The NEC Classic Motor Show Sale 2019 - 9th & 10th November 2019

www.silverstoneauctions.com 85 + buyer’s premium of 15% including VAT @ 20% Cars Saturday 9th November 2019 1950 Aston Martin DB2 ‘Washboard’ LOT 248 From there the trail goes cold until 2003 when LML/50/16 appeared in an advert by Brooklands Motors of Sandringham, Victoria offering the car for sale “disassembled and ready for restoration” with an asking price of $29,950. It’s at this point that Max Hobson enters the frame. A leading light in the Melbourne Mille (South Australia’s version of the legendary Mille Miglia) he appears to have purchased the DB2 as a pile of bits in late 2003. In the file there are dozens of emails, starting from early in January 2004 through to the middle of 2007 asking for advice about the Aston Martin jigsaw that he now owned. Patently a wise man, the majority of this correspondence relates to seeking guidance about the potential pitfalls of fully rebuilding the complicated LB6B engine, and the emails and subsequent invoices embrace a veritable ‘Who’s- Who’ of early Aston restoration – Aston Service, Colin Thew, Tim Stamper, Chris Woodgate and others. Max entrusted The Healey Factory in Melbourne, sports car specialists with a reputation for Concours-quality restorations, with the return of the Aston to the road and in an email to Tim Stamper dated 24/06/2004 it appeared that work had been started, was going well, and they were now seeking quotes for a crankshaft, conrods, cams, pistons etc. However, perhaps time and other pressures got in the way as the file contains a much later letter from Chris Woodgate (Rex J Woodgate) dated December 2006 quoting prices and availability for the same items. Whatever slowed the project down is not important as it’s obvious from the invoices and correspondence that Max Hobson was determined to finish the project with the best possible parts and no expense spared on the car’s preparation. The Healey Factory kept a digital record (over 100 images) of their restoration and any potential purchaser would benefit from some time looking at these images and the relevant cache of invoices to fully comprehend these years in the DB2’s life. The final set of photographs show a magnificently restored LML/50/16, now registered DB 016, on 14/06/2009 at the Mornington Rally in Victoria. The car’s next owner was one Vern Schuppan, the talented South Australian racing driver who enjoyed success at every level of the sport. After the traditional start in Karting, he graduated through Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic all the way to Formula 1, driving for BRM, Ensign, Embassy- Hill, and finally Surtees, however, success lay elsewhere, mainly in Sports Cars and Sports-Prototypes driving for Rothmans Porsche and winning at Le Mans in 1983. He was no slouch in other categories either, doing well in F5000 and winning ‘Rookie of the Year’ at the Indy 500. He appears to have bought the car in late 2009 as there is an invoice in the file from Ozishield for $500 for a ‘paint protection film kit for a DB2’ as he planned to drive his Concours Aston all the way back home to Adelaide and wanted to protect his investment. The drive home highlighted certain issues, as an email to Tim Stamper illustrates, with Vern expressing displeasure about the steering box, shocks and springs. Over the next few weeks, various solutions to the car’s steering/handling problems were discussed and eventually Marque Restoration of Kilkenny, S.A. was tasked with taking the suspension, brakes and steering apart and rebuilding them correctly. Mr Schuppan was obviously rather fastidious and Marque Restoration equally fussy as over the next few months a considerable amount of the previous recent restoration was found to be not of the required standard. Invoices in the file detail a serious amount of work by Marque Restoration to the tune of $50,000 - 60,000 including taking the car back to bare metal, re-fitting the doors and bonnet, removing any filler, reshaping panels, fully repainting the car (again) and dealing with a number of small mechanical issues. In fairness, there is no mention of any work to the engine, chassis or trim which presumably met the required standards. A disc containing over 240 images of the remedial work by Marque Restoration is included in the file and, once again, any potential purchaser needs to have a look at this and the appropriate invoices to help appreciate just why this is almost certainly the best DB2 in the world. The final invoice in the file from Marque Restorations is dated 14/11/2011 so presumably, the car was finished by then. As far as we can tell, the Aston remained in Vern Schuppan’s possession until late 2013. LML/50/16 returned home to the UK and in April 2015 it was purchased by our vendor, who is based in Australia, and whose intention was to enter the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that year with a competitive car. Although the Aston was a Concours winner in the hands of Vern Schuppan, some four years had passed and whilst the car remained in fabulous condition, Pebble Beach was a different matter. JD Classics had a great record of success in, what is effectively the most significant Concours d’Elegance in the world, and they were asked by our vendor to bring the car up to the unbelievable standard required, secure an entry, and get the car there. Their efforts evidently paid off and, on 16/08/2015, LML/50/16, then displaying the registration JG6, was rewarded with Third Place in Class O-1- Postwar Early. Having lived a cossetted life since and remaining in its Pebble Beach condition, our vendor is now offering the Aston for sale with its splendid history file. This venerable world-traveller has certainly lived a life and could tell some tales, however, after a few years of peace and quiet, is now probably ready for the next adventure. We feel certain that this is the best DB2 in the World and welcome serious enquiries.