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00:00I'm Ant Anstead. I've been fixing cars since I was a teenager and I've set
00:11myself the task of restoring and selling eight crumbling old cars for
00:22profit. It's the ultimate road cruiser and the stakes are high because it's
00:30personal. The cow room is now the bathroom. Okay, everything I make is going
00:36towards this 500-year-old farmhouse. She goes today, which means big hammer, that
00:42I bought for my mum and dad to retire in. So what's going wrong there? Lodged. But
00:47it's a total wreck. How far away from collapse is this? A really good storm
00:52could cause a problem. Let's do it. With my family by my side. Feels like a proper
00:58brake pedal now. And some help from my engineer mate Darren. Are you joining me
01:03to the ride? Yeah, why not? I've got the best team around me.
01:08As I take on eight wrecks on wheels. Perfect. And a house that's falling apart.
01:15What, the whole thing is being kept up by chicken wire? Pretty much. It's a massive
01:20gamble. Come on, breathe. I am losing sleep over this. I'll be honest, I have no idea what's going on.
01:35This is a big construction day. And to get through big construction, you need big diggers.
01:42With the front portion of the roof retiled, builder Ollie's here to begin work at ground level,
01:47digging foundations for a walled garden and a greenhouse. Hey Ollie, can I drive this?
01:52Yeah. I can. You're going to regret that.
01:57Inside, I plan to insulate the upstairs bedrooms. Turning this old wreck into mum and dad's dream
02:04family home. Earlier in their life, their jobs as school caterers meant my parents never owned their
02:11own home. Our childhood, we went from house to house to house because of your job. And the times
02:17where we've lived in old homes, because they were school homes, were for me the memories that stick
02:22out the most. But they were never ours. Whereas this can be, this can be a real family home. Right,
02:28so now with all the grandchildren and all the children, you know, what does a Christmas in this
02:34house look like? Oh wow. Right? That I can see. But with the last car I flipped at auction making a loss,
02:42it's putting pressure on the build rather than making it easier. So I'm determined to put things
02:47right. I'm heading to leafy Surrey to check out a sporty British classic that's risky but could yield
02:54a big reward. I jumped in the car because I've immediately bitten on an advert online for a
03:00Lotus Elan. It's the type of car where you can actually drive it to a track day, stick it on a
03:06race track, have the same experience and exhilaration you would from a race car, get back in it, get some
03:12slippers and smoke a pipe and drive it to the pub. It's the perfect combination. The Lotus Elan is the
03:19brainchild of my British car building hero, Colin Chapman, whose race cars dominated motorsports in
03:26the 60s and 70s. The Elan that I'm going to see today is a 1973 Elan Plus Two, which was Chapman's
03:35effort at making an Elan into a family car. He extended it by 12 inches, chucked a couple of seats in the
03:40back and then claimed it was a four seater. Now the pictures look quite good. The bits that worry me the
03:45most are the engine because they're quite fragile and then the body shell. The shell is completely
03:51constructed of fiberglass. They always crack.
04:02Hi. Hi Paul. I'm here to see the car. Yeah lovely no problem. For 10 years Paul drove past the Elan in his
04:10neighbour's garden. Just over a year ago he finally bought her before realising she was way too big a job.
04:18Oh man. Oh my god. I hope you like it. I love it. I'm already in love with it.
04:27This car is completely made of fiberglass. In general the body of this car is really very good.
04:47I love it. Feels like a Lotus. Look at this little fuses. This stands testament to Chapman as a race car
04:54engineer because if a fuse goes in the middle of a race you need to access it, repair it, get back out on track.
05:01I love the little map light. Look it's like a rally car. You've got your navigator doing the timings.
05:06Chapman was a famous magpie. He would scour the earth and find and steal parts from other people's cars.
05:13The internals of that gearbox are actually out of an Austin Maxi, the car my dad owned. Man, I am changing nothing in here.
05:21There's something that looks really odd with the ride height. The car's sitting really up, particularly on the front,
05:28the space between the top of the arch and the wheel. It shouldn't really be that big. I mean I can get my
05:34whole fist in there. The cars are supposed to be lower, centre of gravity planted on the floor. You're
05:40driving as if it's a track car. Surface level, this lands in pretty good nick. But if the engine's
05:46knackered, any potential profit will quickly go up in smoke. So I'm going to try and jump start up.
06:02That is enough. That is an engine that turns over freely. No knocking sounds.
