09x05 - Porsche 914

[bunniefuu]

This is Wheeler Dealers, where we buy old cars
that have lost their way, we bring them back

here to the workshop and transform them into
road-ready classics. I hunt down the motors.

And I use years of mechanical
experience to sort out

everything from a leaky
gasket to a slipping clutch.

And then we sell them
on, hopefully for a profit.

Well, that's the plan.

Now this time, I'm on the trail
of a rare two-seat sports car,

and it comes from one of
Germany's most famous car makers.

This is the forgotten Porsche, the 914.

It was conceived as an
affordable sports car, but it never

became as popular as its
much-loved cousin, the iconic 911.

Today, however, people are waking
up to the appeal of its push-me,

Paul You design, a mid-mounted,
flat-bore, air-cooled engine.

With 80 horsepower out back, it
cracks 0-60 in around 9 seconds.

But it's the low-down driving
position and lively handling which

make this Stuttgart-built classic
a pleasure to blast around in.

Prices have recently started
to climb, but I'm hoping

there's still a cheap
one left out there for me.

I'm on the hunt for a
project car, but the only 914s

on offer seem to be fully
restored and way too pricey.

Really, what I'm looking for is
a cheaper car, something that

I can add value to, something
for maybe £5,000 or £6,000.

At last, something I can get
my teeth into, a US import.

The paint is not great,
but it's presentable. The

fuel pump will need to
be replaced as it leaks.

Now, at first glance,
this sounds like a proper

Wheeler-dealer car, and
the price? Just under £7,000.

Well, I'm going to rule this car out,
and the reason is, how can I make

profit on a car that needs re-spraying,
the engine and interior work?

Looks like I've got some
more work to do myself.

Do you know what?
This is proving impossible.

The search for a cheap
914 is really tough.

And it just doesn't seem
as if out there in the world is

an entry-level 914 for the
price that I'm willing to pay.

Do you know what?
I'm drawing a real blank for this one.

A few days later, and I've got news.
I put the word out I was looking for a 914,

and one of my contacts
has just put me onto a

guy who says he's got
the perfect Porsche for me.

Now, Chris, the guy
I'm off to go and meet,

heard I was in the
market for a baby Porsche.

He says that he's got one stored up on
his farm, which he's had there for a while.

It's in red, and he only
wants 4,500 for it. It's

not that far away, so I
figured it's worth a look.

Well, I did say it was a barn find,
and here I am on a farm next to a barn,

and I always get really
nervous about situations

like this because you never
know what you might find.

This could be a complete basket case.
Here's the owner. You must be Chris.

Yes, hello, Mike. Lovely to see you.

Lovely to meet you,
Chris. You're on proper

farming. You've got the
wellies on and everything.

Yes, indeed. Well, look, this
is what you've come to see.

It is. I'm a little bit nervous about
this because it's under this clock.

Look at the state of it.
What can you tell me about it, then?

Well, it's a really solid car.
I've had it about 11 years.

Did you ever use it?

Yes, I ran it on the road
for about six months, but it

had an overheating problem,
and I put it away after that.

Well, let's get this cloth
off, have a proper look.

Oh, look at that.
Oh, it's a real barn find.

Look at the state
of it. It's 10 years'

worth of farm muck
built up over this motor.

Right, let's have a
good look at the interior.

Oh, Chris, look at the state of this.
What's been going on in here?

Well, it's in quite good condition, really.

In good condition? Are
you mad? Look, the seat's

got holes in it. It's
been repaired with tape.

It's nothing, really. It's just minor here.

It's not minor. That's going to take
a whole heap of work to repair that,

and these seats, they
ain't going to be easy to

find, are they? They're
going to be quite rare.

And what's been going on over here?

Well, we've had a bit of a rodent
issue in the glove box over there.

Stuart Little lives in there.
Look at the state of it.

I mean, it's got to all be pulled out.
It's all got to be cleaned out.

But it's just a simple thing to
clean out, so it's nothing major.

I don't think so. I
really don't think so. I

think there's some
work they're doing here.

Let's have a look under the engine.

Right. Oh, wow.
Look at it in there, Chris. What a mess.

You can see it's been sat here
for 10 years. It's full of surface rust.

All these cables and tubes
and wires, they look all crusty.

I think it's in quite good
condition, Mike, to be honest.

And look, it's got a new battery in there,
so if you want, I can fire it up for you.

You can start this.

It'd be a miracle if this motor goes.
It is a mess.

Fingers crossed, everybody.

And there you go. Wow. Well,
it did sort of run briefly, didn't it?

Have another go. Go on.

OK, Chris, come on. Be fair.
That's hardly a smooth-running engine.

