11x06 - Chevrolet Camaro

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wiener Dealers, a muscle
car that was once someone's pride and joy.

Wow, I absolutely love it.

But now half the car is in the boot.

It needs so much work to
pull this car back together.

Ed needs to tame the mighty muscle
car without losing the Camaro's charisma.

So much of it is good,
but at the same time

so much of it is
unfinished or even missing.

And I find out how to add bling
and value to the most tiny detail.

That's brilliant.

I find classic cars that need assistance.

Ed returns them to their former glory.

And then we sell them
on, hopefully for a profit.

This Chevrolet Camaro
hit the 60's sweet

spot of stripped down styling
and pure muscle car aggression.

Its legendary looks are a
byword for call all over the world.

And then there's the drive.

The six cylinders are quick, but
the V8's are where the action is.


lumps deliver old school

brawn, winning 300
brake horsepower, straight

line smiles and a
taste of a bygone era.

The 68 Camaro is becoming super rare and
I'm going to hump on down in the US of A.

When you're looking
for a Camaro, you need

to be really careful because one
year stands out above all others.

See, the prices of Camaros are pretty
flat, but 1968 cars' prices are on the up.

And the reason is, it
was a model year change

when they went from
having quarter lights

in either door to having
one single pane of glass.

And that means those cars are
really desirable and much harder to find.

I'm targeting the west coast
to source a rust free car.

Apart from being strong, they're


There are plenty of Camaros, but most
of them need serious structural work.

Welding can run into thousands,
so they're no good for me.

Now, I've been on a few of
the main sites and a picture is

emerging that $20,000 is the
starting price for a decent Camaro.

I'm really looking to
spend less than $15,000

and there's not much out there except
for one car that's caught my attention.

It's a 68 car, part restored.

It's a daily driver with only interior
and exterior trim parts to complete.

It looks like it's a restoration
project that the guy's given up on.

He says he's got most of the bits needed to
finish the job, but the really good thing

is he's swapped out the engine for
the much bigger block V8, the 350,

and that means it's more desirable.

Hello, yes, I'm ringing about the Camaro.

Right, now what can you tell me about it?

I see, so it's a buddy's car.

The previous seller quit his job
and wants to get rid of the car quickly,

but most of the bits are there, right?

Okay then, mate, yep, that's great.

Yeah, I look forward to seeing you too.

Cheers, buddy.

Bye.

Well, that car sounds really interesting.

It sounds in really good condition because
Mike says that the bodywork doesn't need.

anything doing to it, and remember,
it's got that really desirable 350 engine.

I reckon I should fold up the
laptop, hit the road, and go and see it.

Now, the car is located in
San Diego, which is the dry part

of California, and it's spent
most of its life down here.

That's really good news.

That means it could be rust-free, because
once rust gets a hold of these cars,

it never lets go, and that's why people
flock to this state to come and win a motor.

Surfboard, surfboard,
the sign that says surfing.

I wonder what his hobby is.

You Mike?

Yes.

Mike, how you doing?

I'm Mike.

Hey, hi, Mike.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Pleasure to meet you too.

What a lovely little community you've got.

Thank you, thank you.

Well, I've come to see that Camaro.

First of all, I absolutely love the colour.

It's fantastic, isn't it?

It really sets the car off,
and those fantastic lines.

Wow, I absolutely love it.

So, what's the story behind this car, then?

This dude's a friend
of mine, and he bought

it from a family that
owned it for 30 years.

Wow.

I can see when I walked up that
he's put some SS badges on it,

but it's not actually
an SS, this car, is it?

I will say he's done a cracking job
so far, except there's bits missing.

The chrome rings are
missing on the headlamps.

Yeah.

Also, the vents on the hood
here, they're out of place.

There's the wiper blades.

It doesn't rain in California.

Now, look at that.

Now, when I spoke to you,
you did say that most of the parts

needed to put this car back
together are within the car,

and you weren't kidding.

There's everything here.

Look at it.

Yeah, Lewis had this
car for nine years, and

anything he took off
the car, he put in here,

and anything he was buying
to replace it is in here as well.

Okay, that's great.

And it looks really clean as well inside.

You can see that there's been a
load of work doing this restoration.

Look at that.

Looks wonderful, doesn't it?

And the trunk floor has
been professionally installed.

So it's got a brand new trunk floor.

That's great.

That's brilliant.

Yeah, it's got a brand
new petrol tank as well.

Now, look at the interior.

It's got the original bench rear seat.

Yeah, original on the
rear, exact replication,

as much as possible
on the front bucket seat.

Yeah, very nice.

Let's have a sit inside.

Very good.

Except there's a lot of
bits missing, aren't there?