06:07This suggests the crank, pistons and cams are working okay. But the fact it cuts out needs to
06:14be investigated. Best case scenario, it's a head gasket fix and probably a skin of the head.
06:25I mean it's a risk. The engine's a risk. But it's a risk worth taking. Because the rest of the car...
06:31Yeah, the rest of the car is solid. I know I can get at least 20 grand for a beautifully restored
06:41Elan. Which will mean a tidy profit for the farmhouse if the engine doesn't throw up any nasty surprises.
06:47And I can negotiate a good price with Paul. How much do you want for the car?
06:52Let's say under 10,000. Okay, it's going to be way under 10,000. Well, I really didn't want to sell it.
06:59But obviously, I think it's because I just can't do it myself. If I'm going to let it go, it's going
07:04to have to be 8,000. Well look, I mean, it's been crying out to be helped. 10 years off the road.
07:12I'm going to put it back on the road. I'm only going to negotiate once. I'm just going to save 500
07:16off, seven and a half. I'm not going to do any more haggling. Seven and a half thousand.
07:21Job done. Yes. Yes. You can have it. Yes. Perfect. Amazing.
07:27It feels like seven and a half grand's a good buy. You know, the house needs a big risk car.
07:33It needs a car that's going to yield a really heavy return. And this is the car.
07:39That's a sports car. It doesn't deserve to be parked up. It deserves to be enjoyed. So this is
07:43going to be one of those projects that's going to tick more than the profit box for me. It's going to put
07:48a Lotus back on the road. Everyone's going to love it. Everyone's going to love this car.
08:02Except maybe Darren. But I'm sure he'll find a million other things that are wrong with him.
08:15Oh, wicked. A Lotus. Yeah, don't hang around. Give us a push.
08:28It's supposed to be light. It's been sat for so long. It's kind of a bit seized up.
08:33Handbrake works. What's a chassis like though? I mean, I never really looked at it in detail. It
08:47was on a kind of a leafy, gravelly driveway. So you've bought a Lotus that's been stud for a long
08:56while. Yeah, maybe 20, 30 years. And you've not looked at the chassis. Turned over. Didn't run.
09:05Okay. Problem with me buying cars is if I love it, I'm likely to leave with it. And I do love Lotus.
09:11So the car was probably bought on the journey down rather than having done the assessment. So
09:17we are where we are. I need my risk to pay off big time because Builder Ollie's starting work on my
09:28grand vision for my parents' green garden. Oh, the change is going to be huge moving from a two-bedded
09:34bungalow into a house of this size, particularly with all this garden. I do like my flowers.
09:40But I've got a feeling it's not going to be cheap. So from that tree line there, this is going to be
09:49basically a walled secret garden that's going to be dominated by a greenhouse around about there,
09:56patio area, and then raised flower beds so they can grow some stuff. Down this line here, we're going
10:02to put a trench for a dwarf wall. Yep. And every eight feet will be a brick pillar.
10:09So if you do a trench all the way down here for that wall, to the corner pillar. Yep.
10:17A trench all the way down here, do the L-shaped trench for the walls, and then we can pour the
10:25foundation in. Yep. And then we're going to be in a fighting position to go and build the
10:30secret walled garden. Yep. Good to go. Are you on? Yeah, I'm on, yeah.
10:34The garden works are set to cost at least 10 grand, so it's vital I rinse as much profit as
10:42possible from my seven and a half grand Lotus. It's sleek, sporty, and steeped in British racing
10:49history. It could make upwards of 12 grand profit once we've fixed the suspension, restored the body
10:55work, spruced up the interior, and figured out why the engine doesn't work. But I've got a hunch.
11:00To make an engine run effectively, it needs to have an oil system that lubricates all the moving parts,
11:05and then a cooling system that keeps it cool because if it gets too hot, the engine's going to
11:09blow up. Now the oil system and the water system should never mix. And when they do, something in
11:15the engine's failed. A common failure is a head gasket failure. That's the piece of gasket that sits
11:20between the top of the engine, the head, and the bottom of the engine, the block. When that fails,
11:25you get sludge in the head. Oh yeah, look at that. Sludge. Yeah, that's a problem.
11:37All right, well the best case scenario is now actually it's head casket.
11:41Or at worst, we could have a crack somewhere in that block. Or the head. Or the head.
11:47The head is a lotus. The head's the expensive bit.
11:53Well, there's only one way to find out. Let's whip the head off. Off with her head.