No, it's not smoothly running,
but it's turning over nicely.

There's plenty of work to
do under there, isn't there?

OK, well, have a look in the boot
and see what you think about that.

Right, let's have a good look under here.
Oh, wow, look at that.

Look at this.
This is like new in here, Mike.

That is very good news.

I think the whole car is like that.
It's solid.

Is it? I like that very much indeed.

It's all very good.
It's nice and solid on the wings.

These wheels are nice, aren't they?
They're lovely.

Yeah, they're nice.
They're Fuchs alloys, Mike.

Oh, there's no need to swear, Chris.
Come on.

I am more worried,
though, about stuff like this.

Look, this vinyl's hanging off.
Oh, look at that trim.

Look, it just comes away in your hand.

And this Targa top, that's going
to need doing as well, isn't it?

I know that the car starts
because I just heard it,

but I want to make
sure it stops and it goes,

so is there any chance I can just
take it for a quick spin round the farm?

Yeah, feel free.
Just go round the buildings,

but just don't go too fast, eh?

As if I can in that.

Well, this has to be the
strangest test drive I've ever had.

Driving round the farm
at five miles an hour,

first impressions aren't really that good.

This engine is lumpy, it's misfiring.

It's not pulling, really,
in any of the gears.

But then saying that, Ed's
got this love of flat-floor engines

and I know that Ed can pull one of
these apart on the breakfast table

and that alone, the engine
being so bad in this motor,

is a good bargaining chip.

Oh, it's horrible. Oh!

Well, I'll tell you what, going round
this farm is making me so dizzy.

There's a little track down here.

Let's try another track.

First gear, let's try another gear.

Oh, it has got another gear, second.

And another gear, third.

Oh, and there's a...

And it crunches as a gate
coming across the road.

I'd better try the brakes,
just make sure that they work.

They do, and the car is stalled.

Yep, it shows you it doesn't run very nice.

Let's put it in reverse.

Let's try reverse.

So what I'll have to do
is try the car in reverse.

People did say this motor looks the same
going backwards as it does going forward.

Now's a good chance
for you lot to find out.

And reverse works. Look at that.

In fact, you know what? It goes better
in reverse, and it does go forwards.

I think mechanically this car is
moments away from being terminal.

And with that in mind, I reckon
I'm going to make Chris an offer.

He wants four and a half grand.

I'm going to start with four
and see where that gets me.

Interesting, Chris. Very interesting.

It's a lovely little car, isn't it?

No, I mean, in some
sense of the word it is.

It does sort of start,
stop and go on that tiny

little winning test
drive around this farm.

It has got a charm all of its own.

But the thing that draws me
to it the most is that bodywork.

Yeah, it's good, isn't it?

So with that in mind, what do
you think about four grand cash?

I think it's worth more than that, Mike.

It's not. Come on, four grand cash.

Well, look, I'm quite
nostalgic about this car.

When you finish it, can you let me
have a look at it before you sell it on?

I'll be more than pleased to show
you around it once it's finished.

Hold out your hand.

We've got a deal.

Lovely. I just bought myself a 914.

So the challenge is on and it's a big one.

Turn this dust-covered
wreck into a shiny

classic, which could sell
for eight grand or more.

I'm sure it's up to the
job, but with a barn

find there's always
trouble around the corner.

So I'm not counting my
chickens before they hatch.

I bought a Porsche 914, which has barely
turned the wheel in anger, for ten years.

And the engine's in a bad way.

First impressions aren't really that good.

This engine is lumpy. It's misfiring.

It's got no MOT, so Paul's
helping me trailer it to the workshop.

The bodywork, even though
it's dusty, looks in very good Nick.

And with a 70s car like this
one, that's worth its weight in gold.

But the best bit about this car? The price.

I bought a Porsche 914 for four grand.

And you know what? Good ones go
for about eight or nine thousand pounds.

So there should be plenty of headroom
in that motor to give us a decent profit.

Well, in the back of
my mind, there is this

worry that that car
was a genuine barn find.

And being as such, you know, things
have gone south on that little motor.

But I shouldn't worry too much
because if anyone can turn

that engine round and the
mechanicals of that motor, it's Ed.

The only thing is, can he
work his magic on the rest of it?

Well done, Paul. Thank you very much.

Edward! Hey!

Look at that!

How are you, son? You all right?

I'm very well. A 914. What a fantastic toy.

I'm so pleased you're pleased.

So why is it so dusty?

Well, it's a genuine barn find.

And I reckon for a bucket of
water over this, a little bit of a cloth,

admittedly a little bit of a Polish.

And a bit of a Polish, yeah, I think so.

And it'll be all right.

No, the thing is, I can't see
any obvious signs of rust.

