- 20 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Hey, what are you doing?
00:10I'm having my picture drawn. I've always wanted to do this wherever we go away.
00:14We've never had anything like a little memento.
00:16So this lovely lady here, Izzy, has decided to do an artistic impression of my good self.
00:22You are ridiculous. You're so vain.
00:25Just take the weight off. Why not? Come on, look at this. Just smile.
00:29I think this is going to be really good, you know. The culture here for classic cars is rich.
00:35They've imported classic cars here since the First World War, so this is...
00:39Sorry, Izzy. This is going to be great.
00:41It is going to be great. And on top of all of those lovely things you just mentioned, the sun's shining.
00:46I love the sun shining.
00:47Which means the classic cars don't rust to bits like they do back in the UK.
00:50Yes. So what's the chances we can find a British classic from like the 1960s, 70s
00:56that hasn't got a dot of rust on it?
00:58Well, the chances are higher here, that's for sure.
01:01Right. That's it. OK? We're done.
01:04Right, let me take a deep breath, yes.
01:05Come on, let's see it, Izzy.
01:06Deep breath.
01:07Ta-da!
01:08What is that, Izzy? What is that?
01:13How come he looks chiselled and handsome and sort of racy driver-y and I just look like it? What? That's not fair.
01:21I just draw what I see. That's all.
01:23What do you mean draw as you see? That's unbelievable.
01:25That's amazing. I hate paying for that. I can't believe that.
01:28Get over it, Mike. It's a car accident.
01:30No, I'm not going to get over that. That's going to haunt me.
01:32That's amazing.
01:33We've got a car to buy. Come on, you can pay for it.
01:38Mate, you didn't pack much, did you?
01:40Mate, I don't need much. I just need my knowledge and that's all up here.
01:43We've packed our bags and our spanners for another globetrotting car-fixing adventure.
01:50Vamos!
01:51You see a photo?
01:52Yay!
01:53Sorry.
01:58We're hunting down some of the world's most iconic cars.
02:01Does it get much better than this?
02:05Oh, I can't believe we're standing here in front of an SP2.
02:08Leaning on local wheeler dealers.
02:10Because he really wants it. Would you take the 30,000 euro?
02:13No, impossible.
02:15That's not a way to do it.
02:16To rescue these national treasures on a wheel and a prayer.
02:20Please let me find a set of wheels. That's all I'm asking for.
02:24And make a few euros, pesos.
02:26I think we have a deal.
02:27Yes!
02:28And real as we go.
02:31I absolutely love it!
02:38I am so excited about being here. I've always wanted to come to Malta and pick a car.
02:47It's got rich pickings here because this place is full of like 30,000 classic cars.
02:52All stuck on this island here.
02:54And look, MGB on the side of the road.
02:57And, you know, there's only about half a million people here.
03:00It's brilliant, isn't it?
03:01Everything from Jaguars, British Leyland products, Fords and of course cars like this Land Rover.
03:06Yeah, exactly right, yeah.
03:07We're here for something that I know that you've been looking for for a very, very long time.
03:11I just can't believe we've never done this car before.
03:16Yes, for over 20 years the legendary Ford Cortina has managed to elude us.
03:21Designed and built in Dagenham, for years the Cortina was a staple of British life.
03:27A bestseller throughout the 70s, it was as popular with families as with travelling sales reps.
03:32It was the same story here in Malta, where British cars used to be assembled in a dedicated factory.
03:39And while most British Cortinas succumbed to rust, Maltese cars were preserved by the dry climate.
03:46Making this the perfect place to try and finally track one down.
03:50Right, we're going to see a Mark II Cortina, but like most Cortinas of a certain generation, it may have been around the block a little bit.
04:00The problem I've found here in Malta is lots of the cars are fully restored.
04:05A lot of the cars are absolute basket cases and we'll never do it in the time we've got here.
04:10So I've gone and found something in the middle. So, you know, just take a deep breath when you stand in front of it.
04:19The car belongs to an Australian expat called Dennis, who lives on the outskirts of Malta's capital, Valletta.
04:26Well, this is the address and that looks like the guy.
04:30G'day, Mike. G'day, mate. Are you Dennis?
04:33I've been waiting for you here, yeah.
04:34Yeah, nice to meet you, Dennis.
04:35Yeah, mate. How are you?
04:36This is Elvis.
04:37Elvis, how are you?
04:38I'm good, my friend.
04:39Good bra.
04:40Fantastic.
04:41Right, here we go. This is why we've travelled a long way.
04:44Let's have a look.
04:45Yes, baby. That's what I'm talking about.
04:47Oh, yeah.
04:48Oh, well, I love the colour, Dennis. The colour's good.
04:50I like the colour.
04:51Yeah, the colour is good.
04:52Is there any chance we could pull it out, Dennis?
04:54Yeah.
04:55Can we see it out here?
04:56Yeah, no problem at all.
04:58And it's got a sticky starter motor.
05:02It's also an alarm bell.
05:04Yeah.
05:06Oh, and it sounds fruity.
05:07Did you see the smoke?
05:09Look at the smoke.
05:11Keep coming, Dennis.
05:12Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.
05:15Oh, my goodness, what a noise it makes.
05:18Have you seen that?
05:20I can climb inside that.
05:22Look at it.
05:23I didn't do it, no, no.
05:24You didn't do it?
05:25That's how I bought the car.
05:26Any problems?
05:27The engine needs a good service.
05:29The exhaust pipe, it smokes a bit.
05:31Yeah.
05:32So if you wouldn't mind just leaving us to it,
05:34and we'll come and find you at the end and tell you what we think.
05:36Okay, mate.
05:37Nice one, Dennis.
