02x08 - Ford Transit - The Final Push

[bunniefuu]

I'm Ant Anstead.

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

Oh-h*, there she goes!

When it comes to houses...

Woo-hoo! ...not so much.

I'm supercharging my mission...

[HORN HONKS] Oh, my God! [LAUGHS]

...fixing up and flipping
eight more classic motors...

[LAUGHING] You look like
Laurel and Hardy, you two.

...because the


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

I would brace yourself
'cause 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 summer ends.

We'll call it glamping, shall we?
Right, that's the spirit.

And with the help of family...

[LAUGHING] AMELIE: I did it!

...and my petrolhead pal Duncan...

Yay! Come on, then, let's go.

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

Oh! Even... [GRUNTS]
...if it kills me.

Whoa!

This is fun.

[LAUGHS] DUNCAN: Thank you.
You're welcome.

Duncan and I are clearing the yard,
ready for the big push.

[WHOOPING]

There's less than a fortnight before
Mum and Dad are meant to move in.

So with the living room
and bedroom finished

and the hall nearly done...

Here you go, mate. Thank you.

...my brother Michael is busy
insulating the dining room.

And actually, since pulling down
the ceiling, we've done a lot.

Oak repairs, insulated, the wiring.
The hallway.

The blooming hallway.
Massive hallway. Yeah.

Oh, my God, the list goes on.

We're so close, we're so close.

Finishing of this room
symbolises the home stretch.

So when can I get Duncan
to come and get this done?

Two days. Two more days? Two days.

Then we're ready
to go with plastering.

A day and a half, if you stay
a little bit later tonight?

Yeah, if you stop pulling me off
on other things as well.

Done, done.
I'm gonna leave it there.

A massive final push
on the house could do

with one huge last injection
of car profit.

So Dad and I are heading off to see

what could be
my biggest restoration yet.

We are going to go and see a Mark 1
Ford Transit van. NIGEL: Oh, wow.

So we're talking about the old shape
with the pointy headlights?

The sticky out bits at the front.

Yes. Yeah, yeah, I can picture that.

Sounds good. What do you mean,
'it sounds good'? It sounds epic.

Okay, that's really good.

One of the UK's greatest exports,

Ford has made
over 13 million Transits

since the Mark 1's launch in 1965.

With a boxy shape that perfectly
fits a palette, or any other cargo,

a powerful engine and short bonnet,

they were practical
and manoeuvrable.

Beloved by both
the blue light brigade...

...and bank robbers.

Mark 1s are incredibly desirable.

They're well-known, well-loved.
They are loved.

So the first key is to find

a Transit van
that's not had a heavy life.

This Transit van is really special

because it's actually
a German fire engine conversion...

Okay. ...from an airport.

Well, it would only have been
used for training mostly,

the occasional fire
or hazard on an airport.

But generally speaking,
they weren't much used.

I'm looking forward
to seeing this fire engine.

Do I have an early memory
of you being a fireman

and getting called out with a pager,
a bleeper? That's right.

Yeah, '82 to '89, '90,
I was in the fire service.

We were in Cambridgeshire,
I was in Cambridgeshire Fire

and Rescue Service
as a retained fireman.

When I drove the fire engine,
it was 400 gallons of water.

A big red lorry
with the ladder on the back.

And that's why
you have a HGV licence.

That's exactly why.
That's why you're now the chauffeur.

[CHUCKLES] Yeah.

Dad's the perfect person
to help me check this Transit out.

The asking price
is seven-and-a-half grand.

But a restored Mark 1
could be worth ten to 15.

This is definitely the right place.

Are you sure?
We're in the middle of nowhere.

Because Paul, the seller,
is coming from Wales,

we've arranged to meet
at a mate's farm in between.

Patience.
Patience catches the Transit.

And here it is. Wow!

Hi. Nigel. My dad, Nigel. Ant.
PAUL: Hi, Ant.

I've got to know how you ended up
with a German fire engine in Wales.

There's none about in the UK,
they're all rusted away.

And we bought it
from a dealer in Dresden,

erm, and we've done nothing with it.