I think you've done pretty well there.

Thank you very much.

Talking of polishing, I mean,
those wheels are fantastic

and original, but they do
need to be a bit shinier.

Don't worry too much about the
wheels because I can help there.

You know, I like to get my
hands dirty every now and then.

That's very kind of you.

I'm more concerned
about things like this, Ed.

You know, this side panel here,
this vinyl's peeling off, the trim's nasty.

And this target top because
they're just horrible, aren't they?

Yeah, it's not looking very good,

but I think that vinyl should
be relatively easy to replace.

I think really a lick of paint
there, a bit more vinyl there.

Job done, nice and easy to fix.

Great, well, keep that good
mood when I show you the interior.

Are you ready?

Oh, no, that is horrible.

Look, you've actually
got mouse droppings on

the seat and you've
got nests in the footwell.

That's horrible.

Yes, and this interior
really lets the car down.

Just look at the state of the seats.

They've got rips and tears.

Well, I could just carry
on repairing them with

gaffer tape if you want,
or I could do it properly.

Let's not go down the gaffer tape theme.

Let's get some seat covers
and retrim them properly.

We're going to have to rip the carpets
out and buy some new carpets, no doubt.

No, I think we can
probably just clean them.

I can wet back them in situ, I
think, so we can leave them in place.

Right, good, OK.

Now here comes the big
work and it's the engine.

OK.

Well, Ed, what do you think of that?

It's certainly seen better days.

It certainly has, yeah.

There's a few things
that concern me about this

engine, number one
being just the condition of it.

If a punter was to turn up and see that,

they're going to run for the hills.

When I took this car
on a test drive around

this little farm, it was
coughing, spluttering.

It wouldn't pull in any of the gears.

It's really quite nasty.

Well, the thing is,

it's been sitting for, like,
ten years or whatever.

All the little rubber bits will have
perished in some way, almost certainly,

so all the injectors are going
to have a couple on there.

You're going to have the
fuel lines will have perished,

air is going to be getting in,
fuels going to be leaking out.

You know, it all needs to be properly
overhauled and needs a bit of a clean

and even a little bit of
paint as well wouldn't hurt.

All right, Ed, well, that's good news.

You don't seem that phased by it, then.

Well, not by the engine, certainly.

The rest of the car, there's a
lot of work to do, to be honest.

Well, there is.

I mean, obviously, we've
got to sort out the body work.

Yeah, and, of course, you're going
to have that stuff on the interior.

You've got the target top to
do, the B pillars, you know.

And we're going to do the wheels.

I'll sort out the wheels, yes.

Well, that's something.

There is quite a lot to be getting on with,

so what we should
do is get the lights on in

the workshop and
get this off the trailer.

Come on, then.

It's been a while since I've
had a dusty old barn find like

this in the workshop and it's
a job to know where to start,

but I think I'm going to begin
with the rough-running engine.

Now, I haven't actually
heard this engine tick over.

Mike says it runs rough and the
previous owner said it overheated,

but I've never met an
air-cooled engine I don't like,

so let's start her up.

Well, our little air-cooled lump here
should be thrumming along beautifully,

but as you can hear, clearly,
there's a bit of a problem.

It keeps stalling,
keeps cutting out and

popping and banging
when it's running at all.

Obviously, there's a bit of a problem.

Now, it could be something
to do with the fuel system.

It could be something electrical.

Either way, I need to have a look at it

and, as you can see, access
is pretty terrible on this car,

so what I need to do is get the
whole engine out of the vehicle

and, of course, that has
to happen from underneath.

Safety first, so it's off
with the battery connectors.

I'm marking all the wiring as I go,

so I can reconnect it
easily when I'm finished,

but in reality, I bet lots of these
crispy old electrics will be replaced

by the time this engine
goes back in the bay.

So, obviously, when I said I was
going to just drop the engine out

from the bottom, I'm actually
going to be dropping everything out,

so you've got the engine,
the gearbox and the

exhaust system all going
to come out as one big lump.

The thing I like about Porsche design
is that they thought things through.

This car was built with foresight.

They've made it as simple as possible
to drop the engine out from underneath.

But now I've got four bolts holding
this engine and gearbox in position,

so the idea is to drop the whole
thing down onto this toolbox,

I'll then disconnect those bolts,
lift the car up and, theoretically,

I should end up with an engine and
gearbox and exhaust system on my toolbox.

So here goes.

Many carmakers have
experimented with air-cooled units.

Their low centre of gravity and short engine
length make them an attractive option.

But only VW and Porsche have ever really
cracked the engine for mass production.

As I lift the body away, you can
see just how compact and clever

this engine, gearbox
and exhaust system are.

