Car S.O.S. Season 13 Episode 8
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00:00This time on Car SOS, a red hot relic from the hot hatch era.
00:07113 horsepower under the bonnet fuzz box.
00:11That's gone ice cold.
00:13We've got trouble underneath here.
00:16Tim buys some delicious looking spares.
00:19Volkswagen original parts, are you joking me?
00:22Whilst Fuzz orders off menu.
00:24Well that looks delicious with chips.
00:27And the stage is set to make another deserving owner's automotive dream come true.
00:32Is that my car?
00:34Come on mate.
00:36How you doing?
00:38So here we are in lovely town with Staffordshire.
00:58I like it around here pal.
01:01Anyway, come on.
01:03We are here for one reason and one reason only.
01:06And that is to pick up a Volkswagen Polo G40.
01:14Now hold on just a doggone minute there.
01:17What?
01:18A Polo G40.
01:20What is a G40 Polo?
01:22Well it's no big surprise to me that you didn't know what the G40 was Fuzz.
01:27And it's mega rare.
01:28You do not see them.
01:29The G40 was a supercharged Polo.
01:31A supercharged Polo?
01:33Yeah.
01:34From the factory?
01:35Yes.
01:36A model that they actually made?
01:37Yes.
01:38Two things that shouldn't go together that make perfection.
01:43Yes, the standard Mark II Polo was a small, dreary and not very attractive family hatchback.
01:50A car that's about as exciting as watching the World Paint Drawing Championships.
01:58However, in 1987 VW decided to release a limited edition,
02:03marrying its 1.3 litre engine with a supercharger.
02:07A concept that's a bit like strapping a jet engine to your nan's mobility scooter.
02:17It's no surprise this apparently bonkers idea raised a few petrolheads' eyebrows.
02:24Because the G40 packed double the horsepower of its plain Jane Polo sibling.
02:29Making it three seconds faster to 60 miles an hour with a top speed exceeding 120.
02:37And whilst most hot hatches of the era struggled with the dreaded turbo lag,
02:42the G-Lada supercharger delivered its power as smoothly as a hot knife through butter.
02:48So there's no better way to mark the Polo's 50th birthday
02:52than by restoring one of these rare classics.
02:57So today we're meeting Tony and Linda.
02:59Yeah, now they are the parents of Anthony, right?
03:01Right, so Anthony owns the car?
03:02Yeah, Anthony's got the car.
03:03Right, okay, but that's great. I'm really looking forward to seeing this car.
03:16Hello.
03:17Are you expecting us?
03:18Oh yes, definitely.
03:19Oh good, Linda, lovely to meet you.
03:20Tim, you alright? Nice to meet you.
03:21How are you doing, Tony?
03:22I'm fine, thank you.
03:23First and foremost, this is Anthony's house, right?
03:25It is, yes.
03:26Okay.
03:27He's at the hospital at the moment.
03:28Well, where is this super little car then?
03:29It's in the garage.
03:30Okay, can we have a look?
03:31Yes.
03:34Oh, Tony, you're obscuring the good bit.
03:37You can't have seen the bit that it's on.
03:38Look, you're hiding.
03:39Go on, move out of the way.
03:40Shift yourself.
03:41There we go.
03:42Do you mind if I go in and have a look?
03:43Not at all.
03:44There it is.
03:45I know what it is.
03:46G40.
03:47It's all about the supercharger.
03:48The thing that should never have been.
03:50That is like putting us together, isn't it?
03:51It's like, I'm the supercharger.
03:53Right.
03:54You're the Polo.
03:55Shut your face.
03:56Get around it.
03:57Shall we go and have a chat about Anthony?
03:58Yes.
03:59Come on then, we'll leave you to it for a spot.
04:00Okay, cool.
04:01Come on then, wander over this way.
04:08It does look so weird, this tiny little engine with a supercharger.
04:12And look, that glove that's there to protect the inlet to stop things going down.
04:17If I just twitch the supercharger pulley, either way, I mean, look, there's the pull.
04:23And there's the push.
04:25It's moving an awfully large amount of air.
04:29So that is ramming loads of air, which means this engine is going to have been working
04:34at its absolute engineering limit.
04:37And that means it's going to wear out much more quickly than it ordinarily would
04:41if it were normally aspirated.
04:47How would you describe Anthony to somebody, well, who's not like myself, who hasn't met him?
04:52He's a quiet guy.
04:53Okay.
04:54He doesn't like a fuss.
04:56He just enjoys his work.
04:57What does Anthony do?
04:58He's an electrician, industrial electrician.
05:00Right.
05:01Now, where did the car come from?
05:02How come it's in his life?
05:04He did some work for a friend of his, and as part payment was the car, the Polo.
05:09Fair play.
05:10But he didn't realise at the time how rare it was.
05:12Ah, right.
05:13So what, drove it home and enjoyed driving it for a few years?
05:15No, no.
05:16He took it and took it for an MOT and it failed.
