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00:01This time on Car SOS.
00:04Welcome to the 21st century.
00:06The ultimate 90s roadster is well past its sell-by date.
00:10Haven't we got a problem with just a little sensor that's stopping this running?
00:14Or has something more catastrophic happened?
00:17Tim has a bath.
00:19Fuzz works on his gymnastics.
00:21This is literally a balancing act.
00:23And the stage is quite literally set.
00:26I know this is not what you were expecting at all. It's lovely to meet you.
00:29To make another deserving owner's automotive dream come true.
00:33In 3, 2, 1...
01:00We're in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
01:02Right. I want to make a statement about what we're picking up today, Fuzz.
01:06Yeah.
01:06Because in my mind, this vehicle contains a piece of technology which makes this one the single most important vehicle
01:15we've ever picked up.
01:17Well, we've got to say what it is because today we're picking up a Mercedes SLK.
01:23Yes, at first glance, it might look just like another late 90s midlife crisis mobile.
01:29But Tim's right. The SLK was a genuine game changer thanks to an ingenious piece of technology.
01:35It's folding metal roof.
01:38Because while most of the European competition were still fitting fiddly, damp and smelly canvas roofs that had barely changed
01:46in almost a century,
01:47Mercedes walked in and rewrote the rule book, stuffing so much tech into their folding metal roof, you half expected
01:55it to achieve orbit.
01:56At the press of a button, and in under 30 seconds, this practical hard-topped runaround could transform into a
02:04mullet-flapping roadster,
02:05with enough room in the boot for the weekly shop and some essential hairspray.
02:10And the SLK wasn't just a pretty face.
02:13Under the bonnet sat a 2.3-litre supercharged engine with 190 horsepower and 0-60 in under 7 seconds.
02:23Just over a quarter of a century on from their release, the exterior of this modern classic may have aged
02:28like fine wine.
02:29But remember, under the skin, it's still powered by technology from an era when flip phones, DVD players and these
02:36two were at their peak.
02:38So come on, who are we meeting today?
02:40So we meet Matt today. Matt is the husband of Lily, whose car it is.
02:43Yeah, okay, cool.
02:44Joanne's going to be there as well, who's Matt's mum.
02:46Okay, cool.
02:46So Lily's mother-in-law.
02:55Hello, mate.
02:56You all right?
02:56Nice to meet you.
02:57Joanne.
02:58How are you doing?
02:58How are you doing?
02:59Right, is this where Lily lives?
03:00Yes.
03:01Is Lily in?
03:01She's not.
03:02Does she have neighbours that know her?
03:03Yes.
03:04Do they know Car SOS?
03:05They do.
03:05So where can we go to hide?
03:07Into the garage.
03:07Can we see the car?
03:08Absolutely.
03:08Is that where it is?
03:09Lots of questions, isn't it?
03:12Right, come on, everyone in, shut the door.
03:14Shut the door.
03:14Come on, come on, shut the door.
03:17Oh, go on then.
03:18Come on, you can come as well.
03:19Come on.
03:21There it is.
03:22The single most important car we have ever taken on since the beginning of all time.
03:27Since the beginning of all things Car SOS.
03:29What's funny about that?
03:30Nothing.
03:31It's not, it's true.
03:32What do you mean?
03:32I'm talking about the roof.
03:33Yeah, I know you're talking about the roof.
03:35Talking about the roof, I can't see it.
03:38It's down at the moment.
03:39It's hidden, Fuzz at the moment.
03:40It's hidden.
03:40So is there a reason for that?
03:43It's broken.
03:43It's broken.
03:44It's broken.
03:44Can I ask, right, this car looks like it's been here for a while.
03:47It has.
03:47Does it run?
03:48Does it drive?
03:49No.
03:50Right, okay, so it doesn't run, doesn't drive, it's a bit of rust.
03:52Okay, that's it.
03:54Can you and I, right, us three, go out there, chat about Lily.
03:57Yeah.
03:57We'll leave you here with a calm.
03:59Come on, let's go.
04:00Come on, come on.
04:02Come on.
04:03Come on.
04:03So what have we got?
04:04We've got gouges, dents, rust, a dodgy roof, and a non-running engine.
04:12I'd better go and have a look underneath it, just to see if there's anything good about
04:15it.
04:19Oh, here we go.
04:21Plastic sills.
04:22Now, those are great because they don't rot.
04:25Trouble is, though, all the bits that rot are hidden underneath.
04:28And I'm just having a little look around here.
04:32I can see, well, all the suspension components are starting to go.
04:36This car is the best part of a quarter of a century old.
04:41And with that comes the slippage of time and rot, rot aplenty.
04:51Tell me about Lily, what's she like?
04:53Just get on, she's funny.
04:54She's a social...
04:55She is.
04:55She can make friends in any room.
04:56She really can't.
04:57She lights up her room.
04:59She's one of them people that, you know...
05:00People love her.
05:01People love her.
05:02They love her.
05:02And she's just...
05:03Magnetic.
05:04Yeah.
05:05The little Mercedes SLK beauty in there.
05:08Mm.
