Vehicle Description
FOR SALE TO OUT OF STATE BUYERS OR DEALERS ONLY DUE TO CALIFORNIA
SMOG EMISSIONS West Coast Classics are proud to present this very
rare and striking matching #'s 1978 Aston Martin AM V8 Series 3
Coupe, the last year of production with the most desirable 4 Weber
carbs and hood bulge and in superb condition throughout!Chassis no.
V8/11886/LCAEngine no. V/540/1886/LFA Delivered new to the USA4 x
Weber carburetor modelAutomatic transmission1 of 970 Series III's
builtAll original and very striking factory 'Jubilee Silver
Metallic' color over Red leatherElectronic ignitionAir
ConditioningOriginal tools amp; spare wheel1 of the last desirable
Series 3 cars - registered in September 1978 with production ending
in October 1978Aston Martin Heritage CertificateThis particular car
was sold new to its first owner C.H. Klein of Ohio by well known
Aston Martin dealer 'Charlie Turner' of Atlanta, GA.Mr Klein kept
this V8 along with a DBSV8 that was also purchased new from
Turners. Both cars were to be serviced regardless of mileage and
used until being sold to new owners when Mr Klein was then well
into his 90's. This particular car was acquired by a collector
until we recently acquired it. It is a new an example of a V8 Coupe
that you can hope to find and exceptional in every respect (i.e.
cosmetic, mechanical and chassis) and has recently been fully
serviced by a marque expert for piece of mind driving today.
Offered complete with books, tools and factory jack.Post David
Brown, Aston Martin entered the most turbulent period in its
history, but somehow it pulled through. Nothing epitomised the
fighting spirit better than the AM V8 Coupe.With an estimated
345bhp available from its 5,340cc, fuel-injected, four-cam motor,
the DBS V8 could reach 100mph in under 14 seconds, running on to a
top speed of 160mph - a staggering performance in those days and
one which fully justified the claim that it was the fastest
production car in the world.The Aston Martin V8 is a GT coupe built
from 1969 to 1990. As with all traditional Aston Martins, it was
entirely handbuilt with each car requiring 1,200+ man hours to
finish. From 1969 through 1972, Aston's flagship model was the DBS
V8. Though the body and name was shared with the six-cylinder DBS,
the V8 sold for much more. The body was a modern reinterpretation
of the traditional Aston Martin look, with a squared-off grille and
four headlights. The acquisition of Aston Martin by Company
Developments in 1972 brought with it a change of name for the
V8-engined cars: out went DBS V8, in came AM V8. This new Series 2
was based on the DBS chassis but readily distinguishable by its
restyled front which now featured two instead of four headlamps, a
large hood scoop, front spoiler and recalled the looks of the
earlier DB six-cylinder cars with a virtually unaltered rear end.
Electronic ignition and air conditioning were now standard and
Aston Martin increased the price by more than 25%! Introduced in
1973, the Series 3 dumped the unreliable Bosch fuel injected 5340cc
DBS engine and employed a quartet of Weber 42 DCNF carburetors
instead of the previous Bosch mechanical fuel injection; the change
bringing with it increased torque and necessitating a larger hood
scoop to house the carburetor air box! Despite the switch, fuel
economy improved and even in automatic-transmission form the
Weber-equipped car proved almost as quick as the preceding manual
version. The result was a powerful V8 that was possibly over
engineered but with the benefit of being rugged and reliable if
maintained correctly. From around 1978, each engine proudly carried
a brass plate, such as this particular example, with the name of
the engine builder, in this instance a certain Mr Fred Waters. This
1978 Aston Martin V8 is the last year of one of a claimed 970
Series III units produced in Newport Pagnell between 1973 and 1978.
The car is a left-hand-drive unit and finished in the super
striking and very desirable and sought after factory 'Jubilee
Silver Metallic' color, a most beguiling factory color with a very
light hint of Green, over its all original 'Dark Red' leather
interior, it is powered by a 5.3-liter V8 paired with a three-speed
automatic transmission.Additional equipment includes four Weber
carburetors, original 15" Lagonda Alloy wheels, hood scoop, heater,
and power windows and door locks. The car is equipped with
speed-sensitive power steering, and stopping power is provided by
four-wheel disc brakes with inboard-mounted rear units. The all
aluminum twin cam Tadek Marek-designed 5.3-liter V8 is equipped
with dual overhead camshafts and four downdraft Weber carburetors.
Factory rated output was 310 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque
with blistering performance of over 160mph! Only some 1,600 cars
were built in total during the 1969-90 5340cc V8 production run!
The large, thirsty and very expensive V8 was to prove to be a rare
breed with enormous appeal for collectors today for these handsome
high speed British brutes!In 1978 a new fuel injection system
developed by Weber which proved far more reliable than the earlier
Bosch system, with these later '78 models having once again flat
hoods without the required bulge and scoop to contain the four
Weber carbs. This particular model is therefore one of the very
last and most desirable Series III four Weber carb models with the
hood scoop.You will look long and hard to find a finer example of
this extraordinarily striking in this rare and original 'Jubilee
Silver' color with Red leather and very rare last year (1978) of
the 4 Weber Carbs AM V8 Coupes with hood bulge/scoop and original
matching #'s aluminum Tadek-Marek 5.3L V8 engine with a recent full
service at renown marque specialists performed in September 2023
which included a full tune up including rebuilt carbs, new plugs
and filters, included rebuilding the alternator, cleaning the
distributor cap, and replacing the battery. The car will be sold
including its original spare wheel and factory tools.