The door cards, the
A-pillar bits, headlining's

falling off, big hole
in the dashboard.

I gather that's what this mechanism's for.

Yeah, that's the heater unit.

Okay, and the wiring loom,
that's hanging down everywhere.

Does it work?

Oh yeah, I drove it from
the desert, so it drives fine.

It drives good.

I like the gear shifter, that's great.

I always get very excited
about looking at American

V8 engines, because
you've got this great big hood,

and you expect to find this great
big engine underneath, and there it is.

Yeah, that's a proper
power plant, that, isn't it?

Yeah, that's a 350 Chevy
Performance engine.

Wow, so 350, that's good for what?

About 300 horsepower.


enough for a car like this, isn't it?

You can see there's been
some money spent under here.

Look at the firewall, that's immaculate.

All the inner wings.

I can see it's got quite
a few leaks around the

engine, so it needs
tightening down in certain

areas, and the wiring
loom is still a real mess.

The only thing left for me to do is take
this little piece of American iconic metal,

and enjoy this fantastic
sunshine on your

wonderful roads, and
take it for a test drive.

Is that all right?

Yeah, no problem.

Why do people flock from
all over the world to come

and buy Mustangs, and
Camaros, and other American cars?

Let me tell you why.

In fact, let the car tell you why.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Woo-hoo!

Oh, woo!

Well, the good news is this
Camaro is pretty tight on the road.

It's not suffering with that lack of
precision that you get with older cars.

But the brakes, you know, you stamp on
those, and the car goes all over the place,

and as for the steering, although
it's precise, it's not power assisted,

and with that great big
engine, and all that weight

up front, this car really
gives you a proper workout.

So the question is, do I want this car?

Well, a straight Camaro
usually sells for around $20,000,

and this one's got too many good things
on it to ignore, and he's only asking 15.

But there's all this work to do, so if I
can get the car for less than $15,000,

it'll be a very, very sweet deal indeed.

You enjoying that lovely
Californian sunshine?

So how'd you like it?

I really like this car. It's a great
car, but all the time I'm spending in it,

I'm thinking, wow, it needs
so much work to pull this

car back together, and to
put it back together properly.

But you know what?
With all that in mind, I want this car.

I mean, the bodywork alone says
that I want this car. It's so good.

It all comes down to price.

So how much will you take for it?

He's asking $15,000.

He just wants too much money.
I think it's worth $10,000.

Oh no, you've got to
do a lot better than that.

I'll squeeze it up to $11,000.

I couldn't take less than $12,000.

Make it $11,500 and we've got a deal.
$11,500, come on.

$11,750?

I want that in your hand.

Yes!

Should have put myself a Camaro!

There's no question this is a cheap
car, but you get what you pay for.

There's wiring everywhere, the
heater's missing, the stereo's missing.

I worry the dated driving
experience won't cut it in Europe.

It doesn't have power
steering, and it should do,

and it doesn't have power
brakes, and it should do.

And I don't know if all the parts to
finish the rebuild really are in the boot.

The Chevrolet Camaro
is a muscle car legend.

But I've taken the chance of buying
a Camaro that's not actually complete.

There's a lot of bits
missing, aren't there?

The door cards, the headlining's falling
off, and the wiring loom is a real mess.

And project cars have a
nasty habit of causing trouble.

I'll know if it's good or bad news
when I get this car back to Ed.

Oh, this car is great.

The one thing this car's got
amongst all others, though, is the price.

It was so cheap. I mean, really cheap.

I keep expecting the engine to fall out,

because it really shouldn't
have happened at that price.

$11,750.

That's only £7,500.

Wowzers!

It's likely to be the last time this
car will be driven on home soil,

so let's make it count.

So, what's the plan?

Well, we could get this
car back into the UK.

I could get Ed to just throw in
all the parts that are in the trunk,

and then we could sell it
on for quite a healthy profit,

but I think that would
be a missed opportunity,

because this car was on its
way to being something special.

The guy that owned it before
has spent a lot of money on it,

a lot of time and a lot
of money making it look

better and drive faster
and go differently,

and I reckon we should
carry on with that thought.

And if we get this one right,

I know that we'll be
ringing the cash register.

on our fantastic slice of Americana.

Next stop, the workshop.

Now, that sounds fantastic.

Awesome.

Howdy, partner.

Hello, sir.

This is a proper car.

This is a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.

This is as muscular as a
Mustang, as cool as a Corvette,

one of the iconic American
cars, and guess what?

Go on, then.

It's ours.

That is very good, and it
sounds fantastic as well.

Can we look under the bonnet?

Of course. Let me show you.

There you go, son.

Please rise on that.

I have to say, you were
really pulling this out of the bag.

