10x09 - Chevrolet Corvette C2 Sting Ray

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wheel Of Dealers, I'm in
the USA to buy an all-American Hero.

I'll tell you what, this car is epic.

The Corvette may be cool,
but it's rough around the edges.

Well, first of all, we're going to
have to address this bodywork.

It's a lot of work, it's a
lot of man-hours, mate.

And it needs more than a
little TLC to turn it around.

It does sound like it's not really
running on all eight cylinders.

Perhaps some more work is required.

I do the deals on classic
motors past their prime.

Yes!

Ed provides the necessary
skills to fix them up,

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

This car, finished and done,
is worth a suitcase of money.

The C2 Corvette Stingray is
one of America's most iconic cars.

Built between 1963 and 1967,

a Chevrolet's answer to European exotica.

The Stingray combined elegant
design with American V8 muscle.

Available as a coupé or a roadster,

the C2 featured a fibreglass body,

with engines ranging from
250 to 435 brake horsepower,

which meant top-spec cars were
able to hit 60 in under five seconds.

Astonishingly fast for the time.

The C2 Corvette Stingray is
celebrating 50 years on the road,

and it's probably the most desirable
and collectible of all the Vets.

With prices rising fast,

now is the time to bag
ourselves a true American legend.

Now, I've come all the way to America
to find myself a Corvette C2 Stingray.

That's because the cars are
made here, but they're very rare.

They're one of the most
desirable Corvettes ever made.

And judging by what I'm looking at,
the prices seem to be rising all the time.

I've got a budget of $30,000.
That's around £20,000.

A lot of money, but a
bargain-basement price for a C2,

because good-conditioned cars
are worth a lot more than that.

All I'm finding here on the west
coast of America are Finnish cars,

cars that have been restored,

and that's quite right because
people love their Stingrays.

There's one here I've got my eye on.

64 fuel injected, 375
brake horsepower, $50,000.

That's so much money.

I need to find a car that isn't meant,

something that needs a bit of work.

Here we go. Look at this one.

1964. This one's got a detachable hardtop.

That's desirable and sought-after.

And this one's $35,000.

That's more money than I've got to spend,

but you know what?

I'm coming up against
blanks everywhere I look.

I think it leaves me no choice but to give
them a call and find out about the car.

Your little Stingray, still for sale.

Great news.

You're acting as an
agent for somebody else?

300 brake horsepower.

Yeah, that sounds... Well,
I'd love to come and see it.

Thanks a lot.

Well, that sounds like a sweet little car.

I mean, it's got everything that I want.

It needs a little bit of work.

I think it's worth hitting the sunny
Californian highway and going to see this one.

Well, look at this.

This wasn't part of the plan, was it?

Come all the way out here to
the Sunshine State, California,

and it's pouring down the rain.

Now, the thing that's worrying me most
about this Corvette is the price at $35,000.

That's over £22,000.

It's way over my budget.

My maximum is about $30,000.

I'm taking a huge gamble, driving
all this way to go and see this car.

Let's just hope it's worth it.

I've come a long way to see this.

Wow. Look at that.

She's a beauty.

Oh, this is a dream for anyone.

Are you Lee?

Yes. Hi, Mike. Hi.

Lovely to meet you.

Thank you.

She's a beauty.

But it's not yours.

You're selling it on
behalf of somebody else.

Yes, yes.

The lady that's owned it
has owned it for 14 years.

Her husband, he figures it'll
take about two years to restore it.

Therefore, he just doesn't have the time.

That's fair enough.

That could be good news for me.

Shall we have a good look round, then?

Oh, please, let's do it.

Okay, well, I can see it's
got original paint on the car,

but it looks like the
paintwork's faded, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

It's going to need a total paint job, Mike.

It certainly is.

Is there not things
missing, like the bumpers?

The original bumpers were
taken off to be re-chromed.

They're in the box in the car.

So the guy had every
intention of restoring this car?

Oh, absolutely.

He has all the parts
necessary to restore it.

You know, Mike, this has got two tops.

This is the hard top, right?

That's correct.

It needs refurbishing,
but it's brand new material.

Fantastic.

There is a soft top for this car,

so it had two tops, and then
the new material is in the box.

So it's all complete.

It just needs to be put back together.

Well, this car is all about its engine,

so I'm desperate to see
what's under the hood.

Let me open up the hood.

There she is.

327 V8, 300 horsepower, 5.4 litres.

When you hear it start up
and run, you'll be amazed.

Oh, you have to fire it up for me.

Oh, I will.

Could you do that?

Yeah, go on, fire it up.

Oh, that silky sound of that V8 engine.