11:57I've bought a seven and a half grand 1973 lotus, a lamb that doesn't run properly. I'm praying it's
12:14just a blown head gasket. Once we take the head off, determine that it's a gasket, it will be a simple
12:20gasket swap. But if we take the head off and there's damage to the head, yeah, we're into a whole world of
12:25pain. That's because unlike the mass-produced block, the cylinder head is an expensive part.
12:32It was precision designed by Lotus engineers out of a lightweight aluminium alloy and was cutting edge
12:37at the time. Using lightweight materials like aluminium and fiberglass was an obsession for
12:43Lotus founder Colin Chapman. His motto was simplify then add lightness and the result was a very fast
12:49car leading Lotus to seven Formula One constructors and six driver championship victories across the
12:5560s and 70s. Chapman put all this world-beating know-how into the Elan. I love these twin cam engines
13:02or Twinkies and it's called a twin cam because it has two camshafts. One camshaft runs the exhaust valves,
13:09one camshaft runs the inlet valves. These things by nature make screaming rev sounds. They're awesome.
13:16A new head can cost around three grand, but with the carburettors out, it looks like this one could
13:24be even more valuable. Wait a minute. That looks ported. Oh yes. That is a ported head. That is, isn't it?
13:36Oh, that's lovely. It's been given a major upgrade. These four inlets where the fuel and air travels into
13:47the engine are normally quite rough and of course the smoother and faster the air and fuel flows in,
13:55the better the performance is. And someone's actually taken a lot of effort on this engine
14:00and gas flow. They've polished and ported the four inlets on the carburetor side. It's a performance
14:06upgrade. It can add 10, 20, 30-mile brake horsepower. If you're a race guy and you're looking to buy a
14:14car, you look for that. Oh man, that's such a great surprise. I fell over the moon. You know,
14:19that adds probably £1,500 to £2,000. I agree. Yeah, yeah. That is a big bonus.
14:25I just pray it's not damaged. You got it. It's yours. The head itself looks in good condition.
14:34Oh, that's a result. And the clues point to one culprit. The head gasket.
14:42That's the piece that sits between the block or the bottom where the fourth pistons run
14:47and the head on top where the two camshafts run. And quite clearly this has failed. You can see
14:52residues of gunky, oily water where the water has obviously joined the reservoir for the oil.
15:00A new head gasket will cost us about 50 quid. But the best news is, is that we can keep the precious
15:05Lotus-built ported head. And once we fit that gasket, the engine should run. I feel like Sherlock Holmes.
15:11It's just dirtier. Seeing the diggers arrive and the garden works begin has got my mum and dad excited
15:21about the idea of moving in. I think the house is amazing. There's no doubt about that. I think the
15:27house will be amazing. It really is. It's a beautiful house. And it's the space for our family get-togethers,
15:34particularly in the back garden. Yeah. Grandchildren. And space for crafting,
15:38please. Maybe. We'll think about it. Instead of using the dining room table.
15:43But it's not just the garden I need the profit from our Lotus to cover. I'm helping my little
15:48brother Michael insulate what will eventually become a bedroom. Oh my God. Have you ever looked in here?
15:55Come here. Check it out. That's a hornet's nest.
15:59That's pretty crazy, isn't it? Yeah. Oh my God. It's going to be toasty in here. Hopefully.
16:09Nice. That's so much better. There's a problem with these old heritage homes. They have zero insulation.
16:16This wall here is made of mud, straw and horse hair. It's called wattle and daub, apparently.
16:27This wood bit in here. This is maple. That creates the lattice effect. And then you throw mud at it a
16:34few hundred years ago. And that's effectively the wall. So all Michael and I are doing at the moment
16:40is we're putting these new modern timbers in to batten it. And then they do two jobs. First of all,
16:45they give a space to house the insulation. And then on top of that, they actually add some structure and
16:51strength to the relatively fragile oak frame. So by doing this, it'll make the house more efficient,
16:56but also structurally, it'll help the house survive another few hundred years.
17:02Over the insulation, we're fitting wooden laths, which will eventually be plastered over.
17:06Was it expensive? 300 pieces for about 240 quid.
17:12What's that in square meters? Do you know? We need 10 and a half square meters.
17:15So it's going to be a thousand pounds in lath? At least. Man, I thought cars were expensive.
17:24That's the first pack gone. This is getting expensive. If insulating just one room is going
17:29to set me back over a grand, making a big profit from the Lotus just got even more vital.