05:38Right, okay.
05:39Somebody's backed this car into a car spare shop,
05:42and they've gone to town, haven't they?
05:44But what I'm seeing is a lot of the period correct details are still there.
05:47Like, you know, the chrome bumpers front and rear,
05:50all the chrome around the lights, really nice to see.
05:52Yeah.
05:53The wheels, they're definitely deep dish aftermarket mini lights.
05:58It's been boy racered.
06:00That's my issue, right?
06:01Look at the parcel shelf.
06:02Someone's put massive speakers all the way along there.
06:04But that's what you did in the 1970s, 1980s.
06:07I know.
06:08We can repair that.
06:09Yeah, we're not going to sell it like that, are we?
06:11You know, smoking as well.
06:13That could be something as simple as valve stem oil seals.
06:15That's quite common.
06:16Or broken pistons.
06:17Or broken pistons.
06:18It could be rings.
06:19It could be anything, couldn't it?
06:20So, there's a number of red flags and alarm bells
06:23that make me sort of think I need to be a bit hesitant.
06:26Without taking the engine apart,
06:27it's impossible to know if the smoke is a minor issue
06:30or a major headache.
06:32Let me have a look in the bonnet.
06:34Er...
06:35Look, there's bits missing.
06:36It's missing an air filter.
06:37It's missing a cam belt cover.
06:39Yeah.
06:40The engine's been swapped for a later Pinto unit
06:43and it seems whoever did it forgot to finish the job.
06:46It's missing the vacuum pipe off it.
06:48Oh, yeah.
06:49It's snapped off or something.
06:50Oh, yeah.
06:51So, there's stuff missing.
06:52Look, that's broken as well.
06:55That's the accelerator cable, innit?
06:57How does the throttle work, then?
06:58Well, it's half in, but it's not fully in.
07:01But look, what that highlights is
07:03a total lack of maintenance, doesn't it?
07:04Yeah.
07:05It's been modified in all sorts of ways.
07:07It's not been well looked after.
07:09Well, I can tell you the good news.
07:10It's got the original bright work at the front.
07:12Bumper looks in good shape.
07:14Looks like it's never been straightened.
07:15Yeah.
07:16So, that's all good news.
07:18And let's not forget this Cortina's trump card.
07:21The beauty and the benefit of buying a car here in Malta
07:25is that you do get a car that has very minimal rust
07:28of this period.
07:30The body works great.
07:31It's everything else I'm worried about.
07:33Oh, stop fretting and jump in.
07:46Mate, this is embarrassing.
07:48There's people coming out to see what's going on.
07:51There was me thinking my boy racer days were behind me.
07:54Oh, it's bliss.
07:55Oh, no brakes, no brakes, no brakes, no brakes, no brakes.
08:00I mean literally no brakes.
08:01Yeah, my God.
08:02The brakes are in a different county.
08:04Don't look out the back, don't look out the back.
08:09Smoke.
08:10A little bit of smoke.
08:12It's only a little bit of smoke, don't panic.
08:14What are you seeing in this car?
08:17It's a Cortina.
08:18Listen, I don't think I've ever gotten a Cortina
08:21from this period of time that hasn't been around the block a few times.
08:25But it's rust free.
08:26It's solid.
08:27After 20 years of looking at rusty Cortina's black and blighty, this might be the one.
08:32All these things like the brakes, which don't work, the smoke coming out the engine.
08:37All of that stuff is bolted to the car, right?
08:41The actual car itself is a solid car.
08:44I just think we've just got to buy it.
08:46I agree with you.
08:47Rust is much bigger of a problem to fix than bits that we can take off and service.
08:52But there are so many bits that need attention and servicing.
08:56I don't even know if we've got the time or the budget to do it.
08:59Look at the suspension.
09:02I mean, these roads are awful.
09:04It gets worse.
09:06My goodness me.
09:07It doesn't have any suspension.
09:08No, I don't think it does.
09:09It looks like it's been lowered.
09:11And I think over the time, it may have worn out a little bit as well.
09:17Oh, it's dying!
09:19Is it actually dead?
09:20Yeah.
09:21It's actually dead.
09:22Oh, for goodness sake.
09:23I think maybe.
09:24I'll tell you what's happened.
09:25Something's not the battery in the back.
09:28What are we doing?
09:30What are we doing?
09:31I have researched this island that loves their classic cars.
09:35A good one of these is 20 grand.
09:37The one that we're sitting in is 12,000 euros.
09:41No, absolutely not.
09:42It's 12,000 euros.
09:43We are not spending 12 grand of our money on this.
09:45So I'm just going to phone Dennis and I'm going to tell him that I'm not bringing it back
09:49and I'm going to send him the money.
09:51Mate, you have honestly, you've lost your mind.
09:53Come on!
09:54You've lost your mind.
09:55Come on!
09:56Where's the adventure?
09:57You've lost your mind.
09:58What's the point of buying cars that are already fixed?
10:00You know, it's why the world needs us.
10:02Yeah, but it's me who will have to fix the engine.
10:07At least you were right about the loose electrical connection.
10:11Hey!
10:12Dennis!
10:13Yeah, sorry we're not back.
10:15Elvis!
10:16Yeah, he's over the moon.
10:17He loves it.
10:18Yeah, no, it's great.
10:19Is there any movement on the price?
10:20Right, okay.
10:21Yes.
10:22I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Dennis.
10:23Deal's done.
10:24Yeah, lovely.
10:25And I'm going to drive it away from here.
10:26Fantastic.
10:27Oh, we're over the moon.
10:28Cheers, Dennis.
10:29Bye, bye, bye.
10:30Yes!
10:31Carl's done.
10:32We've got it.