And there we have it, a
lovely little 1781 boxer engine.

Now the reason it's called
a boxer engine, of course,

like a conventional engine
where the pistons go up and down,

of course on this car, because
they're horizontally opposed,

they go backwards and forwards like
that, just like a boxer. Nice and simple.

Now I've got some detective
work to do on the overheating.

Straight away I can see
there's an aftermarket

external oil cooler fitted
and it's not looking good.

If you look at the state of it,
it's all beaten up and damaged,

so the air's not really
going to flow through there,

but also there might be some
restriction to the oil flow inside there,

which is never going to
help with any extra cooling.

So I'm going to need to
have a look at that and

see if we can sort
that out, that's for sure.

While I'm looking for overheating issues,

there's something else I need to
check on the 914's air-cooled engine.

It's the bellows-operated
cold start system.

Now, of course, you want to get an
engine from cold up to temperature

as quickly as possible, and to that
end, they've actually put some flaps

into the ducting on
either side of the engine,

and they're controlled
by a thermostatic bellows,

which is actually
nestling underneath the

barrels and pistons on
this side of the engine.

The idea being that
once the engine's up to

temperature, the air
inside the bellows expands,

that releases the tension
on this little cable just here

that opens the flaps,
and of course then the

air can cool the engine
at its maximum amount.

So if there is a problem with either
the bellows, the cable, or the flaps,

then you could end up with overheating.

So I do need to check those bellows.

Now I'm just operating the
cable at the top there, the flaps,

and I can see two things
wrong with this bellows already.

The first is that the
bellows are all extended,

so they're not actually
going to be operating

properly, but also the
cable isn't running through,

there's like a little kind of pulley
that it's supposed to run around,

so it's not running smoothly, so both
of those are going to have to be fixed,

so they may well be part of the
reason why this engine was overheating.

The 914 runs hot and rough,

so I'm taking a really close
look at the fuel injection system.

This engine doesn't have carburettors,

it uses an electrically
controlled fuel injection system,

and after 40 years, they often suffer
problems which lead to rough running.

I think I found why this
engine isn't running very well.

Two of the injectors aren't even
really attached to the engine,

the seals have completely perished,
as I was expecting they might be,

but because they're flapping
about, what that means is,

obviously you're chucking fuel
into the combustion chamber,

but also loads of extra air is
going to be sucked in as well,

so the fuel air mixture is going
to be completely out of kilter,

and in this case it's going to
be running really, really lean.

Okay, already I've got a big
parts list for this little engine.

Replacement oil cooler,
new fuel injectors, bellows,

it will probably run to hundreds in cost.

And while I carry on
stripping the engine down,

Mike's taking our 914 wheels to get sorted.

I'm to local metal finishers,

who I hope can get my rims looking good.

Barry!

Hard-working man.
How you doing, Barry? You alright?

Yes.

Good to see you. Right, now, look at this.

This is a set of wheels
of my little Porsche 914.

They're looking, well, rather
craddy, so what can you do for me?

I can take all your mess off for you,

and I can Polish up all
this old bright for you.

Lovely.

And all these bits here.

The highlight.

Where I can get in all the
nooks and crannies for you.

Fantastic.

That stuff like this,
Barry, you see there, look,

there's a nasty chip
where it's been curved.

Yeah, I can blend that in for
you, you won't notice it's there.

Go on then, crack them.

Yeah, okay then.

Barry is an expert, and
he's cutting off the surface

discolouration and dirt using a cleaning
wheel made of a rough string called Sytol.

He's got several types of
wheel which do all different jobs.

The art is to be aggressive
enough to clean the wheel,

but not so much that it damages
the surface of the aluminium.

This bar of compound
is the secret ingredient,

which lubricates the whole process.

Once Barry's happy, he
moves to his hand tool,

which gives him the chance to
get into all those tight spaces.

After an hour, the wheel
is ready for the final stage,

a light dusting of French talc.

The carefully controlled
grain size of the talc

is especially designed
for fine metal polishing.

Wow, Barry, look at that.

What a difference.

Are you pleased with it?

Very pleased indeed, yeah.

That's brilliant, Barry.

I love the way you polished
up the highlights here.

So how much does that cost?

£60 a wheel.

Do you know what?

I think it's worth every
penny for the amount

of craftsmanship
that's gone into that.

The only bad news is
you've got three more to do.

The wheel looks knockout,
but back at the workshop,

Ed is still slugging it out
with a Porsche engine.

The parts bill is climbing fast,

and we haven't even begun to plan for
the interior renovations and the bodywork.

My money is still on
the tall man to come out

on top, but there's
still a few rounds to go,

and this left hooker could deliver a
low blow or two before the final bell.

