02x05 - TVR Taimar: Cult Classic

[bunniefuu]

I'm Ant Anstead

and, when it comes to cars,
I can fix almost anything.

Ah! There she goes!

When it comes to houses...

Whoo-hoo!

...not so much.

I'm supercharging my mission.

[HORN HONKS]
Oh, my God!

Fixing up and flipping
eight more classic motors...

[LAUGHS] You look like
Laurel and Hardy, you two!

...because the 500-year-old
farmhouse

I bought for my parents to retire in
is a crumbling money pit...

I would brace yourself,
because that ain't gonna be cheap.

...but I won't be defeated.

Yeah. It's beautiful, isn't it?

I want Mum and Dad moved in
before the summer ends.

Call it glamping, shall we?
Right, that's the spirit.

And with the help of family...

[LAUGHS]
I did it!

...and my petrolhead pal Duncan...

BOTH: Yeah!
Come on then, let's go!

...I'm determined to turn cars
into cash...

Oh!

Aaah!
...even if it kills me.

Whoa-oaa! Whoo-hoo!

Two months until the end of
the summer

and there's still loads to do
to get Mum and Dad moved in,

but at least we've made
good progress in the living room.

Check it out.
Oh, my goodness!

The reason I want you in here is
I want to start thinking about
the flooring.

Well, I'm very much for carpet.
You want to carpet it?

It's lovely and warm.
Makes it even warmer.

Yeah, I... Carpet...

in my opinion, is a little bit out.

It... It doesn't have that
functional farmhouse feel.

It doesn't matter
whether it's in or out.

It's what is most comfortable.

Yeah, I think, maybe...

sort of, a hard flooring and a rug.

What about tiles? Like we've got
outside the front door.

The pathway tiles?
The quarry tiles? Nice.

Something like that.
What do you think?

Ha! She doesn't look convinced.

[LAUGHS]

Pick up a couple of choices and then
we can look at what fits the room.

A living room's worth of tiles isn't
gonna come cheap.

So I'm heading to Oxfordshire
for a potential restoration

that's caught my eye.

I'm gonna go and see a car
that I have absolutely lusted after.

Not this specific car,
but this specific brand.

It's a TVR.

You see, TVR kind of hit
that sweet spot.

Sports cars. Lightweight.

Home-made. British.

Fast. Really fast.

TVR was born in a Blackpool
workshop in the 1940s.

This hand-made car was the
brainchild of a guy called Trevor.

Hence the name "TVR".

They were a mish-mash of borrowed
parts and bespoke components.

It's fair to say they were
a little rough around the edges,

but they acquired a cult following.

This is a TVR that doesn't
come around that often.

This is a 1978 Taimar.

And it's really special,
in terms of TVR lineage,

because it's the car
with the hatchback.

When you think about it, a hatchback
isn't an obvious design choice

for a sports car, but it just works.

Actually, it's the only one
I can find online at the moment,

which tells me one thing.

It's rare. Rare is good.

Rare means profit.

Normally.

The current owner bought the car
a year ago as a project

and with fewer than 100 of these

believed to still be on the road
in the UK, I can't wait to see it.

Ant!
You must be Steven.

A pleasure to see you.
And you, mate.

I've got to say, I've seen some
project cars in some weird places.

Why is it in the garden?

That's the best place
to put it, innit?

So, the history of the car.
What do you know?

I've had it a year. Before that,
a gentleman had it, but he died.

It sat in a garage for two years.
I bought it off the guy's missus.

Do you know anything
about it before him? No.

She can't find the history. Can we
take the cover off? Certainly can.

All right.

With little knowledge of
this car's nearly 50-year history,

I'll need to look closely
for any battle scars.

It's epic.
You forget how small they are.

You've done some work,
got it running and driving. Yeah.

So what's the problems?

Well, this gearbox
rear oil-seal is leaking.

The engine oil-seal is leaking.

Okay, so there's a puddle of oil
underneath right now?

It drips.
How bad is it?

Oh, there's a tray.

Well, do you mind if I have maybe


Oh, I'm a big lover of TVRs.

Everything they represent and stand
for, but I need to be measured,

because this car also has
notorious problems.

But, actually, on the face of it,
it looks pretty solid.

Yeah, it sits really well
for a fibreglass car.

