[00:09] >> It feels really good.
[00:24] >> Welcome to that episode of Jay Leno's Garage. Very special car today from our incredible customs. They do wonderful work. Now don't confuse them with the Ringling brothers. That's a couple of clowns. These guys are a whole different
[00:39] story. This car is based on a 1971 Aston Martin DBS. Probably I wouldn't say the least desirable DB car, but certainly not like DB3, 4, 5, or any of those. It
[00:51] was a six-cylinder motor. It's been heavily modified. I think I Road & Track called it one of the most beautiful cars. It was at The Quail. People just went crazy. It's just such a beautiful, beautiful design, a beautiful vehicle.
[01:06] you doing? >> Hey. the design is great, but the craftsmanship and the work it's really unbelievable. Uh just just just incredible. How long
[01:20] talking Eric into spending more money than he wanted to to spend doing it, but >> Okay. Well, you took your time and you did it right because it's just
[01:33] incredible. Now, you know, I looked at one of these and at the time like uh three, four years ago, they were going for between 50 and 80,000 dollars on the used car market. It predates by just a few months
[01:49] the V8 Aston Martin. So, this one had the six-cylinder that was kind of based on the same engine they had for years. Nice car, but just didn't have that you know, extra, you know, having that V8 really made a big a big
[02:05] difference. And plus at the time this was released, you know, it's it's funny. They were always sort of teetering on the edge of enthusiast, loved the car, but he sold like three or four a year. I mean,
[02:20] English are amazing at that. Just hang on and they continue to do it. And the company's come back and and done quite well in their new Vanquish with that V12. Just incredible. Just incredible. So, this is kind of harkens back to
[02:37] those glory days. It's it's just a a beautiful job. So, the owner, he bought the car as a used car, drove it for a while and then said, "No." Or what? >> kind of funny, Jay. Um Eric came to us, actually owns some other cars that we've
[02:51] want to build?" And he said, uh "What do you guys want to build?" And I said, "Well, hopefully not another Mustang or another Camaro or Chevelle. Like let's do something European." And Eric said, "How about an Aston Martin?" I
[03:06] said, "Perfect." And he mentioned the '71 and uh 4 days later probably he had >> Oh, yeah. No, he Well, he went out and bought the car.
[03:18] >> Oh, he went out looking for a car. >> Yes, he went out looking for the car and uh found one uh and had it shipped to us and that's where it began. number. It was, you know, in the $80,000 and it didn't run. It was a non-running
[03:35] have for drivetrain. >> Right. Right. >> So, yeah, it started started with Jim and Eric getting started and then we, you know, took it from there and uh did some renderings with Gary Regal.
[03:49] Initially reached out to Aston Martin to see if we could get an engine. bandwidth at the time. So, >> Right. >> hence the engine that it does now. >> And you have the Ford Coyote motor in
[04:01] away with the the Ford since Ford did >> Well, Ford did own Aston Martin for a >> it doesn't have an LS in it. I know you're disappointed in that.