05:08How come there is one of those in the family?
05:10It's a mum's car.
05:11It's a dad's car.
05:12A dad would take it everywhere.
05:14A mum, she'd mentioned to me before about going out with mum in it.
05:17Roof down, go out for meals.
05:18Look, they just...
05:20To see it sat where it is, it's just such a shame.
05:25There's so many memories in it.
05:26It's been in the family for that long.
05:32Now, there's a good reason why manufacturers hadn't come up with convertible hardtops.
05:38It's because they're complicated.
05:40Why doesn't it work?
05:42Is it just one little motor?
05:44Is it just a ram?
05:45Is it a small thing?
05:47Or...
05:48Is it something far more sinister?
05:52The interior, it does need a good, a thorough clean-up.
06:00So, here's our supercharged engine.
06:022.3 litres.
06:04So, have we got a problem with just a little sensor that's stopping this running?
06:08Or has something more catastrophic happened within there?
06:12That, we do not know.
06:17So, why is it off the road?
06:18What happened to it, to put it in that position?
06:21So...
06:232017...
06:25Lily's mum got diagnosed with bowel cancer.
06:28And then, pass forward to 2018,
06:31she got a terminal diagnosis and got given two weeks to live, ultimately.
06:35It was out of the blue, just a shock.
06:37And she passed away on Mother's Day.
06:43How did that affect Lily?
06:46Significantly.
06:47I'd only known Faye at that point for probably a year,
06:51and I could see the relationship.
06:54She was just fantastic.
06:55So, Lily loses her mum?
06:56Lily loses her mum.
06:57She's mega, mega close to her mum.
06:58Yeah.
06:59And then from cancer.
07:00And then within three months of that,
07:03Lily's in the hospital being told she's got cancer.
07:08Eric, sorry.
07:10It's all right.
07:10You're doing great.
07:13She said...
07:16Come on.
07:17Come on, you can do it.
07:18What?
07:19What if I die?
07:21She said that.
07:24Yeah.
07:29Luckily, it was the early stage.
07:31We'd caught it.
07:32It's cancer, but it's treatable.
07:35You couldn't write it.
07:36It's just...
07:36It's just literally...
07:37They've literally just got over one thing
07:39and then something else has been thrown at them.
07:42How old is Lily?
07:43She's...
07:4435.
07:44Yeah.
07:4435?
07:45That's enough bad luck for anyone,
07:47and I'm sure anyone watching this will go,
07:48that's more than enough.
07:50Please tell me it ends there.
07:50I'd love to tell you that, but, you know...
07:53So, her dad, Bruce,
07:55he got bowel cancer.
07:58Please don't start talking about this guy in the past tense as well.
08:00Yeah.
08:01Yeah, he sadly passed away.
08:06So, she watched her mother pass away,
08:08she got diagnosed with cancer herself,
08:10and then she watched her dad pass away as well.
08:13Yeah, she did.
08:16I'd like to think we're done now.
08:18I think we've had enough for one lifetime.
08:19Well, let's make damn sure.
08:21Let's inject some good news for tonight.
08:23Let's do something good,
08:24and hopefully that'll be the start,
08:25the spiral of good things.
08:26Back upwards, yeah.
08:27I just want her to be able to make the memories
08:30and have memories with it that she's had in the past.
08:33It's one of the last things they've got,
08:35she's got of her mum and dad,
08:36if not the only thing.
08:38So, where does she think it's going today?
08:40She thinks it's going to my best friend's Liam's,
08:42and he tinkers, he's good with his hands,
08:44and he's good with cars, he's good with anything.
08:45So, the story is he's going to take it and diagnose it,
08:48and then myself and him are going to go
08:50and periodically do some work on it.
08:52Right.
08:53So, here's the deal.
08:54I'm going to leave, but it's getting done.
08:56It's happening.
08:57It will just be the best thing that's happened to her
08:59in seven, eight years.
09:07Yes, this little SLK is a treasured reminder
09:10of Lily's mum and dad,
09:12so the boys can't afford to let her down.
09:16Go on, put your back into it.
09:19Okay, that'll do it.
09:20But with rust eating away at the bodywork,
09:23a lifeless engine,
09:24and a fiendishly complicated roof
09:26packed with turn-of-the-century tech,
09:28they're staring down a monumental challenge.
09:32So, I'm going to do you a deal here.
09:34Right, okay, listen.
09:35What?
09:36I'll deal with the rest of it.
09:37I've got the engine,
09:38I've got mechanical issues underneath it,
09:40and rust, of course, as well.
09:42So, I'll deal with all of that.
09:45You deal with the roof.
09:47I've owned loads of convertibles.
09:48Yeah.
09:49This is the first iteration of the most complicated one of all.
09:52I have no experience fixing these things.
09:54Not yet.
09:54I think it's very important that you get your head around this,
09:57because this is one of the most major advances in car design ever.
10:07The boys have got their hands on the ultimate turn-of-the-century grown-up toy,
10:12a Mercedes SLK.
10:15I can't believe that we're doing one of these cars.
10:19Surely they're new.
10:20No.
10:21No, we're just really old.
