Bob Fountain bought his first Aston Martin in 1984 after responding to a newspaper advertisement. 'It had been off the road for 12 years and kept in a chicken shed,' he says. 'It was covered in chicken droppings and full of mice nests.'
Despite the sorry state it was in, he bought the DB5 - the model Sean Connery's 007 drove. 'It was virtually a complete restoration. It needed a lot of work on the chassis, new brakes and electronics, and it had a cracked engine block. I even had to buy another car for the engine.'
Fountain started tinkering with engines at the age of 12, and honed his mechanic's skills building rally cars in his teens. With this experience, and the help of a few friends, he spent his weekends over the next 18 months returning the DB5 to its former glory.
The restoration was the beginning of Fountain's lifelong passion for the British marque and led to the founding of Aston Workshop, the entrepreneur's facility on a farm in Beamish, northeast England. He is now looking to expand this to Asia.
At the workshop, a team of 40, including mechanics, technicians, metalworkers and finishers, breathes new life into neglected old Astons, kitting them out with benefits of modern technology. New steering, gears and other features are fitted but hidden from view, ensuring the integrity of the original design.
After restoring several hundred cars over the years, Fountain has now registered Aston Workshop Asia in Hong Kong, and is looking for a partner and scouting for premises for a workshop, probably in the New Territories. He has brought a restored late-1950s DB4 with him, which is available for viewing and purchase.