05:18And then put it back in the garage and tended to work on it.
05:22Just never got round to it with work, money, the cost of it.
05:27His wife has asked him to get rid of it countless times, and he just refused.
05:32No, I'm keeping it.
05:34I will, at some point, try and fix it.
05:37Is he a petrolhead?
05:38Yes.
05:39That's gutting.
05:40So he's never actually really driven the car?
05:42No.
05:43No.
05:44When was that?
05:45How many years ago?
05:4617 years ago.
05:47What?
05:4817 years.
05:49So he's owned the car?
05:50Yeah.
05:51It's been stuck in the garage for 17 years.
05:54Now, OK, slightly worn hinges.
05:57We've got a decent interior.
06:00And the mileage says nearly 116,000 miles.
06:05Now, that might not seem like an awful lot for a modern-day car.
06:10But for a car of this era, which is about 1991, that is a huge mileage.
06:16This car is probably at the end of its natural life.
06:22We've got to get it back from the brink.
06:26Considering how many years have gone by since 2007,
06:30why hasn't he recently got on with it?
06:32What's happened in Anthony's life?
06:34February 22, 2022, he broke one ankle, fractured the other, almost broke that.
06:42So he was in a wheelchair.
06:43What happened?
06:44How did he do that?
06:45He was working.
06:46He was on a flat roof.
06:47And the door into the warehouse blew shut in the wind.
06:52There was a gust of wind.
06:53And it blew closed.
06:55And one of them had to find a way off the roof.
06:59And Anthony volunteered.
07:00And he just tried to suspend himself off with his fingers.
07:03And he landed upward.
07:04He got the injuries from that.
07:06We didn't realize at the time, but retrospectively,
07:09we now know that the reason his ankles broke so easily
07:13was because he had a more serious illness, which was not known at that time.
07:19And in December last year, they found out he'd got cancer.
07:26Yeah.
07:27What have you been told by the doctors?
07:28He's got stage four, which is...
07:31As far as it gets.
07:32Yeah, as far as it gets.
07:33But we can hope.
07:36They say he's doing well.
07:38He's responding well to the chemotherapy.
07:40And we can just hope for the best.
07:43The car's in his garage. It's going.
07:45Where does he think it's going?
07:47He thinks it's going to a friend.
07:49I know a friend of a friend has got a garage, a workshop.
07:52He thinks it's going there just to get it up and running.
07:55Right.
07:56Here's my promise to you.
07:57We will get the car done and on the road, and he will be driving it.
08:00Absolutely brilliant.
08:06Oh, the G40 is outdoors.
08:08Hey.
08:09Oh, yeah.
08:10Come on, let's wear ourselves out and get it in the back of me and get on with it.
08:12Come on, then.
08:18Great meeting you both.
08:19Nice to meet you.
08:20OK, that's cool.
08:21Thank you so much.
08:22That's all right.
08:23Thank you very much.
08:25So, we've found a G40.
08:28I think, considering how uncool the Polo was,
08:31and it was seen as that car that, oh, you couldn't afford a Golf.
08:34Yeah.
08:35But Volkswagen are like, yeah, it was still a good car,
08:37but people, the world didn't really see it that way.
08:39So they supercharged one, and all of a sudden,
08:41that took a Polo and made it cool.
08:44I'm excited by this car,
08:46and I'm not normally excited by any cars from the 1990s.
08:50Yes, let's just see if he feels the same
08:52once he's got it up on the ramp and revealed its secrets.
08:56Because with fewer than 50 G40s left on the road,
08:59finding anything that needs replacing isn't going to be easy.
09:03I just can't get my head over the fact
09:05that I'm looking at a Volkswagen Polo with a supercharge in it.
09:09Er, dude, cracks, welding.
09:13Look at that.
09:14Oh, yeah, down there, actually.
09:15It's quite common with cars.
09:17that have got a lot of load put through what is a box section
09:21made of fairly thin steel.
09:23And the only way to avoid that is not just to weld this up,
09:26but to strengthen it as well.
09:28Right, well, that's your problem, Fuzz.
09:30Right, come on, then.
09:35Oh, hold on.
09:39Yeah.
09:40Oh, yeah, found something already.
09:42Somebody has messed with this car.
09:44They've lowered the suspension,
09:46and as such, these springs are loose in their mountings.
09:50That should not be the case.
09:52The driveshaft has knocked into the body
09:54because of those lowering springs.
09:56Right.
09:57I think as well, Fuzz, that what we're looking at under here
10:00is going to get a whole lot worse.
10:01Yeah.
10:07Tim and Fuzz have got their hands full
10:09with this ultra-rare supercharged G40,
10:13the teenage troublemaker edition of the Polo family runaround
10:17that's already causing its new foster parents
10:20all manner of headaches.
10:22So, look, the suspension's got problems.
10:25The engine's probably got problems.
10:27We need to get the supercharger looked at
10:29just to make sure that it's OK.
