do look a lot better actually, yes.

Also, look at this chrome grille
that goes on the front of the car.

£80.

That's not bad.

And not only that, I took the
Liberty of changing the two

front tyres as well to make
sure that car handles better.

That's brilliant actually because that is
my next job to sort out this dodgy handling

and it's going to make such a
difference to the driveability of this car.

And that's what we need
to do with this motor head

not only getting looking
right, but get it driving right

that way I can attract
the perfect buyer for it.

Nobody does it better, mate.

An Aston Martin is a prestige vehicle
it's about quality and performance

you've got those fantastic
leather seats the walnut dash

you've also got the 3.2 litre straight 6
engine developing over 300 horsepower

but all that power is no good
without some kind of control

and that's where our DB7's got a bit of
a problem it's got really awful handling.

Well this is one of our
refurbished wheels that Mike

sorted out it's definitely
a lovely improvement.

obviously got rid of all those
chips and dents and things

but the main thing is we've gone from
the bright silver that they were before

to this slightly darker,
smoked chrome paint.

The freshly painted wheels
transform the Aston's look

but the way it handles is far from perfect
the steering geometry is all over the place

so the next thing I have to
do is sort out the tracking.

Usually when you
want to adjust the wheel

alignment of a car you
need to use a four post ramp

that way the wheels and the suspension
are supporting the weight of the car

so it's under load like
it would be on the road

and then you can get accurate
measurements and do accurate adjustments

but the really clever
thing about this machine

is that I can actually do live
adjustments to the alignment

while it's actually up
on the two post ramp.

with the suspension
dropped down in full droop

but before I do that I
need to drop the car down

and settle the suspension before I
can take some initial measurements.

With the suspension settled and under load

the front wheels need to
be rocked up onto swivel

plates so that the
steering is free to move

but then the laser measuring heads
can be attached to all four wheels.

I've managed to correctly position
the measuring heads on the wheels

and they've already sent a load of
information wirelessly to the computer

so it now knows things like the toe
angle, the thrust angle, the camber

everything except for the caster so
all I have to do now is actually find the

standard data that
comes from the factory

to compare it with how
badly or well our car is doing.

So first thing is just find
our car on the system.

Aston Martin.

have a look here first
up DB7, fantastic, so

I'll click that see all
the various bits of data.

so that's what comes from the
factory now the next thing I have to do

is actually do basically a bit of steering
to kind of get the swing on the caster

because at the moment obviously
the car can't tell the angle of the caster

but by actually moving the
wheels from one side to the other

so it's going to work it all
out, so that's my next job

the computer needs to measure
the full lock in each direction

once that's done it can
calculate the missing caster angle

which is the number of degrees off vertical
for the pivot about which the wheels turn

the toe is the angle
describing how much the

wheels point towards or away from
each other compared to dead ahead

so now the computer
system has all the information

it needs we can now
have a look at the data itself

so first of all let's
have a little look at the

rear of the car so we've
got two readings here

we've got the camber angle
and we've also got the total toe

so the idea is that the camber of course
is how the wheels sit like that on the car

that's fantastic, the
arrows are in the green

so that's all good if
we look at the toe.

both arrows are actually in the red when
you actually look at the numbers though

the toe is actually well within,
bang in the middle pretty much,

of the tolerance so what Aston
Martin are trying to do there

is actually steer the car
towards the centre of the road

to try and compensate for the
camber on our English roads.

right, let's have a little
look now at the front.

we've got the caster,
camber angle and the toe

so the caster is in the
green so that's all good

as is the camber angle
but the toe is way out

so that would explain perhaps
why Mike is having such a struggle

actually trying to keep
this car on the road properly

so what I need to do now
is get the car up in the air

and then adjust the suspension
mechanically to bring those numbers back in

but this is the clever bit
if I press this button here.

it now freezes that information

the computer is just going to
stick with the original numbers

so that way we can adjust it while it's
in the air live on the car, very clever.

before I adjust anything

I need to use a steering
lock to make sure the

steering stays centred
while I make my adjustments.

then it's time to lift the car.

unlock the computer and
spray on some penetrating

oil so the suspension
will adjust easily.

as I adjust the track rod ends

the computer shows me whether
I'm moving in the right direction.

the idea is to get both
sides in the centre of

the green and as accurately
matched as possible.

of course not everyone
has access to such clever kit

a garage will charge between 50
and 100 pounds to align all four wheels

and that's money well spent as it really
can improve handling and reduce tyre wear.

now we've taken out quite a
large adjustment on this side

and not surprisingly I
needed to fine tune this side

just to make sure
everything is tickety boo.

every adjustment has an impact on
everything else but with a bit of Patience

I can get the tow and camber
settings pretty much bang on.

because we've got new tyres in the front

the car is no longer
going to pull to one side

so Mike is bound to
notice a vast improvement

and the best bit is this
job didn't cost us a penny.

so with the oil cooler
and manifolds replaced the

suspension geometry fixed
and the newly refurbished wheels

our 12 and a half grand Aston
is starting to look a bit better

but before we head to
the casino to celebrate

there's still that water leak to sort
out and that could be a major problem.