[04:13] >> Yeah, well, I got to admit I do like it when tilt-away steering wheel and the LS and the automatic. You know, I I I like when
[04:25] it get back to what it what it is. Well, I mean, it still looks extremely improvement. I Cuz I you know, I a friend of mine had a friend who had a
[04:37] DB uh S and I went and I drove it. And it was I mean, I got the Aston Martin thing about it, you know, the interior, the leather, and all that. It was such so anemic. The engine just didn't have you know, we live in an era now 1,000
[04:52] horsepower is not uncommon. Something with just a few hundred It was all It was okay. And that too, that one I mean, that was a running car, looked good, and that was 90 grand. Uh which is still a lot of money, but when you realize most
[05:06] Aston Martins, especially DB4s, Zagato, 700, 800, million, three, you know. So, you take probably the least desirable model and you turn it into this, which I think is just incredible. I mean, and the paint is exactly what it should be
[05:21] for. Aston Martin has always had an understated elegance that I like, you car most people would probably be happy with cuz it's it is a sports car, but
[05:33] it's a GT. My wife does not like what I call "Ow, my hair" cars, you know. You know, we go for a ride and then the top is off and then we're "Ow, my hair, man." This is something So, she she Anytime I show up with a "Ow, my hair"
[05:46] dinner, it looks it's classy, and it's but it still retains that sort of your European elegance and stance. It It's really fascinating. So,
[06:00] obviously wheelbase is the same. >> Wheelbase actually we did we scanned the >> Cuz the the greenhouse is the same, right? We We wanted to wanted to just enhance it cuz you're right, they're kind of boring cars and I
[06:16] feel like and Gary and Jim they just We felt they're too flat-sided if you >> Right. Yeah. >> Where we put 10 in, you know, it's 10 in >> 10 in wider and 8 in in the front to give it
[06:32] you know, the the new newer Aston feel. >> Yeah, no, that's really exciting. You They uh sort of have the masculine thing here with the wide stance and and it
[06:45] look like the XKE. You know, Enzo Ferrari called the most beautiful car a Jaguar was a beautiful car. Women I know that hate cars that go Oh, is that Oh, is that a Jaguar? Oh, that's a because it does it has a feminine front
[06:59] end and it's sort of masculine and you know, it's just it just kind of appeals to all kinds of different people. And this is really interesting what we've Okay. Now, is this Oh, this is part of It almost looks like it's two separate
[07:15] >> Yeah, really and it's functional. >> functional. Yeah. functional. Even the vents in the back are functional brake ducts, you know, um so yeah, the whole car is is functional. So, HERA uh
[07:34] built the supercharger for this car. When we first got the supercharger the the air intake or the throttle body on the supercharger was off to one side and >> it wasn't going to work cuz we were just hell-bent to have the air cleaner dead
[07:48] >> So, we talked them into making a different supercharger for us and wanted them because we didn't want all the cooling lines out of the
[08:00] could make us a new can for the bottom of the supercharger and make it all come the engine compartment but it was just a lot of small details to try to
[08:15] you're talking about? Okay. >> Yeah, it's a surprise.
[08:30] >> Yep. >> Oh, okay. Very cool. Oh, very nicely done. Look at that. So, it's got late model Aston Martin
[08:43] clamshell >> hinges. So, we adapted all all that we could. The door handles are out of a later Aston Martin. You know, everything seals. You can see that we made seals that seal the wheel tubs and they're
[08:55] functional to release the air pressure from the wheels come out the vents on >> That's Harrop. They're Australian out of Australia. Harrop? >> Harrop.
[09:10] >> Well, how do you guys sit in Wisconsin eating cheese? How [laughter] do you How >> We actually got invited to go to Australia to do a car show down there
[09:24] always wanted to get involved with a project. We gave them a somewhat tough one because they didn't have anything that bolted on. Obviously, they had to do a lot of extra work. Like I said, the throttle body area on the
[09:38] original here it's come off to the side out here. So, they had to rebuild this entire area here to actually come straight out to feed the air cleaner, which bonds or seals to the hood. And then all of the water lines typically on
[09:52] able to plumb things around without having all of that plumbing. little detail. Those clamps, those custom-made clamps holding the throttle
[10:06] body on there. Is that Can you buy those? Did you >> Actually, you can buy them. I got to admit we've seen them on I think one of But yeah, they are available. They're a They're a special clamp that that you
[10:25] great. >> Yeah, you're always When we're doing little things that people pick up on. And you're always looking at other you're looking at things to wrap materials or find a different way.
[10:44] the We actually used uh parts off the original valve cover and obviously we added an eye to it to have >> Martini instead of Martin. >> Used to say S and Martin Lagonda on the
[11:02] >> Based on the style, we needed to keep it as low as we can. You know, obviously the lower you make the car, the higher the engine's got to go and we were Australia's not European, but just that Aston Martin international thing I think
[11:21] is pretty cool. Yeah, yeah, it's just a a beautiful, beautiful job. I mean, it really is. Just the way that This all looks factory carbon fiber. Just just >> We made them. >> We make them. You do [snorts] make
[11:36] those. Okay. Wow, look at that. Well, nicely done. Power steering. >> booster. Of course. Yeah, of course. Brake booster. Okay. Again, those clamps It's all in the detail. >> And it's it's nice because, you know, a
[11:52] lot of times, obviously, you wipe an engine down and stuff, but if there's any weeping, it always stains the valve cover. And And you don't see any of that >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yeah, it's great. In Wisconsin,
[12:04] track at Pahrump this year. >> Oh, is that right? >> Yeah, he is. >> Well, nicely done. >> You can see he wasn't very kind to these tires. He scrubbed the front ones pretty
[12:18] >> It's got Brembos. >> Brembos. Oh, nice. Okay. >> They actually worked with us cuz we machined our uprights off a Porsche. We scanned Porsche 997 stuff. >> Yeah.