While Lotus were making fibreglass
cars obsessed with weight,

TVR were kind of the opposite.
They were doing fibreglass cars,

but they put heavy engines in.

So this car is notorious... Whoa!

Don't break it.

This car is notorious for being
a little bit tail-happy,

but that makes it fun.

Yeah, this boot section,

this tail is the first TVR that had
that kind of hatch look.

I already like it.

I don't like the wheels, though.

TVR, just like Colin Chapman, stole
things from other car companies,

so this engine came out of a Ford.

Hm, there's something missing here.

I think...
I think that's the heater box.

As TVRs were hand-made,
the parts were often bespoke,

meaning this won't be
an off-the-shelf replacement.

It's a niche car with niche needs.

Urhh.

And it has this really, kind of...

...home-made, have-a-go,
hero interior.

There is nothing in this car
that's quality, but I love it.

It's awesome.

The ergonomics of the car.

I haven't started it yet,
so I'm not gonna get too excited.

[ENGINE FAILS TO START]

Come on.

Oh! Oh!

[ENGINE STOPS]

Oh, and we're off!

[ENGINE STARTS]
Oh-h*! There she goes!

[REVS ENGINE]

Okay, the indicators work.

The wipers?

I've found one!

A TVR where the wipers work.

I've seen enough.

I have seen enough.

A good Taimar can go for


but this car is up for
nearly 11 grand,

so I'll need to knock off a few quid
to make it worth the punt.

The car presents really well.

You know, the, the shell is
remarkably good.

I haven't been able to drive it.

The oil leak?
I don't really know what it is yet.

So that's a bit of a risk,
but, in the main, I really love it.

So let's just go straight to
the chase.

Take, like, three grand off.
Oh!

No, I can't do that.
All right. Take...

...2,800 off.

Can't do that either, I'm afraid.
Any chance of it being...

not five figures,
like, it starts with...

a nine?

Nine? Yeah. Start with a nine.
Okay, so we're in...

the nine...
Yeah, definitely.

...000? No. A little bit more
than that, I think.

We're at a bit of a stalemate,

but I have an idea.

All right. The tarp was held down.
These wheels here. Mmm-hmm.

Do you have four of them?
I have four of those, yes.

Because they're the original wheels.
Yes, they are.

So what if... £9,500 buys the car?

I'll give you 50 quid
on top for the wheels.

Sounds fair enough to me.

Is that sold? Yes.
Yes! I've got a Taimar!

Whoo-hoo hoo-hoo!

Yeah, this car, I just have
a really good feeling about it.

It really is the sweet spot
of '70s sports cars.

There is absolutely no way
I can't make a profit on this car.

I'm going to say it right now.

Mate, what have you got there?

A car so light that I can push it
in, look, with one finger.

Oh. You'll have to do the brakes.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!

[LAUGHS]
Wow.

That is a 1978 TVR Taimar.

That's a proper little monster.
Right.

But it's got all the key ingredients
of a great TVR. A composite body.

Low in volume,
which means it's high in value.

It has that cult following,
because TVRs do.

The bodywork is actually incredibly
straight. It's complete-ish.

Yeah, I think this is gonna be
a bit of fun.

Has it got an engine? Yeah.
It's got an engine. This car runs!

And there's your engine.

Yeah, it's got an engine.
There!

Did you know that
the TVR Taimar was the first TVR

to have a heater?

Unlike this one.

This hasn't got a heater.
[CHUCKLES]

So there is a gap here and I have
no idea where we're gonna get one.

Now, the engine.
The problem is it's got a leak.

Aah. It's an oil leak
that could either be

tonnes of cash
and tonnes of problems.

A TVR. Or it could be an oil leak
that is a simple fix.

A Ford.

What did we pay for it?

It was nine-five-fifty.

The extra 50 was because he threw in
the original wheels. Are you happy?

I'm very happy.
Right.

Let's stick it in the barn.

Do you want to hit
that little dinky handbrake? Yeah.

It's got to be the world's smallest.

The problem is, is that we don't yet
know what's wrong with the engine.

So this is the hold-the-breath
moment, because it is a TVR.

I can't hold my breath for that
long, so we've got to get it out.

The Taimar's clam-style bonnet is
hinged at the front,

so to get full access
to the engine bay,

we want to take it off completely.