17:36But there's bad news. Darren's cleaned the precious cylinder head and found it's not as flawless as we'd
17:42thought. What? That is an obvious cable. And that's right across that waterway as well.
17:51This gouge was caused when someone trapped a cable between the delicate aluminium head and the cast
17:56iron block before tightly screwing them together. It might look small, but it means even with a new
18:02head gasket, our engine will not be watertight. So there's no way we can put that back on because
18:07that is just not... That'll leak. Yeah, it's going to absolutely spray water out of the back of the
18:13cylinder head.
18:19There's a couple of secondhand ones online. How much? What's the cylinder head, like 3.2 or something?
18:25Yeah. Three and a half. We're not blowing three and a half grand on it. No.
18:28Yeah. This is bad. This is expensive. Buying this Lotus is starting to seem like a catastrophic decision.
18:38The last thing we need is the cars draining money as well as the house. Right now the whole project
18:44feels like it's unravelling. Let's keep it real. I think it's going to take a long way to get from
18:51here to where you want it to be. And I think at the moment with the house and this, this is going
18:56to be a big ask. I hear what you're saying, but this isn't just about flipping cars and making profit.
19:04You know, when I got the keys for this house and looked in my parents' eyes and said this is going
19:09to transform the last season of your life, it actually reconnected everyone in my family.
19:15Yeah, this is my chance to say thank you. And the best way for me to say thank you is
19:20the best thing I can do is do what I do best that it's smacking me in the face. And I want to be here
19:34with my dad. I've known him a long time. I know his family and his parents. So yeah, I kind of,
19:55yeah, I get it. You know, as everybody gets on in life, you kind of appreciate your parents more.
20:02And we need to support him. We need to make these things happen. We need to,
20:07we need to get him out of a pickle. And this is one big pickle at the moment.
20:14Yeah, I guess I'd never realised the impact that this project was going to have. I feel like
20:20I'm probably a relatively composed person.
20:26Yeah, this is really important to me.
20:32You want to hold your breath?
20:37Yeah. Let's have a look.
20:39I've sent my Lotus Alans damaged Lotus cylinder head to a specialist to see if it can be repaired.
20:46But while we wait for news, we need to examine its chassis. If it's in as bad nick as the engine,
20:51this really is game over.
20:52Do you know what? That's much better than I thought it was going to be.
20:59It's a Lotus Alamin race. It's really clean.
21:01Yeah, there's no battle damage on the bottom of here, so it's never been off road.
21:06Yeah, they always pick up scuffs and scrapes.
21:08Some scrapes, yeah.
21:10We've got really lucky with the chassis. Now, there is a rust problem on these cars. The I-beam
21:15chassis that runs underneath the fiberglass shell sometimes suffers, but this one hasn't.
21:21Next, I want to look at its suspension and work out why it's sitting so high off the ground.
21:27There is something definitely going on. That ride height is awful.
21:31Yeah, it's like a 4x4.
21:33An Elan is meant to sit low to the road. It's a race car at heart,
21:38as these Formula One-inspired centre locks testify.
21:42Taking off just one night in a pit stop is way quicker than taking off four or five.
21:46Got it?
21:46Yep.
21:48Look at us. We're like a Lotus F1 team.
21:51Only slower.
21:53A lot slower.
21:54Done?
21:55Done.
21:57Going up.
21:57Now, what's also really important is the thread on here. Actually, that's okay, Das.
22:04The thread on here is also handy. On the right-hand side of the car,
22:07you do it up clockwise in a conventional way, but on the left-hand side of the car,
22:11it's left-hand threaded. That way, the wheel nuts are constantly tightening themselves up as the car
22:16drives forward, and it reduces the risk of the wheel nut coming off.
22:19This car has been sat for so long.
22:30Bolts like these want to fight you.
22:34Now, Lotus is famous for the way their cars handle.
22:37Now, one of the critical things is the weight, the mass, the centre of gravity.
22:41You want the heavy parts of the car as low as possible.
22:43The higher the weight goes, the more it starts to act like a pendulum,
22:47and then you've got a car that's almost uncontrollable.
22:50So, by making the car lower, we're actually going to improve the performance of the car.
22:53It's going to handle like a Lotus.
22:59Managed to get this out, but it definitely looks too long.
23:03This worn-out damper could well be the cause of this Lotus's ridiculous ride height.
23:10Now, this is that damper unit.
23:13It works with a damper cylinder in the middle.
23:16That's full of viscous fluid.
23:18That softens the impact when you go up and down,
23:21and the spring on the outside is set to return it back to its starting point.