10:32Yes, it's a small car with a big list of problems,
10:35all of which the boys are going to have to solve
10:38to stand a chance of ending its 17-year stint of being garage-bound.
10:46First off, there are the front gearbox mounts.
10:49We know they're riddled with cracks,
10:52but the big question is,
10:53are they hiding any additional damage underneath them?
10:57Next, because the entire car is currently sitting lower to the ground
11:00than a snake's belly,
11:01they'll need to completely rebuild the suspension setup
11:04on all four wheels.
11:06Then there's the big one, the supercharger,
11:09the absolute beating heart of this car.
11:12But after working its socks off for over 100,000 miles,
11:15can Fuzz bring it back to life with some minor surgery?
11:19Or will it require a full transplant?
11:22On top of that, it will need a full respray
11:25and set of original G40-specific wheels.
11:29I still can't get my head around the fact
11:31they took a Polo, Fuzz,
11:33which was a car that people didn't want.
11:35You wanted the Golf.
11:36This was the poor man's Golf, right?
11:37Okay.
11:38Which was not doing so well for Volkswagen.
11:40Yeah.
11:41And let's supercharge it.
11:42Trying to make something of it,
11:45trying to give it a reason to exist.
11:47Was it the swansong?
11:48Was that it?
11:49Was it like, this car is dying, let's see if it can change
11:51public perception of the Polo?
11:53But Polos carried on being manufactured for many, many years.
11:57But could that possibly have been because of this?
12:02While Tim ponders on whether the G40 was the saviour of the Polo,
12:08the team are straight to work on stripping Anthony's car down to its shell.
12:17So the Fuzzbot can get a better look at those cracked gearbox mounts
12:21and the chassis around them.
12:23What has happened, enthusiastic driving
12:25has moved the engine and gearbox backwards and forwards,
12:28backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.
12:30A bit like getting a little piece of metal, a little metal bar
12:33and bending it backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards.
12:36Eventually, it just breaks in half.
12:39Ironically, Anthony's inability to drive his car for the past 17 years
12:43has saved his engine and gearbox from disaster.
12:47What we need to do is take the whole of this assembly apart
12:51and re-engineer it to make it much, much stronger.
12:56But to do that, Fuzz first needs to remove the existing mounts from the chassis
13:01so that the cracked sections can be repaired and reinforced.
13:08Once I manage to break away all the remaining spot welds,
13:11then hopefully this whole L section will come out
13:15and then we can see what's underneath
13:18because what we may find are more cracks.
13:21And if there are more cracks, we've got to go even further with this car.
13:25It's not looking pretty, though, at the moment.
13:29I don't know about the car, but I'm finding this quite stressful myself.
13:33The G40 is built on the same chassis and engine mounts as the standard Mark II Polo,
13:39but because it produces over double the amount of power,
13:42metal fatigue in this area of the engine bay is a common problem.
13:47There we are. There's our first piece off.
13:50But as you can see, it's very thin steel
13:53and it's reinforced by this little pressing here.
13:56But unfortunately, there's no strength at this point here,
13:59nor on this flat section here.
14:02And that's where the flexing has been going on.
14:06And as the other sections come away, things are a whole lot worse underneath.
14:13So we can see here where the crack has occurred
14:16and what has probably happened is this area here
14:20has completely detached from the front member of the car.
14:24So the engine and gearbox have actually at one point dropped down lower
14:29and then it's been welded up back in this position
14:34rather than actually being jacked up and put back into place.
14:39But what's happened is water has got into this box section here,
14:43down in through there, and it has sat at the bottom here
14:48and it's corroded through the steel.
14:51We've got a lot of holes that shouldn't be there,
14:54a lot of cracks that shouldn't be there,
14:56and a whole heap of movement that has gone on.
14:59It all needs to be repaired for this car to regain its structural integrity.
15:04Without it, it's scrap.
15:08So what was originally just repairing some small pieces of cracked gearbox mount
15:13has morphed into a much bigger job.
15:17So while Fuzz and the team press on...
15:22Tim's on a very special pilgrimage to the home of VW.
15:28Covering an area greater than 910 football pitches,
15:32the Wolfsburg plant is the largest car factory on the planet.
15:38Guess what this is? What is this car? It is a prototype Golf.
15:42It employs over 70,000 people,
15:45who turn out almost half a million cars a year.
15:49A Mk3 Golf GTI. Would you believe they actually made the Polo Harlequin?
15:53And on the end there, a four-wheel drive Golf.
15:56The Golf country. This place is amazing.
16:02Oh, my word. This is Autostadt, basically car city.
16:07And if there's any place on the planet that's going to know
16:10why they put a supercharger on the Polo,
16:13surely it's going to be somebody that works here.
16:16By hell, this place is amazing.
16:19Wow.
16:22Yes, it's right here that someone took the seemingly bonkers decision
16:27to take one of their dullest models and supercharge it.
16:31Who made the decision to put a supercharger on that?
