07x06 - Bond Bug

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, the show that

takes iconic cars that
have seen better days

and turns them back into
dream machines. Now, I

buy the cars, and I get
them looking fantastic

and running great, and then we sell them
on for a profit. And that's the challenge.

Now, this time we're on the hunt for one of
the most distinctive classic cars to ever

grace British roads.
This one is a tad different.

The name's Bond. Bond
Bug, 100% British. Three

wheels, no doors,
with its orange colour as

standard, this is a car that
wears its 70s origins with pride.


the designer of the seminal classic, the

rally chopper, to come
up with a new kind

of transport. The
result is an unforgettable

shape that's surprisingly
fun to drive. Only


This attention grabbing

motor is a legend.
I've got five grand to

spend on a car to buy
and restore. This one's

going to be a laugh. I can't tell you
just how excited I am to be looking for a.

Bond Bug. It's one of those cars that
I've always wanted to drive, I've always

wanted to own, but I never have. At the
moment, values for Bond Bugs are going

through the roof.
One minter just sold for


auction. It's because

there are so few out there. Bugs hardly
ever appear on regular car sites. You could

spend months trying to find one.
Now here's a clever way to go. Out there

is a whole online
scene dedicated to a little

Bond Bug, including
fan sites, forums, chat

rooms, spares and
advice, plus fan cars offered

for sale. Now I'm going to tap into that
scene to see what it throws up. On the main

Bond forum, I'm stuck
in a wanted ad saying I'm

looking for a car that needs a bit of
restoration and will pay up to three

grand. That's the going
rate for a road-worthy

bug. It's slim pickings
in the owner's car

section. Only three cars are on sale, but
one has caught my eye. Now this one sounds

rather surprising because
I found a guy who's looking

for a quick sale. It's got a
little Bond Bug. It needs a

little bit of work like
they all do. It's got

a few leaks and it
needs a bit of a service.

Typical stuff and that sounds perfect for
me and Ed. I know with the prices of these

cars rising, it's definitely worth a look.
Plus, at the same time, I've had a response

to my wanted ad. He's got a little Bond
Bug and judging by the pictures, it looks

a bit tatty, but it's only


going to hit the road
and see the pair of them.

Right, I'm on my way to
go and see the 1,500-pound

bug. Now, I know it
sounds too cheap, but

you never know. It could be someone just
desperate for a sale and it could turn out

to be a bargain. And there it is. Wow.
Look at the state of it. Needs some work,

doesn't it? Look, the brackets are missing
for the bonnet to start with or the canopy.

What's this? Look. It's falling apart.
It's got a big hole inside. The interior's

completely shut. I mean, it doesn't even
have a gearbox. Oh, this car looks like

a mess to me. A real mess. And they
want 1,500 pounds for this? Are they mad?

The owner told me to give him a ring
when I got down there and he'd come and

meet me. To be honest with you, I don't
even fancy picking up the phone for him.

The lesson here is don't buy a car off
the Internet without looking over it first.

Next up is the 3,000-pound b*mb bug.
Now, this one has lived its life on a farm

just as a weekend fun motor. It drives
and it's got an MOT. That's pretty much.

all I know about it. Let's just hope it's
worth the long drive to go and see it.

This looks like the place. Nice farm in
the middle of nowhere. Now, the owner

is not going to be here, but he has left
a friend to show me around it. And I think

I'm in the right place. This must be him.
You, Dave? Hello, mate. Hello, Dave.

How you doing? I'm Mike. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too, fella.

I found it at last. Some drive.
Is this where the car is? This is the one.

Can I pull the cloth off? Yeah.
Be my guest. Wow. Look at that. Fantastic.

Just a great big blob of orange joy.
Now, what do you know about it?

Not a lot, really. All I know is
it's been looked after. He loves it.

It tinkers with it. Does he?
Yeah. It's nice and original,

isn't it? Even got the
original stickers on the

front. The paintwork's
got a bit flat, though.

Well, it's not bad. It's 40 years old, you
know. 40 years old. Nearly as old as me.

It's original. That's what I like.
I like originality. And that's very good.

All right, to have a
look inside. Yeah, sure.

How'd you get this?
Just twist that, is it?

That's it. Wow. Look at it inside.
It's all original. That is fantastic.

It is. It's good. It's like looking at a
museum. Do you know if it all works?

As far as I'm aware, yes,
it does. I have seen him

going out there, actually,
a few times, bombing

out, nipping around.
Big smile on his face.

