05x03 & 05x04 - Lotus Esprit (Part 1)

[bunniefuu]

Hello and welcome to Wheeler
Dealers. We'll be clocking up the miles to

find iconic classics to bring back
and restore to their former glory.

That's right, we'll be
transforming rust buckets

into jaw-dropping beauties
we can turn a profit on.

This time we're on the trail of a
sports car, a b*ner-fidey British

classic. We've got £5,000 to
spend on buying one and restoring it.

Yup, we're hunting down my
favourite AT supercar, the Lotus Esprit.

Sounds like a challenge, better crack on.

It's truly an honour to be on the
hunt for this great British legend.

The Lotus Esprit is one
of the most enduring sports

car icons and preferred
transport of Mr James Bond.

At launch in 1975 it was
hailed as a masterpiece,

a car with well-class
performance and handling,

clothed in the unforgettable wedge
shape penned by Italian master, Giugiaro.


is still a must-have motor.

Now I've hit the road to buy
one and time for the bad news.

Finding an Esprit for
under £5,000 is, er, tough.

I can hardly locate a
single car that's not in bits.

My one lead is a dealer contact
offering me a trade-in at £3,000.

Better get over there before it disappears.

I've travelled in the rain
early in the morning to come

all the way to a factory
estate in the middle of Devon,

where people are grinding metal,
banging away and spraying cars.

To meet a chap I haven't
seen for years, he's

called Steve and he
specialises in Lotus.

Steve!

You about home, mate?

Have I got your hands grown?

Isn't it since the last year?

My hair grows continuously.

It does can grow.

It does, fortunately we all do.

Now, we spoke on the phone, you said
you've got a car that you want to trade.

Yes.

Obviously it's that sharp
looking yellow one over there.

It's the not-quite-so-sharp
looking silver one here, mate.

Do you know what I knew
you was going to say there?

OK, well, I'll just have a good look
round, make sure I'm happy with it,

and if we can do a deal,
I'll come and see you after.

Now, in my opinion, the
first way to judge a car's

true ownership is to have
a good, scrutinised inside.

And on the face of it,
this car is about 25 years

of age and it looks like
it's wearing quite well.

All these sun visor flaps, they're a bit
perished and they'd need to be changed.

The steering wheel's
original, the seat's

original, the carpet's
in fairly decent need.

Nothing more than a good valet
would sort the inside of this car out.

Right, key to an ignition,
what's it sound like?

Oh, listen to that!

The sound of true Lotus engineering!

But, and it's a big but, the
outside is looking rough.

All the panels, bumpers and
doors need a complete respray.

We'll be chucking money away.

This car will cost
me £3,000 to buy, it's

going to cost me at
least £2,000 to repaint it,

and I'm going to spend at least
another £1,500 on other bits and pieces.

And although, once it's done, £6,500 for a
car that looks sharp is not a lot of money,

there's no profit in it for me and Ed.

So, as much as
I'm tempted by this,

unfortunately, if it's
not right, just walk away.

That's a real setback, and deep down I'm
worried that I won't be able to find a car.

Back to the drawing board.

My luck is changing!

Back at base, a specialist at Spree
website has a new advert in my price range.

That's interesting.



He said he's sadly selling his S3 because
he has a new baby competing for attention.

That's perfect.

The car runs and drives very
well, mileage 75,000 miles.

The car has an annoyingly failed its MOT.

Perfect for us due to both
rear shocks leaking slightly.

It's got Ed's name
written all over it, this car.

It could be a goer.

The seller, Richard, is
honest about the car's

faults, but he won't
take a penny off £3,600.

We'll see about that.

Well, I've made it, and I'm
already very, very excited,

because right there is the
car of my boyhood dreams.

You must be Richard.

I am, how you doing?

And this, Richard, is
your Lotus' Spree Mk3.

Wow, look at that.

Tell us a little bit about it.

It's a 1983 Series 3.

It's normally aspirated,
so it's got no turbo.

None of those turbo problems
that the earlier ones had.

Yeah, none of those problems with that.

It's obviously a plastic
body, it's got a nice

chassis, so there's
no rust to worry about.

Never rusts.

I've had it for just over two years.

I've had a lot of fun with it.

Which is a bit of a laugh.

Did you?

But unfortunately I've got a
second kid on the way now.

So, it's time to go.

What do you think of the sunroof,
then, on this car? Is that original?

I don't think it is original.

I don't know, to be honest.

I think it's an aftermarket one.

If I'm completely honest, I've
got to say it does leak a little bit.

Well, I'm excited about getting under here.

There's the engine, that 2.2 normally
aspirated, no turbo, no trouble engine.