That looks awesome.

It should be as well, because
that's a brand-new engine.

That's a 5.7-litre, 350 Chevy V8,

and it's got a new
gearbox, or transmission,

and it's ready to go.

It's lovely, isn't it?

Well, that is great,

because the only thing
about having it so new

is there's bound to be a little bit of
bug fixing to get it running really sweet.

There's a little oil leak down there
somewhere, but you're good at stuff like that.

Well, those sort of things
should be easy enough to sort out.

Let's hope it's nothing serious.

Now, I have to say, looking
at it as well, I mean, you're

doing all right, because this
looks like brand-new paint.

Yeah, it's freshly painted.

They've done a lovely job.

It's a rust-free example, this car.

Wait until you see inside.

Oh, look at that.

It's got metallic blue interior.

That's awesome.

That's good, isn't it?

Oh, wow, that's fab.

There's wiring everywhere.

The heater's missing.

The stereo's missing.

There's no door cardamom.

Do we have all these bits?

Yeah, most of the bits I
hope that we need for the car

are in the boot, or as the
Americans say, the trunk.

If there's bits missing, I'm
pretty sure we can find it.

So how does it drive, then?

Well, it's got a good, strong engine,

but you need to be a good,
strong driver to manhandle

this car, because it
doesn't have power steering,

and it should do, and it
doesn't have power brakes,

and it should do.

Right.

We just need to make the
user experience a lot better.

Fair enough.

Okay, that's cool.

So I guess the big question
is, what did you pay for it?

Take a deep intake of breath,
because this may hurt a little.

Okay.

I paid seven and a half
thousand pounds for it.

That sounds like an absolute bargain.

Yeah.

See, $11,750.

Honestly, I'm waiting for the
cops to appear around the corner

and cuff me, because
I've literally stolen the car.

How good is that?

That is pretty awesome.

I mean, all right, so we're obviously
going to finish the restoration,

but make it kind of
more user-friendly from a

driving point of view,
and make it look fantastic.

Absolutely, and I can't
wait to get it in the workshop.

Let's do that.

That's awesome.

You love it, don't you?

What a colour as well.

The colour's amazing.

It really suits it, actually.

Now, this car in front of me is fantastic.

The Camaro is another classic
example of the American muscle car.

And actually, Mike's done pretty
well and found a really, really good one.

Now, this car has been loved in the past.

Somebody has lavished
time and money on this vehicle

and done the work to
a pretty high standard.

The only problem is,
it's not exactly complete.

And so, effectively, the challenge Mike
has given me is to finish this restoration.

And along the way, I'm going
to have to make some choices

to make sure that we truly maximise the
potential of this wonderful American legend.

Mike spotted some leaks in the engine.

My hope is that they're
part and parcel of

an engine install that's
been freshly done.

But my fear is that somewhere
in the new engine and gearbox,

there's a more serious problem.

Now, I can tell, straight away,

that, obviously, the engine being new
has got no oil leaks going on around there.

But actually, if you look on the floor,

there has been a bit of
a collection of oil here.

And you can see that it's actually
relatively clear and slightly pink in colour.

And that would lead
me to think that this

transmission fluid and
looking at the gearbox,

you can see, well, there's
a collection just here.

It's obviously dripping
from the sump plug there.

But also, from the front of
the gearbox on the sump here,

you can see there's
also a collection of fluid.

Now, that could either have
come from inside the sump

or, perhaps worse still, from
actually up by the torque converter.

That'd be far more serious a leak.

So I want to take this cover off
to see exactly what's going on.

This leak is at the
junction of the new gearbox

and the 350 lump.

If the oil leak is towards
the top of the gearbox,

it's going to require an
awful lot of work to access it.

Thankfully, it is very dry under there.

You can actually see now
this cover plate is missing

that all the oil is actually coming
from this kind of gasket here.

So the gasket isn't really doing its job.

And the reason for that might be,

bearing in mind everything's
brand new, is that this

lovely, shiny sump plate
here is actually very, very thin.

So what might have happened is,
somebody might have done this up

and actually distorted it
because they've over-tightened it

and, of course, then the cork gasket
can't actually make up the difference

or take up the slack and
that's why we've got a leak.

The sump is really a
reservoir for the gearbox

oil and I need to
have a closer look at it.

That means draining out the
transmission fluid that it contains.

This cherry-colour fluid is lovely
and clear, a sign of good maintenance.

Well, this is our steel
sump and the gasket.

Now, I think the problem we
have, the reason it's got a leak,

is because this surface
is now quite uneven.

So if I just pop this ruler down here,

straight edge,

with the torch behind,

you should be able to see
some pretty major gaps.

going on there, either side of the holes.