Wicked. It's got the
alloys. I like that. It's

very nice. Has he mentioned any problems?
No, he's not mentioned anything. As far as

I'm aware, it's as good as gold.
Right, cool. Now, just this canopy,

it looks like it's had a bit of damage down
here and down there. It's all split. It's

possibly had a bit
of a knock in the past,

hasn't it? I really don't
know. I don't know.

That could be trouble.
But probably what he did

say is that I could
take it for a test drive?

He did indeed. Yes,
he did. So I can take it

for a spin, right? I'll give it a good run
round the block. I'll come back and I'll

talk to you in a minute.
Cool. Thanks, Dave.

It's time to lose my
bonbon virginity and

get out on the road in
this orange dream car.

This car is a riot hoot. I've seen them
on the road here and there, and I've often

wondered what they'd
be like to drive and

what they would feel
like. Well, for a start,

you know you're in
something different. This

car just feels different,
sounds different, even

smells different. It almost feels like
you're in an airplane. Well, not really.

More like you're in a bumper car. I'll
tell you what, you always get the feeling

that there's something missing. Oh, I
don't know what it is. It's a fourth wheel.

Oh, the one issue I
do have with this car is

all that noise that's
coming from the gearbox.

Although this car is no hot hatch, it's
got rather much better gearbox than that.

It's no good for me.

The engine though is
whittling 3700cc. Listen

to that. Singing along.
It's nice and powerful.

It's got good pickup, nice delivery.
I reckon this little motor's awesome.

So do I want this
little bug? Well, for free

ground, I certainly
do. But you know what

I'm like? I like a bit of a deal.
And if I can use this gearbox...

There's a bargaining
tool and Nick it for two

and a half and there's
a decent profit in it

for me and Ed because I reckon we can
turn this around quite cheaply. When we do,

we'll have a cracking
little bug in our hands.

I can't tell you, that was one hairy
test drive. Really hairy. It's exciting,

I'll tell you. Getting round the corners,
it feels like it's going to tip over.

You enjoyed it?

I did enjoy it. There
are problems with it

though. On the test run,
I noticed that it makes

a hell of a noise when it's in first gear.
The canopy's rattling all the time. I mean,

these are all problems
that I can see on the

surface and we haven't
even got under the skin

yet. So he wanted how much free ground for
this? I can tell you what, I'm not giving

anything like that for it. So what are
you offering? Two and a half grand.

Well, I know he did want a bit more
than that, but also having said that,

it did say that I wanted to go low two and
a half grand. So if I'm offering two and

a half grand, we're in
agreement. I got myself

a b*mb bug. What have I
done? What have I done?

I can't wait to see Ed's face when I turn
up in this. I told him it was a special

motor from the 70s. So this little car
is going to be a big surprise for him.

I don't even know for sure
if he'll be able to fit in it.

I got hold of a rare b*mb bug, an iconic
car like no other. It's different. It's a

car that people stop and gawp at. And
I only gave two and a half grand for it.

I got myself a b*mb bug. What have I done?
But it's not without its little thoughts.

The canopy rattles like a Baton
and the gearbox is on its way out.

I need to get back to the workshop
and show Ed what I've got us into.

Now this is no grand tour. It's actually
a 70s city car. On a journey like this,

it's going to be a bit of
a challenge. Anything

that overtakes me
or anything that's big

coming the other way, when it feels
like my whole world, whoa, it's shaking.

I have got one nagging
doubt and it's this

canopy, the bit above
my head. I can see gaps

all the way around it. It's a bit drafty.
It just doesn't fit right in the frame.

Listen, as I've said before, I'm a bit of a
b*mb bug virgin, and I don't know if we're

going to pull this one off.
I do know for one thing,

Ed's really going to
have his work cut out for it.

How are you doing mate?
I'm all right Ed, how are you?

When you said you were
going to get me a 70s

icon, I was thinking
maybe a Lamborghini,

Aston Martin, not a wedge of cheese.

It is a little slice of Gloucester
driving down the road, isn't it?

This is much better
than any old Lamborghini.

That is pretty wicked.

He's got the old flip up canopy jumping.

I was a little bit nervous
about this, but you're in.

This is such a cool interior.
I love the dashboard.

It's very retro, isn't
it? And it works.

It's four simple buttons.
You've got wipers,

you've got lights, you've got
indicators, you've even got a...

That is really lovely, isn't it?

Great.

Did you look at the engine?

No, actually I didn't, because I
can't find it. I don't know where it is.

It's under there.

Is it? I thought it was behind me.

I was wondering why
it's all nice and toasty.

It was nice and warm
in here, but if the engine

is under there, I'll tell
you why it's a cr*cker.