I found this Porsche 914 in a barn.

It smelt of mouse poo,

and the engine sounded
as though there was

still a furry friend living
in the exhaust pipe.

But if we get the restoration right,

we might be able to sell it for
double what we bought it for.

Ed found the engine parts that are kaput,

and while he waits for
them to be delivered,

he's tackling the tinware.

Now, any air-cooled engine
will have loads of this stuff.

Tinware.

It's one of the first things you
see when you open the engine bay.

Unfortunately, ours is looking
rather rusty and sorry for itself,

but not for long.

This tinware is designed to fit around the
air-cooled engine as an enclosed system,

which directs airflow around the barrels,
cylinder head fins, and the oil cooler.

If the tinware on your air-cooled engine
is looking a little the worse for wear,

don't be tempted to throw them out,

because very few tinware
parts are still available new.

Instead, clean them up and give
them a new look with stone chip.

Well, all this tinware is
going to take a while to dry,

but of course I've got loads more to do,

because now all those parts for
the engine overhaul have turned up,

and my next job is going to be
sorting out that overheating problem.

The Porsche has a clever
system which regulates

the heat of the
engine on a cold start,

using a thermostatic bellows
which, when it expands,

releases a cable which should
open this flap cooling the engine.

At the moment, the bellows
device doesn't work at all,

so the flap doesn't open and it's
actually causing an overheating problem.

Well, here are the bellows.

Now, they should be in this
position, should be all compressed,

and the idea is obviously
the heat of the engine

heats the air and then
kind of makes them expand,

and of course that lets
off the tension off the cable.

And I think what's happened,
over time, this metal's fatigued,

it's got jammed in its
kind of expanded position,

and I think what's happened is
these flaps have been held shut,

which means, of course, the engine's
going to be overheating all the time.

Now, you can't buy original 914
bellows any more, so here's my top tip.

I'm going to fit apart from a VW Beetle
engine, which does exactly the same thing.

Right, so that's done.

How about we just test it?

So I'm just going to
grab a little bit of fire.

So it's going to look a bit
more dangerous than it really is.

I'm just going to put some heat down there

where the hot air would
normally be going, of course,

or coming from, of course,
as it's cooling the engine,

and the idea is that
hopefully that hot air

eventually is going to make
that thermostat expand,

which should then open our flaps.

So here goes.

Great, the bellows expand.

The cable moves, the flaps open,

and now the engine can
regulate its own heat once again.

With that problem solved, I can crack on.

I found a new aftermarket external
oil cooler online for 100 pounds.

Once it's bolted into place, it
should also help keep the engine cool.

There are hoses to connect,

cables to route,

and a new distributor and HT leads to run.

All big stuff, but sometimes it's
the little things that count the most.

Now, these little seals
don't really look like much,

but actually they're going
to make all the difference

between a rough running engine
and one that runs and purrs beautifully.

All I've got to do is pop
them on to our injectors here,

and that'll be job done.

Another problem solved.

With these tiny rubber seals in place,

the injection system should run cleanly,

delivering the right amount of
fuel to exactly the right place.

But the only way to test my work is to put
the 1.8 litre lump back in and fire it up.

I've spent two days rebuilding this
engine, and if I'd paid a mechanic,

the bill would have
comfortably run into 800 pounds.

It's been 10 years since this engine
last ran cleanly, and in a few minutes,

I'm going to see if I've solved the
rough running and overheating problems.

Fixing this engine has been a real mission

and certainly a lot more
work than I was first expecting,

but at the turn of that key,

we're going to find out whether it
was all worthwhile, so here goes.

That sounds really rather sweet,

and certainly an awful lot
better than it was before.

I'm going to leave it
running for a bit, just to make

sure there are no leaks and
make sure it doesn't overheat.

But Mike was really worried
that this engine might be terminal,

but I think it's clear to
see that this patient is off

the critical list and now
headed out of intensive care.

Ed, how you doing?

You all right, mate?

You all right, buddy?

What has been going on, Ed? Come on.

Surely you can clean
up the little 914 by now.

Mate, it's all about priorities.

The bodywork was actually
the last thing on my mind.

What I was really worried
about was that flat 4 in the back.

So now I've got it all sorted, given it a
full overhaul, and now it's ready to go.

And for that, I think you deserve a reward.

So look what I've got and got for you.

I've been busy too, you know.

Oh, look at that. That is amazing.

That is really awesome,
and it looks as good as new.

I'd like to say I did it all myself, but
I actually had a bloke do it for me.

I had them polished up, cost
£60 each, and I reckon once

we screw these to the
motor, it's going to transform it.

Ed, let me tell you this.