And in fact, some of the
holes are quite distorted,

as I suspected, from
being over-tightened.

Now, the thing is,

the gasket is obviously
supposed to take up some

of that slack, but clearly
it's not thick enough

or sort of soft enough to
actually do a good enough job.

And the problem is, now it's distorted,

it's going to be difficult to
bang it all back into shape.

And frankly, I'm worried that
then it might happen again.

Now, the good thing about Camaro is.

that you can get parts on either
side of the pond really easily.

So we've managed to find
this lovely cast aluminium sump.

And just to show the difference,

there's a lovely flat edge there and
you can see there are no gaps at all.

It's practically a machined
surface, which is fantastic.

So with the new gasket,
that should seal it perfectly.

But also, because we've drained the fluid,

I'm going to put in a new filter as well,

so it's like a mini service
as well for the gearbox.

And obviously then, once everything's back
together again, it should work a treat.

Our old steel sump was only 50 quid,

and this heavy-duty
aluminium unit is twice that.

Sometimes saving a few
pounds can actually cost you.

I gently prise out the old filter,

which collects any metal particles
or detritus generated by the gearbox,

and install the new one,

and then tighten up the new sump.

I top up the transmission
fluid and cycle the

gears until I'm sure
there's no trapped air.

I wait until the oil is nice and
hot because that can reveal leaks.

Let's see if that's done the trick.

Check for some leaks.

And thankfully, there are absolutely none,

which is wonderful, which
means that's done the trick.

The Camaro is pretty amazing.

The one thing that lets that
car down is the wiring loom.

It's a bit of a mess.
It's all over the place.

And me and Ed reckon something
like this can hold the car back.

Clearly, the previous
owner didn't get round to

finishing it off, but
I've got a plan to sort it,

and I know it'll add value to the car.

VW fans Dan and Simon
run a race prep garage.

that has a track record in wiring.

It's a rare service to find.

I wonder what they'll make of a sample
bundle of wiring I've brought along.

How are you doing? All right.

All right, yeah, this is my wiring loom.
What do you think of that, then?

Well, to be honest, it's a bit of a mess.

There's lots of joints
and bits and Bobs here.

I mean, it could do with starting again.

Let's do it, then.

Simon has taken
measurements from a 68 Camaro

and begins with a scale diagram
so the new loom will fit exactly.

The diagram includes all the
destinations from the fuse box,

like the horn, lights, starter,
and various engine components.

This is so much more
organised than the tat in our car.

The loom is for the engine bay,

but the car's interior and
rear will also need one.

It's not going to be cheap.

Each will cost around £500.

Eventually, we end up with
all the connections in place.

It looks a little bit like a London tube
map or a New York subway map, doesn't it?

It's fantastic.

At the moment, yeah.

Right, so what's next?

Next, we need to remove
the whole thing off the board,

hand it over, and get it
all covered and braided.

Lovely.

So we've got to take it off?

Yeah, let's get it off.

Right, then.

We need to finish the connections now,

so we expose the copper wire,

attach a waterproof cap,
and then crimp on a connector.

One of the clever
touches that makes a loom

look so good is to
add a layer of braiding

and then tighten some shrink
wrap material over the entire bundle.

Can I have a go at doing it?

Yeah, you certainly can.

This is the heat shrink g*n.

It's great, you just lay the
heat shrink in this little gully here

and you'll see it go to work almost
immediately and start to shrink down

and clamp itself onto
the braiding, onto the wire.

Then, to help reassembly,

we have the labels
burnt onto the heat shrink,

which will tell Ed which wire goes where.

Then we have the connections themselves.

There are actually ten different
ones on the Camaro, depending

on the number of wires and the
job of the particular component.

So that is one finished part of the loom.

That wire is ready to be plugged on to
whatever's going to be on the end of it,

in this case the water temperature sensor,

and that's brilliant.

Great job.

Yeah, it's lovely. Very satisfying.

Just the other fifty to do.

I never knew something as dull as
wiring could end up being so cool.

I know it cost a few quid,

but this is exactly what
our muscle car needs.

Ed's been sorting the mechanical headaches,

and I'm handling the details.

If we can get the car
looking and driving right,

we could be looking at a sale
price of more than £20,000.

But the Camaro's not finished,

and it still drives like a dinosaur.

I want to be able to
turn the steering wheel

without causing some
kind of muscular injury.

The previous owner run out of steam,

and we can't fall into the same trap.

I'm actually going to have
to start taking bits off again.

I love our legendary V8 Chevrolet Camaro.

Whoa! This car is great.

But it's an abandoned restoration project

with a half-finished interior,
heavy brakes and steering.