[12:32] >> And then we made the uprights and we pressed in all the Porsche bearings and >> Yeah. Oh, that's great. And you know, it really is attention to detail. I always love these shows you see where they build a car in 10 days.
[12:48] >> [laughter] >> Looks I mean, it's 10 days just just get >> Yeah, I mean >> It took 10 days to get Eric's first >> There you go. Well, very nice. And the interior, obviously, looks looks
[13:04] manual gearbox, which is great. How many? Six, seven? >> It's a transaxle car now. So, the it's all transaxle. It's out of a C6
[13:17] >> That's reworked. So, believe it or not, it's heavier in the rear than in the >> It's 52 rear, 48 front. So, it's a little Ben said it was too stable. He balanced at 52 Yeah, 48. That's actually very good. Yeah,
[13:36] >> Yeah. >> Which he likes. >> No traction control or anything like that. No, just >> Yeah, right. Right. It's I mean you realize this is based on a
[13:54] >> That's pretty amazing. >> We had a company out of Detroit, a company called Gentex, who builds basically all the mirrors for the OEs. rearview mirror and the the mirrors you can see they got their little logos in
[14:11] >> Oh, okay. >> Um first visors Huh? >> The first >> The first sun visors that are auto dimming. They supplied us for this car
[14:26] and basically you pull the visors down and you look through them and depending >> Kind of like fighter jet >> Or if you come over a hill, instantly >> Oh, that's terrific. >> So you'll be seeing it in the OE world
[14:43] here? >> Uh typical for us 19s and 20s. >> 19s and 20s. >> It's got the you know, the Cup 2 tires mean the new Corvette has it, the ZR1. Yeah, I mean it's the best tire.
[15:01] tires are actually round. >> [laughter] because when you have older cars like I do, especially a solid axle car, lot of times people make tires for those they're not as careful. So there's
[15:16] there'll be a like a chunk of rubber and you go thump thump thump thump thump and and you you get into a shimmy and you actually have to shave the tire. I find with Michelins they require the least amount of wheel weights of almost any
[15:29] tire. Maybe a half an ounce. It's not that 5 oz over here, you tires like are made in France. I wonder why they're made over there. Just made
[15:42] >> Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I I'm glad they are, you know. >> Yeah, they do a good job with the tires. >> And what does this car weigh now, do you >> 44? >> I think it was 46.
[15:59] everything is based on the original, right? The The profile is is the same profile. But when we de-skinned it, it was way different than like our Camaros were built. So, we've actually put a cage
[16:14] just a little bit more sturdy than >> Okay. Yeah, to make it a bit more. But that you honor the original design and it's still clearly what it was.
[16:29] just clean it up a little bit, you know, yeah. You ever see those videos where haircut [laughter] and they send him out. Like, "Hey, he looks like a businessman now." Yeah, that's That's you guys. You guys
[16:44] That's That's you guys. Yeah, yeah. Very funny. Well, just great. Can we >> We only got one seat. Who's going to go? >> Jim. >> I've done like seven shows with you now. >> Yeah.
[16:57] it. Let's put this hood down. I love the the >> Just drop it. >> Now you just got to push till it clicks.
[17:10] >> There you go. >> Boy, nicely done. Just Just a beautiful job. Let's give it a shot. >> Going to go in
[17:27] Ah, proper clutch. >> [laughter] >> Sounds healthy.
[17:51] it's capable about 1,100, but it's probably about 800 at the moment. different tune, but >> Yeah.
