The Thrill of the Chase! Uncovering an Automotive Legend! 🔍🏎️
#ClassicCarRestoration #BarnFinds #ChasingClassics #VintageFerrari #AutomotiveHeritage #WayneCariniStyle #CarHunting #HistoryOnWheels
#ClassicCarRestoration #BarnFinds #ChasingClassics #VintageFerrari #AutomotiveHeritage #WayneCariniStyle #CarHunting #HistoryOnWheels
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MotorTranscript
00:05On the edge of the Lake District in Barrow-in-Furness is a family business with a reputation
00:12for bringing classic cars back from the dead. It's absolutely knackered. It's your wheelbase
00:19911. I mean, where'd you find them? To find a project barn door deluxe. Very, very rare.
00:24From Beatles to Daimlers, Escorts to Porsches, nothing is beyond repair for the 30-strong
00:31team of mechanics, fabricators, panel beaters and painters. To leave this car here you'll be
00:36criminal. It's a chicken like that. Oh, there's a spine there as well, look.
00:45The head of the family and the genius restorer is Big Irv. I've got a convertible patina car and
00:52live in the Lake District. Sons Aaron, Lee and Harvey are classic car royalty in waiting.
00:59You cannot turn up when you feel like it. This is a family who live and breathe restoration.
01:08They're on a mission to save the classic cars no one else can. It doesn't matter how bad it is,
01:14I can always fix it. Hi-ho!
01:31When do you think you'll pass your test? She said as soon as I pass my theory, I'll be in
01:35straight away.
01:37Right, till it's back. Right, now that should be it.
01:49Irv's on his way to meet Rob, a client with a rare Daimler coupe that's in desperate need of a
01:55little love.
01:57Right, so we've just snipped up to have a look at this Daimler coupe that I've been told to hopefully
02:02get
02:02a job of restoring. Someone else has started it, which is not always ideal. I'd rather start them
02:06myself and take it to bits and we know where we're at with the job. Hopefully we can get the
02:10card out
02:11of the garage and turn it into something mega. Let's go out a look.
02:19Right, Irv, if you come in, this is the Daimler that we've been chatting about.
02:24All right. 4.2 coupe, three-speed auto.
02:28They're pretty rare these now, aren't they? It's a very rare car. You don't see many coups,
02:32but you don't see many Daimler coups in particular. Right, right.
02:34And it is as bad as a Daimler. Wow.
02:37I'm looking to have a resto mod done on the car. I mean, I have seen a couple of them
02:40resto
02:40modded and they do look really good, actually. Resto modding is not just restoring a classic car,
02:46but also modifying it to combine classic aesthetics with modern performance and styling.
02:52They are in good, Nick. Well, that one is. I wasn't expecting that.
02:57Very different to the concourse classics, which Irv faithfully restores to factory spec and is
03:02best known for. And what's the score with this roof thing? Because obviously the vinyl roof's
03:06gone at the moment. Yeah. But they've obviously just ripped it off.
03:10Are we keeping it off then? So we'll keep the roof off. If we can get that painted,
03:14I think that'll just stop dated. It'll just look a bit smoother. Yeah.
03:18I think vinyl's a bit dated now. Yeah, I agree with you on that one.
03:20The car's been laid up for quite a while. The previous owner sadly passed away,
03:25but it had been his restoration project for some 10 to 15 years. Over that period,
03:29it's been completely rebuilt body-wise, but it's just not what I'm after.
03:33I'd like to change the colour, lower suspension, different wheels on it.
03:39We'll probably change the interior on it as well.
03:43The Jaguar XJC and its twin, the Daimler Coupe, were peerless two-door versions of the wildly
03:50successful Jaguar XJ Salute. But cars like this 1978 4.2-litre Coupe are rare,
03:59because it was killed off after just three years.
04:05I like to keep it with a nod to its history, so perhaps a similar style to what's on it.
04:10But
04:11ultimately, you know, I was a very creative guy. You could perhaps see something in the car that I
04:15don't see in the car. So very, very open to interior colour, exterior colour, open to everything.
04:21I mean, obviously, I'm seeing it like this. Is it complete? So there's a lot of spares that come
04:25with the car. I've been told the car's complete. Obviously, everyone's not on it,
04:28but we can get the rest of it. So we've got some boxes of parts.
