Good day gents.

This post is intended to potentially help anybody that is thinking about doing this Ash Mart kit conversion to their XK8. I bought my 1997 XK8 as a write off selling for parts only, with the intention of doing this conversion from the start. So I don't feel too bad about cutting up a beautiful car to start with.

I have taken pictures along the way as a guide, as I was very lost when my kit first arrived, as to how the whole thing goes together. I have had amazing help from this forum already in getting the scrapped car back to 100% again. So before I started, the car worked 100%.

Instead of writing the book that this should be, I will post a link to a video of pictures that I have taken along the way, and hopefully they will speak for themselves.
I have tried to include pictures of all the grey areas that I hit in trying to determine what to do, or where to next!

To date, I am still preparing the front clip (the front end, hood and bumper) for its mounts. This has been, and still is very challenging, as the kit as a whole is very rough, and needs loads of work before you can even think about mounting it.
The hood needs to be cut and fitted first, and the rest of the front end is then matched to that. Trick is though, that the entire kit needs to be fitted while you do this, as the doors and side panels don't have much play and need to be in the right place from the start, or the front end will be either too far forward, or too far to the rear. So in short, it is not a quick and easy conversion to do, and you need way more tools, than the kit supplier suggests.

I have also elected to put cameras both front and back, as the nose is long and low, and will no doubt be hitting speed hump and parking bay wheel stops it while parking. So the radio unit has been replaced with 1 that has a screen for video.

I will update and post pictures again as I make more progress.

Anybody that has done this previously as well, please feel free to let me know any problems, concerns, solutions that you may have experienced. That is always very helpful for me as well. So far, so good.

Here is the youtube link.

Vanquish Project - YouTube

 

Here is a similar project, it's been going on for a while.


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...-lumper-63806/

 

I've always thought that the DB7 conversion would make the most sense in our cars. But with the price of a real Vanquish dropping to the $40s, it might be better to get the reak thing. I look forward to the updates

 

And if you figure in the labor it would likely be cheaper.

 

Definitely keep us updated with plenty of photos and part numbers. I've considered doing something similar, but a lot less involved (badges, tail lights, grafting a DB7 bumper onto the xk8)... just enough to make people wonder.

 

Thanks guys, will do. I have been watching the aston lumper project since I started putting mine together, and I am quiet surprised to see it is still ongoing. Although I can understand it as well, there are some very structural cuts and repairs involved, so they need to be done right.
I know the prices have come right down for an original vanquish, but I really wanted the satisfaction of completing a build having a lot of spare time on my hands.

I will post some updates again next week as I begin to mount the front end, and some more details about the head unit change for cameras.

Have a good eeekend all.

 

Here's one for sale in the UK. It's a custom build rather than a kit.

Aston Martin Vanquish **REPLICA** 4.0l V8 | eBay

 

Looks like they did a nice job on the kit. Didn't do much inside though.

 

I think the price tag on this one is unrealistic, I bet they will be lucky to get half of the asking price.

 

Yeah, it looks okay from a distance,but zoom in on the body panels, and its not that great a finish. There are a couple of small things I intend to change with my kit as well. I don't like the rear wheel to body arch spacing (the spacing to the rear of the wheel is quiet a bit larger than the front spacing. This seems to be on every one I have seen done) If you check the original car, its perfect spacing. Almost the same for the front wheel.

Not much to report on my project since last. I am waiting on materials that I can not get here in Dubai. And working out the best way to support the front end body panels that the hood close against. There is a lot of flex and not much room to work with, but I intend to make it right. So it may take some figuring.

I will post those pics when I have them.

Have a good weekend all.

 

Aston Martin Vanquish **REPLICA** 4.0l V8 | eBay

At first, I thought something was off, but after Googling the real car, I educated myself to the older Vanquish. I had only known the more recent one. Now I know...

That said, this creation could benefit from less of a gap around the hood. That is a dead giveaway. Also, the wheel arches seem out of proportion (or am I just a new to this model?).

 

I've built a 250mph aircraft from scratch and I think this is a far more ambitious project. Good luck to you, I'll be watching with interest.

 

One of these years I'll finish my car! lol Good to see another project. I'm on deployment again and probably headed ur way Dink's. Dubai def a fun place.. With some of the issues I've had, how are you planning on working around them? Wheelbase, back glass, side windows... Or do you plan on leaving as is? Any customizations from the normal ashmart look? Ronnie

 

Your "Vanquish" video is "private" so can't be viewed. Any recent pictures of your car? Any possibility that you could make your video public so we can learn from your project?

 

Did you or anyone else ever attempt your idea of adding the DB7 front bumper to your XK8/XKR?

It's exactly what I would like to try & I'll bet someone on this forum has already done it.