It's having the space
and the time to do it all.

How many miles?
She is 18,000 kilometres only.

Let's have a quick look underneath
while it's on the trailer.

Good idea.
You don't want to see underneath.

We don't? It's fine. You carry on.
You have a look.

Hm. What do you think?

The exhaust is toast, but
that's fine. New exhaust is easy.

Look at these outriggers,
look at the chassis.

Paul. Hello. I think you've brought
us the only Mark 1 Transit

that looks solid underneath.
I knew you'd love it.

The early signs are good,
but what's the catch?

The brake's not the best, the foot
brake. The hand brakes work.

You can't go far. It's quite flat.

It's all yours now.

I mean, that's handbrake up.
The handbrake barely works.

You're not pulling tight enough.
I thought you were strong.

Are you all right
giving us ten minutes?

No problem. Okay, perfect.
Lovely. Thanks.

I love this exposed metal dash.

'Ladesteckdose.'

[BUTTON CLICKS] Oh!

'Rundum.' 'Rundum.'

That's light.

[SIREN BLARING] [LAUGHING]

I think you've found the... Yep.

Sirens work.

Yeah, well done.

[WAILING CONTINUES] Don't break it!

Don't break it.
I can't turn it off!

[SIREN STOPS] Oh, God.

All right, shall we, er...
Shall we start it up?

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

It's turning over, but not firing.

She might just need
a little helping hand.

Say when.

Okay, go for it. [ENGINE SPUTTERING]

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Nearly went.

[ENGINE WHIRRS]

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Keep going. Come on. That's it.
[ENGINE WHIRRING]

Take it off the key. [REVVING]

Come on!

The fact that it started
on a little bit of spray,
it tells you there's a fuel issue.

It chugged over with
no clumps or bangs. Yep. True.

Which means, hopefully,
pistons, cams, they're moving.

What do you think about the paint?

Well, it's not very good.

It's weird, though.
It looks like flames.

Well, the panels are straight.
I mean, look at that.

Swage line's perfect.

'Cause on Transit vans,
that's the risky panel,

'cause, obviously, people put stuff
in the back, it gets dinked.

Look at that. Wow!

On the one that
I worked on in the '80s,

that would have had the pump on it,
portable pump.

You'd lift it up, and away you went.

I see that step there
and the handle there.

That was your step up
to get the ladder off the roof.

Oh, and this bit... This bit
kind of... Oh, there you go.

Yeah, and then
your ladder would come down.
Oh, my God. Apprentice fireman.

Do you wanna see inside?
Yeah, let's go for it.

The fact it's got all the original
fire engine features is very cool.

What's all this gubbins for?

That'll probably be
breathing apparatus, extinguishers.

But could also make this a tricky
vehicle to restore and sell.

The juggling act is that the
fire engine market is quite limited.

Okay. But the Mark 1 Transit market
is really strong.

What can we do with it, though?

Look at what it's got.

You know, it's got the siren,
it's got the lights.

It's got all the cool angles
of a fire engine.

Can we not retain
some of that character

in whatever you do with it?

Basically, it's a ton
of pros and cons.

This is a huge risk.

The engine's got issues,
the paintwork's shabby,

and the brakes don't work.

But if I can give
this old fire engine a new purpose

and haggle Paul down,
I know there's profit to be made.

For 7.5 grand,
it's a bargain, I think.

Yeah, but 7.5 grand is toppy.

Knock a couple of grand off
at least. No, I can't.
No, I can't, no.

Kids need new shoes, you know.

Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?

You know it doesn't run.

And this car could potentially
swallow a ton of cash.

I'll tell you what I'll do.
It's here now. I don't really
want to take it back.

Seven grand today.

Seven grand.

Six. No, I can't do it, can't do it.
Can't do it.

Six-and-a-half. Is that fair,
six-and-a-half?

Six-and-a-half.
Go on, six-and-a-half.

Yeah. Good lad. Thank you.

Don't have any idea
what we're going to do with it.

It's too late now. You bought it.

Six-and-a-half grand
for a Mark 1 Transit, bargain.

