- 14 hours ago
Bangers and Cash - Season 13 - Episode 04: MG Magnette/Morris Minor/De Tomaso Lomngchamp/Ford Escort Rally Car
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00:04On sale this week.
00:07Little Morris Minor, absolutely brilliant.
00:10I could not recommend a vehicle more than this vehicle.
00:14He was a bit of a boy racer at heart.
00:16Yeah.
00:18As you can tell by his moggy thousand,
00:20it's had suspension load, big wide wheels on it,
00:23disparate conversion.
00:251977 Ford Escort.
00:28Here we go, hang on, he's walking over.
00:30Dad collected this one, I'll let him do this one.
00:32It's got a real interesting history.
00:33It was quite a well-known car.
00:34It is quite a well-known car.
00:37It messes with your head a bit, really,
00:38because it shouldn't sound like that.
00:40It's just like, hang on a minute, hang on.
00:42Your eyes are telling you it's an Escort,
00:43and your ears are telling you it's a TR7 V8.
00:471979, Di Tommaso there.
00:48We've got lots of bids here.
00:50The body kit was so deep,
00:52so they had to build an extension to the petrol flap.
00:55You can see from here,
00:56it means that body kit was probably two inches deep at the back.
01:00The Matthewsons,
01:01a dynasty of classic car auctioneers.
01:0555.
01:06The joys of an auction.
01:08Most people will go to a sale with something in mind,
01:10but come away with something different.
01:12The fun is the chase.
01:13We'll have a look and we'll advise you from there.
01:15You just don't know what's on the end of the phone,
01:17what you're going to find when you open them doors.
01:19This is a family's love affair with motors that have lived a life.
01:24Testing, testing.
01:25Most people will buy a car because they can relate to it.
01:28Maybe a car that Dad had.
01:30They're selling dreams.
01:31Right, here we go.
01:42Good morning, Matthewsons.
01:44In front of Liddell...
01:45Yes, the cakes were lovely, they're really nice.
01:48We were trying to decide which we prefer,
01:50the jam or the lemon curd.
01:51While important decisions are being made in the office,
01:55Derek's off on a bit of a pilgrimage.
01:57We're off to a restorer in Croft to pick up two vehicles.
02:01Very, very sadly, the gentleman's passed away.
02:04I'm expecting them to be two nice cars.
02:06I think there's an MG and a Morris Minor.
02:08So I'm going to get the wagon out now and go and get the trailer.
02:19In Croft, the crew at Classic Car Workshop
02:21are preparing for Derek's arrival.
02:24For the last few years,
02:26Kel...
02:27Looks amazing, isn't he?
02:28Woody...
02:29It was definitely made to look pretty when it's not.
02:32And George...
02:33We've saved the Classic.
02:35...have undertaken 11 restorations
02:37for the Bangers and Cash Restoring Classics team,
02:40including the iconic Ford Mexico.
02:44It's an Escort!
02:45Oh, my God!
02:47Have you ever seen George happier?
02:49We haven't even had a chance to get it out, he's in there.
02:51We've never seen George happy.
02:53Oh, my God.
02:54It's my birthday!
02:56LAUGHTER
02:59But today, they're having a different kind of celebration,
03:03remembering their friend, Ian Wastle.
03:05A customer who loved the workshop so much, he just stayed.
03:10And he was a cracking old bloke, cracking old bloke.
03:13We miss him terribly.
03:14While Ian spent many hours fettling away on his 1959 Morris Minor Thousand,
03:21it was his 1955 MG Magnet that brought him into the garage.
03:26He was a customer that wanted this car to do and putting a five-speed box in and stuff like
03:31that.
03:31He just said, oh, have you got anything for me I could do?
03:34Because I've retired and I'm bored.
03:37I'll tell you what, best thing he ever said to me, that.
03:40He just sort of, like, became one of the...
03:42One of the family, didn't he?
03:43Yeah, and he was always here.
03:44He come down and tinkered with his cars.
03:47And had a laugh with us.
03:48Yeah.
03:49He seemed to know a bit about everything, didn't he?
03:51Yeah.
03:52It didn't matter what car you were doing.
03:54Cracking bloke.
03:55Cracking bloke.
03:57As a farewell, the crew are taking his two motors for a final spin,
04:01before they go under the hammer.
04:03This is the one that he played with the most, the Moggy Thousand.
04:06But they both look just as good inside as they do outside.
04:08They're up.
04:09Cracking car's a pair of them.
04:12He was a bit of a boy racer at heart.
04:14Yeah.
04:16As you can tell by his Moggy Thousand,
04:18it's had suspension load, big wide wheels on it,
04:22disparate conversion.
04:23It's a 1300 Marina engine with twin calves and a big bore engine in.
04:28He just went to town on it.
04:29He just loved playing with that.
04:30He just kept buying bits and putting them on.
04:33He was an OAP boy racer, really, was he, you know?
04:36And new interior.
04:37Oh, yeah.
04:38He loved putting clocks in this thing.
04:40It's got a clock for everything in there, honestly.
04:43He spent a lot of money on it.
04:45A lot of money and a lot of time.
04:46And whoever buys this is going to get an absolute bargain.
04:49He's done the same thing as what Restore and Classics do, didn't he?
04:53Yeah.
04:53Spend a fortune and get nothing back for it.
04:56No.
04:58Sleeper car's stealth, isn't it?
04:59It goes like the wind.
05:01It goes like stink.
05:02It does.
05:02It goes really well.
05:04This magnet as well, this is just a beautiful car as well.
05:07Absolutely gorgeous.
05:08It's put a Ford five-speed gearbox conversion in.
05:11It was the Sierra, I think it was.
05:13Yeah, Sierra gearbox, yeah.
05:14We put the five-speed box in and said he wouldn't mind just doing a few little bits to it.
