18x11 - The Best of the Best

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, where I show you

how to buy, restore
and sell modern classics.

Don't panic, it's not 2003 all
over again, but it is our birthday.

You bought us a roller
skate, go on for the other foot.

I'm so happy.

Yes, we're celebrating 20
years of Wheeler Dealer magic.

Wow, you've absolutely
nailed the look of this car.

That's a whopping 250 deals.

Just bought myself a Lamborghini
Urraco, a Mark 1 Ford Transit.

Three wizard mechanics.

Look at the condition of the clutch.

Metal's touching metal,
no wonder it's leaking.

And a million miles covered.

This car is just encouraging me
to drive like an absolute lunatic.

So to Mark our big birthday, we're waving
goodbye to the nation's best selling car.

This car has got a soul.

We're determined to overcome
all this motor's problems.

I don't even know if this is rescueable.

And stage our biggest ever event.

Wow, look at that.

Oh mate, what a scene.

Until disaster strikes.

Unfortunately, I've got some terrible news.

The new Fiesta range, a spectacular
combination of safety, reliability...

What are you watching?

I'm getting all nostalgic, looking
at footage of the old Ford Fiesta.

Look at the attire.

I'm sure I've seen some
of that in your wardrobe.

Fiesta, blending the comfort
man demands with the

economy he needs, is
Ford's latest contribution.

It will not be their last.

It's the end. It's the end of an era.

Nobody could have predicted
just how long it was going

to run for and how
successful it was going to be.

In the 20 years of Wheeler
Dealers, this has surprised you.

We've only ever had
one properly through

the workshop, which
was an early Mark 1 XR2.

So if you were to choose
one, which would you go for?

Well, I'd love those early XR2s, but you
know, the Fiesta story is coming to an end.

And that story began all
those years ago with a Mark 1.

So maybe we should bookend the whole thing.

Listen, lower your
expectations, because if you want

me to find you a Mark 1
Ford Fiesta, I can find one.

They'd be out there. But expect
the bucket of rust coming your way.

All right, well, that's
what we do, isn't it?

And it's what we've been
doing for two decades now.

Can you believe it?

We're about to Mark the 20th
anniversary of the first time

this handsome fella started
Wheeler Dealering on the telly box.

We'll give you 75 quid
for one of those nearside

ones, and 50 quid each
for the mirrors, 175 quid.

That sounds good to me, mate.

Lovely. Top work. He's filthy.

And what better way
to Mark our big birthday

than giving one last
hurrah to the Ford Fiesta?

Yes, Britain's best-selling car of all
time is being taken out of production.

After almost 50 years, seven
generations of design and 22 million sold

globally, this icon of the road
is sadly being put out to pasture.

So to Mark this momentous occasion, I've
been on the hunt for one for me and Elvis.

And after a lot of searching, I
think I may have found a winner.

The car I'm on my way to
go and see takes us all the

way back to the very beginning
of the Ford Fiesta story.

Well, almost, because it's a 1979 1300 S.

It came out three years
after the original car.

And because it's a Mark one, it still makes
it a very, very desirable Ford Fiesta.

However, I'm not so
excited about the condition of

it, because the guy who's
selling it is called John.

He sent me some photos, and the
truth is, if you zoom into the pictures,

you can see a whole bucket of
rust, and that's all over the car.

So I'm going to take
a deep breath, go and

stand in front of it,
and take in what I see.

John's an old mate of mine,
so I'm hoping car dealer to car

dealer, I can get this little
Fiesta off him at a bargain price.

And there she is.

In all her glory.

In all her glory.

Blimey, what's happened to it?

It's aged, Mike.

That's taken a little bit more than age.

I think you've got it for tea now, Mike.

You can stand away from there.

I mean, this is pretty nasty, isn't it?



I think it was in quite good condition, but
it's had a water leak, which has pickled...

It's solid, but pickled all the paint.

It's really showing its
age, this car, isn't it?

Remarkable condition, the
dash, the console, the seats,

except for the mould, they're
in remarkable condition.

You can see that it hasn't been
that well used, it just needs tidying up.

Well, let's have a look around the back.

