02x07 - Austin 7: Brake Point

[bunniefuu]

I'm Ant Anstead.

And when it comes to cars,
I can fix almost anything.

[EXCLAIMS IN EXCITEMENT]
There she goes.

When it comes to houses...

Whoo-hoo!

...not so much.

I'm supercharging my mission.

[HORN BLARES]
Oh, my God.

Fixing up and flipping
eight more classic motors.

[LAUGHS] You look like
Laurel and Hardy, you two.

Because the 500-year-old farmhouse
I bought for my parents to retire in

is a crumbling money pit.

I would brace yourself
because it ain't going to be cheap.

But I won't be defeated.

Yeah. It's beautiful, isn't it?

I want Mum and Dad
moved in before summer ends.

We'll call it glamping, shall we?
Right. That's the spirit.

And with the help of family...

[LAUGHS]
I did it!

And my petrol head pal, Duncan.

- BOTH: Yeah.
- Come on then, let's go.

I'm determined to turn
cars into cash...

Whoa!...even if it kills me.

Whoa!

Hey, Dad, can you come stabilise
this, please, while I cut it?

How's it going?
Yeah, it's looking good.

It's one month till Mom and dad
are supposed to move in.

And we're gradually replacing

the rotten old barge boards
on the outside of the house.

- Really hard wood.
- Yes, Douglas fir.

But it's good cos
it means they'll last.

It's gonna be amazing.

I measured the template
- of the old one.
- Yeah?

Found a seven-inch plant pot.

I love it.
So are we sealing this then?

Yeah, paint it black.
I wanna get 'em up
next couple of days

so we can take the scaffold down
and finish the roof.

But the boards will have to wait...
Looking forward to this.

...As I found the car,
I think my dad will love.

Mother's coming.

What? You want to come with us?

Yes, please.
This is our wedding anniversary.

You weren't gonna go
without your mother, were you?
I wouldn't dare.

So it's a family day out
to the Midlands
to see a very special car.

I feel bad that I've kind of
hijacked your wedding anniversary.

I've not been
on a car-buying trip before.

- So it's interesting.
- Right?

Well, this is the coolest thing
to do on any wedding anniversary.

In fact, on any anniversary,
the coolest thing you can go and do

is go and buy a classic car.

Is it your idea of fun, darling?

Well, I'm not sure,
but at least we are together.

This is a 1929 Austin 7 Chummy.
Oh, wow.

- '29?
- I know.

So back in the '20s, not many
people owned cars.

Or could afford them.
That's the point.

So what Austin did is,
they produced 7

and made an accessible,
affordable motor car.

Launched in 1922,
the Austin 7 was so narrow

you couldn't help but rub elbows.

Hence the nickname "Chummy."

It's miniature design
made it cheap to build and run.

Meaning ordinary folk
could finally afford to drive.

It's become a favourite among
car enthusiasts,

including yours truly.

Its simple design is perfect
for stripping down

and transforming into homemade
races known as Specials.

I've built loads of Austin's,
like this one for the wall of death.

Some of this country's most
iconic car builders,

Colin Chapman, Bruce McLaren,

they cut their teeth
building Austin 7 Specials,
the same way I did.

How big is it, though?
Can we get in it?

It's not very roomy.
This is the car you love?

Love it. Can't wait to see this car.

I know what you'll like
about cars you love.

Good job we're coming with you
to maybe try and...

Right. Do you like?
The negotiation, please.

No, come on. You got to be careful.

You're useless at negotiations.

I'm not useless at negotiating!

Well, let's see how I get
on negotiating with Steve.

- Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hi.

- I'm here for the A7.
- That's right.

Shall we go and have a look
- in the garage?
- After you, sir.

Come on, open her up.

Oh, blimey.

- My goodness.
- Wow.

It's perfect.

That's older than me.

Yeah, she's an oldie.

Well, she's obviously a lady
cos she's got a name on the side.

Yeah, it's my mother's name.

And Dad decided to name
two of his cars after her.

- That's lovely.
- Why haven't
you name a car after me?

I've never found a car
beautiful enough, darling.

All right, you can tell
I'm a little bit excited.

Been after an Austin 7 for
a while now. Give us the history.

The car was bought by my father.

And he purchased it in 1974.

Wow. What are the known problems?