That is fantastic.

Wow.

Turn her off.

So that engine, there's been a
lot of work done to that engine.

It looks like it's been restored.

No, it hasn't been restored.

It's just the way it is.

So is that original to the car,
like the matching numbers?

Oh, yes, it's a matching number
car, which is very valuable.

Yeah, okay.

Well, that's a rare sight to find.

Let's have a look inside.

Wow.

Look at it in here.

It's like a fighter c*ck.

That's amazing.

Really characterful.

I love the dials.

Very good.

But there's lots of it
missing, isn't there?

Yeah, Mike.

All of the replacement
parts that are necessary

to put this dash back
together are in that box.

In this box here?

Right, uh-huh.

Okay.

And those are original serial numbers.

See right there on the front?

Yeah, I can see those right down there.

Yeah, very good.

Well, it feels wonderful inside here.

Take it for a drive.

Can I?

Yeah, absolutely.

I love California.

I left where the car was
being sold on this test

drive, turned a few
corners, and look at this.

It stopped raining, and I think
there's a bit of sunshine out there.

Fantastic.

And it really gives me a chance to
put this C2 Corvette through its paces.

Now, this car is really rare in America.

It's even rarer in the UK.

And I can tell you that I'm behind the
wheel, actually, of a very, very special car.

Now, this car has definitely got
soul, but it's got a few issues, too.

And one of them is
with the engine, because

although it's got that
lovely-looking 327 V8,

it should have 300 brake horsepower.

But I've got a funny feeling a few of the
ponies have been left back in the paddock

because it doesn't feel
as sporty as it should.

It should really be
growling and biting this

engine, but it's just
holding back ever so slightly.

But I don't think it's
too much of a problem.

I just think it needs
setting up properly and a

little bit of work, but
it's definitely an issue.

Also, I've noticed the
rev counter isn't working.

However, this Vette
is still a very quick car.

And when you've got a big engine
up front and this lightweight body,

you need good anchors
to be able to stop it.

And unfortunately, this
Vette has got brakes

from the 60s, and they're
just not doing the job,

because when I hit the brakes, like
now, whoa, it pulls the car to one side.

It feels like it's snatching
one of the brakes on the rear.

It's definitely an issue,
and we need fixing.

So the big question is, do I
want this little red Corvette?

Oh, well, come on, I'd
be mad not to, wouldn't I?

But look at it.
The minuses are, it's way over my budget.

But then saying that, I reckon I could
just work that little bit hard on Lee.

I can get this car down to a price I want.

Well, I really hope he comes
round, because the more

I drive this car, the
more I absolutely love it.

Hey, what do you think?

Oh, I love it. I absolutely love that.

I love the way it gets
down the road. I love

that power, the noise,
the feeling it gives you.

I'm just a little bit
afraid that it's going to

take a whole heap of
work to finish this car off.

Do you think the owner would take an offer?
I mean, he wants 35 grand.

That's a fair price, Mike.

I thought $27,000.

She told me 32 was
her number. I'll call

them and ask them
what their bottom line is.

All right, yeah, give her a call.

Okay, I will do it.

I always get a little bit nervous at these
moments, because it's at times like this,

I really want to be having a
face-to-face conversation with

the real owner of the car, not
the bloke, acting as the agent.

Hopefully, we can drive a price
down to about 28. Here we go.

Right, so... I did get
a hold of her, Mike.

You did? What did she say?

$30,000.

$30,000. Make it $29,000.
Go on, have a deal with me.

Okay, let's do it.

Yes!
I just caught myself a Corvette Stingray.

I bought an American icon,
our very own little red Corvette.

The question is, have I bagged a bargain?

At just over 18,000
pounds, it was a fair price.

And until I've shipped it back to
the workshop, I won't know whether

it's going to be an American
dream or an amateur-ville horror.

I'm in California, living
the American dream, and

there's nothing more American
than a little red Corvette.

Yes! I've done it. I've gone and bought
myself a 1964 Corvette Stingray C2 Roadster.

Get in.
I'll tell you what, this car is epic.

And I paid just $29,000.
That's 18,000 pounds. Happy days.

And best of all, just
listen to that V8 engine.

So what is the plan for this car?

Well, back in the UK, this motor is going
to cause quite a stir, let me tell you.

What we want to do with
this car is just keep it as it is.

No stupid wheels, no silly
stripes, no lairy paint job.

That way, we're going to
attract really serious buyers.

And I know that we
can sell it for up to

35,000 pounds. That's
twice what I paid for it.

So I know there's a
healthy profit in this car.

But all of that is a long way off.
I shouldn't worry about that now.

I should just enjoy the drive.

