ASTON MARTIN DB2/4
Year of manufacture 1953
Recorded mileage 389
Asking price £129,950
Vendor Hofmann’s of Henley, Oxon; tel: 01491 848800; www.hofmanns.co.uk
WHEN IT WAS NEW
CAR
#Aston-Martin-DB2-4 /
#Aston-Martin-DB2 /
#Aston-Martin-DB2/4 /
#Aston-Martin /
#1953
Price £2728
Max power 125bhp
Max torque 144lb ft
0-60mph 11.1 secs
Top speed 117mph
Mpg 20
This Aston, the 61st 2/4 off the line, with factory-fitted options of heavyduty dampers and a telescopic steering column, spent some time in New Zealand where it was restored before being repatriated in 1985, and has been re-registered on its original number. It has clearly done little work since because the fasteners underneath are still clean and the recorded mileage is likely post rebuild, only about 120 having been added after its MoT test in 2011. Its history file details all the work carried out up to ’59, which included a 3-litre-spec clutch, Alfin brake drums possibly for a mid- ’50s Alpine Rally entry, and a subsequent engine rebuild at 47,000 miles.
The body is straight, with even and quite close-fitting panel gaps for a DB2-family car. The chassis and bodywelds are sharp, the exhaust is in fine order, plus the paint is nice and even, bar a small area of sinkage at the base of the left ’screen pillar. The wheels are new, shod with a decent set of Vredestein radials with the same on the spare, and the original painted wires are included. Inside, the leather is clean and unworn, while the same goes for the carpets. The dashboard and instruments are excellent, too. The engine is clean and tidy, in factory finishes including black carbs, with no leaks. Its oil is cleanish and near the maximum mark, with green coolant, full in the top tank. The engine-bay wiring loom is new and to the correct cotton-covered spec. The jack and wheelbrace are in place. The ‘six’ fires readily, sounding beefier than its 2.6 litres. It suffered a slight misfire on our gentle test, but clean plugs should clear that because it had been running perfectly when it reached the showroom – according to Hofmann’s. Oil pressure is a steady 50psi – halfway up the gauge when in motion – and the coolant temperature sits at 75ºC. The gearchange is accurate and the brakes pull up straight, with a slight rumble through the firm pedal. Though it now doesn’t need one, the MoT runs until January.
SUMMARY
EXTERIOR Smart body and paint; one small sub-surface area not so good
INTERIOR New materials and immaculate
MECHANICALS All appear to have been rebuilt
VALUE★★★★★★★✩✩✩
For + Condition; colour; MM eligible
Against - If you must nitpick, that bit of paint on the ’screen pillar
SHOULD I BUYIT?
Well restored, although in the same ballpark as some very original cars that sold recently at auction for rebuild – so the numbers stack up.
