Her Majesty's DBS Progress

Gebruder Gumbold

Cheers All,
Sorry I have been absent, as I have been nose-to-the-grindstone on the restoration of the DBS.
Since she was vandalized back in January, I have her now naked and ready to remove the doors and remaining wiring harness, mount her up on the rotisserie, and proceed to strip all paint and primers to bare metal.
The underside shall be sprayed in the original red oxide (which I initially hated and chose black, but later warmed to the red oxide), and the aluminum body shall be taken to bare metal, then all dents from the vandalism shall be metal finished, and a new nose section with early type spoiler shall be added.
You can keep up with all of the details on OHMSSDBS.com in the Second Restoration section in Restoration Gallery.

A few minor changes are being made to make the car 100% correct to film seen specification: ZF steering box replaces the S2 Adwest type, original springs, front dampers, rear dampers front brakes, halfshafts, heating system, cooling system, alternator, wiring harness, door locks, door strikers, B-Pillar finishers, door finishers, front nose section with spoiler, front undertray, front heating and cooling ducts, ignition system, alternator, water pump, crankshaft pulley, dash panel, sill covers, coolant tank, oil filter, and water pump!

Oh yes, and some chap in New Zealand sold me a can of original 1969 air for the tyres!

Best wishes,
Tom

Higgins

Hello Tom,

sorry to hear that the DBS has been vandalized.

What happened?

Commandant

What a shame that the DBS was vandalised.
Please keep us posted with the restoration.

Thunderpussy

So sorry to hear about the vandalism, I hope it didn't upset you too much. It is such a beautiful car. -{

Smithers500

Clearly not a Bond fan ?:)

Westward_Drift

I too am sorry to hear about the vandalism. I do hope you were insured against that sort of thing.

minigeff

I bloody hate vandalism. What good does it do anyone? Thieving, although obviously wrong, has a purpose, and I'm certainly not condoning crime, but at least with a robbery I can understand the motive. Damaging stuff, I just don't get why anyone does it.

All the best with the project, love seeing these cars get looked after -{

Donald Grant

Sorry to hear about that good buddy. I have to say, I always thought your DBS was a shining example of what a true Bond collector does. Taking things to the Nth degree and suchlike. This time it will be even better! Keep calm and carry on!

DG

Gebruder Gumbold

Thank you all for the kind wishes.
It is quite a sad thing to have happened, as the DBS was shown for 10 days at the San Francisco Auto Show, and the car was very well received by the public, as our display was mobbed at every hour.
The building that the car was kept in experienced the SF Bay Area property crisis, and was sold to a Silicon Valley firm, so I had to move to a lockup temporarily until her new lodgings would be ready.
Years before, the Bay Area has been overrun with illegal aliens, many of whom are the very worst of criminals- drug gang members.
It was exactly these types who were captured on the single operating camera at a Public Storage facility in the "secure" towne of Burlingame. Neck tattoos and hoodies were clearly seen on the films, as the brazen criminals roamed the facility unopposed for 3 hours!
The most unkindest cut of all was a break in to the Wounded Warriors lockup, and titanium limbs, destined for crippled veterans, were stolen. That unit was next to mine, and I had often helped the lady who brought in the donations, and got to know her family.
That was a crushing blow!
The villains stole my tool box, containing 25 years of collecting tools- many of which were my father's.
They also stole many parts, such as an NOS radiator- absolutely unobtainable, and we know that it ended up in a recycling heap somewhere.
The facility, a Public Storage branded unit, was written up by their own investigation team, for over 18 security violations!
The thieves gained access with a stolen code.
I learned also that day that this was the 8th break in that month, and that was on the 13th of the month!
The responding Police Officer commented "here we go again..."
When I saw how they has dented the whole side of the car in while trying to force out the heavy tool box, I shed tears.
I must say, though, that the most crushing blow was the Wounded Warriors' loss.

I met with several detectives, and they pointed to stacks and stacks of files in the Property Crimes Section, which have risen a whopping 200% in recent years.
One officer simply said "There is nothing we can do. The gangs are too powerful, and even if we catch them, we cannot deport them..."
This is what the county that I grew up in has become.
Hopefully, we shall get a Winston Churchill type nationalist who will clean up the neighbourhood!

So, my friends, I am back at work on the DBS. Grant- you are correct (as always) as Her Majesty's DBS shall emerge once again, a better car, as up from the ashes grow the roses of success!
I plan to present her at the Windsor Castle Concours in Sept of 2018, which shall also be the 50th anniversary of the launch of the DBS....

Thank you all again for the support, and please tune in to OHMSSDBS.com for updates.
Cheers,
Tom

superado

That’s terrible, Tom, and it's a shocking eye-opener for me. My mom used to have her her business in Burlingame and it seemed like a very safe and pleasant place. I assumed that their police department would be at top of things like that, judging by the nice shape of their city. But even the cities of Silicone Valley where you’d think the Tech Industry tax revenue would ensure a premium in law and order, are infested with low-lives.

Sigh…I suppose, just take comfort that the Universe has a way of equalizing accounts, even if through the law of averages and behavioral cause and effect…the deeds of these punks will catch up and give them the quality of life they deserve though it’s unfortunate innocent people are affected in the process.

Gebruder Gumbold

Thank you- and I agree completely about the Universe providing, albeit in a round about, and initially quite painful manner.
Today I began the odyssey to bare metal. A heartbreaking step, considering all the work that went into my first restoration....however, this time she goes to bare metal, and all dents shall be metal finished. The whole process will take 3 months or so, as it is only me and a small brass brush!
Time for another cortisone shot in the wrists....
.....oh, and a stiff belt!
Cheers, Tom