Mr and Mrs Williams’ 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage, post-restoration at Aston Martin Works.
Some classic-car stories are about investment. Others are about engineering. But every so often, one comes along that’s really about devotion. Recently, a stunning Aston Martin DB5 recently completing a long restoration is exactly that kind of story.
Unveiled at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, UK, the rare Vantage-spec model was originally bought for just £900 in the early 1970s. Cherished by its teenage owner, it was left to slumber for decades… and now restored to better-than-new condition.
This is the story of John Williams, who was just 18 when he set himself the goal of owning what he considered the ultimate car: a 1965 Aston Martin DB5. A welder and garage owner from North Wales, John saved for more than a year. By September 1973, with £900 in hand, he boarded a train to London to see the car he’d only viewed in a magazine advert.
Love At First Sight
Welsh welder John Williams has owned the car for more than 50 years.
The DB5 he found was something special: a right-hand-drive saloon with the sought-after Vantage engine, Weber carburettors, wire wheels, Sundym electric windows and, as the advert promised, “many bills.” It was everything he’d hoped for. At 19, he had his dream.
For the next four years, John drove the DB5 daily through the Welsh countryside. Then, in 1977, a job in the Middle East meant he had to leave the car behind. He parked it on the driveway… and there it stayed. “Then… ‘life’ happened,” John admits. Offers came. Money was tight at times. But he never let it go. His wife, Sue, reminded him: “You’ll never get another one.”
Over the years, neighbourhood children turned the Aston into a makeshift climbing frame. One even snapped off the exhaust while balancing on it. But the Williams family held on to the car through work, marriage and milestones, always imagining that one day it would return to the road.
Restoring Its Former Glory
1965 DB5 Vantage pre-restoration in 2022.
That moment came in late 2022, when John and Sue entrusted the DB5 to Aston Martin Works – the marque’s historic home and the birthplace of over 13,000 iconic Astons. What arrived in Newport Pagnell was a profoundly tired machine, but one with extraordinary potential.
Not only is the DB5 globally famous, but this specific combination of Vantage engine, right-hand drive and Silver Birch paintwork makes it one of only 39 examples ever built. The restoration would take more than 2,500 hours.
The run-d0wn condition of the car prior to its restoration.
In the Panel Shop, the chassis and Superleggera frame were painstakingly revived, while the aluminium body was hand-formed the traditional way. Throughout the process, both husband and wife visited regularly, witnessing the elegant transformation from bare metal to shimmering icon.
Mr Willliams with his restored DB5 Vantage.
Seeing it mid-restoration back in 2023, Sue was stunned at the transformation. “It’s great to see all the old ways of building a car have been passed on, and younger people here are keeping up the tradition,” says John.
The DB5 roars back to life.
Today, the DB5 sits resplendent once more in its original Silver Birch – the same shade favoured by one very famous fictional secret agent – and carries a provenance that includes early ownership in Surrey’s celebrity-filled St George’s Hill. According to Aston Martin Works President Paul Spires, its rarity and history could place its current value close to £1 million.
The factory-restored model is now valued at up to £1m.
But for John, the return of the car means far more than numbers. Seeing it fully restored for the first time, he said: “It’s been a long time coming, a long time saving, but it’s been worth every penny. It’s just amazing… My girl’s back and up and running! Back to her former glory.”
(Photos: Aston Martin Works)