We need to finish the rebuild and
make the Camaro easier to drive

if we're going to scoop a
sale price of over £20,000.

But there's a long, long way to go.

This Camaro is a great car to drive,

particularly in a straight
line, and ours has had its

straight-six engine upgraded
to a fantastic 350 V8.

But there's no point
having all that extra power

and therefore speed
unless you can control it.

You need to be able to use the brakes.

Now, this car will stop.

You just need to have
the strength of a superhero

on your legs to be able to apply
enough force, and that just won't do.

So I've decided to upgrade
our existing master cylinder,

which provides fluid to the brakes, by
adding a servo, which means power braking.

These days, it's hard
to find a car without,

but back in the 60s, it
was still quite a new idea.

Although some Camaros
had this as a factory option,

ours didn't.

Now, the good news is,

the job has already been half done for me.

This car would have come
with drum brakes as standard,

but somebody's actually
upgraded it to vented discs.

Now, that means this car is going
to be much more effective when

it comes to braking and also
won't suffer from any brake fade.

But the downside is that drum brakes actually
have a kind of a self-servoing effect.

So at the moment,
without a brake servo fitted,

these brakes will be
much harder to operate.

I can't believe that fitting a
brake servo wasn't planned for

this car at some stage, but
it's me who gets to do the job.

Now, one of the great things about
American cars is their vast size.

It means there's loads of room normally
in the engine bay, but better than that,

many cars come out of the factory
with loads of different options.

So retrofitting parts
is actually a lot easier

than it might be on, say,
a similar European car.

Now, this is our master cylinder here.

The servo we need to fit is
going to go between the bulkhead.

and the master cylinder.

So the first thing I have
to do is take that off.

Before I can do anything,

I need to remove all of the brake fluid.

Although this job can be tackled
by a competent home mechanic,

brakes are all about safety,

so a final check-over by a
specialist would be sensible.

I drain the brake fluid out of the
top of the master cylinder's reservoir,

and when I've removed all I can,

I disconnect the hydraulic pipes.

The previous owner upgraded these from
copper to a more stylish stainless steel.

Well, this is our brand
new power brake kit.

You've got, actually, a
brand new master cylinder.

Now, although the inside of this
one looks pretty much brand new,

we know for sure that this
one is new, so we'll go with that.

You've got the servo,
perhaps the most important part,

and you've got a little hole in that servo
where this non-return valve connects to,

and then, of course, the rest of
the hose goes on to the carburetor.

So the engine, it can be used to
actually create a vacuum inside here.

That vacuum acts upon the
diaphragm inside the sealed unit.

When the brake pedal is pressed down,
a rod is pushed into the master cylinder,

and this action is assisted
by the suck of the vacuum.

The basic kit works for a range of cars,

but special support brackets are
included for our specific vehicle.

I also have a custom cleat which
connects the pedal to the servo.

And then the servo is
bolted to the bulkhead.

And the cherry on our American pie,

I bolt on the new master cylinder.

My next job is to actually
connect up this little

chap here to our brand
new master cylinder.

Now, it's called a combination valve
because it does three different things.

The first is the proportioning valve,
and the idea of that is it compensates

for the heavier weight at
the front of the car than the

rear, so it actually applies


about 30% to the back,
so the wheels don't

actually lock up, you
get nice, even braking.

Then you've got the metering valve,

and what that does is actually compensate
for the fact you've got discs on the front

and drums on the back, so it
allows the shoes to find the drum

before the front brakes
are actually operational,

again, making sure you
get nice, even braking.

And the last is a
pressure differential switch,

and the idea of that is that should
you spring a leak in your braking system,

a little valve will actually
move and turn on a switch,

which then shows a light on the dashboard

so you know there's a
problem with your braking.

Very clever.

Installing power brakes

won't hurt the originality of the Camaro,

and if you want this job done for
you, budget around £300 in labour fees.

The last stage is to crack open
a bleed nipple on each corner

to expel any trapped
air from the hydraulics.

Now, a recurring theme with our
Chevy is that so much of it is good,

but at the same time, so much
of it is unfinished or even missing,

but that's no longer
the case with our brakes.

We've now beefed up our stopping power
to match the muscle power of our Camaro.

Ed, how are you doing?

You all right?

Good, sir, I'm good.

Yeah, can I point something out to you?

Point away?

When I got this car, it was half finished,

it was half not finished,

it was sort of halfway
there and not halfway there.

Now look at it, it still
looks half finished.

What have you been up to?

I hope you know, I've
actually been rather busy.

It wasn't without this niggles,
this little car, as you'd say,

but actually our first thing I
did is sorted out the oil leak,

so now it's got a new sump
on the gearbox, that's all

sorted, and I've even put
in a servo for the brakes

so your puny little legs
can actually push them.

