Jon, our classic car technician, has been combing through the 1995 Aston Martin DB7 to carry out a full appraisal on the 1990s GT car before moving onto beginning repairs.
‘Carry out appraisal. Quick check and carry out road test. Brakes are dangerous. Snapped severely to left. Return to workshop and continue appraisal. Remove charger cable from battery. Top up gearbox level. Grease all points. Strip and remove wheels. Adjust handbrake and test. Look into brake issue. No lights on dash indicating an ABS issue. So bleed brakes all round as first job. Follow specific procedure to bleed using the abs pump to evacuate the air. Top up system. Inflate tyres and refit wheels.‘
‘See if car has and Obd port to plug in. Early car pre airbag models don’t have a DLC port. Torque wheel nuts and take outside. Test around yard and braks seem fine now. Brakes straight and true and ABS functions as intended. Go for a further test on the road and all is fine. Return to workshop and fit centre caps. Check A/C operation. System sealed and hsgas but not run ING pump and not cold. Fan cuts in so further investigation needed if required. Remove number plates and tidy area.
Investigate air con issue. Check system sealed and has pressure. Power up pump clutch OK. Check fuse. Check continuity from fuse to relay. Relay has power and when I shunt power across relay clutch kicks in so all appeas to be OK, suspect needs a regas. Strip and remove gearbox mount to see which part e need. Strip mount and clean in degreasing tank. Black up underneath where they had missed. Refit cruise control panel switches and ashtray. Check boot release button in centre armrest. Ignition on a d press alarm button and boot release now works. Trace air pump to behind front bumper. Strip and remove u der shield. Grind off rusted screws and remove. Remove air pump and test on bench. Very noisy. Strip and separate pump. Lubricate bearings and power up again.
Clean pump and case. Blow out old air filter foam which has seen better days. Replace with new foam from upstairs. Lube again and reassemble. Use mastic to seal up. Clamp up in vice and leave to set. Remove all rusted screws from undershield and prep for refitting. Refit pump and se ure. Refit undershield. Reconnect t battery an run up. Pump runs quieter now. Eml still on. Cooling fan OT running on this time. Fit new wiper blades and test.’
