02x09 & 02x10 - MG MGB GT (Part 1 & 2)

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, where classic cars

get a second chance to
blast along the B roads.

This time it's the turn of MG, as we buy,
restore and then sell on a classic MGB GT.

I love MGB GTs, cool coupe locks
and extra helpings of lovely shiny chrome.

It's the charming British sports car
that's cheap to run and truly fun to own.

The MG, like me, is a child of the 60s,
the decade when anything seemed possible.

US astronauts went to the moon and back.

On terra firma, the British music scene was
buzzing with the Beatles and the Stones.

Daring new fashion shocked the
catwalk and stormed the high street.

But for the British car maker MG, it
was a case of evolution, not revolution.

As the old MGA was
followed by the new MG, B.

In its cool looking coupe form,
the MGB GT came to symbolise

all that was best about
the classic British sports car.

A moderate turn of speed and crisp handling
made for a splendid afternoon's fun.

There are still around 100,000
of these cars on our roads.

They're much loved and can fetch
five grand when in A1 condition.

But I've only got two grand
to spend, so fingers crossed.

It's a lovely day and the perfect day to
start the search for our classic MGB GT.

Now I've been searching through the
small ads in these classic car magazines

and it's quickly become
apparent that really

the MGB GT is too
much of a specialist car

to just go and buy one straight
away through a private ad.

Really what you need is
some good solid advice.

And there's lots of car dealers offering
cars in here from as little as £500.

So what I'm going to do is seek a
few of these out and go and visit them.

That way I can get some advice and
hopefully come away with the right car.

The first dealer I found had this
little car round the back of his garage

and he only wants a
few hundred quid for it.

Oh, and I can see why.

This colour is very unattractive.
Rust is well established.

Listen to you in a voice mic.
It's telling you to walk away fast.

If at first you don't
succeed, then find

another dealer, which
is just what I've done.

So I've come to see the second of my MGs
and it's brought me down to Hertfordshire.

I'm meeting a guy called Barry.
Now Barry is a car dealer,

but he specialises in
nothing else other than MGs.

Shop, anyone around?

Morning.

You must be Barry?

I'm Barry, yeah.

Nice to meet you, Barry. Mike.

Hi there, mate. Hi.

Now, MG, you said you had a decent
one on the phone for me, orange.

I gather this is the only orange
one here, so this must be the car?

This is the one.

Right, well, rule number one,
never buy a car in the dark.

So Barry, would you mind
if we get a hand to the light?

Absolutely no problem at all.

Thank you very much.

This car looks like a 60s classic,

but it's actually a rubber
bumper model that's

had the expensive
chrome bumper conversion.

And that's a big job.

And that explains why Barry
only has the car up for £1500.

Barry, it looks absolutely
fantastic out in the sun.

I'm a little bit worried about
these freckles on the bonnet, mate.

What's going on here?

Yeah, you've got a little
bit of stone chip in there,

which you'd only expect on
a car, obviously, at this age.

The previous owners attempted to
touch them in, which is rather nice,

but albeit they're not
really quite the right colour.

He didn't get the right
paint match, did he?

No, indeed.

These wheels need
refurbing as well, don't they?

Yeah, indeed.

They are looking a bit tired,

but you can get a complete
wheel kit from the likes

of the club and you can
make them look like brand new.

Can we?

So we can bring them back
up, spark them brand new.

Absolutely.

Now what can you tell me about
the car in terms of history and stuff?

The car has got a nice
comprehensive history file.

There's plenty of receipts
in there showing that

previous owners have
spent vast sums of money,

including such things
as an unleaded engine.

Really?

Yep, a rear axle replacement.

We've test driven it and we're
quite happy with the gearbox.

It's also had some other
mechanicals like brakes and so on,

so we're quite pleased with
the mechanicals of the car.

I didn't know it had a new engine.

That's fantastic.

You kept that one away from me.

And this is all right, isn't
it, round the back here.

Look how tidy that is, nice and straight.

Can I have a look underneath?

Please do, yeah.

Oh, look at that.

Nice tidy spare wheel.

A little bit of rust on
the floor of the boot,

but nothing my head's
cut in the handle, I'm sure.

Yeah, it's got character.

All right, let's have a look inside.

Please do.

Yes.

The interior, well, that
looks all right, doesn't it?

It does, yeah.

Yeah, nice and tidy,
but it's wrong, isn't it?

Shouldn't it be different,
that interior, for this car?

Right, for this actual
year of car, this is a


interior is in fact correct,

but this car has been
converted to chrome bumpers,

so it's obviously
aesthetically more pleasing

to the eye over and
above the rubber bumpers,

and it's more desirable to sell.

