16x12 - TR4 on the Floor

[bunniefuu]

Some cars come straight from
a Wheeler-dealer's fairytale.

I'm feeling fizzy!

And this TR4... GASPS ..is
a certified sleeping beauty.

The car has been asleep for 20 years.

Of course it's gonna need
a tonne of things doing to it.

So let's see if Anne's got what
it takes to kiss her back to life.

Do you know how this works, right?

You focus on the parts,
I'll focus on the work.

Now, there are two
humble little words that

will get any car buyer
rather excited, like me.

And they are BANFIND.

And they have got me
so excited this morning

because I've had a call from
a friend of mine called Don.

And he's told me he
may have found a unicorn.

One owner from New, 1964,

Triumph TR4 in British Racing Green.

And guess what?

He said, it's Ross Free.

Now, the market for these
cars is incredibly strong.

They are cars that have
always been sought after,

they're highly collectible,
particularly here

in California and being
in British Racing Green,

because who wouldn't want to
feel an English country gentleman

but with the Californian sun beating
down on the top of their heads?

So I know that this could
potentially be a really good car.

And I'm gonna be honest with you,

when Don told me the price
that he wants to get for it...

..I feel like there should
be police behind me.

I feel like I'm on my way to a
robbery, because he said it's $6,800.

That's around £5,000.

And for that money, a car
like this, one owner, Ross Free,

well, it simply doesn't exist.

And there is your unicorn.

There he is, my old pal.

What's up? You made it, buddy.

I did. How are you, Don?

Good to see you. Oh, so good to see you.

Yeah, it's been a while.
When you told me what you found,

I've been driving all the way here with a
stupid grin on my face and a fizzy feeling.

Are you feeling fizzy? I'm feeling
fizzy, because look what I'm looking at.

It's a proper slice of England
stuck here in the heat of California.

Super exciting. One owner car.

Lady gets it in her 20s with
her fiance, and it's totally original.

She drove it her entire life.

She puts it in storage 20 years ago.

It was fully serviced
when it went into storage.

And I just think you're a
good candidate for this car.

I know what you guys do.

Do I have to pay extra
for the dent in the door?

No, yeah, actually, you will have to.

I'm going to charge
you a little extra for that.

Top. Look at the top, Don.

That's the original top.
You want to see something cool?

Yeah. Check this out.

When have you seen that?
I've never seen it.

That's the original Triumph stamp.

It's in perfect condition
as well, isn't it?

The entire time it was in
storage, so it didn't, you know...

Buckle, crease. Go funky and crease.

Yeah, absolutely superb. Really cool.

It's nice and straight
round the back as well.

Is there any rot or rust in it?

None. Zero.

Unbelievable.
Quintessential California car.

There you go.

Stowaway.

And this comes over.

I'm already excited.

Isn't it beautiful? It is lovely.

Look at it. I love it.
I absolutely love it.

The dashboard looks in good order.

The dash pad on the top isn't cracked.

The carpets... They could probably either
be renewed or re-dyed, one or the other.

The seats, though, the seats, I
would just leave. I'd nourish them.

Right, shall we try and
tickle this old girl into life

and see if we can get her started?
Absolutely.

Oh!

Oh, no way, Don!

That's incredible.

Well, we got our work cut out
for us, so let's do this properly.

We're going to pour
the plugs, pour the

distributor cap, check
the points, check the carbs.

I've got some fresh petrol as well.

You got the plugs? Yep. I've got the plugs.

I can do the plugs. Don't worry.

There's a certain number of
little moves that you should do

before you turn over a car that
hasn't been turned over for years.

You shouldn't just jump
in it, hook a battery up to it

and turn the key because you
could cause all kinds of damage.

I've taken the distributor cap off.

And the reason is because in this
car, it's an old car, it's got points.

And if they sit for ages and years,
they can just close up and become stuck.

Old fuel can lose its
ability to properly burn

and can even cause internal
engine damage if used.

Now, the best thing to do is to take
any old petrol that's in the car out.

You don't know how
long it's been in the car

or what kind of condition
it's going to be in.

And put some fresh stuff in.

Right, it's got petrol in
it now, which is good.

Not that funky American jazz stuff.

Petrol. Petrol?
Petrol in our little British car.

So all the plugs are in?
Plugs are in, wires are on.

Let's check the 20-year-old oil here.

Ooh, yeah, look at that. Ooh.

Now... Not bad.