Well, I'd say it needs something
doing with the brakes.

If you want to stop quick,
you pull and throw
the anchor overboard.

So it doesn't stop very easily then.
It does stop eventually.

Do you mind if we push it out?
Not at all.

I'll need to make sure
that my love of Austin 7

doesn't cloud my judgement.

Oh, yeah, she looks even better
in the sunlight.

Do you mind if I get, say,
And I'd love to hear her start.

Yeah, just give us a nod
when you're ready.

Go on, then. In you go.

I'm not sure I can.

- Whoa! No, don't start it.
- Wha...

[LAUGHS]

Erm... My God.

Are you physically...
Oh, one leg's in.

I've got one leg in and one leg out.

It's not going to work.

[LAUGHTER]

OK, you're gonna swap seats...

Hopefully the owner isn't in a rush.

Because this might take a while.

All right.
It actually fits you really nicely.

Look at that.

Look at that. It's perfect.

How do we start?
Do you want to start?

- Yes.
- So this is the ignition here.

And I think this is choke.

Give it a little dab
of the accelerator.

[ENGINE CRANKS AND STARTS]
Wow.

- My goodness.
- You just started
your first 1929 car ever.

That's amazing.
So this controls the rev.

So go on, put it up.

[ENGINE REVS]

It's fantastic.

I know. It actually
kind of suits you guys.

I'm impressed
with how easily she runs.

But it's time to take a closer look.

Yeah, it's really tiny under here.

The front headlamps look quite good.

Yeah, the lights on these
are notoriously rubbish.

The hood will need work.

Yeah, it's frayed
and the edges are warm,

but I don't mind
that kind of patina.

There's a crack there.

How easy is it to get hold
of a windscreen for this?

We'll upgrade it.
But in terms of a project,
she's complete.

She's straight.
I love it. I love it.

I love it too. Incredible.

A really good Chummy can fetch
ten grand upwards at auction.

But these days,
there's a limited market
for pre-w*r cars.

So I need a good deal.

She's absolutely charming.

You've advertised her for...9,995.

So just five quid under 10 grand.

Which is toppy
for the Austin 7 market right now.

Let's go 8, 8.5.

You're gonna be nowhere near that.


No.8.8.



Call it nine and you've got a deal.

- Nine grand?
- Yeah.

- Nine. Are we having nine?
- Yeah.

Done. Nine grand. Done.

The margin in this car
is really, really small.

I think we're going to have to be
either ultra, ultra tight

super lucky or it's not really
a very economical purchase.

Duncan...

What have you got this time?

[LAUGHS] You look like
Laurel and Hardy, you two.

Come on, man. Drink it in.


- Wow. Smart.
- Which I know you know,
makes it vintage, not classic.

That means this can go
to fancy pants vintage events.

So it all looks like
it's in one piece.

So what's wrong with it?

So it has brake issues for a start.

You know, the headlights
are really bad.

These seats, there's duct tape here.
There's a rip here.

And then the roof
needs some sort of treatment.

So... Gosh, did that rip?
- I just heard that.
- That rip?

We didn't rip it, did we?
No, it's just a bit creaky.
A bit like you.

Well. And the windscreen is broken.

- See the crack down the bottom?
- Yeah.

The thing is, it needs a real...
- Bit of love.
- A bit of love, yeah.

Go on.
What sort of money you paid for it?

- - We paid nine.Nine?
- Nine.
- Nine.

But I don't think
we need to spend much on it.

So if we can limit the spending...

To zero.[LAUGHS] Zero. No.

I mean, if we spent what £500-1,000
on it and it costs... No.

We can't spend £1,000 on this.

- Really?
- No.

To sell at 10,000,
I think will be rare.

But I do think we'll sell it
for 9,999.

Why did we spend nine grand on it?

I have absolutely no comeback.

I hope he's got some mates
in the Austin 7 World.

I do have mates
in the Austin 7 Owners Club.

In fact, I've been a proud member
of the Austin 7 Owners Club
for the last 20 years.

Do they still answer the phone?
[LAUGHS]

You know, I'm standing right here.

I've ordered some new parts
for the Austin's brakes.

But while I wait for those,
there's plenty more work to be done.

- That's it.
- All right, sling it up.

It is quite heavy.

All right. Can you pull it up a bit?

All right, hang on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Pull me over.