The boot lid, I can tell you...

Yeah, look at that, it's
all rotted out as well.

Rust all across the top.





Right, engine.

Go on.

Oh, dear.

What it is, is it's all original, Mike.

It's very original, John.

It just needs a bit of TLC.

That's gold, that is.

Not gold, it's rust.

Right, it's rust.

Look at the wing, that
wing is unsalvageable.

This wing is the same.

Shall I start it?

Does it actually run?

Seriously?

What? You're kidding me.

Wow.

How about that?

No way.

I'm actually in a bit of shock.

There's a wash pump just letting
you know it's struggling. Listen to it.

I love it, I love it, I love it.

It's saying save me, save me, Mike.

Do you want me to save you?

I mean, there's... No!

So it's legal to drive, it's
got an MOT, it's taxed,

so I can take it with a little spin around.

Go for a little spin, take
your mobile with you.

Right, it's back to it.

Go on, I'll see you in a minute.

Let's face it, this car
has seen better days.

Everywhere you look on the
outside, it needs attention, doesn't it?

The only thing that's sort of
salvageable, really, is the interior,

so I'm not expecting much from this car.

However, the engine
does sound rather

strong, and I've gone to an open bit of
road, so let's see what it performs like.

I didn't expect that.

Oh, the little car just absolutely comes
alive when you put your foot down.

This car has got a soul.

Now, to save it, that's the
biggie, because this car,

with all its problems, I
reckon it's a proper strip down.

Even the sunroof, I'm not
sure if that's an original part,

and we'll have to do
some research into that.

So John is asking £5,000 for it,
which, in my opinion, is £2,000 too much.

I think if I can meet him in the
middle, somewhere around £4,000,

then this car will be coming
back to the workshop with me.

Listen, engine-wise,
can't believe how good it is.

The engine is sweet, but definitely
does need a full restoration,

and I would be willing,
and I think this is

a really brave shout,
to give £4,000 for it.

Yeah, I appreciate
the work that needs to

go into it, but I'd
love to see it restored,

so I'm more than happy to accept £4,000.

You will, top man.

Good stuff. Nice one.

I've just bought myself a Mark I 1300S.

Yes.

Ooh, more rust just fell out.

Where's yours now?

Have I just given £1,000 too
much for this little Ford Fiesta?

I know there is a mountain
of work for both me and Elvis.

to get this car ready for sale,

but I'm utterly convinced
if we get it right,

we'll have an army of people beating
a path to our workshop door to buy it.

This little car has been such a
major part of almost everyone's lives.

that I know that I feel that
we should pay it justice,

and I can't wait to
celebrate it with you guys.

Wow. I think that's all I can say. Wow.

Don't say wow.

Say, welcome to our 1979
Mark I Ford Fiesta 1300S.

I'm quite surprised that you
managed to get it back here.

Yes, admittedly it has got a
bit of rust, but let me explain.

It's been left in a garage,

water has poured through
the ceiling of the garage,

hit the rails, run down the
drip rails and the gutter in,

and it's rotted out both front wings.

It's not just the front
wings, it's every panel.

No, I mean we are
talking seals, wheel arches.

I'm going to be honest with you,

there's no point walking around the other
side, it's the same on that side as well.

So yeah, there's plenty
of rust to deal with.

How did it drive?

It actually drives kind of sporty.

Sporty?

There's nothing sporty about that car.

I mean, other than the stripe down the
side, even that is faded and peeling off.

Right, let me show you the engine.

Do you love this?

Guess what? Guess what the engine is?

Ready?

Rusty.

Yeah, it's not only rusty, I
mean, when you pulled in,

it sounded horrible.

It's actually running on the
old valves for leaded petrol,

so we need to do hard-seated
valves while we're there.

Might as well take the
engine out and repaint it

and tidy up all the rust, all
the other little items as well.

So yeah, it's just basically a rebuild.

I mean, the engine feels like
the least of our worries here,

because when I get the engine
out, who knows what else I'll find,

because every other
panel in this car needs

attention, so why would
it be any different in here?

Because it's not all bad news.

I mean, look at the interior.

It's brown.

It's very brown.

