15x22 - 1973 Toyota Celica ST

[bunniefuu]

This is a 1973 Toyota Celica St.

The engine is all noise and no power.

That is...

Amazing.

Green.

Yes, the colour of money.

I haven't got a choice.

I'm going to have to take the engine
out, tear it down and fully rebuild it.

How much is this, three grand?

Do you have anything in the cheap aisle?

It's a first generation and
worth a bit of elbow grease.

Delete the sunroof, please.

It's nasty, it's horrible.

Please get rid of it.

It's a lot of work.

It's not a lot of work.

And it's going to wrap
the time of his life.

A while back I was up in Northern
California doing some work.

Whilst I was here, I'm
always looking on the sides of

the road, seeing if anyone's
got anything for sale.

Now there was a car for sale.

It's a 1973 Toyota Celica.

It's actually a really sought after car.

Everyone seems to want to get their
bum into the seat of a Toyota Celica.

Now this car looked a
little bit rough around the

edges, but it had a for
sale sign in the window,

so I thought I'd give the people a call.

And there was no answer,
but they now eventually

called me back a
whole three weeks later.

And they said that
the car is still for sale,

so I don't hold out much hope
of what it's going to be like,

but they're a really
eminently reliable car.

It's cheap enough.

It's only $5,000.

That's about £4,000,
which has got me worried,

if I was to be honest with you,

because when I see the car
originally and I walk round it,

I couldn't actually get
inside and get inside the boot

or under the bonnet to
see just how bad it was.

Ah, right, yes, found them.

Hanging on a little twig.

Very well hidden, sir.

Like what you've done there.

All right, Eddie, well,
listen, let me have a

good look round it, and
I'll come back to you.

All right, mate, appreciate it.

Thanks.

Right, okay, so I've got the keys,

and it's got an alarm,
so that's a good start.

Let's go and have a
good look round the car.

There it is, 1973 Toyota Celica ST,

and you can see where
they've stolen their shapes from.

It's almost identical to a
1968-69 Chevrolet Camaro.

They just stole all their ideas,

but it means that it
looks a really decent car.

There's a couple of things right away

I can say that's bad about it.

Number one is the paint job.

It has been painted,
and it's been done awfully,

and there's lots of blisters everywhere
in the paint, so it will need repainting.

Number two, this ridiculous
aftermarket sunroof.

That shouldn't be
there, and it ruins the car.

Number three, look at that boot spoiler.

I bet you it's just slowing the car
down, but that has to be removed as well.

That's nice. It's loose.

And there we are.

This engine is the 18R-C variant,

C meaning California compliant.

That means this engine had
to go through smog testing,

so it would have been
throttled back a little bit.

It's a two-litre engine, four-cylinder.

This one has clearly seen better days.

Now I can see why this car is only $5,000,

but it's the structure of
the car that's important,

and this one has got
the original firewall,

which is this panel here.

It's got the original inner wings,

and it's even got the original
slam panel at the front.

There's no signs of any
accident damage down here.

So the car is in good shape up the front.

Right, let's check the rear out.

Wow!

Ah, right.

Okay, so this car's got
some problems, as we know.

It's got a nasty sunroof cut
into it, the paintwork is awful,

and now it is the real
big kicker for this car.

It's had an accident
down in this rear quarter.

It's had some kind of ingress
here that's buckled this panel.

Somebody's pulled
it out, they've filled it,

and they've done their
best at straightening it.

It's to a standard, and I'm going to be
honest with you, it's not to my standard.

So if I was to buy this
car, it'd have to be redone.

Nine times out of 10, I'd
walk away from this car,

but it's a 73 Celica ST,

and it's only 4,000 pounds.

Let me drive it.

I'll drive it, and then I'll make up
my mind when I'm out on the road.

Right then, inside, before I fire
her up, let's have a quick look.

The seat cloth looks a bit faded.

Five-speed gearbox, the dials and
gauges all look present and correct.

It's got an aftermarket temperature Gauge,

a bit of a worry.

Could mean this car's prone to overheating.

