10x08 - Ford Popular 103E Hot Rod

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wheel
of Dealers, I hunt down

a car from my past that doesn't
seem to make any sense at all.

You can see I'm fighting the
steering, it's all over the place.

Ed is given a mountain to climb.

It's going to be a lot of work to fix.

You love this kind of stuff.

But can he reach the end
without losing his bottle?

It's pretty obvious something's seriously
wrong with the steering on this car.

I have a go at redesigning the wheel.

That's going to be a front
wheel for my car, seriously.

Wow.

And we go all out for the shock factor.

I buy faded iconic cars that need a boost.

Go on, hold that, you're in.

Yes, Ed gets them straight, and then
we sell them on, hopefully for a profit.

This is a Ford, but it might not
be the kind of Ford you're used to.

This short wall base sit-up-and-beg 50s
pop is one of the best bases for a hot rod.

Installing a custom chassis and
a big engine is the route to fun.

It's common to see V8s of up
to 5.7 litres in a car of this size.

It creates a mad-for-it retro rocket.

It's a genuine legal high with sub-12
second quarter-mile credentials.

Fast and furious pops are perfect
if you want something different.

Isn't it time we got one?

Now, there's a very good reason
why I want to get a Ford pop,

and that's because back in the
day, my dad used to own one,

and we used to go to all the custom
car shows together, and I used to love it.

And I always promised myself, one
day, I'm going to treat myself to one,

and that day has finally arrived.

Sub-four grand buys an original 50s pop.

A hot rod will have a new chassis,
engine, gearbox and bodywork,

and prices go from five grand up to 20,

but they're rare and don't
come up for sale often.

I'm a little bit disappointed because
I've got quite a healthy budget

of £10,000, and I thought
I'd find a car at that money,

but to be honest with you,

there's nothing out there
doing the trick for me.

So what I'm going to do is
I'm going to leave messages

on user groups and
forums, plus phone everyone

I know in my book,
and see what pops up.

In the end, Paul our
mechanic gives me a lead.

He knows of a Chevy V8 pop
that's in a garage being worked on,

and the seller will let it
go for six and a half grand.

That's all the information I get.

Although there's not a lot to
go on, it's only round the corner,

so I might as well pop
round and have a look at it.

Now, the Ford pop hot rod
wasn't a mass-produced car.

You couldn't walk into your Ford
car dealership back in the 50s

on all the one with great big
fat wheels and a big V8 engine.

Now, most of these cars were made
by people in their garages and sheds,

and you never know
whether they had the same

amount of mechanical
nous as, say, my head.

So going to look at one of
these, it's always a bit of a gamble.

Well, the GPS has delivered
me to some trading estate

in the middle of nowhere,
and I'm looking for a company.

that specialises in American cars.

So it looks like I'm at the right place.

Let's go meet the guys.

Oh, but before I do, look at the cars.

Look, there's a little
Ford pop I've come to see.

That's very nice.

There's a Mustang. Look, there's a Bel Air.

Oh, look at that one,
there's another Bel Air there.

Fantastic.

Hello? Aha! Here we are.

Hello, fellas. Right, who am I talking to?

I'm Gary. Gary, nice to meet you.

You're the fella I've come to see, and you?

I'm Tim. Tim, nice to meet you.

I'm on the place. This is yours?

Yeah. Tim, the cars out there,
they look fantastic, don't they?

Yeah. Absolutely awesome.

But it's you I've come to see. Yep.

You and that little Ford pop,
can we go out and have a look?

Let's go and have a look.

I'm very excited about seeing this
car because it's a car from my youth,

a car that I remember
when I was growing up.

Right now, what can you tell me about it?

Well, it's a Ford pop, hot rod,

with a 5.7 litre V8 Chevy engine in it.

That's it, do you want
to have a look, Mike?

Has there been any work done to it?

Well, it's pretty much as it is,

but there's some timing
gears that have been put

in it for a nice little
buzz when it's driving,

and it runs really nice now.

Is it? Fantastic.

Horsepower? About 300 horsepower,

so it does go really well.

OK. Well, you've got an
immense amount of power,

you've got special transmission, but you
need to get all that power down on the road.

It's got a Jaguar back axle on
the back as well to take the power.

Shall we have a look? Yeah, sure.

Right then, Gary, let's have a good look.

Oh, yeah, that looks great.

And it's got a three-inch exhaust
system all the way through,

which sounds really great. Fantastic.

OK. Well, that's all good.
I love the engineering.

The one thing I can see
that really does let it down

is the paintwork.
I mean, the roof is a mess.

Look at this down here on this front wing.

I mean, it's all over, isn't it?

OK. Right, let's have a good look inside,

because I've noticed
that this used to be a little

four-seater car, but now
it's reduced to two seats.

Yep. And I seem to be
sitting in the back of the car.

That's right. Yeah, it is a
strange driving position, Mike.

A typical hot rod sort of thing.

It seems to have all the
right stuff that a hot rod needs.

It's got all the proper
switches here to turn it off.

It's even got a little jet fighter toggle
switch there to turn the motor on.

Yeah, nice big rev
counter on the dashboard.

Fantastic.

Feels like a hot rod. Yeah.

Well, that's sort of put
a little smile on my face,

cos the interior is one of
the nicer bits of this car.

