Classic Car Rescue - new TV show

[obione]

I like Wheeler Dealers but accept it for what it is - light entertainment.

If people are daft enough to not cost in Labour etc, then thats their problem

[CHANGES]

EXACTLY.........

The problem is people do take it seriously, believe that is what the Industry does .................that is the issue!!!!!

[mr.oogieboogie]

Well i watched the classic car rescue last night what a load of crap

[nic996]

@Changes,

I didn't buy my Esprit off the back of one episode. You presume too much. Please ask Mike Taylor how much business I've put his way with an engine rebuild and various purchases. Not to mention local businesses for the metal plating and powder coating services then there will be a respray and the interior reupholstering and the list goes on... This argument could go on forever. Ultimately we will just have to agree to disagree.

@ the title of this thread!

I haven't watched classic car rescue but if it's the cockney bloke from Bangla Bangers then I think I will channel my time to more productive things. Like my Esprit!!

@rizla603104,

Better late than never but I just read your comments. The part about buying an Esprit becasue it goes underwater LMAO

Edited September 28, 2012 by nic996

[vintaylor]

Many times on wheeler dealers they mention that they are getting old cars back on the road for new owners to enjoy rather then restoring them. Most of the time they walk away from big projects that need lots of work.

They also give information about getting parts refurbished by specialists in the UK. I remember on the episode they did the e-type they took their spoked rims to a specialist that had them re-spoked and refurbished.

Probably overhaulin might be more of your thing, as they completely strip down each car and do a full restoration each time.

[CHANGES]

Wheeler dealers are one of the main reasons I bought my Esprit in the end!!

Personally I love doing those jobs on my own car.

Nic,

This is not an argument it is a discussion based reference to experience knowledge

and statements made. I refer to your statements above , which implies you bought

your Esprit because of that show and you did the work yourself.

You now say that is not the case and i presumed to much...

As you have employed restorers to do the dirty ,tedious and hard work, how can you

comment either way and dismiss my statement referring to it, as an opinion.

I find this contradictory and confusing.

It now sound like you are going about your restoration in the correct way employing

skilled restorers to do the work you feel unable to do yourself...

I am sure it will be fantastic when finished and the industry thankful for your business

Unfortunately some references became personal but should not be taken personally.

My initial reference was to the fact that these show's mislead the viewers... Unless

you do or have done the full work on a daily basis, you will not identify the pit falls on what

they leave out or short cuts taken and true time scale required.. Its experience of the industry

that allows you to see the truth. The frustration is when you get into discussions with people

who's knowledge of restoration is based on these sort of shows. Of which there are many.

Some are potential customers who need re-educating to reality first. which can be awkward..

Vin.

Overhaulin is better, but you can still see where they cut the corners if you are in the industry.

The bit that gets me on that show is how it goes from filler to show quality paint overnight.!!!!!

Other US shows are good but they enter issues to make entertaining .eg. unrealistic tight time scales.

The list is endless but the issue remain the same...These shows are made for entertainment but are

implied and interpreted as fact . That is why people believe them and get sucked in.....

[nic996]

Paragraph 1

Because you bought your Esprit on the back of one episode

1- With reference to your statement above. You specifically said episode. I did not buy my Esprit based on any single episode. I bought my car before the Esprit episode was aired and I have watched every episode of W.D. from the start.

2- I employed people to do the work that I don't have the facilities nor the the time for because I want to balance my time between my hobby and my family. I know how to media blast, I can paint a car and I have built engines before and in fact I have previously restored a classic.

3- It was a discussion and some things I do take personally but thats ok. I can deal with it.

4-What else can I say. I like WD and you don't. No problem. It deals with things mostly in my financial reach, the others are pipe dreams for me. You don't like it and I take your points and that fine but as I said before, I believe we will have to agree to disagree.

[molemot]

I hadn't realised there was a "correct way" to do a restoration. When I started with cars, anything of age and character was considered an "old banger" and fit only for the scrap heap. There were no restoration workshops, and very few specialist spares suppliers. Since my taste in vehicles has always vastly exceeded my financial ability to go out and buy one in the usually recommended way..."buy the very best you can find"(!)...I have been forced to buy at the bottom end of the financial scale. I bought my MG TC in 1965 for £50 as a pile of parts and a rolling chassis; I was 19 and had no concept of what I was getting into. My particular point of infection came when, at about 13, I read a book called "The Red Car"...this was about a 16 year old American lad acquiring and rebuilding an MG TC and I fell head over heels with the whole concept, and especially the car concerned. It took me about 5 years or so to get through to the end of the rebuild, working every available day on the project...holidays? Wot?!! I bought parts for it well before they were needed, and this saved me quite a bit overall as it got round the inflation which was rife around then.