And even if the engine doesn't run,

for a proper tradey like Duncan,
it's got to be irresistible.

You're not gonna get off
that ladder and help?

I've bump-started
enough Transits in my life.

Come, push-start this one.

Come on, Duncan. Get off the ladder!
Get off the ladder! There we go.

Nearly there, guys. Keep going.

[SIGHS] [GRUNTS]

I've bought a Transit van.
Haven't you just? [EXHALES DEEPLY]

Like her?
I'm disliking her at the minute.

It's got blue lights on it.
I'm guessing a fire...

A fire tender of some sort.

Tailgate, quite rare.
I actually had one with a tailgate.

Mark 3. And look, this comes out.

Put me sandwiches on that.

These vehicles, the early ones,
are super valuable, right?

Built Britain.
The backbone of Britain.

I mean, it's not got
the dreaded rust and rot.

I'm hoping
you're saying we pushed it

to try and keep the mileage down,
but it runs like a dream?

It does not run like a dream. Hm.

It does have an engine, though.

There we go.
Oh, that's a bonus.

Yeah, when we were there,
I mean, we just squeezed
a little bit

of that easy start fluid
into the carburettor.

Not only did it turn over,
it did run for a second,

which is good news,
'cause it tells that the engine's
not seized, it's perfectly moving.

There's a few other bits on top.
For example, it needs a new exhaust.

The brakes don't work at all.
Other than that, it's cool, right?

But it's got blue lights on it,
so he bought it.

So what do you think
we paid for this?

It's got to be under ten.

How far under ten?

I reckon seven grand's workable.

Well, we paid 6.5. Good.

There's definitely a margin in it.

So does anybody
actually want to buy a fire engine?

Let's just focus
on getting it running.

Right, come on, then.
Put your back into it.

Sounds like a plan.

[GRUNTS] Right.

Okay, I'm gonna leave you guys
to it. Thanks, Nige. Thanks, Dad.

It's got to be a fuel issue.

Right, I'm going to propose
we go through this

systematically,
slowly and methodically

from the fuel tank, the hoses,
to the pump, which looks reasonable.

I mean, the tank itself is covered
in loads of surface rust,

but none of that rust
has penetrated.

Go on. Oh, hang on a minute.

What have you found?

Come and see this.
There's an inline electric pump...

...that's not even wired up.

Look.

I wonder if that's the issue 'cause
this is obviously doing nothing.

I wonder if it's actually
causing a blockage.

Someone's added
an electric fuel pump,

a common modern upgrade.

I'll bypass it with fresh fuel
to see if the original

mechanical pump still works.

You happy I'm gonna crank her over?
Yeah, give her a go.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING] Oh, yeah.

Yeah? We've got fuel.

So the mechanical pump works.

Reconnect the carburettor.
Put it on.

We'll draw the new fuel in,
and this car's gonna start. Right,
you ready? You clear? Yeah, clear.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Hm.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

This is a head scratch.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

Well, we know it's not fuel.
We're getting fuel.

So I'll tell you what,
let's check the spark.

We've ruled out a blockage
in my Mark 1 Transit's fuel system,

so I want to test
if it's an ignition problem

stopping her engine from running.

If I disconnect the king lead,
you give her a crank.

If no electrical spark
jumps from the king lead

to the distributor, we'll know.

You're not gonna hold
that with your fingers.

As much as I would love to zap you.
I'm not that old. I haven't got
a pacemaker yet.

It's only a matter of time, though.
No, no.

At least hold it with some
plastic pliers. Ready, Dunc? Yep.

[SCREAMS] What happened, you muppet?

[LAUGHING] Right. Go on, then.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Is it sparking? No spark.

No spark could be down to a fault
with the points in the distributor.

Points might be a bit grubby.

The distributor's job is to send

the electrical current
to each spark plug

at the correct time via the points.

You tell me if those points
are opening and closing... Yep.

...and if there's a spark.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Well, the points
are opening and closing.

Is there a spark? No spark.

So... Yeah, whip the points out.

They're pretty burnt.