Good. So why is it here?

Why is it down at Tim's workshop?
What's wrong with it?

Well, there is a problem with it, Mike,
and the problem is with the steering.

It's tight, the camber's all wrong,
and it's just dangerous to drive.

Is it?

See, that's a bit of a problem for me,

because I can't come here
without taking it for a test drive.

OK.

MUSIC PLAYS Well, I already had
a sneaky feeling that Gary would say

that I wouldn't be able to
drive the car on the road,

so it's a good job I bought
the Van and the trailer,

cos I've managed to bring the car
to this place, and this is an airfield.

As you can see, there's
a huge expanse of space.

I can get in the Ford
Pop and give it a good

run for its money to
see what it can really do.

Right, let's get it off and have some fun.

Yeah, go on.

Here we go.

Oh! Oh!

The V8's kicked it to the left!

She's away!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

You can see I'm fighting the steering.

It's going all over the place.

Oh, but it feels good.

I'll tell you, that engine is,
oh, wonderful, really sprightly.

And for the rest of it, I mean,
it's got this weird bounce.

On the front suspension,
I think I've probably worn

out shock absorbers,
and that will need fixing.

But I'll tell you what, have
you ever seen a man so happy?

Look at me!

Right, now, this is my
only opportunity to really

make sure that this
car is all together there,

so I'd better just check this
gearbox has got all the gears in it.

So we know it goes forwards,
we know it's got a park,

but does it have a reverse that works?

Yes, it does.

Oh, what's going on there?

There's a problem with it.

Do you know what that is?

The wheels on the front of the car
are both turned in different directions.

That's another problem
that's got to be fixed.

So the thing is, do I want this car?

Six and a half thousand
pound, which is what he wants,

is far too much money.

But somehow there's something inside
me that says this car needs rescuing.

Quite possibly, me and
Ed are the men to do it.

Well, then, Gary, what can I say?

That was a very exciting test drive. Good.

Yeah, it was hold on to your
hat and just pray, wasn't it, really?

You're right, it does go
in a straight line very well,

but I tell you, there's something drastically
wrong with that steering on that car,

and it's going to need a whole
heap of work to get that car sorted out.

But I suppose it all comes down
to the end of the day to price.

How much did you want for it?

I won £6,500 for it.

I was thinking more like £5,000.

I can't do it for £5,000.

I know they're rare and I
know they're difficult to find,

and I have struggled to find
one, to be honest with you.

I'll go up another £500.

£5,500. What do you say?

I'll tell you what, I'll meet
you halfway in the middle.

£6,000, it's a deal.

£6,000.

What am I doing? Go on, hold out your hand.

Yes, I just bought myself a hot rod.

I'm more than happy to
have backed a pot with

this much pace for less
than a magic £10,000.

But there's the
paintwork, bodywork and

potentially a mine of
mechanical mess to sort out.

Perhaps I should get rid of
those Rose-tinted glasses.

This could unravel.

I've either done something very wonderful.

or... Oh!

It could be $8,000, or very stupid.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, who's drifting?

I followed my heart and
bought a four-pot hot rod.

It's a pot that's just not safe to drive.

It needs big paintwork and
serious engineering medicine.

But it does tease out a grin.

Have you ever seen a man so happy?

And if I can get a smile
on Edd China's face,

I might get him to tackle the
mountain of work that it needs.

Well, I've been slightly overcome
with emotion on this purchase.

My usual logic has deserted me,

but it's starting to come back to me now.

I'm starting to remember
what I've got to do with

this car, because what
we need to do is think back

to why people bought
hot rods in the first place.

They didn't buy them because
they wanted a nice, comfortable car.

They didn't buy them for family holidays.

No, they bought them
because there was a hot rod.

They wanted something
that was brash, loud and flash.

They wanted something that made
them look like they were in the car.

Something that made them look different.

Something that stood out from the crowd.

What we need to do is to make this
the wildest and craziest car on the road.

We need to make this car the coolest vehicle
out there and really, really stand out.

Now, does that sound like a plan?

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

Well, that sounds fantastic, mate.
Well done.

I'm glad you like the sound of it,

because it is the most
ridiculous, stupid car out there,

and I've gone and bought it for us.

I have to say, I am kind of speechless.

That's good that you're speechless,

because the one thing this car
does do is it makes you smile.

Look at the state of it.
The paint clearly needs to be sorted out.

This wing, from the
start, is all full of chod.

I mean, it's not good.

Ed, you always focus on the negatives.

Where's the positives in this car?

Can't you see them? That's a good question.

First of all, you heard the noise. Yes.

It hasn't got a little 1.0-litre,
four-cylinder engine under there.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Underneath here, you're going
to find a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8,

300 brake horsepower.

It's got timing gears, everything
makes that lovely whining noise, yes.

Now, that is definitely a good point.

I will Grant you that, but I
think it might be one of none.

No, there's other good points.
Let me show you.

All right. Ignore the paint work.

That's actually difficult to
hear, to be honest, mate.

Ignore the paint work there.

Right, look at the exhaust at the back.

Look at those. Slightly shiny.

Yeah, nice. Look underneath.
Look at that rear diff.

All right, so you've got
your classic Jag back axle.

