04x05 & 04x06 - Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce (Part 1 & 2)

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler Dealers, the show where
we buy, restore and sell on, hopefully for

a profit, classic cars like
this, Alfa Romeo Spider.

This time we've got
a budget of up to four

grand to lavish on a
stylish Alfa Romeo Spider,

but remember I need to buy and restore
the car for that money, I love a challenge.

Look at this, what a place to apply
your trade, deep fluted instrument

binnacles to keep the
beating Mediterranean

sun off your speedo
and rev counter and this

small and perfectly
formed, this really is

a sweet engine, two
litre twin cam, this was

cutting edge in its day and
it'll get you down the road if

you're prepared to lead it
briskly through the rev range.

I'll be on the trail of this child of the
sixties and my mechanic Ed China will

make sure this fragile Italian
sports car is firing on all cylinders.

The sixties were a time
of turmoil and revolution,

change was in the air,
in Britain we invented.

the miniskirt and a car to match and it
wasn't long before the Italians came up

with their very own four wheeled expression
of the dolce vita, the Alfa Romeo Spider.

It was designed in


legendary company behind
the Ferrari Testarossa,

the perky twin cam engine and flowing lines
made it a worldwide hit and it stayed in

production until 1993, nowadays
though it's hard to find a good one because

many have just rusted
away in our wet winters.

The rain is tipping
down today as I scan the

classifieds for a
suitable spider but I've

just spotted something
to really cheer me up.

Well as luck would
have it I've been through

every single one of
these papers and there's

only one Alfa Romeo Spider for sale but
just reading the description in the ad it

says left hand drive, red, totally original,
for sale, three grand or near offer. It

sounds like just the
ticket and it's local being

that it's a local rag. So
let's give them a ring.

This 1972 model sounded great on the phone
and it looks pretty good in the metal too.

Time for a bit of Wheeler-dealering.

You Nick? I am yes. Hello
Nick, I'm Mike, how are you?

Nice to meet you. Yeah,
great come to see the little car.

You had it long? About
five years. And I never

asked on the phone why
you selling it? My wife is

expecting a first
baby so it's not really a

family car as you can
see. Right, now, oh what's

happened to the
bonnet? It's full of pimples.

That's been repainted
that bonnet and that's

been repainted in a
room with moisture in

it and that's what's
happened, it's reacted.

Did you do it? I did not
know. You didn't because

I was just about to
slap your wrist until you

shouldn't have done. Okay well that's one
of the things we're gonna have to address.

Oh look I see the
headlamps are still facing

the wrong way there,
you must be the original

Italian headlamps.
Yeah that's right. I'll

have to get Ed to look
at that. Nasty dent on

the front here. Yeah it
happened on the street

and they were reversed
into the car. Did he?

And that's all loose. I
think that's linked, yeah.

That was linked to that
damage was it? So that

rust under these wheel
arches? No the arches

have been cleaned. It
looks all right doesn't it?

Looks good. I'll have
to get Ed to give that a

thorough checking over.
Aha! Condensation on the

window. That can only mean one thing, it's
damp inside. Just put all these carpets up.

Yeah that carpet does feel damp. Yeah. Now
that's nasty, there's a hole in the floor.

That's a shame, it's almost a Fred Flintstone
car. Let's get your feet through and.

run for the hills. That's not an MOT
Foley where it is but you know it's kind of

nasty and we would have
to do it. Right round the

back, in the boot. Oh
that looks nice and tidy.

Under the mats. New
tank there. New tank,

excellent and no rust.
No rust. Quite a rare sight

on one of these. Well
done, not much to do

there then. What's it
drive like? Very well.

It does, it's MOT in tax. It is yes. So
is it all right to take it for a test ride?

You certainly can. Need the keys? Thank you
very much. All right, I won't be too long.

Well as for this little Alfa Spider, she
certainly drives all right. She's got a

two litre engine, it's
a lightweight body so

you get good pull out
the corners. The steering

is nice and sharp, there
is no power steering

but you get good
communication from the front

wheels. Remember it's rear wheel drive
so it's nice and lively. Suspension's good.

I also like it's
Italian-ness this car.

You're always reminded
during a little Italian

sports car just looking at the dials. You've
got these fluted dials in front of you,

even the gauges are still in Italian.
You've got things like Benzina and Preza,

and Don't ask me what
that means but it sounds

cool doesn't it? And
just look at the gear stick,

it's a big long throw
between gear changes.

It makes you feel like
you're really driving

something. I do like it. The Spider
in top condition might fetch six grand.