- All right. Have you got it?
- Yep.

Do you want me to come
and hold the bottom end?

My God. Be careful.

Right, have you definitely got it?
Erm, try me.

Whoa. No, I haven't.

- I caught it.
- Well, good catch.

A temporary screw
means we can take a proper look.

Well, that should hold.

How's that, central hole look?

Yeah, it looks a bit like
a sort of an ostrich egg.

Is it meant to look
like an ostrich egg?

Yeah. Does it match the bay window?

A nicely rounded bottom with a bit
more of a point at the top.

Bit more of a point?
Yeah. Looks good.

I'm super picky.

As long as that matches,
yeah, that's great.

My God, it looks great.

So that's one set ready
for prep and paint.

Another to go.

But first I need to get cracking
on the Austin 7.

Look what I found.
We've got the handbook.

Check this out.
Don't tell my mom this,

because she will absolutely
go bananas at me.

[MOCKINGLY] The Austin 7
is particularly suitable
for the woman driver.

It requires little physical effort
to drive and control.

And for that reason,
its use enables her to do
shopping calls without fatigue.

- I know.
- At least it didn't say,

"And picking the husband
up from the pub."[LAUGHTER]

Sorry, Mum.

This manual won't be winning
any awards
for progressive thinking.

But it does tell us exactly
how to do our first job.

Re-lining brakes?
Re-lining the brakes,

and knowing we're
gonna do the brakes,
I've got hold of the parts.

Let's whip that front wheel off.

Mmm.

You need to go and have a look
- at the front.
- Why? What's up?

You bought a clown car.

- Is there a bent spoke?
- Yeah, look.

Oh! What?

A proper spin will show
the extent of the damage.

- Yeah.
- Oh, no.

The wheel's buckled.

This is disastrous for the steering,
braking and control on the Austin.

Fixing it needs specialist help.

I think we're gonna have
to get it trued.

Yeah. I actually know a guy.
Is he your friend?

He needs to be cos
we haven't got any budget to spend.

[SIGHS]

My Austin 7 needs specialist help
for its buckled wheel.

But for now, Duncan and I
are cracking on
with re-lining the brakes.

Right.

Do not take that drum off just yet.

Chances are, this 1929 car,
the lining on the shoes in there
- are gonna be asbestos.
- Asbestos.

I suggest,
I get us a couple of masks.

Heat resistant and hard wearing,

asbestos was used in just
about everything
until the end of the 20th century.

All right, spray it down.

It's extremely toxic when disturbed.

But spraying it with water
helps keep any dust in place.

That's it.

Oh. Perfect.

Yeah, look, it's gone down
to that rivet.
- Yeah.
- There and there.

There should be at least
three millimetres
of friction material.

All right, I'll start removing
the friction material.

All I'm actually doing is
swapping out this surface here,

which is held on
by these four rivets.

Now the way to get it out
is stick it in the vice.

And drill the rivets out.

Well, these friction materials
get bagged.

In fact,
they don't get single bagged,
they get double bagged.

And I'm even gonna triple bag these
and get these properly disposed of.

After a proper clean,

we have some shiny
and asbestos-free brake shoes.

Now this friction material
is much more modern, more efficient.

So efficient for braking,
efficient for heat release.

And of course, they're not dangerous
to breathe in like asbestos.

I'm just going to tap it into place.

And you can already see the depth
in which that rivet sits.

The shoes that were on the car
to start off with,

they'd worn down to where the rivets
were in contact with the brake drum.

But now we're going to get tonnes
of braking on this new set.

At 80 quid for the lot,

I'd say that's an investment
worth making.

All right,
let's see how that's working.

- Done.
- Super.

Tell you what we're like.
- An F1 team.
- Right.

- Ready for the spin?
- Yeah.

Boom!

My God, that's gonna stop
on a sixpence.

[SIGHS IN RELIEF]

At the house, my son, Archie,
and brother, Tim,
have arrived to help.

Having a scaffolder in the family
always comes in handy.

Before we take the scaffold down,
it's our last chance
to put the barge boards up.

Right, Archie, let's go.

The problem is,
this plaster is quite fresh,
so we can't hit it.

Once they're up...

it's just a case
of screwing them in.

Hey, it's in.

- How does it look?
- It's a bit bent.

It's supposed to be bent.
The house is bent.