And what does it drive like?

Well, it drives all right.
It goes around the corners scarily.

There is an issue with
the gearbox, because when

you put it in first
gear, it makes this sort.

whirring noise, which isn't very good.

Okay, well, these are
based on a Reliant Robin,

so we should be able to get hold of a
replacement gearbox if I can't fix this one.

Now, one of the other
problems is this canopy

rattles around a bit when you're driving
it, and there's a lot of wind noise.

How do you get out of
it so easily, I don't think?

Well, I can do it because I'm like a
slim, athletically built racing driver.

As you can see, when it's down
there, look, big panel gap at the back.

Down the sides here, it's
all a bit skew-whiff, isn't it?

And I was kind of wondering
if you could take these

hinges off and slide it
back a bit and readjust it.

Well, the thing is,
all that damage, you'd

probably be better off
just getting a replacement.

What, just replacing the whole thing?

Do you think I can just go to a bond
shop and get a replacement canopy?

Well, they made loads of them.
There should be loads of spares out there.

It's going to be as rare as hen's teeth.

All right.

That's another problem
you've created for me.

Yeah, one of the issues I do have,
Ed, is when I go and get a newspaper

and park this on any hill or gradient,
because I go in the shop and when I come out,

people are clearly laughing.

Obviously.

Then once they've stopped laughing,
I notice the car's no longer there,

rolled off down the hill, so
the handbrake doesn't work.

Could you adjust it for me?

I'll have a look.

I mean, I don't think it'd
be too hard, but actually,

you can see that the oil on
the back of the brake back plate,

so oil from the differential
is actually leaking out onto

the pads, and of course,
that's why it's not working.

And can you fix that for us?

Well, of course I can, but
it'd be a bit of a faff, that's all.

Nah, it's not going to be a
faff, it's going to be great.

And when we get this little baby up
together, we're going to have a 70s icon,

I'll tell you, and it's
going to be worth a few

quid, because it was
cheap in the first place.

How cheap was it then?

It was cheap.

How cheap?

It's not bad, is it, really?

I know, I know.

It's not bad.

Oh, go on, round the back.

Thank you very much, two and a half grand.

I reckon, up together, it could
be worth almost double that.

Really?

Yeah, really, genuinely.

And then when we do get it up together,

I'll have a look at finding
another one for your other foot.

Well, give us a hand carrying
it into the workshop, then.

Let's get it in the door.

Now, I know this isn't the
Lamborghini that I was expecting,

but it's just as iconic, and it's
exactly the kind of car that I'm into.

It's quirky, it's kitsch, it's very groovy,
but I haven't got all day to admire it.

I need to crack on with some of the jobs.

And, of course, the first one is a
rather worrying leak from the back end.

Now, I can see the signs of this
leak on the inside of the tyre here,

but also on the rear of the
back plate from the brakes.

So, obviously, something is going
on with this back axle on our Bond bug,

and there shouldn't be any oily
residue or moisture showing at all.

So, to get a much better look, I
need to get this car up on the ramp.

It's not unusual to find a bit
of leaking on a car of this age,

but oil around the brakes is bad news.

The bug has drum brakes,

and if the internal shoes get contaminated,

braking performance will be affected.

And one of the first things that strikes
me about this car is it is so simple.

I mean, it's based on an Alain Robin,

and nobody can accuse that
of being a complicated car,

but, really, everything's
very easy to get to,

and, hopefully, it should
be a joy to work on.

But, of course, like with any car, if you've
got oil leaking out of your back axle,

you've got a bit of a problem.

And if I look closely, I can see
that it seems to be coming from

kind of the join or the flange of
the tube and the back plate there.

Chances are it's the half-shaft
oil seals that have gone,

but to be absolutely sure, what I
want to do is take off the wheels,

take off the drums, and
get a really good look inside.

If the half-shaft oil seals have failed,

at least they are readily
available and cheap.

But swapping them over
requires a fair bit of fiddling.

With the wheel off, I need to get the
drum off, the casing that holds the brakes.

Undo the brake adjuster,

and a light tap will help it off the hub.

Now, with the drum removed,
I can now see the three bolts

that hold the back plate to our axle
tube, but I can't really get to them,

so what I'm going to do is
actually remove this hub.

And to keep things nice and safe,

I'm actually going to put
the nut back on, finger

tight, and should this
come off at any high speed,

this will stop it going into my face.

Now, pop the puller on,

because you've got the
two arms here of the puller.

I'm just going to wind
that into position, like so.

