I said I'd create a thread when my work commenced. Small steps were taken today, very interesting and very productive day with Mike at Bamford Rose and the team! This is cross-posted from Pistonheads so a few of you will have read it already Car is a 2006 DB9 Volante manual with J1 filters, 200 cell cats, QS SS backbox, Brembo GranTurismos, H&R springs, DBS rack and an ECU remap, currently estimated at 480bhp.

Checked my new DBS wheels and one needs a refurb, the others are OK and are going to be painted this week while I'm on the mountains. The guys foresee no problems with fouling as my wheels (19" Sports Pack) are currently on spacers so the stance will be pretty much the same - we may even end up spacing the front wheels out another 5mm or so, I'm leaving it in their capable hands. Pommehogster (Modified 475bhp Vantage V8) is having my old Sports Pack wheels, easy job as his car is up there anyway! I'll collect in just over a week, car is having a small service and 140 point check before the warranty is up.

The 'Plan' refined:

Stage 1: February. Induction is the Aston Power Upgrade for the airbox, feeding back into a custom inlet manifold. Engine remains untouched for now. Custom exhaust manifolds, 2 x cats (compared to the 6 we currently have) much bigger pipework and then into a standard DB9 backbox so that I can have valving again (11kg gain offset by losing 4 x cats). The reason for this is that the new system will be so loud I am going to need to be able to baffle it off on demand so my Quicksilver SuperSports has to go. It'll be on a switch - not like the current AM Fuse 22 system, but one where you can choose to baffle it through the whole rev range or leave it open at your discretion. At the same time as this, I am having the full adaptive damping system which will have the car on a switch swapping between firmer-than-sports-pack and softer-than-sports-pack. Mike drove my car today and said it's currently softer than SP so that's all fine by me. Output is expected to be 520bhp and torque will stay the same - the DB9 is optimised for torque so changing the inlets for more power would lower the torque, but the exhaust gives it back.

Stage 2: May/June. Engine comes out and gets fettled. From memory, starting at the bottom; modified lowered sump eliminating the crankshaft turning in the oil. Bottom end stays the same. Steel conrods, forged pistons, high lift valves and bigger exhaust valves. Reprofiled camshafts and the piece de resistance, the reprofiled heads based on the Vanquish S design, this is where the magic happens. Clutch, gearbox, ancilliaries stay the same, all are more than strong enough. End result is expected to be a whopping and genuine 570bhp with torque still the same as the DB9 which is hugely torquey as owners know! The delivery and throttle response will be incredible with the free flowing system, car will be a missile. The new wider wheels were absolutely the righ decision, I will need the grip and intend to do a 3 day driving course at Millbrook to learn to handle the car properly.

Mike drove it today and emphatically stated it to be 'not a pipe and slippers' car. Just what I wanted to hear

Car should be ready in time for the 24hrs of Le Mans, a nice place to unveil it with French roads filled only with sports cars for a week!

 

Maybe you should enter it?

 

Wow this will be one heck of a build and great story... Looks like the boys of bamford rose have their work cut out for them in the coming months... Bravo Marco for such a nice undertaking !! Please continue to keep us posted and well document this build with commentary and Many pictures!

 

Thanks, that's my intention! Just off snowboarding in Austria for a week, then when I come back I will have some beautiful 20" DBS wheels fitted... Can't wait to see the car!

 

Fantastic! I'm waiting for my flight as I type this... On my way to rendezvous w a special db9

 

Bamford Rose needs a presence here in the U.S.
May I suggest Steel Wings in Hopewell, NJ? Robert Burt is a master in all things Aston Martin.

 

that is a very considered conversion!

 

And just happens to be in your backyard. I think BR should find a location farther south (by me).

 

Excellent thread looks like Bamford Rose is doing some good work...I picked up my 2007 DB9 over the weekend drove her back from South Florida back 1200 or so odd miles...very rare 6MT sport pack and slate blue over obsidion back...the car was the actual press car DB9 built for the LA auto show, the dealer who sold it hadn't any idea how special it was, it's got white mesh and clear tail lights and is just lovely.

heres a pic (I plan on doing a proper photo shoot and story thread in the coming weeks) ...

 

Looks perfect. Hey, what's the best place to stay in Baltimore? Is the 4 Seasons the best choice?

 

that or the hilton downtown or the renaissance hotel on Pratt street.

 

New plan...

Instead up just uprating the internals, we're going to replace the liners as well and have a capacity of 6.5 litres! It's all in the bore not the stroke so will also be very free-revving.

Original pan of 2-stages is working oit at the moment, hopefully the stage 1 mods soon

 

As usual, cross posted from Pistonheads but I thought I'd continue my blog, as it were.

Finally got it back on Friday, serviced, 140 point checked, new DBS wheels, new geometry, revised front ride height and my renewed Brembo brakes.

Wow, it's good to have it back after a month away, shame it was a bit drizzly and err, dark. Took me about 30 seconds to realise my 911 isn't nearly as fast as I think it is

First impressions are that there is lots more grip, especially when pulling away from a standing start; wider, new tyres so naturally that's to be expected. Changing from 19" to 20" also had had an effect on the ride quality in conjunctiuon with my H&R spring set up. There is a very, very slight 'jiggliness' for want of a better word at constant speeds, not a vibration... almost like the wheels are over inflated. This is due to the stiffer sidewalls and also the loss of sidewall height, quite a difference between 19" and 20". But I was used to it within a few miles and it drives beautifully.

That's all temporary though, stage 1 begins at the end of March and is what we're calling the 'dynamics' part of the process.

1) Adaptive damping system - fully switchable Bilstein shocks and springs, switch from stiffer-than-sports pack to softer-than-sports pack at the touch of a button. Proper AM suspension button from the DBS
2) Anti-roll bar and alloy shear plates (underbody stiffening) to bring the car in line with the latest DBS Volante in terms of rigidity. Effectively Sports Pack but on a DB9 Volante, not possible according to AM. Pah. I laugh in their faces.
3) New clutch and flywheel. BR's own twin-plate design, a monstrously thick, very compact yet very light unit unit. Two options for lightened flywheels, the guys will decide for me. Throttle response will increase sharply and clutch would have been done with the engine work anyway, but it's almost gone now (bite pint very high) so having it done before my Monte Carlo jaunt. There's talk of a trackday at Monza en route to Lake Como, better to be prepared...
4) Shortened gear linkage to make the gearshift throw shorter, faster and more precise.
5) Extended throttle pedal from the V12 race car set-up. BR are going to make a prettier version for my road car to make heel & toeing easier.

The exhaust/cat/inlet manifold set up may or may not happen in time for my MC trip (mid April). If it does, that will go on as well, if not, it'll go on when I get back. Now I have grip again, I have realised the car is hardly slow anyway...

Then the FULL engine work. 6.5 litres of Bamford Rose magic in time for Le Mans hopefully. Should be quite a trip

Pictures in the sunshine today with DBS wheels.

 

She looks beautiful, I love the DBS wheels. Nice to see someone on the other side of the pond not scared to modify (extensively) their car.

looking forward to your continued impressions.