This is on sale for half that, three
grand, but then it does need work.

It's a tiny misfire
coming from the engine

and there are those
other few little problems

like the hole in the
floor that Ed will have to

fix for us, but it's a
good honest little motor.

I don't think it's worth the money
that he's probably asking for it,

so I'm going to go back and
make him a nice honest bid.

Well what a good
test drive, it does drive

well. I really wanted
to get the roof off but

typically British summer it started to rain
and it does have a few problems this car,

but you may solve those
problems with all this paperwork.

Yeah I've got some service history
here, I've got Italian history in that one.

Fantastic, well I won't pretend to read it
because I can't read Italian but it looks

comprehensive. And this is
more relevant it's the UK history.

UK history as well and
that really does help.

Look at that, all the
previous MOTs just

stack up the mileage. All right well
on the test run it does have a misfire,

then there's the holes in the floor, you
need to address that the bonnet, this dent,

the bumper, there's lots of other
problems with it. How much was it?

Three thousand. Three grand.
I'm going to be quite hard actually,

I'm going to say it's only
worth a couple of grand.

I think somewhere in the middle maybe
two and a half thousand would be good.

Two and a half grand?
No, I think it's a risk

buying an Italian car
in weather like this

with a with a leak. So two thousand
one hundred pound and I'll have it.

Say two thousand two
hundred, we've got a deal.

Two thousand two hundred, I'll
get your hand. Yes, I've got an Alfa.

So a superb Italian soft hop for just over
two grand. For once Ed's got two thousand

pounds to spend on doing it up,
but will he be happy with my spider?

Ed. Hello mate. How are you mate?
All right. Good, what do you think then?

Oh I like this actually, it's
kind of, it's you know, it's Italian.

It's Italian, it's
cappuccino chic this car.

A little red proper
Italian convertible.

It's gonna be lovely in the summer
and everything. It's just good,

you've done well, but there's a lot
of work to be done here. I mean look,

this headlight for a start and
a nice bit of insulation tape,

but we need to do
that properly I think.

Yeah, we do need to
do that properly. That's

because it's a left-hand
drive car and the

headlamps are favoured
for the wrong side of

the road. So we've
done exactly the opposite

of what we do when
we travel abroad. We'll

put a bit of tape on to get the beam this
way, but surely you can just take the light

out and turn it upside down, can't you?
No, we have to change the whole lens,

but that's, you know, it's not a hard
job, so that's okay, but then there's a big

dent in the front here.
Uh yeah, not a big dent.

You know, it's a dent.
That's a dent. I mean,

it's not a big dent.
You're sliding that out,

and no doubt you'll fill it in, and you can
paint all of this, can't you? It's all...

Yeah, but I'm gonna have
to be painting that as well.

Yeah, well, you know, while you're
here, you might as well paint the product,

because it's full of dimples all over.
So I have to do that as well,

which is okay, but you know,
it's not too bad on the front.

You may not have noticed this. That I think
is all part of the same sort of damage.

Yeah, no, it doesn't, hopefully
that would be quite an easy

thing to fix, but it's looking
okay. Simple for you then.

It's just a bit of paint, a
little bit of repair there,

nicely straight down the side. You'll
be pleased with the back head, there is.

Very straight.

Nothing to do. It's even had
a brand new petrol tank put in.

Fantastic.

Open up the door, Ed, pull back that
carpet, and you'll see where the problem is.

Okay.

It's a Flintstones floor.

That is terrible.
I mean, there's quite a few holes in there.

That's quite a lot of welding.

It's not too bad. I've seen you weld
before. You can do things like that.

Well sure, but someone's had
a go at it before. It looks very,

very thin metal. I reckon that could
just get worse and worse, but you know.

No, it's going to get better and better,
because you're going to do it for us.

So there you are, Ed. Not too many jobs
to do. Oh, but there is the engine as well.

You haven't got to get too greasy, but when
I was driving it, I felt it sounded great.

It pulls really well,
but I just think it's got a

little bit to give, you
know, a little bit more.

Okay. Well, while I'm
doing everything else,

have a quick look
at the engine as well.

So there you go, fella. Enjoy it.

Okay, thank you.

See you soon.

Thank you. See you later.

I paid £2,200 for this sprightly 1972
Alfa, a lovely looker and a great mover.

Now, I've got a budget of up to £4,000 to
spend, which gives me £1,800 for repairs.

Lucky, really, because Ed's taken
a good long look at our front end,

and he thinks we might
be in for a big respray bill.

The good news?
Well, Ed seemed to enjoy his test drive.