23:25But if I put this other arm back in here,
23:30Lotus have opted for a double wishbone suspension system,
23:32an upper wishbone and a lower wishbone, which work together in harmony.
23:36So, as the car goes up and down the bumps and lumps in the road,
23:40these ride up and down seamlessly.
23:42Now, our damper unit, this one, that sits on the angle between point A and B, is too long.
23:49What that means is it forces the wishbones to resting in a low position,
23:54increasing the gap between the tyre and the arch.
23:59These damper units are clearly wrecked. A new one will give the perfect height, but there are two options.
24:06We either measure the perfect arch gap and order a fixed damper, or you can get an adjustable damper.
24:15It might add a little bit more costs, but it's going to make it more desirable.
24:19It's going to give our new owner the option to modify their car.
24:22They might want to drive it on a country lane with a nice, soft ride height, take it to a racetrack, lower it.
24:27And this is one of those cars that if we get the setup right and it handles as it should, the car's as good as sold.
24:34Yeah, I'm going for adjustable dampers.
24:40Adjustable dampers will cost around 120 quid each, but could add thousands in desirability.
24:48Just as I thought I was making some gains, I've had more bad news.
24:52It seems our garden works have spooked the locals and their complaints have had a knock-on effect with
24:57the council. Michael's called me for an emergency meeting.
25:00Two members of the council, one from the heritage department and an enforcement officer came around
25:05yesterday. I hate that word, enforcement officer.
25:08It's kind of scary.
25:09Yeah, okay, what happened?
25:10Well, they've received complaints from local residents.
25:14Okay.
25:14They have been told that we have dug a trench around the house.
25:17This person in the office is imagining we put a moat around the house.
25:21Two guys came from the council for two hours?
25:24Yeah, had a full tour of everything.
25:25Michael reassured them that there'll be no moat,
25:28not even a drawbridge, so garden work can continue.
25:31But they have spotted something else.
25:33Our insulation.
25:34The main issue is it's got an impermeable membrane on both sides.
25:37It's like a silver cover.
25:39Yeah.
25:39Which, in an oak-framed building, colonisation builds
25:43and then it'll attack the frame of the house.
25:45And you have to redo the whole thing?
25:46Yeah.
25:47So that wall that we've done in the bedroom needs to be completely redone?
25:50Yeah, like the four days of laughing needs to be redone.
25:55Awesome.
25:57And some of them will get wrecked taking them down.
26:01We'll just lose.
26:03Lose the money on that, unfortunately.
26:04They're so expensive.
26:05I want to engage with the community.
26:07I want everybody around here to be happy.
26:09This house has been derelict for so long.
26:10Maybe we should just get them round and have a few beers and go,
26:14like us.
26:15Like, what do you want?
26:16What do you want us to do?
26:17Okay, maybe not that.
26:18But I am going to attend a parish meeting to explain my vision for the house.
26:23Fingers crossed I don't make things even worse.
26:29To get our Alain's bodywork back to its best,
26:32I've sent it shelled to specialist fibreglass restorer Darren O'Leary.
26:36So now we're getting the oven up to temperature and we'll be baking for 30 minutes at about 65 degrees.
26:48Just go slow.
26:51Darren's baking the shell to reveal cracks and remove trapped moisture from the fibreglass.
26:56Because it's made from a mesh of fine glass fibres embedded in a resin,
27:00molded into one seamless shape, it needs to be filled in a different way to metal panels.
27:06And although it doesn't rust, it's prone to cracking with age.
27:09Not everybody likes doing fibreglass because it's a very messy job and time consuming.
27:16To repair them, Darren sands then grinds the cracks before filling them with a fibreglass paste.
27:22Once filled, Darren gives the shell a final sand down, ready for primer.
27:27It's going to be a very long day and evening.
27:36It's a new day and with my Lotus now sitting in primer, I'm heading to Darren O'Leary's workshop.
27:42Where's our Lotus?
27:43As it's the perfect chance to fit the shot-blasted and shiny new suspension parts.
27:48Dude, how's it going?
27:50Good.
27:51She looks great.
27:52Yeah, so we've finished primer in it and now we've blacked the arches.
27:56Oh yeah, that looks brand new.
27:57It's ready to fit the suspension.
28:02My Darren's brought all the bits and bobs we need to turn the Lotus back into the perfect road
28:07to racetrack sports car.
28:08There we go.
28:09Take a look at that.
28:10Including those adjustable dampers.