My puny legs.

Have you done the power steering
so my puny arms can operate it?

No.

Have you done the interior?

No.

Have you bolted on any of the chrome bits
that came with the car when I bought it?

Not exactly.

Have you done the wiring, though?

Well, the thing is...

Ha, no, I'm only joking there.

because I know you haven't
done the wiring because I have.

Look, I've got another complete
wiring kit made for the car.

This is just part of it.

You ever seen anything
that looks as cool as that?

It is very tidy, isn't it?

Very smart.

See?

Very smart, very tidy.

What to learn, son?

When I do something,

I don't just do half a job.

Now, my things are going
to be missing a trick and,

therefore, some profit if
we can't make our Camaro

a little bit easier to live with.

Now, I've already made the brakes
much more comfortable to use,

and I now need to do the
same thing to the steering.

Basically, I want to better
turn the steering wheel

without causing some
kind of muscular injury.

Power steering kits are
available for the Camaro,

but they sit where the
alternator currently goes,

so to prepare for this job,

I've moved the alternator to
the other side of the engine.

I also need to install Mike's wiring loom,
as we'll need the engine to run later on.

Thanks to clear labels and
precisely measured lengths,

it's fast work and looks so much tidier.

This job is essentially in two parts.

The first is to remove
the existing steering

box and replace it with
a power steering box,

and, of course, that's
driven by hydraulics.

So we need to put a power steering
pump here on the front of the engine.

Now, I'm going to need access to the
engine from both the top and the bottom,

so the irony is, on a car that
was already rather unfinished,

I'm actually going to have
to start taking bits off again.

And that starts with
removing the dipstick

tube, which is exactly
where I need to work,

followed quickly by the manifold,

which drops out from underneath the car.

The steering box is
connected to a steering arm,

which I unbolt, and then I wrestle
out the old, non-assisted box.

This is the item that translates the
rotary motion of the steering wheel

into the lateral twisting
movement of the wheels.

So this big hunk of cast iron
here is our original steering box.

Now, you can see it's
got a bit of surface rust

on it, but actually, it's
pretty much brand new,

like so many of the other
parts on our Camaro,

and therefore, it's got some
value, so hopefully, if we could sell it,

we might make a few quid
back, and that would be lucky

because our brand new power
steering unit here actually cost us £739.

Now, you can see it's much bigger, and
of course, it's going to be much heavier

because of all the
hydraulic gubbins inside,

but of course, it is going to
make our steering much lighter,

so it's well worth the
effort and the money.

It's been popular for a while now
to add mod cons to older vehicles,

and as these parts were original options
on cars like the Camaro and Mustang,

we're definitely adding desirability.

If your American muscle
car is testing your muscles,

an average garage installation
for this will come in at around £500.

If I went driving right now,

the steering would be as heavy as ever

because our new steering
box requires a source of power.

Now, it's quite a simple design.

You've got a V pulley on the front.

Of course, that's driven via the
belt from the crankshaft pulley,

and the idea is, as the engine's running,
it's actually building up ahead of pressure

with the hydraulic fluid that's
actually inside this device.

That fluid, or that pressure, is
then forced down one of these hoses

to the power steering box,
and of course, the extra

pressure basically is
transferred into extra power

to help you steer the
car from left to right,

and normally with American cars, it's so
powerful you can actually operate the car,

or the steering at least, with your
finger rather than your whole body.

Now, before I can
actually fit it to the car,

there are a number of
bits I have to bolt to it first.

The pump will work on a few different
cars, and just like the power brakes,

the kit includes some special brackets

to make sure it attaches
perfectly to our 350 block.

Once it's in place, I
connect the hydraulic pipes,

a new belt to drive it,

top up the fluid,

and then connect the
new loom to the battery.

I'm hoping for great things.

Now this is a big moment.

This is the first
time I've tried to start

the engine having
changed all of the wiring.

Also, I haven't yet tried the power brakes,
and of course, I need the engine to run

so I can actually bleed the
system for the power steering.

So here goes.

That's fantastic.

So it actually runs
alright, which is great.

I run the steering lock
to lock a number of times

to make sure any air is
expelled from the system,

and I'll top up the fluid if necessary.

Right, so it's pretty good.

It's now gone from left to right a
few times to make sure the air is gone.

So now let's try with my finger.

Oh, look at that.

Awesome.

Lovely.

So the Camaro should be a
whole lot easier to live with,

but we'll only get top
dollar if the car is complete.

Are all the bits we need in the boot,

or is the kitty going to
take another pound in?

We've already shelled out a
massive six grand on the Camaro.