Oh, look at that. What a car.

Howdy, partner.

That is awesome. A Corvette Stingray.

Do you like it?

That's wicked.

How much?

It was $29,000, about 18,000 pounds.

Trust me, this car, finished and done, is
worth a suitcase of money. It is awesome.

And what are we going to have to
do to get that suitcase of money?

Well, first of all, we're going to
have to address this bodywork.

Yeah, this car's made of
fiberglass and over the years, it's

just starting to fall off and
starting to crack in places.

So the car needs stripping
down and repainting.

But it does seem to be a few bits missing
as well, like where are the bumpers?

The guy who sold me the car, he was
halfway through the restoration himself.

And he'd just run out of time and money.

Have a look inside. Look at this dashboard,
Ed. Look at that. Is that iconic or what?

That is awesome.
But yeah, again, loads of bits missing.

You've got no glove
box, no carpet. It's

great, but are you sure
you've got everything?

To be honest with you, Ed, it's
come in loads of boxes and packages.

I've had a look at most of it and
it seems to be there. I trust him.

Okay, well, I'm going to have
to hear this thing run again.

Yeah, start it up. How nice is that, eh?

Oh, that's good.

Come and have a look under the hood.
Are you ready for this one?

Come on, then.

Here we go.

Oh, look at that. That is so clean.

It's good, isn't it? Now, that is your 327
V8 four-speed. And that is a superb motor.

It looks wonderful. And
they spent a lot of money

doing it up, actually. I
mean, how does it run?

I'll be honest with you,
a little bit lumpy. I mean,

at the moment, you can
see it's not ticking over well.

And under hard acceleration,
it's got a little bit of a flat spot.

It does smell a little bit
of fuel. So have a look

at the carburetor and just
see what happens, really.

So how does it drive?

It's got this great big
V8 engine, so it's really

powerful. And the brakes
are absolutely useless.

Really?

Yeah, they're totally hopeless.

They're going to need to be taken apart
and have another look at that as well.

Perfect. Good. So there you go.
There's our car.

It's good. It's got a
nice little roof as well,

nice hard tops. Has
it got a good soft top?

Yeah, the soft top is all in
hand, all being addressed.

Okay.

But other than that, Ed.

Well, it is a fantastic
car, but there's a lot of

man-hours here, mate.
It's a lot of work, again.

Don't worry about the man-hours.
I know they're there, and I know

you've got a lot of work to strip it
down and put it all back together,

but you'll never notice
those man-hours tick

by because the clock
inside doesn't work.

So get that fixed as well, fine.

Should we get it in the workshop?

I think we should, but
it's a wonderful motor.

Great, isn't it? Get those doors open.

This Corvette is a
great car. It's amazing to

look at. It has fantastic
engineering pedigree.

And Mike says it even drives pretty
well, but it's by no means a finished car.

It's still very much in the process
of restoration, and we have a

long way to go before this
American icon is where it needs to be.

The first job is to check how
well the engine is running.

Now, Mike did mention this
engine was running a little bit rough.

It does sound like it's not really
running on all eight cylinders.

Before I get worried about kind
of anything really scary deep in

the engine, I'm just going to
try all the obvious stuff first.

So let's have a look
at the ignition system.

I'm fitting new spark plugs,
which should be an easy job, but in

the Corvette, some are hard to
get to, and it takes me over an hour.

At the same time, I replace
the HT leads as worn-out

leads can cause arcing
and, therefore, misfires.

Well, it does sound a little
bit smoother, but it's still not

quite there, so I think perhaps
some more work is required.

With the plugs and leads changed,
I know they aren't the problem.

So the next thing to look at is the source
of the ignition system, the distributor.

I'm just having a quick look in the distributor
cap, because you can get misfires caused by

a build-up of deposits and, therefore, a bad
spark, actually, on each of these terminals.

And you've got the rotor
arm down here distributing

the spark to each of the
cylinders at the right time.

You can see they're
actually looking a little bit dirty.

I've seen worse, but certainly
this cap should be changed.

Now, something else
I've noticed is down here

there seems to be
some kind of drive cable.

It's a bit like a speedo, but
actually, because it's connected to

the distributor, it's actually
going to be for the rev counter.

The cable should be connected
to the distributor, but it isn't, so I'm

going to take the distributor out
of the car and see what's going on.

Once I remove the
central shaft, it's clear that

the gear that drives the
rev counter is badly worn.

And as the gear is
part of the dizzy shaft

itself, the whole shaft
will have to be replaced.

The drive for the end
of the rev counter cable

is also missing, so I
need one of those, too.

Time to get some new parts.