Fantastic, but that's good news for me

because somebody's already grunted
the cost of that, so I don't have to.

Now, you say it goes like a train.

When you spoke on the phone,
you said mechanically it's fine.

Nothing wrong with it.

Yes, it's a very good drive.

So, can I drive it?

Please do.

It's a joy to get behind the wheel
of something as original as this car.

I feel like Nigel Havers.

I fancy him coming over all posh,

trying to get a bit of toss here.

What a cracking drive, fantastic.

He seems a really straight
and honest guy, Barry.

He's told me the absolute
truth about the car on the phone.

He didn't hold, nothing back.

He said it had the bits of rust on it.

He said that, you know,
it's a little bit tatty in places.

He's a really honest car dealer,
which makes a change, I tell you.

And he did say that mechanically
it's spot on and it's perfect.

And he's not lied at all.

I mean, it feels tighter than its years.

It's a 1980 car, so it's
getting on for the 20-odd

years old, and it feels
like a new little pin.

All right, it doesn't have air
conditioning, power steering,

multi-track CD player,
satellite navigation.

It doesn't have all that
modern fancy nonsense,

but what it does have, it
has character by the spades.

If Ed can't turn this
car into a little charmer,

then me and that boy shouldn't
be in this game, I tell you.

Barry, do you know what?
I really enjoyed that.

What a cracking car driver.

Exactly as I said.

Exactly as you described on the phone, which
is going to make my job even harder now.

I hate doing this, Barry,
because it is a cracking car,

but it does need a bit
of love and attention.

There's things like a bit of paintwork

and maybe the interior and
some other bits and pieces.

So I was hoping to make you an offer.

Right.

But I was hoping to make you
an offer in a roundabout way

because I was hoping
you'd treat it as a trade sale.

Basically, you know, I'll
drive it away, no warranty,

it's my car, I'm out of here.

If the engine falls out
up the road, it's mine.

So I was going to make you
an offer of about 900 quid.



That's 600 pounds off, really, of
what we've got it advertised for.

And there is a couple of bits and pieces
to do on it, so I'll take that on board,

but really we're looking more at sort
of 1,200 pounds to secure a deal today.



What about if I was to say 1,000 pounds?

A grand, I'm out of here.

You know, it's my car, I'll own it.

I promise you, you'll be more than pleased
when you see the result, what we finish,

how it ends up when we finish with it,

and you'll be more than pleased
with people who take it off of me.

I know I'm going to find
somebody who will love this car.



That's definitely a trade sale.

Trade sale, you can
write it on the invoice.

Sorted.

Done, lovely.

Do you know, I feel like I've
bought myself a cracking little motor.

You'll make something of that.

I'm sure I will.

Let's do the paperwork.

Okay, after you.

Thank you.


not getting carried away about this car.

Why?

Well, to make big money,

we're going to have to spend
big money on a new paint job.

That's after Ed spent every waking
hour doing prep work on the rusty body.

I hope he's up for it.

Ed.

Hello, mate.

How are you, fella?

Good to see you.

I'm fine, thank you.

What do you think?

Is this a beauty?

This is a classic car.

I like this already, actually.

State the obvious, Ed.

Of course it's a classic.

It's an MG.

Have you noticed, though,
it's got freckles, this car?

Everywhere, all over the place.

All over the place.

It's a lot of body work.

I'm a bit worried about that.

What's it like mechanically?

Well, that's the good news.

You will not get greasy hands, Philip.

These are going to
be like hands that your

mother will clean dishes
with at the end of this.

Look at that, Philip.

I mean, it's perfect.

You don't have to do
anything on that inside.

Oh, that's very nice.

A little bit dirty.

That's all it needs.

It just needs a clean round there.

So although there's a
lot to do on the body work,

I was hoping to have a deal with
you because you see the wheels?

Yeah.

They're pretty nasty, aren't they?

They are pretty unpleasant.

I would love the wire wheels,
but I think they cost a fortune.

So what I was thinking
is these things here,

taking them off and me
getting them refurbished.

You get your hands dirty and do some work.

Believe it or not.

It's very, very, very... Because of the
amount of work you've got to do on this,

I thought you could do that because
I'm going to give you a nasty job now.

What?

I was going to ask you to change
this interior because it's so dated.

It looks like one of your shirts, fella.

It's horrible.

It's rude.

Well, I can, actually.

It's actually quite a nice, easy job

because these cars are
still really, really popular.

It's a real big industry
revolving around these things

and there are kits available
to change all the interior.