I reckon we are well on
the way of transforming

this little 914 time capsule
into a proper, profit-ready motor.

All you've got to do from this moment on
is keep your nut down, keep working hard.

Easy, Tiger.

Right, the damage of the
Tiger top is only cosmetic.

Once I've masked up the underside,

I'm ready to begin the restoration.

I'm using an abrasive pad on the top

to take off the surface dirt
and to give the paint a key.

A quick vacuum clean
removes any leftover dust.

The panel needs to be
super clean to take the paint.

Panel wipe takes off the last residue.

Doing this respray myself
saved me around £200.

Well worth it.

The Tiger is plastic coated,

so I'm using a plastic coating primer.

Important, Matt.

The surface of the Porsche Tiger
should have a slight texture to it.

Here's a top tip for
recreating that effect.

I'm going to use some high build primer.

I'm just going to spray it into the cap

and I'm just going to
use either a little brush

or even something like a c*ck
stick or the end of this pop rivet

just to sort of blob on
a few little bits of paint

and that's going to give us back
the texture which is now missing.

Luckily, there's just a
few areas which need to be

re-textured like this as
it's very time consuming.

No, I haven't gone mad.

I do remember that the roof was black.

This is red oxide primer.

It's not my top coat.

Well, the red oxide primer is now
dry so it's on with the satin black.

One tin costs just a fiver and it should
be enough to do a couple of coats.

The trick is to lay down the
paint far and fast and wet.

Don't take it slow.

Get the paint on the panel.

Otherwise, you'll get a patchy
look and have to start all over again.

While the roof dries,

I'm stripping off the
chrome trim so I can remove

and replace the vinyl
on these tatty B-pillars.

Now, it seems pretty
clear that this vinyl has

been stuck to the B-pillar
using contact adhesive.

You can see they've wrapped it
around each of these corners here

and then, of course, the chrome holds it
down but also covers up any of the edges.

Now, the glue is probably
pretty seriously old

so I'm guessing it'll have broken down
by now so actually, to try and peel it off

should be quite easy and I'm
hoping I should do it in one piece.

The vinyl comes off
quite cleanly but I'll have

to rub down and prime
this tear in the paintwork

to stop any rust coming
through in the future.

We've sourced these
replacement vinyl panels.

from a 914 expert because it's really
important that we use pucker parts

if we're going to maximise
the money on this car.

After all, Porsche fans are
real sticklers for originality.

Now, what I need to do is cover both
this surface and the surface of the car

with some contact
adhesive, let them both dry

then I can then stick
the vinyl onto the car.

This isn't the kind of work I do every day.

I'm no trimmer and you
only get one go at this contact

adhesive so I've got
to get it right first time.

But once I've removed
the masking tape and got

the chrome trims back
on it looks the business.

And I reckon I've saved
around 150 quid doing it myself.

Well, there we go.

Last piece of the puzzle.

And here's quite a
cool little refurbishment.

This is something you
can easily do at home.

We've actually managed to
completely smarten up both the

target top and the B pillars
and only for a few quid.

Now, I've wanted to do this ever since
the Porsche came into the workshop.

I'm going to steam clean
that decade of dust away.

This is as much fun as it looks.

You can buy a less capable pressure
washer for about a hundred pounds.

But if you want all the toys and a
really powerful steam cleaning device

then you can rent this kind of
cleaner for around 30 quid a day.

As the dirt is blasted away
I can see that the bodywork

underneath is thankfully
looking very sound indeed.

No sign of rust at all.

But the paint,

well, that's looking a bit flat.

But I've got a plan for that.

I'm going to mop the car.

Basically mop stands for
machine operated polishing.

Now, the idea is I'm going to take
this kind of slowed down angle grinder

has a number of different heads I can use
and also a number of different compounds.

And essentially you've got
coarse, medium and fine.

Now, the idea is I put a bit of this
compound onto the bodywork of the car

and then I spread a bit of water onto
the head so to keep it nice and moist.

And then I'm just going to abrade
away the top dead layer of the paint.

It's kind of like an
exfoliation for the car.

Now, I'm going to take this and
I'm going to put it on the car's skin.

Time spent masking now will
save time spent cleaning up later.

Just wait until you see the
red sludge move around.

Then you'll understand
why I'm being so careful.

Mike often says you can Polish money into
a car and that's what I'm doing right now

because I can see this sports car
becoming more saleable by the minute.

Getting this Porsche professionally
marked would probably cost around £200.

Now, top tip when it comes to
areas like swage lines and edges,

the paint tends
to be just a little bit

thinner so if you kind
of go for it all gung h*

you're going to end up wearing
through that much, much quicker

which obviously is not
going to be a good thing.