Any chance you can start it up for me?

I can.

And it works.

But it works quite badly,
doesn't it, at the moment.

That's a sore noise.

It is. It's got a small hole
in the exhaust pipe, which is

why, as I said on the phone,
it's unfortunately failed its MOT.

Right, so it failed its
MOT on the exhaust, and

you said something about
the suspension as well?

Yeah, the rear shocks,
when they put it up on the

ramps and lifted it up,
the rear shocks have had it.

Right.

But they aren't original.

So like this stormy
weather we're just about to

experience, this is
potentially a stormy motor.

I wouldn't say so.

Time for me to get dry and
have a look at the interior, I think.

Let's shut that down.

Right, and of course it's raining
outside, but it's also raining in here.

Let's turn this off.

I see the water is leaking
quite badly from this sunroof,

and that's probably
what's perished this interior,

because it's all looking, well,
it's all looking a bit ropey and tight.

Look at this.

Yeah.

It's a mess inside.

It's showing its age, the interior.

It is showing its age.

It looks like a 1970s tower
block, doesn't it, inside?

It's not very good.

God, this car better be cheap.

Right, I think I need a test drive.

Now this is private
property, otherwise I wouldn't

be able to legally drive
the Esprit without an MOT.

But here's a tip.

Ask the owner of a performance car
if you can test the car's performance.

Oh, yes!

Oh!

This car, woohoo, is mega.

I love it.

It's got huge amounts of
grim factor, and who can forget

those iconic images of James
Bond driving up the beach

in a white version of this
car in the James Bond films,

and that is for me what makes
me want to buy one of these.

It's just classic, isn't it?

And this one, wah, it's still got
some steam left in the engine.

I love it.

The suspension at the back,
though, that shock that is, I can feel it.

It's squiffing all over the place.

This car hasn't got an MOT, and
he has priced it accordingly, £3,600.

And if I was to let you into a
little secret, that's pretty cheap.

If this car did have an MOT, it would
probably make £5,000 or £6,000.

Do you know what I'm like?

I'm a Wheeler-dealer, so I'm going
to try and chip him some money,

but if he won't give me any money
off, to be honest with you, I'm having it.

And I'm really having it,
because this car, woohoo, is mega.

I can't say, Richard,
it's almost, almost like

driving a convertible,
that car, in the rain.

I've never been so wet
driving a fixed-day car.

That sunroof leaks terribly, really
badly, but I can't... Look at me smiling.

I've got to say, I loved it.

There's something so endearing
about it that makes me want to buy it,

but there's so many jobs
that I've got to put poor head to

that I was wondering if I
could have it a little bit cheaper.

You advertise it for £3,600.

I did, yeah.

So could you just give me a little bit off?

I'll be on my way and
I'll buy it in the rain.

I have touched with that, taking into
account the fact it's got no a*mo teeth,

and I've knocked it off already,
so I don't want to drop it any more.

You're not going to give
me a penny off of £3,600?

I don't want to, no.

Do you know what, I love the car so much.

I think it's such a challenge.

I think you're going to be
so pleased with the way

this car is going to turn
up, I'm going to have it.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Wicked.

Time to get the Esprit
back to the workshop.

I've got my own trailer,

but private companies will transport
a car for upwards of a quid a mile.

Now, I've got a long drive
ahead of me and I'm really excited.

I woke up this morning, it was
wet, it was windy, it was nasty.

It was one of those days
where you just wanted to

pull the duvet over and
go straight back to sleep.

But now I'm thinking,
wow, I've had a cracking day

out, I've got a brilliant
deal, a fantastic car.

Ed, wait until I see his face.

He is going to be so
excited to work on this.

It's a proper Wheeladina project
and a proper Wheeladina car.

Ta-da!

You are a superhero.

Let me show you your hands.

This is fantastic.

It's a spray, Ed.

We've done it.

I've always wanted one of these.

I'm so excited by this car.

Look at it, it's mint.

It is. Does it go under water?

It doesn't.

And you don't need to make it seaworthy.

Look, it's fibreglass, Ed, it doesn't rust.

There's nothing to do, it's brilliant.

Well, yeah, you could have a look inside.

It's lovely in here, actually.

Here we go, here we go.

As you can see, it's a little bit ripped.

I've always wanted to drive
one of these little things.

I know you've always
wanted... Go on, get in!

You really are struggling.

This is not good.

Wow!

I think this is going to...

Oh, Ed, this is sorry.

That really is a start.

Hang on.

There's no way I can drive this
without the door being opened.

You're clearly not the average man-layer.

Well, no, my dreams are shattered.

But this is really nasty in here.

It's horrible.