28:12Unlike in our dusty workshop, using this lift means we can fit the parts with total precision.
28:23All right, home stretch.
28:36Perfect.
28:47The sun has definitely disappeared, but our Lotus is finally on suspension, on wheels.
28:54I'm gassed.
28:57Do you want a beer?
28:59Definitely.
29:06It's bodywork restoration complete.
29:16Our Lotus is back at the workshop.
29:18I can't wait to see the finished paint job.
29:23What do you think?
29:25Wow.
29:26Oh, my God.
29:28She looks fantastic.
29:31It really is a transformed car.
29:33It's totally different.
29:36Now we can refit our cleaned up interior, including some snazzy new carpeting.
29:45Yeah, the contrasting blue is the right decision.
29:48I mean, look.
29:49It lifts the entire interior.
29:52The most difficult part of this whole rebuild has been the engine.
29:56But now we have a box fresh head gasket.
29:59Beautiful.
30:01And the damaged Lotus cylinder heads back from being welded and skimmed.
30:06Setting me back 200 quid.
30:08Then it's on with the cam cover.
30:10Carburetors.
30:14And radiator.
30:16Can I finally get this Lotus running for the first time in decades?
30:20Right.
30:21Sanity check me.
30:22Fuel's in the car.
30:23Yep.
30:24So the fuel system is buttoned up.
30:26Yep.
30:27Done all that up.
30:28Connected all the hoses.
30:29Fans wired ignition.
30:30It's all connected up.
30:31We're ready.
30:32Do you want to turn the key?
30:33Go on.
30:34Start her up.
30:35The moment of truth.
30:36Yes.
30:37Keep it going.
30:38Keep it going.
30:39Keep it going.
30:40It's a Lotus.
30:41She lives.
30:42Yes.
30:43The car just reminds me of a race car.
30:45Right.
30:46Let's get everything else buttoned up because I just desperately want to give this car a drive.
30:51If it sounds like that and a freshly rebuilt engine, it's going to pull like an alarm.
31:12After complaints were made to the council about our building work, I've decided to put
31:18my case to the locals face to face.
31:21I've got in my hand the agenda for tonight's parish meeting.
31:27The parish council is quite big in these rural villages.
31:30In fact, this is the whole agenda.
31:33Nearly half of it is the planning application for the farmhouse.
31:38And as it's a public meeting and I'm a member of this parish, I'm going.
31:45While I'm fighting our cause, as a result of the council visit, Michael's removing all
31:51the insulation and wooden laths in the upstairs bedroom.
31:54We need to switch out insulation for something more appropriate to the style of the building.
31:59What I'm trying to do is take down the laths in order to try to reuse them and try not to waste money like that.
32:07It was a little bit frustrating when we had to take those steps backwards, as we have upstairs.
32:14An hour and a half later and no tea and cake, I've had my first introduction to village life.
32:20It wasn't as bad as I feared.
32:22It's nice that this village has a parish meeting and they share concerns and they did have concerns around the farmhouse.
32:28But those concerns are relieved.
32:30We press on.
32:34They've approved everything, from my newly restored dormers, to my vision for the garden,
32:40to my plans to remove the concrete cladding and replace with lime plaster.
32:44Which means I need to get that car profit rolling in again sharpish.
32:48The auction's just three days away, so the pressure's on to get my Alain looking its finest.
32:53We've painted the bumpers and cleaned up the number plate.
32:57Oh, this is such a cool number plate.
33:00And I've had the wheels diamond cut.
33:02Oh mate, they're like brand new.
33:04Yep.
33:09It's meant another long night, but tomorrow I plan to do what our Lotus was born to do.
33:14Drive fast.
33:16This is the day I've been waiting for.
33:25Are you putting more fuel in?
33:26Yeah, we want to go for a good drive.
33:28But before I take my Alain for its first spin in decades,
33:32I need to work out what we've spent and how much we need to make at auction.
33:36Right, well I've done a little tally up of the numbers.
33:38I know exactly where we are expenditure-wise.
33:40Uh-huh.
33:41Now remember we pay seven and a half grand.
33:43Yes.
33:44Great buy.
33:45Love this car.
33:46But we have added up quite a bit of expenses.
33:49Yeah.
33:50Paint materials.
33:511,800 quid.
33:52Diamond cutting the wheels.
33:53425 quid.
33:54The carpet set.
33:55226 quid.
33:57Everything mechanical on the car.
33:59Sorting out all the wishbones and suspension.