Aston Martin now there's a name
we've not seen on Wheeler dealers before

but where there's a
brewer there's a bargain.

I've just bought an Aston Martin

and I paid 12 and a half thousand pounds
but will our cut price DB7 bring us riches

or will it be a washout an Aston that's
full of water could be a real bucket case

it's all down to it now the man
with the golden screwdriver.

we're doing pretty well with our DB7

but it's still not ready to
sell because when you open

the door you get hit with
this kind of musty smell.

and the reason for that is that somewhere

there is a water leak and
it's collecting in the carpet

now that's not very Aston Martin so
clearly it's something I have to deal with.

folding back the carpets it's
clear there is a serious leak here

there's water soaking
right down to the floor pan

no wonder the windows were fogging
up when Mike was driving the car.

that can be a big risk
buying a car with a water leak

which is why many unscrupulous
sellers will try and pass off wet carpets

because oh yes well
the valet has just been in

but in that case the water would
only be on the top of the carpet

rather than all the way
through to the chassis

so the question is where
does it all come from

well on older cars it could be
down to a windscreen problem

normally the seals would leak
but because this is a bonded screen

that's almost certainly
not going to be the case.

which means it could
be something far worse.

now the heater matrix is nesting
back here behind the dashboard

obviously if that was to leak
it would leak into the floor

but because it's glycol based it would
have a kind of a slippery feel about it

and it would smell different
to what I'm getting here

I reckon this is fresh water that's
come in from outside of the car

so the question then is
where did it come in from.

to find out I've got a great gadget

you can hire a specialist smoke
machine for 40 pounds a day

and if I fill the inside
of the car with smoke

any leak should be clearly
revealed as the smoke escapes

well you can see clear as day
there is smoke coming out here

at the top of the door just between
the glass and the rubber seal

so clearly the rubber seal isn't
really doing what it's supposed to there

and it's much the same
on the other side as well

which is obviously
why the water's getting

in running down the
pillar here, the B pillar

and then getting into
the floor into the carpet.

having done its job it's time to get
rid of the smoke and clear the air.

it's a bit easier to see what's
going on now with the smoke's gone

so now we know that the water is leaking
in through the top of the rubber here

now I've had a chat with
an Aston Martin specialist

and he was saying normally
when the door rubbers leak

if they do it's coming from
further down on the A pillar

and the way they fix it is by
peeling that door rubber away

packing in a little bit of extra
material popping it back in place

and hopefully that actually helps
push that seal against the glass

making sure the water doesn't get in so
I'm hoping I can use the same technique

in the top corner back here
the problem is if it doesn't work

then we're going to have to go to
the expense of a set of door rubbers.

I've got some off cuts
of rubber vacuum hose

which should be just the
thing to pack our tired door seal.

it's just a case of pulling back the
seal and pushing in my rubber tube filler.

with the packing inside
the rubber seal needs a

couple of well aimed blows
to get it back into place.

same thing on the other side of the car

and then it's time to get
that smoke machine going

again just to make sure
I've solved the problem.

look at that, no sign of any smoke

so we fixed the leak
and it was a nice cheap fix

as well so now our Aston
Martin is nearly complete.

just one more job to do.

and that is to fit the
grill that Mike bought us

and of course to do that I
need to remove this one first.

so out comes that nasty
90's style plastic egg crate grill

and in goes Mike's far more
expensive looking wire mesh affair.

it's a small detail
but it does lift the car.

well there we go, we now have
an Aston Martin that dries properly

it doesn't leak, the engine runs nicely and
it's pretty much ready for its new owner.

my work here is done.