I'm not sure about the paint
there, but it does look good.

It's got all the right sort of bits on it.

It's had a load of work
done on the rear diff.

It's really good order.

Have a look inside.

Hey, what do you think of that?

I'll see it right in the back here.

Yeah, you'd say it's got... Well,
it's got kind of a bit of a roll cage.

You've got the dials and stuff.

It's got, you know, some of the right bits
in here, which is kind of a nice start.

What do you mean, some of the nice bits?

It's got everything you need.

It's got a nice funky little rev counter.

It's got all the stuff here.

It's got switch gear, toggle buttons.

You're going to feel
like a jet pilot in here.

It needs to be tidied up.

What kind of money did it cost?

It was six.

600 quid? That is cheap.

No, 6,000 pounds, Ed.

Oh, wait.

This is the best one in this condition.

I know it sounds expensive.

Yeah?

I'm slightly scared now.

I mean, obviously we haven't
even touched on that kind

of cataclysmic problem that
is bound to be with this car.

Why does it have to be cataclysmic?

Can't it just be a problem?

First of all, the car turned
up here on the trailer

because it just doesn't
steer straight or anything.

Honestly, there's something wrong

with the front suspensions,
front steering geometry.

It's all over the place.

It turns left to go
right, right to go left.

If you put it in reverse,

the wheels split and
go in different directions.

Well, I'm not that surprised

because hot rods often suffer
from really terrible steering

because there's loads of different
components from different cars.

So it's going to be a lot of work to fix.

No, you love this kind of stuff.

Yeah, but it's going to be a huge
amount of work, probably a lot of expense.

It's probably a morning's
work to a man like you.

You're a genius.

Okay, what I need you to do
with this car is go absolutely crazy.

I mean, go off the sheet, go wild.

I want people passing out

as this car drives past them in the street.

Okay, that can be done.

It is the only hope we have.

of finding a punter for it.

All right, well, let's
get it in the workshop.

Cool.

No, it's kind of growing on me.

I told you.

I think just because of the challenge.

I told you.

But it's going to take ages
and it's going to cost loads.

Oh, you're going to love it.

Hmm.

So Mike's been on a bit of a nostalgic
journey and bought us a hot rod.

That's all very well.

It is a fun car, but hot rods can be
notoriously unpredictable to work on.

They're not mass produced.

They're custom made in workshops,
sheds and even the odd kitchen.

So some are engineered to
perfection and others are rather lacking.

No prizes for guessing
which camp ours falls into.

The big moment with our
pop is steering and handling

that is unpredictable
and downright dangerous.

And it doesn't take long to see why.

Now, even to the untrained
eye, it's pretty obvious

something's seriously wrong
with the steering on this car.

Right now with the
suspension in its lowest position,

you can see the wheels
are towing out massively.

They're pointing in different directions.

They should be pretty
much pointing straight ahead.

Now, the reason for that
is a problem or discrepancy

between the steering and
the suspension geometry.

So if you imagine you put a
line from the top inner joint.

through the bottom inner joint and kind
of project it down, wherever the rack is,

the pivot point of our track rod in here
should actually be somewhere on that line.

So it should be about here somewhere
in this current position of the rack.

Now, because it's actually out here,

it means that the track
rod is actually too short.

So if you imagine the suspension is
going up and down as you're driving along,

then theoretically your steering.

should be doing the same thing.

So you're working the same arc.

Now, if you were to
pivot it somewhere else,

it's too short, you can
see what's gonna happen

is you actually get a kind
of a shortening of that arc,

which means that of course
that's pulling the steering

one way or another when
you're going up and down.

Well, here's what's going to happen.

The rusty front wings are going in the bin.

The old suspension follows closely behind
and the inner wings are pretty rubbish too.

Let's say goodbye to them.

So now we're ready for some new suspension.

The only thing is I no
longer have a reference

as to exactly where
it's supposed to go.

We need to know where the wheel is in
relation to the centre of the wheel arch.

So we need a wheel arch.

And to that end, we now have
this lovely fibreglass flip front.

Costs just under 300 pounds.

It's the sort of thing
you see on a drag racing

car because it's very
strong and very light.

Now, it has a clever little
hinge on the front down there

so that you can
actually hinge the whole

thing out of the way to
give you better access

to the engine and the suspension.

I temporarily offer up the new bonnet.

I've got hold of a secondhand
Jaguar XJ8 subframe,

the unit which holds the
suspension for a mere 150 pounds.

It's in great condition.

And because it's steel, it's easier to
modify than if it were made out of aluminium.

And since the rear set up on this car
also comes from a Jag, it's a no brainer.

So, well, first thing is obvious.

We're gonna have to have this wheel,

or at least the hub,
further into the wheel arch.

That's fine.

That's gonna be no problem at all.

But that actually means that this
rear mount is gonna nestle beautifully

just underneath that bit of
chassis there, which is fantastic.

And then if you look at the front, we
can see we've got just enough room,

and it is just enough
room for the anti-roll bar.

So that's pretty cool.

But clearly what's gonna have to go

is all of this original mounting
for the old suspension.

So it's no real loss, particularly,
just means an awful lot of cutting.

This is the best thing to the pop.

It's just been over-modified and
the steering geometry will never work.

