004 | An Englishman in San Diego
‘I was sad. That was part of our family. You know? That’s just like seeing a child get hauled away…’
Hamish Hamilton and son Max with the DB5, which Hamish had discovered at the Symbolic dealership in San Diego
THE STORY NOW JUMPS FORWARD TO 2015. The Aston has passed through the hands of a Los Angeles based collector and is languishing at Symbolic International in San Diego when it is spotted by one Hamish Hamilton… Hamilton, an acclaimed multi-camera film and TV director (the Super Bowl half-time show is just one of his regular gigs) and also a self-proclaimed Aston nut, was immediately intrigued. He already had a DB5, which he’d bought a couple of years earlier, BUT THE WHITE CAR CAUGHT HIS EYE — AND PRETTY SOON CAUGHT HIS IMAGINATION TOO. ‘I was at there to research the history on the first DB5,’ he recalls. ‘So in a way I went in looking for one story and ended up as part of a much bigger and really rather wonderful story. ‘So the guy’s telling me the car’s a mess… it’s got the wrong engine in it… it’s had a fire… ‘But I LIKED THE IDEA OF BRINGING THE CAR BACK TO ITS FORMER GLORY – which I guess goes back to my dad, who restored a lot of vehicles. And inside on the driver’s seat was a piece of paper – a US title document, like a logbook in the UK, and it’s got a name on it: Steven Day, St George, Utah, dated 1996. ‘I couldn’t put it out of my head so I decided to do a bit of research on Steven Day. So I Googled him and one name came up – an accountant – and I called him and it turned out it was his dad’s car and it was the love of his dad’s life. ‘The family had it from 1971 to 2007 and it was passed around a bit, but it was essentially his father, Wilford Day, who owned it. And Stephen suggested I give Wilford a call… ‘THE NEXT DAY I’M ON A PLANE TO VEGAS AND DRIVING TO ST. GEORGE. So we drive through the middle of America, deserts all around, and end up in this sandytown in this guy’s living room. He’s in his 80s, a lovely guy, with his wife of 65 years. ‘I wasn’t sure how he’d be. This chap had come to see him with a strange accent and funny hair, but he was so happy to talk about the Aston. ‘Turns out he’s a car nut. He’s got a garage downstairs full of American muscle cars, along with a couple of Ferraris and a few others.‘ And his favourite ever car was this Aston Martin DB5. And he started telling me all about it, how he’d replaced the engine and gearbox, how he’d driven it all over, and rallied it and shown it.’ And then came the next twist. Not only did Wilford have all these memories, HE ACTUALLY STILL HAD MANY OF THE ORIGINAL PARTS FROM DB5/2266/L. These included the original knock-off ‘spinners’ for the wire wheels, the original spare wheel, brake parts, original internals from the rear differential. And lots of engine parts, including a block. Other treasures included the metal shield for the original carburettors, the original hand-formed aluminium shroud for the main radiator fan, and the windscreen washer system with its water bottle. All removed to make way for the Dodge engine. THERE WAS EVEN THE ORIGINAL ASHTRAY, WHICH HAD BEEN HEAVILY USED – that would have been the hard-drinking, hard-smoking Andy Lacey. And a Continental Touring Kit of spare parts still in its old leather satchel, which Wilford reckoned had been with the car right from Lacey’s ownership. Hamish was blown away. ‘I said: “Why have you got all this stuff?” and he shrugged: “Well, the guy never came back for it.” ‘Then he pulled out loads of old photographs, and the receipt for $3800 dated 1971 when he and his brother went to buy the car. ‘And I said, do you know what, Wilford – I’m going to get this car and I’m going to do it up and I’m going to bring it back and show it to you. And HE WANTED TO GIVE ME ALL THE PARTS FOR A COUPLE OF HUNDRED BUCKS.
Among the parts lurking in Wilford’s garage were the original spare wheel…
…and the windscreen washer
The Aston ready to be shipped back to the UK.
Exploring the photo wall in Wilford’s garage.
I had to persuade him to take $1000 for them!’ So Hamish acquired the car from the San Diego garage and began to make plans for its restoration, while also continuing to research its history. ‘And I found myself getting quite excited, finding out about the people who had owned this car and where it had been. ‘Because they were expensive cars, and being the sort of cars they are, there are often great stories around classic Astons and they’re often owned by colourful characters. THERE’S VERY FEW DULL PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH THESE CARS.’ So Hamish had the story of DB5/2266/L during Wilford’s ownership. The next steps were to source the original build-sheet – easily obtained from the Aston Martin Heritage Trust – and then to find out about the original owner. ‘I saw on the build-sheet the first owner was a chap called PA Lacey, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It’s a left-hand drive car; but it was delivered in London, which got my interest. So I set out to find what I could about PA Lacey, and I ended up hiring a private investigator! ‘Three days later he called with good news and bad news. The bad news was that Price Lacey was no longer with us; the good news was that his daughter was still alive and he had her number, but apparently she’d put the phone down on him! ‘So I called the number in California and put on my best English accent. She knew right away: “YOU’RE CALLING ABOUT THE CARE, AREN’T YOU?” So I told her about how I was planning to put a book together about the Aston and how I’d be awfully grateful to find out about its first owner. ‘Of course, it turned out she wasn’t the daughter but his fourth wife, and Karen Lacey has been wonderfully helpful.’ With the Aston’s early years and first owner brought evocatively to life, Hamish’s thoughts now turned fully to restoring the car – and not just a straightforward restoration, but something that would add to the history of DB5/2266/L.‘This car had travelled to Africa, the US desert and all over Europe. I REALLY WANTED TO TELL THE STORY, BUT ALSO ADD TO IT. So I knew it had to be restored but not the usual way. In fact it was Wilford’s racing pedigree that gave me the idea. In his day, he had been the fastest… Today the fastest is Formula 1. Suddenly I had the angle I was looking for.’