But let's see.

Oh, the car is up.

That's not bad, is it?

Didn't like that gear change.

That wasn't very nice.

The clutch pedal was really tight as well.

The engine, although it's performing
and it's getting me down the road,

it doesn't feel like
it's got any, you know,

listen to it.

It's all noise and no power.

I know I've got that blow coming
from the manifold, but it's not very good.

When a rev counter doesn't work,

the speedo does work.

Fuel Gauge is working.

Overall, this car is just
like it's past its sell-by date.

It's just gone off.

It's sitting on the shelf
and it's just gone off.

Unless, of course, somebody
like me comes along,

somebody who's brave
enough and possibly stupid

enough to want to
attempt to rescue this car.

Last time I bought one of these cars, I
was actually in Japan and it broke down.

That car broke down on
Mount Fuji, of all places.

I had to abandon that
car and it broke my heart.

So let's not abandon this one, I think.

Well, what if I was to save $4,000?

That would be your best, $4,500.

Well, good job, Eddie,
and thanks for the deal.

Cheers.

Yeah, no worries. Cheers. Bye-bye.

Well, there you go.

$4,500, or around 3,500 pounds,
buys me this very sad Toyota Celica.

I just hope Ant is going to be, well, on
board when I bring it back to the workshop.

I think this car needs rescuing.

It needs saving.

There are some good things about it.

Maybe I can pull them back again.

Oh, my word.

Feast your eyes, son. Feast your eyes.

That is... Amazing.

...green.

And?

And amazing. That's an early 70s Celica.

Of course it is, yes.

First generation Celica, 35
years these have been around,

seven generations.

This is a 1973 Toyota Celica St.

Yeah, what's wrong with it?

Well, other than the fact that
it needs completely repainting

because the paintwork
is blistered all over,

and while you're repainting
the car, delete the sunroof.

I'm going to get rid of it.

What?

Well, it shouldn't be
there, so delete the sunroof.

Okay, I'm just going to gloss
over that in the paper a second.

Let's open the bonnet.

No, you can't gloss over it.

I'm going to have to.

Emotionally, I'm going to have to.

Let's have a look at the bonnet.

I just don't want the sunroof.

So you have to take that away.

Okay, now, you're going to love this
because there's loads wrong with it.

Come on.

Okay, all right.

So that is the 18RC
inline four, two-litre engine.

So there's no oil leaks in here.

This is all good.

I don't have to take it out.

I don't think it's got any oil in it,

and it's really down on power.

I mean, like, really down on power.

I wouldn't be surprised if you foamed
me up and told me to get another engine.

It's that bad.

Right, okay.

Okay, come on.

Come and have a look inside.

It's had a little bit of a kiss.

Cars.

Yeah.

What would you have done?

Would you have walked away?

It depends.

How much was it?

How about if I told you it was
just 3,500 English pounds?

I'd say, find me a rhino,
and I'd kiss it right now.

Exactly.

Bring it in.

Yes.

What a cool shape.

I mean, what a cool car.

This was the start of something
really special for Toyota.

See, whether they intended it or
not, the Celica was a legacy car,

and it was built between 1971.

and 2006.

I mean, think about it.

That's 35 years.

But to be fair to Toyota,
it's not the first time.

The Toyota Land Cruiser lasted
longer, and the Corolla lasted longer.

In fact, the Corolla's still made today.

Now, in Latin, Celica
means celestial or heavenly.

And looking at it,

that's a million light years
away from being that.

In fact, I can't take my eyes
off all the work this car needs.

But for now, I'm going to park all those
issues, and I'm going to focus on the power.

I'm going to put all my
energy into the engine.

Now, Mike says we're down on power,

and that could be due
to a number of things.

But before I get drastic
and tear the engine out,

there's a few tests
that I could do in the

car, and one of them
is a compression test.

Now, this is a great bit of kit.

Easy to use, easy to get
hold of, and it's affordable.

You can get a kit for around $20.

That's about 15 quid.

Now, mine's a little bit more expensive,
but it does exactly the same job.