They don't look the best, do they?
They're pretty worn.

They're all black on there.

New points were in the parts kit
that came with the van.

Hopefully, fitting these
will solve the problem.

New points are in.
All right, let me crank it over

and see if we get
a spark at the points.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Yeah. Sparking? Yeah.

Right, well, we know we've got
a good contact at the points now,

so let's check
the spark at the king lead. Yeah.

Okay. Clear and ready? Clear.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Mega spark. Well, that's great news.

And even better news...

Is it sparking? She's sparking.

...is the sparks travelling
to the spark plugs.

All right. Vroom, vroom time.

Standby. This is it.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

Nothing. Yeah, this is starting
to get frustrating now.

While my Transit
is proving a headache,

I'm feeling more hopeful
than ever I can get

Mum and Dad moved into their
dream home within the fortnight.

Michael's finished
insulating the dining room.

So at last, Duncan can plaster.

While on the outside...

Promise me I can't go wrong.
Can't go wrong.

...my artist Auntie Maria...
That's it.

...has taken my daughter
Amelie under her wing.

Is there any reason why we are
painting the windows black?

The rest of
the old houses in the village,
they've all got black windows,

so then it will
all match in historically.

So it will actually look right.

With all hands on deck,
it's starting to feel like

I might just get
Mum and Dad moved in.

But to truly end on a high,

I need to sell my Transit
for big profit.

And right now,
I can't even get her running.

Hey, just do a quick
sanity check with me.

We've got fuel. Yep.

We've got spark. Yep. Compression?

If the cylinders can no longer
generate enough compression,

the fuel-air mix won't ignite.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

What is it? What's the reading?


That is enough compression.
Then we're missing something.

It's getting tiresome.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

You do know I've got
a home to go to, don't you?

There's just over a week
until Mum and Dad

are meant
to move out of their bungalow

and into their new home.

SUE: Well, that can all go.

Oh, no, we've gotta keep that.
I know. 'Cause that was special.

I must admit,
I don't know what's in some of this.

A lot of this stuff
came from the pub, didn't it?

While the moving is exciting,

I'm having a bit of a panic attack
at the moment about packing.

You don't realise how much
you accumulate in ten years.

I know. It's all good, though.

You're going to get
a much bigger space. That's true.

And it'd be nice to have stuff
that's been stored away

to actually be able
to get it out again.

I got up early to put the finishing
touches to the dining room,

and I've been racking my brain

as to why I can't get my Mark 1
Transit's Cologne V4 engine going.

Here you go. Morning.

Fuel is flowing, spark plugs
are firing, there's compression.

In theory, it should run.

It's going to be something obvious,
something really stupid
that we've missed.

So you saw these spark
with your eyes?

Yeah, it was pretty light,
but they were definitely sparking.

They're kind of stubby.

I've never worked
on a Cologne engine,

but I've worked on
quite a few lawnmowers.

These, to me, look like something
you'd take out of your lawnmower.

If the point where the plug sparks

is short and sits high up
in the thread of the head,

the spark's not going
to be where it needs to be
in the combustion chamber,

where we want
the ignition to happen.

I'm going to take this one
down to the auto parts store.

It opens up in the next 20 minutes.

Blindly buy the correct plugs
for this van.

If they come back
the same as this...

Then we are stumped.

If this really is just a case
of someone fitting

wrong-sized spark plugs,
it'll be a result.

While I head off
to the auto store...

...Amelie's moved inside,

putting her newfound
decorating skills to good use

to finish off the living room.

Coming here today
and seeing how much it's changed,

it's quite special, actually.

So my nan and grandad,
they're loving people,

they're caring,
they'd do anything for anyone.

I remember when we were younger,
they used to own a pub.

And every Christmas or Boxing Day,
we'd go as a massive family

and do all the presents
and spend time together.

And we haven't done that in a while.

Having a space this big will be
so nice for summer barbecues,

for Christmas.

A good opportunity to get
the whole family back together.

I'm back
with a new set of spark plugs.

Hey, Dunc.

What have you got?

What did you think
the original plug was from?