Are you ready?

All right. This is gonna get
a little bit heavy, buddy.

I don't know about lightweight!
I know.

It's probably the heaviest
bonnet in history.

Lay it on those pallets.
You got it?

All right, let's whip
the radiator out.

We're gonna need a bucket.

Right, I think that's
most of the water.

Well, we've got most of it
in the bucket!

Right? That should lift.

It should come out.

Our Taimar's engine is
a Ford Essex V6,

as for many years, TVR didn't
build their own engines.

They borrowed them
from other manufacturers.

Right. Crane time!
I think she's ready.

I see a problem occurring.

The engine in a TVR
sits really far back in the bay,

for optimum weight distribution,
proper race-car stuff,

but it's making it a real pain
to get the crane in close enough.

I think it's outside.

Off the ramp. Old school.

That'll do it.
Done it.

Up a little bit.

A trolley under the gearbox will
take the weight when we undo it.

Oh, you've put a pad down
for your dainty knees!

At my age, I've got to look after
myself. [CHUCKLES]

Right. Everything clear?
Yeah.

Keep going.

If my engine problem is a Ford one,
it should be affordable,

but if it's a TVR problem,
it's gonna get expensive.

She's out!
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

We've got the engine
out of the TVR Taimar

and it's clear to see
we've got a leak somewhere.

The moment of truth.

There's quite a bit of oil.
Look at that.

I was looking in that bell-housing.

Hopefully, it's not
the gearbox, as well.

No, it looks dry up here.
Yeah.

The oil is here.

I bet you behind that clutch,
it's the main seal.

All right, let's stick it on the...
Get it on the trolley.

A problem with the rear main seal is
the best-case scenario here.

If it's a cracked block,
we're looking at a whole new engine.

Do you want to make that engine bay
a little bit sparkly? Yeah. Yeah?

I seem to get this from Ant.

He gets the nice, clean jobs.

I get all the grubby jobs.

While Duncan spruces up the engine
bay, I need to get the clutch off,

to see where the leak
in the engine is coming from.

The handy thing about
the main seal on this engine is

it's carried inside this plate.

Normally, it's on the block itself.

It's supposed to be a more pliable
rubber, you know, to act as a seal.

Think of a cork in a wine bottle.

And this is really hard and brittle.

So that is definitely
the offender of our oil leak.

Oil is escaping via the main seal

and probably a little bit
by the sump.

A set of seals and gaskets for
my Ford engine should do the trick.

With those ordered, Dad and I are
off to a reclamation yard

to find the perfect flooring
for the living room.

I'm convinced tiles are the answer,

whatever Mum thinks.

These are reclaimed quarry tiles.

A nice glazed top.
I'd love a smaller tile.

A Tudor brick. Quite nice. A nice,
hard brick, really full of age.

I quite like the red, though.
Lay them out.

When you're ready, just give me
a shout. Top man. Thanks. Cheers.

Right. So the choice is...

A brick. We could do a herringbone,
a staggered.

Or...

...a tile.

I know I told Mum we'd get samples,
but, hey, no risk, no reward.

Just pick one. A brick or a tile.

I think I'd prefer that.
I like this one.

Hey, Adam. Yeah?
How are we doing? All right?

I think we've made
very steady progress.

Perfect. Yeah.
Which one have you gone with?

I'm on a hiding to nothing here,
Adam, because his mother,

my wife is the problem.

She's not here
and I've got to make a decision.

So I'm gonna go for those.
Yeah? The terracotta tiles?

They are £45 a square metre, so...


Nearly 1,000 tiles, I think.

Forty-five times 22.
Yeah.

Okay. Close on £1,000.
It's a grand.

It's a bit pricey,
but these tiles will hold the warmth

from the underfloor heating
beautifully.

What's your mother gonna say?
I don't know. That's your job.

This is a problem.
It's not my problem.

What is my problem is the leaky
TVR Taimar.

But I'm pinning my hopes on a £14.50
set of new seals and gaskets.

So, first off, the main seal.

So I should be able to just drive...

the old seal out.

There she is.

So out with the old seal
and in with the new.

This is one of those jobs
you get one hit at.

Perfect!

And, while I'm at it,
I'm cleaning the surface

and replacing
the cover-plate gasket, too.