The process of restoration took me down to the chassis and back up again, all done in the road outside my house, under a plastic car cover. The floorboards were made from a large piece of marine ply recycled from a packing case which had held a giant reel of telcomms cable....part of the body woodwork, under the doors, was made from a piece of ash which had spent 20 odd years being a sawbench at a woodyard. The body side panels were made up from aluminium sheet to replace the terminally rusted steel ones. I admit that the front and rear wings were "restored" using pop rivets and aluminium sheet, fibre glass and filler...we had no welding facilities and the English Wheel was beyond our purview. Getting new wings made was an impossibility, there were glass fibre moulded ones but they were truly horrible. The end result was cosmetically very satisfactory, sprayed in cellulose Signal Red using a Bylock light industrial spray unit...rather like an uprated vacuum cleaner blown device. Spraying being a very small part of the process, most of it is the terminal boredom of wearing one's fingerprints away rubbing down with Wetordri paper....!

What I learned from those 5 years has stood me in good stead ever since. My point is that the learning of new skills in the process of restoration would not have happened had I left it all to "the experts". In my book, people who claim to have restored a car but have simply thrown money at the task may well end up with a "superior" vehicle, but cheque book restoration teaches you nothing and you cannot have the same level of involvement with the machine that you get from getting filthy and cut and bruised and knackered, faced with an almost infinite series of problems large and small, until you finally see in the flesh the embodiment of the vision you had had of the finished vehicle, years earlier.

Sitting on the kerb on the other side of the road in 1970 and looking at the shiny red and chrome beastie, with the supercharger hidden under the bonnet, is something I shall never forget. Of course, I had only got the right hand side together at that point (!)...but the rest followed quickly and I don't think I have ever been more proud of any achievement. Had I still got the thing, it would be worth around £25 to 30,000...but circumstances didn't permit and, anyway, once one thing is done one needs the next project!

As for WheelerDealers...it's just what they call Infotainment. It informs a bit and entertains the audience too....they should make it clear that you can't make money by restoring vehicles, if you're doing it anywhere near properly. It's a true labour of love...watching them spraying panels with aerosols and similar stuff sets the level they work at. The amateur restorer ought to be able to make something that looks perfect from across the road....I get hung up on trying to be spot on and spend hours finishing something that you'd only see if the car ran you over!! Also, the idea of "deadlines" which seems endemic to these sort of TV programmes has no place in an amateur restoration. It's finished when it's finished.....and that is a huge advantage over trying to do the job professionally and show a profit on the work. So what if it takes 5 years? It's 5 years of enjoyable problem solving and slow progress to the desired end.

Edited September 28, 2012 by molemot

[CHANGES]

Well said John.

Grass routes of the industry, This should always be supported and encouraged.

I just feel these shows undermine what everyone tries to do and the dedicated effort involved.

Nic,.

Ok..if we were all the same the world would be boring...wishing you the best with your restoration

Dave.

[steve930]

oh dear oh dear oh dear!, It's like "changing rooms" for the car world

I shudder to think what they're gonna do with the 911. Most 911's from the 80's & older, will have plenty of rot in the B pillars, kidney bowls, jacking points etc. You need to remove cut away part of the rear wings to gain access its a very labour intensive job! I've done this on two 911's now, can't remember actual man hours but i know most restorers charge at least £3-4k

[Rick Edwards]

Reality check:

X factor is NOT a singing contest its a light entertainment TV show

Eastenders is NOT real its a TV soap opera

The Hoobs are NOT really from the planet Hoob they are a light entertainment TV show for children

Wheeler Dealers is NOT a serious restoration show, its a light entertainment TV show for armchair petrol heads.

The on button on a TV is NOT the gateway to a reality, its the gateway to various channels and production companies making money by people watching what they do. you have a choice (really, you do) if you dont like it dont watch it.

[molemot]

Agreed, Rick....which is why I don't watch any of the stuff you list.....except WD occasionally when the vehicle is of interest. There is an American car show called "Chop Cut Rebuild" which does get right down to the nitty gritty stuff, even building a Bonneville Salt Flats racer from scratch...more welded tubes than you could shake a stick at...and V8 building, too. That show is worth a look if you can get it on the satellite..not on at present but keep an eye out!

[Rick Edwards]

not even the Hoobs? I am disappointed. me and my daughter love it....hoobledooble doooo!

[slewthy]

"I've hit on the question!......"

[Rick Edwards]

ahhhh a fellow fan!

shall we play with our hooblediggers?

[dodge1979]

Planet hoob isnt real? Im sorry but next youl be saying mr spoon didnt really fly to button moon :-P. I saw it and everything....

[Rick Edwards]

well I guess that given that the universe is in fact infinite, there must actually be a Hoob planet somewhere in a galaxy far far away, but that is the subject of another thread.

[slewthy]

Christ alive! This is what is known as Knights move thinking!

I have changed my mind about the thread title - I am going to watch the next episode - train crash TV and all that!