10:33It's ours.
10:34And you've got it running.
10:35Woo-hoo!
10:36Come on!
10:37Ah, hello, my little baby.
10:38Guess who's your daddy now?
10:39You've done some crazy things in the past, but this tops it.
10:42Well, I am.
10:43Well, I am.
10:44Well, I am.
10:45Well, I am.
10:46Well, I am.
10:47Well, I am.
10:48Well, I am.
10:49Well, I am.
10:50Well, I am.
10:51Well, I am.
10:52Well, I am.
10:53Well, I am.
10:54Well, I am.
10:55Honestly, you are going to love where we're going.
11:09We're going to meet a fella called Martin.
11:11He's got a classic car workshop that's, like, unbelievable.
11:14He is like the Michelangelo of Malta.
11:17He needs to be like the Harry Potter of the classic car.
11:19Give him this.
11:20He needs to what?
11:21Martin and his team at Malta Classic Car Works are British car specialists and have
11:28offered to help us rescue our Cortina.
11:30I hope they're feeling brave.
11:32Hello.
11:33Martin!
11:34How are you?
11:35Hiya, Mike.
11:36Good to see you.
11:37This is Elvis.
11:38Hi, Martin.
11:39Hi, Elvis.
11:40Nice to see you, man.
11:41Is this your team behind?
11:42Yep.
11:43Charlie.
11:44Charlie.
11:45I'm Enya.
11:46I'm Enya.
11:47Very nice to meet you.
11:48Are you fans of Fords?
11:50I do like Fords.
11:51You like Fords.
11:52That's good.
11:53Martin, what's your thoughts?
11:54Fords are the bane of mechanics life.
11:56People do so much to them, which means that then when they come into the mechanics workshop,
12:01we have to unscramble everything that's been done.
12:05It's funny you say that because this car is exactly that.
12:08There's going to be a ton of stuff I haven't even found yet that someone's done.
12:12And a lot of it we do have to undo.
12:14If it's anything than my past experience, yeah, we'll have our work cut out.
12:20But as it's nearly 6pm, there's not much we can do right now.
12:24Right, well, let's get the car on the ramp.
12:27I tell you what, it rolls quite nicely.
12:29That's a positive.
12:31Mate, what have we done?
12:33What have we done?
12:34Bought a Cortina.
12:35I've always wanted a Cortina.
12:36I've never felt like we've made a mistake more than I feel that right now.
12:48Look at that.
12:49Isn't that lovely?
12:51What a cracking morning.
12:52I've actually got my tail in the air, you know.
12:54I'm excited about it today.
12:55We're going to go and work on a Mark II Cortina.
12:58Ross-free.
13:01I'll give you that.
13:02That's it's one good strong point.
13:04There's many strong points, but that's one of them.
13:09Oh mate, stop here, stop here, stop here.
13:11I need you to stop.
13:12I love these.
13:13I wanted to try them.
13:14We have to stop, stop.
13:15Are you serious?
13:16These are pastices.
13:17These are a local delicacy.
13:18I've always wanted to try them.
13:19Mate, we haven't got time for this.
13:20You've got the pastices?
13:21Yeah.
13:22Yes.
13:23And what flavour has you got?
13:24So you've got the ricotta over here.
13:25A ricotta, yeah.
13:26Can I get a few?
13:27Yeah, of course.
13:28Yeah, lovely.
13:29Oh, they look amazing.
13:31They are amazing.
13:32So they're a local delicacy, yes?
13:33Yes, yes, yes.
13:34For many years, more has been producing this.
13:36Hurry up!
13:37So I'm coming!
13:38I'm coming!
13:39One second.
13:40I'm going to give you some more, come on.
13:41Lovely.
13:42It's worth it!
13:43It's worth it!
13:44Mate, come on!
13:45Sorry.
13:46Right, I'm coming.
13:47Sorry, mate.
13:48I'm sorry.
13:49It's pastices!
13:50I had to.
13:51One sec.
13:52That was worth it, I'm telling you.
13:53We're coming!
13:54Sorry!
13:55They better be good.
14:00That's nice.
14:01Oh, my God!
14:02That is delicious.
14:03Straight to the workshop.
14:05Mmm.
14:06We've only got four days here in Malta, so whilst I start climbing a Cortina-shaped mountain...
14:17I'm going on a parts hunt.
14:20I've got a nice, big, chunky shopping list sent to me by Elvis.
14:25He needs lots and lots of parts.
14:27And I need to get him back on site because I've got a special plan for our Cortina.
14:32At the moment, it's a bit too one-coloured, a bit boring, but I reckon separating it into
14:39two colours with a nice contrasting colour is going to be absolutely perfect.
14:44And a vinyl roof is a great way to do that.
14:46Plus, a vinyl roof is sort of period-correct on that generation of cars.
14:51The kind of thing my dad was doing back in the 70s.
14:53And I reckon that's exactly what our car needs.
14:56All right, go for it.
15:05You can take it over the top.
15:07Thank you very much.
15:08All right.
15:09Now I can see what I'm working with.
15:11Of all of our Cortina's problems, it's the smoking exhaust that worries me most.
15:17Blue smoke means the engine's burning oil.
15:20And I need to find out why.
15:22I'm going to start stripping this down to get into the cylinder head.
15:25Right, Enya, do you mind taking the exhaust manifold off?
15:29And Martin, if you're happy to take the inlet manifold and carburettor off,
15:33I'm going to get into the rocker cover and down towards the cylinder head.
15:37And it might seem slightly weird to have so many people crammed into this tiny little space,
15:41but there is so much to do on this car.
15:44We literally need everybody working flat out all of the time
15:47if we've got any hope of getting it done.
15:50OK.