04:31We've got a lot of boxes of parts. Okay. Just what I like. Carrying bits.
04:35And I'm sure there'll be a few bits missing, but we can overcome it. Yeah, yeah.
04:38All right, well, thanks for popping over. It'll be fun. Cheers, bud. All right.
04:43I think we can turn it into something really nice. We're never really going to know until we
04:47get started on it. But from what I can see, it does look a good car. He's actually bought something
04:52that's in pretty good order in the first place, which not a lot of people do. They normally buy a
04:56basket case.
04:56I'm going to let the lads collect the car and report back to me in a couple of days' time.
05:00So we'll see where we end up with it.
05:09The Daimler arrives at the workshop, so the crew can assess what they're dealing with.
05:21What's up with the roof? I think somebody's started to do it beforehand, and they've ripped it off.
05:29Does it look all right, Craig? Or what? It looks all right, doesn't it?
05:32It looks pretty tidy, really. The end's your body, man, aren't you? A few dints in that, don't you?
05:36What do you reckon? With a few ripples, it'll block out. It seems fairly good order, doesn't it?
05:41Shall we start getting it off? Yeah.
05:50Shall we get it, eh? Yeah, you're getting it.
05:52Straighten the wheel a bit. A bit like half the daily. Remember mine, eh? It's one of them, innit?
05:57Go on. Right, let's let it go, and I'll go straight into that garage, eh?
06:03On first inspection, the coupe looks pretty good, with a fully rebuilt engine, gearbox, and body.
06:11But the guys will need to strip it down and do their own checks.
06:16Craig's cast his eye over it, so has Den. It's like more the body side of it. Craig's going to
06:21do the metal side of it, so...
06:23They've got an idea of it. It's right off the bat on the wagon, really, haven't they? So...
06:27I don't know. We'll have to take it back a little bit and see what's underneath.
06:32But I think it's, you know, overall, it's a nice car. Make a nice rest, though.
06:37All right, so get the doors in. Do you want to give us an hand, Kev?
06:41All right.
06:44Love working with you, Kev.
06:47Such a pleasure. You do say the same.
06:50I know.
06:50She'd say you miss me when I'm not here.
06:54I do love Kevin, honestly.
06:59No matter how promising a classic car looks on initial inspection,
07:03it's almost always hiding problems beneath.
07:08Right.
07:09Have a look at this, Stewie.
07:12It looks like all the seal has all gone on it.
07:15It's all rotten inside by the look of it.
07:17It's all minging there, isn't it?
07:18Yeah, so I reckon we'll get it all scraped out.
07:21And just bodged it, haven't they?
07:22Yeah.
07:23As Dennis and Stew work on the doors,
07:25it becomes obvious that the previous restoration wasn't done to the highest possible standard.
07:32All this sealer that they've put on, it's not set.
07:36And if you look under here now, look at this.
07:38There's no protection on the metal, so it will rust this for sure over time.
07:45The doors have been repaired badly with sealer that's still soft.
07:50Now we've got all the old seal out of here, I'm now going to put this onto that.
07:55I'm going to bare metal it and get rid of any rust or any corrosion and bring it straight back
08:01to the bare metal.
08:15While Dennis and Stewart battle with the doors, mechanic Southie is getting to grips with a different kind of vehicle.
08:23It's not really that easy to figure out.
08:27I think I'm just going to have to wing it.
08:31It's the boss's daughter, Georgia.
08:34It's a new little toy.
08:39Just put it together for her so she can make a little girl happy.
08:46Quite enjoying doing little bits and pieces like this.
08:49It makes it a little bit more fun, doesn't it?
08:57Here we go.
08:58What?
09:00What?
09:02You've got your bike!
09:04Press this one here.
09:05Press that one there.
09:07Yeah?
09:08Woo!
09:09HE LAUGHS
09:17Oh no, he's got some power.
09:19HE LAUGHS
09:29As the inspection continues, Dennis discovers the unset sealant isn't the only thing hiding issues.
09:38That, that was full of filler.
09:41So they just put filler over the top to hide the hole.
09:46That is going to have to be welded up.
09:49When you've got filler, it's no good, because over time it'll just crack and come off again.
09:53Hole there, there.