I'm just gonna apply

some of this gasket jointing.

It'll help it stick to the block.

Bear in mind, the inside
rubber flap on the main seal,

it has a contour to it that leans
against a rotating crankshaft,

so it can be difficult to get it on.

A little trick.

Just cut a little piece of card,
like this.

Wrap it around...

the crank into a cone.

That will help guide that rubber on.

Beautiful.

Yeah, that's never gonna leak.

Now to replace
that leaky sump gasket.

Duncan has not only given our sump
a little clean-up and de-grease,

he's actually painted it, as well.

A thorough job, dude!

No worries.
[CHUCKLES]

And now for the tricky bit.

Okay, Ant, just get on
that front pulley.

You guide it on the rear.
I'll make sure this front clears.

Okay. Slowly as she goes.

I can hear you breathing.

To get the engine back in,

we'll need to line up the splines
on the clutch and the gearbox.

[THUD]
That's it.

She's in!

After topping everything up,

we can find out if the oil is
staying where it should.

The moment of truth.

Okay. Are you ready?
Yeah.

[STARTS ENGINE]

We've got great oil pressure.

It's a TVR and she's alive!

She's alive!

Go on. Do it once more!

[REVS ENGINE]

[SWITCHES OFF ENGINE]
Whoo!

She sounds mega.
I know, mate.

And there's only one way
to celebrate.

This is like my childhood.

Not your childhood, that was in
black and white! Oh h* h*!

Seventies' ice lollies!

A 1970s' car.
This was actually a cheap fix.

One oil seal, two gaskets
and rocket lollies for the win.

Did you forget about my time?
The cleaning.

Painting... Your time doesn't count
here, buddy.

"Come and help", he said.
"It'll be fun."

I suppose we've got lollies.
You get lollies out of it.

But there's no rest for the wicked.

All right, fellas!

I'm hoping this is a whole room's
worth of reclaimed tiles.

Buying them without Mum's sign-off
was a bit of a bold decision.

But I'm sure she's gonna love them
when she sees them laid.

These look great.

Would you have...

Would you have tiles in
your living room, on the floor? No.

You wouldn't?
No. Why not? Carpet!

Yeah, don't tell Mum that.

Right, now that
Dad has committed us to...

the reclaimed clay-fired tiles
for this room

and none of us are tilers...

Apart from you. You've tiled before.

Yea-eah.
Okay, none of us are tilers!

We can either lay them...

square, like so...

or brick-like.

You see, these being all hand-made,

none of them are gonna be square.

We're gonna have variations.

I think offset.

We might have to go a bit random.

Random is good. I think what
we call it is "character".

Character, yes.
[GIGGLES]

But before we get going,

I need to solve the next problem
on the TVR list.

Before the Taimar,
TVR had a bad reputation

for the heating and the ventilation,
but what TVR did with this model,

with the Taimar is they tried
to fix it

and they did it
with an inline heater box,

where that massive hole is.

So inside this mythical airbox,
there was a heater matrix

and that stole hot coolant
from the engine.

And look, they just by-passed it,
with that little elbow there.

Looks like a plumbing thing!

Now, herein lies the rub.

I can't get that complete unit
and put it in the car,
because it doesn't exist.

Like so many parts on a TVR,

this fix will require
a creative workaround.

Luckily, I know
a TVR guru who can help.

So I've got my delivery man
on the case.

I'm meeting a chap called Andrew,
who apparently is the TVR expert.

I don't know what I'm picking up,
but no doubt Andrew will tell me.

Nigel.

Hey, Andrew. How are you doing?
I'm good.

Welcome to the TVR Fun Factory!
Thank you very much.

Wow, what a place.

So how easy is it
to get parts for TVRs?

As an enthusiast,
I struggled on many things.

I started making bits for
my own cars

and people said,
"We'd like to buy one of those."

And that's how it all started.

Well, we've got a Taimar.

The Taimar was the very first
TVR built with

an opening boot and a hatch.

A small, a small, limited run.

A very rare car and a special car.

Absolutely. Come on.

Andrew has done me a solid,
by supplying all the bits I need

to build a heater and hand-making
a fibreglass box for it to go in.

Well, that's your order
already packed.

Okay. Before you go, though,
let me show you something. Okay.

We manufacture these in-house.