05:19And I convinced him to burn that lake, go to town on it and get the body looking absolutely sweet.
05:24And that's all we did to it for him.
05:27We want to remember the good times about Ian.
05:30Because he'd come down here and we had him, you know, many a laugh and a muck about and a
05:35tinker with cars.
05:36He absolutely loved it.
05:37He loved it.
05:38And we miss him.
05:39Yeah, we miss him like mad.
05:40Miss him like mad.
05:41He never had a nasty word to say about, well, some people he did, but only the ones have deserved
05:47it.
05:48We've still got his toolbox and his tools and there's all sorts of bits and pieces laid around the workshop
05:53that belong to him.
05:54And, well, he'll probably always be there and then we can remember him.
06:07Oh my, look at that.
06:08What is it?
06:09It looks like it's doing 100 mile an hour sat there, doesn't it?
06:12I don't even know how you pronounce it, really.
06:16A Dito Masso.
06:18Longchamp.
06:19Never heard of one, mate.
06:22What Paul was trying to say was Dito Masso Longchamp, an Italian supercar from 1979.
06:28It's one of only 400 made with a few bits that look familiar.
06:34It looks like a Mark V Granada.
06:36The top bit, good Lord.
06:39Two hands to lift the bleeding bonnet.
06:41Rover V8 in there, look.
06:43Actually, that's Rover V8.
06:44Well, I might be wrong, but location of the distributor.
06:48Rocker covers look like Rover.
06:50It just looks like a Rover V8 to me.
06:52And I reckon the base car is a Granada.
06:56But I'll stand to be corrected because that pillar looks very much like Cortina, Granada.
07:07Alejandro de Tommaso wasn't your typical carmaker.
07:10A Formula One racing driver and businessman from Argentina, with big ideas and very little restraint.
07:16His first big hit was the Managusta, styled by Giagiaro, and built as one of the most exciting high-performance
07:24sports cars to arrive on the scene for years.
07:28After that, the Pantera, a wedge-shaped missile with a Ford V8, that sold well in the U.S. and
07:35was a motoring superstar.
07:38Paul was wrong about the Rover engine, but right about some Granada bits.
07:43That V8 engine was the same as in Starsky's Ford Torino.
07:47The taillights were by Alfa, and yet it all looked a bit lancier.
07:53Sounding like thunder in an Armani suit with Versace wing mirrors, it's a bit mixed up.
07:59And, how you say, excessivo.
08:04It's weird, isn't it?
08:07Yeah.
08:08That's a strange car, isn't it, that?
08:10Hey, Mickey!
08:12What's the base car under here?
08:14It sounded lovely.
08:16Had it running?
08:16Give her a pump.
08:23Whoa, whoa, whoa!
08:25Let's be fair.
08:27Restored up, revamped, recommissioned, all the rest of it.
08:29If you park that next to that Aston Martin, I know which one everyone would look at.
08:33It wouldn't be that Aston Martin.
08:35They'd all go at that.
08:36Everybody.
08:37Because it's just...
08:38It's got stance, isn't it?
08:40It's...
08:40Yeah.
08:42Will its stance and oddballer low bring in the big bucks?
08:46Hang on.
08:47Whoa, whoa.
08:48Just because it's a rare car doesn't mean it's a really valuable car.
08:52Sometimes, yes.
08:53Sometimes, no.
08:54I had in my head 12 to 15 grand.
08:57That's what I had in my head.
09:15Derek's arrived at the Classic Car Workshop in Croft to collect Ian's Morris miner and his 1955 MG Magnet.
09:26Here we are, then.
09:27Here we are.
09:27The restoration professionals.
09:29That's the one.
09:29We're looking forward to coming here.
09:32Yeah.
09:33He'll laugh.
09:33He'll obviously like that word professional.
09:36And we have met before, I think, haven't we, briefly?
09:39Did we not?
09:39No.
09:40Well, maybe you've just seen them on TV.
09:42You know, try and watch.
09:43That's what they'll be on, yeah.
09:45About time.
09:46Good.
09:46Now, which one are you?
09:47Kel.
09:47Kel, right.
09:48Yeah, yeah.
09:49It's all right, mate.
09:49No problem.
09:50The oily bit.
09:50Good show.
09:50Nice to see you.
09:51Yeah.
09:52That's the way it all happens, then, is it?
09:53Great, isn't it?
09:54Just a job.
09:55And you're painting this one up, then, are you?
09:57Yeah.
09:58We didn't have to go to town on this one.
09:59He just wanted it just quickly sort of blown over, tidying up.
10:02Yep.
10:03Looks like you've done a fair old job, then, about a quick going over.
10:06Yeah, I like that.
10:07You've got all the diagnostic equipment, I'll take it.
10:09Yeah, yeah.
10:10Spanners and screwdrivers.
10:13Lovely.
10:13Just a job.
10:14I heard you like a biscuit.
10:16Would you like a chocolate biscuit?
10:17Yeah, I would, mate.
10:18Thank you very much.
10:19Yeah, lovely.
10:22With tea and treats sorted, it's on to the main event.
10:26Ian and his motors.
10:28Just fun to be around.
10:29He was a nice bloke.
10:31Helped us with all sorts.
10:32Good.
10:32He was, like, you know, knew everything about everything.
10:36Yeah.
10:37Didn't cost a lot.
10:38No.
10:39Yeah, brilliant.
10:40He loved adding clocks to it for some reason.
10:43Yeah, well, I know where he's coming from, because I'm a similar age, aren't I?
10:46And when we had cars like that, and they had no clocks here.
10:49Yeah.
10:50The clocks there, like, connected them all up and that.
10:52Stupid things we've done.
10:55His Moggy Thousand has many non-factory upgrades.