15:55Right, if you guys want to have a quick clean-up for me in there
15:57and have a little look around...
15:58Will do.
15:59If oil's leaking past the pistons, the engine will need a costly rebuild.
16:03So whilst Martin and Enya look for signs of wear,
16:06I'm checking the cylinder head.
16:08Oh.
16:09Head gasket doesn't look too bad.
16:12No obvious signs of that blowing.
16:15Right, so that looks good.
16:18Now, the head itself...
16:21No signs of obvious damage or distortion.
16:25The valves look in pretty decent condition, I'd say.
16:29There's a little bit of build-up of sort of carbon deposits on the exhaust valves,
16:33but kind of what you'd expect.
16:35Certainly nothing that would give me too much concern at this point.
16:39Seems the cylinders are in good shape too.
16:42No really obvious signs of wear.
16:44No.
16:45OK.
16:46Pistons are in good, Nick.
16:47Which leaves one other possible culprit.
16:50One of the reasons that we might be getting the blue smoke out the back of the car
16:54are these valve stem oil seals.
16:57Yeah.
16:58It's a little rubber seal that sits around the valve
17:01and prevents oil from running down the side of the valve
17:03getting into the combustion chamber.
17:07To see if these seals are the cause of our problem,
17:10we first need to remove the rockers that open and close the valves.
17:13Right, that is all eight of my rockers removed.
17:19The oil seal is buried inside that spring, and to get to it, I need to remove the spring itself.
17:24And to do that, I've found a little gadget.
17:27This is an old converted drill press, but it's definitely had some use, and it looks like it's going to do the job perfectly well.
17:35So I'm going to move this over onto a bit of cardboard.
17:38Everything's heavy.
17:40Enya, do you mind give us a hand?
17:43If you come round this side and use one of those, I don't know which one,
17:49but as I compress the spring here with this machine, you're going to see the top of the valve appear,
17:53and the two little collets at the top, it might take a couple of goes to just pop it out.
18:03There we go.
18:04Right.
18:05So you see them, you should be able to pick...
18:07There we go.
18:08There you go.
18:09Beautiful.
18:10You should be able to take that spring and spring cap.
18:13There you go.
18:14Lovely.
18:15And there's the valve.
18:16Right.
18:17Just seven more to go.
18:18Trainee mechanic Enya has been working here for almost a year.
18:23Are you slightly unusual amongst your friends in that you're into cars, but particularly classic cars?
18:29Well, Malta has a lot of classic cars.
18:32Yeah.
18:33And a lot of people still have a lot of love for them.
18:35Most people my age, if they're involved with cars, they're usually...
18:40They've grown up watching their fathers work on their cars.
18:43Yeah.
18:44You're learning all of those skills from your family, from your father, from your parents about keeping cars going.
18:49And when they do break, you're primed to fix them.
18:51Thank you for fixing.
18:52Yeah.
18:53Love it.
18:54Right.
18:55Just prizing the oil seal off the valve stem.
18:59And I can already see...
19:00Yeah, look at that.
19:01It's got a crack in it.
19:03That is absolutely destroyed.
19:06Now, obviously, the valve goes through the cylinder head, but this oil seal sits over the top of the valve stem.
19:12You can see how the oil seal is rocking around.
19:15It no longer hugs the stem like it should.
19:18And that's the reason oil is finding its way past that seal and consequently into the combustion chamber,
19:24coming out the back of the car as blue smoke.
19:27The good news is a complete set of new seals costs less than 20 euros.
19:33And I am fairly confident that that's going to fix our issue.
19:36Of course, we won't know for sure until we fire it up.
19:39The good thing about Malta is around the back streets you can find these garages selling new and used parts absolutely everywhere.
19:53I just hope the place I'm going to, apparently it's a guy called Fred, he's got everything I need on this list.
19:58Fredoo has spent decades amassing a warehouse full of classic car parts.
20:08Look at this place.
20:10Everything, look.
20:11Hey, you must be Fred.
20:12Hey, how are you?
20:13How are you?
20:14Nice to see you.
20:15Me too.
20:16Me too.
20:17I was told that you've got loads of parts.
20:19I need some parts for a Ford Cortina.
20:21Yes, we have.
20:22You have parts for a Ford Cortina, good.
20:24Okay, it's a Mark II.
20:25Mark II, yes.
20:261970.
20:27Yes.
20:28I've got a list of parts that I need.
20:30So I'll go for them one at a time, yes?
20:32A cam belt cover?
20:33Yes, we have.
20:34Follow me, please.
20:37Now, you've got everything in here, haven't you?
20:39All the lovely badges, bonnets, hoods, grills, steering wheels.
20:44Cortina, that's a bit old, second hand.
20:49Second hand, yes.
20:50It's been used.
20:51Is it for a Mark II, yes?
20:52Yes, Cortina Mark II, yes.
20:53It's actually got two written on it.
20:54Look at that.
20:55Okay.
20:56Yes, I'll have that.
20:58That's fantastic.
21:00So far, so good.
21:02Oh, yes.
21:03You are kidding me.
21:04I thought this was that little wee shop up there.
21:08Oh, Fred.
21:09This is incredible.
21:11Next on the list, a new distributor.
21:13Look at this.
21:14You've just got banks and...
21:16You've got distributors that go on forever and ever and ever.
21:21You found one?
21:22Yes.
21:23That looks good, that one.
21:24Let's have a look.
21:25It's like a new one.
21:26That's...
21:27I'll tell you what, that's not bad.
21:29I haven't stumped them yet.
21:30There's more stuff down here.
21:31Let me just leave that distributor there.
21:33But then again, he hasn't seen the full list.
21:36Ready?