It really is probably the worst I've seen.

It is a pretty bad interior.

So what I thought we'd do is
I'll go on a hunt for a new one,

get a new interior, and
you can buzz it in for us.

Be easy.

I'll just whip this one out of your life.

Yes.

This is old English engineering.

It's going to be held in with rusty
screws and clips that will snap off.

It's going to be ages.

But it's only screws and bolts.

Be easy, Ed.

So mechanically it's fine?

No, because you're here.

So the exhaust has to be fixed.

It sounds like a tank.

It does sound like a
Chieftain tank at the moment.

You'll have to do the exhaust.

There's a problem with that.

But there is a more serious
MOT sort of issue down the back.

OK.

I'll see if I can get back at it then.

Come on, Ed.

OK.

Right now, look.

Watch this.

See that?

That looks like a nice
bouncy suspension, doesn't it?

The problem is it's a sports car.

It should be stiff.

And when I drove the car on a test
drive, it was really loose on the back.

And it got me worried.

And I think it needs to
be sorted out somewhere.

I reckon it's probably just
shock absorbers, to be honest.

Really?

I reckon that would be a really easy fix.

I think that's the least of my worries.

I'm really worried about the interior.

But also, in this engine, I reckon
you're being over-optimistic.

I think there's been loads of
little surprises from the engine.

There's loads of bills and services.

The engine will be fine, but
you can sort out the noise,

do the suspension, change the interior.

A morning's work for you.

Sort the electrics out.

We've got ourselves a winner.

Yes?

Thanks, mate.

Good luck.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

Our mission is to buy,
restore, and sell on classic cars.

And I've bought this MOT-fouled
Lotus Esprit for only £3,600.

Problem is, it needs quite a bit of work.

But Ed's just the man for the job.

This Lotus is an iconic sports car.

In its day, it cost as much as a house.

It was competing with
Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

But look at the state of it now.

It's outrageous.

Mike has promised me
a replacement interior,

so I'm pleased to say all
this lot can be ripped out.

The seats are bolted
to the underside

of the car, so they
need to come off first.

Right, I can see what's going on now.

I've got four bolts, one
there, one there, one there,

and one there, actually
holding the seat to the car.

It's kind of a silly place
to put them, really,

because obviously they're in the elements
all the time and they're really rusty.

But a bit of penetrating
fluid should sort that out.

This job doesn't need specialist tools,

only a standard socket set.

Ooh, now.

Just snap that off,
which is lucky in a way,

because actually we're
going to be throwing those

seats away and putting
the replacement ones in,

and those replacement seats
will actually have bolts attached,

so not so bad.

The old seats, panels and
door cards are pretty far gone

and would be too costly
for us to re-upholster.

It might seem over the top,
to remove the entire interior,

but it's likely that a replacement
interior won't be exactly the same colour.

This is a unique car, after all,

so I've got to do a shed load more hours.

Well, it's turning out to be as
hard as I thought it was going to be.

We are getting there.

The trickiest part of the job is
removing the instrument binnacle.

Brain surgery is probably a lot easier.

Well, that's the last bolt
holding this binnacle on,

so now it's loose, but
annoyingly, there is no sort of

multi-plug connecting all
the wires to the dashboard,

to the wiring room,

so which means I'm
going to have to disconnect

all of the wires
individually off every single

dial and all the switches
and everything else

just to get this binnacle off,

which means I'll then have
access to the dashboard,

and of course, to get that off,
I'm going to have to take the

steering wheel off and also
the indicator column switches.

This is an absolute pain in the...

It's lucky I'm so bijou, isn't it?

Now, because I'm
taking a few wires off now,

I'm getting a little nervous.

I'm going to start labelling things up
because I don't want to have the nightmare

of having to work out where
everything goes afterwards.

Here we go. Come on, surely.

I think we're nearly there.

Hooray!

At last, nearly, surely,
surely, what else is attached?

There's all kinds of
rubbish attached to this car.

One dashboard.

Well, that was a very, very long day.

Cheers, Mike.

I did warn Mike that
just popping out of that

interior was not going
to be an easy job.

It's taken me an absolute age.

But every cloud does have a silver lining,

at least now I know how the
replacement interior is going to pop in.

I think I've earned this.

Lotus Esprits often
have fragile mechanicals

and I need to find out if our car has
any problems that Mike hasn't spotted.

I think it's about time that I got my hands
dirty, which is why I'm wearing gloves.

Now, this car sounds
like a tank at the moment,

so obviously there's something
wrong with the exhaust.

But actually, looking at
the silencers, they seem OK.

I mean, the pipes are quite rusty,

but they're not fatally so.

Let's have a look around here.