But actually, it's not in bad order, is it?

I mean, there's a bit of moss
on the seats, needs cleaning off,

but that interior will tidy up nicely.

But my worry is when
you pull the carpets back,

what's underneath that?

Well, that's what you're going to find out.
It's exciting.

Well, I can probably tell
you what's underneath it.

The same as all around the outside.

Rust.

I mean, what did you pay for it?

Paid four grand for it.

Oh, what?

I mean, I'm actually not that
surprised, because it is a special car.

It's rare.

I mean, it's getting rarer all the time.

I mean, this car is just literally
disintegrating in front of us.

There's less and less of it
all the time we stood here.

But if we can turn it around, then it is,
like I say, a special and important car,

and I guess the potential
end value is almost unlimited.

Who knows what it'd be worth?

Exactly.

The Fiesta's such an
important and iconic car.

I always wanted an XR2 when I was younger.

I never quite afford one,

but this little 1300S quite
literally paved the way for it.

It's going to be a strange
time for a lot of people.

when the final one rolls
off the production line.

The end of the Fiesta could
well be a sobering reminder

that many more big names in the motoring
world could end up sharing the same fate.

So it's only right that we should be having
a Fiesta Fiesta to celebrate this car.

But I just hope that Mike
hasn't sent out the invites yet,

because I've got a feeling
this is going to be a big old job.

There's a fairly big, maybe even massive,

and pretty crude repair
patch to the floor here

where there's been some
obviously fairly substantial corrosion.

I was really hoping not
to find anything like that,

and I think the next
job's going to have to be

to get the car up in the air and
have a look from underneath.

and hope it doesn't get any worse.

Right, let's have a look.

Oh my goodness, there's holes everywhere.

It's like Swiss cheese under here.

It's literally crumbling before my eyes.

Do you know what?
I don't even know if this is rescuable.

That is a disaster.

We're celebrating 20 years of Wheeler Dealers
and saying farewell to the Ford Fiesta.

by undertaking our biggest project yet,

renovating this 1979 Mark 1 1300S.

But after discovering that it's one
of the rustiest cars I've ever seen,

there's no way I can tackle
this job alone in our workshop.

So I've stripped it down and sent the
shell to my mate Andy to be sandblasted.

This morning, I'm on my way to
go and have a look at the results.

Whoa, Andy.

Hi Elvis, how you doing?

I'm all right, mate.

Better than this thing by the look of it.

Oh dear, yeah, it's a bit rotten.

There's holes everywhere.

Is there anything else?

Yeah, it's pretty bad underneath.

Is it?

Oh dear.

Loads of previous repairs.

But even all the previous repairs have
now rotted through as well, haven't they?

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, is that going to
require a whole new floor?

I think we could put floor sections in,
but yeah, you need some big pieces.

Mate, I wasn't expecting it
to be anywhere near that bad.

Yeah, it's pretty serious.

I mean, this is just a huge
amount of work, this, isn't it?

It is.

While Elvis tries to turn our rust into
gold dust, I'm tackling another problem.

The mystery of that sunroof.

Was it original or aftermarket?

So far, I've drawn a blank.

Now, I'm off to see Dave,
who restores old Fords.

And what he doesn't know
about fiestas isn't worth knowing.

Well, listen, when I
spoke to you on the phone,

I said that I got this
little 1300S Fiesta,

and I am going to need some help with it.

One of the things that
I did highlight to you,

and it is a problem for me, is the roof.

Well, I've done a bit of research, Mike.

And in here, I've got a
genuine Ford brochure there.

Very nice.

Showing a 1300S on the
cover without a sunroof.

Probably somebody came
into the Ford dealership,

tried to buy that car, and said,
can I have it with a sunroof?

Right, gotcha.

They've used an aftermarket
company to come in and fit a sunroof.

If it was my car, I'd like to put
it back to not having a sunroof.

Could you help me with the roof skin?

Yeah, yeah, I've got some contacts.
I could find you a roof.

It probably wouldn't be a new one.

It'd be a used one, and you'd
have to unpick the spot welds.

But I think your man's good
enough to do that, isn't he?