A mower. Lawnmower.

Porsche. Porsche?

Compare.

Longer.

With the correct spark plugs fitted,
can we finally achieve ignition?

Right, you ready? Yep.

[ENGINE SPUTTERING]

[ENGINE WHIRRING] Oi! Hey!

That's it. That is it!

Oh, my God. She's alive!
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

Mum and Dad are meant
to move in next week,

and we've reached a major milestone.

Now I know why you're always
covered in plaster. [CHUCKLES]

Oh, yeah!

Once this last panel is plastered,

the front of the house
will be watertight.

Stick a little bit of this mesh in,
and it'll bind it together.

So this wall is now watertight.
Yeah.

Come along, topcoat it, rescue it
and make it look pretty after.

There's one more big mechanical job
to do on my Mark 1 Transit.

I've been looking into
why the brakes aren't working.

Here. Take this.

[CHUCKLES] Interesting.

And evidence suggests the fault
lies with the brake master cylinder.

Looks like
you could get a tune out of it.

This was leaking.

The master cylinder evenly
distributes the brake fluid.

When you press the brake pedal,
it forces against a piston

that's held inside here in a cavity.

Push that piston, and it forces

brake fluid out of
these two outlets.

One outlet does the front brakes
and one outlet does the rear brakes.

The first thing I want to do
is take the circuit out

and have a little peek inside.

[GRUNTS]

The piston itself looks really good.

The brake system's
under immense pressure.

All reliant on these
tiny, little rubber seals.

If one of those goes,
you lose pressure and leak.

You imagine, you've got
three tonnes of mass moving at speed

because it's going to an emergency
relying on this tiny, little rubber.

And if that brake system fails
and you press the brake pedal...

[CHUCKLES] ...all of a sudden,
you're in a hedge. Or worse.

Actually, this bottom one
is completely perished.

Yeah, it's full of cracks,
and no wonder it's leaking.

From a Transit world contact,

I've got hold of a Mark 1
master cylinder rebuild kit.

Basically, a box full
of replacement rubber seals.

Now, these normally go ping.

Caught it.

First, I remove the spring
that returns the piston,

then the circlip
holding the rubber seal in place.

Oh, that circlip is minute.

It's hard to imagine
all that hydraulic brake pressure

is actually controlled by these
minute, tiny, little tolerances.

The second one.

And then
the tiniest circlip in history.

And then reassemble the spring.

Now that is the piston
completely rebuilt.

I'm also replacing the inlet seals.

And then in the little box of seals,

there's a handy
little packet of grease.

And then reinserting the piston.

And after a quick cleanup,

I can refit the now
leak-free master cylinder.

Right. You ready? Ready!

A quick bleed of the system...

Okay, pumping. Pumps. Hold it down.

...and the brake pedal
should engage.

Lovely. Lovely.
All right, that's it.

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, that's a proper pedal.

Yeah? Yeah.
So she goes and stops now.

What do you want to do next?
A cup of tea, I think. [LAUGHS]

My Transit's
mechanically sound at last.

But it's now the house
letting the side down.

This morning,
I was treated to a cold shower.

I think the problem's in here.
ANDY: Right.

And with just days until Mum
and Dad are meant to move in,

I've got Andy, the plumber,
from next door over

on an emergency call out
to try and fix the boiler.

It is certainly old.

Looking at your system,
it is antiquated, to say the least.

So what are the solutions?

If it was mine,
that would be out in that yard,

waiting for the scrap man
to pick it up.

I wouldn't even bother
trying to throw money at it.

All the waterways inside
are gonna be clogged.

The tanks in the loft could overflow
or burst, then flood in the house.

So you've got, say,


New tank, probably two grand.

Then you've got the labour
of taking this out,

the cylinder out, the tanks out.

Running all these pipes new

because half of these
won't be in use any more.

And then you're looking at...
[EXHALES DEEPLY] ...two weeks' work.

Oh, my God. [CHUCKLES]

Doesn't that affect planning?
This is listed.

First of all,
we need to get the plan in.

And planning has taken months.

I certainly wouldn't move
me mum in here.