Now, if you're wondering why these
two old car dealers are sniffing the oil,

that's because we're trying to
sniff if it's got any petrol in the oil.

If it has, then we're in trouble.

I can't smell fuel in it, can you? No.

You need to make sure that the pressure
of oil is built back up in the engine,

otherwise you can
cause all kinds of damage.

And the way to do that is to remove
the coil lead, which Don's doing.

So there's no spark.

And then we'll just turn
the motor, get the oil going.

Ooh, that's nice and free, isn't it?

That looks really good.

One more.

OK.

Yeah, that's not bad at all, is it?

No, I checked the fuel lines.
It looks like the fuel's coming up.

What should we do? Should we
just put the lead on and go for it?

Yeah, I think...
I mean, it's moving really freely.

All right, fire it up.

Fire in a hole.

Oh, no way! No way!

Listen to that!

No way! Oh, my God! You are kidding me!

Seriously! Oh, my God!
There's no way. No way!

Well, listen, now we've
got the car running.

I need to take it for a
quick drive, do you mind?

Yeah, let's do it.

If you don't mind
lowering that down for me,

opening up the gate,
and let me get it out there.

This is just one of
those moments, isn't it?

Look at me.

I'm in a open-top British sports
car that's in British racing green.

I've got wire wheels,
a wooden dashboard in

front of me, this
period-correct steering wheel.

I've got a sumptuous leather interior.

I've got the roof folded back.

I've got the sun beating
down on the top of my head

and a windy Californian
road in front of me.

And I'm going to do all of
this with my sunglasses on.

Right, let's hit the road.

But, of course, none of
that is going to happen,

because this car has sat
around for the last 20 years,

and there's no way I'm going to
put this on an open piece of road.

Look at it.
It's shuddering as it goes down the road,

and that's because the tyres
have sat stationary for 20 years.

Plus the brakes, although they are
sort of working, they can pop at any time.

No, I just want to make sure
that it goes through all the gears,

which it does, and I want
to make sure it does that.

It turns, which it does,

and that is test-drive over.

It's good enough for me.

Let's go and shake Don's hand,
because this one's coming home.

Well, that was fast.

Yeah, I wasn't going to go very far in it.

Obviously, this car's
been sat up for 20 years,

so I don't know how good
the tyres are going to be,

and I'm certainly not
putting it on public roads.

And also, the brakes,
although they are working,

they could foul at any time,

and I think for safety's sake, I know,

and you would know for experience,

this is one hell of a car.

It's brilliant.

I can't believe you're
willing to let it go.

So how much do you want for it?

I want to get out of it.

It's 6,800 bucks. What a minute.

I can't believe you said that.

It's so good, and you're
so good to me for doing this.

Absolutely, I want it.

Thank you. You are my hero,

and I've just bought myself a Triumph TR4.

A one-owner California TR4.

Correct.

Oh, whoa, hang on a second,
what's going on in here?

I'm so pleased you're here.

I need you to go and do
a little parts run for me.

I'm going to need a fresh clutch, I'm
going to need hoses, clamps, clamps.

I'm sorry, I'm just going
to have to interrupt there.

Is this where I'm in some sort of parallel
universe where our roles have swapped?

You do know how this works, right?

Well, I've done some of
the work on this car already,

and I just need you to
go and do a parts run.

Don't do any work on the car.
This is how it works.

You get the parts, I get
the... This is amazing.

Do you like it?

Are you kidding me?
It's a British Racing Green TR4?

It's almost like you snuck into my bedroom,

looked at my Christmas
card list, and you're missing

your red coat, white
beard, but you've got this bit.

Oh, yeah, well, trust me.

This car is a Californian car.

It's been stored in a
garage for the last 20 years,

and in its lifetime, it's never
been outside in the rain.

Are you sure this car hasn't
been driven in 20 years?

Because that is contact damage.

This is typical hanger rash
that you get in everyday garages.

Yeah, it's got this kind
of charming patina,

the fact it's a British
Racing Green TR4 helps it.

Like, it feels kind of
proper, harder in this car.

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

The dent doesn't worry
me, it's that little crease there.

It's the metal stretched
right on that edge,

and then there's some
contact damage there.

I mean, the fact that we
have to tackle it, I reckon, take

the door card off, I'll try
and attack it from behind.

It doesn't work.

I mean, let's be honest, it's
a British Racing Green TR4.

There must be a second-hand door out there.

In fact, I know a man who can help me,

and he is five and a half
thousand miles in that direction.