16:35Superchargers, the thing of supercars.
16:38Let's put it on a Polo. I mean, it is the ugliest car that they've ever made.
16:42To find out exactly why this ugly duckling got a supercharged makeover,
16:47Tim's meeting the man with all the answers,
16:50VW historian Eckberth von Witzelbehn.
16:54Mike, look at this thing, from what I've just seen to that.
16:57Why did they do it?
16:59Why put a supercharger, the stuff you see in supercars, in a little Polo?
17:05I think they wanted to push up the vehicle,
17:08so in the mean of the public, the car is a small one, not powerful,
17:13and they want to pimp up the car.
17:15Pimp up the car?
17:17Yes.
17:18So was it to change public opinion?
17:20Public opinion, this is a car for drove to the supermarket.
17:25Right.
17:26It's not a sporty car.
17:28And I think with the G40, they want to change the image of the vehicle.
17:32And did it work?
17:34With the G40, the opinion changed of the public,
17:39and they take more units,
17:42and they produce it in the series since 1991.
17:47This is the car for me that changed my opinion of the Polo.
17:50Yes.
17:51So it worked?
17:52Yes, it was for the G40 was a game changer for the Polo.
17:56The G40's innovative use of a supercharger
18:00demonstrated the enormous potential of this technology on smaller engines,
18:04and paved the way for the more powerful G60,
18:08used on other sporty models like the Corrado and Golf Mk2 Rally.
18:14The success of the G40 fundamentally shifted the Polo's popularity,
18:21making it into one of Volkswagen's most beloved models.
18:26But before Tim jets back to the UK,
18:29he's got another problem to solve.
18:31Typical fuzz.
18:32Whilst you're there, can you pick some parts up, please?
18:34Hello.
18:35Hello.
18:36Is this the parts department?
18:37Can I help you?
18:38My colleague has texted me a part number for some parts for a VW Polo Mk2 facelift.
18:42Yes.
18:43Give me a moment.
18:44I don't know what it is.
18:45Do you have any?
18:46Yeah.
18:47Can you wait?
18:48I have three in stock.
18:49Okay, great.
19:00Volkswagen original parts.
19:02Are you joking me?
19:04Sometimes, Fuzzy's jokes really are the worst.
19:16Thankfully, he's a bit better on the tools,
19:19because after some serious graft,
19:21the remaining pieces of engine mount are removed.
19:25Now we have to address the problems of the individual components.
19:29So, this is the top bit here,
19:31and it's got a load of cracks and it's slightly out of shape as well.
19:35Now, we could just fabricate a new one and be done with it,
19:39but it is repairable,
19:41and there are a couple of neat little tricks that we'll use
19:43to stop these cracks spreading and tracking along.
19:47So what we're going to do is drill a neat little hole at the end of each fracture.
19:52Now, that acts like a fire break for the crack,
19:56and then, once we've made that little fire break,
19:59we're going to weld everything up.
20:01So, looking here, I can see the end of one just here.
20:05We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight holes to drill.
20:13So now, it's time for a little bit of grinding out
20:17to make these cracks, or these fractures, into little V-shapes.
20:27Well, it reminds me, I better book an appointment with the dentist.
20:32So now, what we need to do is weld in these valleys here,
20:36and those valleys will hopefully help the weld penetrate
20:40all the way through to the other side.
20:43Right, mask on, clamped up, let's go.
20:49So what I now need to do, just clean that up a little bit,
20:53make it look a bit more presentable,
20:55and then we can continue with the rest of the assembly
20:57because we do have a few more things to do.
21:00The next thing I'm going to do is put the weld in the welder.
21:04So, I'm going to do a bit of a quick run through of what I'm going to do.
21:07I'm going to do a bit of a quick run through of what I'm going to do.
21:10I'm going to do a bit of a quick run through of what I'm going to do.
21:13it look a bit more presentable.
21:14Then we can continue with the rest of the assembly because we do have a few more parts
21:18to make.
21:19It's strange isn't it?
21:20Those little cracks have caused all of that problem.
21:25If we hadn't have gone right in there and done all of these repairs, that engine and
21:29gearbox could have been on the floor.
21:34Tim and Fuzz are celebrating the 50th birthday of the VW Polo by renovating this G40.
21:43It's owned by 43-year-old electrician Anthony, who's always dreamed of restoring it to its
21:49former glory.
21:50However, a catastrophic accident at work and subsequent cancer diagnosis have prevented
21:56him from making that dream a reality.
22:00What have you been told by the doctors?
22:02It's got stage four, which is...
22:04As far as it gets.
22:05Yes, as far as it gets.
22:08Determined to make Anthony's dream come true, the team has been working tirelessly to turn
22:13his car around.
22:15Right, so that is our engine and gearbox mounting completely reconstructed and hopefully it's
22:22going to be beefy enough to do the job.
22:24As you can see, there's a long way to go.
22:30You can say that again.