You can't really expect anyone
to move into a place like this

with such an old system,
with no heating and no hot water.

You know, it's sunny now,
it's warm now,

but winter's gonna be quickly here.

I can't expect my mum
to do what I did last night

and have a cold shower.

[SIGHS]

The problem is, I know the answer.
I just don't know how to tell them.

It's not just Mum and Dad
who will be devastated.

My whole family's worked tirelessly

to try and get them moved in
before the end of summer.

None more so
than my little brother Michael.

Andy, the plumber, from next door
just came over.

There was obviously something wrong
with the heating system,

and, er, it's condemned.

What, all of it? Everything.

We need to put
a whole new system in,

which means we're gonna need
planning permission.

The house has no hot water,
no heating.

Mum and Dad aren't moving in.

They can't. Okay.

We got so close.

And look, it's raining.
You know, it's raining.

I mean, like,
you can't even make it up.

Classic.

Can we go inside now, please?

Yeah.

Getting my Mark 1 Transit
fixed up and sold

would at least offer
some sort of consolation,

so I'm pushing on.

Heading into rainy autumn,
any potential buyer

will be looking to see
if her body shell is solid.

There are areas of surface rust.

They don't worry me because
they've not penetrated the panels.

There is one area that has rusted
completely through the panel,

and it's awkward
because it's down here

at the base of the A pillar
in the footwell.

And it's so annoying
because it's on a corner.

So it actually affects
one, two, three surfaces.

Yeah, the structure of that steel
is completely rotten.

And see, if we'd
have just left this,

the metal panel just deteriorates to
the point where it loses structure.

And once the structure is lost,
it then becomes dangerous to drive.

Still a bit of rust. I'm just going
to go ten millimetres more.

I'm grinding off paint
from the edges,

so there's a clean surface
to weld on to.

Then with the cut-off piece
as a template,

I'm using a planishing hammer
for accurately shaping.

Some preventative
rust spray on the inside.

Then fingers crossed,
it's the perfect fit.

So I've had to shape with my thumbs
a little curve into it

so it follows the contour
of the existing panel.

And now, she's ready to weld in.

I'm just gently doing
various tack welds

so the panel doesn't
get too hot and warm.

Just making sure
that the panel fits flush

with the panel that's alongside.

And what I don't want
is a staggered piece

because then
the repair will be obvious.

Right, that panel's in.
All it needs now is a bit of primer.

And then a bit of paint.

I'm leaving Duncan
to do the honours.

My parents are here,
and I can't put it off any longer.

I've got to break the awful news.
They won't be moving in.

SUE: Hiya, Ant.
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0

All right? What are you up to?

I had a rough night because

Andy, the plumber, came over

because I was having
problems with the heating.

And the boiler is condemned.

Heating is gone, water is gone.

But we're not...
We're not gonna get you guys in.

Not this year.

Tsk. Okay.

We're being realistic, aren't we?
And that's fine.

I get it. It is what it is.

It's not your fault.
You have worked very hard.

We've all worked very hard.

And in fairness,
problems have appeared

which you knew nothing about.

You know, I know you guys had...
[INHALES DEEPLY]

Ant. [SIGHS] Yeah, you guys had
kinda set yourself up for a move.

And moving house is a big deal.
It's a big impact.

It's taken a few months
to get to that point,

where you're ready
and even want to move.

And, yeah, it's a letdown.

It's not a failure, though.
I feel like I let you down.

No, not at all, Anthony. Nope.

It's... Yeah, it's a lot.

You know, I hate not...

I hate not getting it done.

Anthony. Oh.
It's not a letdown at all.

The big thing is that

you've brought it back to
as it would have been.

You've not tried to botch it
to speed it up.

We've certainly not cut any corners.
That's for sure.

Onwards and upwards.

I might have come up short
in my main mission,

but if I can get my Mark 1 Transit
sold for big profit,

it will give us
something to celebrate at least.

At the moment,
she's still a fire engine.

To maximise her appeal, we need
to give her a fresh identity...

...without breaking the bank.

