Lot 153: 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Saloon

The vendor purchased this DB2/4 new from dealer H R Owen, which obtained the memorable ‘OXO 13’ registration mark for him by special request from the local licensing office; indeed, this number’s appeal was one of the reasons that he purchased the car – for £2,621, the price of a decent house at the time! In 1955 the Aston transported its owner and his wife on their honeymoon grand tour of Europe and later provided transport for their children on family holidays to Tuscany and Elba. For almost 20 years the ‘DB’ was in daily use, undergoing a gradual transformation from glamorous Grand Routier to un-saleable hack. Inconceivable as it seems today, by the 1970s the demand for cars such as these was minimal, with restoration costs far exceeding resale values. In an article published in Popular Classics (December 1990 issue) its owner recalled his dilemma: “By that time we had teenage children in the house and I couldn’t afford to do anything with the car, so I simply drove it into the garage, shut the doors and left it there.” The Aston remained in storage until 1985 when it was exhumed, by now 31 years old but still with only 57,000 miles showing on the odometer. Re-commissioning revealed a noisy rear axle and various other minor mechanical faults, while the alloy bodywork was suffering from numerous fatigue cracks and dents, the occasion of each dent etched on the owner’s memory. Despite the Aston’s relatively low value, restoration seemed the only way forward and Bridger Garage Services of Shepreth, Hertfordshire was approached to carry out the work. The engine (replaced by the factory in 1961 at 17,155 miles) and gearbox were known to be in good order when laid up and were left intact, leaving only the back axle to be removed for reconditioning. The bodywork was stripped, repaired and repainted in Range Rover Cypress Green, the formula for the original Sea Green having proved impossible to trace. Other work undertaken included rebuilding the wire wheels, re-plating chromed trim parts, re-Connollising the leather upholstery, refurbishing interior woodwork, fitting new carpets, overhauling the brakes, rewiring the electrics and servicing/tuning the engine. At the same time the odometer was zeroed (from 57,562 miles). In the autumn of 1989 the Aston was back on the road and the following year was test-driven by Popular Classics. Although the car’s dynamics were found to fall short of modern standards, as a driving experience it surpassed expectations. “Despite its age, there can be few cars that provide such a complete sense of satisfaction and well-being as an Aston, an experience that can be provided only by British craftsmanship in thoroughly British surroundings. “Taking the DB2/4 on a fast trip to the Highlands of Scotland, crossing the border at dawn on a spring morning, with empty roads and the exhaust reverberating off dry stone walls, must rank as one of motoring's greatest experiences.” Since then the Aston has been used only sparingly, as evidenced by an odometer that currently reads approximately 1,500 miles. Representing an increasingly rare opportunity to acquire a one-owner DB2/4 in virtually original condition, ‘OXO 13’ is offered with a most substantial history file (in five volumes), owner’s manual, old-style logbook, assorted expired MoTs, current road fund licence, MoT to March 2007 and Swansea V5 registration document.