So you're saying that's an easy job?

It's a nice indoor job.

Quite enjoyable, actually.

Right.

So I'll do the interior
and you do the wheels.

You carry them with the wheels.

It's a nice job for
you and I'll do this.

Right.

Ed, get it fixed.

Get it looking good.

The keys are in the ignition.

Thank you.

I'll look after it.

I want to see you squeeze in it, actually.

It's going to be quite funny.

I think this could be a bit interesting.

Go on, fella.

There you go.

Yay!

You've done it.

Mate, you look ridiculous.

Mike's found us a classic icon of British
motoring but, as always, it needs work.

Now, mechanically, this
thing is sweet as a nut.

It runs so smoothly but it's the
bodywork that's letting it down.

It's tired.

It's got bubbles of rust.

It's got stone chips.

It needs to be rejuvenated but I've also
got some major issues with the interior.

The MG is quite easy to
work on but you've got to be

patient and methodical
when working on an old car.

Stripping the interior
out is a nuts and bolts job.

Make sure that you store all
the fittings carefully as you'll

need all these parts when the
interior eventually goes back in.

Now, these things aren't
uncomfortable by design.

It's because of wear and tear
but, luckily, with a classic car,

you often get owner's clubs
and that's a fantastic resource.

You get loads of good advice but you
also get solutions to common problems.

As with this one,

we actually managed to
get a refurb kit for our interior.

It comes with foam, seat covers,

it even comes with instructions.

So, of course, my first
job is to get studying.

Now, it's a bit of a male characteristic
to go at things like a bull in a China shop

but, believe me, reading
the fitting guide is essential.

Well, the instructions say
that I have to take these apart.

so there's a couple of screws here and
here and also some clips down either side

of the bottom of the seat
so it shouldn't be too hard.

Nowadays, car companies
have got the manufacture

of things like seats down to a fine
art but with a classic car like this,

the seats are far more cottage industry.

I can imagine scores of men building
these by hand at the Cowley works.

They're very fiddly and labour intensive.

Well, I've nearly got my first cover off

but, unfortunately, the head
rest is in the way and, of course,

on the instructions, which
have been great up until now,

there is no head rest so I'm
not entirely sure what to do next

but I think it's just a
case of suck it and see.

With the cover off,

the head rest can be removed with a
pinch of the wrench and a quick pull.

Well, that's going to
look great on the car.

Now, I'm going to do the back
rest and I'm only changing the cover

because the foam is in really good Nick
and it's got a good few years left in it.

Tapping the seat back onto the frame.

keeps it firmly in place for
the next stage of the re-trim.

The old rubber sits on and around the frame

but needs to be fixed with contact
adhesive to form a proper bond.

It dries quickly and then
we're ready for a top tip.

There's quite a handy
tip in these instructions.

If I take the old plastic bag all
this came in, cut a strip out of it,

stick it over the top edge of the foam, it
makes the whole thing easier to assemble.

I can just slip the
cover over the back rest.

Easy.

It's hard to work with foam.

It snags and sticks
when you try to fit covers

but with the plastic sitting
across the shoulder of the seat,

the new cover slides sweetly into place.

And there you go,

the back rest for the first seat done.

I'm ready to do the base of the
seat now so I've got my new cover,

got some Hessian protective
stuff which I'll tell you

about later on and of course
I've got some new foam

and that's because the base of
the seat takes all the hammering

which is why the other
stuff was so uncomfortable.

Also got some instructions
I'd better have another look at.

Now this Hessian is to protect the foam
from the webbing at the base of the seat

because obviously when you're bouncing
around it's actually going to be chafing away

and then it will wear into the
foam and then ruin your seat

so that stops that from happening.

To get a good fit, turn the
bottom seat cover inside out,

place the base on the foam

and then turn the corners out.

Looks good but I'm at a bit of a loss

as to what to do next.

Luckily I have a plan.

A night school course in
upholstery would probably

have been quite useful
with all these fiddly fixings.

Well that looks pretty factory to
me so I'm quite chuffed with that.

All I need now is the backrest
and put the two together.

Well I know which one I prefer.

With the interior out of the
way it's time for the big stuff.

Mike and I have decided to
give the car a full body respray.

I'm not going all the way
back to bare metal though.

Modern paints just need a good key
surface which means rubbing the car down.

But if that sounds easy, think again.

To do a pucker paint job I'm going to
have to make sure I've got all the rust

in all the nooks and crannies
and there's a real horrible bit

just down here at the
bottom of the A pillar.

Now the only way I can really treat
that is by taking out the windscreen.