Hello, mate.

So, what's that little fiesta looking like

now you've stripped
that lovely pan off there?

Yeah, I can't see very many
panels that don't need repairing,

that don't need cutting out.

It's full of rot, honestly.

It's like a piece of Swiss cheese.

I can see all the way through it.

So, what you're saying is it's
never going to get any worse.

It can only get better from here.

Well, that is, I guess,
the way to look at it.

You know, it's a very special car,
and I am willing to put the effort in.

If you are, I think we just get
cracking and see how we get on.

Talking of effort, I've gone
and seen Dave, my Ford guru,

and I've confirmed
with him that it's likely.

that that's not an original
sunroof with the car.

So, in that case, I've asked
Dave if he can find us a roof,

and he can, he can get it sent up to you,

but that does mean that we
are going to do a sunroof delete.

So, the one bit of this car that's
actually in pretty good condition,

you want me to cut it out and
replace it with another bit, mate?

I mean, yes, absolutely,
I'll add it to the list,

but there's something quite ironic
and a little bit funny about that.

Mate, you're my hero. Carry on.

See you later.

Mike doesn't like to make
my life easy, does he?

As if this car didn't have
enough holes in it already,

to remove the top skin and sunroof,

I've got to cut it away very carefully
from the layer that's underneath.

The challenge is that
if I go even a couple of

millimetres too deep,
or if I Nick a pillar,

we're going to lose
the structural integrity

of our monocoque,
and then, well, I give up.

Wow, well, there we
go, it's now a roofless car.

Well, I'm really pleased with that, but
while I wait for the new roof to arrive,

well, there's plenty
more to be getting on with.

Like fixing the rotten floor with some
new panels that Andy's found us online.

I'm going to cut out a
section something like

this, getting rid of all
that rot and corrosion,

and then I'll cut this down to match,

and probably hide the well, the join, here,

because I need to keep
this strengthening rail,

that's part of the strength
of the body of the car,

and then hopefully, at least
from underneath, you won't see it.

So that's the plan, at least.

All of the replacement panels
we need have set us back £950.

So whilst Andy cuts them to size,

I need to take an angle grinder to
what's left of our ever-decreasing shell.

Ooh.

Wow.

Pass that over, I'll
go for it into position.

Yep.

With the new panel
securely clamped in place,

it's time for me to go full flash dance.

Right, there we go, that's the new panel,

cut, prepared, and now tacked in place.

All I've got to do is
finish that welding off,

well, and then there's about
a million more to do after that.

Back over at Dave's workshop, I've
squeezed him for Fiesta knowledge.

Now it's time to see
what else he can help with.

Right, OK, now you're going to have
to walk me through your parts stores,

because I've got a list, as long as
my arm, of bits that I'm going to need.

Don't worry, we've got all that on
the shelf, we might... Lead the way.

I just hope Dave's stock is as good
as that encyclopedic knowledge.

Lovely.

Tucked away under that hat.

I do need some gaskets, don't I?

Oil filter, Mike?

Yeah.

That's your oil pump.

Well, that was a fantastic
parts pick from my mate Dave.

I think most bits that I need,

and certainly the engine
parts that Elvis is going to need

when he finally gets round
to restoring the engine.

The only problem is this lot has
set us back a whopping 334 pounds.

It's been a few days since Andy and
I started tackling the car's rotten shell,

and mainly due to the
fact that we've barely slept,

we've made some real progress.

But today what's really exciting
is that the new roof has arrived.

Now, this has actually
come off a Mark II Fiesta,

but it's identical to the
Mark I that our car is,

and importantly, it no longer
has that cutout for the sunroof.

Now, since it's arrived, I've
also made the decision with Andy

to keep this structural piece
attached to the replacement roof

and take it out of the
monocoque in our car.

The reason I've done that
is for a couple of things.

First of all, there are less welds
involved in detaching this piece here,

so that means I can preserve as
many of the original welds as possible.

It should also help to keep some structural
integrity in the shape of this roof,

and that will help with getting things like
a new windscreen in later down the line.

First off, and with
brain-surging precision,

I'm slicing off the edge pieces we
don't need with an angle grinder,

which is the easy bit.