Now, I haven't gone for just the shaft. I've gone
for a few other bits and pieces, including the

new dizzy cap, because, of course, it makes sense
to refurb everything while I'm at this stage.

Now all I need to do
is lubricate the new

distributor parts and put
everything back together.

The feeler Gauge helps check the end float,
which can be adjusted with various washers.

So I've now got our new shaft into the body
of the dizzy, so it's time for the points.

But rather than actually put the original points back
in, which do tend to corrode after time, I'm actually

going to put in an electronic system, which means you
never have to change the points ever again. Very cool.

The new electronic ignition system
screws into the distributor in place of the

mechanical points and takes over the job of
sending electrical pulses to the spark plugs.

And because it's
transistor-based and doesn't have

any moving parts, it should
be much more reliable.

So far, I've spent £220,
a pretty reasonable price

to have our beautiful
Corvette running how it should.

Let's see if it's done the trick.

Well, that sounds a lot
smoother already, but I now

have to actually set the
timing using a strobe light.

With the engine running,
the strobe will reveal

whether the ignition is
firing too soon or too late.

I can change it by rotating
the body of the dizzy.

All I need to do is
twist it until the timing

shows 18 degrees of
advance, as per the manual.

Then I tighten the
distributor cap, replace the

air filter, and everything
should be just right.

Well, you can hear
it's better straight away.

Now, when this car would
have come out of the factory,

it would have been producing
about 300 horsepower.

But inevitably, over
the years, some of those

horses have obviously
gone a bit missing.

But now we've refurbished and
renewed our ignition system, we've almost

certainly managed to get most of
those horses back into the stable.

When I handed the car
over to Ed, I told him not

to worry about the soft-top
roof, and here's why.

Back in the States, I went to
see the legendary trimmers,

the Francini brothers,
about the Corvette's roof.

It's come with this detachable hardtop,
but really, a little car like this,

you want it to have a little convertible
soft-top thing that you can fold away.

And it's actually not on the car.
I've got it. It's in bits.

And apparently, you two guys are the
guys that can put it back together for me.

Absolutely. It's what we do here.

First thing to do is to
find out exactly what

roof parts have been
included with the car.

And then we need to start
assembling the roof frame.

What we'll do is I'll climb in and
you and Don can lower it in the car.

No worries. Get some bolts in it.

Mind your head. That's it.

Eventually, after a lot of
screwing, adjusting, and

even some cutting, the roof
frame is more or less ready.

Now we need to look at the replacement roof
fabric that's been supplied with the car.

Cool. Look at that, Don.
We're ready to go, aren't we?

Just get this fired up.

Hold on a minute, Eric.

But Don has found a problem.

Oh, no. Look at these little spots.
See these little dots on here?

It's just dirt.

No, no, no. This window has just been
in storage so long that it's turned bad.

I think about what windows can't take.
It's a piece of plastic.

Yeah, I know, but we've
seen it before where they

go bad just sitting on
the shelf in the packaging.

This is serious. A new hood would cost
me $550 and would take days to get hold of.

What's the cure for it? Is there a cure
for it? I mean, other than replacing the...

If you live with that... Yeah.

Or it needs a new top.

Well, I can't get a new top.

A stained window isn't acceptable
if I want to get top dollar for this car.

We could put a window in.

You can put a window in for me?

We could stitch it. It
won't be heat-sealed,

but we could stitch a
brand new window in it.

Could you? You don't mind doing that?

No, we could do it.

Well, then I would say stitch a window in.

Then it's done.

Don has managed to save
the day, but I'm annoyed

because I didn't know
the scream was rotten

and I've had to fork out
an extra $200 for the repair.

More money that I don't really want
to spend on the bottom line of the car,

but if it makes a difference of
selling the car or not selling the car

because it's got a nice new rear
screen, it'll be worth it in the end.

The Frantini brothers have
roughly aligned the roof,

but there's still a long way
to go before it all fits perfectly.

They use a steamer to start
getting rid of all the creases.

And this is just to
seal in the steam, is it?

Just to hold it down so
we can spread it evenly.

At last, I can add my own
finishing touch to our Corvette's roof.

Nice. Yes, I put the staple in.

At least I can say I've done that bit of
stapling up the wall, as a staple up here.

Having made my contribution, I leave
Don and Mike to add the finishing touches.

Be careful with the window.

Oh, look at that, guys.

That's what makes the little
red Corvette really special.

Roof down, you can enjoy
that Californian sunshine.

I can't thank you enough. Don, thank you.

Top work, Mike. Brilliant.

Our Corvette is a captivating beauty,
but it's also a dangerous mistress.