Sorry to ask a stupid question,
but what does it do?

It's the rocker cover.

If you didn't have that on the top
of the engine,

your oil would go everywhere.

Well, it's very pretty.

But I bet it's not cheap.

A pair of those is £595,
powder-coated.

We'll do a set for you for £495.

How much value will that add?
I have no idea

what it would add to the value,
but it would make it more saleable.

Oh, my goodness! Aaah.

All right, £495.
Thank you very much.

A deal.

These rocker covers, they are
beautifully made, I must say.

If it makes £1,000 extra on the car,

I'll have the £1,000,
thank you very much.

I've just come from
that guy, Andrew.

That's the airbox? Yeah.
He knows everything about TVRs.

He has suggested that we buy this.

He called it a rocker cover.

You bought rocker covers?

Andrew said they would be
absolutely perfect for the TVR,

so I bought them.

Okay.

I mean, look at that.
Isn't that amazing?

How much were they?

Four-nine-five.

[LAUGHS] You spent 500 quid
on rocker covers?

That's the last time
I let Dad go shopping,

but I don't want to k*ll
his enthusiasm.

Oh, man. Okay, look, we're here now.

Come on. You must like them. They
are lovely. I mean, really lovely.

They are gonna make
the engine bay look really nice.

Do you want to see the other one?
No.

Can I go now?
Yeah. Thank you.
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

ANT: The living room at
the farmhouse needs to be tiled

and, in a desperate bid
to save cash,

we're taking on the grunt work
ourselves.

Today is quite a big job.
I mean, tiling is a profession.

Some people, you know, think they
can just have a bit of a go at it.

They're quite tricky to lay,
these tiles.

They are all different shapes.

Hey, we'll have a go at anything.

That's what worries me!

You know, I have drawn a plumb line,

which is straight with the wall,
but the wall is not straight.

This is the no-going-back point.

So Mum hasn't actually
seen these tiles yet?

No. They are a mystery!

But it's not just the tiles
that are a funny shape.

There's no way this room is square.

Three-one-eight. Yeah, 315.

Yeah, it's 3 centimetres longer,
that side of the room

and if we carry on, on that plane,

we're gonna be wonky
against the fire.

To make up for the room being


we'll just gap this side.

Yeah, just creep them a little bit.

Fan them out.

And then, by the time
they arrive at the fireplace,

they should...

[LAUGHS]

...be square.

Right.

I just hope it works,

as it's a fine line between
achieving a rustic farmhouse feel

or a total dog's dinner.

I mean, it's nice, because
the house is a bit wonky

and all the tiles are a bit wonky.

And the owner is a bit wonky!

And I can't afford to rip these out
and start again.

More tiles, lads?

Yeah, keep them coming.
We are chewing through them now.

The job is not finished, but with
the day and my body fading,

I'm gonna leave the tricky bit
around the fireplace for tomorrow.

I think the fanning out has actually
worked really well.

It looks epic. Like, it really does.
It's the vision for the room.

Yes, it's starting to come together,
this room.

I am gonna ache tonight.

My knees and back are done.
I'm tired.

After a good night's sleep,
I'm ready to build the TVR's

replacement heater,

but, like so many TVR parts,
it's a bit of a hodge-podge.

A matrix.

That looks like a fan from a boat.

Wait, what?

That's the box? All right.

So we've got a fan,
a box that looks like a bedpan.

I mean, this obviously goes...

Like... Oh, it doesn't even fit in
the hole! It goes there, somewhere.

I tell you what, this reminds me
of my days of building kit cars.

But how do we mount it?

I quite enjoy a puzzle.

It can't be that way.
It has to sit on the flap.

No, that's not it.

What?

This may not be the right battery.

Let's pop the battery
out of the way. That's it!

That's the way. The right height.

So we need to find
a five-and-a-half-inch battery.

That's a small battery.

They do them.
Yeah, but they're expensive.

At 60 quid, it's not something
I'd planned on buying.

All these extras are gonna
chip away at the profit.

So, if it sits this way in the car,

somehow...

that needs to be fixed there.

In true TVR fashion,

Duncan is knocking together some
brackets to hold the box in place.

Because it's a one-off
and a bit unique,

you can't actually just buy
what you want, sometimes.

The last thing you want on this,
really, is any little gaps in it.