The difficult bit is using
the spot welding drill tool

to remove the corner
strengthening sections.

Push too hard and I'll
go through the roof skin,

which, much like
brains, I only have one of.

There you go, that was four spot welds,

and you can see how
tricky it is to get those apart.

And with our new roof
prepped, it's time to see if it fits.

Because if it doesn't, well, we might
as well turn this into a convertible.

Right, there we go.

I've got to say, I'm
really pleased with that.

It's all sitting in place,

and now I can start thinking
about spot welding it in properly.

Well, there we go.

It's looking great.

I have to say, this car has
been a massive amount of work.

I haven't even thought about the
engine yet, the rest of the bodywork,

and of course the whole
thing still needs painting.

But what we are a bit closer
to is making this little 1300S

a genuine candidate worthy of
celebrating that iconic Fiesta name.

We're marking the 20th
anniversary of Wheeler Dealers

and the end of a motoring era
by restoring this Mark 1 Fiesta.

Although so far it's been a
battle against years of rust.

Time to see if Elvis is winning the w*r.

Hello, boys.

Do you recognise it, mate?

It can't be our little Fiesta body.

There weren't much left of it, was there?

There's been so much work.

Look at the underside.

No way.

Painted up, that's going to
look absolutely brand new.

It's got to be one of the best versions

of this kind of car out
there in the world, hasn't it?

It has to be.

But before we put it in front of people,

we need to decide what we're
going to do about the paint colour.

This whole project has been
about putting the car back.

to as original as it can possibly be,

so I think it's got to go back to
that same original colour, don't you?

I totally agree.

It was midnight blue.

Can we still get midnight blue, Andy?

We can get it mixed, no problem, yeah.

Lovely.

Well, look, I'm going to
leave Andy to crack on with

the paint job while I go
and get on with the engine.

Nice one.

This is going to look amazing
at the end, it really will,

and what a way to give a
send-off to the Ford Fiesta.

It's also a celebration for us

because we'll be celebrating


What a way to do it.

Whilst Mike puts the
anniversary shampers on ice,

I'm heading to my mate Steve's machine shop

to rendezvous with
our little 1.3-litre engine.

Just like the shell of the car,

we want to keep it as original as possible,

but there is one modification
that even the most diehard of

purists won't mind, and that's
an unleaded petrol conversion.

Converting the top end of our
engine so it can run on more modern,

unleaded fuels seems
like a no-brainer to me,

so what I'm going to do is machine the
head and fit some hardened valve seats.

It wasn't until June of 1986

that the first petrol station in
the UK started selling unleaded.

Back then, some engines
could be run on both fuels,

some needed their
ignition timing modified to

make the switch, and
others, like our Fiesta,

couldn't be adjusted without completely
removing the engine and stripping it down.

Nice. One down.

These old cylinder heads
are made of cast iron,

which is actually a relatively soft metal,
and inside the combustion chamber,

temperatures can get so hot, around


that we needed the lead inside
leaded petrol to act as both a lubricant,

but importantly as a barrier
against those temperatures.

Now, if we were to run
this engine on unleaded fuel

without that lead protection,

what happens is, as the
valve meets the cylinder

head itself, the
temperatures are so high,

the two metals almost
weld themselves together.

It's in a fraction of a second, and
then when the valve pulls away,

it can pull away fragments of
material from the cylinder head.

Now, over time, that starts
to degrade the valve seats,

and gradually your valves
no longer seal properly,

and the engine performance starts to
drop away, causing all sorts of problems.

Now, the solution is this.

This is a hardened valve seat, and
by machining a recess in the head,

I can insert that into place, and
because it's made of much harder material,

it can withstand higher temperatures,

and provides the protection the head needs.

With the holes of the valve seats done,

I'm tapping them into place before
moving on to the head skimming machine.

Right, this is a tool
that's going to make

passes across the deck
of our cylinder head,

taking off tiny amounts of material,

firstly, to bring down the inserts

to the same level as the
cylinder head, and then skim right

across the head itself to make
sure we've got no imperfections.

And when I say tiny amounts of material,

I really mean it.