The cost of the car, shipping
and the money we spent

on the rough running
engine and fixing the roof

has pushed our total
cost north of £20,000.

And we've still got to tackle
those wayward brakes.

and do some work on that
little red Corvette's bodywork.

This is our slice of Americana, an
original 1964 C2 Corvette Stingray.

I'll tell you what, this car is epic.

We managed to get
the Stingray to go how it

should and it's starting
to look the part too.

However, our little red
Corvette now owes us big money.

and we've still got to paint it
and fix those wayward brakes.

Will we ever get to the huge sale
price needed to cover our costs?

Now Mike was complaining that the
brakes on our Corvette were rather snatchy

and would kind of pull
off to the left or the right

under braking and that's
obviously quite dangerous.

Now rather than going for a test
drive to find out exactly what's going on.

it seems to be much more sensible
to come to a local MOT station

where I can use their
brake testing machine.

The brake rollers can
accurately measure the torque

or turning force applied
by the brakes at each wheel.

So 187, not bad.

By looking at the figures I can see
exactly where our braking problem lies

and it doesn't seem to
be at the back of the car.

And on the right side
we've got 186 which is pretty

good so it's almost
exactly spot on on the back.

So let's try the front.

Right, so handbrake on.

256, let's try the right hand side.

148, that's really bad.

Now if I do them both at the same
time I'll get like a percentage difference.

Okay so that's showing 53%.

Now the legal maximum
discrepancy between

one side and the other
in this country is 25%

so we're over double that which means
something definitely has to be sorted.

The right hand brake isn't providing
as much brake force as the left.

The question is why?

I need to take the car back
to the workshop to find out.

As the brakes are drum
brakes rather than discs I

need to open them up to
see what's really going on.

Everything looks pretty much brand new.

You've got a new sl*ve
cylinder, all the Springs

have got no corrosion
on them whatsoever.

The shoes have got loads of
meat on the friction material as well.

I can't see any leaks or anything
so everything seems like it's in order.

One thing I will check is
this clever little mechanism

down here which
basically takes up the slack.

Obviously when you're operating your
brakes or using up the friction material.

they might just operate
this little lever here.

You can see that when this
is pulled up in turn it kind of

moves this little wheel down
the bottom, this little cog.

And that in turn actually
separates the shoes so it

kind of compensates for
any loss of friction material.

And that's all working
as well so really there

doesn't have anything
wrong with this side

so maybe there's something
wrong with the other side.

The right hand front brake is in
just as good condition as the left.

Even the self-adjuster
is working as it should.

So really the only thing that
could be wrong with these

brakes is some kind of
imbalance in the adjustment.

So all I have to do now is put
everything back together again

and hope that just setting
them up exactly the same

is going to be enough to
make this car work okay.

The effective braking force can be
adjusted so both sides are evenly matched.

That way neither brake will snatch
which would pull the car to one side.

So I've now got the shoes
on both sides kind of just

touching the drums on
and put them into position.

So what I want to do
now is centre those shoes,

I'm just going to pump
the brakes a few times

and then just check that they're all
kind of free and moving around nicely

and then I want to
try and find out if I can

get them exactly the
same amount of adjustment.

I'm going to use a nifty tool to apply a
constant pressure to the brake pedal.

That way the brakes are
going to be lightly applied

which will mean that the brake shoes
are rubbing on the inside of the drum

and I'll be able to feel
whether the resistance on

either side is the same
and can adjust accordingly.

So the brakes are now on and
there's quite a bit of drag on there.

Let's try the other side.

That's just a little bit less,
a tiny adjustment required.

Using a screwdriver I can push
the self-adjusting ratchet downwards

which in turn forces the brake shoes
outwards, increasing the braking effect.

By making this adjustment
I can make sure both left

and right sides are providing
an equal braking force.

So it's back to the MOT centre
and the brake testing machine.

Okay, I'm going to go straight onto
the imbalance. Let's have a look.

Right.

Twelve percent, that's pretty good. I'll
just try one more time just to be sure.

Ten percent, even better.
Can't be happier than that.

Well, sorting out the brakes has
hardly cost me an arm and a leg

but of course that's
mostly down to the fact

that all the parts are
pretty much brand new.

But that tiny little
adjustment has made all

the difference between a terrifying
drive and a lovely enjoyable cruise.

Ed, how you doing buddy?

How you getting on with
that little red Corvette?

Well, I thought I'd start
with some of the mechanical

stuff under the bonnet
so I've been quite busy.

Good. So have you fixed that rough running?

Well, I haven't. It
wasn't the carburetor in

there, it was actually
the ignition system.