I just had a great time driving
our Alfa back to the workshop.

Had the roof down, the wind in my
hair, the passers-by waving at me,

or perhaps they were mocking
me for this dodgy old paintwork.

I mean, it's in a terrible
state, and this car is

all about style, so I really
do have to sort it out.

But I want to make my life easy
by starting with that dent in the front,

and to do that, I need
to get the bumper off.

If you own a low-slung sports car,

then you'll certainly be
very familiar with parking

dents like the one above
the Alfa's front bumper.

They happen all too often.

Frustrating thing is, the
dent itself is easy to fix.

It's sorting the paintwork afterwards
where all the problems begin.

I've got the dent in
the front of the car here.

I've actually also noticed another
smaller dent just around here as well.

Now, I'm going to have
to stick some filler in there,

and then, of course, a bit
of primer and some top coat.

But before I do that, I
might have a go at trying to

pop the dent out, because
I've actually got access.

Now the bumper's removed, I could
put some pressure on the back here.

You need very little
pressure, as the steel is so soft.

The worst of the dent is now popped out,

but I do need to fill on
the last bits with some filler.

So to do that, I need a good key.

Well, now for the filler, the usual thing,

a golf ball of filler to
about a pea of hardener.

And my filler is nice and hard
now, so I can start sanding that back.

I might have to do another
couple of smears of filler,

but basically, once it's lovely and
smooth, I can then do some priming.

Now, of course, I was having
another go at this other dent here.

While I was doing that, I
also found yet another one.

And that's the sort of
thing that will happen

when you're doing the
bodywork on a car of this age.

You will find dents every once in a while.

The thing to do is just
to treat it there and then.

I'm using progressively
lighter sanding paper

to try and give the filler as
smooth a surface as possible.

Use heavy duty stuff and any paint will
collect in the mini grooves it creates.

The dents are coming on a treat.

A splash of primer and I'm
ready to tackle the big job,

the front end paintwork.

Now, I've dealt with all the dents,

but the rest of this paintwork on the
front of the car is a bit of a nightmare.

You can see on both wings, there
are these kind of bubbles in the paint.

When you come to the
bonnet, it's even worse.

There are thousands of paint blisters.

These are caused by moisture that
somehow got into that top coat of paint.

Now, I'm hoping it is just the top coat,

because the only way to get
rid of these is to sand them back.

So if I can go back to the primer
layer, that'll be a good thing.

If it's deeper than
that, I'll have to go

back to bare metal
and that'll be a real pain.

Now, the only good news of this

is because the rest of the paintwork
on this car is in good condition,

I can get away with just re-spraying
the wings, the bonnet and the scuttle.

Now, the first stage of that job is to
get rid of the rest of the bright work.

This car looks svelte and streamlined.

To create that effect,
manufacturers used to

smooth over any
unsightly lines or corners

by using shiny chrome cover
plates and hidden fixings.

So on a car of this age,

you'll be spending a lot
of time pulling off shiny bits

and struggling to work out how
to free off things like headlamps.

Well, it's now finally time
to attack the bodywork.

So here we go.

And you can see those paint blisters
are really beginning to show up now.

What I'm going to have to do is sand
that down until they're completely gone.

But if I did this with this, it's
going to take absolutely ages.

So I'm going to use an
orbital sander or a DA,

which is dual action sander,
because it's a lot quicker.

But of course, it also
makes a lot more dust.

So I'll be wearing a mask.

The dual action creates
a random sanding effect

that means that you don't get
those deliberate visible lines,

which can wreck a decent paint job.

I need to get rid of the
tiny blisters in the paintwork,

but I want to avoid the hard work
of taking it all back to bare metal.

But it's worse than I thought,

and I think I'm going to have to go
down further than just the top coat.

Now there are some bits I have
to do with a little bit of sandpaper,

just because I can't get the DA into those
gaps or it's too close to the shut lines.

I was worried that we might
have to have a whole body respray,

but I'm now confident we can get
away with just a front end only paint job,

which will cost us around £800,

a saving of around £1000
on a full body respray.

After a day's sanding, the
Spyder is ready for its respray,

but before that, I'm
moving under the bonnet

to tackle another of
the Alfa's problems.

Our Spyder is a great little sports car,

and it was fantastic fun
driving it back to the workshop,

but I did have a few issues
with its actual running.

It was quite hard
to start in the first

place, needed lots of
fiddling with the choke,

but also, at some points with travelites
and things, it would actually cut out.