Now, this part of the kit here
screws into the spark plug holes,

which means I first need
to remove the spark plugs.

Now, the Gauge part of the
kit here measures the pressure

created by the piston
as it rises in the cylinder.

Now, you want to make sure
you have a nice, full battery.

You don't want to run the
risk of getting a false reading.

So a little tip, add a boost pack.

It'll just give your battery
a little bit of extra juice.

Now, by cranking the engine over,

it's actually moving the pistons,

building up the pressure
within the cylinder.

And that pressure reading's important.

because it's a measure of how
well sealed the cylinder cavity is,

which in this case is pretty bad.

110.

145.

Well, it's the best of a bad bunch.

Now, when this engine left the factory,
it would have had a PSI of around 179.

And I'd let it slide if it was
over, say, 150 or above.

So what this tells me is that we
have a problem with low compression.

But all is not lost.

But before I commit to
ripping the engine out,

I've got another test I can do using this.

It's called a leak-down test.

Now, it's really easy, and you
can get an entry-level bit of kit.

for around $40.

It's about 30 quid.

And when you consider what
it takes to rip an engine out,

it's actually a small
price to pay at this stage.

But I do need to remove some parts first,

starting with that air box.

Unsetting number one piston
to maximum compression,

which is its highest point.

Now, that's easy, as most engines
have a top-dead center Mark right there.

A tiny bit more.

Perfect.

Now, I just have to screw
this into the spark plug hole,

just like the compression chip.

The difference is,

this time I'm going to
force air into the cylinder.

I'll plug in my compressed air
hose into my leak-down tester.

On one side, I have a regulator,

and I'm going to set that to 90 psi.

Then linking up the hose
from my first cylinder.

into the other side,

I'm now passing that 90 psi of
air pressure into the first cylinder.

And the idea being, the
second Gauge is going to tell me

exactly what the pressure is
inside there, and how much I've lost.

It's down to 70.

I've lost 20 psi.

Now, it's totally acceptable
for an engine to lose a little bit,

but not that much.

And bear in mind,

number one cylinder of R4 is the best.

The thing is now, I need to work
out exactly where the air is going.

Where is my leak?

And to do that, I need to rely on
something that my old man used to tell me.

He used to say, Ant, listen.

If I can hear a leak at the intake, it
means the intake valves are leaking.

Not bad.

And if I can see bubbles
in the coolant system,

it means the head gasket's leaking.

Again, pretty good.

And if the air leaks
past the exhaust valves,

I'll hear it here.

And that leaves one final place,

the crankcase.

Now, I'll be able to hear
it up here because at

the front of the head
and the rear of the head,

there's two little drainaways that
allow oil to go back into the sump.

Yeah, it's pretty loud.

Now, that's telling me that
the air's escaping downwards,

below the piston,

and it could be a number of things.

It's likely to be piston rings,

or worse,

some really big damage.

And remember,

cylinder number one.

is our best one.

I'm repeating the same as I did for
cylinder one on the remaining three,

rotating the crank to raise
each piston to the highest point,

then filling the cylinder with
compressed air and measuring the amount

of pressure that is lost.

Cylinder four, 45 PSI.

It's terrible, but
it's not the worst.

Cylinder two was only 40 PSI.

In fact, all the cylinders leak
into the crankcase, which tells me

the problem on our engine is
buried deep in there at the bottom half.

Now, I'm still going to resist
taking it out because I've got

one other cheeky little toy that's
going to help me have a peek inside.

Now, this is called a boroscope.

It's basically a tiny
little camera on the end.

of a really flexible lead, and it's
great at getting into small places.

If I place this into
cylinder number two,

which is our worst cylinder,

I get a really good look inside.

And I can see the problem.

That cylinder's got some
really heavy scoring,

big scratches
that run vertically.

I'd expect it to have
a little bit of texture.

Obviously, the cylinder gets
honed, and it's deliberately

textured so it holds oil
even when the engine's cold.

But that is bad.