And then, very carefully,
just start doing it up,

and that's going to pull
this carriage towards me,

put some tension on the arms,
which in turn puts the tension onto...

There we go, you see?

Well, that came off pretty
ferociously, but the nut did the trick,

it stopped it from
flying off, which is great.

So now I can just undo
that, and remove the hub.

Okay, and you can see there's lots
of oil around the end of this hub here,

which means that there is
oil coming through that seal.

So I think we're definitely
on the right track here,

so the next job is to
get those nuts undone.

This oil leak has affected
both of the half shafts,

so I'm removing the back
plates on each side of the car.

The back plate contains
the whole braking assembly,

and this will come off complete.

without having to disassemble the brakes.

Well, with the back plate out of
the way, I can now see the half shaft,

but what does it actually do?

Well, of course, you've got
drive coming from the engine,

going through the gearbox,

that flows down the prop shaft.

into our differential at the back
there, and then you've got a half shaft

coming out of each
side of the differential,

and that transfers the power
to each of the rear wheels.

Now, if I just put a nut
back onto the shaft there,

it gives me something to
hang on to, I should be able

to just pull it straight
out of the differential,

and then hopefully we'll reveal
the seal behind the bearing.

So here it goes, there we go.

Now that is interesting.

What we should be seeing
here is loads of oil pouring out.

If you look at the drain plug here,
it's about halfway up the differential,

and it's therefore
halfway up the tube for the

drive shaft, which means
that all this oil in here.

should then be pouring out at the end,

but it's not, which means we
probably rescued this just in time.

Now, because the oil has been leaking out,

the differential's still okay,

because it's all going to be
sitting in this bath of oil here,

but it means that the bearings
on either end of our axle

are actually going to be getting
dry, and then they're going to get hot,

and eventually they
might actually seize up,

basically melt into position, and
that can be a really expensive fix.

So I think, hopefully, we've
got there in the Nick of time.

So what I need to do
now is get to the seal,

and to do that I'm going
to pull the shaft out.

And there we are,

all this effort to get to a two pound seal.

Well, there's the offending seal.

Does look a little bit worn,

and obviously it needs to be replaced.

It's not difficult to find
mechanical spares for the bug.

The new seals have the same
dimensions as the old ones,

but have a rubber coating,
which makes them more effective.

To make sure they go in square,

I'm using an aluminium
die to tap them into place.

It took me less than an
hour to get to the oil seals,

but getting everything back
in place takes even less time.

Well, the half shaft seals are in position,

and the back plates are now
bolted into position as well.

So what I need to do next is
actually replace all that lost oil,

and how I do that is through
this little drain plug here

on the back of the differential.

I'm filling up with EP80 stroke 90 oil,

and I know that the level is correct
when the overspill can be seen.

Well, there we go.

Job done.

On to the next one.

The bug needs a new gearbox,

and Ed has charged me
with getting a replacement.

Easy-beasy, I thought.

I'd just get one from a reliant Robin,

but I can't seem to find one near me.

Now I'm on my way down to Cornwall

to go and see this b*mb
bug enthusiast and collector.

He reckons he's got a gearbox.

It's a long journey, so I
hope it's going to be worth it.

Hello there.

OK.

You Chris?

Yep.

Chris, I'm Mike.

Pleased to meet you.

Nice to meet you too, mate.

Cole, what a journey to get down here.

It is.

Wow, what a place.

You seem to have the world's
collection of bugs around you.

It seems like it.

You've got bugs in all
different, varying states of repair.

I need a gearbox though.

Have you got a gearbox for me?

I do have a gearbox, yep.

The problem I had with my gearbox.

was it's got a little crunch in first gear,

and when you pull it into second gear,

right, that don't do the same, does it?

Nope.

Right, so it all looks good.

And I see you've started
to clean it up for me as well.

Yeah, I cleaned it up so you didn't
get your hands dirty taking it away.

Thank you very, very much.

How much is that?

£75.

£75?

I'm not even going to argue with you.

I've never bought a
gearbox for £75 in my life.

So yes, I'll have that.

Thank you very much.

As long as you swear by it and it works.

Yep.

A place like this is a gold mine,

and I can see canopies around.

Ed wanted me to get hold of one,

and I thought it would be too difficult.

A quick call to the tour man.

He says, if you see one, bag it.

Cheers then, bye.

That looks right.

It's the right colour.

However, it needs painting, doesn't it?

Yep, that's right.

I think I'm interested in this one.

How much money is it?

£400.

£400?

Yep.

Could you do something with my old canopy?

Could I put that in part exchange with you?

Yep, I can do that one for you.