Ed is like my very own Q and he's
done a great job on our budget Aston

transforming it from slightly
sad, neglected machine

into something fit and
classy for a special agent.

but as Aston prices continue to rise

the DB7 is sure to be a
good investment for the future.

at just £12,500 ours was
about as cheap as you can go

for an Aston hold
that around yes!

but it could have been a real money pit

got to sort out the tyres and probably
by the sound of it the tracking as well

with its oil leaks, blown exhaust
mouldy carpets and wayward handling

the Ed has managed to work the
miracles again ok, there's no ejector seat

but it has got new manifolds
there we go, problem solved

a new oil cooler, refurbished
wheels they look absolutely brilliant

and a fully sorted chassis
my work here is done.

with its sporty new nose and
snug fitting water tight window seals

our car is finally worthy
of that illustrious badge.

we paid just £12,500 for our car but
our cost could easily have spiralled

so we worked hard to
keep to a strict budget

the oil cooler and hoses
was our most expensive

cost at £1,125 the
total cost came to just

£14,500 and that's still
a bargain price for a DB7

and should leave us enough
space for a decent profit.

alright Ed, Agent
007 foot tall don't start

I'm sorry mate, I can't
help myself but look at it

it's looking great, the SMR
is very business like I love

the wheels they've given it
a much more modern twist

and that grill at the
front has given it a facelift

please tell me you fitted an ejector
seat I didn't quite get round to them

I have fixed absolutely everything else
and I have to say it was a bit of a mission

well it was worth it mate because
look what we got we got an Aston Martin

an Aston Martin yeah we certainly do
now I reckon this is such an elegant motor

me and you ought to tog
ourselves up for the test

drive are we talking
about a black tie perhaps?

well Ed, we got the car we got the
clothes does it feel good eh, Agent Ed?

well if I'm the agent that makes you the
master villain you're looking very sharp

but to be fair normally you should be
playing some mad plan to take over the world

rather than just smoking about an old
motor what do you mean an old motor?

look at us we're driving
around in a genuine

Aston Martin and what
did I give for this car?

it's twelve and a half thousand pounds
this car was the bargain of the century

you could treat this motor
like a gift and you know what

I'm going to have to
agree with you on that one.

I know this DB7 may have given
us a few of eights at the beginning

but now we can just sit back, relax and
enjoy what we've got we've got a proper motor

plus the fact that up front we've
got a straight sit supercharged.

335 brake horsepower silky
smooth motor which goes.

like that that
is quick isn't it?

like an absolute steam train.

and I'll tell you if it weren't
just for looking a little bit closer

at the number plate you'd never
guess we weren't driving around him

fifty grand worth of Aston that is
true enough but what about the outfits?

we're in our finery we
need a suitable destination

we certainly do and don't worry
about that I've got just the plan.

I get it Aston Martin
stately home that seems

appropriate good
job it does doesn't it?

but actually the more I think about
it we've got it wrong haven't we?

have we?

yeah why would this car
impress at a stately home?

I guess everybody's got one everyone's got
a car like this no we haven't got it right

what we need to do is to go somewhere
where we can definitely make an entrance

somewhere where we can
make a dramatic statement

somewhere where we
can get the pose just right.

so why exactly are we here?

what could be more British.

than fish and chips
and an Aston Martin plus

this is the only place
to really get noticed

okay I can kind of see what
you've done there fair enough but

what kind of money are we
going to be able to get for this?

well I reckon we really should
be able to cash in our chips.

see what I did there
on this one and if we

place it right on the
market we should be able to

hook the right punter at
around 15,000 pounds okay

fair enough well after
all you only live twice hey.

the market for luxury cars is down at the
moment and I've not had too many calls

but I did get one from somebody in
the motor trade who's keen to see it.

it is sad that our DV7 is up for sale
but she owes us and it's time to pay up

now I've advertised the car for 15,500
pounds this guy behind me Martin

is the first to show up and I think he's
keen to do a deal do I expect him to talk?

no I expect him to buy.

right now Martin
Mike you like the car?

I like the car good
so what do you think?

I think it's very nice I think it'll
sit very well amongst my stock

oh well that's great news so I've
asked 15,500 pounds for the car.

where do you want to be?

you're a thousand
pounds too much.

really?

yeah.

fourteen and a half thousand
pounds fourteen and a

half thousand pounds
can't you go a little bit more?

I'd go to fourteen
and three quarters.

that's a fair bid

but can't we just be gentlemen like
James Bond about this call it 15,000 pounds

you've got a deal come
on go on then yes we've

got a deal you just bought yourself
a cracking DV7 thank you very much.

well I would have liked a
bit more but five hundred

pounds is not to be sniffed
at in this tough market.

I set out to find an aristocratic Aston
at a knockdown price and I found

one of the cheapest in the country it was
down on its luck but with Ed's know-how

we've returned it to active service
and made a tiny profit along the way

if you want to see
more faded greats.

being turned round then join me
and Ed soon on Wheeler Dealers ta-la.