[douglasgdmw]

The 911 they offered on the show has a little bit of history seemingly:

http://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=20392

Essentially a LHD to RHD conversion. Not usually an issue in the Porsche with the engine in the back but it definitely needs to be done right otherwise it can cause you no ends of problems.

Looking around for our 964 we found a car that was LHD-RHD and it was seemingly not a very good conversion. Would have needed at least £2-3K spent on it to get it right. Lucky we found this out and walked away.

George

[FRANTIC FRANC]

can't view that link George, any chance of pasting onto here?

[douglasgdmw]

^{It was an advert from ImpactBumpers where the person listed was selling his car. I have listed the advert except his email/number:}

^{Hello all,}

^{After much deliberation I have decided to offer my IB for sale, initially as an IB exclusive.}

^{I bought this car 3 years ago as a box of bits from a colleague. I spent 2 years putting it back together, and have been driving it for the last year. This is most definitely still a project, but it's on the road, solid, reliable, and drives well. I'm selling it to downsize the 'fleet' and fund a more practical car (hopefully a 964) for every day use. Added to that I just don't have the time or enthusiasm to finish the project.}

^Basics:

^{- 1977 coupe in silver. 77,000 miles}

^{- 3.2 engine fitted by me, stackloads of history for the engine (bought from an IBer)}

^{- Originally a LHD European spec, but converted to RHD when it was imported to the UK in the 80s}

^{- Very little documented history, but I have some resto photos (I bought the car off a colleague who had started restoring it) and the engine has loads of documented history}

^{- Bodywork is cosmetically very tatty (flaky and cracked paint all over) but the normal 'rust worry' areas have had attention (kidney bowls, sills, A pillars, inner wings, battery area etc). Recently some rust has appeared on the roof and scuttle panel. I have treated the rust on the roof but realistically the car needs a bit of bodywork and a good coat of paint.}

^{- Car is mid way through a backdate. I have all the parts to either complete the backdate (rust free wings, fibreglass bonnet, light boxes) or to return it to original spec (everything except bellows and bumper tubes) before paint.}

^{- Lots of parts included (non original FG whale tail, flapper boxes, aerial, interior bits)}

^{- Interior is bare. Sparco sports seats fitted, but I still have the original vinyl (torn) seats and carpets. I don't have the rear seats.}

^{- Heater boxes need fitting and commissioning}

^{- Most stuff works. Notable exceptions include the electric mirrors, a few dash lights and the passenger window. It also needs a new indicator switch (dodgy main beam contact and no self cancel).}

^{- Suspension has all been rebuilt but needs alignment/tracking}

^{- Recent brake discs, pads, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, pedal bushes and braided hoses.}

^{- New fuel pump}

^{- Refurbed 15" cookie cutters}

^{- MOT (May 2012) and tax (March 2013).}

^{The car is on the road and drives well, but it's honestly the tattiest IB I've seen and it would really suit someone who's prepared to spend the time or money on the last of the bodywork and paint. The registration plate (911 OHT) is available by separate negotiation.}

^{I'm offering this at £7,250 and will see what happens. After that it's off to the PH lions.}

^{Drop me an email at ... or call on ... if you're interested.}

^Thanks,

^James

[MarkBa]

Remember this part of the programme?- "The distributor cap is the most important part of the car, if this isn't

any good the car won't start which is why I'm taking the time with a screwdriver to clean any carbon from it

and scrape the contacts to ensure this engine will run well."

Did he not know he could buy a new cap for a fiver from German & Swedish?

Or should that be a Deep Sea Diver.

[Chris Southam]

"No one will ever know about the accident damage"... except the few that watched!

I was really confused by the 911. I swear it had the Carrera badge on the rear when it was first loaded on to the trailer, but the 3.2l version didn't come out until the 80s. So it was either a 3.0l 1977 or a 3.2l 1984.

Anyway, it's vaguely amusing to watch but not to be taken seriously. I guess they are 'rescuing the cars'.

[douglasgdmw]

I swear it had the Carrera badge on the rear when it was first loaded on to the trailer, but the 3.2l version didn't come out until the 80s. So it was either a 3.0l 1977 or a 3.2l 1984.

Bodyshell of 77 and engine of 3.2 is the easiest description I suppose.

Must admit I definitely prefer the Paul Stephens version of their take on classics with updated running gear :

http://www.paul-stephens.com/PS-Autoart-Retro-250-Build-8/car4054

http://www.paul-stephens.com/Porsche-911-PS-240C-Build-1-Deposit-Taken/car3399 (If Exige S was not going to transpire from Lotus had my eye on this one).

George

[tonytransam]

Not sure if anyone noticed but the parts they get from skips and scrap yards are not actually parts for the cars they are restoring!

I think it is supposed to create some sort of illusion.

With this show they are trying to appeal to an American market hence they over do it with the cockney dialogue and buying parts from the scrap guys etc.

Unfortunately I think the likes of this show would actually put off would be classic car buyers.

It is crap!