BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR

ASTON MARTIN DB2

These days, the Aston Martin DB2 is a pretty rare car, and it is extremely unlikely that most people will ever see one in the flesh, never mind two of them. The team at Upper Classics in Christchurch currently have just that: two of them undergoing full restoration. The one with the louvres in the front panels is one of the first batch of 15 DB2S that were manufactured by Aston Martin. Originally, it was sold straight from the factory and converted into a race car.

The manager, Terry Cartwright, told us that both cars belong to a European

collector. He had been so impressed with the work that Upper Classics had done on an earlier SS Jaguar that he sent these two over to get the same treatment. Terry said that it is a challenging restoration, as there are very few original photographs and no drawings or measurements for such early cars. Fortunately, having two cars has made the job slightly easier, especially when it came to replicating some of the panels. Naturally, parts are very scarce, and although some parts can still be sourced from England, they are generally of such poor quality that it is easier to manufacture new parts here.