Oh, in the UK?

In the UK, yeah.

All right, does she drive?

Yeah, she runs.

I spent ages getting
this car started with Don,

the guy that got the
car off, and yes, we got it

running, and I drove it
20 yards down the road.

Give me some specifics.

What am I actually doing on this car?

Well, I know that this
car is going to need things

like, you know, the carburetors going
through the braking system, the fuel system,

but I think we could do some nice
little 21st century upgrades as well,

like deleting the generator
and going for an alternator,

plus then we could go
negative earth on the battery.

Just imagine the car has
been asleep for 20 years.

Of course it's going to need
a tonne of things doing to it.

We just don't know what it is,

but you're going to find it
when you start to unveil it.

So what you're basically saying is,

suck it and see.

Suck it and see.

But it depends how much you paid for it.

How much could you sell this car for today

if we put it on a boat
and shipped it to England?

This car in the UK?

Yeah.

20 grand.

20 grand, blimey.

Pounds.

Pounds, yeah.

What if I told you I bought us this car.

for £5,000, $6,800?

I would not believe you.

Well, I did.

Well, I have to say, show me the receipt.

Listen, trust me, I'm good at my job.

No, I can't trust you, show me the receipt.

I'm really good at my job.

You paid five grand
for a British Racing

Green 64 TR4 that was
one owner with no rust?

Yes.

Some heroes wear capes.

I wear a black shirt
with a T-shirt underneath.

Well, right now then,
I don't have a problem

because, ultimately,
there's loads of budget left

to throw money at the problems
if and when they come up.

In fact, just leave me
on a journey of discovery

and I'll just send you
a list of what I need.

I like that.

Journey of discovery.

Well, there's the car.

Go discover.

One cup of tea.

Did you really pay five grand for this?

Five grand, $6,800, huh?

Genius.

Genius?

It's friggin' criminal.

You know, Triumph only
made the TR4 for five years

from 1961 to 1965, knocking
out around 40,000 cars.

They then replaced it
with a very similar-looking

TR4A and added
independent rear suspension.

But this car, there's
something I just love about it.

We forget for a second
the price that Mike paid.

Criminal.

This is a really good, honest,

honourable version of a 64 TR4.

And there's some other
good things going for it.

Number one, it's a California
car and it's really dry here.

Number two, it's been kept
in a garage for 20 years.

This exact same car in the
UK where it's nice and rainy

would absolutely mean I'd
need both of those two welders

to fix it because it
would be littered with rust.

But instead of rust, it's actually
got this nice, thin layer of oil over it.

And what that's done is
the oils protected the car.

It's kept it kind of honest.

Any car that's been
sitting idle for as long

as this one has, even
in a garage in California,

will most likely have some
dried-up seals and hoses.

Not to mention, you have to wonder
why it was left parked in the first place.

So going through the
engine is a judicious move

to get this Brit sports
car back on the tarmac.

A TR4A beat Ferrari at Daytona.

Can you imagine that?

A British sports car company
handing it back to Enzo.

They're also really popular today.

If you go to race
weekends, hillclimb, sprints,

you'll see a number of TR4s.

Why?

Because they're really good cars.

And the heart of this great
car is, of course, this engine.

2.1 litre, overhead valve,
twin SUs, 100 horsepower.

And it is relatively straightforward.

In fact, this is basically
tractor technology.

Along with the engine, the
gearbox will also have to come out.

It's just a few more
bolts, and at this point,

there's certainly no
need to leave it in.

So I've been dragging
engines out of cars for years,

and you always get that
monumental sense of achievement.

On top of the dried-out seals and hoses,

it's probably a good idea to at
least inspect the major components,

like the clutch and flywheel, while
I've got the engine and gearbox out.

It's pretty grimy in there.

Yeah, that clutch has seen better days.

Now, it might seem kind of odd, but
actually, I kind of like cleaning engines.

This hands-on process
is also quite intimate.

You get to learn every single
square inch of your engine.

I'm so pleased with how
the engines come out.

I must admit, it took way
longer than I expected.

It was one of those jobs I
just suddenly got in the zone,

looked outside the door and
then realised it was night-time.

But she is spectacular.

Now, I kind of like this decade-old patina.

It gives the engine a certain charm.

But I have made a
decision to paint the block.

I'm going to give it a
nice lick of satin black.

But before I get my brushes out,

I'm going to have to
lose some of the gubbins.

Now, these carbs are Zenith Strombergs.