Oh, hello.

There's a load of soot
coming out of that flange, all

that jolly in there, so
definitely the gas gets broken.

I'll have to change that,

but I don't think it's
anything that serious,

except there's a huge crack in the cast
iron manifold, which is not a good thing.

So I'm going to have
to definitely replace that.

I'm not really sure quite
how I get my hands in there,

but anyway, we'll
worry about that later on.

I'm going to have to change that anyway.

The other thing we're going to have
to do, we know for sure that this car

hasn't had a cam belt change for quite
some time, so I'm going to have to do that.

And the cam belt is back
here at the front of the engine.

And I can get to the pulleys and things,

I can actually get to
the belt with my hands,

but really, I think
the chances of lining

things up accurately
are probably quite slim.

And there is a rule of
thumb with these lotuses

that if you've got more than
two jobs to do on engine,

you really should take the engine
out, which, of course, at this stage,

looking at all the bits I have to
undo, is quite an epic challenge.

But the other thing I'm going to
have to do with things like oil change,

there's an oil filter I can
just about see up there.

So it really is going to be a lot easier
to watch these things on the bench.

So, here we go.

Before the engine comes out,

all the big bits need to be unbolted.

On the mid-engined and complicated Esprit,

it makes sense to remove the inboard brake
caliper as it's attached to the gearbox.

I've roped in my mate Paul,

as four hands are better than two.

I'm just going to try and wiggle it.

Oh, there we go.

Hey!

Cool, we now have the caliper.

off the engine.

I suppose you want to
call it the gearbox, really.

The reason I've done that is because
you've got this flexible pipe here,

which is full of brake fluid,
and also you've got the

handbrake cable here, both
of which are attached to the car.

And, of course, we're
going to have to remove.

the engine and the gearbox.

We're going to have to
disconnect the driveshaft as well,

but this makes our eyes a little bit easier
because it's one less thing to disconnect.

Next up, the heavy exhaust downpipe
and back box need to come off.

Predictably, most of the screws

are impossible to budge.

This is a very tricky nut.

I think, normally, you have
some joy in just shirring it in too,

like everything else on this, but I think
we're going to end up breaking knuckles.

I think I'll just cut that
off with a cutting disc

because we've got quite
a good access there.

And then our exhaust system should
sort of just drop out of the car, I guess.

One nut needs the VIP treatment.

A lick from my blowtorch expands
the metal and frees the tiresome nut.

Let it cool before you touch it, though.

I'm not going to be able
to do this with my fingers.

That's for sure.

There we go.

You need to make sure the engine
is fully drained before you remove it,

and that means collecting
any coolant and oil,

disposing of it carefully afterwards.

Everything underneath is now freed off.

Next, we remove the engine mounts from
above and then the block can be winched out.

We're almost there.

Now, we're pretty sure
we've undone everything

we need to on the
engine and gearbox here,

so now the whole thing is
ready to be removed from the car.

So we've got the engine hoist here.

We've been putting some
straps around the engine as well.

Now, the technique, I've been
told, is the best way to do this

is actually to lift the
engine out sort of at a funny

angle like that and then kind
of drag it away from the car.

So we'll see how that goes.

A specialist engine overhaul for this
vehicle could end up costing you thousands.

So doing it yourself is cost effective,

but you'll need to be pretty skilled.

Now, that may seem like an awful lot of
effort to go to, but with the engine out,

I can definitely get to all
the little bits and pieces.

I'm going to have to work on.

So all I have to do now, pop it on
the bench and get really stuck in.

Ed, how you getting on?

Wow, you've got the interior out.

Well done.

I told you it would be easy.

It was so not easy.

The thing is, it's a really complex car
and so when you want to take one thing out,

you've got to take
everything else out around it

and it's quite a challenge to
try and get it in the right order.

So it's been a hard one.

Right, so now you've got this
far, what are you going to do?

Take the carpets out and that's it?

Well, it's over to you now, to be honest.

Basically, I've taken
the entire interior out

but that means I need an entire
replacement interior from you,

so you've got to get busy
and make it a good one.

Well, I've had a chat
with a guy called Steve

who reckons he's got
a good interior for me

to go and have a look
at, so I'm on the case.

So if you've stopped working inside,

obviously you've finished the engine.

Now, you would think that, wouldn't you,

but there is a rule of
thumb with these things,

that if you're going to do more than two
jobs on the engine, you just drop it out.

It says on the bench, ready to go,
but, you know, I need a bit more time.

Wow, so you've taken the
engine out and the interior out.

Okay, so the engine is on the bench,

I'm onto the interior,

and then at the end, Ed, we'll have a look.

It's going to be really good.

