Great work, are you having the heads ported? There is a considerable amount of flash on most of the castings and even a quick clean up would be worthwhile in your stage of rebuild. VANQUISH S had a nice grind out and match for extra flow that gave a few HP advantage.

 

Right now I am just having the cam journals honed, but will know more once they make their way east from MO...

 

New valves, rockers, guides, lifters, springs, cam journals and they are finally built...


honed the journals and caps

all done!

48 valve seats cut!

 

Very cool. Kudos for pulling it in your garage.

 

Thanks - I delivered all the extra parts (oil pan, gaskets, oil pump, yada, yada...) over to Precision Engine in Hyattsville, MD. The heads should arrive this week and he can start finishing up the long block. I was going to do it, but at this point I figure I'll have enough fun putting it all back in the car to last me a while.

 

Ballsey move, Mav...........

 

One of the parts that I need to replace is the oil cooler (Part 17 on the drawing): https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/par...y-eng-oil.html

I really wanted to reuse it, but repeated high pressure washings and cleanings kept releasing bits and pieces of metal from the rod bearings. I finally decided to purchase a new one, only to be told by Scuderia and AM that they are out of stock, with Scuderia telling me 8 weeks, and AM Washington saying it's not in the system and no expectation of replacement. Hmmm. That's not helpful...

I thought the part was from Nissens, but finally noticed the Modines logo on the part. I located the part on the Modines website, it's a series 1200 donut oil cooler (see attached). Talking to them, they normally only sell B2B, but it's a custom part with a 6 week delivery time for $200.00. They were willing to work with me on getting me one.

I really want to get the engine in the k-frame, but can't pressure test it without the oil cooler. My solution is to use a Series 1000 that is used on late 90s Ford 5.8L engines and easily found on ebay. I have a spare metric connector bolt that I'll need to turn down and trim but this will get me through the pressure test of the block and on the road.

I find it fascinating that the supply chain is as fragile as it appears. The part is common the V12s, but admittedly should never fail and thus an uncommon request. I should have ordered it back in the spring, but was unwilling to believe I couldn't get the residue out of the baffles...

 

Great work AM4884. I can't imagine what an AM dealer would charge for all this work.. certainly more than you paid for the car.

 

I have spent enough that I'm lying to myself... When I am done I'll have $10K in the motor. Granted it will be "Zero" timed. The challenge now is repairing/replacing all the things in the car that need to be replaced. This is another $3-4K. So, what this really has done is let me get a DB9 and not have my wife realize how much I have spent over the last year on top of a pretty cheap purchase. All things considered I'm happy, but really looking forward to getting the engine in the car and finally running (fingers and toes crossed!).

Modded the oil cooler bolt and got it ready to install on the car. Looking forward to the pressure and flow test!

 

a cheap car is never cheap...

 

I suppose it is relative. Because I am DIYing it it will be cheap for an Aston Martin, but about 4x what it cost me to resurrect my e39 M5.

 

Some pictures of the primary positive lead going from the main frame into the K frame and upto the Jumper point in the engine bay. Notice the plastic has baked off the T junctions leading to the alternator/starter.
I will apply some insulation compound, wrap in high temperature tape, put metallic insulation material over it and then reattach to the K-Frame. Probably not a concern, but if the positive lead mates the frame one has a homemade welder under the hood!

Not the most impressive piece of workmanship I have seen, but similar to a Ferrari I helped rebuild.

 

And the motor is done!

 

Motor back in the garage and ready to be installed.

Many thanks to Precision Engine in Hyattsville, MD, Marine Crankshaft, and WebCamshafts in CA, and Noland Cylinder Heads in Kansas City, MO! In particular to Mike Norris at Precision Engine for taking this on and putting his magic into an Artisan build.

It's not a complicated motor, but there is a lot of it!

Now to the installation. Not in a rush... Not in a rush... Not in a rush...

 

I kept a bunch of the old parts as souvenirs.

This is a near priceless DB9 piston and rod... If you live in the DMV and want one, IM me and I'll leave it on the porch. Free for the asking until they are gone.