What are the available options
for a Transit van?

Motorsport service van.
Or a bike shop, or a library.

What about a window cleaners' van?

Big ladders on the top.

How about a hearse?
Coffin could go on here.

They'd have to be
quite short people.

My God. What have you been...
What is in that coffee?

Coffee shop... Coffee shop.
...tea shop, cake shop.

They are really
popular now, aren't they?

All these different coffees they do.

And it's got the perfect tailgate

so you can rock up at a music
festival. When it's raining.

This is ideal, though.

You know, all the accoutrement
you need, cups, sugar.

It's got a siren,
it's got blue lights,

and it sells coffee. I like it.

But before
we transform the inside...

...I want to smarten up
her exterior.

We're embracing
her fire engine heritage

by just giving her
a thorough polish.

The paintwork is absolutely mega,
innit, underneath?

That looks absolutely amazing.

We were staring down the barrel
at five, six grand for a paint job,

but we've spent eight quid
and a bit of elbow grease.

This one, we definitely have
polished some money into it.

And I haven't forgotten
about that rusty back box,

which just slides onto
the existing exhaust.

It goes on in a few minutes.

It's actually gonna make this
Transit van sound really lovely.

This whole
exhaust repair was 53 quid.

Bargain.

I'm also replacing
the broken rear lenses...

All these tiny, little details
at the end of the restoration

are all going to pay dividends
when it comes to sale time.

...splashing out 200 quid
for new ones.

Transforms the rear end.

But the biggest transformation
needs to happen on the inside.

I want to convert her
from fire engine

to mobile coffee shop
without spending a fortune.

So all this came from charity shops?

I love charity shops.
It's like a treasure hunt.

My artist friend Claudia
is lending me a hand,

doing some thrifty
interior decorating.

Somebody's trash
is somebody else's treasure.

She's got hold of
a second-hand coffee machine.

And I've welded on
some two-inch steel angle

so it slides seamlessly
onto the old pump rack.

It will tuck away and disappear
all the way into that cavity.

It's gonna take some
amateur shop fitting.

Well, this carpet
is gonna definitely make

the interior of this van
much more cosy.

I've got a table,
like a little coffee table,

and I do want to make
a usage of these cabinets,

er, that came
with the van as a library.

This is proper paint
for doing chalkboards with.

You've got your flat whites,
your cappuccinos.

Builder's coffee
is the way I like mine.

Strong, simple.

Designs are meant
to give you that vintage feel.

We're open at last.

The first coffee in our new...
First coffee!

...Mark 1 Transit coffee van. Yes!

You have absolutely smashed it.
Thank you.

High five? Always a high five. Yeah.

This looks all right.
I'd buy a coffee from this.

We're nearly ready for business.

For the final dusting
on the cappuccino,

I've now fully registered
this German ex-fire engine

as a UK vehicle,
which will add to her value.

Here you go, mate. Ah. Thank you.

Now to tot up what she cost
and what we need to sell her for.

We paid 6,500 for the van.

Mechanical parts come in at £308.95.

Eight quid for polish
and lots of elbow grease.

The conversion,
we spent 30 quid on materials,



But the biggest thing was the £200
on the coffee machine.

The number plate was 50 quid,
and I've allowed a little extra

to capture some of
the miscellaneous stuff.

So the total spend was £700.88.

Which means
this van owes us 7,200 quid.

I think if we advertise for 11,500,

knowing that
we'll take just over 10,000, 10,500.

Write it on the board.

Stick it on the board.
Nice and neat, please.

Before I let her go,

there's one more
important job left to do.

The ultimate coffee run.

I'm not driving this car
without doing two things.

Firstly, I want to hit the lights.

And secondly... [SIREN BLARING]
...I want to hit the sirens.

Oh, yeah! [CHUCKLES] I love it.

Oh, she's beautiful!

She sounds brilliant.

Swapping the rear end of that
exhaust has made all the difference.

The brakes are now on the button.

I'm just going
to tackle this roundabout
with a little bit of pace.

You know, for such a big vehicle,
it really handles beautifully.

It's one of those vehicles.