21:37Yes, yes, yes, yes.
21:38Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
21:43Oh, my God.
21:44The car needs a bit of work.
21:47Right, the suspension on this car is in desperate need of attention, like most other stuff.
22:04Before I can even get to these rusty old leaf springs, I need to remove the exhaust and I've just found out it's only hung on with a little bit of fencing wire.
22:13With the exhaust out of the way, I can set about unbolting the old leaf springs.
22:28I could feel it when we were in the car with Mike, but I can actually see it now.
22:35These leaf springs are heavily corroded, but they've also sagged, which is not uncommon.
22:40And that has the effect of lessening the springing effect or the supporting effect that it will give the car bouncing down the road.
22:46But luckily, I think there's a nice little upgrade we can give to our car.
22:51And to show you why we need it, I've rigged up a little demonstration.
22:57What I've got here is multiple pieces of MDF representing the multiple layers or leaves of metal that make up our leaf spring.
23:05They are mounted, of course, on the car at either end.
23:07And as the car bounces up and down, you get this springing effect supporting the car.
23:11If you zoom in, what's actually happening is the independent leaves are sliding over the top of each other.
23:17Only by a small amount.
23:18When the springs are brand new and the metal is clean, you get this really nice smooth effect
23:23where two pieces of metal slide over the top of each other in a really smooth fashion and it gives you a nice smooth ride.
23:29But if you get corrosion building up between those leaves, you get a very different effect.
23:34And I can demonstrate that by using some of this Maltese honey between our MDF leaves representing the spring on the back of the car.
23:46The stickiness of the honey mimics the friction effect caused by corrosion of the springs.
23:51It now becomes much, much harder to move these pieces of metal over the top of each other.
23:58And the effect inside the car is that we no longer have the smooth ride that these springs were designed to give.
24:03Fortunately, there's a modern solution to this problem, which we're going to use on our Cortina.
24:09This is our old multi leaf spring that we're getting rid of.
24:13And this is our brand new single leaf parabolic spring that's going in its place.
24:18Instead of multiple leaves, parabolic springs are made from a single piece of steel.
24:23The spring action comes from the clever way in which the metals formed.
24:27This one is thicker in the middle and thinner on the outer ends, which means we get a progressive spring rate.
24:32And importantly, we don't get those inherent issues with those leaves rubbing against each other that we had on this car.
24:38Right, it's going on.
24:42Each end of the spring is mounted to the chassis with a single bolt.
24:45Getting it into position is easier with two people.
24:49Right, uh, Enya, can I give us a hand?
24:52That's in at the front there.
24:54What we can do is just hold this up while I get the other bracket in.
25:00There we go.
25:02Pop the nuts in there, you can relax a bit.
25:05The next stage is to attach the spring to the rear axle.
25:08What you can do is you can drop those two U-bolts.
25:12You know where they go, don't you?
25:17That's it.
25:18Let's pop that plate on the bottom.
25:19If you can sort of wiggle those around, we'll try and get them lined up.
25:25At around €800 for the pair, the springs aren't cheap, but they should transform the way the car drives.
25:32What are your thoughts now? We've done a bit of work on it.
25:34It's been a nice, good challenge.
25:36What about driving? Could you see yourself driving something like this?
25:39Definitely.
25:40Yeah?
25:41For sure.
25:48I need to come clean about my vinyl roof plans, so I've decided to soften Elvis up with a beer and bocce.
26:02So this is a very ancient and traditional game here on the island of Malta.
26:06It's quite complicated, you know, it's not that easy.
26:08It's like a game of chess and bowls.
26:10So I've got to stand in a circle, you ready?
26:12Launch it, son.
26:13Launch it, you ready?
26:14Launch it.
26:15That is going to be...
26:16Look at that.
26:17That's a beautiful...
26:1825 foot away.
26:19Just get it close to that, yeah?
26:20Go for the blueberry.
26:21Here we go.
26:22Get you.
26:23Nice.
26:24What we need to talk about is aesthetics, because being that the car is sort of, you know, just
26:31all one colour, I'm thinking we do a dark red vinyl roof.
26:35I mean, vinyl roofs are all the... I mean, they're period correct.
26:38My dad put vinyl roofs on cars, mate, from that era.
26:40We haven't got time for all that stuff. That's so far down our priority list.
26:43No, it's not.
26:44I reckon a vinyl roof will make our Cortina stand out from the crowd.
26:49How about this for a deal?
26:51If I win, we do the vinyl roof.
26:54If you win, we don't do the vinyl roof.
26:56Haven't got time for a vinyl roof.
26:57Don't worry, we'll make time.
26:58Go on, then.
26:59Ready?
27:02Oh, you've got a good little belter.
27:03That is not bad, actually.
27:04Look at how close that is.
27:18You jammy devil.
27:21That actually happened.
27:23That really just actually happened.
27:25I think that's called winning a bet fair and square.
27:28Oh, come on.
27:29You're going to make me beg, aren't you?
27:31I really wanted to do the vinyl roof.
27:33It looked lovely.
27:34I mean, the car's kind of basic, all one colour.
27:37I think a vinyl roof with the red stripe down the side,
27:40it would really transform the look of the car,
27:42and I think it would have helped sell it.
27:44I mean, sounds lovely, but this was your game, and I won.
27:47Oh, man.
27:48Of course you can have your vinyl roof.
27:49Can I?
27:50Can I really?
27:51Yes, I win.
27:52You can have your vinyl roof.
27:53Oh, yes.
27:54Oh, thanks, bud.
28:03Right, we need to get some petrol in the car.
28:08There you go.
28:09Yeah, yeah, this looks nice, doesn't it?
28:10I can do it here.