10:59It was in a bit of a sorry state.
11:01Some of the wings were gaffer-taped on, so we put new wings on it.
11:04We got the engine sorted.
11:05We did all the welding on it.
11:06Yeah.
11:06No, it's nice, though.
11:07Bonny little thing, isn't it?
11:08Yeah.
11:08Yeah.
11:09Well, he was a handy fellow, this lad, then.
11:10That's a right honest-looking old car, this, isn't it?
11:13This one's got the five-speed in it.
11:14That's got five-speed in it, yeah.
11:16It's the airbox.
11:17Yeah.
11:18It just cruises all on.
11:20Lovely.
11:20Well, we'll get loaded.
11:21I'll get my ramps out.
11:22And I'll take a couple.
11:24Good lad.
11:24Right, I'll get ready.
11:30Right on, mate.
11:31There you go.
11:32Well done, lovely.
11:34Yeah, go on, go on.
11:36Shock and saw the conversion.
11:38What do you think's the lock?
11:39Everything.
11:39That should drive like a brand-new car.
11:41It does.
11:41It was absolutely brilliant.
11:42I bet it does, yeah.
11:43You'd be lucky if he's driven it 30, 40 miles.
11:46Four to five grand buys you're one of the best moggies in the country.
11:49But that's a little bit different because it ain't only quite really a Morris Minor, is it?
11:55It's like a sort of an MGB in drag, isn't it, really?
11:58The overall condition and presentation and all the mods and add-ons, I think is going to take it up
12:03to six or seven grand.
12:04Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's a dear car at six or seven grand.
12:07But funny market, you know, I think it's great.
12:11I think it's lovely.
12:12MG, difficult one, the value.
12:14Motor's worth ten grand all day long.
12:16I think it's probably going to do more like 12.
12:18Good to meet you, mate.
12:19Yeah, cheers.
12:20Thank you ever so much.
12:21Thanks for the tea.
12:21Right, I'll get on.
12:22Get back to God's own country.
12:26As long as whoever buys it, looks after it, appreciates it, but drives it.
12:32Because he loved them.
12:44A lot of lovely signs again, as usual.
12:46One or two nice original ones there, which should do okay.
12:50So, yeah, it's looking all right, isn't it?
12:54With auction day underway, it's time for a rare Italian treat.
13:001979, Di Tommaso there.
13:03We've got lots of bids here.
13:04We've got lots of bids very, very, very close to each other.
13:07So, we've got 8,009, 9,000, 9,004.
13:119,000, gone to 10,000 on the internet.
13:15At 10,300 we have.
13:1510,300.
13:17At 10,300, 10,400, 10,500, 11,000.
13:21It's at 11 now, yeah.
13:23It's at 11 now.
13:2411,001.
13:25You don't want it, no.
13:26We've got two Netherlands at 11,300, 11,400.
13:28Yep.
13:28At 13,000 pound.
13:30On the table at 13.
13:32At 13,001.
13:34Engine's been running, sounds lovely.
13:35Father's had the engine running, said it sounds lovely.
13:37Good luck to someone, but a 20 grand car there.
13:3913,003, 13,8, 13,9, 15,000 pound at 15,1.
13:46Like this scenario.
13:4817.
13:49There's two guys on the computer there, isn't there?
13:51That's 17.
13:51Just amazing.
13:53Keep it going, Dave.
13:53I've got money on this.
13:54Have you?
13:5517,9.
13:5720 grand.
13:58Can you imagine doing this with pigeons?
14:00Used to be pigeons, didn't it?
14:01All this, you know, you couldn't send a signal.
14:03It had to be pigeon.
14:04Had to take it.
14:05Amazing, isn't it?
14:07And we've gone all the way from about 12,000 to 18,000 whatever,
14:1218,500 in 100 pound billions.
14:15Yeah, which from our point of view, you're like,
14:19but there's two guys there thrashing it out, isn't there?
14:23You know, simple as that.
14:24Third and last time when the hammer's down, it is gone.
14:27I can't stress that enough.
14:2818,700.
14:30Sold, 18,700 pounds.
14:32There you go.
14:3318,700.
14:34All the way in 100 pound increments.
14:38LAUGHTER
14:39Yeah, yeah.
14:55The auction dust has settled,
14:57and Charlie's already sizing up the newcomers.
15:01We've got...
15:02I'm going to push the boat out.
15:03I'm going to say probably the nicest MG magnet we've had through.
15:07Every now and then, you get a type of car
15:09that's owned by a type of person
15:11that just has pride in it, I think is the right word.
15:16Doors shut.
15:18Unbelievably, they're lovely.
15:20Generally, they're actually quite a good driving car.
15:23Grandad's had a few over the years.
15:24He's always said how nice they drive.
15:27They're a bit like an MGA, apparently.
15:29There's a servo, look, I just spotted that.
15:30That's another mod.
15:31Everything is neat, everything is tidy,
15:33everything has a place.
15:35Every nut, bolt, cranny is just nice.
15:37You can just feel that they're...
15:39It's had a nice paint job.
15:41Absolutely lovely.
15:43The insides are just unreal.
15:44The seats look original,
15:46and headlining looks fairly original as well,
15:48so to keep a few little bits
15:50that are still relatively from the car's sort of period and era,
15:53I just think it just finishes it off
15:55and just makes it that bit better, me personally.
16:00But there is one period feature that Charlie doesn't rate.
16:04The map's a bit old, though.
16:052010.
16:06I think we might be missing some roads out of that one.
16:09Yeah, missing roads out of 2024 ones,
16:11never mind 2010 ones.
16:12I don't know, I just don't think they're the most pretty car in the world,
16:15the actual shape.
16:17I think they could have thought of a slightly prettier one.