22:31The body needs to be repainted and an entirely new suspension setup must be fitted.
22:43So while the team press on, armed with their newfound knowledge of the G40's importance
22:50in the Polo's story, Tim and Fuzz are getting behind the wheel of one to put the theory
22:55into practice.
23:00I was in Polos in the late 80s, early 90s, but I can't understand how this one feels
23:07so different.
23:08It's like I'm sitting in the same place, but the feel is altogether much more modern because
23:15it's shifting along at a proper old pace.
23:17Yeah, it is.
23:19What this car has done for me instantly, within 20 seconds of being in it, it's made me realise
23:23that all non-supercharged versions, excluding the GTIs, feel underpowered.
23:35I think it's a proper sleeper.
23:37The whole thing looks understated, but it goes like the clappers.
23:43The delivery of the power is so linear, dare I compare it to an electric vehicle?
23:48So an electric vehicle delivers that power in an absolutely straight line.
23:52Straight up, yeah.
23:53This thing does exactly the same.
23:54So this is like jumping into the future.
23:57It really is.
23:58Jumping into the future past.
23:59Well, yes, it is.
24:02I love this car.
24:05I'm angry at myself for overlooking it and having that stigma, oh, it's a Polo, the Golf's
24:09the one you want.
24:10No, no, no.
24:11No, it's not.
24:12The next time I see one of these on the road, I'll go, you're a petrol head, you're a driver,
24:15you know your cars.
24:16The thing that I love about a supercharged engine, Fuzz, versus a turbo, people would
24:20say, well, the turbo is powered from the exhaust, so it's not wasting power, whereas
24:24a supercharger steals it from the drive of the engine and it's parasitic, so it steals
24:28power to give you a bit of power back.
24:29Yeah, the great thing about the supercharger is it actually gives you the power.
24:34As soon as you put your foot down, you've got it there.
24:37It's delivering.
24:38Whereas a turbocharger, it needs the exhaust gases to spin it up, which means that, yeah,
24:45you get that characteristic turbo lag.
24:53This releases so much more power from what is otherwise a little bit of a ploddy four-cylinder
25:01petrol engine.
25:03It does a phenomenal job.
25:08I love it.
25:09I absolutely love it.
25:10My first go in a Polo G40, and actually, dare I say it, it's been more fun, and you know
25:15top of the pile of my cars is a Mark II Golf GTI.
25:20I would say this is, it's a better car to drive.
25:24Well, on that bombshell, there's even more reason to return Antony's to the road, which
25:30means sorting his tired old supercharger, a job that's not straightforward, because
25:38if expert Brian can't recondition it, the boys are in serious trouble.
25:44Now, we've got our G-Lada supercharger here.
25:48Because with less than 50 G40s on the road, finding a replacement will be near impossible.
25:55Can we get into this and start pulling it apart and see what we've got?
25:58Yeah.
25:59Okay.
26:00Where do we start?
26:01Start by, well, we've pre-loosened these, so we need to take the pulleys off.
26:04So, pulley off.
26:05Take this end off.
26:06Okay.
26:08I've got to tell you that this car was bought in around 2007, nearly 20 years ago, and it
26:15has not been driven since.
26:17So, is there anything that we need to watch out for in here?
26:20Normally, the oil seals would be rock hard.
26:23Oh, okay.
26:24Because of the age.
26:25Yep.
26:26Luckily, the seals can be replaced, but if any of the internal metal scroll is damaged,
26:31then it could be the end of the road for this supercharger.
26:35That feels like it's let go.
26:38I'll hold this.
26:39Okay.
26:40Just pull it straight off.
26:41There we are.
26:42That's it.
26:43Okay.
26:44Right.
26:45Okay.
26:46Now, this is very interesting.
26:47So, what we have is like a scroll in there.
26:51Now, that is the G of the G line.
26:54Yeah.
26:55That's the G.
26:56So, air comes in, or is drawn in, and then the pulley turns, and so that squeezes that
27:03kind of scroll around in an oscillating fashion.
27:08And that moves in here, so it kind of, as it does, it squeezes the air around.
27:16And out.
27:17And out through that part, which comes out through there, which then goes out through
27:22there.
27:23That is phenomenal.
27:26And to demonstrate just how much of a difference that injection of compressed air has on the
27:30car's performance, Tim has arranged a little science lesson.
27:35Right.
27:36Kaz is just filling a bag with oxygen.
27:37Right.
27:38A pair of matches.
27:39And we all know how quickly matches burn.
27:41They're burning at the same rate.
27:43This one's just burning in the air, chilling.
27:45The bottom match, well, if we give it a bit more oxygen, because Kaz has got a bag of
27:49oxygen, look at the difference.
27:52The oxygen is...
27:53Wow.
27:54Look at that.
27:55The speed at which it's...
27:56I mean, that's done.
27:57They're both out.
27:58Right.
27:59So this is the speed at which you can burn the fuel, meaning you can burn more fuel and
28:03get more power.