28:11Here we go.
28:12Yeah, let me go, let me go, let me go.
28:14I've got to beat that person to the pub.
28:17I beat them to it.
28:18Simple as that.
28:20Yes, thank you.
28:21Sorry.
28:22Sorry.
28:23What did you say?
28:24What's that mean?
28:26How do you know that?
28:28Mate, I'm getting my Maltese on, aren't I?
28:30Yes, lovely.
28:31Diesel.
28:32Yeah, please.
28:33So this roof, I can already see what's going to happen.
28:35It's not a quick process.
28:37They need the car.
28:39Don't worry about that.
28:40Enjoy the scenery.
28:41Enjoy the sunshine in Malta.
28:43You get a coffee.
28:44I am doing all those things.
28:46I'm enjoying all of that.
28:47I just need the car.
28:49I need the car.
28:50I need to have it in front of me,
28:51and if they're going to take it,
28:52how am I going to get all the jobs done?
28:53Oh, look at the streets.
28:56How nice is that?
28:58Eh?
28:59Come on!
29:00You don't get this in Bister.
29:05Well, one thing's for sure,
29:06the car isn't going anywhere
29:07until we've got the engine back together.
29:12Head gasket down.
29:13Yeah.
29:14Right.
29:15OK.
29:16You ready?
29:17It's going to be heavy.
29:18Super careful.
29:20And it needs to go down.
29:22Nice and evenly.
29:27How long are you going to have to take this car away from me for?
29:29It's going to be at least a day, mate,
29:30so we're going to have to find some other stuff for you to do
29:32while the car is away.
29:34I mean, it's not like we're short of stuff to do,
29:36just most of it's on the car.
29:38Before the Cortina goes anywhere,
29:40we need to see if the new valve seals have cured our engine.
29:45Turn the key.
29:46I'm going to throw it up.
29:47Hopefully there's no more smoke out the back.
29:48And at that point,
29:49we're nearly then ready to let you have it.
29:53Oh!
29:57Any smoke?
29:58No smoke.
29:59Nice one.
30:00Right.
30:01No smoke.
30:02Happy?
30:03Yeah.
30:04Right, good.
30:05The engines are a leaf, but there's no time to celebrate.
30:10Right.
30:11The brakes are terrible,
30:12so they need to be addressed.
30:14The discs actually need a proper good clean-up,
30:17because they've clearly been sat for a long, long time.
30:19But because Mike needs to take the car away
30:21to get the vinyl roof fitted,
30:22I'm going to get the califers off the car onto the bench
30:24so I can refurb them.
30:35Time to get the car loaded up.
30:37Nice.
30:38Come on.
30:39On we go.
30:40I need this back as quickly as possible, mate.
30:42Seriously.
30:43Come back, I promise you.
30:44Look at that.
30:45I won't be long.
30:46I promise.
30:47Hurry up.
30:49Hey!
30:50I think that's loaded.
30:51Honestly, Elvis, you worry too much.
30:54Well, with only two days left here, can you blame me?
30:58The only bits that we've got left here in the workshop
31:01while Mike's got the car away fitting the roof
31:03are these, the brake calipers.
31:05And they do need a full service and overhaul,
31:07so that's exactly what we're going to do here.
31:09Martin's got this brilliant little machine here
31:11that he's hooked up out of spare old car parts,
31:14which almost replicates the system of the car itself.
31:16This pump acts a little bit like the brake pedal.
31:19When we pump it, it pushes fluid from this cylinder
31:21along this pipe here and into the caliper itself,
31:24which then pushes the pistons out.
31:25Now, in service, of course, that's clamping brake pads
31:28onto the discs that are rotating,
31:29and that's what slows the car down.
31:31In this instance, what we're trying to do
31:33is push the pistons out of the caliper
31:35so we can get to seal on the back end.
31:38Leaking piston seals can cause a loss of hydraulic pressure.
31:41Keep going.
31:42And in turn, braking power.
31:44OK.
31:45Now, let's hold it for a minute.
31:47I've clamped one in place,
31:49which means the other one
31:50is now going to start pushing all the way up.
31:52Indeed, and it's moving.
31:54You can see it over there, look.
31:55That's it.
31:56OK, hold it right there.
31:57OK, once we get the piston out,
31:59we can actually get to the seal on the back of it,
32:01put the new ones in, clean everything up,
32:03and get the whole lot back together.
32:05Hydraulic pressure has allowed us to get the pistons most of the way out,
32:10but to finish the job, we need to split the caliper.
32:12There we go.
32:14So there's two halves just starting to separate now.
32:17Yeah.
32:18Looking at the state of these pistons,
32:20it's not just new seals we need.
32:22All right, so have we got new ones?
32:24Yes, we do.
32:25So we're going to put in brand new pistons and brand new seals,
32:28and that should give us a nice working caliper.
32:30Yeah.
32:31When everything's cleaned up,
32:32we'll put it all back together,
32:33and it should work a treat.
32:35Yeah.
32:36First job is to get the new seal in,
32:37which is easier said than done.
32:39Now that's just popped out.
32:43Ah, almost.
32:44But eventually, that one in there is sitting beautifully,
32:48which means we're ready for a piston.
32:51There we go.
32:54Well, that is a fully refurbished caliper with brand new pistons,
32:58brand new seals now going back together,
33:00and when the car finally turns up,
33:01we can bolt them back on again.
33:10Right, now, I know Elvis is panicking over me
33:13taking the car away, but it's already here.
33:15Look, it's at the shop.
33:16I've got this crack team of people here already lined up
33:20so we can do the roof.
33:22It's going to transform the look of the car.
33:24Here we'll get the car back.
33:26Big smile on his face.