16:26Down the road in Thornton-le-Dale,
16:28someone's off on a jolly,
16:30and they've got a lot of reasons to be happy about it.
16:33Nice day.
16:35Local.
16:36Escort.
16:37Rally car.
16:39Yorkshire.
16:40Bit of Providence.
16:41And I'm fed up with emails.
16:43So...
16:44There's seven reasons why I'm going today.
16:48And, yeah, get out of the office for a couple of hours.
16:51Winner, winner.
16:57For the past 13 years,
17:00I've been the custodian of Dan Gruer's V8 Escort Rally Car.
17:04And I just failed.
17:05It's maybe time to let somebody else enjoy it.
17:08Brilliant fun.
17:09I did a Lombard rally at Duncan Park.
17:11It's not really moved for two and a half years.
17:13Nothing wrong with it.
17:14Brilliant.
17:15Uses a lot of petrol.
17:16In fact, all my pension goes on petrol.
17:20Near York,
17:21Ian Bell is saying farewell to a Mark II Escort
17:24with a V8 squeezed in it
17:26that once belonged to racing legend Dan Gruer.
17:31The story of how Ian came to own the car
17:33stretches back beyond the mudguards of time.
17:37Oh, bloomin' it.
17:38How far do you want me to go back?
17:39To the beginning?
17:40Yeah, go on then.
17:41Go on then, right.
17:42OK, then.
17:43Everyone buckled up.
17:45I think it was, what, 1971.
17:47My dad's sister, my...
17:49Do you want to go watch your rally?
17:51It was minis, predominantly.
17:53A few Escorts, Cortenas, Anglias, that sort of thing.
17:56And all of a sudden, there's this car coming
17:59and where the rest of them were braking,
18:02this car just, like, he put it sideways.
18:04And I'm thinking,
18:05oh, this looks like an accident, but it wasn't.
18:08And it was Dan Gruer and his Volvo.
18:11I've no idea how he got around this car, but he did.
18:13And after that, I was really hooked.
18:15And then when I got my own car,
18:17I bought this Datsun 1200,
18:18and I thought, oh, yeah, job sorted.
18:20I'm going to crack this, no problem.
18:22So I did my heart of test, pull back in,
18:24and then there was Dan Gruer behind me in that Escort.
18:27And he's, like, three-wheeling it round corners.
18:30He's going all three-wheels.
18:30I'm thinking, oh, well, I haven't won this ever by a long way.
18:33You know, not a chance.
18:35By way of explanation,
18:37we feel you need to know that the late Dan Gruer
18:40was a Yorkshire rallying legend.
18:42He was also known as Mad Dan and Desperate Dan,
18:46a brilliant driver,
18:48particularly famed for taking his Volvo 122
18:51to insane speeds whilst towing a caravan.
18:55Mad Dan's real name was actually Colin.
18:58I worked at a garage in York,
19:00and Colin Gruer's brother, Ian,
19:02he used to come.
19:03Then he was telling me that Colin was ill.
19:05Since leaving York, Colin had gone to France,
19:08and then he'd gone to a little village near Galway in Ireland,
19:11and, sadly, he passed away.
19:13By way of further explanation,
19:15just a couple more things.
19:18The engine of choice for these cars was a Ford Cosworth BDA.
19:22B for belt, D for drive, A for something else.
19:27I'm only going for what people said.
19:30They seemed to think the BDA was a little bit temperamental.
19:34I know that the Rover V8,
19:36going by the readouts we've had,
19:38it's sort of putting out the same power as a BDA.
19:42BDAs are maybe more now,
19:43the ridiculous power I get from them.
19:46Now, there's just one more thing
19:48before we leave this invaluable lesson.
19:50As any rallying enthusiast will tell you,
19:53almost every day if given the chance,
19:55the sensible engine to put in this car is the Pinto.
19:59Strong, reliable, tunable, and made by Ford.
20:03Not Rover.
20:05People say, oh, drop a Pinto in it,
20:08or drop this engine in it.
20:10No, no, I aren't dropping engine in it,
20:12else it wouldn't be Dan Gruber's V8 Escort
20:14if it had a four-cylinder Pinto in it.
20:16I've done as little as possible,
20:17put two new seats in it,
20:19put some new seat melts in it,
20:20new brakes.
20:21It's a good throwback in time,
20:22it's a blast from past.
20:24If it sells, I would love it to stay around York.
20:27I think I've done my bit,
20:28I've got it across from Ireland,
20:30so somebody else is going out.
20:46In Pickering,
20:47a browser has discovered a blast from the past.
20:51I used to use some of these,
20:53but they were old for me when I started using them.
20:57Quite some time ago,
20:58Derek returned with a Krypton tuner.
21:01What's a Krypton tuner?
21:03Something to tune sound.
21:05You took one off at back of your lorry with your grandad.
21:07Oh, that fit, yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember it, yeah.
21:10What's that?
21:12A load of rubbish.
21:14Why'd he fetch it in?
21:15Because it's grandad.
21:16At long last,
21:17this mysterious device has found an admirer
21:20in former engine diagnostic technician Roy Clark.
21:26They were old when I started playing with them as a boy,
21:28but I know a lot about them and I'm willing to share it.
21:33It's school time.
21:35This is like intensive care for cars.
21:38Well, a bit like us,
21:39when we go into intensive care,
21:41nobody knows what's going on,
21:42they just know we're not working right.
21:44We've all given samples at the doctors before
21:46and we've sent it off.
21:48Well, this will analyse them.
21:49This is a top of the range for its age
21:51because we've got the introduction of oscilloscopes.
21:54You can change that picture to look at other things as well,
21:57like your exhaust gas, yeah, so your emissions.
22:00It wasn't something that your average mechanic had owned,
22:03certainly not.
22:04Derek brought this back.
22:05He did a good thing.