Now it feels like it's running a bit lean,

so it could be that the
carburettors aren't set properly,

but I actually had a bit of a
snoop around in the engine bay,

and I've noticed that there are
some rubber gaskets, if you like,

between the carburettors and the manifold,

and basically, they're all Paris,
there's loads of splits in them,

and of course the air is getting into
there, which will lean up the mixture.

Now, I reckon this will
be quite an easy fix,

all I've got to do is replace
those little rubber units,

but of course the catch,
and there's always a catch,

I'm going to have to take off
all of this stuff to get to them.

The manifold is part of the cooling system,

which is full of water,

so I need to drain it to get
access to that important part.

Well, this is the manifold
I've just taken off our Alfa.

You can see that the rubber
couplings are very, very, very bad.

It's splitting in the rubber, but I
actually get a screwdriver into that gap.

Now, our replacement units,
obviously a much better Nick,

as you can see, they're
actually held on with two bolts.

Now, we've got two bolts for each one, so
there's one, two, three, four on this side,

but also there is four
on the underside as well.

I'm getting ready to fit the
new couplings onto the manifold.

It's essential that the
old gasket is cleaned off,

and the contact surface
is completely clean.

A careful scrape with a blade,

and the metal is prepared
for the silicone sealant.

Next, the paper gaskets are fitted.

There's another layer of sealant,
and we're ready for the new parts.

Bolts top and bottom,

and the refurbished manifold
is ready to fight another day.

Once the manifold is firmly in place,
I'm just reconnecting all the ancillaries.

If you come across
any frayed lines like this,

then it's a good idea to
replace them as you go.

It'll save you time and
money in the long run.

Well, let's see if those new rubber
couplings have done the trick.

Well, I'm pretty impressed with that.

That is running so sweet,
and it's not even warm yet.

Talking of which, I need
to warm the water right up,

then I'll top up the radiator, put the
cap on, then it's ready for the open road.

Our Spyder is a convertible car,

and that is all about
wind in the hair motoring.

But unfortunately, it's not
about wind in the feet motoring.

Now, Mike pointed out
to me that on this side,

the floor is riddled with holes.

Now, I've got a bit of
a prodding thing here.

Let's just see how bad this is.

Okay, well, it's not awful, but there's
two kind of main areas I'm worried about.

I think what I'm going to do
is get this up on the ramp a

little bit higher and see what
it looks like from underneath.

Well, this car is beginning to look a bit
like a Swiss cheese now, unfortunately.

There's the holes here and here.

There's actually a drain plug here.

It doesn't look like it's doing much,

but there's holes all around
that and metal is very, very thin.

And in fact, somebody's tried to
Jack up the car here by the looks of it

because it's actually
all sort of stoved in.

On this side of the chassis rail, we've
got more holes, unfortunately, again.

Now, what I'm going
to have to do is replace,

I think, the whole of
this area of the floor

because it's looking very,
very thin and perforated.

This job is all about access.

I'm going to be cutting and
welding, so I need room to work.

That means I'm going to drop the exhaust
out of the way and take the heat shield off.

Now, this is a proper big boy's toy.

Basically, it's a plasma cutter.

It's rather like a MIG welder.

It uses an arc to heat up the metal.

It gets very, very hot, melts the steel,

and then there's compressed
air flowing through here as well.

And that blasts that molten
steel out into the outside world.

So basically, you end up cutting a hole.

Now, you might have heard of the
expression a knife through butter.

This is more like a jet
wash through butter.

It's a dangerous bit of kit,

so gloves and a welding mask are essential.

Before I can weld in our repair panel,

I need to clean up the edges
of the hole in the footwell.

The best way to do that is with
a soft pad on an angle grinder.

I've drawn around a template,

and the repair panel is cut
from a clean sheet of steel.

Seam welding and finishing
a floor section this size.

would probably be an
afternoon's work for a mechanic.

So if you're not confident about welding,

then it's a good idea to shell out
the £120 to get the job done right.

Well, the welding is done.

I've now ground it back down.

I've got a nice solid floor, which is
as good as new, if not a little bit better.

All that remains for me to
do is give it a nice protective

covering of some sealant and
then put the car back together again.

Ed.

Hello, mate.

What on earth, Ed?

Have you been doing?

I give you a perfectly good go at a
little dent on the front of a loose pumper.

You've been at this with a
sledgehammer in you and you've ruined it.

I have been so hard at work.

First of all, you'll notice there's no
dent anymore in the front of the car.

And then also, remember
those paint blisters in the bonnet?

Yeah.

Well, I had to sand through those.