If the cold air is coming in here
and it can go around

the outside of the matrix,
it won't work as sufficiently

as if we seal that
and it can go straight through.

Despite being a bespoke part,
the airbox still needs

a little bit of tweaking
to make it work, very TVR.

This top edge is gonna be visual
when you open the bonnet,

so I'm gonna make
a little bit of an effort,

so it looks like a uniform
and nicely engineered part.

[SAW WHIRS]

How are you getting on?
Here we go.

Nice!

So, if I hold this in... Yeah.
...you mark through that hole.

That will give us our drill hole
to mount the fan.

Like the box itself,

the key here is making sure
there are no gaps.

Oh, my God, look at this!
We're, like, airbox creators.

[CHUCKLES] The moment of truth.

Yes!

Oh, my God, that is actually
an airtight box.

Grab that battery from the car.
Let's spin it up.

[WHIRS]
Look at that.

Yeah. Although I can feel...

Here. Put your finger there.

I can feel it,
escaping through that gap.

[WHIRS]
Oh, yeah.

Some standard seam-sealer
should sort that out.

We have an airtight heater unit.

That is going to make this
a very comfortable drive.

Perfect.

And the living room has made
good progress, too,

courtesy of Duncan
and his diamond-pattern skills.

ARCHIE: Wow.

That looks amazing.
You like it?

Yeah, it's awesome.

Do you think Nana and Grandpa
are gonna like it?

Grandpa, yes. Nana wanted carpet.

But I think, once we get
a big rug down,

it's gonna feel like
a really cosy living room.

But, before Mum sees it,
there's one more job to be done.

You're gonna need this.
This is gonna protect your knees.

See this?
This is a protective sealer.

Wet the rag
and wipe the top of the tile.

Easy.

Easy. Good luck!

Terracotta tiles are porous,

so the sealer helps to prevent
liquid soaking in,

as well as enhancing
their natural colour.

It's so boring.

Once the sealer is down,
the tiles need grouting.

How are we going, Arch?
Getting there.

It's looking good. I'll come in
and give you a hand.

It makes it look a lot better.

It makes it pop, doesn't it?
It's just the way it brings

the colour of the tile out.

The best room in the house?

I think so. It's coming out
quite nice. Because we did it!

You'll get all the glory,
you will, for this.

I'll whiz out and you can say,
"Yeah, I've done all this."

Yeah. I did it all and it's amazing.

It's a bit make-do and mend.

It's a proper TVR.

After a lot of TVR D.I.Y.,

it's time to see if
this heater unit actually works.

Right, do you want to jump in
the c*ck?

Right, the battery is connected.

That little inline motor is
connected.

The valves are connected.

Ah! Could you make more of a palaver
getting in that tiny car?

I'm getting old. You're not getting
old. You're getting big! [LAUGHS]

Go on, then. Right.
Feel the wind on your hair.

[SWITCHES UNIT ON]

[WHIRS]
I can feel something.

Yeah?
Yeah.

This Taimar now has
heating and ventilation.

This should add a touch of luxury,
but the internal fittings,

they're a bit more budget.

The problem I've got, though, is
these plastic bits.

You have to admit,
this lets it down.

This is a bit scruffy.

I mean, the handle is
almost acceptable, but...

Oh, that? Because it's got
a bit of shiny? A bit of bling.

Grab a flathead.
Let's have this off.

Do you know what? I've got a pal
who does a little bit of machining.

Thank you. We want to get
this interior to pop a little bit.

And, remember, back in the day,
the point of these cars was that

they were individual,
hand-made cars.

So why wouldn't we take
this opportunity

to lift the value of the interior?

Well, have a word with him.
See what he can do.

With the living room tiles now
sealed and grouted...

Oh, my life! That is so heavy.

No wonder plumbers have all got
bad backs!

It's like moving one of your cars!

...my plumber and neighbour Andy is
helping us

install a cast-iron radiator.

Straighten it up.

Go on, lift it.

Too much.

It's got to go
half an inch that way.

That's it.
Beautiful.

It's nice watching somebody work
for a while! [LAUGHTER]

Consultancy. Proper fees for that.

Get paid well for that.

I've actually got sweat dripping
from my brow, gentlemen.

Well, that's because
it's about 90 degrees outside.