So I'm going to have to take
the engine out, tear it down,

and fully rebuild it.

You all right, Sunshine?

Yeah, oh, how's it going?

Yeah, you were right.

Hate to admit it.

What, when you dunk a biscuit in
a cup of tea, the bottom falls off?

I hate that.

What? No, no.

The silica.

What, that it's been a whack?

No, that's obvious.

I mean, it's down on power.

You were right about the engine.

Well, I thought so.

I mean, the engine is
missing some of its squeeze.

It's down on compression on all four, and
number two's got some really bad scoring.

Oh, dear.

Okay, rebuild?

Yeah.

Well, I'll be honest with you.

I already have my suspicions,
so why don't you dig

it out the engine bay and
leave the rest of it to me?

Okay, bye.

First, I drain the oil and the
coolant, drop the exhaust,

and remove the radiator.

Disconnect hoses, and
then unbolt the crossmember.

You can get one of these

for about $200 or 160 quid,

and let's be honest,

if you're taking an engine
out, it's going to be essential,

unless, of course, you have
an overhead gantry and a hoist.

I've also saved myself
a little bit of cash.

by reusing these brackets
I had laying around.

I try not to throw anything away
just in case it comes in useful later,

and it's simply a bit of flat
steel with two holes drilled in it.

I've mounted the crane in the middle
of the engine, and with the weight

of the gearbox on the
back, it naturally wants

to tilt back perfectly
to pull it out of the car.

Now it's time to get greasy.

The only real way to know
what's going on inside there.

is to crack it open.

You know, when I first laid eyes on their
1973 Toyota Celica, I did fall in love,

but upon further inspection, it
appears I may have bought a dog.

But what choice did I have?

Those cars are so popular,

so rare, so sought after,

I've just had to go for it.

Unfortunately, Ant
has already found a big

problem with the car,
and that's the engine.

It's beyond tired.

Well, it's beyond everything at the
moment, and it has to be replaced.

Doesn't look like my gamble was a
strong play at the moment, does it?

Yeah, looks like
I'm in the right spot.

All these hot-rodded
Japanese motors.

This is Ichiban JDM,

and I meet a guy called Chris.

He reckons he's gonna
have some engine options

for me to sort out our
little Toyota Celica.

Our original engine is
down on compression.

We could spend thousands
of many man-hours rebuilding

it, or we could use this as
an opportunity to upgrade.

Yeah.

Okay, what's this one, then?

So this is a Nissan SR20DET.

It's a turbocharged
four-cylinder from a Nissan Silvia.

No way.

Would this fit into
a Toyota Celica?

It will.

Most people use this for that type of
vehicle because it's a small, compact engine.

The Toyota Puris might shy away
from the fact that it's a Nissan engine.

How much is this one?

It's $3,000, unfortunately.

It's a little bit
more expensive.

What?

Where's the cheap aisle?

Right, so this is the aisle where you
keep the more reasonable engines.

Well, not just reasonable,
but I got a motor

that is gonna fit into
your car just right.

It's called a 3SGE
Beans, VVT-LI,

from the Toyota Altezza.

You said it's got beans.

It's a beans.

B-E-A-M-S.

Oh, well, if it's got beans,
it's good enough for me.

Definitely.

It's a great motor.

Nice.

And this will fit straight
into our vehicle?

Believe it or not, this is the most
popular swap for that chassis.

Super.

Perfect.

Always insist on a compression
check before handing over the cash.

Nice.

That's a good one.

So we've got like

180 on two of the cylinders.

Where should it be?

Anything above 180 is fine.

Just because the motor is
actually cold, it's been sitting,

the rings are compressed.

Right, okay.

So this is cylinder
number three.

Nice.

That's another one that's
bounced all the way over 180.

In fact,

200 across the board.

Yeah, perfect.

It's basically very healthy.

200 compression

on all four cylinders.

Now comes the sticky part.

Sure.

How much is it gonna cost?

Well, you got deep pockets.

You don't really need them today
because it's only 1,300 bucks.

How much?

1,300.