The remnants of the old
suspension are cut away,

but I make sure I leave enough metal behind
to attach the replacement Jaguar subframe.

But there's a problem.

On these temporary wheels,

I've marked out where
I want the edge of the

wheel to finish up
when the car's complete.

And this side looks good,

but because the assembly
comes from a wider Jaguar,

the other side is less pretty.

Oh dear.

Well, look at that.

That is quite a bit of narrowing
that needs to be done.

200 millimeters has gotta
come out of that subframe.

So I gotta take the whole thing apart,

Mark it all out, and then start cutting.

I break down the new subframe again, measure
and cut, removing the middle section,

leaving a beveled edge to
help with the welding later.

The anti-roll bar needs to be narrowed too

and I insert a tube into
the shortened section

to retain strength and
maintain alignment.

Then I MIG weld the two sections together,

but before the narrowed
subframe goes back on the car,

I extend the chassis
rails using box section,

which is then gusseted and
fully welded onto the old chassis.

This new setup will look better

and it will be stronger than before.

This steel work could run into
the thousands of the specialists,

but I wouldn't recommend
tackling a job like

this unless you're an
experienced fabricator.

Replacing the suspension
on our pop has been a huge

job, but well worth it
because now, as we know,

we have zero bump steer,
much better geometry,

and we even have better
brakes as well, which of course

is a good thing with this
big, powerful, heavy V8.

Thing is though,

if all the jobs on our
car are gonna take

this long to do, we have
a big problem ahead.

Ed's asked me to sort out
some new wheels for the pop

because he thinks that's part
of the car's current problem.

He thinks that the wheels
aren't sitting on the road

correctly and that's
adding to the awful steering.

Off the shelf wheels wouldn't fit our pop.

So Ed's come up with a design and I'm
gonna try and bring that design to life.

No easy tasks.

The wheels Ed wants are to be
milled from a single block of billet.

Hey up, you Stuart?

Hello, Mike.

Stuart, good to meet you.

Thank you.

You all right?

Oh, so you got the drawing from Ed?

Yeah, you're just in time.

I've just finished everything now.

It's all ready to go now.

Perfect.

I would love to see the
whole process taking place.

Oh, let's go and have a look, shall we?

Fantastic.

Well, it's nice to see
some work going on here,

but what's this then?

Well, here we are, Mike.

This will be the first of your
front wheels for your car.

That's gonna be a front
wheel for my car, seriously.

What is that then?

That's just a big lump of steel.

No, no.

That is a piece of aircraft
grade aluminium alloy.

Wow.

This is a very select and bespoke
service that uses big money machines.

This company also make
wheels for Formula 1 racing cars.

So they're all about precision and quality.

Okay, mate, that's ready to go, mate.

You wanna start it?

I'd love to start it.

That button there?

Yeah.

Hard work, that.

Over half an hour, the block is
diamond cut into a wheel-like shape,

which is the exact offset
that Ed needs for the pop.

Dan and James, that looks remarkably done.

Not quite.

We've just done the first side.

We're gonna flip it over now.

Do the second side of the profile

and you'll really see the
wheel start to take shape.

So does that mean I get
to press the button again?

Yeah, of course you can, mate.

Go for it.

Hot work.

Oh, hold on, you've gone in
and pressed another button.

If you want custom wheels made,

the lead time for these is three months.

Hey, brilliant.

So that is the outside of my wheel,

but clearly, James, even I can
see that there's something missing.

We're gonna have some
holes in this, some spokes.

So where'd you do that?

We're gonna take it over to Stuart now,

get him to mill the spokes into it.

and put the fixing bolts.

Right, lovely.

Let's go for it.

Into a new machine, using
a good old-fashioned drill bit,

the rotating head crafts out five
spokes in less than 10 minutes.

There we go, Mike.

Job done.

That's the end of it.

Is it?

That's it finished now.

Oh, get it out.

Let's have a look.

From that billet of alloy to a wheel.

Fantastic.

So is that it?

Is it ready to be matched up to
the other half of the wheel now?

Not quite, Mike.

We've gotta go and get it polished
now so it's nice and shiny for on the car.

Right, let's do it.

And once the wheel's polished,

we use a pre-prepared rim,

which screws to the new front.

Right, that is one finished wheel.

Does that look good?

Or almost?

Because that'll be the little
finishing touch right there.

And you can see this is a unique wheel.

This'll suit the characteristics
of our pop down to a T.

But I can't wait to see
Ed's face when we get

these back to the workshop
and bolted to the car.

It's gonna feel like it's Christmas.

Thank you so much.

It's all right, Mike, my pleasure.

I'm very chuffed with these wheels.

The only fly in the
ointment, I guess, is the price.

We paid 1,700 pounds for ours,

but it's usual to spend 5,000
pounds on a set of custom wheels.

But the pop is all about
making a statement.

Will these wheels plus Ed's work

deliver us a car that will stop traffic?

This is a Ford pop.

It's mad, it's bad, and it's dangerous.

You can see I'm fighting the steering.

It's going all over the place.

Oh, but it feels good.

It's been a childhood
dream of mine to buy a pop,

but maybe I shouldn't have bought this one.

As it turns left to go
right, right to go left.

If you put it in reverse,

the wheels split and
go in different directions.