33:27Job done.
33:28Right, let's go meet this team.
33:30The man in charge is Norbert Cutterjar.
33:33Norbert and his team of upholsterers work on everything
33:36from cars to high-end furniture and even boats.
33:39Heard a little rumour that you may have done
33:42a oligarch super yacht.
33:45Yes.
33:46Is that true?
33:47Yes, yes.
33:48Then I know that was probably one of the nicest things
33:50you've ever done until this moment when my Mark II Cortina
33:541600E rolled into your workshop.
33:57Not sure he quite agrees.
33:59Anyway, moving on.
34:01So what I was thinking, Norbert, is we would put a vinyl top on
34:07because, as you can see, it's all one colour.
34:09It's grey.
34:10OK.
34:11Spending some time here on the island, the colours, they're bright,
34:13they're poppy, and I think a nice bright colour up here
34:17would really add to it.
34:19Fitting the vinyl roof would be about 1,000 euros
34:22and should only take a day to complete.
34:25So what's the first job?
34:26Do we need to remove glass or trims?
34:28Yes, exactly.
34:29So basically we need to remove the nickel,
34:31remove the glass, remove the rubber, take the glass out.
34:34Nice one.
34:35OK.
34:36I need to get the car back to Elvis quickly.
34:38OK.
34:39So should we make a start by popping the rear screen out?
34:41Yes, we'll do.
34:42Lovely.
34:43The vinyl will cover every inch of the roof,
34:46so we first need to strip everything off the top half of the car,
34:50starting with the rubber seals around the windows.
34:52Basically detach the rubber from the glass.
34:57Then the glass itself.
35:02Let's do the other side.
35:03No, no, be careful.
35:04OK, all right.
35:05That's it, done.
35:06And that is how you remove the rear screen.
35:10Next, we need to prepare the surface.
35:13Is it just a case of, you know,
35:15just keying it out like a nice, gentle...
35:17Exactly.
35:18But it's easy, very easy.
35:19Once you do like this and across,
35:21so it's not just...
35:22One way, it's two ways.
35:23It's like a mesh.
35:24You have to do it like a mesh.
35:25This side and that side.
35:26That's it.
35:28Sand in the paint creates a rough surface
35:30for the vinyl to adhere to,
35:32meaning it won't peel off over time.
35:34I bet you've seen all kinds of cars come through this workshop,
35:38haven't you?
35:39Yes, definitely.
35:40All types, of course, I would say.
35:42From...
35:44Cortinas.
35:45You've seen Cortinas?
35:46Definitely.
35:47Well, my father had one, to be honest.
35:48Yeah, nice.
35:49From Cortinas to Jaguars to Aston Martin.
35:52Aston Martin.
35:53Ah, lovely Aston Martins.
35:54Yeah.
35:55As you can see, put your hand like this
35:57and you start feeling it smooth.
35:58Yeah.
35:59That's where we know that it's done.
36:01Sand in done.
36:03Now I just need to choose the colour for a vinyl roof.
36:05So these are the swatches, are they?
36:07These are exactly the samples.
36:09You can go through.
36:10Ah, that's nice.
36:11You know, like a wine red.
36:12A wine red on the top.
36:14That's nice, but that's the wrong material.
36:17That one.
36:18Oh, hello.
36:20Now that, boom, right there.
36:23Oh la la.
36:24That is it.
36:25I want that in a vinyl.
36:26Look at that.
36:27That's brilliant, isn't it?
36:28Yeah, hold your horses.
36:29One second.
36:30Um, this is not in stock.
36:32Can we get it quick?
36:34I have to ask.
36:35I have to start by checking if it's available or not.
36:38I definitely want this colour, so I'm going for this colour.
36:41I will do my best about it.
36:43I have to leave the car with you?
36:45Unfortunately, yes.
36:47Elvis is going to kill me.
36:58Any time now.
37:01Stop worrying, all right?
37:03Any time.
37:04You have been saying that for about two days.
37:06He's very accurate, this guy.
37:08As I said, any time now.
37:09Oh, look at that.
37:11Come on, give it to me.
37:12Oh, I tell you what.
37:13I will give you that.
37:14The colour combination, that does look good.
37:19Waiting for the red vinyl might have held us up,
37:21but it's given our Cortina the X Factor.
37:24I love a car like that.
37:26Yeah?
37:27Very nice colour combination.
37:28I'm sorry, I just can't get this smug look off my face.
37:30Yeah, yeah, you can be smug about the way it looks.
37:32You can't be smug about how much time we have left
37:34to get it finished.
37:36Because with flights home booked for tomorrow,
37:38the race is now on.
37:40Come on, let's go, let's go.
37:45For starters, there are bits from Mike's impressive parts hall
37:48that need to be fitted, like the air box,
37:50cam belt cover and starter motor.
37:53I've also managed to pick up a replacement exhaust
37:56for a very reasonable €150.
37:59Here we go.
38:00This is way, way better.
38:02Standard exhaust tailpipe.
38:04Yeah, I mean, that thing that was on there before
38:06was part of an industrial building that was missing.
38:09Yeah.
38:11We've swapped those aftermarket alloys for a set of period
38:14correct Ross-style wheels.
38:17Look at that.
38:18They look good, don't they?
38:19They're just sort of correct, aren't they, for the car?
38:24And Norbert's team have made me a nice new parcel shelf
38:27to match the roof.
38:28There you go.
38:29Are you sure we don't need these?
38:30What have you got?
38:34I never thought we'd get there,
38:36but with Martin and Enya's tireless help,
38:38the end is in sight.
38:41Oh, ye of little faith.
38:43I think that's it, guys.
38:44I think we've hit the finishing line.