This machine's going to take off just
two thousandths of an inch at a time.

That's one twentieth of a millimeter.

Right, with our perfectly
flat cylinder head

and our hardened valve
seat inserts in place,

it's now time to use this machine again
to very accurately cut an exact angle

that's going to give us the
seat for the valve to sit against.

When the engine's running, the
valves will be closing against these seats,

ensuring the air tightness
of the combustion chamber,

so it's essential that the fit is spot on.

Right, there we go, that is one out
of four exhaust valve seats now cut,

and I'm really happy,

because I've got a few measurements
to take to make sure it's perfect,

a couple of little tests,

and then I can get this cylinder head back
to the workshop, reassemble the engine,

and we are well on our way.

Whilst Elvis is busy
playing with these holes,

I'm getting my hands
dirty by sprucing up the

one bit of the car
that isn't falling apart.

Right, that is looking really good.

I thought I'd tackle
the thing that really lets

our car down, and that's
the mold on the interior.

So, with some inexpensive
household products,

a little bit of elbow grease,

and let me show you how.

I'm starting by giving
everywhere a thorough going on.

I'm going over with the vacuum.

Remember, this car is from the
late 1970s, so it's important we get rid

of all the leftover
bits of cigarette ash,

spam fritters,

and angel delight.

Right, now what I've got here
is a solution of interior cleaner.

Now, you can get this

in any motor factor shop.

Just give it a good spray,
because what this will

do is it will break
down the dirt, the grime,

and all the grease
that's in the seat, it will

start to break it down
and eat away at it.

First, you need to get everywhere
wetter than an otter's pocket.

Then give the cleaner a
couple of minutes to do

its thing before whipping
out the magic drill.

Oh, yeah, look at that.

Right, I think that's enough.

You could now just put some cloth
on here and soak it up with your hands,

get as much of the moisture out as
possible, crack the windows open in the car,

let the air flow through the car,
because if you leave the windows up,

you'll get condensation and the
seats go back to being mouldy.

Or if you're lucky and you've got
one of these or access to one of these,

this is a wet vac.

Here's a vacuum
cleaner that sucks water.

Also can spray a cleaning
solution at the same time.

And with one of these,

these will be dried to sit
on in a couple of hours.

It might be the end of
the line for the Fiesta,

but after all this scrubbing,

I reckon this interior could
easily go on for another 40 years.

That's if I ever get it finished.

This is gonna take me all night.

A few days later,

I'm back with our
amazingly refurbished engine

and it's time to start
putting it back together.

When Mike first drove the car, he noticed
a squealing sound coming from the engine.

I've traced it down to the
bearing in the water pump.

It's not that uncommon.

People over tighten the belts
and just neglect them over time

and that leads to their deterioration.

So I'm gonna put a new one on.

And the only other thing that I
haven't changed with all the ancillaries

around this engine
was then the oil pump.

So given that that
was cheap as well,

I'm putting one of those on too.

We've already spent so much.

on this car that cutting corners
at this stage is a bad idea.

So although it pains us to get our
credit card out for these extra bits,

it's gonna be worth
it in the long run.

Okay, now it's time
for the oil pump.

I'm pouring a little oil into the
filter to help ensure that it circulates.

around the engine immediately
when we fire it up for the first time.

Now it's almost ready
to go back in the car.

Oh, that's exciting.

Fiesta body shell's back.

What?

Oh, that looks amazing.

Oh my goodness.

Andy and I put so much effort
into restoring this and bringing back.

all of its original
features, and he's finished

it off with this brilliant
midnight blue color.

It just looks incredible.

And what's gonna make it even
more incredible is getting that

freshly recommissioned
engine back where it belongs.

So that is my next job.

This car is looking so good
with its freshly painted body shell,

but it's going
nowhere without that.

So it's a big moment to get this little


tucked away nicely
in the engine bay.

That's a whole load of work to do here,
but if I put the same care and attention

that we've put
into this body shell,

it's gonna be phenomenal.

Our 1300S is almost
ready to hit the road.

Everything under the
bonnet is almost back in.

