James Bond had nothing on this Aston Owner
I discovered this gem of a convertible in 2013 at the Vancouver ABFM. This car’s history is about the characters who owned it. Fourth and current owner Michael Stone, a fellow Washingtonian, purchased the car in “barn find” condition from another local Snohomish resident, John Sodder. Old John was an interesting character. His storytelling came complete with the raspy voice and deliberate movements of a man used to telling “I remember when” tales from a front porch rocking chair. Before restoration the car showed evidence of its most enduring story involving his wife and a gun.
Late one evening John apparently enraged her to such a state the “crazy old lady” fired a pistol at him, the bullet leaving a large caliber entry hole in the right rear quarter panel while passing over his shoulder and exiting through the windscreen. He consequently broke the front stub axle “driving in a hurry” to get away. Uh, yeah, no wonder. After that, John put the car away in his wooden shed on Oil Well Road (I looked it up – there really is an Oil Well Road. It turns out its a somewhat popular name as several states have them, sometimes more than one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a road that tells you what to do with it.). It stayed there until Michael and his father-in-law Bill Clysdale rescued it six years later on April 13, 1982.
The negotiation started with John asserting he knew the car was worth “more than twice what you could afford to pay for it.” But over the course of more storytelling and several toasts of Jack Daniels, he finally admitted he’d be lucky to “find someone else foolish enough to buy it before I pass on.” And so the deal was done. With 132,232 miles on the clock the Aston became Michael’s 29-year project for $3,500.
John had been the third owner, buying the 132,000 mile car from Stephen Williams in England in the early 1970s and shipping it home. He put just over 200 miles on it in the next six years before parking it. The car was originally purchased new in 1954 by William Vincent, owner of Vincent’s of Reading Ltd, a well-known coachbuilder and auto dealer. It boasted a 140 HP twin overhead cam, 2.9L straight six and dual SU carburetors that yielded a top speed of 118 mph.
The original all aluminum body is from J.M. Mulliners, the famous coachbuilder in Birmingham. Interestingly, it is fitted with both trafficators (mechanical, flip-up turn indicators) and turn signals to address both old and new regulations. The car again has its original Ivory color with red leather & wool interior; it was black-on-black when Michael found it. The DB2/4 designation denoted the model number and its evolution into a 4 seater (sort of). DB2s began production in 1950 and ceased in 1957 with the DB2/4 Mark III. This is one of only 98 DB2/4 Dropheads (convertibles) produced. A very rare and beautiful car by any standard.
Michael and Bill disassembled the car and had the heads rebuilt. Other priorities intervened and the car more or less languished until Mike bought out Bill’s share in 2003 and began restoring the car in earnest over the next 8 years. It now sports a Tremec 5-spd, but Mike has the original, rebuilt 4-spd tranny. This is an impeccable restoration; a top notch Aston. Today this car is worth over $300,000, a drop from 2018 when they peaked at about $500,000. And this one’s not a garage queen; it gets driven, just as a car should be enjoyed.