09:56One there, there.
10:00There you go, it's turned into a bigger, bigger job now.
10:13Irv has picked up a rare 1978 Dameless Sovereign Coupe.
10:17The owner wants a restomod finish, creating something a little more modern.
10:23While the car initially looked like it was in great shape, Dennis and the bodywork team
10:28found underneath the crisp exterior was a whole heap of hidden issues and bodged fixes.
10:34We had a hole here.
10:36So I've migged it all up.
10:38A few holes over here and there was a few little bits in bobs that I've had to go over.
10:42I'm just prepping it up now, ready for me filler.
10:48Once the holes have been exposed and fixed, Dennis can get back to doing what he does best,
10:53filling and sanding the doors to look as smooth as they did almost 50 years ago.
10:58This is the last stage for the back.
11:00Once we've primed it, we'll put our own sealer on it with the proper stuff.
11:05We'll put it on there and this seal will actually go off.
11:13Yeah, it does stink quite a bit, this stuff.
11:16My wife always says to me when I go home that I stink of filler like.
11:28After a rocky start with the botched bodywork, Dennis has filled the holes,
11:32leaving the smoothest possible finish.
11:34All without the car having to go back to bare metal.
11:39Pretty happy with that.
11:42When you paint it, it's going to be like glass, like a mirror.
11:49Once Dennis is happy with the finish on the panel,
11:52it's ready for Irv's son Harvey to prime the surface ready for the paint job.
11:57I'm just mixing up the polyester spray filler now.
12:00And then I'm going to go in there and give the panels the first coat of primer.
12:04When you first put it on, it's blue.
12:06And then as it dries and goes off, it goes white.
12:09So it makes it a lot easier to use as you know exactly where you've been,
12:13where you haven't been.
12:14Idiot proof.
12:16So when I do mess it up, I've liked to let it off.
12:30That's not very good.
12:33All the spray filler that we put on reacted.
12:36Yeah, I've never seen that before.
12:39It's absolutely awful.
12:40It's like the thinner in our products just eating into the paint underneath.
12:47I'll go get my dad.
12:49It's definitely going to be my fault.
12:56The non-standard paint from the previous restoration has reacted with the primer,
13:01leaving the doors looking like they're covered in a soupy porridge.
13:06I spray filled them and all the paint on these reacted.
13:10It looks absolutely awful.
13:13God's sake.
13:15I'd better go and look at this.
13:22Jesus.
13:28Oh dear.
13:30Yeah, the blue's obviously like some sort of paint.
13:37He said it was a home restoration, but you know what that means, don't you?
13:43Yeah.
13:43That's bare metal car.
13:45Yeah.
13:47That's a massive amount of work in comparison to a repaint.
13:51I just haven't got time for it.
13:53That is just a massive, massive, massive problem.
13:57We're just going to take weeks by the time we strip it and then go back to this.
13:59It's a lot of work to get to where we are now, or where I thought it was.
14:04Right.
14:05I'm a little bit pissed off actually.
14:08The problem it means now is you've got to strip the whole car back to bare metal.
14:12There's no other way around it.
14:14And I've also got to tell the customer it's going to cost a load more money,
14:18which he's not going to be happy about.
14:20What seemed like a very straightforward job, it's just not going to be one now.
14:25So, never mind.
14:27I'm going to go to the pub, I think.
14:29I don't even drink anymore.
15:02Erv's invited owner Rob to come in so he can break the bad news personally.
15:08The reason I rang you was when we tried priming the panels, we originally were just going
15:14to give it a knock-off and a repaint.
15:16Because the car was already mint, I thought, you know what, we don't need to bare metal
15:20it.
15:21As soon as I started priming it, it all started cogling and reacting with the polyester.
15:24I didn't really have a choice.
15:25It should have been alright, but whatever product they have used on that, probably
15:2920 odd years ago, isn't like in the modern primers.
15:34One of the awkward points that we need to mention is...
15:38Discount.
15:39Discount, yeah.
15:41Because it's a bigger job we're going to do it cheaper.
15:43But you know the score, I'm not going to pull your pants down, but we have got some extra
15:48hours involved in sorting this out.
15:50It's a bigger job, it's a more costly job, that's the bad side to it, but the finished
15:55product, we have such a special vehicle.