Right. That's another one.

Oh-h*! It fits so well.

How does that look? Good?
Looks good. I'll give you that.

With Tim's seal of approval...

it's time to drop the scaffold.

We don't want to ruin
the new house, do we?

No, please don't.

It's taken a few months to get here.

Happy days.

- - Cheers.
- Thank you. Cheers.
- Cheers.

She looks magnificent.

They look really good.
Sarting to take shape.

Things like that that
makes it. Finishing touches.

So when can Mum and Dad move in?

I'm not answering that.

Mum is actually
looking at air fryers,

cos she seems to think
there's gonna be no kitchen.

There is going to be no kitchen.

But this is a major step forward

because this half of the house,
exterior wise

is only a few days off being done.

Thanks for coming out.
- No worries.
- Appreciate it.

Archie, crushed it.

It's back to work on the Austin 7,
and we're turning our attention

to the notoriously
useless headlights.

Do you want to turn the lights on
and see how bad they really are?

Are they on? Oh, they're on.

That is full power.

My God, that's shocking.

Hang on.

Just put the side light on.

The side light
only works on that side.

And it is about the equivalent
of a dimly lit candle.

You basically can't
drive this car at dark.

Hmm.

I knew they'd be bad,
but not this bad.

Which means there's possibly
something else going on.

Wanna jump in, start her
and let's see if that changes it?

Because with the engine running,
it often puts a bit
of extra charge into the system.

Contact on.

I always wanted to say that.
Contact.

You need to get out more.
f*cking aeroplane.

It's nothing like an aeroplane.
But it feels like it.

Focus. We've got a job to do.
Right. Go on.

My God, come on!

Oh!

[ENGINE CRANKS AND STARTS]

[LAUGHS]
Right.
Turn the lights on quickly.

Even with the extra power
from the engine,

the lights are still
barely registering.

We've got a problem.

As soon as I put the lights on...

the voltmeter drops.

So it's not maintaining the charge.

It's taking power
out of the battery.

So the electrical issue
isn't just the lights

and there's obviously
something going on.

Let's do a bit of diagnosis first.
Fantastic.

Using a voltmeter on the battery
will tell us

if the charging system
is doing its job.

This is a 6-volt system,
so hopefully we're gonna see...

- 6 volts.
- Right, ignition on.


and see if it changes the voltage.

If everything's working
as it should...

starting the engine
will push that voltage higher.

Still 6.1?

Give it a few revs
because that volt should increase.

Oh, it goes down.

Yeah, cut it, cut it.

If it's not increasing
the voltage in the battery

when the engine's
running and revving,

it means there's a problem
with the charging system.

Unlike modern cars, Austin 7s
generate electricity via a dynamo

using revolutions from the engine
to recharge the system.

We don't want the voltage
of the dynamo to be six.

It needs to be higher voltage
than the battery,

so it's putting excessive voltage
back into the system.

Put the ignition on again.

Contact!

You're gonna do that every time?
Every time.

I'm using the voltmeter
directly on the dynamo.

It should put out more power
than the battery.

So anything under six and a half,
and we know what the problem is.

All right, k*ll it.

- What've we got?0.3.
- Ooh.

Yeah, so the problem's
in the dynamo.

Inside this casing,
there's a magnetic field
and some copper windings.

Fundamentally, rotation is stolen
from the engine via this gear here.

What that does is, that rotation
induces electricity.

That electricity
comes via these brushes

into this junction box
and back to the engine.

If it's working efficiently,
we want the electricity

that's induced inside
the dynamo to exceed 6 volts.

That way it's constantly
topping the battery up.

The brushes are actually
small blocks of carbon.

And if they're not making
sufficient contact,

the dynamo will struggle
to generate power.

Now, this is that brush.

And you can see the surface
that touches the armature
in there has worn down.

It has to be making really
good contact to create
and induce electricity.

At just 13 quid,
new brushes should be a cheap fix.

So I'd better get them ordered.

It's a cool chandelier.
It needs a polish, though.

I like the patina.
It looks like it's been here
for 100 years.

With the chandelier up
and the ceiling plastered,

we need to create some space
before we can progress
any further in the hall.

OK, let's go.
Let's take the scaffold down, peeps.

This will take ages.
It'll take 20 minutes.

Mind the light!

