7) ENGINE BAY ECONOMIES

We’re back at the Aston Martin DB7, surely the ultimate example of a car being (literally) greater than the sum of its parts. Just as the DB7 itself is a highly-modified Jaguar XJS, so the DB7’s supercharged six-cylinder engine is a close relative of the Jag’s AJ16 engine. This means that the exhaust manifolds and the downpipe is identical (although some of the fittings for emissions equipment may not match, depending on the exact specs of the donor Jag and the recipient Aston). The starter solenoid, which frequently gives out due to engine bay heat, is difficult and expensive to find in an Aston Martin box but is readily available for £30 ‘over the counter’ in its Jaguar form. The Aston engine does use different coil packs from the AJ16… but the parts it does use are the same as a 1990s Ford Mustang V6. The official DB7 front wheel bearing is the same as the Series 1-3 Jaguar XJ12.