A3

Introduction

As is now widely known, with the benefit of the generosity of many members and benefactors, the Trust has been able to fully restore 'A3', the fourth car built by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford and the oldest surviving Aston Martin in the world, dating from 1921.

Rediscovered when offered for sale at Bonhams Aston Martin Works auction in 2002, A3 was the fourth of five prototypes built by Bamford and Martin, the first three are known to have been broken up.

Much research preceded the start of the restoration which was under the original control of Andy Bell of Ecurie Bertelli. For example, the Trust decided that the bodywork should be the touring version - one of several body styles fitted to the car in its early years. With no original drawings to follow, only fuzzy photographs taken at Brooklands and elsewhere, the new bodyis something of a work of art. Similarly, the non-original spoke wheels fitted to the car when it appeared at Bonhams auction had to be replaced with the original "Sankey type" which were specially cast in aluminium.

Members may like to invest in the limited edition and highly detailed model of the car in its original form produced by the Trust, which continues to be available from Trust priced at £150.

Order Form (Word document)

Order Form (PDF)

The entries below represent the progress of the rebuild, which were brought up to date periodically as the work progressed. Ecurie Bertelli have also set up a section of their own website relating to the restoration of A3, which can be found at http://www.ecuriebertelli.co.uk. All images used here are courtesy of Ecurie Bertelli.

Unveiling

After three years of painstaking restoration, the oldest Aston Martin in the world - built in 1921 - made its "second coming" at the Club/Trust headquarters on 18 April 2009.

A large number of Trust Founder Members and guests were present at the Barn to see Jo Kane, the grand-daughter of the last known owner in 1965, unveil the historic car to much applause. Jo said that, when she was a child, she affectionately called the old Aston "The Monster" and that her grandfather crashed it a couple of times - once into the back of a double-decker bus! Evidently he spent many weeks scouring the country to find spare parts.

A3 will now be based at the Barn but will attend numerous classic car events, including the Bonhams Works auction at Newport Pagnell, where it took pride of place in the reception area. It was also the star attraction at the Rousham House concours on 10 May 2009.

The Stages of Restoration

July 2007

The side-valve four cylinder engine has been comprehensively stripped down and rebuilt by Bruce Young – a process taking over more than a year. A key milestone was reached when it was started for the first time on the test rig – an exciting moment! It started easily and settled down to run smoothly with oil pressure steady at 30 – 40 psi. From its 1486cc it can be expected to produce some 40bhp at 4000rpm when run in.

It is also 'as new' in appearance, with a lot of copper and brass, and the plan is to place it on display at the Barn until it is able to be reunited with the chassis after the latter has been restored.

September 2007

Ecurie Bertelli have been asked by the Trust to take part in the restoration of A3. This will entail a total strip-down with the chassis, the transmission and axles being rebuilt, and new coachwork created from aft of the firewall.

November 2007

A3 has now been totally stripped. The bare chassis is now at the frame maker’s.

The stripped out radiator will look splendid when it is returned to its original ‘German silver’.

The handbrake and the fuel tank filler have been repaired and lightly polished, an appropriate finish for the steel on this car.

January 2008

The body frame has now been mocked up, and seasoned English ash will be cut to make the frame proper. Bodylines in Olney have been selected to do the panelling.

The strip down and inspection of the rear axle and differential revealed that one of the crown wheel bolts was broken, so all the bolts will be replaced. The taper roller bearings are all in good condition and of superb quality, so these will have their pre-load re-set and be re-fitted.

The brake linings were worn down to the rivets and these will be relined with modern asbestos free linings. This being a prototype, with no front brakes, there are two sets of shoes working on the drums - one pair for the foot brake and one for the hand brake.

May 2008

At Bodylines the remaking of the new coachwork is now progressing well - highly skilled work and all done by hand, in the traditional method.

There are some very peculiar shapes in the body, which until the frame is
made and the panels rolled and offered up will not be entirely resolved.