Take it to you. Watch the top.

Careful. Lower it down.
Cos you're hitting the ceiling.

Arch, don't bash the plaster.

- Thank you.
- Oh, there's a spider.

Oh, come on, Archie.
God, look at it.

Does this mean the hallway
is nearly finished then?

No.

- Nowhere near?
- Nowhere near.

But one job that's much closer
to being finished
is the electrics on my Austin.

And for just 13 quid, I have some
new brushes for its busted dynamo.

This is one of those fiddly jobs
where you actually need three hands.

What I'm going to do is,
get a screwdriver in position.

Hold it with my head.

Use these pliers to hold the washer.

Lead that in.

Done. And that's what you call
using your head.

But now, I really do need some help.

So I'm roping in my daughter,
Amelie.

- It's so pretty.
- I know.
That's pretty awesome, right?

Can you jump in the driver's seat?
Yeah.

I need you to turn the ignition on
and start the car,

so I can test the voltage
of the dynamo.

I'm not gonna, drive off, am I?
No, you're safe. You're not in gear.

I'm sweating. A bit nervous.

You're not the only one.

If my voltmeter doesn't go above


Right, my foot is going on...
[ENGINE STARTS]

Lovely. Keep it there for a second.

I feel like it's gonna blow up.

Right, give it a little rev.
[ENGINE REVS]

Yeah. Lovely. Lovely. That's it.

Right, turn that switch back.

[ENGINE SHUTS OFF]

Good news, cos the voltmeter
gave me a better reading now,

which means the dynamo
is generating electricity

and putting it back
into the battery.

I should be a mechanic.

What? You just come in
- and take all the glory?
- Yeah, fine.

We fixed it.

Dude.

Stand back a bit. Stand back.

Ready to be blinded?

[LAUGHS] It's still running.

That's slightly better than candles.

Well, the good news is
that the car now charges
so the lights aren't gonna fade.

The bad news is, that's how good
- the lights were in the 1920s.
- Mm.

But all is not lost,
because I think...

we can just do a bulb upgrade.

The modern bulb,
they throw a bit more light.

To be honest, a match
would throw a bit more light.

[LAUGHTER]

All right. If we want to try
and get top money for this car,

we're gonna have to fix
that broken windscreen.

But the trick is, we want to take

this piece of glass out
and try and keep it,

cos then it becomes a template to
- make a new bit of glass.
- Good idea.

By taking the whole screen off,
we should be able to pry out

the glass panel from its frame.

Wow.

Now, either... we're gonna
get really lucky,
and it's just gonna pull out.

Or we're gonna have to get
a little bit aggressive.

The thing is, I don't wanna
break the glass
because it's the perfect template.

Time for Plan B.

A bit of gentle persuasion.

- Do it evenly.
- Yeah.

Oh. Oh.

Oh, my gosh, that is in there.

Hold the glass.
I'm holding the glass.

You're not. You're wobbling around.

Right, let's go back
to the tippy tapper.

Mind my private bits, please,
as well. Thank you very much.

- It's not that big a hammer.
- Ha-ha!

Yeah, it's gonna...

Yeah, hold the glass.
Go on, hold the glass.

- - You got it?
- I've got it.
- Way!

One intact template.

Which means I can get to work
cutting a new screen

from this piece of glass
I picked up for 30 quid.

So what I want to do...

is mark up the old screen

because I know
that definitely fits in the frame.

This will help
hold it as a template.

And this glass cutter
is just like a wheel

you use to cut your pizza,
but a lot sharper.

Now this is laminated glass,
meaning there's two pieces of glass

held together
by a piece of laminate.

Basically, flexible plastic
in the middle.

I need to cut both sides of glass.

The thing about glass
is you only get one go.

Every millimetre counts,
because if the cuts

don't match up perfectly,
one side could shatter.

So at the moment,
what's holding them together

is the lamination between the two.

And I've got this little trick...

methylated spirits.

Bit of fire.

What that's doing is, it's actually
helping the laminate to heat up

that piece of plastic
between the screen.

Then it's a gentle touch.

Oh, no! I broke the screen!

[BLEEP]

I've cut windscreens
so many times before.

And that's only the second time
I've actually broken one.

I'm mad at myself.

I feel like I've taken on too much.

I'm trying to do everything

when really all I should do is,
take the template

and just get a bit of glass cut.

