The Instruction:
We were asked to inspect this 1950's Aston Martin DB2 for a US based collector. The car was was being listed by a classic car restorer based in Jersey for £225,000.
An extensive history file was provided which documented numerous body and mechanical restorations that had taken place during its lifetime. During the 1990's the car had been subject to significant structural restoration, images relating to the work were presented to our assessor.
The vehicle was currently registered in Jersey but was originally a UK vehicle.
Export documents provided evidence of a large gap in its UK history, during this period it had been part of a collection in the US. It had returned to the UK within the last 5 years and been subject to further mechanical and cosmetic restoration.
Documented mileages recorded that the vehicle did only 67 miles during almost 20 years in the US. However a documented speedometer fault may be a contributing factor and as a result the mileage could not be verified.
The Inspection:
This is brief summary of our findings
The vehicle had matching numbers however it did not have the original gearbox. Documented replacement of the gearbox was noted shortly after purchase in 1958.
Upon its return to the UK documents indicate a more basic cost effective respray was carried out. The evident work shows some advanced defects includes paint blistering and cracking filler.
Ladder chassis showed a degree of surface corrosion which would benefit from treatment.
Significant mechanical work had been carried out by a respected UK Aston Martin Specialist, visual inspection confirmed the work carried out as documented and to a good standard, the performance and handling were in good order.
The vehicle was found to be well presented by the seller and in a fully roadworthy and serviceable condition, there were no significant mechanical or structural defects and the vehicle ID's were consistent with the documented history.
Ongoing and near term attention would be required to the bodyshell and chassis frame to maintain the vehicles value. The vehicles overall condtion was reflected in the valuation given to our client.