22:06It's not a piece of junk.
22:08If you can understand what this does,
22:10you know enough about your car,
22:12that's a living.
22:13Classic cars aren't going to go tomorrow.
22:16So if this comes up in the auction...
22:17If you've got a man cave, get one.
22:28Around the corner, Ian's Moggy Thousand,
22:31inspiring Paul's top tip for newbies.
22:35Everyone who's coming into the classic movement,
22:38in my opinion, should start off with that.
22:42Or an MGB.
22:46Me, that.
22:48That there, I think, is absolutely brilliant,
22:52super usable,
22:54and just quirky, aren't they?
22:56It's a little peach, isn't it?
22:56A little darling.
22:57And I think it's set off by the collar
22:59and the banded wheels in my eyes.
23:02Get your clubs in there, look.
23:05I think they're a great little lump.
23:07Brilliant little car, isn't it?
23:08That should appeal to the slightly younger audience.
23:12He's had a facelift, a once-over.
23:15He's got some nice upgrades and some sensible upgrades.
23:18Things like servo for the brake.
23:21You don't have to really forcefully press the brake pedal.
23:24Nice light brakes.
23:25They have light steering anyway.
23:27Slightly wider wheels.
23:28Just gives it a little bit more of a stance.
23:31And I think it, yeah, it just looks right.
23:34It just got it right.
23:35So the upgrade side of that car
23:37won't really make it worth any more, unfortunately.
23:40So whatever you spend on it,
23:42you spend on it.
23:43It's what he wanted to do, isn't it?
23:45And the next guy will have a load of fun in it.
23:47Brilliant.
23:48I'm going to suggest he's going to be like six or seven grand,
23:51but I bet he wants more.
23:53I bet he wants more.
23:55Absolutely brilliant.
23:55You'll have more fun in that car
23:57than you will in that E-Type.
23:58You will, honestly.
24:00You will.
24:00You'd use it more
24:01because you'd pop to the shop in it
24:03and you'd pop here in it
24:04because they're just a smiley car.
24:06The Jags are lovely,
24:08but you aren't going to go shopping in it, are you?
24:10You're not.
24:10You're not.
24:11I'd be all right running a Jag car,
24:12I don't go shopping.
24:13But most people have to go shopping a bit,
24:16don't they?
24:18So, Maurice Salesman.
24:19Who does your shopping?
24:20I'm very fortunate I am, yeah.
24:23Ange does most of ours.
24:25Yeah, I can't honestly,
24:26hand on heart,
24:27remember the last time I went shopping.
24:31I had to go for a pint of milk the other day.
24:33It'd be terrible.
24:34I'll tell you what,
24:35I had to ask him where it was.
24:37Yeah, it was in some cold thing at the back.
24:40Yeah, yeah.
24:40So, um,
24:42no, avoid shops.
24:43Bleh.
24:52Little Maurice Miner.
24:54Oh, ah,
24:55now this is special.
24:56Absolutely brilliant.
24:57I could not recommend a vehicle
24:59more than this vehicle.
25:01£4,000 we got.
25:02£4,000 we're away.
25:04£4,000.
25:054-1.
25:06Super example.
25:07Probably the best I've seen
25:08in the last three or four years.
25:10In fact,
25:10I can't think of another one
25:11that I've seen better.
25:12£4,200.
25:14£4,400.
25:15Go in there.
25:16£4,500.
25:17£4,500.
25:18Very, very exceptional motor.
25:20£5,100 telephone.
25:22£5,100.
25:24You're out, Mick.
25:24£52.
25:25£5,300.
25:26Back in.
25:27£5,300.
25:29£5,400.
25:30£5,400.
25:30You won't buy another one like it.
25:31£5,500.
25:33£5,600.
25:33Back in.
25:34Oxfordshire.
25:35£5,600.
25:36£5,700.
25:37Manchester.
25:38Back with Oxfordshire.
25:40£5,800.
25:41All done, Mick.
25:42Thank you for letting me know.
25:43£5,800.
25:44Manchester £5,900.
25:46£5,900.
25:47Oxford, you're out.
25:49£6,000.
25:50Oxfordshire.
25:51All done, then.
25:53Bampton, the winner.
25:54£6,000.
25:55Sold.
25:57At two grand over the estimate,
25:59Ian's monkey is off to a passionate collector
26:01in the Cotswolds.
26:05Next up, Ian's MG Magnet,
26:08which Derek reckoned could do about 12.
26:12The MG Magnet is stunning.
26:15Five-speed gearbox.
26:15If you want a Magnet to run,
26:17A, to go to shows and win,
26:19and B, drive it anywhere in the world,
26:22that's the car for you.
26:23Busy with me now, £12,000.
26:25£12,000.
26:26£12,200.
26:26£12,200.
26:27£12,200 won the best in the country without...
26:29You'll just tell them if you want a big drop.
26:31£12,400 in the way then and done.
26:32£12,400.
26:33£12,900.
26:35£12,900.
26:36£12,900.
26:36£12,900.
26:37£12,900.
26:37£12,900.
26:37You want one now?
26:38£13,400.
26:40£13,400 now.
26:40£13,400.
26:42£13,400.
26:42Ireland's buying it.
26:43£13,400.
26:43Oh, yeah, that right here.
26:45£14,000.
26:46You'll struggle.
26:46Another one like it.
26:47I'll tell you.
26:48£14,100.
26:49£14,300 and sold away.
26:52£14,400.
26:53£14,400.
26:53£14,500.
27:01£14,500.
27:02£15,500, thank you.
27:04At £2,000 over the estimate, it's an impressive result for both Ian's motors.
27:17Near York, Dave's arrived to collect Dan Gruer's hybrid Raleigh Escort from Ian Bell.
27:24Hello, mate.