So I put in some new plugs, new leads
and now it's all sorted and runs a treat.

In fact, I think we've got some horsepower
back that we may have lost over the years.

Fantastic. So now we've got a car with
that 327 V8 engine on rubbish brakes.

Well, I've sorted that
out too. I'm surprised

actually because the
brakes are in pretty good Nick.

They were really out
of balance. I'm surprised

you didn't just spin
off the road into a tree.

Well, it was pretty scary.

Well, it's now been sorted so that's great.
So now it goes and stops.

Fantastic. So now we've got
a car that is right underneath.

but do you want to see it looking right on
the top because you haven't seen this yet.

Whilst I was out in
America, I did some work.

If you grab hold of
this detachable hardtop.

and put it down nice and carefully.

Okay, yeah.

Look at that. Doesn't it look good?

It's a fantastic looking car. It really is.

Okay, well pop it open because I went
and see the legendary Francini brothers

who are the experts at
doing this kind of work

because the car came
with the frame and the

hood and just needed
fitting professionally.

It does look fantastic.
Just goes to show you

should always take
your car to a professional.

Let's see what you've done there.

I've sent the Corvette off to the body
shop to get the paintwork sorted out

and it gives me a
perfect opportunity to

work on a little problem that Mike
mentioned which is our dodgy clock.

I've checked the power
supply to the unit and that's fine.

So now I'm going to open it up
and see what's going on inside.

Wow. Well, I wasn't expecting that.

That looks to me rather light.
It's actually a mechanical clock mechanism.

You've got the balance
spring at the very, very bottom.

You've got the balance wheel
and you've got the escapement

which is this little
mechanism over the side here

and that gives you that
kind of tick-tock mechanism

and all that will be driven
by some kind of main spring.

So there's a spring just
around the back here.

So really, if that was to
move very gently, look at that.

You can actually see it ticking.
That's amazing.

So the mechanical side of
this clock is actually working.

So what's the electrical bit?

The really clever part is that it
uses electricity to wind itself up.

If I add power, I can
see that as the clockwork

mechanism runs down it
completes the circuit to the coil

which causes the solenoid to
energise, which in turn throws a weight,

which re-tensions the spring.

But why doesn't it work
when it's in the car?

Now I think this little ring here,

that's actually what's used
to connect it to the earth side

and it actually pushes
on the back of this cover

and of course in turn is connected
to the outside world using that.

So if the connection between
here and here isn't ideal

then of course it's not
going to work very well.

Let's have a look in here with the torch.

And it's obvious that
someone has tried to improve

the contact inside the cover
by scraping and cleaning.

So clearly this has been
an ongoing problem.

Looking at this terminal
actually, there are three points

of contact but unfortunately
somebody's distorted it

so there's no only a single point of
contact and that's actually very, very tiny.

So probably what's been going on here

is they've been trying
to get a bit more pressure

onto this cover and it
hasn't really worked.

So I think what I need to do is
come up with a cunning plan to fix it.

First I try Fl*ttening
out the contact ring with

some pliers to improve
the electrical conductivity.

Then I paint some conductive
silver ink onto the ring

and the inside of the clock cover which
should allow the current to flow much better.

So here we go, moment of truth.

I'll just connect up my negative
terminal and then the positive.

Oh, fantastic.

Look at that.

Wonderful. So now it's ready for the car.

Now the mechanics of our
Corvette are in pretty good shape

but Ed has asked me
to look at that bodywork.

Now remember that Stingray is made of
fibreglass and it needs specialist attention.

That's why I brought it down to this
firm because they reckon they can help.

The whole car has cracks
and greasing in the fibreglass

so the paint needs to be sanded
back to repair the fibreglass underneath.

The guys have already made a start on it

but this is a major job so
I'm going to lend them a hand.

The bodywork is going to be
repaired with carbon fibre filler

which is a lot stronger
and more flexible than

traditional fillers which
should mean that once it's done

the cracking and the greasing
should never come back.

The compound comes in two
parts, the filler itself and a catalyst

which needs to be added to the ratio
of approximately a pea to a golf ball.

You can actually see it's got
little strands of carbon fibre

within the mixture and that's
what gives it that strength.

Those bits are all bonded together
once this sets and goes hard.

Once mixed the filler starts to harden
and it's only malleable for a few minutes

so if you're doing this yourself
don't mix too much at one time.

This whole process will
be repeated a few times

over the whole car just to be
sure we've got a perfect finish.

And to make sure we
have got a perfect finish

I'm going to leave the rest
of the job to the professionals.

The fibreglass refurbishment and the new
paintwork is going to set us back £3,000

but come the resale I think
it will be worth every penny.

