This Aston Martin DBX should have been the perfect gift, but it’s a flood damaged car with a seized engine that now requires a full engine rebuild.
The luxury SUV had only 2,000 miles on the odometer and looked untouched.
Aside from one critical issue, it wouldn’t start.
Bought at a steep discount, the car’s full story didn’t come to light until the engine was opened up.
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The Aston Martin DBX teardown began with cautious optimism
Matt Armstrong documented the moment he surprised his dad with the Aston Martin DBX.
It had been spotted earlier at a Copart yard next to a similarly flood damaged Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
The DBX looked like a bargain.
Its interior was spotless, the electronics worked, and the mileage was incredibly low.
But under the hood, things quickly fell apart.
Initial tests showed the engine was seized.
Pulling the spark plugs revealed rust in the cylinders.
The oil had mixed with water, forming a thick milky residue.
A closer look showed a bent conrod, confirming catastrophic internal damage.
The car was listed as a non-runner, with good reason.
A new engine from Aston Martin would cost £64,000.
Used DBX engines were hard to find and selling for more than £13,000.
Armstrong sourced a Mercedes GLC engine for £7,300.
On paper, it shared the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with the same AMG M177 block.
But the similarities ended there.
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The Mercedes GLC engine was torn down as part of the engine rebuild, but most of its internal parts were incompatible.
The pistons, camshafts, conrods, and cylinder heads were different.
Even the valve timing setups didn’t match.
The seized engine from the DBX had clearly been engineered beyond the base spec of the GLC.
That made the rebuild far more complicated.
Only the bare block from the GLC could be reused.
Aston Martin does not sell the DBX engine block on its own.
So, using the donor block became the foundation of the rebuild.
Armstrong stripped both engines and began the process of building the Aston Martin DBX power unit piece by piece.
The flood damaged car now required nearly every internal part to be replaced or swapped.
That included piston rings, gaskets, timing chains, filters, bearings, and all fluids.
Despite the seized engine, Armstrong’s plan was to restore the car using original parts wherever possible.
This avoided the risks of buying a used engine of unknown condition.
The engine rebuild is ongoing, and so far the work has stayed well below the cost of a complete replacement.
While the flood damaged car turned out to be much worse than expected, the team is slowly bringing the Aston Martin DBX back to life.
Even with the seized engine and extensive internal rust, careful planning and patience might save it from the scrap heap.
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