Don't change your mind, Chris.

I will not.

Seriously, that's $1,300?

$1,300 for a six-speed.

I have 10 of them.

10, seriously?

Yeah, no problem.

That is so cheap.

Yeah, that's coming
back with me.

It's a great motor
for the price.

Though our donor engine
is not a Seleka motor,

we've kept it in the Toyota family
and saved money on the rebuild.

Yeah, with the head-off,

you can really see the damage.

Those score marks are
so deep, I can feel them.

Also, now the head's off,

the waterways are
completely blocked.

This needs a total overhaul,

starting off with a rebuild.

What?

Incredible.

Yeah, yeah, come
and check this out.

No, no, no.

Incredible Hulk.

You know the guy
the Incredible Hulk?

Remember that thot that Bruce
Banner had the gamma radiation?

He got all angry,

and when he got angry, he
turned it the big green monster.

The very first car he ever
damaged and flipped over

happened to be a
first-generation Toyota Seleka.

Okay.

Yeah, it's a little
bit trivial for you.

Yeah, that's really
fascinating, and I'm sure his car

was damaged like ours
as well, but check this out.

Look in there.

Feel those feelings.

Oh, yeah, they're nasty,

aren't they?

Yeah, so we're talking like complete
rebuild, so give me a couple of hours.

I'm going to have
this stripped down.

Or something else.

Your buddy has already.

sorted something out for you.

Follow me.

No, but we need
to strip this down.

Follow me.

Yeah, but what about the engine?

Just open the door.

What are you talking about?

Go on, say it.

How good is that?

Um, it's the wrong engine.

No, it's not.

It's a two-litre, four-cylinder,
manual gearbox,

rear wheel drive.

No, no, this is a
blacktop Toyota engine.

In fact, this is a Gen 5
engine, and that car's older.

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

It's triple the horsepower,
and it's plug and play.

Oh, right, yeah, plug and play.

I've heard that before.

Yeah, no, seriously,

there is a whole

aftermarket world out
there with a load of parts

that make sure that this
engine fits into our Toyota,

and it will plug and play.

Trust me, this engine was better
value than you rebuilding that old lump.

So where are all the other bits?

I've got to get the other bits.

Don't worry.

I've just got a little
shopping run to do,

and while you're doing it, can
you just delete that sunroof for me?

What's the obsession
with the sunroof?

It's bugging me.

Just delete the sunroof, please.

It's nasty.

It's horrible.

Please get rid of it.

It's a lot of work.

It's not a lot of work.

Let me get this
out into the yard.

You do that roof.

So the sunroof,

I hate to admit it, but sadly,

Mike is absolutely right.

That has to go.

See, loads of these popped up in the
70s and 80s, and aftermarket companies

offered kits, which
meant owners of cars were

cutting holes in the roofs
and throwing them in.

The problem was,

the very same
people were moaning,

because as soon
as it started to rain,

these things tended to leak.

Now, some sunroof companies
are better than others, and this one.

isn't one of the good ones.

If you look closely,

this glass panel's actually flat, which
is cheaper to produce, and then it sits

in this metal frame
that's flat as well.

When you consider the roof
on our car has this gradual,

beautiful curve to it.

Because this is
made of thin steel,

it's trumped by the stronger frame,
which means that this whole area here

has been pulled
down and flattened,

which is another
reason that this has to go.

Using a polycarbide scuff wheel,

I'm removing the paint, rust, and any
glue residue around my sunroof hole.

It's a less aggressive technique and
helps preserve the metal underneath.

Now, it's not just a
case of cutting out a

square bit of steel
and welding it in the car.

Oh, no.

Only it was that simple.

See, the thing about cars,

they're made up of shapes.

They're curved and contoured.

I mean, nobody wants
to be driving a square box.

The trick is,

how do you make that flat sheet
of steel into a contour to fit our roof?

Now, to do that,

I'm going to be using
this bad boy here.

This is my English wheel.

This technique's been
around for centuries.

Now, this lower roller here,
this is called an anvil wheel,

and I can swap this out
depending on the type of job.