Because I'm going to replace this seal
anyway the quickest way to get the screen out

and protect the chrome strip is
actually to cut through the rubber.

If you've got the nerve to remove a
big piece of glass then give it a go.

But refitting the windscreen
after the MG's paint job

will be a big and
potentially dangerous job so

I'm going to leave
that to a specialist fitter.

Be very careful when you
lift out the screen and store

it somewhere very safe as
a new one costs a fortune.

Before I can get at the bodywork
I've got to strip the car completely.

And now for the lights.

Here's a top tip.

If your lenses are dirty
just pop them in the

dishwasher and they
come out looking lovely.

Stripping the car of external brightwork,

lights and any other trim
is an unglamorous job.

But follow my advice

and use the time wisely.

As you remove each part
give it a close examination

and decide whether
to refurbish or replace.

Most MG parts are
available off the shelf but

some are special order
and have a long lead time.

My advice is always to order the parts.

as early as you can

and then they're there when you need them.

I've taken everything off this car that I
can so I really can't delay any further.

I now have to attack the paintwork.

I've got wet and dry paper
for having a go at things like

stone chips and small
abrasions and for the really

unpleasant stuff I've got a
whole load of power tools.

I've got loads to be getting on
with so I really better crack on.

An angle grinder is a pretty crude
instrument so use it very carefully.

It'll put deep gouges into the metalwork

which you'll have to fill
before paint can go on.

So being precise here
will save you time later.


perfect way to cut back

paint and keep the
surface nice and smooth.

The stone chips respond really
well to this gentle treatment.

Earlier on I mentioned this car
had some pretty bad areas of rust.

One of the worst parts of the
corrosion is up here on the scuttle panel

and that's why I had
to take out the window.

But after further inspection it
seems it's only on the surface

so all I'm going to have to
do is treat it, put a bit of filler in

and then finish it off
with some etch primer.

I've removed all the flaky bits of
corrosion and now I can use my rust remedy.

Now what this stuff does is
chemically change the iron oxide

into a solid, firm material.

That way my filler will definitely adhere.

The other great thing about this stuff

is it actually prevents rust from
re-forming on the treated area.

Well that's all the rust
sorted out but it still

looks rubbish because
of this big dent in the metal

so I'm going to use
the filler to build it up.

Now when mixing this stuff up
it's important that you get it right.

You need about a golf ball of filler
to about a pea of the pink hardener.

And of course the reason it's coloured is
to make sure you don't have any streaks

so you know you've got
it mixed thoroughly well.

And you've got to do it pretty sharpish
because it does go off quite quickly.

Don't be tempted to slap the filler on.

Use it thinly because
any excess will have

to be rubbed down
again once it's hardened.

You don't want to be too rough
with this stuff because if you

remove too much filler you only
have to put some more on later.

A dusting of primer is the
final stage for this scuttle repair.

I've got a few more repairs like
this one to do elsewhere on the car

but once they're all
done it's ready for paint.

Paint won't bind to a surface
unless it has something to grip onto.

Strange as it seems I'm
using these scotch pads

to put tiny scratches
into the surface of the car.

The MG is going to be
professionally primed and resprayed.

which will cost big bucks
but by doing all this prep

work now I'm saving time
and money in the body shop.

This preparation has
taken me hours and hours

and hours of hard work.

It's almost done.

which means one thing Mr. Brewer
knows it's safe to show his face again.

Ed!

Hey!

How's it going mate?

How are you fella?

Good to see you again.

Oh, you've been working hard, haven't you?

I have, yeah.

Getting the car prepared
ready for its nice new paint job?

Well yeah, it's been a lot of work this.

It's been a very methodical kind of job.

I had to take everything
off the car first of all

just so I could get at the paint work
and then to sort the paint work out

there's lots of bubbly rust bits
everywhere stone chips and things

so all that's sorted
now and then of course.

I had to give a really good key for
the paint ready for the new shiny paint.

And the interior what
have you done about that?

The interior, totally refurbished that.

It's a lovely black proper cushions
it's actually comfortable as well.

Super.

Right now we've got a
nice new black interior

what about the paint
work on the outside?

Should we go for this
original orange again?

I mean it's a 70s sort of dated colour.

It's not ideal I think it
would be a lot easier to sell

if it was a proper nice sort
of erasing red or something.

Erasing red I like
the sound of that.

Okay, well we'll change the colour then.

What about the wheels though
because obviously when the

paint looks nice the wheels
have got to look good too.

Yeah, don't worry about the
wheels I've got a plan about those

I'm more concerned about how far we
are away from getting this car finished.