Turns out they were in the primer
layer, so I had to keep sanding.

And I ended up going through
loads of different layers of paint.

I was actually expecting
to go down to bare metal.

But this is kind of, I think, the
original paint of the car is actually,

this layer is so hard, I
couldn't get any deeper.

So we're going to live with this and
I'm going to paint just over this one.

Wow.

So the car originally would have been blue.

Yeah, it's a lot of history.

It's quite interesting.

It's kind of cool, isn't it?

But I prefer the red.

So this is all now prepared for paint.

This is absolutely ready for the paint job.

It looks a mess.

Anything else?

Well, yeah, I've been
actually very, very hard at work.

Remember the holes in the floor?

Yeah, the Flintstones floor.

Exactly.

I've had to cut out all
the rot, got rid of that,

and replace it with a nice new bit of
metal, so it's now solid and ready to go.

And also, under the bonnet, remember
it had those sort of rubber couplings

because it wasn't running very
well and they were really perished.

So I've replaced those
and now it runs a dream.

Fantastic.

You have been working hard.

So it goes beautifully.

We've got a welded floor,
so it should be MOT-able.

All we need to do is to finish off
the paint work, but it looks a lot to do.

Do you think you can do this, Ed?

Of course I can.

For decades, this child of the 60s
summed up the Brio of Italian autos,

and it remains one of the most elegant
cars Design House Pininfrena ever styled.

Nowadays, though, it really is
champagne motoring for lemonade money.

New, our 1972 model cost
the equivalent of £20,000.

But I bought it for just over £2,000.

So we've got up to £1,800 left of our
available £4,000 restoration budget.

Mechanic Ed's already got the 2.0-litre
twin cam engine back to full power,

replacing the rubber manifold couplings.

The holes in the floor are a distant memory
now that he's welded up the footwell.

And Ed filled in a nasty
dent above the bumper

before tackling the
sorry-looking paint work.

Ready for a front-end only respray.

This car looks a mess,

but my grease monkey
Ed has promised me once

it's finished, it's
going to be a peach.

So I'm going to leave him
and get on with the work,

and I'm going to nip off to meet a chap
called Mark, who's got a fantastic Alpha.

And you never know, if he's brave
enough, he might even let me have a go.

This is Mark.

Mark has bought down his fabulous-looking
Alpha for me to have a look at,

and what a car it is, Mark.

Thank you.

Very, very nice.

Why did you go for one of
these, over, say, a little MG?

You're a Mercaselle.

Well, it's different.

You don't see many of them on the road.

It stands out, and
that's what I like about it.

You like the Italian-ness as well.

Oh, definitely, definitely.

Now, this is the good thing about
these alphas, the way the roof comes off.

It's so easy.

You can look inside, and it is a Minter.

Wow.

What a car.

Tell us about the history of it.

Well, I bought it from a
gentleman in the owner's club.

He imported it from Texas in 1992,

and I bought it two and a half years
ago for my 40th birthday present.

Wow.

This car come from
Texas, which is a dry estate,

so I'm guessing that this
car's got no rust under it.

Absolutely none whatsoever.

Fantastic.

Is it easy to look after
and maintain this car?

I've been very lucky.

I've had no mechanical
problems with it at all.

The only thing I've had to do
is had a bit of body work done,

and I just sent that to my local garage.

And what about parts and stuff?

Are they easy to get hold of?

They're very, very easy to get hold of.

Parts are always readily available,
and they're very cheap as well.

There's lots of specialists out there.

Now, Mark, it looks very, very
clean and tidy under the bonnet.

What should buyers look out for mechanically
if they're going to buy one of these?

Most of the time, these
engines are pretty bulletproof.

All you really have to look
out for is electrical problems.

Right, what about things like oil leaks?

If it's maintained well, no problems.

OK, so is there a constant battle
against tinworm on a car like this?

Definitely.

Some of the earlier
cars, the paint was so

thin, you could almost
see the metal through it.

But this one is pretty good.

OK, well, it is a stunner, and
I can't wait to hear it, actually.

I can't wait to have a go.

And that's my next question.

Any chance I could take for a spin?

Certainly.

Wicked.

Do you know what?

It feels an absolute honor to be
driving Mark's birthday present to himself.

It really is his pride and joy.

But I'm loving it because
I've got the roof off

and I've got that wind in
the hair feel at the moment.

And this is what it's all about.

One thing I do like about
these cars is the driving position.

It's very comfortable.

You do feel like you're
plugged into a little Alfa

and you don't feel like
you're sitting on top of it.