It's going to be great.

Do you know what, we're
in the money with this one.

Ed might be spent,

but we've still not shelled
out for any spares yet, so

there's still £1400 available
from our five grand kitty.

It should be enough to see
our Esprit in Tip Top Nick,

if Ed can stay sharp.

Well, this Esprit is looking
very, very sorry for itself,

but I've never lost faith in Ed before,
and I'm not about to start doing it now.

No, the real pressure
is on me to deliver the

right parts to get this
baby roaring back to life.

Our mission is to buy,
restore and sell on classic cars.

Our budget is £5000 and
our goal is making a profit,

but getting Fady Classics
back to rude health

is a huge part of the fun.

Oh, yes!

This Lotus Esprit is one of
the UK's best loved motors.

Hard driving and film star
looks are bargain money.

Our James Bond Lotus has
no MOT and was only £3600.

It does need a large dose of TLC,

and it's lucky that we, well,
Ed, isn't scared of hard graft.

The perished interior was due an upgrade

and the old one came out
along with a lot of Ed's hair.

Ed needed to work on the engine and
thought he'd whip it out for better access.

It didn't exactly whip out.

It took Ed hours of effort and
that boy's journey is far from over.

Just look at the state of this interior.

It's going to take a whole heap of
work to pull this thing back together.

But first, Ed's got
to work on that lovely


usually slung behind me.

He's got it out and on the workbench.

Let's hope he doesn't
find too much wrong of it.

So, over to Ed.

We went to quite a bit of trouble
to get this engine out of our Lotus

and that's because we've
got several jobs to do

and it's a lot easier
when it's on the bench.

Now, the most obvious
was this manifold here.

Because of the crack, it sounds like
a tank, so we're going to change that.

But also, this cam belt here.

Because of the history of the car,

we're not really sure of when
the cam belt was last changed

and because it could do an awful
lot of damage if it was to break,

we're going to change
that as a matter of course.

How much damage?

Well, if the belt snaps and the
valves smash into the pistons,

you're looking at
thousands of pounds to fix it.

First, I align the distributor,
crank and drive shaft

to top dead centre by lining up
the helpful markings on the pulleys.

Undo the tensioner and
the old belt slides off easily

to be replaced by a brand
spanking new one for only £33.

Mike will be happy.

The belt's back on, so what I'm doing
now is just rotating the engine by hand.

Oh, complete revolution.

Okay, and I'm just going to try
and line up again to top dead centre

and just to see, make sure
all our marks still line up.

Which they do, which means I've
very successfully replaced our cam belt.

Now it's time to tackle the exhaust.

I've got to take this manifold
off, but the problem is

you can see these rusty nuts on the
rusty studs holding it onto the engine.

I've got to be so careful, if I try
and undo these and they snap,

it's going to be a real
nightmare to change them.

And also quite expensive to
change all those studs over.

So, I'm going to get
some heat on these guys,

see if I can expand the nut
and wind it off ever so gently.

But wish me luck, it's going to be tricky.

All this might look a bit
extreme, but it usually works.

If I can't shift the studs, I'll have to
drill them out and re-tap the holes.

A long job I can well do without.

This is such a fiddly job,
it's kind of ridiculous actually.

I think if it had been on
the car, it would have taken

probably half a day to do, but at least
this way it's only taken half an hour or so.

The good news is, the manifold is now off.

It's a very heavy bit of scrap metal

and I'll now be replacing that
with a nice new exhaust system.

The surface needs to be carefully cleaned

or the new manifold
gasket won't seal properly.

It really does pay to be thorough.

I've now prepared the head
ready for our new manifold

but I'm not going to be
replacing it with another cast

iron unit because although
these are quite good for,

very cheap in fact, for mass production,

they're not so good for performance

and at the end of the day,
we've got a performance vehicle

so what I'm going to be
using is an aftermarket.

stainless steel tubular manifold

It's made up of lots of individual pipes.

that have got a nice uniform diameter
so the gas flows out much much better

which means ultimately we get better
performance and for me, it's also easier to fit.

I'm not going to fully
tighten up these nuts yet.

First, I'm going to offer
up the stainless steel

collector and make
sure it all fits together.

The collector will be properly attached
later when the engine is back in the car.

And since the engine is
out, I may as well give it

a quick service so I'm
changing the spark plugs,

replacing the oil filter and
sticking in a new air filter.

Well there we go, all the
jobs on the engine are done

so now all I have to do is
just drop it back into the car

connect up the engine
mounts, do the water pipes

put some water in, got the oil to pump
up got the oil cooler to put on of course

got the throttle cable, the clutch cable
While Ed works through his to-do list,

I've got a mission of my own

I need a new interior,
which is pretty rare.