See, these come in
different shapes and sizes

depending on the types
of curves I want to achieve.

Now, the curve for
our roof is actually quite

slight and gradual, but
it does go both ways.

It's a double curvature.

Now, this anvil wheel here is
actually perfect for what we need.

Now, the magic of the English wheel
happens between these two rollers.

Now, this lower anvil is on a
thread, so it raises and lowers,

clamping a sheet of
steel between the two.

The combination of
the flat wheel against the

curved wheel gradually
and slowly creates.

a curve within the sheet.

Now, the English
wheel's not automatic.

I have to physically work

the metal between the rollers.

Now, the trick is
not to go too far.

I wouldn't want to have

to unbend or undo my work.

Now, if I place this between the
rollers and then do the lower one up,

now, the trick is to make it
grip just enough, not too much.

That feels right,

and then you're slowly
passing it between the wheel,

gradually eking the
panel from side to side,

so it takes the form.

a little bit at a time.

These manual machines are
fantastic at one-off jobs like this,

but it's becoming
a bit of a dying art.

Doing it this way is not viable for
production of large numbers of panels.

When that's needed,

a massive stamping press
is used to punch the shape.

That lets me finish
the curve one way.

Now, I need to rotate it.

and curve the other way.

I now want to cut off.

some of this excess material.

Not too much, though.

I want to leave a little
bit of meat on there still,

and I'm going to use these,

little jaws.

They're brilliant.

I'm really happy with that.

This new panel follows

the shape and contour.

of our roof really nicely.

Now, what I want to
do is cut off some of this

excess, but I don't
want to cut it all off.

I don't want to weld
it in edge to edge.

I want to leave enough
to put it underneath,

create a step so it fits flush.

Not only is that going to strengthen
the panel, it's also going to leave

a little channel
for me to weld into.

Now, this half-inch
tape's perfect.

The black line on the panel
represents the hole in the car.

If I run the tape line on the edge of
that black line, it's going to give me

the perfect half-inch, and then I
can cut on the outside of the tape,

and it's going to be spot-on.

I'm using this table-mounted hand
shear to cut off my excess material,

smooth as butter.

Now, I've got this handy little tool here
that's going to put the step in my panel.

It's got these perfectly shaped
jaws, and when they squeeze together,

they stamp it into submission.

It works really easy.

You've just got
to take your time.

Make sure it's seated,

and run along the edge.

just a couple.

of millimeters at a time.

Slowly working my way around the edge
of the panel, I gradually create my step.

These are great
value, around $50.

That's 35 quid,

and are powered by a compressor.

This tool's great because
it doubles up as a punch.

I might want to place a few
holes around the perimeter.

Marking the matching
holes into the car, then again,

using my punch tool
to mirror the panel.

It simply holds in place with
a couple of special fixings.

Just those tacks are
enough to hold it in place.

That's going nowhere.

I've got quite a bit of welding
ahead of me, but I'm not going to get

stuck into it just yet
because my fear is

I've got quite a bit
of welding at the rear.

From the outside,

this wing doesn't look too bad.

It's only when you look on the
inside you realize the boot is hiding.

a dirty little secret.

Whoever did this repair
took the lazy option.

My guess is

this panel's full of filler.

I knew there would be a lot of filler,
but I didn't realize it would be this much.

I reckon I've got a pretty
good idea of what's happened.

This car's probably had a
whack here on the rear quarter.

I haven't even
investigated under there yet,

but this sheet here is
made of quite thin metal,

and the reason it's crinkled
here is because of the inner arch.

That's an area of strength.

So as it's folded and bent,

whoever's done the repairs

hit what they could with a hammer
via the boot where they've got access,

but they've just ignored this area here
because they can't swing a hammer at it.

So instead, they just
slapped on a load of filler,

painted it, and thought
they'd get away with it.

At the moment, I'm a
little bit torn on what to do.

Best case scenario,

there's a stick

of new wing on it.

But I think I'm going
to have a little bit more

investigation, see exactly
what's going on around here,

and then make the call.