I love the way that you look
down the sculpture bonnet.

You look over the flutes of the
wings down to the headlamps.

And it does make you feel like
you're in a proper little sports car.

This car doesn't have power steering.

It is heavy when you come to park it.

But it's not about that.

It's about winding it down
those little twisty lanes

and experiencing what's
happening under the front wheels.

And it really is a joy.

Now the difference
between Mark's car and ours

is not as wide as many of
you may think because our

car on the basis of it is a
really strong little motor.

We've got to just do
a little bit of fettling.

And we've got a car that really gives
Mark's car a good run for its money.

It's the front end re-sprayed to
make a real difference to our car.

So Ed's taken the Spyder
to his paint expert d*ck.

I've brought our Spyder
over to d*ck's workshop

because this car needs a
proper professional paint job.

It's had loads of problems
with the paint in the past

and I just can't do it justice
in my own little workshop.

Now there are quite a few things we have
to do in preparation for this paint job

and d*ck is now degreasing
the panels with a bit of panel wipe.

Now I could stand here and
watch but I think I really should help.

d*ck has been re-spraying cars for years.

He's a real pro who turns out quality work.

This time he's going to give the wings
and the bonnet a lick of paint for me.

Rather than wasting loads of time
masking up the engine bay on this car

we can actually get
away with painting the

bonnet while it's still
attached to the car.

Only trouble is we've got to make sure that
the paint doesn't then go over the engine

and of course any dirt doesn't get
sprayed back out onto our new paint.

So what we've done is
masked around the shut lines

and then used some very clever
stuff which is soft edge masking tape.

And that does two things.

The first, as the name suggests, is
actually gives your paint edge a soft edge

but also it works rather
like a draft excluder

and stops any dirt getting out of the engine
bay but also any paint from getting in.

Like many classic cars this Alfa
has had a few paint jobs in its time.

It actually started its life blue.

To get the best possible result this time

we're being very careful how we
treat different areas of the bodywork.

Bare metal needs to be
given special attention.

There we go, we're actually
painting but only in certain areas.

The bare metal parts of this bodywork need
to have a layer of etch primer put on them

so that the next layer of
paint will adhere properly.

And that's not the only precaution
we're taking to get great paint.

The different layers of paint on the
front here may react to the paint process.

So when d*ck has finished etch priming

he's going to give the
whole area an isolating layer

creating an even playing field
for the primer and colour to come.

The first layer is the isolator layer.

It's a clear liquid, a little bit like
maybe PVA glue when you're sealing wood.

So when he says it'll go on the car

it'll actually wet the car but
it won't change the colour.

But of course this is actually
poisonous so I'm wearing a mask.

The isolator layer is now dry

so d*ck is now applying
the first layer of primer.

That's going to be getting
rid of that horrible blue

and red old paint with
a nice new layer of grey.

So it's going to take quite a few coats
so I'm just going to watch and learn.

That's going to take 10 or so minutes to
dry then we can get on with the next coat.

d*ck's got a few layers
of primer to still go on.

Once they're done
we're going to let it dry

overnight and then
we're ready for top coat.

Our layer of primer is now lovely and hard.

It's been flat enough to make it
nice and smooth for the next layer

and of course that
caused quite a bit of dust.

We removed all the masking to get rid
of that dust to stop any contamination.

Now d*ck is just going
over with a panel wipe

to make sure there's no more
contaminants on that paint.

Then we'll be masking again
and then of course the tack cloth

and then it'll be ready for its new top
coat of Rosso which of course is red.

d*ck is only re-spraying the
front end and he'll blend the colour

in along the doors but before
he gets going with the colour

he needs to make sure it's the right
shade of red to match the Alpha's rear end.

Every car has a paint code
often marked on the chassis plate

but he'll also take samples from the rear
of the Spyder to do an exact colour match.

This isn't really something
you can attempt at home

because of course the paint
is very, very, very poisonous

which is why we're in a special
booth that keeps the dust from the paint

but also mainly extracts
all the excess paint

through a load of filters
out to the outside world

and that's why we're having
to wear an air fed mask

and we're both wearing
all this special equipment.

Well d*ck has just put
down in the first coat

obviously it's a light coat
just to get things started.

There's going to be three,
maybe four coats all together

and by that time it'll be a
lovely, deep, luscious red.

Now there are two
types of paint pretty much

that you can use there's
cellulose and two-pack.

d*ck is using two-pack and
the real advantage of that is it's

much harder wearing but also
it retains its shine for longer.

This whole respray has cost me 835
pounds and I'm really chuffed with it.