I've fitted the spruced-up
interior, and now I'm

just adding the last
couple of finishing touches.

Oh, yes!

Now that is midnight blue.

Mate, that looks fantastic.

It looks amazing, doesn't it?

Yeah, you've knocked
this paintwork out the park.

It's not bad, is it?

Oh, and the sunroof delete.

Look at that.

I love it.

Oh, and the interior
looks great as well.

It looks as good as new, almost.

It looks fantastic, Elvis.

Right, now, you may have
been working hard, but trust me,

it's not easy out there.

Stuff like this doesn't
just happen by accident.

This takes skill
and perseverance.

What's in the box?

What's in the box?

I've got us the
original decals there.

Mate, that must have been a
tough couple of clicks on the Internet.

It was hard work, trust me.

Well, let's get it all
finished off, and then we

can get it out there and
finally put it on the road.

Nice one, mate.

This has been our
biggest-ever restoration.

Let's face it, this car
has seen better days.

Everywhere you
look on the outside,

it needs attention,

doesn't it?

We took a rusty wreck...
Oh, my goodness,

there's holes everywhere.

It's like Swiss
cheese under here.

...and gave it the
makeover this icon deserves.

So all I've got to do is
finish that welding off.

Well, and then there's about
a million more to do after that.

Transforming it into a car
worthy of that legendary

Fiesta badge.

It's got to be one of the best versions
of this kind of car out there in the world,

isn't it?

It has to be.

What better way to celebrate 20
years of Wheeler-dealer magic?

But have we got any
cash left over for a party?

I originally bought
the car for four grand.

The engine parts were 334.

The roof skin was 150 pounds.

The repair panels

and boot were 950 quid.

Andy's time in the paint,

five grand.

The hardened valve
seats rebuild was 285.

The seat cleaning
products were six quid.

We've added a new
headlining for 108

and replaced some suspension parts and
added a new set of wheels and tires for 368,

giving us an eye-watering
total spend of 11,201 pounds.

But look at it.

That's a Fiesta
ready for a Fiesta.

And it needs to be because
I've been busy sending out

the invites to fellow owners
up and down the country.

I'm getting them together at the
Motorist Cafe in Leeds to help us celebrate

this iconic car and our
big 20th anniversary.

But come the
morning of the event,

we've woken up to discover
the worst has happened.

OK, mate, yeah.

Well, I'm with Elvis right now.

Yeah, I know.

All right then.

Cheers, mate.

Thanks for informing us.

The car has definitely been
stolen, so we've lost the car for now.

Yes, for the first time in Wheeler
Dealers history, our car has been pinched.

So we're taken to social
media to try and get the

word out and hopefully
our little Fiesta back.

We've left the hotel this morning and
our car, which was in a covered trailer,

unfortunately disappeared.

Yeah, it's been stolen
in the middle of the night.

So within this post,

you're going to see pictures of the
covered trailer and the Ford Fiesta.

We urge you to
take those pictures,

share them,

retweet them, get them out there
to as many people as possible.

If you can help us, we
really would appreciate it.

It's not going to stop us today.

We're still going to get
over to the motorists.

We're still going to celebrate
the fantastic Ford Fiesta.

The news begins
to spread online.

The story is already getting some traction
and the tip-offs are starting to roll in.

Saw a car coming up towards
Wakefield Way coming up to Starbucks.

Okay, so the team are on this.

We're trying to track this down.

Social media is
starting to happen.

People are reaching out
saying that they've seen

sightings of the car and
that's what we're waiting for.

We've now got all this information
we're feeding back to the police.

It feels like we're sleuths and
we're on this and hopefully,

just fingers crossed,

we might be able to
get our little Fiesta back.

But for now,

our Fiesta Fiesta must go on.

And it will.

Because we've gathered
together over 400 of them,

both old and new,

to celebrate almost 50
years of this legendary

motor before production
finishes for good.

I think it's the car
of the everyman.

It can be a family car,

it can be a sporty car.

The fact that it's coming to an end, it's
a little bit sad if I'm honest with you.

Fiesta means quite a lot.

I've had this car six years now

and I've spent a silly
amount of money on it.

But it's just
really fun to drive.

