Lockdown well spent: DB5 completed restoration

McGurk Performance Cars, Aston Martin specialists, undertook a full restoration of a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 during the lockdowns of 2020 and finally completed this summer.

McGurk Performance Cars owner John McGurk, bought the car in March 2020 with the intention of completing a light restoration on it, but with lockdown meaning nobody could travel to look at it, the project escalated into a full bare metal restoration.

Back in 1964, the Aston Martin was USA based, delivered to Aston Martin concessionaire J S Inskip, 64th Street, New York. Painted in ‘California Sage’ which was a light metallic green, it also had a white gold interior, white wall tyres, a heated screen, Motorola radio, powered aerial and air conditioning. The Aston remained in the USA until 1980 but then it began its travels back to Europe and was purchased at auction by Jean-Marie Cousty. Jean enjoyed it for two decades in and around Paris before he sold it in 2000. It left France, going to Holland before later being bought by the Kuwait Royal Family.

John discovered the car in 2020 and brought it back to McGurk Performance Cars’ HQ. He commented, “We could tell it was a very sound and solid car, and we thought it would be a great base for a light restoration. I advertised it for sale as it was and was inundated with people interested in it, but nobody could come and see it because they couldn’t travel during lockdown. By the time it got to June (2020) we decided to strip the car ourselves, get the engine running properly and things escalated from there. With some assistance from a few specialists, we have completely restored this beautiful, rare, left-hand drive DB5”.

While hard at work, the team found all the body panels numbered with the 334 chassis number, underlining its originality, and the sunroof was obviously fitted in 1978 thanks to the fitter dating the sheet metal panel. It wears Vantage badging, too, with it having previously been converted to Vantage specification, it also has the correct Weber carburettors and revised camshafts to increase the 4.0-litre straight-six engine’s output from 282bhp to 325bhp.

Now that the project is over, the Aston will be shown over the next few months and used as intended, with some potential trips abroad, on a classic European tour.

“You could say we’ve used lockdown productively,” says McGurk, who having personally managed the restoration is somewhat reluctant to put it up for sale. “I’m hugely proud of what my team here have achieved with this beautiful DB5, any restoration is a challenge, but to return a car to such immaculate condition while the rest of the world stopped turning is testament to the dedication and passion of all of those involved. I’m looking forward to showing it at various events here at McGurks and beyond, as well as driving it too”.

You can find out more about McGurk Performance Cars at their website here: https://mcgurk.com/