A Teen Welder's £900 Aston Martin Has Returned Valued at Nearly a Million | Carscoops

      A Welsh teenager purchased it for only £900 in 1973 and still has it today, making its factory-quality restoration just part of the story.

      7 hours ago

      by Chris Chilton

      A 19-year-old welder from Wales bought this DB5 Vantage for £900 in 1970.

      Aston Martin Works dedicated 2,500 hours to restore it to like-new condition.

      The owner has kept it for 50 years, despite the challenges of life and raising children.

      The Aston Martin Works restoration team has recently unveiled a DB5 Vantage that is so beautifully polished it appears to have stepped out of a James Bond film. However, the stunning bare metal restoration is only the second most incredible aspect of this car.

      The truly remarkable part is the narrative of its current owner, who acquired it when it was only eight years old, at a time when he was not much older himself.

      A Young Man's Aston Dream

      John Williams, a Welshman, was merely 19 when he managed to gather £900 in 1973 to purchase his dream vehicle, a 1965 DB5. While today's teenage influencers may be seen driving leased supercars, this was not the case for ordinary people back in the 1970s, especially not for welders from Wales.

      Williams saved every extra penny for over a year and put in a substantial amount of overtime to reach that £900 (approximately $1,190 at current exchange rates, although this figure isn't relevant here). Aston claims that this would be equivalent to £15,000 ($20,000) today, but according to the Bank of England’s historical inflation calculator, it's actually around £10,000 ($13,000).

      Regardless of the exact amount, it illustrates two points: this welder did an impressive job of accumulating money quickly, and exotic cars have certainly become more expensive. If you were to look for an eight-year-old DB11 today, you would likely need to spend at least £60,000 ($79,000), or over £100,000 ($130,000) for a Vanquish.

      In September 1973, the Aston Martin enthusiast took a train from North Wales to London to view the car in person. It was the performance-oriented Vantage model equipped with triple Weber carbs and 325 hp (330 PS), and the Motorsport magazine advertisement for it promised numerous service records.

      It’s also a rare find: only 39 out of the 1,022 DB5s manufactured by Aston between 1963 and 1965 were right-hand drive coupes built to the Vantage specifications and finished in the same Silver Birch color as 007’s vehicle.

      Impressed by what he saw, Williams paid the amount and then drove the silver Aston back to Wales, using it as a daily driver for several years. However, his life took a turn when he accepted a job in the Middle East in 1977, leaving the DB5 parked in the driveway where it gradually fell into disrepair.

      His wife Sue recalls local kids jumping on the hood and one particularly spirited child snapping off the exhaust pipe. Various offers to purchase the car came and went, but she always reminded him that he would never find another like it. As a result, Williams held onto his Aston throughout the ups and downs of family life and finances.

      Fifty years later, the couple returned the worn classic to Newport Pagnell for a comprehensive restoration. After over 2,500 hours of work on panel beating, painting, trimming, and sourcing parts, the DB5 is now in even better condition than when it was new.

      Aston Martin does not disclose the restoration costs, but considering that the completed car could be valued at around £1 million ($1.3 million) while he initially spent just £900 on it, one could say he made a wise investment.

      Aston Martin