28:04And that is what a supercharger does.
28:08But more importantly, what's the outcome for Anthony's supercharger?
28:16Can it be saved or is it scrap?
28:19So far, how's this supercharger looking?
28:22Looks really good.
28:23Yeah?
28:24Yeah.
28:25That is a real clean unit.
28:26Yeah.
28:28You reckon this one's good to go again?
28:30Definitely.
28:31Once again, spending the last 17 years sat in the garage may have saved Anthony's Polo
28:38from catastrophic failure.
28:40So to recondition it ready for the road starts with a trip through the parts washer.
28:45I'm going in.
28:49Followed by a quick bake in the oven to expand the metal, which allows the new bearings to
28:56drop into place.
28:57Right.
28:58Well, that looks delicious.
29:01With chips?
29:02With chips.
29:03There we go.
29:08Now we've got the bearings in the casings.
29:10What's next?
29:11Scroll.
29:12Next bearing.
29:13Here we go.
29:14Out comes the diffuser.
29:17The oven's off.
29:18And we're going to be having our tea very soon.
29:22Yeah.
29:23Yes, Fuzz and Brian are garnishing the original supercharger with a juicy set of new bearings.
29:32A succulent fresh drive pulley.
29:35There we are, on with our pulley.
29:42And finally, seasoning with some new oil seals.
29:45There we go.
29:47Seals in.
29:48Right.
29:50A recipe that ensures it's good for the next 100,000 miles.
29:55That should just...
29:56Just give it...
29:57Give it a turn.
29:58Yeah.
29:59That'll squeeze together.
30:00And there is our supercharger, all but finished.
30:06That's great news.
30:07Our little Polo's supercharger lives to see another day.
30:12It's a clever piece of kit.
30:13Much cleverer than it looks from the outside.
30:18Something else that's looking clever from the outside is the Polo's shell.
30:22It's had a coat of original, brilliant Schwartz metallic paint.
30:28And with the supercharger back from its rebuild, it's time to see if those reinforced mounts
30:33are up to the job.
30:34Right.
30:35Come down a little bit more then, Brenton.
30:36Keep coming.
30:37Keep coming.
30:38Keep coming.
30:39Keep coming.
30:40Keep coming.
30:41Looking good.
30:42Yeah.
30:43We're looking perfectly.
30:44Right.
30:45A bit more.
30:46Yeah.
30:47Nine.
30:48Right.
30:49Hold.
30:50Right.
30:51One bolt in.
30:52It's always very satisfying when the engine goes in.
30:57It's a big part of a car, and it's nice to see it sitting in its place.
31:03It kind of gives an air of progress, as long as I don't look that direction.
31:08Yes, there's still a long way to go.
31:13Body panels are missing, as are wheels and an interior.
31:16And with just 24 hours left, Fars still needs to tackle the suspension problem.
31:22Here we have our offside front suspension strut.
31:26Now, one thing that I want to try and do with this car is to avoid a problem that it had
31:30when we inherited it, because it had been lowered so much that this track rod end was
31:37bashing into the wheel arch, puncturing it.
31:40And it makes life very interesting if you're braking, the car goes down at the front, the
31:45steering locks up into the wheel arch, and you can't turn the steering wheel.
31:49You don't want that.
31:51What we have here is what I would basically describe as a McPherson strut.
31:56Now, McPherson struts first came into being in around about the late 50s, early 1960s,
32:02largely on Ford cars.
32:04And what they did was they revolutionized the build of front suspension in that, rather
32:11than having cumbersome wishbones and springs all separately mounted, the McPherson strut
32:17incorporated everything into one.
32:19So a coil spring, and then inside here, a shock absorber.
32:24And then, in this case, we've got the front hub, and in goes the driveshaft at the back
32:29end of that, which is tightened up on the front here.
32:32So it's neat, it's very cost-effective, and it's lightweight as well.
32:39And that's what you want on a car.
32:47With a little bit of a jiggle, that's us in place.
32:50I will loosely fit the pinch bolt through here, goes through like so.
32:56Then it's on with the track rod end in like so.
33:01It may look like the car is complete, but it's only partially there.
33:08I would say 85%, and we're running out of time.
33:14Yes, Fuzz still needs to fit the remaining three suspension setups and install four new
33:20sets of brakes, as well as a mountain of other jobs.
33:25Put the bonnet on, check the vehicle electrics, check that the engine starts.
33:30Yeah, there's a long way to go.
33:35So, it's time to call in the reinforcements to bring this Polo back to life.
33:41Tim's refitting the original interior.
33:43Up here, like this, where you use your arm to lift your leg up, because it hasn't got
33:48the power in it.
33:51And adding a period-correct set of G40-specific wheels.
33:55It's nice to see the right wheels going on the right car.
33:58And for the real aficionados out there, you will recognise the fact that it is a 13-inch
34:03wheel and not a 14.