They're part of the reason
why this engine is so reliable.

Now, these don't need a rebuild.

In fact, Mike says they ran really nicely.

But while they're off the car,

I think I'm going to swap out a
few seals, which I'll tackle later.

Now, one of the most
interesting things about this engine

is actually what's going on inside
here, the bit that you can't see.

And that's because each cylinder, and
there's four of them, has a removable liner.

So instead of casting
a block out of solid

steel and then machining
four cylinders into it,

you still have four cavities,

but each cavity is taken up with a sleeve.

And it's inside that
sleeve the piston operates.

Now, the sleeves themselves
are actually just a hand-pressed fit.

What that means is race teams
could easily swap them out,

but bigger sleeves in bigger pistons increase
the cubic capacity in very short order.

And a standard motor
company adopted the sleeve

idea for mass-produced,
low-cost engines,

because what that meant
is that they could produce

a one-off engine block
and then make changes

just by adding different
sleeves and different pistons.

And what that also meant is that home
builders could make upgrades as well.

Get your standard engine, upgrade the
pistons and give your engine more power.

As I remove components to isolate
the block and get it ready for paint,

I'm able to closely inspect parts
and decide what needs replacing

and what's suitable to
simply clean and reinstall.

Most elements of the cooling
system are inexpensive enough

that it will make sense to
replace and start afresh.

Now, I'm not actually going to be
separating the head off the block.

Mike didn't report any head gasket issues.

And actually, there is zero
evidence of any head gasket issues.

So I'm not going to even
open up that can of worms.

I've got plenty of work to do already.

It's amazing what a coat of paint can do.

And it's hard to believe that this
started out its life as a tractor engine.

Now, as a restorer, this is probably
my favorite part of any restoration.

All my parts are laid
out, polished, painted

and ready to refit.

The TR4 motor is a
real piece of utilitarian art.

No superfluous gadgetry
that you'd find on a new car,

just real old school
mechanical reliability.

From its double timing
chain to its simple spring

tensioners, this engine
is a true workhorse.

Now, before I refit the sump,

the reason I'm here in
the first place is here,

the rear mainsail.

I've done a ton of rear mainsails.

And normally, you just
take the gearbox off,

lose the clutch and the
flywheel to get access to it.

But on this engine,
unfortunately, you have to leave

the sump off because I'm
releasing this main cap here.

Now, check this out.

See, this set up here, this is
actually called a scroll seal.

There's no rubber.

It's actually metal to metal contact.

This can last for many years,

but there is a new option which
incorporates some new technology.

Now, it still has a pair of outer
shells, just like the original,

but it has this extra
layer here in the middle.

It's kind of a bit more like a
conventional rear mainsail.

See, a normal mainsail is a complete
circle and you would tap it onto the crank.

But this one has to be wrapped around
the crank because of the way it's designed.

Now, I'm lucky that this
aftermarket kit exists.

Otherwise, the crank would probably
have to come out for machining.

Although, there are some purists out there

that like doing that
extra step to keep it stock.

What are you doing?

You turned into some
sort of ninja overnight.

Of course I'm a ninja.

Come on, let's have a look
at what you've been doing.

How's a man of your frame
managed to sneak up on me?

Gravity.

What? I didn't think it'd make sense.

It's gravity, isn't it?

I've just put a lot of pressure
down on these quiet feet of mine.

That looks like you've done quite
a lot of work in this engine bay.

It looks fantastic.

Joe, it's actually really solid

and, you know, with a massive bonnet
open, it was actually crazy to take out.

Well, that doesn't look
like it was too much

hard work, where this
was blood, sweat and tears.

Look at that.

Colour matched.

British racing green to this car.

Oh, right.

So I can give this a little bit of
a tickle and make it look new.

Yes, so how's the engine getting on?

Well, I'm in the middle of it now, you
see, over here, and I hope you don't mind,

but I decided to paint the block black.

I think that's a good idea,

because this is more like
preservation rather than restoration,

because we need to preserve.

as much of the originality
of this car as possible,

which leads me on to my next
big worry, which is this door skin.

I've got to go back to England anyway.

Why don't I go and see one of our friends,

pick up a door skin whilst I'm there,

I can get us biscuits rather than cookies,

I can get us teabags rather
than coffee or iced tea.

Huh? What do you think?

I felt like it was a bribe, but good one.

Sold.

Right, leave it with me.

Oh, is that it, Ian?

That's it. Good luck.

