Aston Martin Db3s

ASTON MARTIN DB3S CHAPTER FOUR Aston Martin DB3S During one of my infrequent visits to Auto impressive record, having been a designer at Auto Union Restorations, a collection of parts, chassis body etc, which in the 1930s. The mighty German Auto Union and looked as if they had come from a farmyard scrap heap, Mercedes Benz Grand Prix cars of the 1930s were all were lying where they had been dumped out of a large conquering and their designers were held in the highest crate. They had come from a farmyard all right but had regard. that look of class and dignity that only good breeding can The new Aston Martin was de ignated the DB3 but give. A few questions elicited the information that it was was not to deliver the success hoped for. It was overweight, an Aston Martin DB3S of 1956 vintage and in fact had had handling problems and took considerable development finished second, with Moss and Collins driving, at that before becoming competitive enough to give its only year's Le Mans. reasonable reSUlt, winning the nine hour race at Goodwood It was one of the last of the breed of "racing sports" in August 1952. cars, such as Jaguar C and D types, 4.5 litre Ferrari and By then it was realised that a new development of what Maseratis, which were not too far removed from was basically a sound design was needed. Enter Willie production cars, and in many cases shared components. Watson who came to Aston Martin in 1952 as a senior The late 1950 and 1960s saw new breeds of purpose design engineer. He was very capable and wo ul d pursue built "sports racing" cars such as Ferraris, Ford GT40, some idea which took his fancy at the moment. By such Peugeot, Porsche, Matra and so on. Aston Martin built wanderings in the otherwise organised train of events, are the DBRI with which they won Le Mans in 1959. These new directions sometimes found. Everything starts with later, no-compromi e cars were built for just one thing - nothing more than an idea - just a small one usually which winning races - and were in their own way nominally two is then bandied about, first in the original person's mind seat Grand Prix cars. and then by a larger team until a workable package is put The Aston Martin had been sold by the factory to an together. Not many are gifted enough to have an idea, Australian where it had raced for some five years before work it through and then carry out the practical work which being dismantled in 1962/63 by a West Australian farmer will make it happen. How often do we hear, "I thought of hoping to restore it. that a long time ago," when some new method or invention When I decided to write on the restoration of these becomes news. An idea is just that, a figment of the cars, or rather the rebirth of them, I set out to get some imagination, the easy bit really until it is shown to be a background on each one. I read extensively all I could practical, worthwhile way of doing the task, be it a better find and was fortunate in that my son-in-law, Peter Blake, race car or a mousetrap. had quite a library on Aston Martins. Watson took hi s concept of a new car to John Wyer The saga of the DB3S really begins back in 1946 when first who was quick to realise the potential. The idea was a North of England industrialist David Brown purchased that they crank the 4 inch diameter side members of the both the Aston Martin and Lagonda car manufacturing chassis outward between the front and rear wheels, lower companies. The former company was bought it is believed the overall profile and narrow the car down, shorten the so as to enable David Brown to dabble in motor racing wheel base and generally build in lightness. A reduction and Lagonda so as to acquire the design of a new 2.3 litre of gauge in the main chassis frame from 14 and 12 gauge engine they had designed and developed. down to 16 and 14 gauge, reduced the tracks from 4 feet 3 On racing a two litre prototype Aston Martin sports inches front and rear down to 4 feet 1 inch and shortening car acquired with the purchase, they won the 1947 Spa 24 the wheelbase from 7 feet 9 inches to 7 feet 3 inches and hour race in Belguim. The decision was then made to so produced a shorter, smaller overall profile car with build and race coupes based on this prototype using both weight down from 2010 lb to 1850 Ib.The reduction in the 2 litre engine and the ex Lagonda 2.3 litre engine frontal area was most important as a square foot less there enlarged to 2.6 litres. The new cars were raced at Le Mans is better value than several yards of streamlined, contoured in 1949 where a 2 litre car finished 7th. The 2.6 litre car body shape. expired after six laps. Better results at Spa saw the 2.6 Another change was David Browns' Gear Works litre car finish 3rd overall and second in the three litre producing a spiral bevel final drive unit with an alloy class. casing. This was to replace the Salisbury bypoid, which This success was enough for Aston Martin to invest in had a heavy iron casing and had always been prone to a purpose built sports car with which to contest the major give trouble as at Le Mans in 1952. races. The design was to be prepared by the recently With the new purpose built unit, the change was made employed Prof. Robert von Eberhorst, who had a most to locate the De Dion tube by a sLiding block in a slot on 204 ASTON MARTIN DB3S the rear of the casing. A Panhard rod was used on the work was the body on the V I 2 Lagonda - a fine car and DB3, the Sali bury casing having no provision for a sliding every bit the equal of the Rolls Royce of the time - the late block set up. This wa not as good at giving stable, 1930s. predictable handling as the lateral loads were not fed into The influence of those pre-war Lagonda's was in the the chassis centrally. gothic arch shape to the top of the fenders. A raised line Retained were many components from the DB3 such down the centre of the body also overcame the curved as brakes, the trailing link front suspension with torsion panel look. This di tinctive line to the top of the fender bar springs both front and rear and the De Dion tube at the gave what would have been an otherwise plea antly curved rear for suspension. shape a certain "chic" qUality. As stated before, the car The well developed engine was also retained. The had in many ways an almost ballerina quality where the design of this engine is credited to the legendary poise and grace of the body shape was complemented by W.O.Bentley who, after his company had been taken over the agility and balance of the chassis handling as it was to by Rolls Royce, had taken a position at Lagonda. Detail prove on circuits where such qualities were a major asset. design was by a little known engineer whose c.v. is most At Goodwood, Spa or Dundrod, it could give away some impressive. Stewart Tresilian was an honours graduate 20 mph of top speed and con iderable horsepower, and from Cambridge who spent some time at Rolls Royce still be more than competitive. where his work included the SchniederTrophy "R" engine, By early January 1953, time was, as they say, "the later to become the legendary Merlin. He later had a essence of the contract" and so by using and adaptingjigs, distinguished career as a consultant to the motor industry. part building sections of the car without having fmalised De igned in the 1930s this engine had that era of the next steps, overcoming each problem as it arose, as thinking in several of its features. A barrel-type crankcase only experienced, resourceful fabricators can, they had came down around and under the main bearings. The main the first DB3S ready for testing at Monza during the last bearings were in alloy diaphragms or, in the slang term, days of May, some 130 days later. Only a well coordinated "cheeses", being like slices off a round cheese The enthusiastic team such as at Aston Martin could do this. cylinder block and crankcase being ca t iron and the main It was not quite like Bruce McLaren's 'Woosh Bonk' bearing "cheese" in aluminium alloy, the greater car. lohn Thomson used to teIJ the story of how, in the expansion of the alloy made for a nice tight fit as the engine early days of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, Bruce came warmed up. This combination, popular in the 20s and 30s in one morning and said ,"We are going to build a sprint for high performance engines, was by the 50s pretty much and hill climb car for Patsy Burt", an accomplished lady out of favour. A two valve cylinder head, initially in ca t driver at that time. It transpired that Bruce had been in iron and later changed to aluminium alloy, with double conversation with Patsy and sold her on the idea that a car overhead camshafts chain driven, was conventional with an American V8 engine would be just the job to go thinking for the time.

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