Ed's tackled the wayward steering,

but that's only scratching the surface.

This one's gonna be a biggie.

With all the mechanical
work now sorted on the car,

I need to cover all that workmanship
up with this fiberglass flip front.

Now, handily, it comes with a steel
frame that goes all the way around there.

It's been glassed into
the fiberglass structure.

Got these two little metal
brackets on the end there

with some holes which
form half of the hinge.

So all I need now is
the other half of the

hinge, which will join
this to the subframe.

You can't buy these hinges off the
shelf because each vehicle is different.

Instead, I'm using some
more box action and tubing

to fabricate a bracket
which will fix underneath

the anti-roll bar and
screw into the flip front.

This unit will still need
some prep at the paint shop,

but for now, as far as
I'm concerned, it's sorted.

With the flip front in place,

it's now time to work
some magic on the rear end.

Now, first of all, I want
to reroute the exhaust.

It seems a bit untidy
coming out from underneath,

though it could be much cooler
if it comes out of the wings.

And then there are these rear lights.

These actually replace the originals,

but they're not exactly
legal by modern standards,

so I actually want to
remove them as well,

but then I want to add these,
which are much more up to date.

Well, my plan is to
actually follow an old custom

trick and French them
into the fiberglass arches,

and that means actually
cut some holes in the wings,

position the exhaust and the
lights inside some sculpted tubes,

and then those are then
bonded into the wings.

That's the great thing about custom cars.

You have an idea and you just do it.

Essentially, I'm gonna set
these cups into the wings,

which will hold both the tailpipes
and my LED light clusters.

So I decide where to put them
and then get busy with the hole saw.

When you're cutting
glass-reinforced plastic,

make sure you're wearing a
mask and goggles and use a

dust extractor while being
in a well-ventilated workshop,

as the dust from this
work is very hazardous.

These plant parts are just the right size

and are used for measurement
purposes and to form

the mold for these GRP
cups I'm actually gonna use.

Right, the next thing I have to
do is try and work out exactly

where these little fiberglass buckets
gonna sit on the back of our wing.

So first of all, I just wanna work
out where our light unit's gonna go.

I want it just on the very cusp
of the hole in the wing there.

So what I've done is measured
its thickness and used a bit of tape

to kind of give that
representation on our bucket.

And then if I then offer
that bucket up into the hole,

as long as I have the edge of that fiberglass
on the edge of the hole in the wing,

that'll be in the right position.

So now what I can use, I can use a marker
just to draw all the way around there

and then use this as a template
in our fiberglass buckets.

You with me so far?

Frenching is a bit of a black art
and if you need work like this done,

you'll find body workers who might take
it on for between 500 and 1000 pounds.

Once I've got my profile lined up,

I tee up the glass reinforced plastic.

That is looking pretty cool.

So the next stage really,

before I can start fiberglassing is
actually just to glue g*n this into position

so I can take the wing off the car
and just finish the job off on the bench.

I fiberglass the cups
to the inside of the wing

by stippling pieces of fiberglass
matting with oodles of resin.

It goes off very quickly, so
it has to be fitted rather fast.

Once the cups are in
place, I offer up my new

exhaust pods into the
refitted primered wings.

The custom exhaust tips contain a
ring of LEDs which I'll reveal later on.

I use foam to help center their position
so I'm absolutely sure they're correct.

And later on, I'll need to
reroute the exhaust system to fit.

I won't be able to complete this
until the body shop has done their job.

That's another thing on my list.

Mike really wants our forward
pop to stand out from the crowd

and it's modifications like this
that are gonna really help it do that.

Now unfortunately, I've
still got tons of work still to do

but if everything goes to plan,
this car is gonna look fantastic.

Ed, you all right, son?

I'm good, sir, how are you?

How you doing?

Not bad at all.

Looks like you've been hard at work lavishing
attention on our little forward pop.

If I'm not mistaken,
it's a bit of fiberglass.

Now, the last time I see this car,
that was metal and it was all red.

So what's going on?

We've had quite a few issues to sort out

and actually this flip front
is the tip of the iceberg.

just to make the body work
replacement a lot easier.

But look at that, that's very, very cool.

And the thing is, you see under here,

we had that real problem
with the suspension geometry.

So what I ended up doing
is scrapping it completely.

We've replaced it with a modified
subframe from a Jaguar XJ8.

Now the idea is that obviously that
Jaguar suspension is so, so much better.

It's just gonna handle beautifully.

Fantastic.

Well, I'm pleased about that and
I'm happy not to risk life and limb

on the test drive of this car
because it was dangerous before.

And the fact now we've got a Jaguar
front end to match the Jaguar rear end.

But a little mini Jag, innit?

Exactly.

That's all good stuff, Ed.

What about this nasty
bodywork and the way it looks?

Well, I've got a pretty awesome
idea for the paint job, which is fantastic.

But just to go with that,
I've also done some tasteful

modifications to the body
work at the back end as well.

Fantastic.

Well, I can really see that you
put in hundreds of man hours,

but I think you've got
to redouble your efforts

because it looks like
you're gonna have to put in,

well, a hundred more
hours to get it finished.

Thanks for that.

It's showtime.

The pop needs a color
and it needs to be special.

Mike's father owned Pinball
Wizard, a legendary Ford pop.