I just have to pick my battles.

And the screen is a battle
I'm gonna pass on.

The bigger battle is the huge
amount of work to be done...

if we want to get mum and dad
moved into the house
in a month's time.

So at the moment, we're all go.

I'm trying to get this ceiling done.

Working with family makes for half
the challenge between me and Ant.

We're very different personalities.

He'll turn up, he'll have a plan

and then he'll get distracted
by the next shiny thing.

[EXCLAIMS]

Which will draw him
into doing something else.

But that being said,
what he does bring to the table

is the enthusiasm and the energy.

So when I'm flagging
or Dad's feeling a bit
under the weather...

he's able to kind of
push us through.

Oh! Done.

I've got a nice freshly cut piece
- of glass.
- Done a nice job on that.

At £45, it's good value.

Right, whip that rubber out there.

We need to get the rubber seals
onto the new windscreen glass

before slotting
it back into the frame.

Time to get soapy.

Covering everything in soap
should help us get
the screen in smoothly.

Well, at least let's hope, because
I can't afford to break another one.

You got it?

We're just gonna have to be careful.

Set nice and slowly.

It's still sticking up this side.

The new glass is thicker,
and it's not going
in without a fight.

It's definitely
sitting up somewhere.

Oh! I think that's it.

Happy with that?

So shall we throw this back in?

Perfect.

Right, now, the new buyer
is gonna be able to look

for a totally brand new windscreen.

- But this is a little shabby.
- Yeah.
But I'm picking my battles.

I'm gonna get the seats out,
send them off to my mate to fix.
He owes me a favour.

But, the hood I am gonna do myself,
try and save us a few quid.

- Gonna have a go there?
- Yeah.

Better make a better job
than the windscreen.

Let's hope.

I picked up a kit that should
totally rejuvenate
this hood for 70 quid.

Just with a little bit
of this cleaner,
it already looks better.

Well, the good news is
there's not a single drip

that's gone inside the car,
so the hood itself
is actually rain proof.

Once the hood is dry,

it's time for the next step,
the colour reviver.

And that is returning the hood
back to the original factory black.

And the idea of revitalising
this colour is to enhance
what's already there.

Work with the patina.

This is actually gonna be
a really difficult one to sell.

I've tried not to get emotionally
attached to any of these cars,

but it just fits this place.

It feels like it should be here.

But there's no time
for sentimentality.

There's still tonnes
to be done in the hallway.

You see,
this brick is buried by plaster.

- We want to reveal the red.
- Yeah.

So just brush it.

Like that. And then the brick...

is all red and rich.

That's it. So our job is to make
the whole hallway look like.

- This whole wall?
- Yeah.

Yeah. How's that?

That's it.

You're brushing it onto me.

[GROANS]

- This is tiring.
- Yeah, it's a lot.

Nice. Look how good that looks.

There's hundreds of years
of history on this wall.

We want to try
and keep that history.

There's a lot to do in here,
really, isn't there?

Yeah. It's way bigger
than I thought.

You know, if I break down
what the hallway
needs in jobs... Everything?

Everything, yeah. [LAUGHS]
Plastering, wiring.

You know, we've got
to get this wall done.
Sand the floor.

I mean, they're all in isolation,
you know, achievable jobs.

But if each one takes
a day or two days,

plus, I've still got
to finish the car.

When are Nan and Grandpa
supposed to move in here?

- - Soon.
- How soon?
- Soon.

So what do you plan to do?

Night shifts, early starts,
push through, make it happen.

Yeah?

Or we ain't gonna make it.

Deep into the house renovation,
and I'm snatching any moment I have

between the car jobs
to make some progress.

- Hi, Ant.
- Hello.

How are you doing?
- How's it going?
- Yeah, it's going.

It's going. Actually, no,
it's going not to plan specifically,
but it's happening.

It looks amazing already.
But when it's really finished,
it's going to be fantastic.

This has really taken up
way more time
than I thought because of the size.

But in the long term
it's gonna be worth it.

It's a very fluid plan, isn't it?

Of course, it's an ever moving,
ever evolving,
"We'll get there in the end" plan.

That's how the best plans
are laid out.
They're not actually laid out.

- But when's the end?
- I don't know.

And should you not just have
focused on one room at a time?