15:57There will not be a better one out there and I doubt that very much, you know.
16:03The coupe will be fully stripped down, taken back to bare metal and any dents refilled, ready
16:09to be primed again.
16:13This setback will add four weeks and thousands of pounds to the job.
16:18We've had to do everything to get the car back to exactly the stage it was a month ago.
16:23We've had to bare metal it all, then we've had to do all the repairs again.
16:27And of course there's a lot of work when it comes to bare metal on the car.
16:29Like we noticed the sills were rotten and stuff, went there and needed a load of metal work.
16:34Then we seal it all up with anti-corrosion again, give it a coat of polyester, then block
16:38it again.
16:40I mean, it's made the car a better car, but it's a lot of work that we didn't think we
16:44were going to have to do at the start.
16:46Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.
16:50The Daimler is rolled into the paint booth for priming 2.0.
16:57The better job we do masking, the less work we make for ourself later on.
17:06Things are working for your dad is you kind of don't have a set working hours, because
17:13I'm supposed to finish in five minutes, yet I'm just about to start now a couple hour
17:19job.
17:26Yeah, it looks good.
17:29One last coat, then we're done.
17:47The outside of the car is ready for paint, but a full respray also includes the inside
17:53of the engine bay.
17:54To do this, the engine needs to come out.
18:01It's a big old lump.
18:03If we can get the engine pulled out first.
18:05Yeah.
18:06And then it's all the ancillaries.
18:08Everything that can be removed out of here, let's take it out, get it all painted.
18:12I want this bit done back together before I move on and paint the shell.
18:16Yeah, yeah.
18:16We're halfway through prep on it.
18:18Now we're going to pull the motor, get the engine bay sorted and back together.
18:22And then that bit can be boxed off.
18:23And then the car's ready for final block off and paint anyway.
18:26So we're in that point now.
18:27It is a big job, but it's just nuts and bolts.
18:31It's just a bit of a scrap getting to some of it.
18:33But once you've got everything out of the way, it's pretty easy.
18:41Southie might think it's easy, but there's plenty of work involved.
18:45They've got to be very careful about how they remove everything and how they organise
18:49it.
18:50After all, someone has got to put this lot back together.
18:54Hopefully we're going to get the crane on and pull it all out from the front in the
18:57water.
18:59The engine and gearbox are coming out as one unit, making the whole assembly extremely
19:04heavy and too long to be lifted straight up.
19:07That is a hell of a one.
19:08It has to be positioned at an angle and ease out of the engine bay.
19:12You've got two anchor points, one here and one here.
19:15So you just anchor your chain to that.
19:18Then you put your chain around your hook on your engine host and you can lift away.
19:25This could increase the risk of something slipping and a slip would have catastrophic consequences.
19:31Come on.
19:33It's coming.
19:34It's on that.
19:34Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
19:35Right.
19:36Go on.
19:36You're going to have to go now.
19:37He's touching that on the bulkhead.
19:38Go on.
19:39It's past mine now.
19:42Right.
19:42Go on.
19:50It went quite smooth, that.
19:52It went all right.
19:54Yeah.
19:55As the owner wants a sportier looking modification, Irv thinks the car needs bigger wheels, which
20:00means replacing the wheel arches.
20:03What I want to do is lift this up here and then put, obviously, the bigger wheels on all around.
20:08Otherwise, it's going to look really weird with a big wheel on the back with the arch lower.
20:12It was only when I was looking online more and more that I realised, hang on a minute.
20:16Some of it don't look right here.
20:17I went on to some build thread forum last night and saw what a guy had done and thought, oh
20:21my God.
20:22So, we're going to have to do that.
20:24I've just contacted the owner about it and said, what do you want to do?
20:27Because, you know, he's never said it to me.
20:30And some of the pictures he sent me of cars done are like this, to be fair.
20:34But, obviously, big wheels and stuff, but they don't look anywhere near as good.
20:38If you look at the front wing, the actual switch is right up, innit?
20:41So, you basically make a template off the front arch and make the back ones the same.
20:46And I tell you what, they look absolutely brilliant.
20:48It looks mean.
20:49Because all of a sudden, your back arch is up here.
20:51Oh, so it's not going standard?