What a mess!

Filler tends to create this dust that
just gets everywhere, but needs must,

because when you're dealing with a
car with damage, it's really important

to remove the paint until you find solid
metal, and that's exactly what I've done.

I've taken all the paint
off, and now I have a

better understanding of
what's wrong with this car.

Now someone's put

this little panel in here,
and then I've chased it back,

knocked all the paint off the boot
lid, and you can see there's quite

a big area of
damage there as well.

Now in fairness,

this is a pretty good
job, but for some reason,

it's only half a job
because they've left this.

So I'm going to tackle that,

and I'm going to do it.

using the loudest
tool in the box,

this pneumatic air hammer.

The air hammer's actually
knocked it out better than I thought.

That's not bad.

I'm now going to give it

a bit of a tap from the outside
with a paddle and a Dolly,

the old-fashioned way.

This technique dates back
centuries and is still effective today.

The idea is you have
this chunk of metal.

It's a bit like a mini
anvil to hit against.

Place this on the opposite side of the
material and then hammer the metal straight.

The thin steel is forced to
change shape by the hammer,

but the anvil behind it
dictates the final position.

It's slow and takes Patience,
but it's actually really satisfying.

It's so much better.

I reckon I can get this pretty much
back to the original panel shape,

but it's going to
take some time.

This car always needed a lot of body
work, and that doesn't come quickly.

You've got to take
your time and do it right,

but it's so worth it.

When this has gone
through the paint shop,

the finish is going
to be fantastic.

I wonder what Mike
has planned for the paint.

Last little job for me

is to get the engine installed.

This unit's ready to go.

It's going to drop straight in.

The ramp allows me
to lower the car onto the

engine instead of lowering
the engine into the car.

This might seem like a step ahead,
but I'm using the ramp to hover the car

just at the right angle so I
can squeeze the manifold in.

This will be
pretty tricky later.

Then I'm going to use

the cross member bolts to
pull it out that last few inches.

Just four bolts and
the cross members in.

I love how the aftermarket supply
sector's grown over the years.

More often than not,

there's a solution out
there to every challenge.

Mike has taken advantage
of that with another

off-the-shelf item.

He's gone for this,

a one-piece prop shaft.

This replaces the two-piece
that was in the original car.

The benefits of a one-piece is there's less
moving parts to get damaged or wear out,

but also it takes the power
from the engine at the front

and sends it in a direct
line back to the axle.

Oh, man.

Look at that.

It absolutely fits a treat.

I could have restored the original
engine, but Mike's decision to put

this more modern
one in was spot on.

From here on out,

it's pretty much plug and play.

Using a new engine harness and a
new ECU means I don't have to modify

the existing loom.

The ECU is also
basic plug and play.

I'm going to pass the
wiring harness through the

bulkhead and mount it
on the inside of the car.

Now, sticking with the theme,
I'm also fitting an aftermarket

aluminum radiator.

It bolts directly to the shell, and it
comes with an uprated electric fan.

I'm plowing through this now.

Better get Mike here and
get the body shot booked.

My work is almost done.

I found us a first-generation
Toyota Celica.

Just like it's past
its sell-by date.

A car with true racing pedigree.

This one may have been
put out to pasture, though.

It's clearly seen better days.

Once Ant had diagnosed the problem...
Have to take the engine out, tear it down,

and fully rebuild it.

And we've gone for
the full heart transplant.

Do you have
anything in the chi pile?

Then there were just some
minor blemishes for Ant to beautify.

My work is almost done.

With a last minute
bid on a set of wheels,

a stealthy paint transformation,

and a tireless
final push from Ant,

our Celica has come a long way.

The car costs $4,500.

Roof placement engine
and gearbox, $1,300.

ECU and wiring harness,

$600.

Engine, insulation kit,

$1,500.

Prop shaft, $200.

Raw materials to cover
up the sunroof, just $100.

The radiator, $400.

The paint, $2,000.

New wheels and tires, $700.

And roll bar for the roll
cage I asked Ant to install.