Right, next up is my
more modern water pump,

which is this one here.

Now, if you notice on this one, there's
six vanes and they're all at an angle.

See, this base here, this is
enough to create centrifugal forces

as it's spinning in line with the engine
and that allows pressure within the system.

This alone, this tiny little space,

pressurizes and feeds
coolant to the entire engine.

This is a nice little upgrade.

An efficient water pump
helps the car run cooler,

which can not only prolong
engine life, but it can also

help with power and overall
engine and fuel efficiency.

Once we get the new gaskets
on the thermostat housing,

the entire engine side of the cooling
system will now be properly sealed.

Having a lightened
flywheel allows the engine.

to rev up quicker and will give
our car a more spirited drive.

Remember, this is a TR4,
a car with racing heritage.

You can imagine, you want to attack

all those country lanes, those curves,
using the gears like a racing driver.

With the new flywheel in place,

I'm now gonna add a new clutch.

Finally, I fit a now super clean gearbox
and then I'm ready to refit the engine.

Our little Triumph TR4 has
been cocooned in the garage

for decades, which is good
if you put your car away.

But unfortunately, the little
TR4 has suffered the walk of life.

It's had step ladders
rattled down the side of it,

buckets of paint, and it's chipped
and marked the car all over.

But in one of the doors,
there's a nasty dent.

Now, I know Anken pulled the dent out.

It's well within his capabilities,

but the actual door
skin has been stretched.

And I think if we was to
pull the dent out and repair

it, it would always show
because it's a flat panel.

I think the easiest way to help him
out is to get a whole new door skin.

So Martin, always a pleasure to see you.

Has it been here? Busy?

Yeah, it's been very busy.

Excellent, right.

Well, I'm hoping you can help me out.

I spoke to you on the phone.

I need help with a body panel
and I see you do all kinds here.

Mini, Triumph, m*dget, MGB.

So I need a door skin for a Triumph
TR4 and I just grabbed one from stores.

You can't grab them from here.

These are our master samples.

So these are the crown jewels of BMH.

Really?

So these are like the
original master sample.

If these are lost,
they're lost, aren't they?

Yeah, you can't get the original ones back.

So have you got a TR4
door skin I can have a look at?

Haven't we got a TR6 door?

Right, so what's the difference
then between a TR4 and a TR6 door?

It's very small.

It's a modification of the door lock, Mike.

Basically, you have
to fill it on the TR6

and then move it to
where it is on the TR4.

Basically, the door
skin is exactly the same.

Well, can I just grab a door skin off you?

You can, but we have
to go into manufacturing.

Really?

Yeah.

Sounds great.

Martin, this never fails to impress me when
I see these gigantic machines that work.

So what am I looking at here?

Well, you're looking at a 400 ton press,

so 200 baby elephants coming down
to press out a mini screen surround.

So at the moment, it's tooled
up to do mini screen surrounds.

Yeah.

But these dies inside the machine,

you can change them over.

Yeah, so we've got all the original
press dies to press out the TR6 door skin.

That's brilliant.

So what happens after this?

After the screens are printed out, or the
door skins print out, what happens next?

So they need to go then into the clipping
tool to trim off all that excess metal.

So there's another machine after this?

Yeah, through.

You've got to show me.

Martin, these machines and
these tools, are they original?

Yeah, all original, all from
the factory back in the day.

Really?

Yeah.

Brilliant, isn't it?

It's amazing.

And this is the clipping tool?

This is the clipping tool.

So we've got 450 ton press,
using about roughly 300 tons of that

to come down and clip off all the
excess material to get a finished product.

It is fantastic.

Pressing and cutting are
only part of the process.

Martin gave me a
door skin, but it still

needs a bit of work
before I can take it home.

Every panel, when it gets
moved around, inevitably,

it's going to suffer a little
Nick or a little ding in it.

And because they've got
very strict quality control here,

this is where this chap comes in.

It's Martin.

Now Martin is going to inspect our panel.

So Martin, what are you doing here?

Wiping this over to see if
there's any damage on it.

As you can see, we've got a
dent in the middle there, look.

So I don't want to go back
with a dent on the door?

Well, we can soon rectify that.

Good.

And I'll show you how we do that.

We've got a block and a spoon.

So that goes underneath.

Yeah.

And that goes on top.

That's right.

So let's have a look how you do this.

What we do is we put the block underneath,

and then we just...

Now that looks great.

So can I have a go?

Do you mind if I have a go?

You certainly can, Mike.