So is that it now, are you finished?

Yes, that's the last coat Ed.

Fantastic, well thank you very much Sir
d*ck you've done a superb job as always.

Now once it's dried overnight
I can get this thing back

to the workshop and start
putting on the bright work.

I reckon it's going to
look absolutely excellent.

Welcome back.

Here's our stunning spider.

One of Italy's finest ever drop tops.

We've got a budget of up to
four grand to buy and restore it.

With a gleaming new paint job it
won't be long now before I can sell it on.

Hopefully for a big profit.

Now I've got our spider back to my workshop

I can truly see quite
how good d*ck's work is.

I mean this fantastic passionate racing red

really suits this car
but it can look better.

In fact it will look better once I've
bolted back on all those lovely shiny bits.

I'm making sure I don't
damage the paint work.

I'm using these cloths to rest the
bright work on while I do the fitting.

We certainly don't want any scratches.

The chrome really sets
off the red body work

and gives the car a
real feeling of glamour.

I remembered to carefully store
away all those one-off fixings.

Many a restoration has
been held up waiting for hard

to source parts to arrive
from an Italian importer.

I'm giving the chrome a
good clean while it's off the car.

It's much easier to get into all
the nooks and crannies then.

Warm soapy water and then specialist
metal Polish does the trick every time.

The Alfa is really coming together but
I've still got to tackle those headlights

so once this trademark
grille is on that's my next job.

These are the headlight
pods from our Alfa Romeo.

Now it's a left-hand
drive car made in Italy

of course like Europe
and the rest of the world

basically they all drive on
the right-hand side of the road

and so these headlights are
designed to shine ever so slightly

to the right-hand side of that road
to stop dazzling oncoming traffic.

Now that's fine over there but
of course over here in Britain

we're a little bit special, we
drive on the left which means

these headlights are now
throwing light into oncoming traffic.

Now the way to fix it properly
is to use a new seal beam unit.

Now these ones are
designed for British roads.

We drive on the left therefore this
light mostly points over to the left

which makes it perfectly
safe to drive and I can actually

tell that's right the little arrow
on the bottom of the lens.

So once I've replaced the
old lights with these ones

then our Alfa will be ready for
the open road in Britain at least.

These replacement
headlights are still in production

but you'll have to find a
specialist Alfa supplier.

I've got the spider on the ramp and
removed the front wheel for access.

I roughly fit the new unit
and then comes the clever bit.

My headlamps are now in
position but they may well not be in

the right alignment and that's
very important I get that right.

Now traditionally if you're
in your own little garage

what you do is you part your
car against a nice flat wall.

shine your lights on it
and get them roughly right

then maybe take it down
to the garage and get them

to give you a hand to get
them exactly in position.

If on the other hand
you're lucky enough to have

a beam setter you can
do it accurately at home.

Now what you have to do first of all

I've got the beam setter centered
on the headlamp I've got my lights on

and I can look now basically the beam
from the headlamp is shined into a lens

and that in turn gets projected onto a
little chart and I can see straight away

that actually my headlamp
is pointing too low

and also too far over
to oncoming traffic.

No worries I'll adjust the
headlamp position with the

locating screws and recheck
the chart on the beam setter.

It confirms that the
calibration is now perfect.

Our Alfa Romeo is for Nito.

Okay so there weren't too many
jobs to do but it was really hard work

and if it hadn't been for the help
of d*ck down at the body shop

we certainly wouldn't be looking
at this triumph of Italian style.

I can now say proudly that
when this car drives down the road

we won't be getting embarrassed
looks but stares of admiration.

Our Spider is a really glamorous ragtop.

Ed has rolled back the years
and revealed a head-turning classic

that will be happy cruising the
B roads for many years to come.

I found this car through
an ad in the local paper

and I got lucky when I paid 2,200 pounds
for it but it did have a few problems.

Then again it wouldn't be Wheeler dealers
without Ed wielding the spanners would it?

First job was to make
sure this lovely raspy engine

runs smoothly by changing
the manifold couplings.

Next he got down on his hands and
knees to weld up a hole in the footwell.

With the car water tight it was
time to strip off all the shiny bits

rub down the body and fill in
an unsightly dent on its nose.

The front end paint job is
perfect you can't even see the join

and from there it was just a
case of a few finishing details.

like polishing up the chrome
and fitting new UK headlights.

How much did we spend?

Well the rubber manifold
couplings were 47 pounds.

the welding cost nothing.

The dent was sorted with a five pound
tub of filler but then came the big bill.


and the new headlights were only 38 quid.