38:46After 20 years of waiting,
38:51we've finally ticked the Cortina box.
38:55It was a risky project,
38:56but luckily the smoking engine turned out to be an easy fix.
39:01Which meant I could splash out on a show-stopping vinyl roof.
39:06And with modernised rear suspension,
39:08the Cortina should now drive like a dream.
39:12The car now owes us 14,500 euros,
39:16which would give us plenty of scope for a profit.
39:19Right, let's get it out on the road.
39:21This is good.
39:23Let's see if it drives as well as it sounds and looks.
39:26Let's go.
39:30That hurts backwards.
39:32Let's go that way.
39:34Right, let's go.
39:41Right then, fella.
39:44Here we go.
39:45Now, is this your first ever drive of Mark II Cortina?
39:49I think it is, you know.
39:50Is it?
39:51Yeah, I think so.
39:52It's not bad, is it?
39:53No, it's a great car.
39:54But just look around us, man.
39:55We've got blue skies, sunshine,
39:57what a Mediterranean island with a sea just behind us.
40:00This is a great experience.
40:02In a Ross III Mark II Cortina,
40:04which is now sorted.
40:06Mate, I feel like we've pulled off a miracle here.
40:08This car was screaming, screaming out for me and you
40:11to arrive all the way here to come and save it.
40:15I thought he was just screaming.
40:17Go on, tell me, what's it like?
40:18It feels great to drive, I have to say.
40:20Those single-leaf parabolic springs,
40:22they give a much more modern feel,
40:24but still look traditional,
40:26still fit onto the same fixings.
40:28It's a really nice upgrade to do, you know?
40:30It's lovely, isn't it?
40:31I love the way it sounds.
40:32It sounds great.
40:33Now we've got rid of that ridiculous exhaust pipe.
40:35And the brakes?
40:36This thing will stop on a sixpence, mate.
40:38It's really good.
40:39So, good ones of these on this island,
40:41I mean, mint ones,
40:43they sell for 20,000 euros.
40:45This car isn't that, right?
40:46It's a nice car.
40:48It's a usable classic that performs.
40:50Yeah.
40:51So I think we should be marketing it
40:53and getting it out there for 16,000 euros.
40:56Yeah, I think that's fair.
40:57Show us a nice little profit.
40:58Yeah, and I think when we put this in front of people
41:00who appreciate the British classics,
41:03someone is going to fall in love with it.
41:06Well, it's funny you say that, Elvis.
41:13How good is this?
41:14Lovely.
41:15Look at these cars.
41:16Amazing.
41:18A classic car meet in the shadow of Malta's iconic red tower
41:22is the perfect place to show our Cortina off.
41:25Oh, mate, look at that.
41:27A little Hillman Imp Super
41:29with a Scottish flag on it as well.
41:32Oh, yeah.
41:34The cars all seem to have benefited from the Maltese climate.
41:38Oh, this is nice, isn't it?
41:39Look what's in Cambridge, A55.
41:41Great condition it's in.
41:42It's beautiful, isn't it?
41:43Really lovely.
41:44What year is this?
41:45It's 1956.
41:46Wow.
41:471956.
41:48And it's still in that condition.
41:50Even the players are still original.
41:51Wow.
41:52They're still original tires.
41:53With the original air inside.
41:55Yeah.
41:56That's amazing.
41:57And it's not just the British classics
41:59that have turned out today.
42:01Alpha Spider.
42:02Lovely.
42:03Oxblood leather as well.
42:04It's absolutely beautiful.
42:05Thank you very much.
42:06What a wonderful looking car.
42:08Perfect for the climate here, right?
42:09Yes, absolutely.
42:10I bet you never put the roof up.
42:12No, never.
42:13It's always that.
42:14It may be among fine company, but our Cortina's getting its fair share of admiration.
42:21You like it?
42:23Yeah?
42:24What do you think of the colour of the vinyl roof?
42:25I like the combination.
42:26Yes?
42:27You like it?
42:28We drew inspiration from the red tower.
42:30Oh, that's right.
42:31A little bit of Malta on the top of the car.
42:34Yeah, I think it's an amazing job.
42:35Yeah.
42:37Well, thank you very much, guys.
42:38Thanks very much.
42:39Appreciate it.
42:40Did you manage to catch a glimpse of our Mark II Cortina?
42:42Yes, lovely car.
42:43Yes, nice.
42:44Lovely model.
42:45We used to have many of those on the roads in Malta.
42:47It's going well, isn't it, mate?
42:49People like the car.
42:50Yeah, it's good.
42:51Am I wrong, but me and Elvis have just noticed from afar, you were kind of gazing adoringly
42:57like you wanted to own a Mark II Cortina in your collection.
43:01My first car was a Mark II Cortina.
43:03Oh, was it really?
43:04Yeah, and I had a 1600e later on as well.
43:06This is almost meant to be, Mark.
43:07It's meant to be.
43:08Sometimes that's just how it works.
43:09I can feel the trouble.
43:10Well, look, because I mean, even if you're not interested in buying it, do please spread
43:15the word around the islands, amongst the community, because it is for sale, yeah.
43:18That's good to know.
43:19Thank you very much.
43:20Cheers.
43:21Our Cortina's been a real hit with the Maltese crowd.
43:25Yep, and I don't think it'll be long before it finds a new home.
43:29I'm proud of it, considering where it started to where it is now.
43:32That is one heck of a journey, isn't it?
43:34So, where to next?
43:35Well, I mean, do you know what?
43:37That's inspiration, isn't it?
43:39Black Scotland.
43:40Do you know what?
43:41It's not a bad idea, is it?
43:42It's not a bad idea, is it?
43:44We'll see you next time.
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