Normally a car’s body shape is dictated by fixed radius curves which are known as
’sweeps’ in the trade. However, A3’s original body is barrel sided and has a very
short but curved tail.  As such, the usual method of engineering cannot be applied.

Instead, Alan Pointer, who is making the panels, is relying on his good eye and judgement born of many years experience to match the handful of photos which act as patterns for the new body.

The radiator is in its original position, and is one of the few original fixed points on the car and is key to getting the body shape and proportions correct.

July 2008

The seat, running boards and wings are now being constructed. There is a slight difference between the  front and the rear of the car, so the front wings will be ‘splayed out’ a little to get the line correct from front to back. Once the bodywork is completed it will be prepared for painting.

The chassis, brakes, gearbox and radiator continue to be restored.

The wheels currently on the car are not ‘authentic’. Wooden patterns are being made to produce ‘Sankey’ type wheels which will cast in aluminium (they would have been pressed steel originally) and they will be fitted with the correct 'beaded edge' tyre.

September 2008

The coachwork is now completed. The rear of the body presented some problems, but now Andy Bell and Alan Pointer are both happy that the shape is as close as we can get to the available photos.

The screen is in the process of being fitted (it being thought that the original screen was suitably modified to fit the body made just pre-war).

The next step for the body is to paint it. It will be in black, as will the chassis and wheels.  The bonnet will be left in polished aluminium.   It will then go to have the upholstery fitted.

October 2008

The body is now away being upholstered.

The chassis has now been stripped, sand blasted and repainted in black cellulose. Ecurie Bertelli have found that the chassis is covered in chassis numbers...on both dumb irons and all the cross-members.

November 2008

The engine has been removed from display at the Barn for installation in the chassis by Ecurie Bertelli.

December 2008

The chassis is now almost completed, with the gearbox, torque-tube and rear axle in place.

The gearbox sits in the chassis and is not attached to the engine as in modern cars with a ´unit gearbox´. There are therefore two propshafts: one connecting the engine to the gearbox, and the second connecting the gearbox to the rear axle. The latter is housed in a torque tube which is attached to the gearbox on a spherical bearing. This is attached to the rear axle. The whole assembly then pivots on the back of the gearbox. This allows the rear springs to be attached to the chassis with a shackle and shackle pins at both ends of the spring.

The rear brakes are also being installed. This early car only has brakes at the rear, with a pair of shoes for the footbrake and a pair for the handbrake, so four shoes on each side.

Early February 2009

The painted and upholstered body is now fitted.

Old pine floorboards have been sourced to make the floor, as the remains of similar boards were taken off the chassis when restoration started.

The instruments are also now fitted in a timber dash-board (to match the screen panel and running boards), comprising of rev counter, speedometer, oil pressure, water temperature and a central switch-plate which incorporates an ammeter.

Wiring is very rudimentary, with only a dynamo, starter, magneto and side and head lamps required.

Late February 2009

As with all restorations the last few weeks are always the most thrilling, as the whole car starts to come together.

The wheels have been delivered and so has the repaired radiator.

The radiator, which was chromed when the car arrived at Ecurie Bertelli, has had to be completely rebuilt and is now nickel plated.

The wheels are cast aluminum copies of the original pressed steel ´Sankey´ artillery wheel. The new wheels were cast from wooden patterns and then machined up to fit the hubs on the car. Beaded edge tyres are fitted, which need a very high pressure of at least 50psi to hold them on the rims.

March 2009

Over the last three weeks the complete car has emerged.

The end of a restoration is always dominated by lots of small jobs, most of which are insignificant in themselves, like touching in all the unpainted nuts and bolts, but which must be done and make the difference between a really high quality job and something just thrown together. The car is complete and running and will go for an MOT next week.

A3 was never a particularly easy car to drive as the gear lever is very close to the driver’s legs and the clutch and foot brake are on the left side of the steering column and the accelerator on the right. The foot brake is also not very efficient and so the hand brake must be used to stop the car.