I really hope it helps me
with a sour price of 20 grand.

The Chevrolet Camaro is
an American muscle car.

Woo!

And I bought it for peanuts.

It was so cheap. I mean, really cheap.

Of course, the low price
was down to a tiny detail.

It was incomplete.

Wow.

It needs so much work to
pull this car back together.

And the way it drove
left a lot to be desired.

This car really gives you a proper workout.

Ed's taken the weight out of
the brakes and the steering

and tidied up the leaks, but is
the Camaro ready for sound?

No.

Well, it feels like it's taken an
absolute age to get to this point,

but I'm finally ready
to replace all those bits

of missing trim and
finish off the interior.

So from now on, the
car should only get better.

My first task is to do
something about the SS badges.

Excellent though this car
is, it's not a genuine SS,

and I prefer to be more honest.

I swap the nose badge
for a generic Chevrolet one.

The rear filler I can swap for a blank,

but still attractive, replacement.

But the side badges are
much harder to remove,

and annoyingly, I have
to take off the doors.

Now, the problem we have with
the badges on the side of the wings

is that they're actually
bolted through the wing.

So when we remove them, we're
going to end up with two holes.

Now, obviously, we could
have welded up those holes

and of course end up having
to respray the whole wing.

That would be really expensive.

We could try and find an alternative badge,

but there actually wasn't
one for this spec of car.

So I think the only option we have left,

and it is a bit of a compromise,
is to try and disguise the SS

by actually kind of covering
up and blending it into the wing.

I also need a long spanner
to reach the internal bolt,

but there's no need to
rush out and buy one.

Some black tape comes in very handy.

Once the badges are off,

I use a sandblaster to
remove the old surface.

and a coat of primer to
prepare them for paint.

The primer's now looking nice and dry, so
it's time for our top coat of Le Momblou.

I've had a can made up specially.

You can get aerosols colour matched.

I took my spoiler along to the paint shop
and our guys made up a rattle can for £16.

That's looking pretty good.

We'll need another coat of the
top coat and then some lacquer,

but I think our camouflage
is going to work a treat.

Now, while this all dries,
I'll crack on with the interior.

The first item in here that needs
an upgrade is the nasty old binnacle.

Now, in the dark, shadowy
interior of our Camaro,

these dials are just about passable,

but in the cold light of day,
well, they're just not up to scratch.

In fact, they're covered in scratches.

You can see the plastic
has been degrading over time

and now, really, they
do need to be changed.

Well, handily, I have
got a replacement lens,

so all I have to do is
just take them apart.

It's just a number of screws, really.

The previous owner of the
car did big stuff really well,

but the details are way
down on the to-do list.

And it's up to me to fill in the gaps.

With a blow of compressed
air and 20 pounds,

I completely refurbish the
focal point of the interior.

Then I fit the centre
console on a period-look

radio and, not forgetting,
the interior light.

And with brand-new door cards clicked
into place, the interior is looking tasty.

I can finally finish off the exterior,

camouflaged SS badges, light
bezels, bonnet trims, wipers,

wheel trims and extra
chrome on the wheel arches.

Small details, but overall, the
transformation of the car is stunning.

I'm afraid only the
essentials were in the boot,

but blingy bits set me back nearly $800.

Oh, wow!

Oh, wait!

Wow, the Camaro looks incredible!

Well, thank you, sir.

Obviously, last time you were here,

you implied that I hadn't been
anywhere near busy enough,

so I was determined to prove you otherwise.

It's now all finished, all the trims on,

even got a little cheeky
spoiler on the front

there and now, and there
is a massive difference.

And when you combine that with the rust-free
bodywork and these amazing looks...

And the 350 engine, of course, is
now in a lovely drivable package.

We've got a car we can
shout from the rooftops about.

Brilliant.

The Chevrolet Camaro is one of those cars.

It's got the X-Factor, and there's
something about it that makes it magic.

Many potential owners would have
walked away from this car as it was,

but now this Camaro is literally
one of the best in Europe.

I went to the west coast of
the US to find a rust-free Chevy.

Yes, should have bought myself a Camaro.

This Californian car was an unfinished
project, and I wanted to complete the job.

A worrying oil leak might
have needed serious work,

but a damaged sump was to blame, and
Ed found a cast aluminium replacement.

I'm definitely moving
things in the right direction.

The heavy brakes and steering
would lose customers in Europe,

so Ed fitted power assistance to both.

Now the Camaro's brutal
power can be enjoyed.

Oh, look at that. Awesome.

Then had to finish the actual car off.

Plenty of parts were included in the boot,

but we still had to import
chrome trim from the

States to return some
bling to the classic Chevy.