20:53Well, it's far from standard.
20:54I tell you what, just bringing the wheel out and dropping it down, next to nothing,
20:59but the difference is huge.
21:02So, you're quite often looking at a car, at a car show, thinking,
21:06why does that one look way better than all the others?
21:07And it's because someone's done a subtle modification that you would never notice.
21:12But it makes a million times improvement on the look of the car.
21:16Irv makes a convincing case, but more bodywork at this stage will increase costs
21:20and delay the project further.
21:22I reckon it's going to take maybe, in total, a couple of weeks.
21:25It'll be a week aside, because you've got to do the inner and outer arch,
21:28modify that.
21:29Then you've got to refill it all.
21:30We've got to drop the fuel tanks, because it's right where the fuel tanks are.
21:33And there's one each side.
21:34So, I've got to do all that.
21:36But the end result is something way better.
21:39It was a 8,000 mile or lower, you know, like a real low mileage car.
21:46Absolutely original paint.
21:47Then I would be like, you can't do that to this car.
21:48But this is a car that's already been restored before.
21:51It's done okay mileage.
21:53It's a car that can afford to be modified.
22:11Irv and the team have taken on a rare 1978 Daimler sovereign coupe.
22:15It's a prime specimen for a resto mod.
22:20I'm just going to go over and have a crack with Phil now, who's going to modify the back
22:25arch on the car.
22:26And we decided, because it's going resto mod, when you look online, a couple of them are
22:31making the back arches the same size and profile as the front wing.
22:35It's a nice trick, to be fair.
22:37It looks really, really good.
22:38So we've ordered some front wing repair sections, which we're going to cut out and put on the
22:44back.
22:45Right, mate.
22:46What have you worked out against what I've worked out?
22:50I need to make two fronts into an arch.
22:53So that...
22:54Due to the fact that this here...
22:56Profile's different.
22:56Yeah.
22:57Right.
22:57Because I drew on there, and it's not...
23:00Looks completely wrong.
23:01Yeah.
23:02I didn't think of that.
23:03It's a bit of guesswork from my side, because I just looked online...
23:06Yeah.
23:06I saw they'd used front wheel archers on the back.
23:08I didn't realise...
23:09Yeah.
23:10...they'd used four fronts.
23:12Well, you wouldn't, would you?
23:13No.
23:15As the front arches aren't completely round, each rear wheel arch will have to be made
23:20using not one, but two front wheel arches welded together.
23:24It's a bigger job than Irv thought.
23:28That's the front of a left, and the front of a right.
23:34So they will, somewhere, meet in the middle to get what we're after.
23:43And then I will graft it into the car.
23:48It looks simple, but I don't think it is.
23:52Phil's first job is to take out the suspension.
23:56With bigger wheels going back in, he needs to know how high the tyres will sit to know where
24:01the arches should be.
24:04Now I've got these out, I'll reconnect the subframe, and then I can put the jack under the hub, and
24:16adjust the ride out.
24:19And then we can start weighing up how we're going to cut the arch.
24:26A bit more.
24:27Yeah.
24:32Stressing us out a bit of this.
24:33It's a bit of a nightmare, to be honest.
24:35Just trying to get the ride out right.
24:38Don't want to put the wheel arch in the wrong spot.
24:41The wheels are expensive, I don't want to order the wrong offset.
24:44It's just all of it together, so you're better off checking, checking, checking, before you go and order it wrong.
24:50Measure twice, cut once.
24:52Yeah.
24:54It's like if you could bring this car out again, and have it looking a little bit more up to
24:59date,
24:59then these are the things that would make it look better, to be honest.
25:03It's still going to have its traditional styling.
25:05We're not going away from what it would have been.
25:07We just want it to look far better.
25:10Working out how high the wheels will sit, feels like it should be a fairly simple calculation.
25:15But when you're fitting non-standard parts, there's a lot of room for error.
25:28Right there, now we're getting on my old titty.
25:30There you go.
25:32Oh, she looks good now.
25:33Actually, not that bad of a job, that really.
25:36After all the stress.
25:37Yeah.
25:38Now I've done that, see, I'll make that other one.
25:42Exactly.
25:42Before I've put that on.
25:44You can just put it over that cat and mirror it.
25:45Yeah.