So just take it easy
and obviously if it comes

down to it get in there
with the old finger.

I'm adding water as I go
because mopping has the potential

to burn the paint or cause
nasty surface crazing.

Spraying on a little
water lubricates the

surface and keeps the
whole process on track.

Well, look at that.

It's definitely taken a while
but my first pass with a

coarse cutting compound has
really made a massive difference.

So I reckon all I need to do
now is another pass with some

ultra-fine compound and I
reckon this is pretty much there.

It's looking good but we've already
spent around a thousand pounds on parts

and with some costly
interior renovations ahead

the money-making potential
of this 914 could shrink fast.

I'm beginning to worry if we will
wring a profit out of our Porsche.

The 914 is nearing the end of
its long Wheeler-dealer journey.

In good Nick, these Porsches sell
for twice the four grand I pay for ours.

Can we sell at that kind of price?

The engine and bodywork are sorted
but will the upcoming interior work

hit our profit hard?

There's only one way
to find out and you're on.

Now this is the heart of
the driving experience.

You're here being cosseted
by those lovely sport seats

as you exploit that wonderful VW
air-cooled engine but at the moment

unfortunately it's a
pretty horrid place to be.

The seats are all ripped.

You've got mice living in the glove box.

The carpet is disgusting.

Between you and me it
smells pretty nasty in here too.

The seats are coming
out because I want to get

good access to the rest
of the shabby interior.

A quick vacuum clean
will get rid of the worst

but the problems are much
more than skin deep here.

The grime is ground in.

It's deeply unpleasant.

Right, well the interior gutted
and the carpet vacuumed.

You can see it's actually
not in such bad Nick.

Now a replacement carpet
set will cost about £230

but rather than go into the trouble
of spending that much money.

I'm actually going to go
for a money-saving top tip

and that's clean it with a
specialist wet vac machine.

I'm using this bad boy which
costs around 30 quid a day to rent.

Fill it with hot water, add a soap solution

and then spray the hot
soapy water onto the carpet.

Work it in well with a brush and
then vacuum up the dirty liquid.

After a morning's work it
certainly smells a lot better

and I've saved a fortune
on buying new carpets.

But on a black carpet
it's hard to see the

change until you look
into the waste bucket.

Nasty.

As you can see there are plenty of
tears and rips in these seat covers

and lots of evidence of past repairs
that haven't been done really that well.

But it's all looking pretty bad
and to get top dollar for our 914

we really do need these
seats to look and feel great.

Amazingly I found a company in Germany
who make new seat covers to order for £380.

As they're custom made I had to
figure a three week wait into my plans.

Let's hope they fit, otherwise
I'll have been waiting in vain.

Well this is done with for now.

So the next thing is to try and sort
out this rather sorry looking headrest.

Unfortunately I can't get hold
of another bit of foam like this.

So before I try and stuff that back
into the new covers a little top tip here.

I'm just going to use a pair of
pretty heavy grade stockings.

I've cut down.

I'm just going to feed this over the top

and try and hold it all together.

The stockings help give the worn
foam some shape and structure

and make it easier to man handle
them into the new vinyl covers.

I'm using contact adhesive
to stick the covers into place

then I'm making
double sure they stay in

place by stapling them
along the hidden edges.

My powerful stapler g*n
is connected to an airline

but you can buy a
good quality spring pad

one for around 40 quid
at any hardware shop.

It's taken a few hours
but this seat is done.

That is one 1970 seat
looking very much sharper.

And with the restored seats bolted
back in the interior work is finished.

I am really happy with this.

The cabin now feels totally transformed.

The last of that farmyard look and
smell has been completely banished.

I love it.

Our 914 was left abandoned
and unloved for over 10 years.

But the quality Porsche
building to their cars

was always there
waiting to be rediscovered.

I bought this dusty
70's relic for just £4,000

and I knew I had a potential
bargain on my hands.

We got a deal.

Lovely.

But I also knew I'd taken a big risk.

The engine had major rough
running and overheating problems.

Thankfully once I'd have
bought every spare in

the shop we had the engine
running sweet and cool.

The trademark Targa roof was looking shabby

so both that and the tatty
B-pillars were completely restored.

I gave the wheels a new lease of
life with a trip to the metal finishers

and then it was the turn of the paintwork
to have a proper wash and brush up.

It cleaned up beautifully.

Finally Ed could get to
grips with that awful interior.

The carpets were cleaned
and the seats recovered.

All in all, a restoration to savour.

But will we taste the
profit out of this one?

Well the car was cheap but
we laid out a fair amount of cash

on the engine parts and the
cost just kept on racking up.

Total spend in the end was £5,310.