And I wanna play on
those memories of his youth.

I've come to a custom
paint supplier to see if

they've got anything that's
different enough for us.

Hello, are you Justin?

I'm indeed.

Good to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Ed.

Thank you, sir.

All right, now this is the car I
was telling you about on the phone.

Now there are loads of different paint jobs,
it seems, in a very short space of time.

I think this is the oldest

and I quite like this
kind of striped sort

of motif that sort of
highlights the edges.

But I don't want to copy it, I just
want to kind of pay homage to it.

And you seem to have so
many different kind of effects.

What's the best thing to go for?

Well, we've got plenty
of colors here for you.

We've got a changing color effect here.

Quite TVR and a little bit
Nissan micro, to be honest.

So maybe that's not, I'm gonna
go something a bit more retro

because I'm kind of going old
school, new school with this car.

This is our base Pearl range,

very rich colors, pearlescent.

They are really awesome, actually.

That's a fantastic color,
a really lovely effect.

But the thing is, I think, again,
it's still a little bit too modern.

I want to go something more retro.

Okay.

Definitely not going to go
fluorescent, that's for sure.

But I mean, like, these are the days.

This is what Hot Rods was all about,
the candies and the metal flakes.

So, okay, what's the one
on the car outside then?

The one outside, we used
the silver medium flake.

with a candy over the top.

But we do a full range
of colored flakes as well.

That's cool.

Well, the wine red is quite a nice
color, but maybe it's not quite right.

I mean, the fuchsia's a bit too bright.

And so, okay, I think
we're gonna go with

the purple in the
medium flake for the base.

But then, obviously, for the stripes,

we need something contrasting.

And I guess with purple, I
mean, it could be perhaps silver.

I mean, it could even be green or gold.

I mean, maybe even pink.

We do have other flake effects as well.

This is a holographic.

So they kind of have a sort of a
rainbow effect, which I can kind of see.

This looks a bit flat in this light.

Well, if you take it outside,

you'll see the rainbow
pop and see the effect.

Let's give it a go.

Let's go.

Oh, look at that.

That's fantastic.

That is so sparkly.

Yeah, it really pops in the sunlight.

That is amazing.

And the cool thing is in a dull
light, it's gonna look quite subtle.

The stripes will almost be hidden.

But then in bright sunlight or
perhaps maybe a street lamp,

it's really, really gonna sing.

That's amazing.

Well, I am sold.

We'll go with the purple for the base and
the holographic gold for the top stripes.

Excellent.

Well, let's get made up for it.

Custom cars and hot
rods are all about the look

and their paint jobs
can be wildly expensive.

Paint alone for this job will
be many hundreds of pounds.

Hi Brian, how's it going?

I'm good, how are you?

I'm very well.

I've got the paint.

Check this out for a base coat.

Wow, that's gonna look cool.

For those kind of red stripes,

we've got this pretty awesome
kind of holographic gold.

Okay.

Yeah, that'll work.

Let's get it on.

Absolutely, let's do it.

Brian, who's a bit of a legend
on the custom paint scene,

has had the pop for two weeks
and has made a start on it.

Now the guys have already
put the pop into a black primer

that helps the color really
pop out once it's finished

and Brian is now putting on
the first coat of our lovely purple.

Now you can see it's actually
quite subtle at this stage.

It's gonna take six, eight,
maybe even 10 coats

of the stuff before the
color really looks amazing.

A true custom paint job can take
weeks and cost serious money.

I'm afraid Mike is gonna go a little green

at the gills on this one as I'm expecting
to part with up to 7,000 pounds altogether.

Well, Mike did tell
me to go all out and

impress and that's the
price of making waves.

At least, I hope so.

Oh wow.

Hi Ed.

Look at this.

That's looking really, really good.

Obviously you've still got a bit on
the bonnet and the boot to do, I guess.

Yeah, because of the
fogging on these panels,

we're having to do them
individually so we're not

doing the whole thing
covered in gold over spray.

Of course.

So we've still got the bonnet tops to do,

some of the back fenders
to do and the boat lid.

And I guess lacquer
on top of all that as well.

Absolutely, yeah.

They're flat in and polishing.

I can't wait to see this
finish back in the workshop.

Mate, you've done an awesome job.

Thank you, sir.

Pleasure, thank you.

I'll leave you to it.

The pot looks the money,
but it really is the money.

Our spend so far is topping
10 grand and our usual

penny pinching seems to
have been thrown to the wind.

Will Mike's emotional
connection to this car ruin us?

We've got a full pot.

My dad used to have one
and I wanted one to recreate

those golden days, but
this pot has some issues.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, he's drifting.

Ed's taken on the steering,
the body and he's working

on a k*ller paint job
that I can't wait to see.

But there's a cost to
all this and there are far

too many zeroes in a car
that's not even complete.

Look at that, the pop is
back from the paint shop.

Brian and the boys
have done a fantastic job.

They've now put on the
lacquer and polished it up.

And even in this slightly
dull light, it's actually

looking really sparkly, which
is exactly what I wanted.

It's also nice that everything's bolted
back on, or at least it's beginning to be.

We've got the wings in
place, we've got the debt lid

in place, and so I can
really see that Frenching.