34:01Everything is in one bucket at 2,823 pounds and 84 pence.
34:06Plus, of course, the 200 quid to get the cylinder head welded and skimmed.
34:10We spent 5,992 pounds and 22 pence.
34:15So right now, as it sits here, this car owes us 13 and a half grand.
34:21For an Alain.
34:22The labour's been hard work, but because it's us, there's no extra charge.
34:26When you think what we've actually done to the car, mechanically it's transformed.
34:30Oh, yeah.
34:31And what I love the most is that this car has basically sat idle for decades.
34:35This car's not turned a wheel in anger.
34:37Mm-hmm.
34:38Till now.
34:39The moment has arrived.
34:41My Lotus Alain is finally about to fly.
34:45Oh, yeah!
34:50Now this is what I've been waiting for.
34:52This car has sat idle now for a couple of decades.
34:55And all of a sudden, the Lotus Alain is alive.
34:58And it's everything that a British car boy loves.
35:01It just gives that driving experience.
35:04Restoring that suspension handles like a race car.
35:08I can go round this corner as if I'm at Silverstone Racetrack.
35:13Ultimately, this car was built...
35:17Uh-oh.
35:18Yeah, guys, we've got a problem here.
35:30Coming to you, coming to you.
35:41Yeah, she just packed in. Literally, the engine's died.
35:48Oh, man.
35:53My Lotus Alain has failed.
35:57The engine started making a clanking noise.
36:01And that's the moment you've just got to kill it.
36:03And then it lost power instantly.
36:06I need to get this car off the road and figure out what's gone wrong.
36:11But this one's hard to take.
36:13I'm currently being towed back on a car that's been freshly rebuilt.
36:22Oh!
36:25I'm going to have to make the call I've been dreading.
36:31Hello?
36:32Dad, I've broken down in my Lotus.
36:34If you could grab the trailer, I'll just text the location.
36:37OK, all right. I'll get the license again.
36:39Thanks.
36:40Cheers.
36:41Bye.
36:44You know, I've been building classic cars for decades.
36:50And there's been loads of times when there's been loads of setbacks.
36:54But this is a real kick in the guts.
36:58This just doesn't feel fair.
37:01I mean, the costs, they just don't even bear thinking about.
37:05My fear is that there's a problem in the engine.
37:07And when it comes to Lotus engines, that's going to be expensive.
37:16So what's gone wrong?
37:17Where we put all the attention and focus into restoring the top half of the engine, the head.
37:31Yeah.
37:32We took an educated guess that the bottom half was OK.
37:36It rotated.
37:37It felt smooth.
37:38My gut says it can only mean one thing and it ain't the head.
37:41It's, you know, potentially a complete engine rebuild.
37:46Are you joking?
37:47Or new engine.
37:49Driving it might have been the only way to discover the truth about our engine.
37:53Now with the auction in 48 hours, I'm pushing the panic button.
37:57I'm calling my mate Ralph, who's got a fully kitted out garage nearby.
38:01Hey Ralph, it's Ant.
38:02How are you?
38:04Living the dream as always, as you know.
38:06So what trouble have you got yourself into this time?
38:09I need a bit of a favour.
38:10I have an engine issue.
38:12I'm literally 15 minutes away from your workshop.
38:14If I could run round, and maybe if you could jump on and give me a hand on the spanners.
38:18And then I've got Darren.
38:20Oh man.
38:21I know.
38:22I know.
38:23OK.
38:24Yeah, well, yeah, no problem mate.
38:26Bring it round, we'll get it sorted.
38:28Dude, you are a legend.
38:30Alright, I'll see you.
38:31I'll put the kettle on.
38:33Don't lock up!
38:39We're at my mate Ralph's garage.
38:41I've asked Darren to look into a new engine just in case the unthinkable happens, and this one can't be saved.
38:47Alright.
38:48Yeah.
38:49Start going up slowly.
38:51To find out what was causing the tapping sound before it conked out, we'll need to dismantle the block.
38:57Something in the bottom end of the engine has failed.
39:00Oh, that's a lot of glue.
39:03Oh my God.
39:06Can you hear that?
39:08The bolts that hold the bearing cap on the big end have come loose and look like they've previously been bodged.
39:14That one's absolutely ruined.
39:16Look at that.
39:18So, obviously, something very bad's happened to this engine.
39:21It's taken a chunk out of the crankshaft.
39:23You're lucky it didn't throw a piston out of the side.