Right, so, are you all right, if we
leave you to get that plumbed in?

Yeah. All cool.
Ten, 15 minutes and we're done.

Lovely. Thanks, dude.
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

An engine fix
and a new heating system

have brought the Taimar's mechanics
up to scratch,

but the bodywork isn't quite
cutting it.

It needs something,
something to lift it,

because the green bumpers
blend in with the green body.

It just doesn't look classic enough.

I wonder whether we could get away
with black bumpers, a black valance.

I like the idea of a black bumper.
It'll tie in with the number plate

and that will draw the eye down.
And then, down the centre,

maybe a stripe.

Wait a minute.

See, what if
this whole section here...

Yeah?

...was just cream.
Cream?

And then, as you say,
black bumpers, black valance.

I think this is it.

Just got to be careful
it doesn't cost too much.

I will make a call, because we ain't
gonna do it in the barn.

This sporty-looking paint job should
make our Taimar more desirable,

but there's another paint issue
that needs urgent attention.

At some stage,
this car used to be blue

and some of that blue is now
showing through,

but I reckon I can do a little fix
that does this repair in the barn.

I'm just gonna give it
a gentle Scotch.

Key that shiny paint surface around
where the blue is showing through.

I want to make sure that my...

...green paint only hits
the green panels

or the parts that are intended
to be green.

And then I'm gonna go rogue
simply with a can of aerosol.

The cool thing about aerosols is
you can have the paint matched

and that's exactly what I've done.

And a can of aerosol is less than
a tenner.

And the key is lots of light
dustings.

That's buried most of that blue,

but with a light dusting,
it's matte.

It doesn't have a shine.

So this final coat I'm just gonna
have to get super-confident

and hit it hard.

Just a flick of the can
to let it spread over that way.

It blends nicely in with
the existing paint,

so all I need to do now is
let that dry.

Another detail seriously letting
the TVR down were those

plastic window-winders,

so I'm getting some shiny, new,
aluminium ones custom-made

to add a touch of style.

Just to get the basic design,

I'm gonna get a few rough
dimensions from the part.

We've got the basic shape now.

All I'm gonna do is put a bit of
a curvature on it,

so it's not just gonna look like

a flat chunk of metal
sat in the car.

We're gonna make them look
a bit sportier.

That is done and the next step is
to put it on the machine.

In the '70s, bespoke Taimar parts
would have been hand-made,

but, today, CNC machines

can turn parts out quickly
and with precision.

So this is now all polished up.

I've got one more handle
to do on the opposite side

and then we'll package it up
and send it over to Ant.

With all the work
in the living room finished,

there's just one thing left to do.

Say something.
That's amazing.

Really good.
This is lovely.

What do you think of the floor?

It's come up better than I expected.

And, to be honest,
it gives warmth to the room.

That's a win!
Oh, yeah. All right.

I concede defeat to both of you.

It's a complete transformation.
It is amazing.

I love that the beams are exposed.

They keep the character and
the age of the building. And that.

A wood-burner. That'll keep us warm.

You've got this really
beautiful blank canvas.

So it's natural textures.
The oak. The lime.

Every little detail is
done in brass.

A cast-iron radiator.
A cast-iron stove.

Ant, it's beautiful.

It's really good. Really good.

From the house perspective,
the upstairs bedroom is finished.

Downstairs living room is finished.
We are exactly 50% of the way.

We're halfway there. Now, if we can
get some profit for that car,

I think we move onto
the hallway next.

I'm beginning to feel
that I can live here now.

It's a comfy, warm place that
we could really call home. Yes.

Success!

And my TVR has come a long way, too.
She's almost ready for a new buyer.

Fair play to Dad for getting
the airbox sorted.

How much do you think
he spent on rocker covers?

Rocker covers?
Go on. How much?

Two hundred quid?
Nearly £500.

Five hundred?

I mean, it'll dress that engine up.
Don't encourage him.

I reckon he's done all right.
You think so? Yeah.

What, you reckon we're getting
the 500 quid back? No.

They do look smart. They do.
Don't tell Dad, though.

Next to go on the car, a special
delivery from my mate's workshop.

Billet-aluminium window-winders.

Not just that.

Look. Drilled for likeness.
A billet-aluminium door handle.

Beautiful.
And the piece de resistance.