And once all the lights are
in place, the exhaust tips are

going to be on there, this
car is going to look fantastic.

But as always, I've got tons still to
do, so I better get back in the workshop.

Well, it's getting pretty exciting because
the pop is already looking really good

and this is really the best
part of a build like this.

This is where all the last few bits of
our motoring Jigsaw come together.

And it's only really now.

that I can find out whether all those
choices I've made are actually going to gel.

I'm treating the pop
to a bit of engine bling.

The lump itself has always been great,

but now it's moving up a
league in the looks department.

When I finish, I'll have spent
more than 1,000 pounds,

but if you want your engine
to look more presentable,

you can Chrome up key
parts for a quarter of that.

I'm adding a new set of rocker covers,

headers, alternator,

and replacing all the ancillary items too.

I'll throw in a set of V belts as well.

Every bit of this engine is on show

and I've got a special
reason for wanting to please,

which you'll see later.

And with USA retro air filter on top,

I can bring back the flip
front to its rightful place.

It's all coming together.

Now the Ford pop has been
customized for many years,

therefore pretty much
everything has been

tried to make them
look a little bit different.

Now you can see these stainless steel
grills on the front and side of the bonnet.

That's pretty much a standard kit
these days, but to my knowledge,

nobody's actually gone as far as
cutting a hole in the top of the bonnet

and then putting the stainless
steel rods up there as well.

So it's a unique feature,
but also it means you

can see all that lovely
glorious engine inside.

And now our engine looks as good as it
does, who wouldn't want to show it off?

One of the classic features of the Ford pop

are the lovely pod headlamps
that sit on top of the wings.

Now, of course, back in the day, that
would also come with separate lights

for the indicators and
also the side lights,

which rather clutters
up the front of the car.

Now we've gone to some
trouble to try and smooth

everything off,
particularly at the back end.

And a way of retaining that lovely retro
look, but actually going a bit more modern,

is by using these fantastic
Venom headlamp units.

Thanks to the wonders of LED,

I can deliver all those
multiple lights in one retro unit.

And you can even spec Xenon if you want to.

These lights at 200 quid a pair are
great value and really set off the front.

And I'll carry on with my
LED theme at the back

with LED light clusters and
very special exhaust tips.

In the interior, I haven't gone too wild,

just some basic dash retrimming, carpeting,

and some restrained seats with some lap
belts sandwiched between them and the floor.

Freshly covered door
cards finish things off nicely,

and I've got one more trick up my sleeve.

Now I've set myself the task of creating
a backlit retro style number plate.

And you can see here,
I've actually cut all the holes.

out of a normal aluminum sheet here.

And you've even got the
backlight unit using a string of LEDs.

And then once all that's assembled,
I can then stick this in place.

It's a great way of adding
some real bling, cheaply.

I've only spent about 50 pounds
and it's a nice talking point.

I'm using the power supply from
the old number plate illumination

to power my new funky
backlit retro style plate.

A crafty bit of double-sided tape
holds the whole thing in place.

Now all I have to do is
add those amazing wheels

that Mike has had made
and the whole job is done.

The challenge of transforming
this pot was daunting enough

without the extra complication
of Mike's emotional connection.

But after hours and hours of work
and a frightening amount of money,

we've ended up with something
that really is just brilliant.

I painted this Ford pop as a homage

to the car that Mike's dad used to own.

But the pop is now so much more than that.

Using the best of what it had, a powerful
350 engine and a reliable auto box,

it's now picked up a
new front end, interior,

and the paint work that it
needed to become a national star.

Am I proud of what we've achieved?

You bet.

This Ford pop was in a garage
awaiting work where Mike

tracked it down and discovered
it wasn't fit for the road.

You can see I'm fighting the steering.

It's all over the place.

But still decided to take it on.

Go on, hold out your head.

Yes!

The front end needed
much more than an overhaul.

I got busy with the grinder and
we ended up with a new subframe,

extended chassis, and a flipped front.

Mike also got us some cool custom wheels.

It's to suit the characteristics
of our pop down to a T.

And the rest of the body
won some custom mods.

This car is gonna look fantastic.

Mike told me to make the car shocking,

so I took a risk on
purple metal flake paint

work with custom striping
and ghosting effects.

Then I blinged up the engine
and got the pop back together.

But what does the kitty look like?

Well, I'm afraid it's a
little worse for wear.

The car costs six grand,

but you don't get a
pop like this for peanuts.

Our total spend is 18,250 quid,

about three times the
original cost of the car.

I really hope Mike thinks it's worth it.

Now Michael, I have spent
loads of hours with this car,

but it's about time you actually managed
to clap your eyes on it for the first time.

I'm genuinely so excited about seeing it.

I wanted to peek under the covers,
but I've managed to contain myself.

But come on, Ed, I can't wait any longer.

I can see the color, the color looks.

Here we go, here we go.

Oh, no!

Look at that.

Oh, my God.

It is absolutely amazing.

I love it.

What on earth, though, are we
doing down here in South End?

I've got a really good reason for that.

Hop in.

Wow.

Now, Ed, these little cars,
you've barely fit in them,

but somehow you've managed
to squeeze yourself into this.

Well, I have just managed to
shoehorn myself in for this only occasion.

I mean, pops are notoriously small on
the inside, but I've managed it for today.