Rather than multiple rooms
and multiple times?
No. Where's the fun in that?

You've taken on so much here
with the house, with the cars.

How are you holding up
- at the moment?
- I'm tired.

- You look tired.
- I'm tired,
because we are putting in

candlelight burning at both ends.

But, I just got to keep working,
get it done.

And we will get it done.

You're standing on my floor.
[GASPS][CHUCKLES]

- Levitate.
- Makes a change for you
to be clearing up and not us.

My floor!

The house might be in disarray,
but the Austin 7's not far
from being ready.

Apart from its buckled wheel.

Luckily...

- Hey, Ant.
- How's it going?
Thanks for coming down.

...I've persuaded my mate, Nick,
to come and have a look.

Here she is. My little Austin 7.

You probably worked on loads
- of these.
- Yes, quite a lot, yes.

It's really complete.
But I do have a problem with...

- A wobbly wheel.
- Yeah,
- it's a banana wheel.
- All right.

But I don't think it's as bad
as some of the ones you've repaired.

We'll find out
when we take the tyre off.

Go down in the barn,
get yourself set up, give me a nod
if you need anything.

All right. OK.Thanks.

To get that wheel back in shape,

first job is to whip the tyre off.

Let the air out.

Now, this tyre is really old.

This is normally done
on the machine.

But as Ant asked me to come up,

I'm gonna have to try
and do this by hand.

There we go.

OK, mallet.

Voila!

Now I'm gonna check the rim...

for signs of holes.

Ah. There's rust.

Moisture trapped in the tyre
has totally rusted the steel.

Which explains the buckle.

That has absolutely had it.

Definitely not safe to drive.

Nic's brought with him
a spare rim and spokes.

And fortunately,
the original hub can be reused.

Once it's all tightened up,
it's time for some fine tuning.

We are going to stick the wheel
on the tuning fixture.

That sits on there.

Put the glass on.

Right. So a bit
of a wobble in the moment.

But that's to be expected.

Using a pointer helps identify
exactly where those wobbles are.

The wheel is hitting my pointer.

I need to tighten up
the spokes on this side only.

And that is it.

Hey, Nick, how's it getting on?
All done.

- Has it finished?
- Yep.

That's amazing.

All yours.
Dude, I appreciate your work.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Cheers, Nick.

At just 85 quid,
Nick's done me a huge favour.

Check this out.

That banana wheel has been fixed.
The clown wheel.

Now she's brand new.

This is it.
This is the home stretch.

Right, while we're on the front end,
an upgraded LED. That cool?

We might be able to see
- at night now.
- You reckon?

Right, pass me one of them chairs.

The ripped old seats
are back from the trimmers.
And they're looking brand new.

They definitely look
a bit smarter than the old ones.

Right. Let's get the weather
equipment up.

You reckon this is tornado proof?
[LAUGHS]
Absolutely not.

I don't got a lot to aim for.

Is that it?

I think I might have your side. Eh?

Imagine back in the day,
you got your family out

shopping in the town centre
and the rain starts.

I reckon if I was outside doing this

and my missus was inside,
I'd be getting in here.

Cos you'd both be equally as wet.

Dude, our work here is done.

Beautiful.
I love this little Austin.

Since my parents spent their
wedding anniversary buying it,

it's only fitting
that they're the first to see
this little car in its full glory.

Oh, look at our car.
That's beautiful.

She calls it "our car"
and thinks she'd get away with it.

- She can have it.
- Yeah, we could
probably strike a deal..."Have it"?
- Without paying for it?
- No.

Yeah, well, unfortunately
talking about paying for it,

cos we got to the point
where actually, financially,

we're quite heavily-invested
in this car.

We've been sensitive
with the restoration,

but we inherited a car
that had a few mechanical issues.

We spent £143 on mechanical parts.

Things like sorting out the dynamo,
getting the brakes fixed.

My mate came and did the wheel.
- Mm-hmm.
- And then 300 quid

on getting the seats re-trim,
some miscellaneous, tidying up.

So all in, it owes us £9,628.16.

Glad it's under 10.

I'm glad it's under 10. It'd be nice
- if it was under eight.
- Mm.

Well, the good thing is,
is that there is always gonna be

a strong buying community
for an Austin 7.

Particularly because it's 1929.

So it makes it vintage eligible,
which means it's worth
a little bit more.