27:26Good to see you, mate.
27:27Well done.
27:27V8, though.
27:29V8.
27:29Why?
27:31Supposedly, it was more reliable than the VDA.
27:34Yeah, probably.
27:35It came back from Ireland.
27:36I heard it was there.
27:38I just remember it from years ago.
27:40It just seemed a shame to leave it there, so I took my missus for a nice weekend to Ireland.
27:47While we're here.
27:48Yeah, while we're here, we're just going to go and look at this Escort.
27:52But yes, evidently, this was built from an RS-1800 shell.
27:56You couldn't get a bigger radiator in there if you tried, mate, could you?
27:58Range Rover.
27:59Is that what it is?
28:00Yeah.
28:01Yeah, it's bloody massive, isn't it?
28:02Have you used it in anger?
28:03I did one of those Lombard Rally festivals at Duncan Park.
28:06Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:07It was brilliant fun.
28:09Really, it was good fun.
28:10With it having lots of history, I just feel I've been more the custodian of it than the
28:15owner of it.
28:15Yeah, it's really bespoke, isn't it?
28:18Yes.
28:19Not posterity at all.
28:20Not so bad when you get going, but no.
28:23Stood still, you don't want to be doing a three-point turn.
28:26And you're wondering what that is behind seat.
28:28Before I ask a question, I was just trying to work it out.
28:32It's the heater.
28:33Hence the water pipes going into it.
28:35Yeah, what a machine.
28:36That one, that's your map light.
28:38Oh, is it?
28:38Yeah.
28:39Obviously.
28:40Yeah.
28:40Remind me before you go to put some more petrol in it for you because I put a tenner in
28:45yesterday
28:45and it loves petrol.
28:47How long will a tenner last you, Ian?
28:49Five or six miles.
28:52It's an animal, isn't it?
28:53It's an absolute animal, really.
28:54Yeah.
28:55Just looking around it, it's just like a bit of a time warp thing, isn't it?
28:58Yeah.
28:58It's a play thing, really.
29:01Oh, yeah.
29:01We've just got to find someone who just wants to have a bit of fun, really.
29:05Yeah, that's all it is.
29:06And a blast about.
29:06Well, go on.
29:07While you are there, just fire it up so we can hear it out here.
29:10Because it's...
29:10Oh!
29:11Yeah, this is something you don't hear every day, a V8 and an Escort.
29:18It messes with your head a bit, really, because it shouldn't sound like that.
29:21It's just like, hang on a minute, hang on.
29:23Your eyes are telling you it's an Escort and your ears are telling you it's a TR7 V8.
29:27Yeah.
29:30We've just got to find someone else who's as barmy as me and Ian.
29:32That's the trouble.
29:35And the clutch, I'll let you put it on the trailer.
29:38What is it? On or off or heavy?
29:39On or both.
29:40Both.
29:41Both.
29:42Both.
29:43Absolutely both.
29:51It's mental.
29:52I feel like I need one of them false chest weeks.
29:55Yeah.
29:56And some sideburns.
29:57Yeah, it's like life on Mars, isn't it?
30:12We're there, we're there, we're there.
30:14It's not, it's not viable competitively.
30:17Nah.
30:17Ship sailed on that.
30:19Yeah.
30:20So we've just got to find someone who wants to have a bit of a play.
30:23It's going to be novelty factor, really.
30:25Shouting somewhere like, in the teens, 13, 14, 15-ish to me.
30:32When are we going to try and peg it money-wise, I genuinely can't remember.
30:34I'll take it back and be good.
30:36Okay.
30:36I'll get on.
30:37I'll speak to you on the phone.
30:38All right, mate.
30:39Good to see you.
30:39Cheers, Dave.
31:04In Pickering, things are on the move, and Paul's pushed over the edge.
31:11Oh, my knee.
31:13Oh, I nearly swore.
31:14What are you mad now?
31:15You're good, mate.
31:16Oh.
31:17I was out of good.
31:18I freaking hurt that.
31:21Thankfully, rally car legend Charlie has a better grasp when it comes to rally car legend
31:27Dan Gruer's Escort.
31:29This is a Mark II Escort Rally Car.
31:33Now, I do know that it's a little bit different to a standard one, because she's got eight cylinders.
31:40Quite a famous car as well.
31:42It's clearly seen some action.
31:43Look at all the plates on top of plates.
31:45So, it's not the best shell, but if I ended up driving it, I'd end up crashing it anyway.
31:49So, what's the difference?
31:51It looks heavy, doesn't it?
31:53With the bigger wheels and bigger tyres, and quite the squat, and the mud flaps are nearly
31:56on the floor.
31:57It just looks heavy, doesn't it?
31:58Bit of go all right, though, won't it?
32:00I hadn't actually heard it, you know.
32:01I haven't heard it.
32:02I want to hear it, but if I ended up starting it, I'd end up doing donuts in the shed,
32:06so
32:06I can't do that.
32:07But it'd sound mint, though, wouldn't it?
32:09Going through the woods sideways, and lots of rev and wheel spin and all that.
32:14Generally, in these Escorts, you run an Atlas rear axle, so you can run more power through
32:18it, because obviously the standard one ain't going to take it.
32:20The standard dip would just...
32:21You put a Jag axle in and a Jag gearbox instead of a five-speed ZF, just to be different.
32:26It clearly worked, though, didn't it?
32:28That's what it wants, isn't it?
32:29Somebody to use it.
32:31If I had more time and more money, then I'd use it, but I don't.
32:34So, that's the end of that, isn't it?
32:39A provisional bid on it.
32:40I know you wanted £300.
32:42We got it up to £250.
32:43It's all systems go in the auction engine room.
32:47I like that bike.
32:50It's a lovely thing, isn't it?
32:51Yeah, five-cylinder.