A billet-aluminium lock.

[CLICKS TONGUE]

Definitely runs in the family,
doesn't it? What? Shiny bits!

Do you want to raise the ramp?

After blagging
the original wheels for 50 quid,

when I bought the Taimar,
I've had them fully refurbished.

They're magic, aren't they?
Aren't they great?

These are the wheels it would
have had when it left the factory.

And to get the car race-ready,

the bonnet is back from
its make-over.

Aah, I'm laying on it.

Done.
Super.

That stripe makes
all the difference.

That's the last job, innit?

Our Taimar is tamed.

Time to tot up the finances.

We paid nine and a half
and 50 quid extra for the wheels,

which I think was worth it.
Yeah.

So the mechanical parts
totalled £720 and 77 quid,

but of that £720,

£495 were on the bits my dad bought,
so take the rocket covers out,

mechanically, this car has only
cost a couple of hundred quid.

One hundred and six pounds
on the paint.

My mate did the wheels for 200 quid,

which means we've spent £1,107.

It means that this car owes us

£10,657.

You're thinking 14s?

I'd take 14 now. Done. Hold out...

Hold out your hand!
[LAUGHS]

I almost don't care about
the auction for a second.

I just want to drive it.

It's a TVR.

What this car needs is to find
itself sideways. Don't crash it.

Oh, what?

I tell you what, you lift your foot
off the clutch,

it just pulls straight away.

Oh, man! This thing is like
a little race car.

Whoa!

It's noisy.

It's brash.
It's incredibly uncomfortable.

It's everything
that I wanted it to be.

Everything.

As I sit here today,
pressing the fun pedal,

I'm so glad I bought this car.

[CHUCKLES] Oh, my gosh.

I mean, come on, have I not got
the happy, British, car-boy face?

Driving a TVR is always
gonna be fun,

because these cars are just...

They want to be sports cars,
but they're not quite there.

We paid just over nine
and a half grand for the car

and spent just over a grand,
so, right now, it owes us

just over £10,500.

Is that worth more than £10,500?
Absolutely, in a heartbeat, yes.

But with a niche car like this,
auctions are always a gamble.

And the TVR's guide price is lower
than I had hoped.

Estimated £6,000 to £8,000
to get them interested.

It owes us ten-six. Just over.

I'm wobbling now.

We need two TVR bidders
to make the auction work.

Do you think there's two in there?
Please!

Because these are rare, as well,
aren't they? Yeah.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I don't know.

All right. Come on, then.
Let's bite the b*llet. We're in.

The auction gods, over to you!

AUCTIONEER: Lot 652.

It's the 1978 TVR.

At £3,700, £3,800. Four thousand.

At Silverstone. This is a race car.

Four thousand five hundred.
Ahead of you on the phone.

Four-eight now. Four thousand
eight hundred. Five thousand.

This isn't moving quick enough.
At £5,000.

It's slowing.

Five thousand. Five-five.

Six thousand is the bid, then.
At £6,000.

Any more elsewhere? At £6,000.
Oh, man.

At £6,500.
Do we sell then at £6,500?

Six thousand eight.

Come on, push. I could take another
two, if it helps you out? Push.

Seven thousand.
One guy is on the phone.

Go on, bid on it.
Bid is at seven.

At this stage,
it's about damage-limitation.

At seven thousand two.
Seven thousand four. Oh.

At £7,400, £7,600.

Oh, my God, this is painful.

This is literally, like, t*rture.

We're online at £8,200.

It's a better car than that.
That doesn't deserve that.

Last chance.

[GAVEL THUDS] Eight thousand
two hundred. It's yours...

Now, the auction room was rough.
There was not a lot of bids.

I think the highest bid was
a phone bidder and, of course,

they probably haven't seen the car
and, you know,

people are less likely to take
a risk if they haven't seen the car.

You know, that's the risk of
an auction.

I mean, some days, you're gonna
win it and, some days, you're not.

It feels really awful.

And it's, basically,
a two and a half grand loss.

So... it's one of those
lick your wounds,

get back to the farmhouse
and start again tomorrow.

I think about all the savings I've
made in other areas of the house.

It's swings and roundabouts, so
I'm actually not that mad about it.

I'm not gonna dwell on it.

I just have to pick my battles.