1980 Aston Martin Lagonda (Series II)

What if you went to an insurance auction and saw a gorgeous British four-door salon with unique “folded paper” styling but missing a few parts: the engine, gearbox, gas plasma dashboard and the rear doors. The car was a theft/recovery and these particular parts were gone from it and the rest was still immaculate with under 9000 original miles given the service records. What would you bid for it? The customer took it home for US $1435 + a tow truck flatbed charge to get it to the house.

What would you do with it once you discovered an original engine, gearbox, dashboard, rear doors and the few interior parts are impossible to buy. How about shorten the wheelbase and extend the front doors and build a new B-pillar structure? Add donor parts (driveline) from a 2016 Aston Martin that was $2800 and heavily crashed in the rear and also bought at auction. Customers goal is to have this finished and looking as if done at the factory for under US $10,000 dollars. He has done strange British car projects in this past and is capable of finishing this one upcoming.

This is the artwork for the final project. Everything midpoint forward of the door is factory. And the C-pillar, rear wheel opening and everything aft is factory. No use going too insane as it is already uniquely different when this design first appeared on the world in 1974.

The owner is already awaiting the comments from people of “my dad (or a friend) had one just like that when I was growing up…” (NOT!)