My trade contact, Steve,
offered me a Lotus before,

which I didn't take, but now
he's breaking another spree

and has given me first
dabs on the seats and panels.

That's a manky interior!

That's an extremely
cheap interior, I'm like.

But look at the state of it, I mean
what am I going to do with that?

No, no, no, your experts can clean that
up very easily and it's very, very cheap.

Well, we haven't discussed price yet,
but what do you mean about cleaning it up?

I mean, can you steam clean that?

I think you can, yes.

Steam cleaning, a bit of colonising.

Yeah, I think so, and you can
recolour any bits that are necessary

to match any of the
old bits you'd rather use.

Right, so, not only have I
got to spend money on it,

I'm going to have to spend
money preparing it as well.

Go on in, break me heart,
tell me how much it is.

I'm going to be extremely
cheap and say £200.

I thought you said £200!

Are you mad?! £200 for a pile of bits!

You make me an offer, Mike.

Well listen, if there's
somebody on the phone

making you a cheaper
offer, I'm having it.

How's that for you, yeah?

I'll give you £100 for it.

I'm not giving no more than that,
and I'm buying that as a gamble.

I'm going to take that deal, mate.

Oh yeah, well done
mate, thank you very much.

That was an easy deal, wasn't it?

I'm quite easy.

God, I tell you what, I think
I've had a right old result.

The interior of our car is so
shabby, it's not salvageable.

This, although it looks a bit of a mess,

and I think I beat Steve
right down to the ground.

Look at it, it's a
complete interior for £100.

That is a major result,
and we're going to make

it look brand new when
it goes into our Lotus.

Right, let's get it back to the workshop.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

We aim to buy, restore
and sell on classic cars.

Our budget is £5,000,
and this is our Lotus

Esprit that we're midway
through turning around.

Ed's already put the
engine back, and he's

given the interior I
bought a bit of a clean.

Let's hope it actually fits.

Having given Mike's bargain
interior a wash and brush up,

it's now looking pretty
cool, and although it is tan,

I think that will work
with our blue vehicle,

but because it's now uber clean, I'm going
to be wearing gloves to put it in the car.

The fun part is remembering
where all this is going to go.

I know from taking the old interior out

that putting the new
one in will be a bit of a

headache, but at least I
know the order, dash first.

Well, I think I'm nearly there
with the dashboard piece,

just trying to get these last few
bolts into position, if nothing else.

I've got all the wires
through the hole I had to.

I've started to connect some of them up.

You know, forget them.

Genuine carpets are rare, but I found
a guy making replacements to order.

They simply glue to the
body with a spray adhesive.

The k*ller part of this process
is refitting the binnacle.

Remember that web
of wires that had to be

disconnected from every
dial, switch and bolt?

Well, I certainly do.
Now I've got to reconnect them.

Well, that's pretty cool.
That is the last piece of this interior.

All I have to put in now are the seats.

The seats bolt through the floor
of the car, which is simple enough.

It's been a marathon of unscrewing,
screwing and fiddling about,

but it's added massively
to the appeal of our Lotus.

When Mike first got
this car, he complained

about a squeak coming
from the rear suspension.

He was worried it was
going to be an expensive job,

but I was pretty sure it was
going to be nice and simple.

And looking at this,
it looks like I'm right,

because this shock
absorber looks pretty past it,

but you can particularly tell at the
top it's quite wet looking and shiny.

That's because it's leaking.
Now, that is an MOT failure,

but more than that, this
is a performance car.

If it isn't performing, if it isn't
handling properly, then what's the point?

So it's very important to keep in mind,

it's so important that we
replace the shock absorbers

and we're going to do both
of them just to make sure.

that this thing handles
just the way it should.

Now, these are spring compressors,

and I need these to try
and compress the spring,

as the name suggests,
and the idea is then

it'll take the pressure off the nuts
on the top of this mount up here,

which means I can then
undo that and then hopefully

I can then remove the
whole thing from the car.

I'm just going to pop these into position.

It's not unusual to replace
the shocks on a car of this age.

It doesn't point to harsh treatment.

I'm replacing the old shocks
with Lotus units at £60 each.

Adjustable aftermarket shocks are only £75,

but I've decided to keep the car original.

Getting the shocks back on is just a
reverse of the procedure to remove them.

There's no special method,

but it's important that the bolts above
and below the shock are tightened securely.

Well, it does seem that changing
shock absorbers on a Lotus

may be a little bit more
tricky than on other cars,

but it's definitely well worthwhile
because this is all about handling this car

and, at the end of the day, it's now
going to handle like it was designed to.