34:05Which leaves Fuzz and the rest of the team to wire in the electronics and lights, fit
34:13the bumpers, and finally, add the cherry on top.
34:18So, for those of you like me who are really geeky, you might recognise the back of the
34:22badge here, because you've got the recess there that goes into the fin on the grille
34:26and the two clips.
34:27And the noise you'll recognise, listen to this, because we all change the badges on
34:32our cars all the time, make them look like something they weren't.
34:40This is it, Fuzz.
34:42Yep.
34:43The supercharger moment.
34:44It's supercharger time.
34:45The first time we get to hear this car, Anthony's car, running with a supercharger on it.
34:51Go on, start it.
34:52Do it, do it.
34:53Okay.
34:54Right, I'm going to go.
34:55Go on.
34:56Go on, give it some.
34:57I love that, mate, that is just so sweet.
35:02Listen.
35:03Yeah, I love that.
35:06For a little 1.3 litre engine, that is just angry, isn't it?
35:11Tomorrow.
35:12Yeah, come on, what's happening?
35:13Anthony's big day.
35:14Yeah.
35:15What is it?
35:16I've pulled something out of the bag.
35:17Go on.
35:18It's big.
35:19We're talking A-list celebrity big.
35:21Really?
35:22Yep.
35:23I'll give you two letters.
35:24Go on, then.
35:25F1.
35:26That's one letter and one number.
35:30Anyway, forget that for a moment.
35:32Yeah.
35:33You like currys, don't you?
35:34Yeah, I love them.
35:35Get the car sorted.
35:36Yeah.
35:37And I'll text you the address.
35:38Fantastic.
35:39Right.
35:40Excellent.
35:41That's great.
35:42Pop-a-doms.
35:43Yeah.
35:44Dips.
35:45Yep.
35:46Right, bonnet on.
35:47After an astonishing 700 hours of hard work, the boys are finally back in Tamworth, ready
35:54to surprise Anthony with his newly restored Polo G40.
35:58That is a picture, Fuzbot.
36:02It's stunning.
36:03I know.
36:04It could not look better than it does right now, in this sunshine, on a clear, beautiful
36:11day.
36:12It just absolutely pops.
36:13It does.
36:14Ah.
36:15Now.
36:16What?
36:17You mentioned an F1 driver and something about curries.
36:21Where are they?
36:22Right.
36:23I'm going to bring Anthony's car back.
36:24It's too complicated to explain out here.
36:26Follow me.
36:27It'll all make sense.
36:28Come on.
36:29All right.
36:30OK.
36:31I won't let you down.
36:32You've said that before.
36:33Oh, I get it now.
36:34The electrical retailer, not the food.
36:36Exactly.
36:37The place we all love to come as a kid and just peruse, look over all the screens.
36:40Guess what's happening today?
36:41What?
36:42Anthony's mum and dad have just said, son, will you come down to, choose a TV, we'll
36:45have it.
36:46Yeah.
36:47Can do.
36:48Come down and help out.
36:49But when he gets down here, his eyes are going to be drawn to these screens that say the name
36:51of his favourite F1 racing driver on them.
36:54No.
36:55You haven't got Lando Norris.
36:56Yes.
36:57No, you haven't.
36:58No.
36:59Yes, the Lando Norris, who's going to start speaking to him and say, Anthony, go outside.
37:04We've got a treat for you.
37:06Yes.
37:07Anthony's come shopping with his mum and dad, who've said they're after a new telly and
37:12need his advice to help them choose the right one.
37:15So, with Tim tucked out of sight in the storeroom.
37:18Right.
37:19Anthony's here.
37:20He is in the shop.
37:21He's working his way towards the TV.
37:24And fuzz around the back of the shop, hidden away with the car.
37:28It's just a waiting game now.
37:30So, any minute, Anthony and his mum and dad should hopefully come out of that door, closely
37:35pursued by Tim.
37:37The fun can begin.
37:39Do you guys have a particular size you're sort of looking for?
37:43Also in on today's surprise is sales assistant Lucas.
37:47These ones down here, for example.
37:49This is a QLED.
37:50So, you've got QLEDs.
37:52Who's got the job of playing Lando's message at exactly the right moment, to make sure
37:57that Anthony sees it.
37:59Yeah, so I just play this.
38:03Experience all the thrills and spills of this year's Formula 1 season in 75 inches of QLED
38:09ultra-high definition.
38:11Transforming light into life-like...
38:12The sound is coming from this one here.
38:14So, you probably want to vocalise that one.
38:17...truly immersive sound as we catch up with Lando Norris...
38:21This is my favourite bit.
38:23Yeah, Abu Dhabi was incredible.
38:25To end the season like we did, to end with a pole, a race win, the Constructors' Championship
38:31was unbelievable.
38:33So, it's something I'll remember for a long time.
38:35How old is he?
38:37Is that Anthony?
38:40What?
38:42Anthony Parker, right?
38:44From Tamworth.
38:46What's happening?
38:47What the heck?