10:23Yes, on top, it might not look it,
10:25but this little beauty is almost a quarter of a century old.
10:29Right.
10:29Come on.
10:30However, underneath, it's aged about as well as these two.
10:35Oh.
10:36Wow.
10:37Oh, and let's have a quick look at the front of here,
10:39at the moving components.
10:40Oh, the suspension, the springs, the callipers.
10:41Yes, yes.
10:42Everything is absolutely not just surface rust.
10:44It's actually deep, ground-in, horrible rot.
10:49Yes, it might not look too bad at first glance,
10:52but there's a couple of real whoppers standing between the boys
10:55and Lily's beloved car being back on the road.
10:59First up, the engine issue.
11:01The SLK's power plant was cutting edge at the turn of the century,
11:04but so were downloadable ringtones,
11:06and look how well they've aged.
11:08So, is this the return of the millennium bug
11:10or a good old-fashioned nuts and bolts problem under the bonnet?
11:15Then there's the folding roof.
11:17Tim's so adamant about its importance
11:19to the world of automotive engineering
11:21that fuzz is leaving him to it.
11:24So, will it just need a software update,
11:26or is something more sinister at play?
11:30Finally, the suspension.
11:32Currently, the SLK's springs and shocks are groaning louder than Fuzzy's knees
11:36after a long day in the workshop.
11:39So, it's going to need some brand new kit on all four corners.
11:42And if they do manage to complete all of that,
11:46it's going to need a full respray and original deep black paint to cap it off.
11:51But, before the team can get to work on that rotten bodywork,
11:54Fuzz needs to work out why the engine's currently refusing to boot up.
11:58We know it's an on-runner, but why?
12:02I think we need to get some electronic assistance on this.
12:05And, since he thinks Bluetooth is something that requires a trip to the dentist,
12:11he's called in some tech support.
12:13Welcome to the 21st Century.
12:15And here to help us, we have John,
12:17who has brought in some specialist equipment
12:20so that we can try and diagnose whether we have an electrical fault
12:25that's preventing the engine from working.
12:27So, where are we at with it right now?
12:30Well, first hunch will be this unit here.
12:32OK, so what's that in there?
12:34There's five relays inside of here.
12:36So, the relays are like a remote switch,
12:38so rather than having power going all the way through your switches in the dashboard,
12:43you just get the major power going through those.
12:46And they switch on and off when needed.
12:48Yeah, OK, cool.
12:49So, what can we do to check that out?
12:52We can plug it back in and we can physically hold the relays over.
12:56OK.
12:56And see if we get any comms.
12:59Hey, maybe we're going to get an almost instant win out of this.
13:02Problem solved. Happy days!
13:04After all these years, you'd think he'd know better.
13:08So, John's going to bypass the module's automatic relays
13:11by manually flipping the switches one by one,
13:14hopefully bringing the car's systems back to life.
13:18Right, what have we got?
13:19I think this one will be the horn.
13:20Yeah.
13:21Yes.
13:21OK.
13:22This will be, I think, the fuel pump.
13:25Yeah.
13:26Well, something's struck up there.
13:28We've got some comms with the engine ECU now,
13:30but still nothing with the transmission and nothing with the ABS.
13:34Yes.
13:35So, John's going to replace the faulty module with a new one.
13:39But, will it do the job?
13:42Right, let's see, er, let's see how we go.
13:45Give it a try.
13:47I don't hold that much, er...
13:49We're here. We've got a runner.
13:53Problem solved.
13:56Ah, happy days.
13:57So, while Fuzz comes to terms with the fact a computer just did most of his job,
14:04Tim's off having a smashing time.
14:08As he demonstrates the history behind how Mercedes created their game-changing metal roof.
14:15Look at it!
14:16Using nothing more than an old scrapper he's found in the yard,
14:20some power tools and, more than likely, the first aid kit.
14:24Right, it's the late 1800s, and early cars were basically just open carriages.
14:29There was no roof, there was no covering at all,
14:31the horse had gone, and they had an engine.
14:33But, there was a problem.
14:38Everyone got soaked.
14:39So, skip forward about another ten years, and they brought out this.
14:44So, to stop everyone getting wet,
14:46they basically just slapped a massive pram top on top of the car,
14:49and before you know it, you had kind of the first convertible.
14:53But, the thing about this car is that it didn't offer any sort of safety protection at all.
14:59So, the next thing they did was this.
15:03Well, some of you looked a little bit like this, called the Laudolette,
15:05which was popular in the early to mid 20th century.
15:07The idea was, we're beginning to see metal creeping over the head of the passengers in this car.
15:13But, those in the back, well, if they were the VIPs, they could enjoy either the sun with the hood
15:17down,
15:19or have the hood up if it's raining.
15:21But, the problem with this thing was it actually, it wasn't structurally sound.
15:25They were kind of dangerous.
15:27By the mid 1930s, it was the French who took a crack at the folding hard top problem.
15:33And, typically, they did it rather stylishly.
15:40The Peugeot Eclipse, a work of art.
15:42The world's first retractable hard top roof.