Right, well, let's get these gloves on.

Stand aside, young man.

Watch the master at work here.

You need to find the block, Mike.

So you need to find a thing.

That's it.

I've got a funny feeling, Martin.

You're getting a bit worried.

You might be losing your job here,
because that's not a bad job there, is it?

It's not too bad, Mike.

Who would have thought with
just these two little things here,

you know, you can take
a dent out of a panel?

It's absolutely brilliant.

So what do we have to do next?

Now we're going to
file it with a curved file.

With that curved one?

That one there, Mike.

Yeah, that's it.

It's got a big curve to it, hasn't it?

Why do you need to file it?

To take the high spots off
where we've spooned it up.

Right, okay.

This is going to be good.

Watch this.

Just to level everything up, basically.

That looks absolutely fantastic.

Is that it?

No, we need to finish
it off with the air sander.

What we do is...

There you go, Mike.

One TR6 door panel.

That's fantastic.

Well, it did have a dent on it before,

and it was obvious, and now it hasn't.

So is it ready for me to take away?

No, afraid not, Mike.

It's got to go to the paint shop now.

Painted black, and then
you can take it from there.

Perfect, thanks, Martin.

No worries.

Well, what a fascinating
insight to what they do here

to keep these old classic
cars alive with new parts.

They're rather confusingly.

I'm heading back to America
with a door skin for a Triumph TR6,

and has got to adjust these
locks and then fit it to our TR4,

but I know he's well capable of doing that.

Now, do you reckon this would fit
in an overhead bin on an airplane?

Maybe I should wrap it and disguise it.

Electrics, or electricory,
as some people like to call it,

the very thought of it
puts a lot of people off,

especially when you're considering
changing the entire polarity of a car

from positive earth to the far
more common negative earth.

But actually, it's really not that bad.

Now, this is the original
generator of our TR4,

and this is an old alternator.

Now, what's interesting is that no TR4 in
history was ever fitted with an alternator.

They were all fitted with generators,

but there are fundamental
similarities between the two.

Now, both the generator and
the alternator create electricity.

It's exactly the same type of electricity.

One's electricity is not better
than the other one's electricity.

It's just the way they go
about it that's different.

Now, they both create
alternating current, AC.

Now, in order to convert
AC to DC that the car needs,

a generator uses this, an
external voltage regulator,

whereas an alternator actually
has the regulator built inside the unit.

Now, both have a stator and a rotor in that
one bit stationary and one bit rotates,

but this is the important
difference between the two.

Now, on the generator, the heavy
generator windings are on the rotor,

the bit that moves, whereas
the stator, the stationary

bit, the magnets are
here around the outside.

Whereas on the
alternator, if I take it apart,

the heavy windings
are the static bit there on

the outside, while the
magnets are in the middle.

They're on the rotor, the bit that rotates,

which means the alternator
spins with much less

effort, because the bit
that's moving is lighter.

Now, on the alternator, because
the windings are on the outside,

it actually creates more
room, so you can cram more in,

making it more efficient.

And the current that's produced is taken
from the bit that isn't spinning around,

which means it's far more simple.

Now, to sum it up, generators are
much less efficient at producing current.

In fact, they're so bad
that if the cars sat there

idling, they might not
produce any current at all.

I mean, they both work
really well at 4,000 RPMs,

but at least an alternator can still
produce current at low revolutions.

And that really is the main
reason why I'm swapping it out.

Now, another big difference is that
alternators are always negative ground,

whereas our TR4 at the moment with
its generator system is positive ground.

So I'm going to have to
swap over the polarity,

which sounds like a big
deal, but it's really not.

Now, I have got hold of
a brand new alternator,

and the great thing
about this is it slots

straight in the space
where the generator was.

Nice and simple.

British automotive electrical
systems have gotten their

fair share of ribbing from
gear heads the world over,

and I can't say with a straight
face that they don't deserve it.

See? It only takes a moment,
and it's a nice upgrade.

Once the alternator is
loosely in, I can attach the belt,

apply tension to it by
rotating the alternator,

and secure both in place by
tightening the alternator bolts.

Right, alternator in.

Now for some wiring.

Right, there's now a few little
alterations I have to make to the loom.

First of all, that remote
voltage regulator,

that's this bundle of wires here.

I need to bypass that because, of course,

the new alternator has
a regulator built inside.

And then I've got the
amp meter on the dash.

I've got to take it out,
swap the two wires over.

Same with the ignition coil,
swap those two wires over.

Of course, plumb in and
wire in a plug for the alternator,

and then change the
polarity on the battery,

positive for positive and
negative for negative.

Starting with the voltage regulator wires,

I'm joining these two for the indicator,
from the stalk to the indicator bulbs.

Then this bundle of three joins the
power and amp meter wire to the alternator.

Luckily, when changing a car's polarity,

you don't need to remove any of the wires.

You can pretty much reuse everything.

Solder a few bits together here and there.

Applying some heat shrink to shield
the conductors is all part of the job.

The amp meter on the dash is
as easy as swapping the two wires.

Now we have to prepare the
wiring for the new alternator.

First, we cut off the original
connectors and fit new ones,

soldering them on to
ensure a solid connection.

Then fit the connected wires in housing

that will be plugged
into the back of the

alternator, to change
the polarity on the battery.

All I've got to do is
put the battery in back

to front with the
terminals facing forward,

positive to positive, negative to negative.

If anything over 13 volts is good,
it means the alternator's charging,

even at these low idle revs
with the car sat on the ramp.

Way better than any generator.

Now, Mike has done me half a favour.

He did go and get me a door skin.

Unfortunately, though, he got
me a door skin off the wrong car.

The skin he got me is off a TR6.

But all is not lost, because, essentially,

the TR4 and the TR6
doors are exactly the same.

I do have to make some
slight modifications later.

This is the major difference
between the TR4 and the TR6 door,

so I'm going to use this later as a
template to modify and make the right hole.

What they do back in the day in the factory
is the skin's slightly longer with returns

that get crimped on to trap the
skin onto the internal structure.

So I had to get creative.

To undo this, I'm using a set of mole grips

with sharp jaws welded onto the end.

After comparing the TR4 and TR6 door skins,

I can see the main difference
is the hole size for the handle.

After measuring these up, I can
make the necessary modifications.

What I've actually done is
I've welded up the old TR6 hole,

which is slightly further forward, made
a bigger hole here for my TR4 handle,

and then the mounting
hole to make sure it fits.

Now, as well as clamping the
skin's edge around the internals,

I'm also adding spot welds to
make sure it's going nowhere.

I'm not going to fully fit the door
up just yet, but I am going to hang it,

just to make sure all
my shut lines are perfect.

Always take your time when
closing a door for the first time.

You know what?
That actually looks really good.

I hate to admit it, I think
Mike might have been right.

When Don told me about this
TR4, one owner from New, 1964,

I was at first a little nervous.

It's shuddering as it goes down a rope,

but at that price, I've
been a fool to let it go.

Six thousand, eight hundred dollars.

Show me the receipt.

And it's got a road safe again.

Some new technology.

They make panels for all kinds of cars.

When I went back to the UK to
make sure she looked her finest.

Watch the master at work here.

Now she's ready to be taken out
and driven exactly as she used to be.

So our TR4 costs six
thousand, eight hundred dollars.

The oil filter and engine seal
kit was four hundred and twenty.

Door skin all the way
from the UK and the paint,

one thousand, three
hundred and forty two.

Water pump kits and
coolant, one hundred and fifty.

Clutch and flywheel,
six hundred and ninety.

Alternator and wiring,
three hundred and nineteen.

Tune up parts, four
hundred and eighty four.

New wheels, two thousand, one hundred.

Giving us a grand total of twelve
thousand, three hundred and five dollars.

Or nine thousand, four hundred pounds.

And all done in forty man hours.

That was two Brits on an open
bit of road that's just wonderful.

Next to a lake in a little
TR4 is just epic, isn't it?

What I really love about this
car is it's not a museum piece.

Yeah.

It's a driver's car, it's usable.

Exactly.

And that's the good thing about this car.

This is a good daily driver.

Somebody can jump
in, rock up to a car show.

Doesn't mind about the odd
chip, dent Mark on it whatsoever.

Not precious about it.

They just want a good usable classic.

This car's perfections
lay within its imperfections.

Oh, seriously?

Yeah.

A t-shirt.

It is a t-shirt.

That is so poetic.

I like it.

Are you stealing it?

I am having that.

Why on earth did I put
you on that side of the car?

I think it's really nice
that I get to drive.

I mean, very, very rare that
you drive most of the cars.

Yeah, because I'm driving
and because you've done

the work and I need
to see what it feels like.

Now, from a mechanic's
perspective, what I

really love is not only
was this car locked up,

cocooned, but actually they made the effort
to go and turn it over, maybe not again.

Jim, that's a really good thing.

Sometimes when you're restoring a
car, it can sit in the garage for years.

You can take the engine out,
leave it on the workshop floor.

But, you know, it's always
best to turn that engine over.

Maybe take your spark
plugs out, drop some diesel.

Even if it's a petrol
car, drop a little

thimble of diesel down
each of the cylinders

and just go out there and
turn it over once in a while

with a spanner, just to
keep it all lubricated and free.

And that's exactly what the
previous owner done with this.

Yeah, it's made my job easy.

Can you imagine having to tackle
this field with a seized engine?

It would have been a nightmare.

Well, then I would probably
have walked away because...

No, for 6.8 you'd have still bought it.

I would have still bought it, yeah.

This engine's got some grump.

When you think originally this
engine was using a tractor...

It's had so much work on the engine.

In fact, the whole engine
bay's had tons of work.

Front and rear seals,
you know, new oil pump.

Yeah, and then gave
it a little bit of a tickle,

cleaned the engine up,
painted the engine block by hand.

You know, it was the matching
the paint and all that stuff.

That's down to me.

Yeah, but before putting it all
back in, after all that hard work,

cleaning out the engine
bay, matching the engine

bay, so it's all
beautifully British racing.

Again, I'm just saying, but I did that.

I did that stuff.

That stuff wouldn't happen without
me being involved in the teamwork.

That's what me and you bring.

We bring this magic, didn't we?

So I get the old cars, I bring them to you,

you're like the magician
and you do your stuff under

the bonnet, but I'm like
your magician's assistant.

The magic is out there when I'm grinding,

finding all these cars,
finding all these parts.

I know that I've got a great
magician back at the workshop, you,

but really it comes down to
that rabbit in the hat moment.

All right, so you're like Magic Mike.

Nobody wants to see me as Magic Mike.

Nobody wants to see that.

No, you'll never eat again.

Now, dare I say, that
is an absolute triumph.

Oh, God, it's only a matter
of time before you use that.

Well, it is, look at it.

The engine bay is now presentable

before it looked like it had
been in a barn for decades,

but you've done a crazy job.

Yeah, it looks really fit for purpose now.

If any potential bar's going to
open it, they're going to open it

and they're going to
see a car that's properly

prepared, properly presented,
but not over-restored.

Yeah, and that colour
matching, all down to me.

Is that science or is it luck?

Oh, no, it's not.

It's just getting a paint code.

That's all it was, just
getting a paint code.

Those windy roads are calling.

I can hear some whining,
not some windy roads.

Right, hit it, sunshine.

Come on in, Mr Wheeler dealer.

Talk to me about the money.

OK, well, we're in a
good position with this

car because, obviously,
we bought it cheap.

You've done some astonishing work to it.

And I think this is a really strong market

because we're not looking for
somebody that wants a Trader Queen.

We want somebody that wants
a, if you dare I say... A driver's car.

No, a perfect, imperfect car.

I knew you'd steal that.

Of course I'm going to steal it.

And that's exactly what we're looking for.

That person that wants to
rock up at a car show and is not

precious about the fact he's
got the odd dental chip on it.

See this chap behind me?

It's called James.

He's from England and
he's come to see my TR4.

Now, really, I want to tell
James to pack his bags

and leave my workshop
and put that back in

the garage because I
absolutely love that car.

So let's see if I can put a deal together.

Right then, James.

So you like it?

It's... I love it, mate.

Your face really tells
me that you love this car.

You've got that.

I like this car.

I think I like it a lot.

Uh, why do you want one?

You know, I've always wanted a classic

and this especially,
it's the same age as

me and it's in... it's
British racing green.

So it's perfect.

It's perfect for you, yeah.

And you live out here in California now?

I do, down in San Diego.

San Diego, so this
is the perfect car to

cruise in the Californian
sun with a roof off.

Exactly, yeah.

I'm sort of really jealous
and envious of you.

So here's the price.

I need, I'll put it in English
money for us, £12,700 or $16,500.

What'd you say?

Yes, please.

Yes?

Lovely, you just bought
yourself a Triumph TR4.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Oh, proper jealous now.

Thought I really wish it was me
driving this car back to San Diego.

But James is going to have
great fun behind the wheel

and he's going to enjoy
it for the next 20 years

rather than it go into storage
for another couple of decades.

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

join us again soon on Wheel of Dealers.

Tell up.