But the key is,
will it tip it to a five figure car?

And how do we best get
that five figure car?

Because we've got
a couple of options.

We could advertise it privately,
could put it in auction.

Three or four people bidding
is gonna really help, isn't it?

Providing you get...
I cannot crystal ball how

this car is gonna go
if it goes to auction.

So if it goes to auction,
it's a full risk.

Goes to the auction,
it could make seven?
Is that what you're saying?

I don't believe... Like going
into the casino, black or red.

But then, if we private sell it,
we could price at a point

that we might not
sell it for months.

And we need to flip it
and put the money
in the house. Quickly.

- Auction.
- Auction.

OK, let's roll the dice.

Let's put it in auction.

But first I have to have
a proper go.

[LAUGHS]
Brilliant.
Whoa. I nearly lost my hat.

- Woah!
- Woah.

I can feel every single bump
in the road through my bum.

My gosh, it corners
like a supermarket trolley.

[LAUGHS]
I love it.

- Aw. She's wonderful.
- Really good.

- Yeah.
- She's wonderful.

I love it. It's so charming.
- Brilliant.
- It's so charming.

It's amazing. Amazing it's still
running after all these years.

I'm impressed.

Blown away.

Oh, my gosh.

I mean, it's mesmerising to think
this is almost 100 years old.

And there's a real purity
in how we've restored this car.

We haven't put a new hood in it.
We've rejuvenated the old one.

We didn't go for new brakes.
We've rejuvenated the old ones.

We've upgraded the headlights,
but you can't tell.

Re-doing the seats is nice.
It's now a comfortable space to sit.

Doing the buckled wheel now means it
handles like an Austin 7 should.

Now we've given a new owner
a really usable 1920s car.

How cool is that? I mean, come on.

If we was to make a bit of profit,
I think it would be justice

for putting this car
back on the road.

And if we don't?

We put the car back on the road.

And I can swallow that.

There she is, a little beaut.

I love this car.

I love the...

Owes us a lot of money, though.
Partly because of my mom and dad.

- It's 100% their fault.
- Yeah.

Right now, we're in for 9.6.

Which means for us to make any money
it's a 10k Austin 7.

And we're saying, that bear in mind,
it's gonna push it into
the upper level of Austin 7 values.

Well, it's 1929. That takes
it from a classic to a vintage.

- - Vintage eligible.
- Yeah.
- Right.

Let's manifest five-figure car.
You're a five figure car.
You're a five figure car.

You're a five figure car.
- Come on then.
- Yes.

OK, then. So lot number 649.

The 1929 Austin 7 Chummy
here for you.

I can start the bidding here, then.
OK, that's good.

Here at 6,000 for the Chummy.


Go five anywhere else at 6,000.

Can't go for six.
- 6,000 only.
- Can't go for six.



Come on. It's online at six grand.
That's like one online bid.






Come on, get on.7,000.

At the moment, it looks like
no one here is bidding,

but we've got two people online.



- 8,000, I can say.
- We're into eight.
Come on.

Still on the telephone as well
at 8,000.

At 8,000. Was there another now?

That lady stood up. I thought
- that was a bid.
- Another 500.




Go on, get to nine.

No one offering more than at 9,000?

Are we all done and sure then?
We sell at 9,000.

No, no, no, no, no.
Fair warning to all. 9.5.

We're back online in 9.5.

Come on.9.8. 9,800.
Go ten online.


We might be getting our money back.

- 10,000 we go online.
- Yes!
I told you it was gonna be
a five-figure car.

I told you.
See, I never had a doubt.

Selling all the way then at 10,000.

That is a five-figure Austin 7.

We should be incredibly proud
of that.10,000, there we go.



I am absolutely over the moon.

It deserves to make five figures.

Five figures is right for that car
cos it's awesome.
Really good ownership.

Beautiful car,
vintage eligible being 1929.

I just squeezed
a little bit of profit out of it.

I maybe was a little bit toppy
at the purchase price.

So we're always destined
to have tight budgets to work with.

But, I mustn't grumble.
Profit's profit.

Not going to turn my nose up
at making profit,
whether it's £10, £100 or £372.

There's all these
lingering issues in the house.

There's still loads to do,
so every penny counts.

And these pennies came
via a 1929 Austin 7.