One of the reasons our
Esprit's interior looks so bad is

because of water damage, and
that water came from this roof.

Now, I can look across it,
and I can see quite easily

that there's actually a gap
big enough for water, certainly,

and I can push it down, put
the glass, a bit of pressure,

and I can make it seal up.

So I think I know how to fix this,

and I don't think it's a
particularly difficult job, either.

Parished rubber seals are often the cause
of leaking sunroofs, but ours are okay.

Now, these little clips basically
attach to the glass here,

and they go into some
little containers, if you want

to call them out, or
little receptors on the car,

and, essentially, they pull the glass
down as the glass window's put in place.

So what I need to do is I'm
just going to bend those down.

so it just pulls the glass
just a little bit tighter.

I'm going to do that.

Bit of muscle power.

Okay, that should be enough.

Well, that's a little bit better.

I want to do it just a little bit at a
time rather than overcooking it.

This sunroof is aftermarket.

I wasn't able to find the
manufacturer to buy a new tang,

so I hope the fix I'm doing will work.

Otherwise, I need to consider putting in a
whole new sunroof at around 400 pounds.

You see?

First time lucky. Very cool.

I always knew that our Lotus was
going to give me a lot of trouble,

but this was seriously hard work.

Having said that, I've now finished,

and I'm looking forward to getting
our little sports car onto the open road.

Mind you, I'd better give it a
bit of a clean before Mike sees it.

I tracked this car down
on a specialist website.

I was worried about finding a
car at all, but this one was gold.

The cello Richard stuck at


The interior was tired and damp,

so Ed pulled out the old
one and fitted a replacement

that I picked up for a
bargain, 100 pounds.

The engine needed a new exhaust manifold,

plus a cam belt change,

and Ed decided to take the
lump out to make access easier.

It was a long, tough job,
but fitting a stainless steel

manifold and fresh cam belt
was much easier on the bench.

The rear shocks needed replacing,

and that was a quick job for Ed, with no
further damage to report at the back end.

And that leak in sunroof just required a
tang to be reworked by Ed's magic fingers.

The car sailed through the MOT,

making it road legal to drive.

But how much did we spend?

The car was 3,600,

interior and carpets 200,

rear shocks 120,

engine parts came to 100,

and the exhaust manifold was 365.

That's 4,385 pounds.

We're well under our five grand budget.

Fantastic. Well done, Ed.

Has it been a good experience?

Kind of. I mean, I've
been looking forward to

working on one of these things all my life,
and then when it comes to that moment,

it turns into a real labour of love,
because these things are handmade,

and it's just any job you have to do,
you have to do something else first,

and something else before that, so it's
been really tricky, but now it's finished,

I'm really proud of it.

I think it was worth it,

because just look at what we got.

We got an 80s supercar,
what with the interior,

the paintwork.

I reckon with the money we pay
for this and what we spent on it,

we're definitely in the
money with this one.

We're going to earn a profit.

I really think we need to
do a proper test drive first.

A proper test drive.

That's funny you should mention that,
because you're always moaning at me

about the fact that I'm out there on the
road buying parts, buying and selling cars,

and you're stuck in this
workshop, bruising your knuckles.

Well, I've arranged a
little surprise for you.

You haven't.

I've brought Ed to a
certain sports car factory.

Okay, so we're here.

We're in Norwich.

This is Lotus.

Lots of lovely cars,
but this one's finished,

so what are we here for?

Because this is where this car was made.

This Lotus Esprit was
manufactured at Heffel on this ground.

Fantastic, eh?

That's very cool.

And I brought you down with the car.

Yeah, it's nice.

It's a lovely area.

But I pulled off one other
thing for you, because I

know it's been your boyhood
dream to drive one of these.

Well, do you know,

Lotus have their very
own private test track.

Right.

And they've given me the keys to the gate.

No way.

For one whole day.

How did you pull it off?

Well done, eh?

I've got some contacts in the
trade, you know what I mean?

Awesome.

So jump in, fill your boobs.

Here we go.

Hang on.

Come on, jump in.

Now, we had this problem before,
but I've... Come on, you can go.

I'm getting it.

I'm getting it.

Get that knee over that bit,

and squeeze it.

Wait, wait, wait.

Come on.

Come on, you can do it.

Just squeeze your foot right down,

right down into the foot well,

and mind your thinking.

I've got to have my foot on the pedals.

I've got to have my foot on the pedals.

You've got to be all right, fella.

Okay, just gently shut the door.

You feel like a glove.

Ow.

No, hang on.

No, no.

Ed, do you know what they say?

Your loss is my gain.

Out you jump, son.

No way.