25:45All right, buddy.
25:58I'll steer it as Gav doesn't have a driving licence.
26:02No, I just don't know on my left from my right.
26:04Who does?
26:06At any one time, the team are working across 20 restorations.
26:11Where is it going to happen?
26:12It's going down to the trim shop to have all the trim work done.
26:17It's down in just near Nottingham.
26:20It's about four hours away.
26:21What, are you taking it tomorrow?
26:22Yeah.
26:23Got to set off early.
26:28We're like Nigel Mansell's pit team, aren't we?
26:33Right, I'm off.
26:34See you in a bit.
26:34See you in a bit.
26:40See you in a bit.
26:41See you in a bit.
26:42See you in a bit.
26:47Before the Daimler goes to the paint shop, it has to be blasted outside with compressed air to remove all
26:53the dust.
27:04My new latest dilemma is because, of course, we had the problem with the rest of the car reacting with
27:09the blue paint.
27:10We've not actually bare metal in the engine bay.
27:12We've bare metal the whole car but the engine bay.
27:14Of my worries now, normally what I'd do is hit it with the anti-corrosion wet and wet.
27:19But I'm worried that it could cause the blue paint that was not taken right off to react.
27:25I'm going to have to get over my dad and see what he recommends.
27:30No doubt it would be do whatever you want but it's on your head when it goes wrong.
27:37That's what I'm thinking.
27:38Do you reckon I just etch it and paint it off?
27:40This thing.
27:43Yeah, right.
27:44No, that makes sense.
27:45Yeah.
27:46Okay.
27:52Here is me, so we're going to hit it with a coat of white primer and hopefully it's okay.
27:58We'll soon find out.
27:59Find out in about an hour.
28:07That's the primer and I'll have to leave that now.
28:1020, 30 minutes to dry.
28:12And I'll come back in and hit it with a colour.
28:16Irv's team have a network of specialist contacts to ensure every aspect of a restoration is done to exacting standards.
28:23Because he decided he wants a one-off special colour.
28:27And the way he found it was he saw a picture of a guy in America that had painted a
28:31car.
28:31So we couldn't find anything really close to it.
28:34So we contacted people who supply our paint and gave them the colour and said basically we want this.
28:40And they knew the person that had painted the car.
28:42So they gave him the code.
28:44But we still couldn't get it.
28:45So in the end they've formulated this colour.
28:48And we've done spray-out cards.
28:50And we've decided that the colour's perfect.
28:52But I've only got a screenshot of the mix.
28:56So I can't go through it on the computer.
28:58So I've got to make sure I'm everything bang on.
29:00I've got it down here as a copper special.
29:03So it's like a high metallic copper.
29:06Which I think is going to be really good in the car.
29:12There you go, you suddenly start to get a bit of a copper.
29:15One of the main things I was worrying about is the possibility of the paint reacting with the primer.
29:20But it hasn't.
29:21So so far, so good.
29:28Harvey gives the first coat of the paint to the front panels and inside the engine bay.
29:46It's all done.
29:47I'm going to get my blower.
29:48I'll blow it dry.
29:53Back from a trip to Europe, Irv heads straight to the garage to catch up on what he's missed.
29:59Yeah, I've actually done a good job.
30:01Once.
30:02Quite surprised.
30:07I'm happy with that.
30:08So we're going to pull the wheels off, finish masking it.
30:11Yep.
30:11We're going to put a couple of doors in as well.
30:13Yeah.
30:14The master painter steps in for the final finish.
30:19Here we go, no pressure.
30:36Oh man.
30:39Alright, that's that done.
30:42Last core lacquer on.
30:44Absolute like glass.
30:45Really, really happy with that.
30:48You can see it was hard work.
30:51Yeah, it looks fantastic that.
30:54Maybe we're finishing it.
30:56To be fair, I was worrying actually about it like.
30:59Why?
30:59I was thinking I did the engine bay.
31:01I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to match it.
31:03Quality wise.
31:04Quality wise.
31:05And so on.
31:05I suppose you got a point there with your absolutely unbelievable skillset you've currently got.
31:09You've just about passed.
31:11Okay.
31:27It's time for the team to put the massive 4.2 litre straight six engine and gearbox into the dam.
31:35It's so heavy that it needs to be moved by a forklift.