£300 and £100 for your canopy.

So I'll give you £300 to swap.

Yep.

Yeah, it sounds like a deal to me.

Thank you very much.

Okay, thank you very much.

So I bought a canopy and a gearbox.

That's right.

You'll be able to restore
to your heart's content now.

Well done, mate.

So far, Ed's got well stuck
into the Bombug's job sheet.

I've got him a new
canopy and gearbox to fit,

so there's still plenty of work to be
done on our tendering dream machine.

Watch this space.

We're restoring a splendid


I paid just two and a half grand
for this tendering dream machine,

but it was crying out for TLC.

There was oil leaking out of
the axle, damaging the brakes.

They need to be salted
before Ed can start

thinking about swapping
out the grungy gearbox.

Look at the state of these brake shoes.

They're all contaminated with oil,

and of course that oil used to be
coming from our failing half-shaft oilses,

which are now fixed.

So the oil runs down the inside
of the back plate into the drum

and then kind of collects
in the shoes themselves.

And of course that seriously
reduces braking efficiency,

which is a very dangerous
situation potentially.

What I need to do is sort it out.

And that means I'm going
to replace the brake shoes.

Like most cars of this era, our
Bombug is fitted with drum brakes.

There's our drum.

And of course how it works is
you put your foot on the brake pedal.

That squishes hydraulic fluid
into this sl*ve cylinder here,

and that pushes the two pistons out,

which in turn pushes our
shoes into the outside edge of

our drum there, therefore
slowing down or stopping the car.

And I've also got,
because it's the back axle,

the handbrake mechanical mechanism,
which is pretty much the same thing there,

and also an adjuster there to
compensate for the wear in the brake shoe.

Now of course if you've got contamination
here, it isn't going to work very well.

Although I could clean this
off with a bit of brake cleaner,

because they've been soaking
in oil for quite a while now,

I'm going to play it on the
safe side and just replace them.

Here's the good news.

The shoes clip off without
the need for special tools,

and replacing them on a bug costs
about the same as for a regular car.

Now it is a bit of a shame
that these are so contaminated,

because they look quite new and
have quite a bit of meat on them.

But at the end of the day, a set of
four new ones only cost 16 pounds.

And as we're talking about safety
here, I'm not going to mess about.

What I will do, however, is
actually clean any contaminants,

or any of the oil, from
the inside of the drum.

And I'm using a special
brake cleaner, which

is designed to dissolve
things like oil and

brake fluid, and also
kind of clumps together

any brake dust to
make it nice and safe.

The back plate also gets the same
degreaser that I cleaned the drums with,

and after a couple of
minutes it looks like new.

Well the back plate's
nice and clean now, so

it's time to put our
new shoes into position.

Now a little top tip
here, of course, to stop

squeaky brakes, it's
best to kind of knock a

chamfer, just file a chamfer, off
the leading edge of your brake shoe.

You can see it's already been
done for us, which is very handy.

So just pop that into position.

And another useful tip as well,
of course, is if you're not entirely

confident on how your brakes
are going to go back together again,

simple thing to do is
just do one side at a time.

You can always reference
the other side as you're going.

There you go, the shoes are in place.

So now it's time for the hub.

There we go, just pop the wheel on next.

So the half shaft oil seals
are done, the diff is topped up,

and the brake shoes
are brand new, good stuff.

Now Mike was complaining about
this kind of noisy first gear in this car,

but handily he's got me
a replacement gearbox.

It wasn't actually that much money,
because of course parts on these cars

are based on that lovely
Reliant three-Wheeler series,

and of course they're renowned
for their budget motoring.

But while I'm up here
in the top side of the cab,

I'm going to undo a few bits
and pieces to do with the gearbox,

and then the rest of it is
all going to be done from

underneath once I've
lifted the car up on the ramp.

The gear lever and
rudimentary gator are held

in with only a couple
of screws, and that's it.

So now I'm all set to remove
the gearbox from under the car.

Now this is great under here.

Everything mechanical
on this car is so dinky.

Got this tiny little gearbox
here, little tiny engine there.

I don't reckon it's going to
be too hard to get off either,

there's just a few bolts that go
around the bell housing obviously.

Got the prop shaft to
disconnect, the speedo drive,

haven't even got to move the
exhaust because it's not in the way.

Now there are a few kind of
rusty looking or corroded bolts,

I will get a bit of
penetrating oil on there,

just to make sure that my
life stays a little bit easier.

A home mechanic could attempt
this job with the help of a ramp.

The bugs gearbox is so small it should
be really easy to remove by yourself.

Well that's the theory.