Now, you've got to be gentle with me.

I will be gentle with you.

Come on, let's go and enjoy ourselves.

I'm loving that.

I can't believe I can't drive this thing.

Ed, the Lotus test track.

Let me just reel up some names here.

Okay.

Jim Clark.

Wow.

John Searches.

Graham Hill.

Nigel Mansell.

The incredible S and Senna.

Mike Brewer.

Ed Chyna.

It's got a ring to it.

That works for me.

In fact, what we're coming
up to are the Senna S's.

No way.

I'm so excited that we've actually got
a chance to test all this work I've done.

I mean, obviously the interior is nice
enough, but it's all the mechanical stuff.

You know, the shock absorbers seem to be
making the back of the car handle nicely.

All that stuff we did on the
engine just makes it run smooth.

It gives it a little bit more power.

Makes it power slide.

I got that one a little bit wrong.

Drives like a dream, doesn't it?

It's a good power.

Look at the power out in the corners.

That's fantastic.

I mean, I'm just not
going to push it too hard.

No, yeah.

Let's not break it just yet.

We've got to sell it first, mate.

And now because we've
got such a salted car,

Ed, we need to think
about salting out a price.

Me, I think, you know, a car like this,

in the condition we've got it in,
and driving as tight as it does,

it's probably worth
about six and a half grand.

Yeah, I reckon that's a
good fair price, actually.

I mean, I put a lot of work into this,

and it is a lot of car for your
money at the end of the day.

You are still fighting for supercars,

so six and a half, but
I'll be happy with that.

I advertise the Lotus
on several Internet sites,

and it wasn't long before
the old motor got notice.

This guy, Jack, is my first visitor.

But it's lovely, isn't it? Look at it.

Yes, yeah.

It's got your name written all over it.

I can tell.

He sounds positive, but is he ready to buy?

So it's six and a half grand?

My sort of maximum I had in mind
was five and a half grand, basically, so...

Is that it?

That's it.

A waste of time for both of us.

Next, I got interest from this guy, Mike,

who told me he wasn't buying the car for
himself, but it was to be shipped abroad.

To be honest, it sounded flaky,

and I doubt it'd show, but he did.

I let him get a feel for the
Esprit before I moved in.

Okay, Mike, this is the
heart of the beast under here.

That's a 2.2 litre, naturally aspirated,

which means it doesn't have a turbo.

It's the model without the complications,

because it hasn't got anything to go wrong.

It's simple engineering.

This is actually for our son-in-law,
and this is the exact model that he wants.

So he wants the non-turbo model?

Yes, exactly.

Everyone does?

Do you want to have a look inside?

Yes, please.

Why don't you plop yourself in?

All right.

Ah, this is great.

Nice in there, isn't it?

Lovely, yeah.

Fantastic, but it worked like that
when I bought it, let me tell you.

No, it had this creamy,
yellowy, horrible interior with

ripped seats, and all the
dashboard was shot to pieces,

and we were fortunate
enough to find another interior,

and we've changed the whole thing.

Well, it certainly looks good.

My instincts tell me
that Mike is serious about

the car, but money talks,
and every pound counts.

Is he going to deal?

So you've had a good look round the car.

It's in tip-top Nick.

I've had quite a few interested
partners, to be honest with you.

I can imagine, yeah.

I want six and a half grand for it,

and I expect to get that, really.

Six and a half grand is a bit
more than what I expected to pay.

Everyone says that.

Yeah, at the end of the
day, it's not my money,

it's my son-in-law's money,

and how are you thinking more about six?

Six grand?

Six grand, yeah.

So you want 500 quid off?

Yeah, yeah.

You talk to me?

Yeah.

No, I've gone deaf in that.

You can't have it for six grand.

Six grand.

It's a lotusy spree.

I'll give you six grand now.

No, I can't do that.

I'll tell you what, because it's
you, and you're a lovely fella,

and I know you're under pressure
buying it for your son-in-law.

You can have it for £6,300.

I'll tell you what, I'll
give you £6,200 now,

and shake on it.

Get your hand.

Done.

Well done, you.

I think you'd be over the blooming moon.

At that money, Ed and I are
just over £1,800 to the good.

That's nothing short of fantastic,

but the best news is we've turned a
spree that was well past its sell-by date

into a lean, mean driving machine.

Now, some cars I bought in Europe

and sold right here in the UK,

and guess what?

This time, I buy a traditional British-built
sports car right here in the UK,

and it's off to sunnier climbs.

This Lotus Esprit is going to Gibraltar

to go and have some
fun in the sun, like I have.

If you want to see more cars
getting the same treatment,

then join us again soon.

Ta-la!