15:48Very similar to what I've done to this one.
15:50And, I'll show you how it worked.
15:51Now, their one was powered.
15:52You could press a button.
15:53This one's not quite the same.
15:55I haven't had time.
15:56But, similar operation, opening up the boot to create space to put the roof in.
16:00Like that.
16:03There we are.
16:04And then the roof folds back.
16:06Like this.
16:13Like that.
16:15And then the whole lot fits neatly into the boot.
16:19Like that.
16:22Yeah, exactly like that, Tim.
16:24Now, the thing is, the technology was incredible.
16:27But, the problem was, people didn't want to buy them.
16:29They were overpriced.
16:31They were complicated to use.
16:32And, they only sold a handful.
16:34But, what it had said to the world is, there is a need for a retractable metal hard top convertible.
16:40So, while Tim attempts to replicate decades of precision engineering with little more than guesswork and gaffer tape.
16:48Fuzz has discovered John's high tech solution might have revealed an old fashioned problem that's more up his street.
16:55I can hear a little bit of bagginess at the front there.
16:58I'm wondering whether that is the timing chain.
17:02The timing chain is a bit like the chain on a bike.
17:05But instead of turning pedals into wheel movement, it keeps the engine's valves and pistons perfectly in sync.
17:13As I turn the crank, as you can see, the tool is dropping down.
17:21And if I keep going round, that should start rising again, as the piston goes up the bores.
17:27And that sound that Fuzz heard could be that there's some slack developing in the chain.
17:33And if that's left unchecked, it could jump a tooth on the sprocket, leading to a catastrophic engine failure.
17:40So I'm now releasing the tension on the chain by undoing this and once I take it out, the chain
17:47should be nice and slack.
17:52Now I've got to be very careful that I do not drop these bolts down inside.
17:57Because if I do, then I have to remove all of the front of the engine and the sump.
18:03One false move and it all goes horribly wrong.
18:09Right, I'm going to use this chain link splitter.
18:13Now the idea is that this pin pushes the link pin out and through.
18:24There we go.
18:26One of the link pins out.
18:30Right, there we go.
18:33And what I'm going to do is I'm going to draw the new chain through using the old chain as
18:38I turn the crankshaft.
18:40Yes, with a little glamorous assistance from Daryl, the two chains can be joined together and then gently fed around
18:48the crankshaft.
18:49Now, have you sure you got the tension on that?
18:52Yep.
18:52Until Fuzz has both ends of the new one in his midst.
18:57Okay, so we are now winding it through.
19:08Thanks, Daryl. I can do it from now. Cheers, mate.
19:12So that's our chain together now.
19:13So what I need to do is reassemble everything and then, well, then we've got to see if it runs.
19:21And that should be one major step closer to Lily's car being back on the road.
19:26Now all it needs is a roof and let's hope he's not planning on fitting that one.
19:32In 1996, Mercedes finally worked out the way of storing the equivalent of all that metal in the boot of
19:42the car.
19:43And although other manufacturers had pulled that off before, it was the boffins at Mercedes who turned it into the
19:49must-have automotive accessory.
19:52What a nut to crack.
19:54And if you doubt me, well, the list of manufacturers that once Mercedes had done it decided to copy were
20:07and the list goes on.
20:09That's how stonking it was.
20:12That's the potted history behind it.
20:14The trouble is that's brought him no closer to working out what's stopping Lily's from moving.
20:20It's that down there.
20:22If we just can get a signal to that, that hydraulic pump there will send the fluids to operate the
20:27roof.
20:28But before it says, yes, you can operate the roof, there's like this long handshake going down of every little
20:34sensor,
20:34every microswitch, everything saying, yes, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, yes, I'm good, will operate the roof.
20:40And until he identifies which one's the problem, the roof is staying put.
20:46I thought it was you. Oi, Tim.
20:48It's locked, Tim.
20:50Tim, right.
20:51I need the roof to be working today, OK? This has got to go into the paint shop.
20:57I'm deep in the zone at the moment. I kind of know how this thing works.
21:00I'm sorry, it's not going to be working by the end of the day.
21:03Well, because we cannot paint the roof now, that's going to dictate how we're going to have to put this
21:08car back together.
21:13Tim and Fuzz have taken on this 2001 Mercedes SLK 230, a little roadster with some big memories attached.
21:24It's owned by 35-year-old Lily, who inherited the car from her parents, Faye and Bruce, after they both
21:30tragically passed away from cancer.
21:34And if that wasn't heartbreaking enough, Lily's been diagnosed with the disease herself, meaning she's been unable to maintain her
21:42beloved sports car,
21:43which has spent more than a year locked away in the garage with a number of serious faults.
21:48I just want her to be able to make the memories and have memories with it that she's had in
21:53the past.
21:56Since getting their hands on it, the boys have been on a mission to make that dream a reality.
22:02With some technical assistance, Fuzz has tracked down and fixed the electrical gremlin that was stopping the engine from firing
22:08up by fitting a replacement module.
22:12And he's also stuck on a brand new timing chain to ensure things run smoothly well into the future.