You just need to throw
your arm out the window,

knowing this van's
gonna get you there.

And I think right now, on the 60th
anniversary of the Transit van,

this is a good one to own. Man,
someone's gonna get a great van.

Man, that's incredible.

I think we've done
phenomenally well with this van.

I was worried that
there was an engine issue,
but I was dealing with an engine

that had only done


and yet, it was
a little bit of a trip up,

and it turned out to be
an easier fix than I thought.

And although the van
is beautifully engineered,

it's also
quite simple and agricultural.

And fixing the brakes
on this was quite easy.

And then getting the exhaust fixed
on the end was also cost-effective.

The biggest red flag
when doing a Transit van's rust.

So tackling just that tiny, little
rust panel in the doorway...

[CHUCKLES] ...it's like the only
Transit van that isn't rusty.

And if we don't make
a profit on this van,

I'll hang up my boots
and eat my hat.

It'll be a hard hat, though,
because it's a Transit van.

Rather than put it in auction,

I've decided to sell
this unique vehicle privately...

That blue light.
...at the Silverstone Festival.

I'm hoping the offer of free coffee
will attract the punters.

And one in particular
has taken the bait.

Have you done much to it?
Made one little rust repair

inside this doorway here.

We did a little bit
of mechanical work.

The paint was really faded,
so we gave this a nice polish up.

It's got this amazing
tailgate that opens up,
which means it's versatile.

I've done a coffee option. Yeah.
What would you use it for?

I run a mobile karaoke service.
You run a mobile karaoke service?

Yeah. Of all the things,
of all the options that
I was thinking for this van,

I never once listed a karaoke van.

Now this would be
the perfect vehicle

for a mobile karaoke. Yeah.

It used to be a fire engine, so it's
used to carrying a heavy
load of equipment.

I'm visualising your karaoke.
It's got lights on.

The siren works, so you'll be able
to drum up some business.

Yeah, no. Yeah, it could be.

It could be for me...
if we can do a deal.

Eleven-and-a-half
is a really good price.

I challenge you to go
and find a Mark 1

Transit van for less than that.

Ten-and-a-half sounds
better, though, doesn't it?

I'll come down a little bit.

You know, I'll knock


Hm.

Call it 11.

Eleven. Congratulations.

She's your Transit van. Brilliant.

Oh, my gosh. Mark 1 Transit van.
What a result.

I mean, £3,800 profit.

Mobile karaoke.

I would never have predicted that.

So my dad sings karaoke.

When he ran the pub, he used to
always sing "Master of the House",

song from Les Mis.
It was utterly embarrassing.

You know, the house has ended

with a little bit of a kick
in the ribs,

but this is the saving grace
that I've ended on a high.

I'm gonna start again
with some cash in my pocket,

which is gonna be spent immediately
on fixing the central heating.

Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Does this bring back memories?
Oh, yeah.

You know what?
In the main, the cars have done
really well this summer.

Business model works.
It works. I know it works.

[LAUGHING]

I just need to keep going.

To say thanks to everyone
for their hard work...

Go on. Take one of those burgers.

...I'm throwing
an end-of-summer barbecue.

[GLASSES CLINKING] Cheers,
everybody. SUE: Cheers. Cheers.

No, good effort.
A lot of work done this year.

Plastering looks quite good as well.
Plastering is all right.

I like the hallway.
Brilliant. Really good.

It's a great job, and I'd much
rather you took the time

to get it done right than rush it.

I'm really sorry that we didn't hit
the deadline and got you guys in.
Don't be too hard on yourself.

Think of the things
that have been achieved.

The oak frame perfectly done now
for the main part of the house.

It's all starting to breathe,
and it looks happy again.

Just had a facelift.
It's just amazing.
You've done so much good stuff.

It's worth the wait.

We may not have
got you in this year,

but I promise we will eventually,
at some stage.

We'll be in by Christmas, I'm sure,
but we don't know which year.

[ALL LAUGHING]

So let's at least
have a toast to everything
that we've achieved this year.

Well done. Well done.
Cheers. Well done.