32:52Well, they were, a three-cylinder, yeah.
32:54And, yeah, he's fabricated it into a five-cylinder.
32:56And it's so smooth.
32:57It runs a lot.
32:58I haven't ridden it, of course, but just had it running down in the shed down there.
33:01It runs all lovely.
33:02It sounds a lot of money.
33:04You can't buy another one, though.
33:05It's one of one.
33:06Yeah.
33:07It's a lovely machine.
33:09Fantastic engineering in that bike.
33:11Absolutely fantastic.
33:12You would think it was a factory build.
33:15You know, the workmanship is of factory spec.
33:19Fantastic.
33:21KH, here we are.
33:22Oh, what a special machine this is.
33:24Kawasaki here, 1978.
33:26Kawasaki at £20,000.
33:28Right.
33:29They're looking for £20,200.
33:31£20,500 bid.
33:33£21,000 at 21.
33:3421.
33:35It's still...
33:3621's just gone, mate.
33:37No, somebody jumped in on the internet.
33:3921 and a quarter, says Alan.
33:41£21,250 with us.
33:42£21,250 at the minute.
33:45And worth every apeney.
33:47Yeah.
33:48Where are you going to get another one?
33:49They're out anymore, are they?
33:51Who's buying that, mate?
33:52Hopefully, someone who wants to put it next to the telly.
33:55Because you just want to sit and look at it all the time, don't you?
33:58It is stunning.
33:59Absolutely stunning.
34:01At £21,500 and £7,500.
34:04£22,000, internet bid at £22,000.
34:06Very, very special machine.
34:07They just do not come up on the market.
34:09And a quarter.
34:10At £22,250.
34:13Alan, your man provisional.
34:15£22,250 provisional with us.
34:18No problem.
34:19Cheers.
34:20Bye-bye.
34:23He's taking the money on that.
34:25He says someone's got a good bike, but he's happy.
34:28Sold to a Kawasaki enthusiast.
34:31Who plans to ride it, not just sit and look at it?
34:361977 Ford Escort.
34:39Here we go.
34:40Hang on, he's walking over.
34:41Dad collected this one.
34:42I'll let him do this one.
34:43It's got a real interesting history.
34:44It was quite a well-known car.
34:45It is quite a well-known car.
34:47The guys that used to campaign the car were, I think,
34:51probably a little eccentric, but I love eccentricity.
34:54I embrace it, and I love that we're in a position to mix with people that are just as barmy
34:59as me and you, really.
35:00Oh, yeah.
35:00So, yeah, it's a little bit unusual.
35:03It's obviously got a V8, Jag axle, Jag back end, you name it.
35:07It's a play car.
35:08But if you do sort of bit of homework on the history, they were quite eccentric.
35:11We'd turn up at events in shirt and ties and all the rest of it.
35:15Yeah, yeah, yeah, just real quirky and different.
35:17So, anyway, there you go.
35:18But there we're going to be.
35:19We've got £12,000 there.
35:21At £12,000 bid, I see you.
35:22At £12,250.
35:24At 12 and a quarter.
35:2712,250.
35:32It's a silly story.
35:33I really got into collecting cars because primary school, we used to get a bus to go swimming.
35:37And we used to go past a high-end car dealer.
35:39We used to do Jensen's.
35:41And I just loved the sound of them as we went past on the bus.
35:43As a sort of five or six-year-old kid, I said, one day I'm going to have one of
35:46those.
35:47So my first collectible car was the Jensen Interceptor Convertible.
35:50And I still own that car today.
35:51I still use it today.
35:53In Oxfordshire, Steve Grove's collection extends from the esteemed to the exotic.
36:00I own a Di Tommaso Pantera, which is a two-seater sports car, 1973.
36:04Very unusually, this one is right-hand drive.
36:07I think if you asked my teenage daughter, she would tell you it's fast and loud.
36:10And now, he's bought his sporty Di Tommaso a stablemate.
36:15Bidding on it was quite fierce.
36:16I think it went for about three times the estimate.
36:19However, three times the estimate is probably about right for it.
36:21I'd done my work and worked out how much it was going to cost me
36:24to get that Longchamp back to where it needed to be.
36:26And I had in mind a value that I would go to.
36:29And actually, we were below it at the end.
36:32Steve's no stranger to restoration.
36:34A couple of years ago, his Pantera was also a fixer-upper.
36:38The plan for the car from here is to actually take it back to factory spec.
36:42In terms of colour, it's to go back to the factory colour, which was a metallic silver.
36:45The thing that attracted me to the car is the opportunity to save a pretty rare car
36:49in a way that was actually financially viable.
36:52One of the interesting things we've found as we've gone along is in relation to the body kit.
36:55What became very clear is it was made at home in a garage.
36:58It was substantially expanding foam filler and wood glued onto the car.
37:04I think it was a show car more than anything else.
37:06I think they took it to modified car shows and hot rod shows.
37:10So, the big job has been to un-pimp this ride.
37:14You can see the body kit's off.
37:16You can see what's underneath.
37:17The shape's there now.
37:18And the body kit was so deep, so they had to build an extension to the petrol flap.
37:22You can see from here, it means that body kit was probably two inches deep at the back.
37:26Spoiler alert.
37:28I mean, literally, this was just glued on.
37:31The original wheel arches are actually still here.
37:33They've been bent up and they've been cut to allow the foam to be stuck into it.
37:37It's still the odd residual bit there.
37:39These were original Di Tommaso Campagnolo wheels, which we found on eBay.
37:43A lot of filler in here.
37:45Not yet sure what's underneath that.
37:47And again, you can see what they've done is they've bent up the original wheel arches
37:50and used that as a base for the body kit.
37:53We've got four new wings, a new bonnet and new wheel arches.
