Category: Commentary

The Paint on Early Aston Martin DB9’s SUCKS!

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary5 Comments
Click to see close up image and how chipped it is

My DB9 is a daily driver.  I drive about 5K miles per year, local roads only, no gravel roads, city and highway all the time.  I expect to get the odd nick and chip in the paint like any other car.  But, the paint on my 2005 DB9 is absolutely awful.  If you hit a mosquito with it at 5 mph it chips.  I find it frustrating of course.   I had hopes of using touch up paint to correct it, but on closer inspection during her bath today it seems pretty pointless.  Literally hundreds of tiny pin prick sized chips.  Right now she looks great from 6 feet away, but has acne if you are up close (see the photos). Continue reading “The Paint on Early Aston Martin DB9’s SUCKS!” →

Affordable Aston Martin OBDII Reader

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary23 Comments

News Flash!!!  There is finally an affordable OBDII reader that can talk specifically to an Aston Martin.  If you do some of the service work on your Aston an OBDII reader is an essential tool as it can talk to the many computer modules that control the car.   I’ve written several articles already about the topic (you can find them all in this Collection here).  What was bothersome was that none of the aftermarket OBDII readers actual knew all the specific Aston Martin codes.   We could just talk to the Powertrain Control Modules (PCMs) since they were really made by Ford.   We had no access to all the modules on the “Body” port, which included the Airbag, Transmission, Door, Seat, Entertainment, and other control units.

Let me introduce you to the Foxwell NT510.   Foxwell is a Chinese company that makes a number of Automotive Diagnostic Tools.   They have updated this model to now include the codes for the Aston Martin DB9, DBS, Cygnet, Rapide, Vantage and Virage.  The unit has a color display, upgradeable firmware, can comes with a nice storage case.  Let me dive into a few details that matter. Continue reading “Affordable Aston Martin OBDII Reader” →

Screwed Again!

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary6 Comments

Well, actually it was a piece of metal that pierced my right rear tire.

Metal debris puncture

Walked into the garage this morning to see my three week old new Michelin tire flat as a pancake.  ARRGGGHHHH!  My initial thoughts were that the tire had been installed improperly by the dealer.  A quick peak around the tire and I spotted what looked like a nail stuck squarely into the tire in the center of the tread.  Crap.  If you follow this blog you may recall I got screwed in December 2016, almost exactly a year ago. Continue reading “Screwed Again!” →

Come join me at the AMOC USA West Track Day 2018

On By Steve McEvoyIn CommentaryLeave a comment

If you are a frequent visitor of this Blog you know that I am a believer in taking our fabulous cars out for a stretch once in a while in the safety of an AMOC sponsored track day.  These are a great event and you are surrounded by other Aston’s with drivers sharing the same anxiety as you “Don’t hit my car”.  We all are out to enjoy our cars, not trash them.

Aston Martin Owners Club AMOC LogoThe AMOC USA West division has just announced its 2018 Track Day to be held again at the tremendous Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California on Sunday January 14th.

I am personally inviting you to join us and make the journey if you can from anywhere in California, Oregon, Nevada or wherever you are.  We only have room for 40 cars, so please sign up ASAP. Continue reading “Come join me at the AMOC USA West Track Day 2018” →

Sagging Headliner in an Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary, How To8 Comments
Difficult to ignore

It all started on hot sunny California summer day when I got into my DB9 after work.  Open the beautiful swan wing door, slide butt into supple sculpted leather seat, and then WTF?!  Why is there fabric on my head?   As you can see in my happy owner photo here my headliner sagged and was draping across my head.  Crap – something else to fix and I am not an upholsterer.

You can’t ignore this problem and it needs immediate attention else it will drive you completely insane as it flaps in the wind with the windows open, or just lays on you and your passengers head when you sit in the car. Continue reading “Sagging Headliner in an Aston Martin DB9” →

Dealing with a Cracked Windshield in your Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary2 Comments

Clack! Awww,  for fucks sake….

That’s exactly what the sounds were inside the cabin when a rock popped up behind a big rig on a local Interstate and bounced off my Aston Martin DB9 windshield.  At first while still driving I didn’t see any chips or cracks, but when I got home to check it out more closely the hit had been near the upper right edge in the black area.  It had already spidered out and a 7 inch split was winding its way out into the passenger area.  About the only good news (being a relative term) was that another inch to the left and it would have chipped/dented the A pillar, a substantially more difficult (and costly) proposition to fix. Continue reading “Dealing with a Cracked Windshield in your Aston Martin DB9” →

Happy Birthday! Aston1936.com is 2 years old

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary6 Comments

Another year has flown by.  This weekend Aston1936 turned officially two years old. The mission has stayed the same since the beginning – share what I learn as I live with my (now 12 year old) DB9 so that other owners can benefit and perhaps take care of their dream cars with just a little less hassle and expense.

Stats

increasing-statsSince last year traffic on the site has nearly tripled.   Two major things happened to contribute to this.   I’ve been fortunate enough now to write for Aston Martin Quarterly Magazine (see the details here), and the “True Costs of a DB9” video I made went sorta viral on YouTube, getting over 100,000 views so far (was probably discovered as a cure for insomnia).   Amazingly 19,000 viewers have read posts 60,000 times.  Currently about 90 people a day view a total of about 250-300 posts.  Viewers are from 132(!) countries all around the world including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and even one viewer from Turks & Caicos.  Just Wow. Continue reading “Happy Birthday! Aston1936.com is 2 years old” →

Come to Cars & Coffee

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary2 Comments

Hello all you Northern California and Nevada Aston Owners!

Just a quick post to invite you to join me at the upcoming Sacramento, California Cars & Coffee on Sunday September 24, 2017.  The Sacramento weather seems to be cooling down a bit so I hope it will be a glorious Sunday to sip a hot beverage and kibitz and oogle over other cars.

It would be great to see another Aston at the event, often I am the only one. Continue reading “Come to Cars & Coffee” →

Installing the PCV Valve Vacuum Assembly Harness in an Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary1 Comment

If you’ve been replacing your PCV Valves on your Aston Martin DB9 to cure an oil build up problem in your intake manifolds (check out my other articles on this) it’s likely you’ve had your PCV Valve Vacuum Harness Assembly removed and in this article I will explain how to properly reinstall it. Continue reading “Installing the PCV Valve Vacuum Assembly Harness in an Aston Martin DB9” →

Heading to Japan on Vacation

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary5 Comments

I am packing up the family and heading to Japan for the next two weeks (through August 12th 2017) .   Sadly we are leaving Princess Piddles (my DB9) behind to fend for herself while we are gone.

A considerable number of readers of this blog are from Japan.  If you are interested in touching base while I am in Japan please leave a comment on this article, would be neat to visit and check out your Aston.   I know Japan is a big place and its not likely we’ll be that close, but you never know.  I’ll be in Tokyo, Aikita and Kyoto during the trip.

While on the plane, I plan on starting to write the next group of articles on the interior headliner sagging issue, plus the removal of all the dash panels, etc.   Should be lots of good stuff in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned!