17x02 - TVR Griffith

[bunniefuu]

We take a gamble on a hairy-chested British
Bruiser that has the power to please.

How was it? Fast. It's a quick car.

But this TVR may not
be exactly as it seems.

Okay, well that's a bit weird because
it's badged to 430, it should be a 4-litre.

We need to delve deep
and unpick the Griffith past.

You can investigate that, can you?

Yeah, yeah, okay.

Because it might have a sportier engine.

And, at the end of that journey, will
we unleash that glorious V8 grudge?

How good is this?

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

I'm Mike Brewer, and I've been buying
and selling cars for nearly 40 years.

It's rattling, it's noisy,
it's utterly wonderful.

Now, I'm set up shop in Britain's
motor-inherited heartland, near Oxford.

Oh God, stop smiling.

Along with ex-Formula One
mechanic, Mark Elvis Priestley.

Come on, hurry up.

Together, we're going to buy.

I love these, mate, so do I.

And fix up.

You alright down there, eh mate?

Yeah, I'm fine.

The most iconic and
exciting cars on the market.

Why is it on a trailer?

It hasn't run for 30 years.

30 years?

With Elvis' engineering skill.

Oh my goodness, what a mess.

And my car-dealing clout.

I think you're being a
bit cheeky with your price.

We should be able to
make ourselves a tiny profit.

Another happy customer, mate.

Another happy customer.

Hey mate, found us anything nice?

I think I may have found a TVR Griffith.

You know, I've been
looking for one for a while.

Yeah.

Well, it's a 1990s four-litre model.

It's just 19 grand.

It's the middle of winter and you
want to go and buy a convertible?

Do you know what?

We can use that to our favour.

See, when the coats are on and
the roof's up, the prices are low.

So it's a good time to buy a convertible.

Sit it out and wait for
the old sun to come out.

Once the roof comes down, prices go up.

Plus, there's something
else about this car.

I don't know what it is.

Whether it's the registration plate, whether
it's the look, I kind of recognise it.

Yeah.

Well, listen mate, I mean,
I've learnt to trust your instincts.

You are normally right on this sort
of thing, so I mean, I say go for it.

There's not going to be
a queue of people waiting

to buy a car like that
at this time of year.

So go and have a look.

Lovely.

From a small factory in Blackpool,
TVR spent 60 years producing

some of the fastest, most distinctive
and loudest cars on the road.

TVR closed in 2006 and although the
brand name lives on as a new company,

the most effective TVR in the
stable has always been the Griffith.

Launched at the 1990 Birmingham Motor Show,
the Griffith proved such an instant hit.

A car was sold every eight
minutes for the duration of the event.

It was offered as a five litre,
a rare 4.3 and a four litre V8.

That's the car I'm off to go and see now.

Now the guy that's selling it says
it comes with a really good history.

It's got a story to tell.

He's asking a hefty price for it, so
it's a bit of a gamble to go and see it,

but it's freezing cold, it's slippery
underfoot, the roads are covered in mud.

Who on earth wants to go and
buy a TVR rear wall drive high

performance sports car that's a
convertible in the dead of winter?

Nobody.

Except for me.

So hopefully there's a deal to be had.

But I've got a challenge ahead of me.

The owner, Russell, is an Essex car dealer,
so I know he'll drive a hard bargain.

I could spend hours in a place
like this, I absolutely love it.

And look, we've got a Ford F-150
pickup truck, an A46 BMW, it's brilliant.

Ah, you Russell?

I am Russell.

Russell, how are you, dear boy?

Yeah, I'm okay, how are you?

I love your car sight.

What a cracking little
place, you've got some nice

stock as well, a little Porsche
boxer over there, VR6.

Yeah.

Where's the TVR?

She's hidden away for you.

Is she?

Yeah.

Can I see it?

Yeah, come on, let's go and have a look.

Lovely.

There she is.

That is lovely.

Any time we can get it out?

Yeah, of course we can.

Fantastic.

Listen to that, the
unmistakable sound of a TVR.

Russell, I love it.

That sound, just incredible, isn't it?

It is that TVR sound, isn't it?

It sounded glorious.

It sounded phenomenal.

Oh, it's fantastic, that V8.

It looks scarily familiar, this car.

What's the story behind it, then?

Well, this was kept by TVR
as their own works driver,

their race driver's own
car, up until about 2002.

Do you know, I think this
was the press car, and I

may have reviewed this
car when it was brand new.

Wow!

Yeah.

What's the chances of that?

There was a couple of little
things when you pulled it out,

I mean, it's lovely, don't
get me wrong, the sound of it.

Screen is blown, the lemon.

Yeah, the lemonade's gone.

There's a few blemishes in the paintwork.

There are some marks
around it, but it's part

of the history of the
car, Mike, you know.

It's Tina, isn't it?

It is.

Any chance I can have a look at the engine?

Of course there is, mate.

Underneath here should be that Rover V8.

It should be a 4-litre.

It comes back, doesn't it?

Oh, it goes up that way, that's right.

Okay, well, that's a bit weird,
because it's badged 430, not 400.

It should be the Rover
4-litre, shouldn't it?

It should be, yes.

Quite common though, Mike, people
stuck badges on things to make it

look like they've got a bigger
model than what they actually owned.

Is it good? Do you know if it runs fine?

Yeah, oh, no, no, she's fine, Mike.

All runs smooth, starts on the button.

So pretty leak-free, I mean, I can
see the water pump is not leaking.

Yeah, she is very dry, yeah.

Clutch is good.

Very heavy, but then they
always were, like driving a truck.

If you go in any long distance, make
sure you've got breakdown cover.

And that was from Noob.

Right.

That's not right, is it?

What's that, Mike?

That dashboard, shouldn't it be walnut?

No, they were walnut originally, but
a lot of people changed them, Mike.

It was a common, common
thing, because the walnut lifted.

All right, well, the
interior's all there, is it?

It's all complete, yeah.

It's not ripped or torn, it's all right.

Okay, nice one.

Well, listen, I come to see
a TVR and you've seen one.

Now I need to drive a TVR.

Go on, mate, go and have fun in it.

You'll love it, you really will.

Oh, yes!

I'm going to take it
nice and gently, just

to begin with, because
these are so hardcore.

Many of these cars have been put into
ditches, and that's what makes them rare.

Handling-wise, this car
actually feels really tight.

It's very pointy, very
direct, the steering's good.

It's a purely analogue car.

There is no computer, technical
devices, no ABS braking.

To keep me on the straight and
narrow, you just have to have respect,

and you have to be
disciplined when you drive one.

Right, here we go, open
bit of road, nice and safe.

Let's see what I've
got under my right foot.

Oh, yes! Oh, yes!

Oh, we've got oodles and oodles of power.

There's so much power, that's ridiculous.

This car, technically, should be a 400,
which is a 4-litre with 240 horsepower,

but I can feel it's really
peppy, it's really torquey,

so possibly that 430 that's
stamped on the engine

means it's the 4.3, and if it
is, it's got 280 horsepower,

and that's more like it.

So, do I like this TVR Griffith?

Of course.

I love it, but not the price.

Russell's asking £19,000 for it.

I think if the sun was
shining, I think he would

get it, but at the moment,
it needs too much work.

There's money that has to be spent on this
vehicle to get it in tip-top condition.

I think it's worth somewhere
around the £16,000, maybe £16,500.

Anywhere around there, I'd be delighted,

because this is a lovely car.

LAUGHTER.

All right, Mike, how was it?

Fast. It's a quick car.

It is quick, yeah.

Yeah, I really feel that
this car's got some guts.

Yeah, it does want to get down the road.

There's a few problems with
the car that I do want to address.

All right, OK.

But I do want to point out,
I feel like this car should

come back to me after I
got a bit of history with it.

I feel a butt coming, Mike.

There is a butt coming on. Sorry, Russ.

The butt is...

I'll just be honest with you, Russ,

I think you're being a bit
cheeky with your price at £19,000.

It's a lot of money for this.

I don't expect to sell it
this time of year, to be fair.

Be it summer, when everyone wants a toy,

you know, I think I'm fair then,

but I don't get many lunatics, except you,

coming to buy a car
like this this time of year.

And having said that, I do need the space,

because something like this
does need to be kept inside.

Yeah, so what is the
very, very best you can do?

I don't want to do that merry
dance backwards and forwards.

I just want a price that I'm happy with.

We're both in the real
world here, aren't we?

I'm going to give you one price here, Mike.

Yeah?

And you'll either take it or you won't.

Go for it.

And I'm 90% sure you're going to take it.

OK, I like your confidence.

£15,000.

Done, sold, it's mine, yes?

That is fantastic.

I thought you might say that.

Oh, Russ.

You've bought a cheek car, Mike.

I have bought a cheek.

That is fantastic.

What a deal. Thank you so much.

I'm over the moon with that.

No problem, Mike, yeah.

And I just bought myself a TVR Griffith.

Lovely.

I mean, seriously, you're awful.

Honestly, I'm going to have to pick it up.

I still can't get my head around it.

I never, ever thought I was going
to get four grand off the asking price.

What a generous, generous deal that was.

We've got a really good
head start in this car now,

but I've got to say, all of that
could evaporate really quickly

when I start to think
about the jobs in hand.

But at the end of the day,

I know that we can turn this car
around and we can deliver a tasty profit.

Get somebody sat in
this chair, pointing this car

down the road like I am
and just get them to do this.

LAUGHTER.

And it's sold as simple as that.

So, I'm happy, but now I've got
to get this TVR past Wiley Elvis,

who has a habit of finding
fault with my purchases,

however much fun they are.

The TVR Griffith is a British old-school
V8 legend with a solid fan base.

This one is a little
rough around the edges,

but it's loud, fast and now,
thankfully, back at the workshop.

Just fixing a few foibles
will boost the 15 grand I paid,

but selling it in the
summer rather than the

winter is a big plan that
will have money on top.

I'm keen to see if Elvis agrees
I've grabbed a genuine bargain.

Mate, how are you? Yeah, good.

I love the sound of a Rover V8.
Who doesn't, eh?

This is a proper hairy-chested Brit.

It's our TVR Griffith.

Let me show you the engine on
this, because it is absolutely immense.

So, it's interesting, because it
might have a sportier engine.

That should have been a 400.

That's what I thought, and
it was advertised as a 400.

When I popped the bonnet, it's a 430.

So, it's either an engine change,
and it does feel rather peppy,

I will say, or somebody's
just swapped the badges,

but you can investigate that, can you?
Yeah, yeah, OK.

I mean, how many miles has it done?
Well, it's done 47,000 miles.

47 is not a bad number, but the magic
number for the camshafts on these

is around 50,000, and
if they go, it's expensive.

So, we're getting close to that.
That should be the first job we tackle.

This is going to be a
tricky problem for you.

The windscreen in this car is delaminated.

We have to get the screen out,
and I need to find another one.

OK.

So, what do you think of that interior?

That dashboard should
have been walnut, shouldn't it?

I reckon originality is key, so we
should go back to being walnut,

tidy up the interior, and we're good to go.

And I think I got this
car for a good price.

The dealer had it advertised for £19,000.

I went there on the coldest day
of the year and got it for £15,000.

That's all right, mate. That's
all right, yeah, it's not bad at all.

So, if we do the right jobs by the
car, don't spend too much money,

once the sun comes out,
we can make a decent profit.

Sounds like a plan, mate.

Right, you get your spanners ready,
I'm going to go and find us a screen.

I'll find out what this engine actually is.

Mike's pulled another blinder here.

I love these cars, I've been
wanting to work them on for ages,

but I've definitely got
an issue with this engine.

I mean, what is it? Is it a 4.3, like
the badge says, or is it just a 4 litre?

On top of that, I've got
to change the camshaft,

but how do I go about
ordering a new one

without knowing what
engine I'm ordering it for?

Given how relatively easy it is
to get these engines out of here,

I think the best bet is to take it
out, do the work on the bench,

and at the same time, clean
up this mess of an engine bay.

I begin by removing the undertrain,

before disconnecting the engine
from the gearbox and exhaust.

So with the car up in
the air, I've taken pretty

much everything I
need to from underneath.

I've just got to drain
all the fluid, and then

I can lower it down
and get cracking up top.

Next, I remove the massive downpipe
from between the two exhaust manifolds.

This bolt here is the last remaining
thing holding the throttle cable on.

It's very tight down there. I'm just
going to grab a cloth to protect that.

You've always got to be
very careful with these things,

pulling an engine out of any
car, obviously, of the bodywork,

but unlike most, this one's made
of fibre glass, so it's pretty delicate.

I'm really hoping this
engine badge is genuine.

Not only did the 4.3 offer better
performance than the 4 litre,

it was lighter and better
balanced than the 5 litre,

and is considered by some
connoisseurs to be the pick of the bunch.

Well, that's the engine out.

Now I can really get stuck in and find
out exactly what it is we're working with.

We need a new windscreen for our Griffith,

and I could waste hours
online trying to hunt one down.

But why bother when our
neighbours, Charlotte and Warren,

happen to run a TVR garage?

Oh yes, look at the cars in here.

Warren, how are you, mate?

Hello, Mike. How are you doing?

I'm all right, yeah.
It looks like you've been busy.

Yeah, no, we've been really busy,
getting ready for the race season.

I spoke to you about that Griffith
I've got. I need a windscreen.

Yeah, got a few screens.

I'm guessing it's
de-laminated around the edges.

It is de-laminated around the edges, yeah.

OK, I certainly might have.
I may have a new one.

Fantastic. Can you have a look?

No problem at all.

Thank you very much.

Ah, and there's Charlotte.

Hello, Mike. How are you doing?

I'm very well, thank you.

Yeah, good. Warren's been
telling me how busy you've been.

I heard you've acquired a TVR Griffith.

We have.

An X-Works TVR?

Yeah, it's an X-Works car.

I actually know the guy
that used to own that.

No.

Because I used to race with
him in the TVR Tuscan Challenge.

No way.

I could put you in touch with him.

Oh yeah, yeah, definitely.
I need his details.

What a great story to be able to
ring him up and tell him I've got his car.

That'd be amazing.

Oh, Warren, nice one.

Nice and crisp around the edges.

That's going to look really
good in the car, very smart.

Nice one.

The windscreen is £580.

Not cheap, but actually not bad for
a rare item, so I'm happy with that.

Charlotte, good to see you.

Nice to see you, Mike.

If Mike immediately sourced
a brand new windscreen

for a car that went out of
production decades ago,

then I should be able to work
out our TVR's true engine size.

But no, I'm really struggling.

Now, I was hoping that the
number that's stamped on the side

of the engine would give us
the answers to exactly what it is.

TVR engines were always stamped twice.

They were stamped once when the
block originally left the Rover factory,

and then stamped again by TVR
when they actually built the engine.

The 4.0 suggests it's a 4-litre,
but of course that completely

contradicts the badge stuck
on the top of the engine.

So what is the answer?

Well, there are two possibilities here.

It could actually just be a 4-litre engine,

or at some point in its life it may
well have been rebuilt as a 4.3.

The only way to really find out for sure,
though, is to measure the cylinders myself.

This is a big moment.

If this turns out to be
the rarer 4.3 engine,

it'll mean we have a more
desirable car on our hands.

I Mark up the high-tension leads that run
from the distributor to the spark plugs.

Mix these up and the engine will misfire.

Next, I remove two banks
of rockers and 16 pushrods.

With the head removed,
I can finally get to the

cylinders and to the
bottom of this mystery.

While Elvis examines the engine,
I'm going to learn more about

TVR's provenance from none
other than its original driver.

Steve, good morning.

Good morning, mate.

I really do appreciate
you giving up your time.

Charlotte gave me your number and I
hope you don't mind me contacting you.

Now, you used to be a TVR
works driver, is that correct?

I did indeed, yeah.

I was a works driver
from mid-1980s to 2000s.

And was this your company car?

It was indeed, yeah.

At that time, do you remember
if this car was on the press fleet?

Because I'm pretty sure, in
fact, I'm convinced I've driven it.

Yeah, you will have done, Mike.

The car was used extensively
in the early 90s by the press.

And it was used also on track days
as a demonstrator for customers, etc.

So it had a fairly tough life in its day.

A car that's been driven by heavy-footed
journalists might not sound attractive,

but verifiable history is
gold on a rare car like this.

And it shows the quality of our TVR.

What we're actually trying to do here
is calculate the capacity of the engine.

So I'm rotating the crankshaft to
lower the piston to its lowest point.

And by using a vernier
caliper, I can then

measure the distance
from the top of that cylinder

to the point where the
piston's at its lowest.

And that is 77 millimetres.

We also need to know the bore,
that's the diameter of the cylinder.

Using the same tool, I can
measure that, and that is 94.

And if it's still going, that
means that it must be a good car,

because it would
have been thrashed by

everyone, including
me, all the way back then.

Yeah, well, and me.

But it was maintained,
you know, fastidiously by

the factory, so they
really did look after it well.

So 47 squared times that by pi, 3.12.

So there's a little bit of a
discrepancy we've got with the car,

because I know that it should have the 400
engine, but the engine's stamped up 430.

Have you got any insight into that?

Times that by the
height, our 77 millimetres.

Yeah, the car was created
as a 400 originally, and

I was coming down from a
race meeting at Knock Hill.

Eight cylinders, so times that
by eight, and divide that down.

And on the way back down the
M6, the engine started to knock.

And so instead of coming
home to Liverpool, I went to

the factories in Blackpool
and dropped the car off there.

And I said, can it be rebuilt at 4.3?

And it gives us a number
that's incredibly close to 4.3.

That means that this engine is exactly
what it says on the tin, it's a 430.

That's had a factory
conversion from a 400 to a

4.3, and that just puts a
huge smile on my face.

Yeah, it's an authentic car,
it's been really well looked after.

When I get it finished, I'm going
to give you a call if that's all right,

and see if you want to come
down and have a look at it.

That'd be lovely, lovely to do that.

Steve, thank you very much, it's
an absolute pleasure to talk to you.

And to talk to you, Mike.

That was so good.

You look happy, mate, who's that?

You won't believe it, I was just
talking to Steve Cole, the works driver,

and he says we've got a
factory upgraded 4.3 engine.

It's a much more sellable car.

Are you actually joking?

I've spent ages stripping
that engine down, measuring

it by hand, to basically
get that same answer.

It's a 4.3.

Right, I'm sorry.

But now we know what
parts to order, don't we?

We can get the right parts for
the car and we can crack on with it.

That news comes as a bit of a shock.

I've been assuming our TVR has done 50,000
miles, in which case it's due a cam change.

But, I've got to say, now that
Mike's told me at some point in its life

this engine's been through
a complete factory rebuild,

I'm starting to wonder whether
I need to do any of it at all.

We know the car's done 50,000 miles, but
this engine, it might have only done 5,000.

Even so, with most of the hard
work already done, it's worth

pressing on and giving the
old cam a proper inspection.

So all I've got left to do is to remove the
16 cam lifters and unbolt the timing chain.

With the timing chain gone, I
can finally get to the cam itself.

If it does need replacing, all
this effort will have been worth it.

Then again, it could be absolutely fine.

In which case, it'll all be a
complete waste of my time.

TVR is a name that still counts
for a lot in the sports car world,

and our Griffith, with its
grumpy V8, proves why.

But our car keeps on surprising us,

revealing a better engine than
expected and an interesting past.

It's taken a couple
of weeks, but now I've

received the fantastic provenance-rich
paperwork from the original driver, Steve.

And an uprated cam
for Elvis has arrived too.

All right, mate. Flat out again.

Yeah, it was a waste.

What have you got there?

Well, I've been doing
some research, actually.

Look, I've been
digging through the TVR

service history, and
inside was this magazine.

So I've flipped through
it, and look at this.

A four-page spread on our very own TVR.

Look, same registration number.

Unbelievable. What's it saying about it?

It's saying that in 2002, if
you have £15,000 to spend,

this was the best sports
car money could buy.

Amazing. Doesn't it look good as well?

How clean the engine bay was back then.

And Walnut Dash.

So much better than that
horrible metallic thing we've got.

How are you getting
on with that, by the way?

Well, it's all in hand. I've got a mission.

And whilst I'm gone,
look what arrived for you.

Is that the...?

Camshaft.

It is. Brilliant. Oh, that's awesome.

That's going to put a proper
spring in the car's step.

Love that.

Nice one.

I'll leave you to reading your comics.

No, my research. This is research.
I think you'll find it.

Mike's finally got me the
camshaft that I've been waiting for.

And I haven't been wasting
my time waiting either.

I've fully prepared everything,
which is just the way I like to work.

Fully organised before I start any job.

And I've also taken the time to
inspect the old camshaft that came out.

I wasn't even 100%
sure this needed changing

after what Mike told me
about the factory engine rebuild.

But on closer inspection,
you can clearly see

some of these cam lobes
are severely worn down.

And that's often an
indication that there's a

lubrication problem
inside the engine itself.

So I've taken the time to fully clean
out and inspect the oil ways in there too.

That seems fine now.

And now knowing that I do
have to change this camshaft,

I've taken the Liberty of going
for a high-performance one too.

This new performance cam has taller lobes

that increase the time the
inlet valves remain open.

That allows more air-fuel
mixture to be burned

and should give our car an
extra 20 horsepower or so.

I'm using a cam lube to
coat the metallic surfaces here

so that when we fire the
engine up for the very first time,

there's no danger of
metal grinding against dry

metal, which would
cause irreversible damage.

You can use oil for
that, but I'm using this

heavy-duty lubricant
which sticks to the surfaces.

and therefore I'm able to bring it
over to the engine without it running off.

Now, it's really important to be careful

pushing this back into the engine

because the bearings inside the block

are made of much softer
metal than the camshaft

itself and therefore they
can get easily damaged.

But that is that now back in place,

which means I just need to
get the thing back together.

Now, these are what we call cam followers,

so-called because they follow
the profile of the cam lobes

and because they make
direct contact with those lobes,

they can wear in exactly the
same way that the camshaft cam,

so we get brand new ones
every time we buy a new cam.

And just like the camshaft,
they need a little bit of lubrication.

just to make sure that there's
no dry metal against dry metal

when the engine runs.

With our new high-performance
cam good for another

50,000 miles, I need to get
busy rebuilding this engine.

Spring will be here before we know it.

You know, when I first
clapped eyes on our TVR,

I always thought the dashboard
was a bit of an eyesore.

I get the fact that somebody was
trying to make it look more contemporary,

but today the market
is driven by originality.

That means that our dashboard has
got to be covered in walnut veneer.

and it's not the kind of thing you
can get done at your local garage.

So I'm taking it to two of the
best trim restorers out there.

Both owners learn their craft
at Rolls-Royce and Bentley

before establishing their own
business in Cheshire in the mid-90s.

Jax, how you doing?

Hello there.

Nice to see you.

Nice to see you.

Which one's Phil and which one's Rob?

I'm Phil.

Phil, how are you?

You alright?

Yeah, good, thanks.

I've got this lovely TVR.

Nice car, but somebody's put one
of these aluminium dashboards on it,

so I was hoping that we
could veneer my dashboard.

I'm not too sure what
kind of veneer that's from.

This is American Crown Cup walnut.

I think you're better off
having it done in beer walnut,

which TVR I originally used.

Well, I know I've come at the right place.

He does the first process,
I do the second half,

so I'll go and get some work
done and I'll leave you with Phil.

Lovely.

Oh, look at that, that's lovely.

Look at it, that's the outside of the tree
there and this is the inside of the tree.

The more figuration it is to
it, the better the quality is.

Phil's kindly allowing me to have a
go at cutting a new veneer for our dash.

He'll spend time tidying up the
mess I make of it once I'm cleared off.

Just have a little
think about it, isn't it?

What you want to do, see,
you've got to get a Mark there.

Yeah, you don't want that, do you?

You want to put the clock
hole in that hole there.

I see what you mean.

That's it, yeah.

Here's a pen, trace around it.

Just around the edge?

Yeah, that's it, yeah.

Make sure you keep it tight up
against the metal there, yeah.

It looks really smart.

Yeah, it does.

It looks nice.

It's going to look lovely, isn't it?

I'll get you some scissors.

Get prepared to see lots of pictures of
me with my tongue out, concentrating.

This worn-up veneer may be
less than one millimetre thick,

but it doesn't come
cheap at over 200 pounds.

That's the big bit off.

It's lucky, we've only got a
small dashboard to cover.

Veneering all the woodwork in a bent wheel
roller would cost well over two grand.

There you go.

I'd say you've done a
fantastic job there, haven't you?

Really?

Yeah, fantastic.

Can we get some glue?

Yeah.

And we're going to start and glue it down.

OK, so this is a two-part epoxy.

Yep, this glue will go off in about five
minutes, so we'd better do it pretty quick.

Nice and quick.

Oh, it's already going off.

It hardens up quite quickly.

You missed a bit there.

Did I?

Yeah, that's it.

You were bound to say that, weren't you?

You have to work fast, didn't you?

I've got a little bit of sweat
on, I'll be honest with you.

Right, put it on there now.

That's it.

We're there.

Well, put some tape on
it now, so it doesn't move.

Gotcha.

There we are.

OK then, Mike, let's put
this under the press now.

Lovely.

OK.

The dash will stain the press
for two hours, and that's me done.

That'll do, yeah.

From here on, this is a
job strictly for the experts.

Rob's hands off any excess veneer by hand,

using four grades of sandpaper.

Next, a spray primer is applied, followed
by five coats of polyester lacquer.

This is allowed to harden
and cure for four days.

The final stage involves
polishing the dash to

a mirror finish, and
then waxing it by hand.

While Phil and Rob work their magic,

Elvis can crack on with replacing
the delaminated windscreen.

Mike's done well to find
this brand new windscreen

for our car, because there
aren't many of them left.

It also adds a little bit of pressure,
because if I break this thing putting it in,

I don't know where we're
going to get another one from.

To remove the old screen, I use
cutting wire to free it from the frame.

Oh, blimey.

That's how easy they can crack.
I've cracked this one, taking it out.

I'll have to be extra careful
putting the new one back in.

Now this is the moment
of truth, where I need to

apply a bead of this
bonding agent from the g*n.

in a line of consistent depth and
thickness all the way around here.

But to make matters worse,
I've only got about five minutes

from the moment it exits this nozzle
to the point where it starts to go off

to get all the way around and get the
new screen in exactly the right position.

Now I've been in some high-pressure
moments before, but this is right up there.

So here we go.

Let's see how it looks.

This is really tricky to get lined up.

You line up one corner
and then drop it into position.

You've got a tiny moment where
you can move it before it starts to set.

I think that looks pretty good to me.

Well, it's in place, but my
goodness, that was stressful.

Do you know what?
I'll take a formula on pit stop over that.

Absolutely any day.

It's taken four weeks, but my new
dashboard is finally ready for collection.

Boys, how are you?

I'm so excited.

Oh, look at that.

The veneer you chose was just right.

Thank you so much for doing this.

It's been a pleasure.

It's going to make such
a difference to the car.

We're turning it back to that originality.

Right, let's get it to the workshop
and see what Elvis thinks.

Thanks then, boys.

See you later. Bye-bye.

While I'm waiting for
Mike to get back from

Cheshire, there's a quick
fix I want to take care of.

TBR were always big fans of
the minimalist design with this

sleek body shape and, look,
barely even any door handles.

And they continued that design philosophy
round the rear with the rear number plate.

As you can see, there's no lights
protruding top and bottom to illuminate it.

So you might ask, how on
earth is it visible at night?

And the answer to
that is that it's backlit.

Now, one of those two bulbs has
blown, so I'm going to change it.

Do you know a lot of
people also don't know?

That secret little keyhole there
is for opening the driver's door.

when the battery's flat and
the remote stops working.

Now, the bulbs on these cars are
actually changed from inside the boot.

And you won't find many
easier to get access to than this.

You simply pop one out
and pop the new one in.

Voila. That's it.

What a lovely piece of elegant design.
I love it.

Speaking of elegant design, I can't wait
to show Elvis Phil and Rob's handiwork.

Elvis, mate, you are
going to be beside yourself.

Is this the final piece of the Jigsaw?

Certainly is. Look at that.

That's brilliant.

Fantastic, isn't it?

Yeah, you've done well there, mate.

Thank you very much. All you've
got to do is fit it and give us a shout

once you're ready to start the
car because I can't wait to hear it.

Alright, fantastic. Well done, mate.

MUSIC.

We bagged ourselves a deal by buying
a convertible TVR in the middle of winter.

15 grand. Done. Sold.
It's mine, yes? That is fantastic.

Things got even sweeter when
what should have been a four litre

turned out to be an even better car.

This engine is exactly what
it says on the tin. It's a 430.

It also has phenomenal provenance.

Yeah, it's an authentic car.
It's been really well looked after.

As the weather's
improved, so has our Griffith.

That's brilliant. Look at that.
What a beautiful walnut dash.

Now it's time to find out if prices really
do go up when the roof comes down.

Hey, Ava, look at this.

Ah, mate, that looks fantastic.
Is it nearly finished?

It is nearly done, actually, yeah.
I mean, doesn't it look good?

I don't know why anybody wouldn't
have a walnut dash in a car like this.

Turns it back to being original and proper.

Yeah. Is it ready to fire up yet?

It is, actually.
Do you want to have a listen?

Yes, please. Go on, fire her up.

Whoa! Yeah! Now that's the
sound of a brutal British V8.

Oh, doesn't it sound good?

It sounds absolutely fantastic.

Is it me or does it just sound
angrier, meaner and faster?

Well, I mean, it should
be a little bit more powerful

because, of course, we
upgraded that camshaft, didn't we?

And whilst it was out, I
mean, it sort of rebuilt.

I mean, I just get in here
and clean everything up.

I've repainted, I've cleaned,
I've put new heat shields on.

It looks good, doesn't it?

And now we know it's got a
factory-upgraded 4.3 engine.

Do you know you've made
this a doddle come sale time?

I hope so, mate, yeah.

But before we think about
selling it, we need to enjoy it.

So let's get it out there.

Yeah. All right.

So how bulky is the bill
for a British muscle car?

I bought the TVR in winter when the convertible
market was frozen for just 15 grand.

The high-performance camshaft kit was 585.

A new windscreen, 586.

Veneering a dash, 245.

A heat shield for the engine bay, 208.

Bulbs and consumables, 125.

Giving us a total spend
of just over 16,700 quid.

Hit it. Go on.

Oh, yes! How good is this?

How good is this?

This is the life, isn't it?

A proper open-top British,
brutal, muscular sports car.

We've got the sun beating down.

I'm out with me, mate.
It's just blooming brilliant.

It's the sound of it.

I love that sound.

The performance that
it's got, it's unbelievable.

It's ridiculous, isn't it?

It has got that sort of immense power.

It's all just ba*ls and
ba*ls and ba*ls, isn't it?

And also, you know, these big engines
can often take a long time to wind up,

but it's now definitely more responsive.
You can feel it.

I remember back in the day, quite a few of
these had seen the wrong side of a ditch.

Again, there's no ABS,
there's no traction control,

but part of me loves that,
you know what I mean?

It's a raw, connected
experience as a driver.

And it's smooth.

So smooth. And do you know what?

For a sports car, it's actually
really comfortable, isn't it?

It's a well-designed engine.
Although it's enormous,

it sits so far back in the chassis that
actually the car's quite well balanced.

It's a little bit terrifying, if I
was to be honest with you.

It's even more terrifying
from the passenger seat.

Feels so good.

I'll tell you what a
contrast as well from when I

bought the car, which was
the coldest day of the year.

And then you wait, just wait out, wait for
the old yellow thing to pop up in the sky,

flip the roof back, and you can use
that to your advantage to sell the car on.