The next stage will be
to spray on a polyester

compound to fill in
all the imperfections.

Then rub the car down before
the primer can be applied.

and finally the paint itself.

With drying time in between stages the car
won't be ready for another couple of days.

So after a lot of rubbing
down and a lot of masking

we're finally ready for
the first filler coats of paint

and I bet you're wondering what
top coat I'm going to give this car.

Am I going to go for yellow or black?

Well actually I'm going
to go for the original

rally red because this
is a little red Corvette.

I can't wait to see it finished
and back in the workshop.

We've managed to get the
Corvette to go and stop how it should

and now it's well on its way
to looking how it should too.

However our costs have been building up

and our little red Corvette now
owes us more than 25 grand.

Question is can it still deliver a profit?

We went all the way to America
to buy a C2 Corvette Stingray.

Yes!

It's a beautiful car but
it's had its problems.

Well it does seem to be
a few bits missing as well.

Like where are the bumpers?

With Ed's expertise
and a fistful of dollars

our car has had its engine,
brakes and bodywork sorted.

The inside is still a mess
but after a new coat of paint

the outside is really beginning to shine.

Oh wow look at that!

Now this car always looked great

and even though we
haven't changed the colour.

we've got a new coat of Raleigh Red.

Now Mike was right, it
always had to stay red.

It's just the right colour for this car.

Obviously I can't
spend all day admiring it.

I've got to put it back together again

and thankfully the body shop have
helped me out by putting the glass back in.

I've got so many more bits to bolt on

I need to crack on and get
this little chap into the workshop.

We're well on the way to putting our
beautiful Corvette back together again.

Still got a few bits and
pieces to go into the interior

and before I can put the seats
in I need to pop in the seatbelt.

I've already fitted the replacement
carpets that came with the car.

Now the seatbelts
simply bolt in over the top

which is easy as the
seats are out of the way

and once the belts are in
the seats can be put back.

which is also a pretty
straightforward bolt-in job.

Well I've now got a
nice comfortable position

from which to actually
fit our repaired clock.

You never know,
with any luck it might

actually be ticking away
for another 50 years.

With so many of the
electrical bits still off

the car I've obviously
disconnected the battery.

but once the clock is wired up
and seated back into the dash

I briefly reconnect the terminals
and then send a pulse of

electricity to the clock to
make sure it's working, and it is.

Thankfully Mike bought the car
with loads of valuable new parts

that the previous owner
hadn't got round to fitting.

One of which was the glove box
which I can now bolt into place.

I've also got a nice new
chrome badge for the boot.

Only a few bits of chrome
to go back onto the Corvette

including the bumpers, which of
course we've never seen on the car.

It's getting very exciting.

A full set of chrome
bumpers for a C2 Corvette

would have set us
back just under £1500.

So Mike did well to get them
thrown in with the price of the car.

Bolting them on is relatively painless

as long as all the elements
are put back in the right order.

The rear bumpers need to be put on first

then the rear valance,
remembering to take extra care.

That paint won't be fully hardened
for another couple of weeks.

And finally, the exhaust end pipes.

The sequence at the
front is just as important.

First the indicator lights need to be
connected up and secured in place.

Then the front grille can be
screwed back into position.

Only then can the front
bumpers be bolted on.

The hubcaps are simply
pushed back into position

and the car is almost finished.

Well, there's still something missing.

It needs that last finishing touch.

How about that?

This is the first time we've
actually seen our Stingray

with all of the chrome work in
position and it looks absolutely brilliant.

You can really see what the designers
were thinking all those years ago.

And now our Corvette is
finished it looks a million dollars.

So let's just hope that Mike can
sell it for nearly as many pounds.

Ed!

Oh, look at the car! Wow!

That's just fantastic.

I always knew it was a beautiful car
but now with its new fresh liquor paint

and its chrome work all in
place it looks brilliant. Well done.

Well, thank you, but I mean,
she is a pretty awesome beast.

As you say, with this
lovely fresh coat of paint

it couldn't have been
any other colour than red.

It just looks absolutely stunning.

I think we've really been locked out here.

We haven't, we haven't.

We've been on a bit of a
journey with this car, haven't we?

Well, yeah, we did bring
it back from the States.

That is very true.

But it goes to prove if you
buy the right car in the first place

give it to you in your genius
hands look what we end up with.

With that extra magical box of bits

I think you might have actually
bought us a bit of a bargain.

The C2 Corvette Stingray
has to be one of the most

iconic cars we've ever
had on Wheeler Dealers.

It's a true American legend
and one of the most beautiful cars

that's ever come out of the US of A.