Long story,

I'll tell you later, just $250.

That gives us a
grand total of $11,550,

around £10,600,

and all done in 54 man hours.

I've got to ask Mike,

why have you brought
me and our car here?

Because I want to celebrate your
damn fine work to our 73 Toyota Celica.

Come on!

I mean, look, when I
found the car, it was flooded.

with loads of issues, but we've
avoided a Tsunami of potential problems,

and you've undone a wave of
previous people's bad decisions.

See what I did there?

It's genius.

Am I going to have a whole
day of damn bad jokes?

See?

Even you're doing it.

It's not bad, is it?

No, I just wanted to
celebrate how good this car is.

Yeah, I'm going to have to take
my hat off to you because ultimately,

not only did you see
past the problems,

but I'm not going to give you all the
credit though because this is, after all,

a 1973 Toyota Celica.

It is desirable.

Yes.

I mean, it's desirable on every corner of
this planet because when I bought this car,

it had a nasty aftermarket
summer roof put in the car.

I understand why people put
them in, but when you take them out,

the car is even better
because it's less noisy,

and I've got to say, my friend,

your fabrication work is.

damn fine work.

Yeah, but really?

Do you remember the
first time I drove this car,

it was all noise and no power.

Now it's all noise and power.

It's got beans, this car.

It's got beans.

That's what it's got.

It's absolutely fantastic.

I knew that when I drove
the car it had the original

engine, but it was well
past its sell-by date.

It seemed pretty knackered.

Yeah, it was pretty bad.

It's only when I took it apart,

investigated inside,

I realized how bad it was,

and of course, that
brought us to a junction.

We could have gone left,

could have gone right,

could have rebuilt it,
put an original one in,

but then you threw this
kind of modern curveball.

Yeah, it was the
correct thing to do.

The engine, it comes
with a six-speed gearbox,

which means that the
gearbox is now beautiful.

It's like a video game controller,

and it means that the car
is so much more drivable,

and it's going to live
on well into the future.

I'm thinking some
spaghetti bolognese tonight,

and a glass of wine.

That'd be lovely.

Oh, no, no, don't worry about it.

I'll get a movie.

Hey, listen, I've got to go.

I'll call you back later.

Worth it?

But the car won.

The car is actually a winner.

Whoever I sell this car to,

I can say it's won
every race it's entered.

That's just salesman talk.

Of course it is.

But it's not a lie.

You and I, we spend
ages with these cars,

and we actually get
quite intimate with them,

and a little bit attached.

They're like our babies, right?

They are our little babies,

yeah, of course.

Which means I'm invested
on who's going to end up

owning this Celica.

Good.

So who's our buyer?

Well, you know I said earlier,

I'm looking for a very
specific market of just one,

but the reason I asked you

to de-chrome the car and
paint the bumpers black,

both front and rear,

and put a roll cage
in the car last night,

is because I got a guy
on the phone called Frank.

He lives in the northeast.

of America, and he said,

here, wire me the money.

immediately, which he did,

full asking price, if we put a roll
cage in it and you de-chromed it.

So I sold our little Celica,

you ready?

Yeah.

To $12,000.

Oh, yeah!

That is absolutely fantastic.

So this car sold already?

It sold, it's going to

live on another life, and I got a funny
feeling the roll cage is an indication

of how it's going
to live its life.

I reckon it's going to
be a little track bay car,

and for that, I'm really happy.

So we don't own it anymore?

Not at the moment.

So this isn't our car?

No, I asked Frank if I could use his
car today and do a shakedown in it.

We are testing
Frank's car for him.

Do you know how Celica
started life on the side of the road?

And I'm convinced that if I.

didn't see that car,

it would live on now

as soup cans.

But, you know,

with a new engine
and a lick of paint,

it's going to have

a fantastic life in
the hands of Frank.

And guess what?

Me and Ant,

we had some profit.

And if you want to see more iconic cars
like this being turned around by me and Ant,

then join us again soon
on Wheel Of Dealers.

Tala!