Well, you say you managed
to squeeze yourself in,

there is a large proportion of your
body actually over my side of the car.

Last time I drove this car,

seriously, I took my life in my hands,

it tried to k*ll me.

Yeah, well, absolutely.

I mean, it was a terrible,
terrible bit of engineering.

So we've spent a lot of time
and effort getting it sorted now.

So it's got a Jaguar front end,

it'll be narrow.

It's now got really good geometry.

It's going to work a treat.

But have you retained this car's soul?

Because I want you to jump on the loud
pedal to see if it's still got that noise.

Are you ready for this?

All right, yes, yes it has.

Now, what are we doing
down here in South End?

What's the surprise?

Well, the thing is South End is
notorious as a destination for hot rodders.

And there's a young man who
knows an awful lot about the subject.

I'm hoping he's going
to give us first approval.

I'll see what you've done.

You clever boy, you.

It's me, Dad.

That's all right.

How are you?

How are you?

Good to see you.

Yeah, right?

Oh, what a surprise.

That is a surprise.

How's it going?

Thank you so much, Ed.

This brings back memories.

I bet you it does.

Well, you know, back in the day,

you were part of that
scene where people were

customizing and hot
rodding cars back in the 70s.

Everything I know about
cars, I learned from this man.

He is the master.

So this is a modern
interpretation and recreation

of the kind of stuff
you did back then.

So what do you think then?

You can see we've
got some trick stuff here.

We've got this lovely
metallic paint from the 70s.

Also a little bit of a
homage to the original

pinball was at least
one of the paint jobs.

Pins type.

Pins type, exactly.

So yeah, it's all looking rather lovely.

And what's it running?

We'll show you if you like.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Shall we go round?

Yeah, have a look.

Flip front.

Flip front.

You ready?

We did it properly.

Lovely.

Here we go.

What do you think of that?

That's beautiful, lovely.

Edelbrock headers.

Edelbrock headers,
it's a 5.7 litre Chevy V8.

Yeah, beautiful, beautiful.

Twin fans, I can hear
them cooling the piece.

Absolutely, and also you can probably
see we've got this whole Jaguar front end.

And the back end?

Jaguar.

Jaguar as well, yeah.

We'll show you.

Has to be.

Delights.

I love the French hint and I love the LEDs.

I wish we had LEDs in my day.

You can do so much with them.

Check this out, I think this is my
favourite bit on the back end actually.

We've got the number plate
here, but I've actually backlit it.

So it's a retro number plate,

but we've backlit LEDs again.

It's fabulous, the
whole thing looks really.

So what I'm hoping to get from you, Dad,

is this seal of approval because, you know,

back in your day this would
have been something else.

I think Ed, you know, I buy a piece of
old junk, as you know, I'll give it to him,

and he works his magic.

Absolutely.

And we end up with something
that just looks amazing like this.

So, marks out of 10, what do you reckon?

It's got to be a 10, isn't it?

Really?

Absolutely.

Hey, get in there.

Thank you for that, sir.

Well done, Dad.

Thanks, Dad.

Thank you so much.

But the surprises aren't stopping for Mike.

While the pop was still in bits, I was
contacted by a serious car collector,

a guy who was looking for
a car that would stand out.

I told him, why not piggyback
the pop's maiden voyage?

Maybe Mike can turn some
passing interest into a sale.

Alright then, Kev.

How are you, mate?

You alright?

Great to see you, brilliant.

So what do you reckon?

It's amazing, it's incredible.

Up front, we've got a whole new subframe,

we've got a whole new front end.

It's got a Chevy 5.7 litre V8,

all wrapped up in this full pop body.

5.7?

5.7 litre.

So it must go then?

This thing gets down a
road like a scalded cat.

Trust me, it really does.

It's shouty, it's loud, it's fast,

and it looks absolutely fabulous.

You've seen and got all
the information about it.

Yeah, yeah.

But I didn't think you were
buying it for yourself, were you?

No, I'm buying it for Adrian.

He's a great friend of mine.

I've known him for years.

So what I'm looking for is £25,000.

What do you reckon?

Well, Adrian's told me that he's
happy to go to 20 grand on the car.

I can't take that for the car.

See that C?

I'll either throw you
in it or you can go for

a swim in it, but I
can't take that for it.

There's so much work gone into this car.

It's worth much more than that.

I've let it go a little bit cheaper.

Because you're here and I do want to
sell it, I'll let you have it for £24,000.

What'd you say?

He's told me that if it
looks worth it, which it does,

he'll go up to 22 grand on the car.

Don't do this to me, please.

Let's meet in the middle, £23,000,
and you've got yourself a right bargain.

What'd you say?

Okay, 23 grand.

Yes, just bought yourself, full pop.

Well, well, a sale,

and the car hasn't even been on the market.

And better than that, more
than four grand in profit.

I didn't expect that, but this car is
all about challenging expectations.

Now this car started
out a bit of a nightmare,

but it's actually turned
out an absolute dream

and a better dream than
I could have hoped for.

Not only that, it's turned
us a little bit of profit.

And if you want to see
more iconic cars like

this that are a bit
faded around the edges,

being turned around by me and Ed,

then join us again soon
on Wheel of Dealers.

Salut.