I know I'll find a buyer
for this stunning car.

Question is, at what price?

Ed!

How you doing buddy?

Wow! Look at that 914!

You've taken my barn find has-been and
you've turned it into a classic car star.

What a result!

Well it has been quite a
transformation, hasn't it?

Let's have a little sniff.

Absolutely, yeah.

Yes, I can't smell any
mice in there anymore.

Well that's because all the rotors
have been completely eradicated

and also you can see that the
interior really scrubbed up nicely

and those lovely new vinyl seat
covers look great, don't they?

I tell you what, Ed, that
interior looks superb, looks

almost new but what have
you done to the outside?

Surely you've given it
a respray, haven't you?

Well you'd almost think so.

I actually gave it a really thorough
Polish and the paint came up beautifully.

Well I've got to tell you,
Ed, you've done it again.

You've transformed our little 914.

It's brilliant.

And so for your reward I know the perfect
place to put this car through its paces.

Are you up for it?

Always, mate.

There's one place that
every Porsche feels at home.

The track.

And that the Silverstone
handling circuit, the

mid-engine 914 can
safely be pushed to the Max.

Go on, Ed.

Wow!

This is fantastic.

The one thing that I couldn't
test when I bought this car here

was that engine behind us, but
actually it sounds right, doesn't it?

This 914 is absolutely buzzing.

I have to say it's awesome.

I've actually lost count
of the number of parts

I've either repaired or replaced
on that little motor back there.

But it was so worth
all that time and effort.

And it sounds absolutely brilliant.

And the power's just
at the flick of my paddle.

It's superb.

It is superb, isn't it?

And this track, what a playground.

Come on, Ed.

What's it capable of?

I can't give you any numbers, but what
I can tell you is it's still very still.

And the power is so tractable.

It's brilliant for this
wicked little windy circuit.

It's superb.

I wish I was behind the wheel of this 914,

but then saying that, Ed, this
cabin is a pleasant place to be.

You'd never guess just a couple of
weeks ago this was a performed vehicle,

but now there's no sign of any
mutt, and it doesn't smell nasty either.

Thank goodness.

This car on that circuit,
what an experience.

I'll tell you what, the way
this car handles, awesome.

Whoever buys this motor
is going to be really lucky,

because not only do they get this
lovely shiny thing that is the 914,

perhaps better and more important than
that, they get a solid rust-free motor.

And a car like this in this condition
in this country is a very rare thing.

Well, thinking about its rarity value,

I reckon it's probably
worth about eight grand.

That's like twice what we paid for it.

Yeah, you are right.

So why don't we go a bit more?

Any 914 enthusiasts out
there will want this car.

It's got everything
that they're looking for.

So I reckon 8250.

See that fella behind me?

Do you recognise him?

That's Chris.

He's the guy that I bought
this 914 off a few weeks ago.

And if you remember rightly,

I made him a promise that
he could have a look at the car

when we finished it, but
the way he's looking round it,

it looks like he might get his wallet out.

It's a funny old world, isn't it?

But then saying that,
I've advertised this

Porsche online, and
I've had plenty of interest,

and I've got a couple of
people coming down tomorrow.

So if Chris really is interested,

he'll have to pay for the nose for it.

So then, Chris, what
do you think so far, eh?

What a cracking-looking thing.

It's a very smart-looking car now.

You've done a very nice job, I think.

It's a really usable
little classic car, this.

I think that's right, yeah.

I think it's exactly what I
wanted in the first place.

I'm sort of scratching my head
with you, Chris, at the moment,

because when I said to you
you could have a look at it,

I genuinely thought you just wanted to
come down and see the job we've done of it.

Do you want to relive
your youth and buy it again?

Yeah, I'll offer you 7,750 for it.

Do you know why I'm laughing?

Why's that?

Because this is a classic case of
poacher term gamekeeper, isn't it?

If you pardon the pun,
you've been a farmer and all.

So I'm going to be tough, mate.

If you want the car and you
want it back, it's 8,250 quid.

Okay, yeah, I'll...
Yeah, I'll give you that.

Yes?

Cracking, you just put
yourself your own Porsche back.

Okay.

Top work.

No wonder I can't keep
the grin off my face.

That's a £2,940 profit,
one of our best ever results.

Well, that's a first for Wheeler dealers.

I've actually sold the car back
to the guy that I bought it from.

It just goes to show
that if you're a classic

car fan, it's a really
hard habit to kick.

And for the first time in over a decade,

Chris is going to get to rag this
little 914 around the country lanes,

and me and Ed are really
going to enjoy that lovely profit.

If you want to see more barn
finds getting turned around,

then join me and Ed
soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Tala!