39:26The only option is a complete engine rebuild.
39:29We're better off just getting a new engine.
39:31Yeah, I think that's your best bet.
39:33If there's an engine available, we should buy it.
39:35And then, and only then, there is the tiniest, slimmest chance we'll make the option.
39:40There's less than 24 hours until the auction, so I pressed go on Darren buying a whole new Lotus engine.
39:53That is total Lotus genius right there.
39:55I hope it didn't cost too much.
40:00Yeah, it was almost 10 grand.
40:03Almost 10 grand.
40:04Almost 10 grand.
40:06Yeah, this is a pretty, uh, pretty beautiful sordid engine, but it's come out clean in.
40:15This is our only window to get it done in.
40:24Ultimately, the auction is tomorrow, so it's night shift or no sale.
40:33We've got fuel.
40:34We've got spark.
40:35So we can fire up.
40:36Yeah.
40:37Confident?
40:38Absolutely.
40:39Yeah.
40:40What can possibly go wrong?
40:41Oh my God, the suspense is killing me.
40:43All right.
40:44Crank it.
40:45Come on, crank it.
40:46Fire in the hole.
40:52I'm really happy.
40:54I'm not happy about the money.
40:56I mean, ultimately, this has been a financial hit, but we were at a point where we had to
41:01make a choice.
41:02Do right by the car or not.
41:06So I'm going to go to sleep tonight tired, but I know we did the right thing.
41:12And someone's going to get a really, really good Lotus Elan.
41:20It's the big day.
41:21The classic car auction at the NAEC Stonely.
41:24After forking out ten grand for a new engine, my Lotus Elan needs to make at least 23 and a half grand just to break even.
41:31And in this climate, that's a big ask.
41:34Looking around the other lots, you know, I like to think, who are we competing against?
41:39What's our car similar to?
41:41There's not a lot here.
41:44There's not a lot of British.
41:46There's a couple of little sports cars, but it's not Lotus.
41:50It's not a Lotus.
41:51Not 765 minutes, the 1973 Lotus Elan Plus 2, the S130.
41:57Type 50 this.
41:58There's the car on the screens for you.
42:00Here to sell.
42:01What should we say?
42:02Start me at 10,000.
42:0310,000 I have bid.
42:04Let's go 11 anyway.
42:06At 10,000 is the bid then.
42:08Oh, man.
42:09New bidder now.
42:1011,000.
42:11New bidder now.
42:1211,000.
42:13Get to my earlier online bidder.
42:1411,000.
42:15Someone's getting a really, really amazing car.
42:1811 grand.
42:19Well, I can sell, of course.
42:2111,000 pounds.
42:22No one's offering more.
42:2412,000.
42:26Go 13 if you like online.
42:27Come on, man.
42:28Come on, folks.
42:29Wake up.
42:3012,000.
42:31Bid's here on the right.
42:32Seated bidder live at 12,000.
42:34Here we go.
42:3513.
42:3613,000.
42:38This is absolutely painful.
42:40At 13 and a half.
42:4214,000.
42:43Are we all done elsewhere?
42:45Selling the Elamin at 14,000.
42:47We're all done.
42:4814,000.
42:49Well done.
42:50Nothing's guaranteed in classic cars.
42:55Take the engine blowout.
42:57It wouldn't have been as bad.
42:59It's gutting to think that if my luck had held with the engine,
43:02I would have turned a profit.
43:04You know what?
43:05This is the roller coaster of being a car restorer.
43:07And it's kind of romantic and poetic justice that we built a really beautiful Lotus.
43:13And at the last minute, it bit us in the bum.
43:18It's really disappointing.
43:20You know, I had so much invested in this car at a pivotal point for the house.
43:25I was not only relying on recovering the cash flow back, but also making a profit.
43:29And unfortunately, the car wins, but the house loses.
43:34The house loses.
43:35The house loses.
43:36The house loses.
43:41The house loses.
43:42The house loses.
43:43The house loses.
43:44The house loses.
43:45The house loses.
43:46The house loses.
43:47The house loses.
43:48The house loses.
43:49The house loses.
43:50The house loses.
43:51The house loses.
43:52The house loses.
43:53The house loses.
43:54The house loses.
43:55The house loses.
43:56The house loses.
43:57The house loses.
43:58The house loses.
43:59The house loses.
44:00The house loses.
44:01The house loses.
44:02The house loses.
44:03The house loses.
44:04The house loses.
44:05The house loses.
44:06The house loses.