31:44And even then it's a struggle.
31:48Down a touch.
31:49Not going to go.
31:51Why?
31:52It's not in the middle of the wheels.
31:53Engine cranes catching on the wheels so it won't go in.
31:56Just turn the wheels off.
32:01It was tough getting the engine out.
32:02But now, with a re-sprayed engine bay, they have to be even more careful getting it back in.
32:09Two more.
32:10A little bit more.
32:13Right.
32:14Well, that'll do well with that up a bit.
32:17Nice.
32:20All right.
32:20Need it to go further in.
32:22It's hitting the bulkhead and the angle it's on so I just need to jack the back of the gearbox
32:26up.
32:26By lifting the back of the gearbox up, Southie is going to ease the engine back into position.
32:32It's a delicate manoeuvre.
32:54All right.
33:03The team are doing a resto mod on a rare 1978 Dameless Sovereign coupe.
33:08It's not been an easy ride.
33:10There's been challenges and setbacks with the paint and new wheel arches.
33:14The job has been much bigger and more expensive than owner Rob had hoped.
33:24So we've put a new spring on and a new shocker onto the lower end so it could be the
33:28same height as the back.
33:37We've got a ratchet strap round it.
33:40Just tying this strap round it just in case it fires off somewhere.
33:57And that is textbook.
34:06That went better.
34:11Because we're shorter in the length of the spring, these shockings should be slightly shorter.
34:23That's it.
34:24All ready for the new wheels to go on now.
34:29Let's have a look.
34:31Adding the new wheels is one of the last of the jobs.
34:34Ta-da.
34:36Look at them.
34:37I brought a comparison because that's obviously what they work like.
34:40But it's different.
34:44They're a copy of the original wheel, but obviously blown up.
34:49Look at that.
34:52Oh, it's so good.
34:53Far better.
34:54They're wide though, aren't they?
34:56They were worth the wait, weren't they?
35:04They look mega.
35:05I need to get a tyre on it.
35:08So these were four and a half grand.
35:09A good price really.
35:11The wheels for my Porsche were like 20,000.
35:16These actually look like it's more work involved.
35:18They look like they're full.
35:28Easy on them.
35:30Easy on them.
35:31Easy them.
35:32They're expecting that to be a lot harder than that.
35:34They look smart, don't they?
35:39Very smart.
35:40They're very similar to the original ones, but obviously they're a lot bigger and wider.
35:47You can tell there's weight in it.
35:50I definitely think the front's too high.
35:53We get the grinder out like we did back in the day.
35:55Chop and coil off, that'll fix it.
35:58It might settle in once we drive it.
36:05Now we've moved the car, it's settled in nice, so I'm happy with it now.
36:08I was panicking, thinking we're going to have to get some shorter front springs for it,
36:12or raise the back up, which I didn't want to do because it looks just right.
36:16So anyway, it's settled in, it looks spot on now.
36:20This Daimler is all about luxury, riding in comfort as well as style.
36:28200 miles away at Austin's trim shop in Herefordshire,
36:32the car's interior is being fully refurbished with bespoke fittings.
36:38These are the door tops, just completely strip these down and then give them a retrim.
36:48Unfortunately, someone's had a go at painting these in vinyl paint, hence why I've got to retrim them.
36:56As Rob wants a restomod for the Daimler, he's keeping the original vinyl for the armrests,
37:02but using an upgraded leather for the rest of the interior.
37:08So these fat lines here, I won't be able to use them, this is the back of the neck of
37:13the cow.
37:14They won't pull out, they won't do anything, they only get worse if you scratch them or heat them,
37:19so we avoid these areas unless you really have to use it somewhere.
37:23Even though it's a natural product, you don't want to be using too many marks.
37:30Artisan leather work like this is costly and it can take several weeks to complete the full interior.
37:40That's that bit pretty much ready to go back in the car.
37:52So Daimler's back from the trim shop now, so we're just going to have a look at it,
37:56because I've only seen pictures so far.
37:58Obviously the car's very nearly there.
38:01Oh wow, look at that.
38:08That's absolutely fantastic, isn't it?
38:10Yeah, it looks like it could have been ordered like this in the factory,
38:13that was the type of thing we were wanting to go for.