Okay well it's kind of, I'm
getting more gearbox freedom,

but not quite enough.

Basically the little
studs at the front are now

pretty much clear of that
end of the bell housing,

but I've kind of run
out of room at the back,

so I'm gonna have to try
something a little bit cunning.

I think what I'm gonna try
and do is rotate the gearbox.

Here we go.

Oh very very close indeed.

It's gonna take a bit
more wrangling I think.

I thought this would be a piece
of cake but it's not working out.

I could remove the clutch
to give me more space,

but getting to that will add
yet more time to the job.

I need to find another
way to get this box out.

Maybe I can try and get
the end off the prop shaft.

It should release the coupling.

Very careful.

There we go.

So that gets that right out of the way.

So now let's try again.

Surely.

Yes!

Oh there we go.

It is out.

It's a little heavier than
I thought but it's okay.

What a pain.

Ed!

How you doing?

All right mate.

Very good.

Wow look at our little b*mb bug.

Uh what have you done to it?

Looks the same.

As always all the work I've been doing.

has been underneath the car.

Remember all that leaking oil at the back?

Yep.

Sorted that out, sorted out
the half shaft oil seal so now it

doesn't leak oil but it did
actually contaminate the brakes.

Had to fix those as well.

So we've got a leak free bug that stops.

That's correct.

What else you been doing?

Well if you look inside here
you see in the centre console

there's a big hole
and that's because I've

dropped the gearbox
and now I need a new one.

Aha!

Wait one second.

It's had a hole because I bought you this!

Look at that little gearbox.

Little replacement gearbox.

How much was that?



Possibly the cheapest
gearbox I've ever bought.

That is a bargain but
it isn't very big is it?

No it should be a nice easy fit as well.

Now there was something
else that I asked for as well.

Did you manage to get that?

You asked me to find you
something as rare as hen's teeth.

and yes I did get us a replacement canopy.

I haven't got it with me.

I've dropped it straight in the paint shop.

I'm gonna have it painted
the same colour as the bug.

That way it's a nice
easy retro fit for you.

That is possibly the first time you've
made my life easier rather than harder.

Thank you very much.

You're possibly right.

This is our replacement gearbox.

Now it should be a direct
swap because it is actually

the same model as the
one that came out of our car.

Now the chap that sold it to
Mike assured him that it was in

tip-top condition but I'm not
going to take his word for it.

So there's a few checks I can do.

First of all I'm just going
to rotate both shafts.

Oh my word.

So in all it should be a lovely
sort of smooth motion to it.

That kind of slapping noise or
that kind of that noise is okay.

That's just the backlash of the gears

but it really should be
a lot smoother than this.

You can hear that noise.

Imagine if you can hear that
now what it's gonna be like

when you're actually driving
along the road and it's under load.

Now handily with this gearbox
it's got a little observation panel.

So I think really the best
thing to do now is just

check inside because
that does not sound good.

Oh my word.

Well that's not looking so good.

I have to say let's get a
bit light in here as well.

Oh wow.

Now this is supposed to be
a kind of a well-oiled beast.

It's supposed to be lovely and clean

with a light kind of sheen
of oil over the whole thing.

There's no oil, there's some really
nasty colored gunk at the bottom

and there's loads of bits
of grit and dirt everywhere.

This is a bad bad buy I think.

I think Mike's bought a pup.

When you buy a salvage part it should
meet expectations as with a new part.

So don't be afraid to contact
the seller if you have any issues.

This time it was an honest mistake

and we were offered an immediate
replacement which arrived within 24 hours.

Well here we go this is
replacement gearbox number two.

It's already looking very
much more shiny and lovely.

I will of course have
checked the shaft again.

Oh that's so much better.

It's silky smooth and the best way to test
this to make sure it is actually all right

is by banging it in the car
and take it for a test drive.

Now it was quite tricky to
get this little chap out of here

so I imagine it's not going
to be much easier to getting

it back in at least I know
roughly what I had to do.

But I had to try and get this
end over this bar here like so

and then try and wiggle it all around.

So with that in place I can
now rotate the gearbox around.

making sure I haven't pinched any wires.

Oh now that is a relief.

It's actually gone in without any hitches.

You just don't know when
you're fitting second-hand parts

that perhaps the one
you've now got is slightly later

the first motion shaft was a
slightly different size who knows

but thankfully it's all gone into position

so now all I need to
do is bolt everything up.

Well everything is bolted up.

I've got the starter motor back in
position the oil filter is back in place.

All I have to do now is
fill up the gearbox with oil.