No, actually it's pretty good I've
only got a few jobs to do on this

so it's going to look
stunning when it's finished.

So far Ed has refurbished the interior
so now the seats are super comfy

but the real hard graft has been on the
bodywork which needed the rust ground back

and the paintwork flattered ready for
an all over respray later on in the show.

It'll be quite a while
before Ed finishes our MG

so while he gets busy with the
masking tape and paint spray

I'm off to meet a guy called
Peter who's done a nuts and

bolts restoration on his car
and it's meant to be a corker.

I can't wait.

Peter, thank you very, very much

for bringing your beautiful
looking MGB GT down to show us

and what a fine looking car it
is it must be a labour of love.

It is indeed.

Very much a labour of love.

It's in stunning condition.

Why an MGB?

Why do you go for one of these?

Primarily because I owned them in the past.

my wife was very interested
in owning one and I said well

if you're going to have one
you buy it and I'll do it up.

Which is what I do.

And this is the result.

So you've had to do all the graft on it?

Unfortunately.

Oh dear, let's have a look at these Ed.

They're still soft.

Still soft.

What are they like to live with
in terms of modern motoring?

You're driving a car that is an
old car in a modern environment

as long as you take that on
board it's still a great car, lots of fun.

But in terms of everyday running costs.

obviously fuel's going to be a problem

because unleaded fuel is
what we use at the pumps now

and these cars originally
run on leaded fuel only.

Yeah, there again you
can have the cylinder head

modified and by doing
that you overcome that

or put an additive in which is
what I'm doing at the moment.

So you're running this car with a fuel
additive that lets it run on unleaded fuel?

Now if I'm going to go and buy
one of these classic looking MGVs

I'm never going to find
one for the money I got.

in the same condition as this.

So what should I look out for?

Well the first thing to do is
of course the dreaded rust.

In and out of wheel arches, seals,
front wheel arches and the floor pans.

Those are the main areas to look for

and also obviously if
someone's had a go at it before

to make sure it's in
a fairly straight line.

And then obviously the mechanics come next.

Mechanics are easier to
sort out than the bodywork.

The bodywork is the crunch.

What about parts?
I mean finding a car like this.

if you need some parts
for it what do you do?

I have to ring the British Museum?

No it's not as bad as that.

Normally you'll find someone
locally who will actually

have parts on the shelf or
be able to get parts for you.

And if not there's the MG owners club

who have a good stock
of all the necessary items.

Is it like a big family owning MG?

Do you get other MG owners
waving at you as you go by?

Very much so.

And it is a wave.

It is a wave?

Well I'd like to experience that for myself

but I haven't got one to drive
just yet so I was kind of wondering

if you'd let me have
a little go of your one.

Go on mate.

You're a gentleman sir, a real gentleman.

You know I really enjoy it, the MGB GT.

When you think back to the 60s and 70s

all the people with
money were driving around

in Jaguar E-types and
Jensen interceptors.

With your average Joe
in the street he could only

afford a Mark 1 Cortina
or even an old Zephyr.

But no, this came along and it
became the working class sports car.

And that's what I like about it.

It's Britishness.

It meant that everyone could afford

something to go out and
have fun with at the weekends

and maybe enjoy
themselves on the open roads.

Alright, fair enough.

They never got down a road like an
E-type Jag or a Jensen Interceptor.

Handling wasn't their best characteristic.

I mean this car's rear wheel drive

it slides about a bit on the towel.

But if you drive them serenely you
do get a lovely driving experience.

The suspension's quite taut.

The steering's very direct.

The brakes were servo-assisted.

They seem to work.

Everything about it was nice.

This one is sound, very much like our one.

It doesn't need a lot
do into it mechanically.

But it's not until you step
outside this one and take

a close look at it you
realise how far apart we are.

The paintwork on our little car
really does need a lot of attention.

But if we can get it.

almost, almost as good as this because
mechanically our car is as good as this.

We're going to have a
little cherub on our end.

Our little MGB is nearly ready for paint.

The filling's done.

It's got a good key all over the bodywork
and as is customary with a job this size

all the larger panels are being removed
so they can be painted individually.

So I've taken off the tailgate,
the doors and the bonnet.

It's now time for primer.

But I'm not going to do it myself

which is why we're here in
a professional paint shop.

The idea here is to make
a frame out of masking tape

and then fill in the gaps
with paper afterwards.

Paint does have a habit of
getting absolutely everywhere

so it's important that you block up
even the smallest holes like this one here.

It does make sense to
plan ahead with this job

once I'd filled in the
boot cavity with paper

how would I reach
the holes for the light?