22:19Elsewhere, the tired seats and interior have gone off to the specialist trimmers for a deep clean, repair and repaint.
22:27The rotten wheel arches are being cut out and rebuilt.
22:30But it's not all good news.
22:33Tim's stumped by the high-tech roof.
22:35And there's the matter of replacing the rusty suspension components.
22:40So, the paint job's on hold.
22:42Right now, Lily believes her car's being sorted by a family friend.
22:46But that excuse won't wash forever.
22:49And to pile on the pressure, Matt and Joanne have arrived to inspect progress.
22:54Or lack of it.
22:57Here it is. Oh, dear.
22:58Oh, my God.
22:59It actually looks worse than it did.
23:02You're never going to get it finished.
23:03It's half a car.
23:05We're really close, aren't we, to potential reveal day.
23:07And this just looks like a wreck.
23:12We have done work.
23:14We've done work on the electronic side of things, but also on the engine.
23:18But the one thing that's letting the side down at the moment is progress on the roof.
23:24Tim has only one job.
23:25And that is the roof.
23:28This is progress.
23:30That is stagnation.
23:32We're going to get the car done.
23:34Yep.
23:34Leave that to us.
23:35Can we talk about Lily?
23:37Yes.
23:37So, we need something big to give her the car back.
23:40What do you guys do in terms of, you know, something which she wouldn't be sus of going to, but
23:47we can bang.
23:48Gigs, theatres, that kind of thing.
23:51Would that be a good opportunity to catch her?
23:53Absolutely.
23:54Yeah.
23:54She wouldn't expect it.
23:55She wouldn't have a clue.
23:57So, with just five days to go before they plan to hand Lily's car back to her, Tim not only
24:03has to find a West End show willing to play host for the big reveal, he's also got to figure
24:09out what's gone wrong with the roof.
24:11And there's only one place left that can help crack that mystery.
24:16You know what?
24:17I've been thinking about this one job I've got to do of fixing the roof on Lily's SLK.
24:21How do we do it?
24:22Where do we go?
24:23How do we make that happen?
24:25And then it suddenly dawned on me, er, what about here?
24:30Let's hit it.
24:32Yes, one job sure is taking the brat by the burst.
24:36Look at this place.
24:37It's called the cathedral here at Mercedes-Benz Museum.
24:40But look at that.
24:41What even is that?
24:43Yeah, me and you in one now. Let's do it. Come on.
24:46He's jumped on a plane direct to the birthplace of Mercedes.
24:52That thing would cost you 12 million squid if you wanted to buy that.
24:57And home of their global headquarters located in the car cradle of Germany.
25:02Oh, wow.
25:03Stuttgart.
25:05That is an absolute treat to see.
25:07The year is 1886 and this thing, believe it or not, is actually the first car.
25:13Like ever.
25:14And the top speed of this thing was 10 miles an hour.
25:18And you might notice it's missing something.
25:20Yep.
25:21A roof.
25:22Yes.
25:22A bit like Lily's then.
25:251893.
25:25This is the Benz Victoria.
25:27People in the back, they stay nice and dry, wet in the front.
25:29Very similar to the multiple.
25:31Let's hope fountain of SLK wisdom, Tobias Wahlberg.
25:35Tobias.
25:35Yes.
25:36It's lovely to meet you.
25:37Has the answers Tim so desperately needs.
25:40I mean, it is a wonderful piece of engineering.
25:42When the company makes something like this and they think they've got it, what sort of testing procedure is that?
25:47The rooftop, they tested it for 20,000 times.
25:50They opened and closed it.
25:5220, what?
25:5320,000?
25:54Yes.
25:54And not one car, but 30 cars they tested.
25:57Well, all they're in a big line doing that.
25:59Exactly.
25:59And when it was successful, the test, then the car went into production and to the customer.
26:04And is that because never until this date has a company managed to make it commercially viable?
26:09So when you were going to release it to the world, it had to work.
26:12Exactly.
26:13This is the reason why.
26:14Was it popular?
26:15If you walked into a dealer, could you just go and buy one like that?
26:17What was the deal?
26:17Of course you can, but you have to wait for two years because the waiting list was so long.
26:22Two years?
26:23Two years, exactly.
26:24In the beginning.
26:25Is it fair to say then that this little teeny weeny car is of huge scalable significance?
26:31Yes, this is more than fair to say because it was a milestone in the history of Mercedes-Benz.
26:36It's a small little car, a great success.
26:39But before we go to the roof, let me show you the boot of the car.
26:43The boot?
26:44The boot, yeah.
26:45Come on.
26:45Why do you want to show me the boot of the car?
26:50Right.
26:50So the boot works and the storage space.
26:52Yes.
26:52You got it?
26:53Okay, I've got it.
26:54Okay.
26:54So let's close it.
26:55And now we open the roof.
26:57This is what I've been waiting for.
26:59This is where we go from a hardtop coupe into a full convertible.
27:03The windows go down.
27:05Hang on.
27:06Stop.
27:06Stop.
27:07I get why you showed me the boot.
27:09Did you notice that?
27:11Because the boot opened like a normal boot, hinged here by my elbows.