This is the same EP80 stroke


and like the diff it needs to be
filled until you can see the overspill.

With the gearbox oil filled up I
can now put back the drive shaft.

reconnect the speeder cable.

the sl*ve cylinder.

and the clutch spring.

And so all of the work on
the underside is finished.

Now I'm just bolting
down the last few bits

here this is the plate
for the gear shifter

four screws and then
I can finally get to do a

test drive we can find
out whether this gearbox

this new gearbox the second
replacement is actually any good.

Mike thinks I should never
really leave the workshop

and with all the work that
he gives me I hardly ever can

so this is a joyful opportunity as I
take the bug onto the open road.

My first bug drive sure
feels sweet I have a minor

problem though I don't
fit in the driving seat

I've got my left leg
over the top of the

steering wheel bar I've
also got my left shoe off

because of course otherwise I
couldn't drive the clutch safely

so it is a little bit tricky but I would
say I'm here to test the gearbox

and actually that's going fantastically
well there's no noise in first

second gear's fine third is
all right even fourth is okay

which means that this
gearbox is a good'UN job done.

Didn't I say this project
was all about having fun?

After the break Ed's back in the workshop
fitting our salvage re-spray canopy

and I'll start looking for a buyer
who's got five grand to spend.

Welcome back to Wheeler
Dealers we're working on a b*mb bug

a 70s icon and one of the most
fun cars we've ever dealt with.

Ed's worked his way through
the to-do list on our brilliant bug

he's sorted the oil
leaks and replaced the

gearbox so mechanically
we're bang on course.

but there's still work
to do Ed's got to fix our

cranky canopy but yours
truly found him a replacement

and it'll soon be ready to
bolt on to our b*mb bug.

A car like a b*mb bug is a unique design

and with all unique designs
you get unique problems

the A pillar on a b*mb
bug is its Achilles heel

and somebody in the past
has tried to repair our one here

you can see all these
kind of wobbly lines here

and this stuff where it's actually
starting to blow apart again.

now unfortunately
that's not the worst of it

the worst of it is that the canopy
is now slightly warped as well.

If this was a weekend fun car then a warped
canopy wouldn't be the end of the world

hundreds of bugs are
like this but we're going

for a top-end presentation
and top resale money.

it would take me days to get this
canopy up to the standard I'd like

so swapping it over for a
salvage unit is a good use of time.

Well how about that for a great
little topless number for the summer

mind you if it's a British
summer it's going to be raining.

which means you'll be driving
around in a mobile paddling pool

so probably best that Paul
and I fit our replacement canopy.

Mike kindly got the canopy
painted for me so it looks like new

the color was carefully matched to this car
so it fits like a proverbial orange glove.

to reattach it's two nuts on the back
of each hinge and we're in business.

As we expected our new
canopy is a really good fit

and didn't take too much
fettling to get it into position

but really now our work
has only just started

because I've got to put
everything else back onto the car.

And that starts with the
windscreen I'm using new rubbers

that are readily available and
a good spray of soapy water.

The old windscreen pops in from the front

and is prized in with a blunt screwdriver.

We've got the screen in
as you notice we didn't use

any power cord because
it just pops in from the front

but what does happen is it gets
locked into position with this locking bead

and you can see there
it's not actually symmetrical

so I'm going to use the
slightly shorter side on the inside

to go around those bends
as it make it a bit easier.

This handy tool pushes the bead
into the rubber and holds it firm

with a neat cut to finish jobs a good'UN.

The windscreen wipers and side panels
can all go back in and we're nearly there.

Just the finishing touches
to go some bright work

and then a decal of the original
lettering around the canopy latch.

I got this from a popular
Internet auction site for £20.

Our brilliant Bong Bong is
back mechanically it's all sorted

the canopy fits the dream and that
lovely bright work really sets it off.

Okay it needs a bit of a clean but
once that's done it's going to look superb

and I know Mike is going
to be well chuffed with it.

I'm really having to pinch myself

because this little motor
has exceeded expectations.

We set off with a bug that
was kept in a barn as a bit of fun

and we've ended up with a car that
would stand up to the best in the country.

It's looking lovely on
the body solid on the

mechanicals it's quite
simply call Britannia.

I struggled to find a bug at all
but struck lucky on a Bond fan site.

The car drove but had
issues and I chipped the

asking price of three
grand down by 500 quid.

The rear axle was leaking
oil onto the brake drums.

Ed diagnosed the problem
as the half shaft oil seals.

The brakes needed to be changed
but now the system worked fine.

The gearbox was shot and needed replacing
and Ed even got out of workshop to test it.