38:16That's really nice work.
38:19He's done us proud, hasn't he?
38:21With time short, everyone in the garage pulls together to make the last few hours count.
38:36Owner Rob is on his way, so Irv only has time to go around the block once before he arrives.
38:48Mmm!
38:50Sounds nice, doesn't it?
38:53I don't think I'm happy with that.
38:54Not bad so good.
38:57Posh for me, this one.
39:02Beautiful.
39:10Lovely.
39:11Yeah, drives nice.
39:13I think I'm happy with that.
39:16God, what's it worth?
39:17I mean, I think a really nice Daimler, a pill-less coupe like that, they're probably about 30 grand.
39:22But when you've got the vision of what we've done with it, you know, it's a completely unique car.
39:28There's only a handful being done like that.
39:30I wouldn't be surprised at auction it did 60k plus.
39:33Yeah.
39:34Yeah.
39:34Comfortably.
39:37Will Rob be wowed by his one-of-a-kind bespoke motor?
39:48Crikey.
39:50That looks well, doesn't it?
39:54I don't know what to say.
39:56Isn't it amazing?
39:57I mean, we've had the vision in the head, but it's quite different stood next to it, isn't it?
40:01Isn't it good?
40:02That's unbelievable.
40:04If I had longer arms I'd give you a hug.
40:07That's awesome.
40:08Yeah, it's absolutely fantastic, innit?
40:10Love the colour.
40:11I mean, obviously the rims, we've got a bigger dish on the back now.
40:14Yeah.
40:14Slightly thinner on the front.
40:16It just works.
40:16There's a little hot rod stand, doesn't it?
40:18The only disaster we had was that paint, you know?
40:20Yeah.
40:21We thought it was going to be a bit more straightforward.
40:23Look towards the future, forget the past.
40:25It's going to be a good future.
40:28Absolutely beautiful.
40:30Isn't it?
40:30I mean, obviously I didn't do this bit, but...
40:33Wow.
40:34You've got to use this bit.
40:34What an amazing job.
40:35That looks absolutely factory.
40:37Doesn't it, Josh?
40:38The car's phenomenal.
40:40It's just...
40:40I can't stop looking at it.
40:43I don't really know what to say, but I'm speechless and,
40:46you know, I hope that's a big enough compliment.
40:50It's great looking in you, Paul, isn't it?
40:52It's right, innit?
40:52It's just a classic.
40:54Absolutely.
40:55And it was in nice condition, to be fair, once I cleaned it.
40:57It was, yeah.
40:57I was like, oh, it's actually all right.
40:58I mean, the most important thing really is,
41:00do you want to have a drive of it and do everything?
41:02Oh, yeah.
41:02Oh, yeah, yeah.
41:03Yeah, where shall we go?
41:04Rob is overjoyed with the transformation.
41:08But will the drive match the good looks?
41:16The 4.2-litre engine could take this coupe to over 120 miles per hour.
41:22But this is all about luxury, not speed.
41:25What a beautiful day to go up here in a beautiful car.
41:29Isn't it?
41:39It's so easy to drive.
41:40Yeah.
41:41Everything's really light.
41:43I remember back in the day when my old man used to drive,
41:46and it's just, it feels mega, doesn't it?
41:49All the classic 70s styling of a Daimler tweaked and refined.
41:53This is an updated vision of the coupe.
41:56I can't thank you enough.
41:58I will buy you a billion stick.
42:00Get the stick, after all.
42:03The new wheels make light work of the Cumbrian gravel.
42:06The ride inside this pillarless coupe is smooth and quiet.
42:12For me, it's good when you get the reaction that I got from you, though.
42:18It makes it all worthwhile for me.
42:19It's not often a shop, is it?
42:25Once I saw them rear wheel hatches, and I knew that it could be done,
42:29I thought, we've got to do that.
42:31Yeah.
42:31Never would have looked the same.
42:32No, and I know it was a bit of a problem to do,
42:34and I appreciate the extra effort,
42:36and the extra thought they went into it as well.
42:41I feel like we should jump in it, Paul,
42:43and go for a road trip.
42:44Let's get down Monaco.
43:18We'll see you next time.
43:20We'll see you next time.
43:41Bye.
44:02Bye.
44:02Bye.
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