[18:12] Now, that's the power that Aston Martin should have. >> It feels really good. We obviously have a little tuning to do on on the lower driving, you know, RPM area.
[18:29] >> That's a company called Classic Instruments. They're out of uh >> Yeah, they're OEM-ish.
[18:45] There you got her. This is a good size automobile, isn't it, boy?
[18:59] with the transaxle, it gives it a nice sense of [clears throat] balance. >> Yeah, they're interesting. They're all right. The DB5 to me is
[19:15] is the most boring. At least the DB5 and 6 had the classic body. So, you you had the classic sort of engine and drive feel. The DBS looks kind of modern, but it's still got the old-fashioned engine,
[19:30] kind of fun to be able to drive the car you start with. And unfortunately, we couldn't drive that car. It didn't run, but it's kind of fun to see what you start with and what you end with.
[19:49] It's kind of getting some rain. You sent it out in a hurry. >> I love that that he drives this in Wisconsin winters.
[20:04] >> You know, it's so funny. It's just Yeah. >> And the whole body's carbon fiber, >> It's pretty amazing material, carbon fiber. As a builder, do you have any apprehensions about it? I mean, is it not I know a friend of mine and he
[20:20] doesn't like the carbon fiber pieces that people put on 911s cuz just thinks it makes the car less I It's supposed to be more rigid, but I don't know if it's amazing how many manufacturers use it. I think my
[20:37] Personally, the only big issue that I have with it is it seems that you put a carbon fiber car in the sun and you tend to see the weave come out of it. You know, it ends up growing a little bit, so you see the weave and then it cools
[20:50] >> That's really the only thing that really bothers me about true carbon. >> Carbon fiber, easier to work with than aluminum or harder? you know, we've got some really talented people at
[21:08] our shop. We got a couple of young guys that laser welders. These guys are >> Yeah. 22 years old, just an amazing craftsman. >> Yeah.
[21:25] >> I went up to him one day when he was TIGing a header, and I took a piece of >> Yeah. >> And I never seen a guy get so mad in his life cuz I screwed his weld up. He was furious with me. I thought he was going
[21:39] to quit. "Don't ever do that to me again." And I'm like, "Okay, I'm just playing around here." So, he takes his stuff pretty serious. >> Yeah, we want that.
[21:51] >> There's is none. >> There are no wipers? We don't get rain.
[22:05] >> Yeah, you don't want none of that. >> No, rain is so infrequent in LA that when it does happen, the streets get extremely slippery. The oil comes up.
[22:17] But you could drive this thing to New York or San Francisco if you wanted to. Wisconsin, so Eric doesn't get the chance to enjoy a lot, but he he
[22:29] actually this past fall enjoyed it quite a bit after obviously SEMA and all the stuff that we took it to, but I think this year he'll actually use it a lot more. >> How many gallon gas tank, you know?
[22:43] >> Okay. But it go to one tank. It's got two tanks. >> Which goes to one tank, yeah. And I believe it's a 16-gallon tank. It sits room back there, but >> Is there a stereo system in this?
[22:59] >> You've got to use your phone. >> Right, right. >> He didn't want that. It's just something he didn't want.
[23:23] >> Oh, yeah. It has I'm glad we're not in an open car. I'm glad it's not a convertible. Now, when you build a car like this, do you just
[23:37] make a second set of fenders or hoods in case >> The answer to that is no. We did build some uh second parts of it. Typically, these molds you can only get so many pulls out
[23:52] of them. Obviously, if something did happen, if you have the CAD, you can actually build a part out of what anyway. Things do happen like that. I mean, car feels pretty stable, don't you
[24:05] low. >> Wegner Automotive, the same guy that built the motor for that Chevelle we drove years ago, did the motor in this.
[24:17] >> He uses a lot of local Wisconsin guys? >> Yep. Carl, the old guy, I think you had met him. I don't know if that was in Wisconsin or if he come out here, but he ended up passing.
[24:29] Uh so, his son took the business over. He was a nice man. you put your foot in, you see it hood come up a bit, yeah. It's great. Now, is
[24:41] there a drain to keep water from getting into the motor when box drain out. So, if it did get in there, it comes back out. >> Nice size wheel.