The canopy was cracked and badly fitting

and we decided to swap
it over for a salvage unit.

It needed paint work but was quick
to get on the car and fitted perfectly.

So what does the Bombug owe us?

Service parts came in at 36 pounds.

The gearbox was 75.

Canopy plus paint was 650 quid.

Add the cost to the car

and the orange wedge owes us 3,261 pounds.

Ed how you doing?

All right mate.

Every time I see this little car

it makes me laugh and it's
making me smile even more

now because it's finished
and Ed it looks fantastic.

Well I'm going to join you in those smiles

because although it has
been a bit of a mission at times

it has been fantastic
fun all the way through.

Look how far you've come Ed from that little
box that I delivered down here to this

and surely look at it Ed that
has to be the best one for Sal.

When you look at this eccentric
little car from every angle

it looks like a winner it's going
to make somebody so happy.

Somebody so happy it's going to
make a whole heap of people very happy.

Do you know the little Bombug
is celebrating its 40th anniversary

and I thought me and
you would celebrate

that special occasion
in our own special way.

Are you up for it?

I'm always up for it mate.

Bombug is 40 years old and
it's having a very special do.

We are on our way to its
party with one or two other bugs.

And how many bugs does
it take to make a convoy?

Well at least 60 are out
in force today which is a

pretty rare sight given
that only 2,200 were made.

And how many smiles per gallon
do you get cruising with 60 Bombugs?

The answer, a lot.

Are we having fun or what?

Absolutely and I only just managed to
squeeze myself into this little beastie.

You really have haven't you?

I'm glad you did because
it's a real treat this little motor.

Well this car really suits you as well
I think because it's got its pure 70s.

What are you trying to say?

We're heading for the historic
Woburn Abbey to the festival of transport

which is helping to celebrate
the bugs 40th birthday.

Wow look at this.

Well we're here the party can start.

It can yeah.

Look at the turnout.

We should get stuck in.

There are lots of different bugs here
from rough runners to show winners

and they all bring a lot of
pleasure to their owners.

In the Star Spangled


totally fresh look at
the concept of motoring.

One VIP at the show is Tom Caron
visionary, automotive designer of the bug

and we couldn't miss the
chance to speak to him.

Must ask you, did you think

when you first designed this vehicle

that it would be quite as
popular 40 years later?

In a way I hoped it would have
even more of a run than it did

but you know it's
there are people in 17

countries and five continents
who've got Bombugs.

which is amazing.

That is incredible.

Where did the idea for
the Bombug come from?

I always liked three-wheelers
because you know you can throw away

a wheel and suspension and the
chassis is much simpler it doesn't twist.

Do you still own a Bombug?

We did have one in the office for a while

and then somebody turned it over and I
thought maybe it's not such a good idea.

Well thank you very much.

Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.

Tom Caron.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

Thanks for this.

It's a pleasure.

Lovely to see you.

It's one of the finest
birthday parties we've

been to but our visit
isn't just about having fun.

It's been a great day and I think
our bug has actually stood up

to scrutiny rather well but we
do need to talk about money.

People love our bug and
don't worry about the money.

I'm way ahead of you.

I've already advertised
the car and get this.

within 10 hours of the
advert going out there

I had four offers for
the full asking price.

And what was the asking price?

Five grand.

That's actually pretty good.

It's not bad.

And get this a bit more than
that it's a put a smile on your face

it was one guy so
enthusiastic he offered me all

the fives five thousand
five hundred and fifty quid.

You sure you heard him right?

I did hear him
right not really that

he's a bit of an enthusiast
he's going to turn up here today

and if the car measured up to
what he wants we've made it.

If we sell that thing
today that'll be amazing.

Pat on the back, son.

Well done.

Our buyer Ron drove 300 miles to get here
let's hope he thinks it was worth the trip.

Well Ron you've had a good
look around it what do you think?

Nice car, I like it.

You like it?

It goes as well as it looks.

Beautiful.

And it's described as well.

Yeah lovely.

Okay.

Well you seem pretty pleased with it.

So do we have a deal?

Got a deal mate.

Top work.

You bought yourself a lovely Bombo.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This is a good day
a really good day.

I bought this car for two
and a half grand and doing

the sums we've made
almost the same again in profit.

Doubling our money
is a bit of a holy grail

for Wheeler dealers
and we've almost done it.

Now a little Bombug has had a happy ending.

I love buying the car
Ed loved working on it but

more importantly I love
counting the readies.

If you want to see more
cars getting the Wheeler

dealer treatment then
join me and Ed soon.

Salah!