37:56It took a while to trace them down, so there's a very active owner's group.
38:00And then over a period of months, a little Aladdin's cave appeared of things that are stuck in people's garages.
38:05The headlights aren't right and aren't original.
38:07These would have been large single lights, actually in common with the Ford Granada from that era.
38:13And then you can see what they've done here to the bonnet, which is they've cut this to form a
38:16vent shape.
38:17And then to actually keep it elevated and raised, what we found when we took the body kit off
38:20was actually they just propped an old screwdriver under it and glued it in.
38:23I expect that bonnet's unsaveable, but we found a new one there.
38:27Mechanically, there was actually a fairly limited number of modifications done to this car.
38:30The engine is essentially a Ford V8, so it's pretty easy to get parts for.
38:34To be fair, though, actually, the interior's not bad.
38:37Original headlining, which is quite rare, it has a stamped pattern on it.
38:40So whilst it looks pretty rough, actually, there's nothing in here that scares me.
38:44Steve's only fear.
38:45When I did the assessment of this car before buying it at auction, the bit that worried me
38:49was the rust that runs under the back from sort of around that wheel arch and across the car.
38:53And in places, it's structural, so we'll have to do some work on those.
38:56And it will end up, quality-wise, very similar to the Pantera that sat next to it.
39:00And then, frankly, they'll hopefully live a happy life together next to each other in my garage.
39:04And which one gets used will depend whether I'm feeling angry and aggressive or calm and relaxed.
39:09It's the last time this is ever going to sit on this car.
39:11I'm going to go and stick it on the office wall, and it's going to stay there.
39:13I've got a gift for you.
39:15Yeah, I'll hang that back up on the back.
39:17It's up there on the wall of shame.
39:19Better up there than on the car.
39:20It's never going on the car again.
39:28There's just something about their little cheeky appeal.
39:30I just think they're just such an interesting car, shape-wise, looks-wise.
39:35Everybody loves it, and so do I.
39:37In the heart of the Cotswolds countryside, where every view looks like a postcard,
39:42sits a British icon right at home.
39:46Steve Thomas and his almost 10-year-old son Toby
39:50are the proud new custodians of Ian's 1959 Morris Minor.
39:57It's the only classic car I've owned that's older than me, so, you know.
40:00I love you.
40:03Oh, didn't mean to do that.
40:05I iconically coined in the madness song, the Morris Minor,
40:08where I owned one that was made in 59,
40:10which my son keeps singing, annoyingly.
40:29It's a nice sound, isn't it?
40:30Yeah.
40:31It was really...
40:32Ooh, 59.
40:35In a factory by the time
40:39Mrs. Morris on the door
40:41The GP I learned it before
40:43I drive in and for my job
40:45And governor pulls me a stop
40:48You're a madness fan, Neil.
40:49It's exciting to me, Neil.
40:52Toby, what do the old cars appeal to you, then?
40:55Like, do I like old cars?
40:57Yeah.
40:57Oh, yeah, I love them.
40:58They're a lot more joyful than newer ones.
41:01There's, like, a lot of possibilities you can do with them.
41:04Like, newer cars, like, there's not that many possibilities.
41:08Like, old cars, you can do, like, a bunch.
41:10Like, off-roaders, like, speed racers, like, dune buggies, like, anything.
41:18I presume we're not going to turn this into a dune buggie.
41:20No, we're not.
41:22No, right.
41:22This is just a little show car.
41:23A little show car.
41:24And is that what you like doing with it, with Dad and the family?
41:27Yeah, we like going, like, to a few car shows, don't we?
41:30Well, we go to quite a few car shows, yeah.
41:31Yeah.
41:32And it always brings a smile to people's faces.
41:34Yeah.
41:37I'm a self-torque mechanic.
41:39I own a couple of other classic cars, and going back 20, 30 years ago,
41:42I was building beach buggies out of VW Beetles.
41:45I was chopping those up.
41:46So my first car was a long-wheel-based beach buggy.
41:48I then went to a short-wheel-based beach buggy.
41:52Then I started trying to build a DeLorean replica.
41:55He's grown up knowing nothing more than classic cars.
41:58When I'm at home and I'm doing stuff, tinkering in the garage,
42:01it's on a classic car, and he can point to things.
42:04He knows what things are.
42:05He knows what things do.
42:06He's absolutely adamant that his first car is going to be a classic.
42:10Will it be this classic?
42:11I don't think it will be this classic.
42:14For some bizarre reason, I think there's something lacking
42:17in the education of classic cars,
42:18because he actually wants a Reliant Robin.
42:20But I've still got a bit of time to educate him, so, you know, it's fine.
42:24This car belonged to an old gentleman who sadly passed away.
42:29All his friends who miss him.
42:31What would you say about his car, where it's gone to?
42:34Has it gone to a place where it's going to be looked after?
42:37Yeah, it's going to be gone to a place where it's going to be looked after,
42:40like, done some really nice stuff to it,
42:43and, yeah, it's going to be really nice.
42:46All the classic cars, he wants to be of an age where he can drive them all.
42:50So, just going to have to keep hold of it, yeah.
42:52Why would we sell it?
42:53Why would we sell it, yeah.
42:54Why, yeah.
42:56We'll keep hold of it for you, don't worry.
42:58So, it's a keeper.
42:59It's a keeper.
43:00It's a keeper.
43:07It's a keeper.
43:33It's a keeper.
43:34It's a keeper.
43:46It's a keeper.
43:47It's a keeper.
43:49It's a keeper.
43:50It's a keeper.
43:51It's a keeper.
43:51It's a keeper.
43:51It's a keeper.
43:52It's a keeper.
43:52It's a keeper.
43:53It's a keeper.
43:53It's a keeper.
43:55It's a keeper.
43:58It's a keeper.
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