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 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
builtStriking 'Silver Green Metallic' color over Red
leatherOriginal tools amp; spare wheelThis 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. 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 a super striking 'Silver/Green Metallic' color
over a '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 color and very rare last year
(1978) of the 4 Weber Carbs AM V8 Coupes with hood bulge/scoop and
original 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.