What have we spent?

Well, the car was a bargain
at seven and a half grand,

but you got to add in shipping and travel,

and mechanical upgrades weren't cheap.

We also had to shell out for extra trim.

We've topped 14 grand.

Now London's North
Circular Road is not exactly

a pin-up destination
for our car's maiden run,

but I've got a good reason to be here.

I'm hoping I'm driving us towards a sail.

That noise!

Oh, I can tell this is a good car.

Immediately it feels so
different than when I bought it

because now I can unleash
the power of that wonderful...

Oh, listen to it.

Oh, it sounds ridiculous.

That lovely, great, big V8 engine.

I couldn't do it before
because I had no brakes.

I would burst a blood
vessel trying to stop this car

before, but now they feel
positive and aggressive.

The steering, oh, it's so dynamic.

It's absolutely brilliant.

This car is epic.

You have gone and done it again.

Well, thank you, sir.
If you're happy, I'm happy,

but to be fair, obviously I
didn't really do all the work.

Obviously the car itself,
the fabric was always there.

All I had to do was eke out those
little problems and I just fixed them.

You talk about the fabric of the car,

and this car just makes you feel
somehow special when you're driving it.

You know, cars, it don't matter how
good they are, how rare, how unusual.

If they're missing that secret ingredient,

they don't really matter.

Right, now we are off to a
famous London landmark.

It's called the Ace Cafe,

where petrol heads like to meet and gather,

show off their cars, their motorbikes,

and tonight we're going to present this.

So with any luck then, hopefully
somebody will kind of take a fancy

to our little Camaro and
they might even buy it.

Trust me, son, I'm already one step ahead.

I've got a guy coming down showing
a really keen interest in the car.

Hopefully I can get a deal done.

That would be fantastic.

So obviously it's always
rude to talk about money,

but what are you going to try
and charge for this little chap?

Okay, well, I had a figure that
was whirring around in my head,

found its way down my arm, into the pen,

and into the advert, and I put £23,000.

Wowzers, so you are
setting us up for a fall.

I don't know, son.
Watch and learn. Watch and learn.

Look at this. Nice turnout.

Oh, yeah.
We're in the right place, aren't we?

Ace Cafe.

Fantastic.

Plenty of people, lots
of cars in the car park.

Shall we have a look round?

I think we should.

Meats like this happen every
month from about six until late.

At least 100 petrol
heads turn up to show

off exceptional examples
of exceptional cars.

Look, another Camaro.

So, Stu, this rather awesome Camo Camaro.
Tell me a bit more about it.

It's a 1977 Camaro. Had it for ten years.

Done quite a lot of
work to it in that time.

Lots of restoration and
changes and modifications.

And why the camouflage?

Camouflage was done because I do quite
a few track days in it a year on circuits,

and camouflage was just having
to make it look a bit different, really.

Some of the charity days that I do
as well, we take people out for rides.

It just makes it more
interesting for people

that are going to pay
for rides in the car.

Astons, Ferraris and Porsches
have all come out to play,

but it's another USA
legend that catches my eye.

It looks like it's just come
fresh off of a racetrack, this car.

The stock engine is 450 brake horsepower.

This one has been tweaked a bit.

We've got 500 with 490
foot-pounds of torque.

Wow!

And now for the reason I'm here.

The guy standing in
the doorway, that's Ash.

He's the guy that I've
arranged to meet down here.

Looks like he's bought
a load of mates with him.

But anyway, he tells me that he knows
everything there is to know about a Camaro.

But I say, bring it on.

That's one of the best ones in the country.

So let's see what he thinks of it, eh?

I'm going to disturb you
for a second, because Ash...

I'll tell you what, I'm not being funny.

Out of all the cars here, and
there's plenty of cars in this car park,

I reckon, is it me or is this
one getting the most attention?

I think you're right.
Yeah, I think you're right.

And that's why I think it's worth
every penny for the £23,000.

How about £22,000?

I'll be honest with you, Ash, I
reckon if I wait around long enough

in this car park, what
will the interest I'm

getting, I'm likely
to get £24,000 for it.

So what do you say?

I think you're right, I'll have it.

Yes, I want £80,000.

You just bought yourself a 68 Camaro.

Ash is a lucky man, but
I'm smiling all the way to

the bank to deposit just
under nine grand in profit.

Serious money from a serious car.

You know, I went halfway
round the world to buy this car,

and I'm really glad I did,
because it's been brilliant to drive.

And it's been pretty cool to work on.

But most of all, it's made
a lot of people very happy,

including us, and you
can't argue with that.

If you want to see more cars
being turned around by me and Ed,

then join us again soon
on Wheel of Dealers.

Ta-ta!