38:48It's you, right?
38:50We're timing.
38:52Actually, I've got a little surprise for you.
38:54So, I've got a friend waiting, and I've got a little surprise.
38:58Just a little bit.
38:59So, check it out.
39:01What's going on here, then?
39:02So, if you guys just want to follow me.
39:04Yeah, OK.
39:11What the?
39:12Is that my car?
39:14Hello, mate.
39:15Whoa!
39:16How are you doing?
39:17Nice to meet you, Anthony.
39:18I recognise that face.
39:19Do you recognise that car?
39:20Yeah, I've just cut the ridge.
39:21Oh, bloody hell.
39:22Whose is that?
39:23Whose is that?
39:24It's mine.
39:25Anthony, your mum and dad wrote to us.
39:28Said that you're having a very tough time at the moment.
39:30And there was one thing that was really important to you, and that is getting your car on the road.
39:34On the road.
39:35Yeah, yeah.
39:36And there are also a few people here that you might recognise.
39:38Can you bring out Anthony's family, please?
39:41I'm absolutely shocked.
39:44Oh!
39:48Yes, Tony!
39:50You don't know what's going on, do you?
39:51No!
39:52It's too much, isn't it?
39:53It is.
39:54I'm shocked.
39:55I'm absolutely gobsmacked.
39:57Yeah.
39:58Come over.
39:59Come on.
40:00Mum and dad, your mum and dad wrote to us.
40:01Can you explain to your boy why you wrote to us?
40:04We just love you so much and we're so proud of the way you've handled
40:08all these horrible, horrible treatments that you've had to go through.
40:11Chemos, this.
40:12Oh, just endless, isn't it?
40:13Hospital trips.
40:14Oh!
40:15Give him a hug.
40:16Come on.
40:17Come on, dad.
40:18Come on, Tony, give him a hug.
40:22Yeah, yeah.
40:23So, how does it feel?
40:27I don't know what to say.
40:28He's still not sunk in yet.
40:30That's what he's thinking.
40:31Could we have a round of applause for a man who clearly had no idea.
40:35Anthony!
40:36It's G14!
40:37Yes!
40:38When Anthony last saw his beloved G40,
40:41it was a non-running wreck that had spent the last 17 years
40:45rotting away in his garage.
40:50But now this Polo is back to mint condition.
40:54Under the bonnet, the worn front gearbox mounts
40:57are now stronger than ever.
40:59The all-important supercharger has been reconditioned
41:02and stands ready to bring the power.
41:04On the inside, the original 90s interior
41:06looks as good as the day it left the factory.
41:10Finally, it's had an original coat of brilliant Schwarz metallic paint.
41:15There's a new suspension set-up on all four corners,
41:18complete with BBS wheels.
41:22And the all-important red badges have been restored
41:25to their pride of place.
41:28What is it about the Polo G40?
41:31What is it about the Polo G40?
41:33Why this car?
41:35Because it's supercharged.
41:37Simple as that.
41:38Simple as that.
41:39How many miles have you done in this car?
41:42About two in total.
41:45Two?
41:46Two miles I've only ever driven this car.
41:48So owning a very rare, Polo-saving G40
41:51and only driving it two miles.
41:53That must have killed you.
41:54That must have been a pain.
41:55Within 20 years, yeah.
41:57Were you gutted?
41:58Were you gutted?
41:59I just wanted to get it back to original and back on the road.
42:02So to be sitting in it now, what does that mean to you?
42:04That's what I mean.
42:05It's amazing.
42:07Absolutely amazing.
42:08Did you ever think it would get done?
42:10No, I didn't, to be honest.
42:12I thought it would just end up being sold off.
42:15Dragged out of the garage with a winch.
42:17Really?
42:18And sold off for parts, yeah.
42:19And how did that feel, the idea of that?
42:21Ooh, yeah, I didn't want that to happen after all.
42:24Anthony, you're an amazing person.
42:25What have you learned on your journey
42:27from the day you were diagnosed?
42:29What I've learned?
42:30Just carry on.
42:31Really?
42:32Yeah, carry on.
42:33They tell you, oh, no, you can't do that.
42:36Or just sit there.
42:38The more you just sit there and do nothing, the worse you'll get.
42:41Anthony, do you know what I love about you?
42:43You don't want any sympathy, do you?
42:44No, no.
42:45You don't want any sympathy?
42:46I'm one of them people that I don't want fuss or anything like that.
42:50It's everyone else that have been worrying about me.
42:52The wife and my parents.
42:54And I'm just trying to keep saying, look, don't fuss.
42:57Don't fuss.
42:58It will be all right in the end.
43:00Anthony, it gives me great pleasure to present you
43:03with your keys and your key ring and tell you...
43:06I've been car SOS.
43:08Yes, you have.
43:09There you go, mate.
43:10You totally deserve it.
43:11Thank you very much.
43:12Well done.
43:13Enjoy your car.
43:14Yeah.