27:15But now the roof's going down.
27:16Somehow the engineers have worked out a way of it hinging.
27:19What?
27:21Okay.
27:22That's impressive.
27:24It is.
27:25Oh.
27:26It's a robot.
27:27It's beautiful.
27:29It's like Mercedes-Benz ballet.
27:31It's like Mercedes-Benz ballet.
27:32Mercedes-Benz ballet.
27:33God, that is incredible to see.
27:35And just to check, it still works.
27:41Right.
27:42Can we talk about Lily's car, the problem that I've got on that roof?
27:45I have done what I can and I've checked what I can, but I cannot get it to even start
27:51working.
27:52One small detail you may have to check again.
27:55Yeah.
27:57It's related to the ABS.
27:59Anti-lock braking system is for the brakes, right?
28:02That's got nothing to do with the roof.
28:03When the ABS sends a signal to the ECU of the roof, it needs a speed signal that the car
28:11is not running faster than five kilometers per hour.
28:14It gets the speed from the ABS.
28:17That signal goes through to some ECU somewhere that goes, yes, we're below five kilometers per hour, allow the roof
28:24to go up and down.
28:24Yeah.
28:25But if that speed is not being sent to the ABS, it thinks, whoa, we might be doing 100 kilometers
28:31per hour, do not allow the roof down.
28:33Exactly.
28:34So the ABS, what, control module or what?
28:36I'm confident, yes.
28:37Thank God I came to Germany.
28:39You're welcome.
28:39When was the last time that you had a strange hug from an English man?
28:43Sorry about that one.
28:45Come here, come here.
28:47You don't know what this means to me, man, seriously.
28:51Yes, Tim may have made a new special friend and got to the root of the problem, but now we're
28:56just three days before the reveal.
28:58Fathers run out of patience.
29:02Right, Neesmust here.
29:04We're so far behind, we need to get this car painted.
29:06So I've been looking online and I've found a solution which uses this.
29:12There's a way of manually raising the roof, apparently.
29:16Yes, when your other tool disappears off to Germany and lets you down, it's time to swap Tim for Alan,
29:24Alan Key.
29:26Because to get the perfect finish on the paint job, everything needs to be sprayed at the same time.
29:32All I need to do is undo this here, just to release hydraulic pressure.
29:40Is it going to?
29:42Yep.
29:44Okay.
29:47Ah, yes, look at that.
29:49Here we go.
29:50Hold on.
29:51Up it goes.
29:57There we are.
29:58Well, at least now we can get the car painted.
30:02Brilliant.
30:04But we've still got a non-functioning roof.
30:07But hey, that was a useful little tool, wasn't it?
30:12Yes, unlike his partner in crime.
30:15So, with the roof now accessible, the car can take another big leap forward by heading off to the sprayers
30:22for a fresh paint job.
30:24Leaving Fuzz to tackle the final big job.
30:27I'm absolutely delighted that we've got our new suspension components because I want this Mercedes to look as good underneath
30:35as it's going to look on top.
30:37So, all of the original worn out and rust covered components are being replaced.
30:42But before Fuzz dives in, it's time for a quick Car SOS crash course on how it all works.
30:48Straight from the walking Haynes manual himself.
30:51What we have on a car is two sorts of weight.
30:54One is sprung weight.
30:57Now, that includes the body shell, the seats, the people inside the car, the engine, the gearbox, everything that is
31:05attached directly onto the body shelf.
31:08All bouncing on this spring.
31:11But then, everything that is below the spring is not sprung.
31:15The wheels, the brakes, the tyres, all of that, it's unsprung.
31:22And that unsprung weight is trouble.
31:25Because when the car hits a bump, all that mass bounces around, which can make the tyre momentarily lose grip
31:31on the road.
31:32Definitely not what you want on your sporty little Mercedes.
31:37Now, there are components that help the unsprung weight stay in contact with the road so it doesn't bounce around
31:43uncontrollably.
31:44Now, the main component there is the shock absorber.
31:51Without the shock absorber, inside the car, very quickly, it might start going a bit green.
31:58It would be like a boat on choppy water.
32:01So, now, there's our shock absorber helping to control the unsprung weight at the bottom, keeping it in contact via
32:11the tyre and the wheel with the road.
32:14Above us, our spring is holding the body and the engine, all those components and others inside the car, and
32:23giving us a nice, smooth ride.
32:34And without all of these components working in unison, things can get pretty hairy and exciting on the road.
32:42So, now, well, might as well attach these onto the car.
32:47I can't have built it.
32:53The international fully Mercedes-brained playboy returns.
32:57Come on then, Jet Set.
32:59Right.
32:59What have you found out?
32:59The ABS.
33:00So, the ABS does the job of sticking the brakes on to stop it sliding, right?
33:05Yeah.
33:05But it has another job, to sense speed.
33:08Yeah.
33:08And if the car thinks, because that's broken, the ABS control module is broken, it will prevent the roof from
33:14going down.
33:15Okay, fantastic.
33:16Right.
33:16So, it's the module.
33:17You reckon it's the module?
33:18I reckon it's the module.