Made just a shade over 18 gram for ours.

Okay, let's do it.

Yes!

A bottom dollar price.

But the C2 is now 50 years old so
we're always looking at a gamble.

Our little red roadster
needed some serious TLC

with work to be done on the
engine, brakes and bodywork.

But now with electronic ignition Well
that sounds a lot smoother already.

properly adjusted brakes That tiny little
adjustment has made all the difference

between a terrifying drive
and a lovely enjoyable cruise.

A new roof, interior and
a brand new paint job.

It looks fantastic in its
new coat of Raleigh Red.

It looks like our gamble
might be about to pay off.

On top of the purchase
price we need to add a further

3,000 pounds for shipping
it back from California.

The new ignition system was 220 pounds.

The roof cost a hefty 960 to fix and the
paint and the trim was another 3 grand.

In total our Corvette owes
us just over 25,000 pounds.

A sizeable chunk of cash.

So the question is how close
can I get to doubling my money?

Before we find out we need
to take it for one last blast.

Now this car couldn't be more American
and obviously it's normally at home

on those lovely sun-drenched
roads of California.

Even in these cloud-drenched roads of
blight it's doing alright, it looks okay.

It doesn't look bad, does it?

You know why?

Absolutely.

And of course American cars have also

got that kind of
reputation of being a bit

overweight and a bit
ungainly on the corners.

But actually this has got such poise
it really is like a proper sports car.

And that all comes down to weight.

This car is made of fibreglass.

It's so light.

And remember we've got
that 300 brake horsepower V8

327 stuffed up front and
it means it can do that.

Oh I love it, I love it.

So this car looked the part as well.

I mean the bodywork on
this car was already good

but now it's had a fresh lick of paint.

It looks absolutely amazing.

It really does and of course the new
roof you have made is the icing on the cake

but of course it's tucked away
because of this lovely weather.

Right now we can't hang around because me
and you, we've got an appointment to make.

Really, what's that?

Fancy going to a birthday party.

Oh really, that sounds
intriguing, rather nice.

Yes, it is going to be rather nice because
it's the 60th anniversary of Corvette.

And me and you, we're invited.

Well let's go.

Well Ed, we're nearly
at the centre of Coventry

where this little party for
Corvette is taking place.

I'm really excited by it.

Absolutely, well the thing
is that this kind of soiree

there's often chaps
wandering around looking

to buy a vehicle so we
might actually sell ours

which means we need to work
out what we're going to sell it for.

I don't know, I'm thinking
maybe what, 40 grand?

Do you know what, it's so good this car

and I reckon it could be worth even more.

It could be worth anywhere
between 40 and 45 grand

but with a car as good as this,
all that hard work you've done,

there's no ceiling on the
price, the sky's the limit.

I see what you've done there, very good.

We've come to Coventry Transport Museum

where the Corvette Club are
celebrating the Corvette's 60th anniversary

with a spectacular line-up of
Corvettes of all generations.

Ours Edward, I've got to say,
competes with any of them, doesn't it?

I think it probably does,
it's standing its own I reckon.

It's great isn't it because you
can see a generational change

right here of Corvettes because
this one in front of us is a C1

then behind you've
got that little row of C2s

then you've got C3s and C4s
and what goes beyond that.

Come then Roger, start it up, here we go.

Our presence is beginning
to create quite a stir.

but the real start is
our beautiful Corvette.

so will there be enough
interest to attract a buyer?

So what do you think of our C2?

I think it's a very good job.

Yeah, you like it? Very good. Fantastic.

Are you interested enough to buy it?

This dollar is, yeah.

I don't know why you don't buy it.

Honestly, the prices are going
like that for these at the minute.

What have you got in mind?
Do you know how much I want for it?

Do you 42 and a half?

It was worth more than that when
we picked it up in America to be fair.

But we have done a bit of
work on it, nice new paint job.

I'll offer you 45 then.

When couldn't they go for 45?

If you give me another grand,
make it 46, the car's yours.

And that's a bargain, that car.

45, 500.

What do you think Ed? Hold out your hand.

You just bought yourself a call there.

Well done, sir.

Well done, sir. You've practically
stolen that office, but there we go.

Guys, you've got another one in the club.

We took a chance going all the way to America
for a car, but it's paid off big time.

Doubling our original investment
with a whopping 20,000 pound profit.

The biggest profit we've ever
made on Wheeler Dealers.

Well, it just goes to show
you do have to speculate to

accumulate our little C2 Corvette
was great fun in California,

but it's delivered us a
great profit here in the UK.

If you want to see more
faded icons being turned

around by me and Ed, join
us soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Ta-ta.