[24:56] >> No, it's a design that we built. Gary kind of designed that particular wheel aftermarket.
[25:11] >> You know, with a thousand horsepower and no traction control, you got to be very careful on the road like this in California. It's just a light rain, the oil comes up. I touch the throttle, I can feel the rear end start to move a
[25:24] day. You know, back in the day the Maserati was sort of the
[25:38] Italian version of the DB5, my 3500 GTI. And it it's interesting how those remained fairly inexpensive with the
[25:50] because of the James Bond connection, the DB4 and 5 just went through the In fact, Sean Connery tried to buy a DB5. and they wouldn't do discounts. They were all
[26:05] So, he got all mad and he bought a second-hand uh Jensen CV8. He was a funny guy, Sean Connery. I like >> Yeah, I had him on the thrill a bunch of times.
[26:17] He would always be, "Gee, what's the least this filthy joke going to cost, He was Mr. >> The universe third runner-up, do you >> Back in '53, yeah. And he he was a longshoreman.
[26:31] And he would fight at the drop of a hat. Did you ever hear about a gangster named John Johnny Stompanato? >> No, I don't. >> Johnny Stompanato was dating uh Oh, I can't remember who it was. And she
[26:47] was in a movie and Sean Connery was an an extra, you know, in the movie. He's just got a script. And she was flirting with him. So, Johnny Stompanato goes down the shows up at the studio with a gun.
[27:01] Puts the John Connery, "Stay away from my girl." John Connery takes the gun, knocks him in the head with the gun, knocks him down, takes out some bullets. >> Oh my god. >> Oh, yeah. It was a tough Oh, it was a
[27:14] >> And that's a true story? >> That's a true story. Oh, he was a tough >> that's why he's James Bond works, you know, because you take a tough guy, you
[27:26] put him in an expensive, you know, Savile Row silk suit, and oh, you get this sort of sexy bad boy kind of guy, you know. And that's who he was. Now, he was a He was a a piece of work. Still my favorite Bond, you know, cuz he
[27:41] was the most dangerous one, you know. make this thing do what it does. But these Cup 2s are not a rain tire.
[28:00] >> No, no. this thing. >> It's pretty happy in this RPM range.
[28:12] >> Yeah. Like But it's a good-looking car, really. I love the clamshell hood the way it opens. That's great. to uh to make physically make the headlights
[28:27] for this car to fit the theme of what And we bought these basically come with an oval piece of glass, like a a round ball cut off.
[28:40] door inside of it that actually does the high and low system for it.
[29:04] Yeah, it pulls nicely. I mean, it's amazing how good modern cars are. You know, the magazines kind of don't do the business they used to You know, I remember the old mufflers would fall off and
[29:18] you know, the guys would be stuck and there'd be a funny article, you know? can feel it starting to move around on this slippery pavement. And it's
[29:36] But, it's great. It really has the ethos to me of sort of the Aston Martin. You know, and now you've got the power and the handling to do it.
[29:52] The great thing about the Ringbrothers cars are that everything works on this car. It stops and handles. You know, the number of times people brought kind of half-finished cars to me and the brake pedal goes right through the floor or I
[30:05] didn't realize we we had a brake fluid leak or whatever it just it looks like original manufacturer's work. It's It's really >> a lot. >> Yeah, yeah, thanks, Mike. We It's always
[30:21] fun having you guys here cuz the cars are always a hit cuz they're just so well built. That's To me, that's the joy. It's not just the part of driving it that's fun. It's the part of looking at it and just
[30:34] looking at the clamp that's holding the throttle bodies on. How tight it how it works efficiently, it looks good. It's really great. So, it's always fun to appreciate good old-fashioned American craftsmanship. I
[30:48] hope you guys enjoyed this car as much as we did. If it's in your area, go by and check it out sometime. It's kind of on the show circuit every now and then, isn't it? It is. But, it gets driven all the time. So,
[31:00] our our friend Ben Collins, who was The Stig, he just beat the hell out of this thing, didn't he? He was he punished it pretty bad, but that'll be shown up soon. So, check it out. We'll see you guys next week. Thanks. Bye-bye.