The car originally cost 2,200 pounds.

so our grand total is 3,125 pounds.

Wow wow Ed you've
done it again haven't you?

I'm speechless Ed we got a
proper, proper red Italian sports car

and it looks like the
paintwork is fantastic

last time I said it had that
nasty blue bonnet it was

all prepared for paint
but now it looks brilliant.

Basically we've got this
fantastic new coat of red paint

so it looks great during the day
but also it looks really good at night

because I fixed the headlights
you can see where you're going.

Fantastic because it had the left hand
drive headlamps and it was blinding people

so now they've been
converted to the UK road.

Brilliant okay well I can't wait to get
this thing out on the road give me the keys.

Now the engine in
this car is a real cr*cker

it's got that lovely little raspy exhaust
note perfect for those summer days

when you've got the top down and
you can hear what's going on behind you.

It says get me out on the open road.

Now Ed really had his work cut out on this
car he had to do the welding on the floor

we had the other jobs to do like the awful
paint work and the damage at the front

and he's carried that off I
know he had the help of d*ck

but it's all in the preparation
and the way it's turned out

I can't contain my excitement
it looks fantastic this car.

Right now what can I ask for it
well boat town versions of these

more desirable usually go for
around five five and a half grand

this one's got the square back not as
desirable but this one is in mint condition

and they're still quite rare
so I'm going to be greedy

and I'm going to ask for
four and a half grand or

whoever buys it I reckon
they got themselves a bargain.

Now we bought our pretty
little Alpha in the local paper

and I've advertised it back in the local
rags and on some specialist websites

but the young lady behind me
never seen it advertised at all

she just heard about it through word
of mouth she's come down had a drive

likes the way it goes and it sort of suits
her image however if she doesn't buy it

I've got a couple of other
people waiting in the wings

is it worth four and a half grand to her
though that's the big question wish me luck.

Right then Nadia hello
you're enjoying this I am yeah

what do you think of that interior
I think it's gorgeous great isn't it

nice and original original
steering wheel as well um all works

everything works inside this car
there are bad news though with alphas.

right you don't really
I'm going to tell you

they do suffer with quite
rotten floors Alpha rameos okay

but you'll be pleased to know if I
show you this look my mechanic Ed

well he's done it we
cut out all the old rust

and he welded in a brand
spanking new floor okay

and the other good thing about these cars
I love this bit yeah is the roof operation

look at that it's really really easy and
that means because it comes up so quickly

no buttons to push no fussing you're
never going to get your hair wet are you

and there's definitely no holes in it
there's no holes in it it's a good question

it doesn't leak but my recommendation
is if I was unscrupulous and dodgy

on the test drive put it for a
car wash if it's going to leak

it's going to leak in the car good idea all
right then yep okay now round the back

it's all lovely and straight very
clean no rust and it's a classic shape

it's all nice and straight down the
sides and watch it think of this paintwork

it is gorgeous it's lovely isn't it
deep red luster when we got the car

to be honest with you had a few
little marks on it but we've repainted

a lot of the front of this which is
good news because that means that

you don't have to touch it for
another few years it's been treated

it's been looked after it's all been done
professionally so you've got a nice red car

it all blends in beautifully
beautiful yeah so you

like the way it drove yeah
um you thought it went well.

you like the color of it yes it's
convertible yeah it's red i know it suits you

definitely okay well i advertised
the car for four and a half grand

and truthfully I've
got a couple of other

people waiting in the
wings if you don't buy it

so i just want four and a half
grand for it really it's worth that

i was going to say four grand
four grand yeah four grand taxi.

you get four grand it's
gonna get you a cabone

you can't give me four grand for a car
like this I'll tell you the good news right

this car is very cheap on insurance classic
car insurance costs you next to nothing

okay and you don't
have to pay for road tax

either really it's free
because it's a classic car

so you're going to save
yourself some money there.

and i'm willing to take the
risk that if you don't buy it

i'm going to get the
other people shipped in

and i'm going to stand
there and argue with them

until i actually do get
four and a half grand for it

because you can drive a car
like this for a couple of years

it's an appreciating classic and in
a couple of years time promise you

you'll get four and a half grand for it okay
then well thank you bought a car i know.

Nadia is gonna love this car and i love
the profit of over 1 300 pounds we made.

well our beautiful alpa
gets to fight another day

i'm gonna get a real burst of pride when
i see this car drive off into the sunset

and there's plenty more
where that came from

if you want to see some more
classic cars getting the start treatment

then join us next time
on Wheeler dealers tala.