Honestly, for me,

I have been quite upset by the
fact that they are stopping making it.

Which I know sounds a bit silly,

but this is my car.

And I've just loved driving it.

Whilst the Fiestas continue
to roll in for a big birthday bash,

we've just had another
update about a stolen car.

Here we are.

We are live out
there on social media.

Now, thank you so much so
far from lots of people out there

that have been retweeting,
resharing, reposting.

We are getting information
coming in all the time.

And the latest bit of information we
got is we got some CCTV footage.

of a white Mercedes Sprinter Van fiddling
around with torches and with headlights

of another car around
early hours of the morning.

So a white Mercedes
Sprinter Van.

So if you see one of those with a trailer
on the back of it... May well just be

a plain white
trailer at this point.

Or if you see the car itself.

We've both shared pictures of
the car on our social channels.

Do let us or the police know.

Please, urgently.

And it's West Yorkshire Police.

As we wait for more
information to come in,

it's time for me to break the bad
news to our fellow Fiesta fans.

Ladies and gentlemen,

first and foremost, welcome to the
Motorist and thank you very much

for being a part

of this very special day.

Now, as you know on Wheeler Dealers,
the reason we've gathered you together

is this is the big uplifting end
of our build on the programme.

It's the biggest job we've
ever done on Wheeler Dealers.

But unfortunately,

of last night in
a hotel car park,

the car was stolen
in its covered trailer.

So we're absolutely heartbroken,

both me and Elvis and
the team that have really

worked so hard in
putting this car together.

It's gone.

The car is gone.

The good news is it's not going

to ruin our day.

You've got

amazing cars and we're going to get
down there amongst you and we're going

to celebrate what is
our own Fiesta Ball.

And we, in a Wheeler dealer way,

are going to wave goodbye to
one of Britain's best love, little cars.

Unbelievable, isn't it?

It's just heartbreaking.

Pulled out working or something
and it's just gone with like that.

It's just crazy.

Hello mate,

how are you?

Sorry about the car.

Appreciate that.

Caught in our


Have you got the other 1300S?

My brother, yeah.

It's not blue by any
chance with a brown interior,

is it?

Gold, I'm afraid.

I hope they get it back and can get
back what they've worked so hard on.

There you go.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Wow. Lovely, isn't it?

All these people coming to
say hello and coming to say.

commiserations.

Definitely.

You can't have anything.

No, you can't
have anything nice.

Somebody wants
to take it from you.

We definitely do.

But we got the crowd and we've
got all those Fiestas out there to enjoy.

Definitely.

And the news of our loss.

is spreading fast,
with the story being.

picked up across the nation and the
headlines drawing in more sightings.

Fingers crossed
we can get it back.

Whilst the wait goes on,

it's time to deploy the
biggest gathering of Fiestas on

the planet to help Mark
Wheeler-Dealer's 20th birthday.

I can't believe it's 20 years.

It doesn't feel like it, I really
can't believe it's 20 years.

But there's still plenty of work
to do before we get any cake.

Just hold, hold, hold.

Pop yourself in
there, that's it, that's it.

The show to me is what
brought me and my dad closer.

You know,

every Saturday, Sunday,

on a morning,

we'd always watch it.

Keep going, keep
going, keep going.

Yeah, yeah.

Little bit further,

tiny bit further.

The fact that it's made


to what he does and
the love of what us

as car enthusiasts have for it.

Absolutely.

And I think Elvis and I may
have found the perfect way.

to Mark this momentous occasion.

Wow, look at that.

Oh mate, what a scene.

That is fantastic.

WD20, laid out
there in front of us.

In all perfect colours as well.

It's so good.

Mate, what a fitting end.

This is a fiestival.

I'm very proud of the last two decades
of working on this incredible show.

Today's got to be up there as one
of the highlights, I'd have thought.

It certainly is.

It's my favourite ever day,

but also my worst day
because we did get a car stolen.

But listen,

that's not the end for us.

Hopefully, we'll find the
car and we'll get it sold.

and you can catch us
again soon on Wheeler

Dealers when we turn
out some more iconic cars.

Ta-ta.