33:19Where is it?
33:19Here.
33:20Go on then.
33:21It's landed.
33:21Where?
33:22Here.
33:22The module's here.
33:23A replacement module is here.
33:24Right.
33:25Well, nothing has arrived here.
33:26I can tell you, nothing has arrived here.
33:28I've been working around here all day.
33:30So, we are still in the same position.
33:32You had one job.
33:33You've been all that way, all that way, and you've come back without it.
33:38But, there's a bigger problem on the horizon.
33:41Tim's lined up a very special West End show to surprise Lily at.
33:45But the tickets she's been sent are for tomorrow.
33:49So, while he crosses his fingers the missing module arrives in time, the rear axle is ready to be raised
33:55back into position.
33:56Oh!
33:59This is literally a balancing act.
34:06Right.
34:08Okay.
34:08We are roughly in position.
34:10So, what we will do now is drop down these arms, insert the rear springs, and start actually doing the
34:21final fixing of this rear axle assembly.
34:24And while Tim's killing time, waiting for the replacement module, Fars has decided to keep him busy with refitting the
34:31interior.
34:32Have a look at these.
34:33So, these have been massively refurbished.
34:36For me, the colour, the smell, the texture of a car is all nostalgia.
34:43And I really hope that when Lily sits in it, she's taken back to some good memories.
34:53That's the first piece to go in right.
34:58We're just fitting the centre console to the car here.
35:00And I want to show you something.
35:02The button to operate the roof.
35:04And look what it is.
35:05It's a mini hardtop.
35:06I mean, it just rubs salt into this wound even more.
35:10Yes, with the team frantically reassembling every nut and bolt, time is running out for Tim's missing module to arrive.
35:18Yeah, hi.
35:18I've got a parcel that was supposed to be delivered today by midday.
35:23Right, let me put it this way.
35:24I absolutely have to get my hands on that today.
35:29Honestly, this is catastrophic for us.
35:38It's at the hub.
35:40The hub?
35:40The hub.
35:41Okay, could you go there?
35:42No.
35:42It's in the hub, in their system somewhere, and I can pay to get it re-delivered.
35:47What do you mean, pay to get it re-delivered?
35:49Possibly to a different location tomorrow.
35:51Where?
35:52To the theatre.
35:53The theatre.
35:55The theatre?
35:55So...
35:55Let me explain that.
35:57Well, hold on.
35:58That means that we are going to give Lily her car back.
36:03And there might be a chance that the hood is stuck down.
36:07So, while the team burn the midnight oil doing what they can to get Lily's car ready for its West
36:12End debut,
36:13come tomorrow, it might be curtains for Tim.
36:17This is the first time in our history that this has ever been so close to the wire.
36:26It's taken a whopping 700 hours of fault-finding, grinding, repairing and renovating.
36:34And still, the roof's not fixed.
36:38You had one job.
36:40You had one job.
36:42Do you know what?
36:43You had one job.
36:44Yes, and he's not even managed that.
36:47Because reveal day is upon us, and the missing ABS module is still missing.
36:53I've been waiting for this for weeks.
36:56But in true West End fashion, the show must go on.
37:00So, while the boys cross their fingers the courier arrives in time, they're into rehearsal for the big reveal.
37:07It's the DeLorean.
37:09It is the stage at the Adelphi here for Back to the Future.
37:12Lily is coming down here with Matt.
37:14Yes.
37:14There's a matinee today.
37:15She's going to be sitting down there.
37:17She's won a backstage tour, or so she thinks.
37:20Brilliant.
37:21Right at the end.
37:22No, she's not getting the backstage tour.
37:23She's being led up onto the stage where you and I come out here and car SOS her.
37:28That is absolutely fantastic.
37:32So, completely unaware of what's about to happen, Lily's arrived at the theatre ready for the show.
37:39And outside, Great Scott, the missing flux capacitor has arrived.
37:45Tell me, have you got a parcel for us?
37:47I've got a parcel for us, Mr Shaw.
37:48Mr Shaw.
37:49Yes.
37:49Brilliant.
37:50Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
37:52Get it.
37:53Get it.
37:53Get it.
37:54You're a legend.
37:54Thank you very much.
37:55Take it easy.
37:56Thank you, Matt.
37:58The question is, will it actually do the job?
38:02I hope you'll forgive me, but I cannot bear to watch on this.
38:05Because I feel just my gaze at it will break it.
38:08The show's reached its big finale.
38:12So, it's now or never.
38:16Please.
38:17Please.
38:18Move.
38:19Move.
38:22It's not going to do it.
38:28Hallelujah!
38:30Yes!
38:32Yes!
38:33Yes!
38:34Mate.
38:35If you think I'm giving you a high five now, you've got something else coming.
38:39We've got a car to give back to her.
38:42With the car finally complete, it's over to star of the show, Brian Conley, to turn Lily's
38:48world upside down.
38:50Ladies and gentlemen, we need to now have you at a good time.
38:56I have a confession.
38:58I am not really Doc Brown.
39:01I'm not in America, so there you go.
39:04But the reason I've come out of character is because we have a very important announcement.