I was going to ask you about that.

I mean, what do you think
we should be asking for?

There's plenty of 500s out there
for sale, the 5-litre version of this.

The 430 and the 400 are rarer.

And bear it in mind,
this car's got that

Providence of being
TBR-owned by the factory,

demonstrated by that
race rider, Steve Cole.

I think 22 grand is a
really fair figure for it.

And we have got one
potential customer for the car.

So I have a few tricks to
try and get this car sold.

Of course you have.

So there is a little TBR gathering
that's happening tomorrow.

And I have asked Steve Cole if
he'll come along to that meeting,

give him a thrill ride
and do my job for me.

That's genius, mate. That is genius.

24 hours later, and
typically it's clouded over.

But a bunch of TBR owners have still turned
up and so has Rob, our prospective buyer.

He's a V8 nut who owns a riding
stable, so he knows all about horsepower.

This looks like a buyer
looking around the car.

You must be Rob?

Yes, Mike.

Rob, I'm Mike. Nice to meet you.

This is Elvis.

Hi.

You found it then?

Very nice.

You like it?

I like it very much. Nice job, yeah.

The only thing I'd like to know is
sort of the backstory and the history.

It's got a good one, isn't it?

It's got a good story, isn't it?

It really has got a great history.

There is probably one of the
most famous TVR Griffiths out there

because it used to
belong to TVR themselves.

It was their works car, and they
had a works driver at the time,

a very famous racing
driver called Steve Cole.

When he had it, he
took it back to the factory,

and they factory
upgraded it to a 4.3 engine.

Yeah, very nice.

Well, not only that, but I've
also given it a camshaft upgrade.

It had some tacky
aftermarket daffodil there.

It was very tacky aftermarket.
It was horrible.

Not anymore. Now it's classy. Looks great.

I mean, I think you're going to love it.

No, the car's stunning.

It's stunning.

It drives like you can't believe.

I was going to ask you about that.

Well, it's a thrill ride. It really is.

All it's looking for now,
because it's ready to go,

is it needs a new owner.

I'd like to have a drive of it first, mate.

That's a fair request.

I could do one better than that.

Steve, this is Steve Cole.

So, Steve, this is Rob, a potential buyer,

and I was kind of hoping Steve
will do what he did back in the day,

take Rob out for a little thrill ride.

Oh, I'd love to.

You two have fun.

We can go and have a cup of
tea while he does my job for me.

How do you feel then, mate?

You still think he's going to buy it?
You nervous?

No.

I've got TVR works drivers, Steve Cole,

in the car that you fiddled with.

It'll be fine.

I tell you what, if anyone can
sell it and it isn't going to be you,

it's probably going to
be Steve Cole, isn't it?

Of course it will be.

Such a privilege, Steve, to
come out with you in this car.

It's unbelievable.

Do you know what? I'm delighted to be here.

Absolutely delighted.

Oh!

Oh, Steve!

This feels even better
than when I had it, you know.

Did it really?

Oh, it feels so strong, the engine.

The beauty of the 4.3 is, as
you've just noticed, they rev.

Rev. Yeah.

They rev.

Yeah, and they Chuck out so much power.

Fabulous job on this engine.

Beautifully balanced
and this car feels lovely.

There's a smile on your face.

Right, so I'm asking a very
fair 22 grand, not a penny offer.

Ready?

Here he is.

Well, I mean, I want to know what, Steve,

I want to know what you
think of this after 21 years.

What was it like?

Absolutely incredible.

It's quicker than I remember.

Absolutely lovely.

That's fantastic.

Great.

So, Rob, I've literally pulled every trick
I know to try and get you to buy this car.

You're still out of breath.

Every trick, Mike, every trick.

So I've surrounded you by TBR enthusiasts.

I bought Mr. Steve Cole down here.

What was that like?

Frightening, but lovely.

That's absolutely brilliant.

Well, listen, I'm asking a
very fair and a very firm price.

We need 22 grand back for it.

What did you say?

I'm going to shake your hand, Mike.

You are?

Top man, well done.

That is brilliant.

Nice one, Elvis.

Now, Steve said if you were to buy the car,

I'm going to give you this as well,

it's the old team shirt that
will go along with the car.

There you go.

I'm a proper driver now, Steve.

You are.

You're very welcome.

And look after the car.

I will do.

Wasn't that absolutely brilliant?

That TBR has been a joy to
have around the workshop.

Not only did we find the car
and buy it right in the first place,

we've done the correct jobs to it

and even supplied a TBR
works driver to do the test drive.

And with all of that, we
managed to turn a profit.

You can't say fairer than that.

If you want to see
more iconic cars like this,

being turned around by me and Elvis,

then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Salut.