39:08Because you see, backstage right now are two people that think they have won a competition
39:15to have a backstage tour, but they haven't.
39:19They have no idea that I'm going to welcome them onto the stage now, they're called Lily and
39:24Matt.
39:24Where are they?
39:25Lily and Matt!
39:29Here's Lily!
39:31You're now on stage, Lily and Matt!
39:34So, Lily and Matt, you're probably thinking, why?
39:38Why are we on stage now?
39:40Well, I have two people that will explain why.
39:42This is where I'm going to say who fails.
39:43Here they are.
39:45Hey!
39:46How are you doing?
39:46Have you got a mic?
39:49Hello.
39:50Hello.
39:50How are you doing?
39:51I know this is not what you were expecting at all.
39:53It's lovely to meet you.
39:53My name's Tim and this is Phil and we do a television show called Car SOS.
39:57Yes!
39:57Lovely to meet you.
39:59Now, our television...
39:59Let me explain.
40:01It's all right, it's all good.
40:01Our television show is all about restoring somebody's classic car.
40:05Yeah!
40:05Somebody who's been through a tough time.
40:07Somebody who needs something lovely, needs a break in life.
40:09Now, I know that you very sadly lost both your parents.
40:11We also know that you struggled yourself.
40:14Yeah.
40:14And you struggled with cancer.
40:15Yeah, yeah.
40:16And not only that, but you've beaten it.
40:19Yeah!
40:21So, Lily, we've been waiting to meet you for ages.
40:25And the car is outside.
40:27So, we'd like...
40:28Tonight, you are where you're going, you are going to need roads.
40:31Yeah.
40:32Because you'll be driving home...
40:33Yeah!
40:33...in your little SLK.
40:35Yeah, it was my mum.
40:36She loved it, yeah.
40:37I was back on the road.
40:38Can we have a round of applause for Lily?
40:40And the future!
40:42Thank you very much.
40:43Come on.
40:44Woo!
40:47No peeking, all right?
40:48I know.
40:49I've got my eye peeking.
40:50No peeking.
40:51Matt, come on out.
40:52Come on out.
40:52We're going to walk forward, okay?
40:55Jeez.
40:55I don't know.
40:56I think he is good.
40:57Are you ready?
40:58Yeah.
40:59Right, everyone ready?
41:00Are you ready?
41:01Yeah.
41:01Can we have a three, two, one?
41:02In three, two, one!
41:05Woo-hoo!
41:07Woo-hoo!
41:09Woo-hoo!
41:10That is your car.
41:12Woo-hoo!
41:12Give it up for Lily and Matt.
41:13Look!
41:14How can you see it?
41:16You might recognise these guys.
41:18Woo-hoo!
41:22When Lily last saw her treasured SLK, it had been consigned to the garage as a rusting non-runner,
41:29with a roof that simply wouldn't budge from the boot.
41:33But with a sprinkle of car SOS magic, the boys have bought it back to the future.
41:39Outside, the rotting wheel arches have been rebuilt, the body resprayed, and just in the nick
41:45of time, the robot roof bought back online.
41:49Inside, every inch of the interior has been cleaned, repaired, and repainted to factory-fresh
41:56standard.
41:56And under the bonnet, the engine fault is a thing of the past.
42:00So it's ready to hit the open road and create a whole new set of memories.
42:07What's your first memory of this car, Lily?
42:09My favourite memory is something so silly.
42:12We went shopping a couple of weeks after Mum got it.
42:16Yeah.
42:18And I saw our reflection in the silver market, and I was like, we look so cool.
42:27And that's seared into your mind, you can see that.
42:29Forever, yeah.
42:30So what does it feel like to sit in this car now?
42:32You're in the driver's seat, this is your car, it's road ready.
42:35LAUGHTER
42:36OK, that face says it all.
42:38That's brilliant.
42:39You don't need any words to go with that.
42:41No.
42:41We've hung onto it for so long, and I was just really worried when Matt told me that Liam
42:47was going to fix it.
42:48OK.
42:48That by the end of it, it would be like, we can't do anything.
42:52And I would have been really sad to see it go, so this is everything, really.
42:55Yeah.
42:55It's like I'm going to start crying again.
42:59It represents my family.
43:01And the new family I've got as well now.
43:05And how, yeah, it was broken, but it can be fixed.
43:10Yeah.
43:10Like me and my cancer.
43:12This is about a new chapter now.
43:13No, actually, scrap the chapter, this is a new book.
43:16Absolutely, yeah.
43:17Lily, there's only one thing left to do, and that is to give you your keys.
43:21To tell you that you've been Car SOS.
43:24Absolutely deserve it.
43:30I never thought that we would get this car driving again.
43:34It literally looks like how it looked when Mum brought it home.
43:37Yeah.
43:38And in all of my wildest dreams, that's exactly how I'd want it to look.
43:42What do you think she'd think if she saw it?
43:44Well, she'd ask for it back immediately.
43:50Why don't we test it?
43:52Let's see if we can get to 88 miles an hour, shall we?
43:54Ha, ha, ha, ha!
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