09x06 - Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen

[bunniefuu]

this is Wheeler dealers where we take
amazing classic cars that have run out

of steam and we make them great once
more I find the motors and I go over them

from top to bottom to make sure
everything's right then we sell them on

hopefully for a profit this time we're
on the trial of one of the rarest cars

we've ever done it's exotic different
and I think drop-dead gorgeous.

you're intrigued aren't you.

this is the Renault Alpine 310 it isn't
the common sight on British roads but

this 70s French Bruiser deserves a place
on our classic car radar the 310 is all

about function not fancy the wicked wedge
shape was penned to be eye-catching but

also designed to slip cleanly through
the air the factory and tires and there

to help ground the power coming
out of the punchy 2.7 liter v6 which

offers a hundred and seventy brake
horsepower big numbers in a light car

this motor works in 1977 this part
fiberglass car scooped the French rally

championship and it was even used to
help develop the famous delorean the.

Alpine 310 carries a special pedigree
and it's about time we owned one well I

have given myself a particularly tough
challenge because I've settled on a car

that's so rare and with so much
French flair they don't exactly grow on

trees in fact I can't find one in the
UK there's only a handful out there and

none of them are for sale so I've had
to get myself on a plane and come here

to French France for the best
possible range I based myself in the

center of the country in a place
called Mont Dior well I thought a Renault

Alpine was difficult to find in the
UK but it's just as tough out here in

France but after some fruitless
searching I have stumbled upon a

website I can't really understand
what they're saying because it's all in

French but they do sell top-end
classics the site isn't exactly a wash

with alpines that are at my target
budget the 10 to 15 grand Mark but

there is one car at fifteen thousand
eight hundred Euros that jumps out at

me now this is the reason I've
come to France for cars like this this

Renault Alpine it's a dealership
oh it looks amazing it's in silver it's

got the free slot alloys 1977 manual
and it's done eighty two thousand

kilometres about 50,000 miles and it looks
absolutely spot-on best give them a call.

Bonjour parlez-vous anglaise how do I deal
with this language barrier well I use an

Internet service that translates a few
simple questions into French that I can.

fire at the owner it's handy but it's
hard going well out of the questions

we've asked he's always come back
with the same answer superb and I have

to agree with him looking at the
pictures the car does look in mint

condition now I've done a little
search and this motor is in a lovely

part of France about two hours away
from where I am so I'm gonna go and

have a look at it wow look at that
the Renault Alpine look at the shape of

it I mean this car just smacks
of garlic doesn't it it's so totally

French there's no German no Italian
certainly no British in it it's got a

complete French flair it's absolutely
amazing now the guy who owns his place.

Bruno clearly knows his stuff look
he's got a Corvette over there a couple of

Porsches a couple of tasty
Ferraris and this is probably in now

Bruno and Chante Bonjour Chante
Wow way yeah beautiful very nice I've

come a long way to see
this car what can you tell me

about Lister C'est une
Renault Alpina, vécise de 1987.

Right I think he's just
said that it's a very nice car

as a Renault Alpina the
bodywork is beautiful Bruno it's

very nice indeed good paintwork
yes it's polyester made of polyester

usually the polyester or plastic cars
they can crack or they can craze but

this one's okay the wheels are very
nice too original original wheels all.

right to look inside yes okay Wow Oh
Bruno this is very very nice indeed the

dials are like a Ferrari really it's
got a very dashboard beautifully

retrimmed seats and I like this
position on the position yeah to drive

wonderful it feels very sporty and is
very very nice and been retrimmed.

wonderfully yeah I'm very very happy
inside here Bruno can we have a look at

the motor okay Wow look at that not
what I'd expect because the outside is so

immaculate and the inside is superb
I'd expect the same attention to be.

lavished on the engine but it looks
like it hasn't been touched since the

70s good motor strong oh a mechanic
perfect perfect yes mechanically and

this is a 2.7 V6 and it's
a nice big powerful motor

hanging out over the rear axle rear
wheel drive very much like a Porsche

911 in the car that's very light very
very fast indeed okay I like it Bruno

I like it a lot to love the shape and
then down the back you've got twin

exhausts and this color here Bruno
this black say the region original

origin okay I have seen them all color
coded one color makes it makes the

back look different but it's good the
only thing I need to do now Bruno is

Michelle needs to take it
for test drive yeah it's okay

no problem no problem
fantastic time to hit the road.

wonderful oh let me let you into
a little secret there's a handful of

Renault alpinas out there in the
world a very few on Britain's roads and

you're probably thinking but he's never
even driven one but the truth is I have

and I know exactly how
they should handle and build.

so what we got well this motor is a
total departure from the kind of car

that me and you drive to work small
windows my bum is scraping the ground

I'm so low down it's very very small
inside it's about the same size as a

Ford Fiesta it's hot it's dark it's
claustrophobic but it does have a

sense of purpose I love the way it
goes through the fences out it's fantastic

the way this car handles is an
absolute dream because the car is so

light and you can push it into the
corners and it darts and in fact the

steering like this oh I'm just
thinking where I want to go and this

car puts itself there and what with
the engine swung out over the back and

those big white tires
it's got immense grip

coming out of these
tight bends I love it.

when there's no denying that this
Renault Alpine is a really character

full car but notoriously character
full cars do have their faults and

although the engine it does feel
quite peppy it's only 80% there I do

know there's more power to
come out that engine behind us

so it's just being let down
it's nearly there but not quite.

so the question is do I want this
Renault Alpine well I think the place

says it all yes I do I love this motor
I've always wanted to own a decent

Alpine and this is as good as
I'm gonna find the thing is I've got a

heart and head moment going on my
heart is saying buy it buy it but my head

is saying Mike it's fifteen thousand
eight hundred Euros what on earth are

you doing you know what I'm gonna
let my heart and head have a little while

give them amongst themselves and
I've come up with my own decision I think

this motor is well worth having if
I can just get it a little bit cheaper

and times are tough
out there in a minute and

I reckon on Bruno he'd
be willing to do a deal.

Oh what can I say this car is like
a fantasy to me it's wonderful I love

the way it drives but I'll tell you
the one thing that I've got a problem

with is the price the price is is too
big we need to make the price smaller

because you want fifteen thousand
eight hundred Euros it's too big to make it

smaller is cat doors meal fourteen
thousand euro no purple skin it is

possible and if you don't say yes
Michelle is going on the next plane

home finish cat doors mean cash today
okay yes just bought myself a Renault

Alpine and fulfilled a fantasy I've had
to come all the way to France to grab an

Alpine 310 apart from the engine
slight lack of chuff I'm chuffed but now me

and this 70 sports have a long
journey ahead back to the UK and if

this car turns out to be fragile it
won't be the start of a fantastic.

friendship I came all the way to
France to buy a big slice of French

flamboyance the Renault Alpine and
I got a trace bond deal on it at 14,000

Euros just bought myself a Renault
Alpine and fulfilled a fantasy now I've

got the pleasant task of legally
racing back to the UK and back to the

workshop so the question is have I
bought myself a sweet motor well as

the miles go by let me tell
you this car just gets sweeter.

well I'm enjoying this long journey
back through France but I'll tell you

what enough give me time to think I
could have made a big mistake because

this car is so rare if I can't find
the right buyer in the UK we're in

trouble but if I can find somebody as
enthusiastic about the Renault Alpine

as me then we'll be counting money
like shelling peas if I got it wrong

then this could be the biggest gamble
I've ever taken on Wheeler dealers.

so far on this journey back this car's
been really happy it's been going along

with a temperature Gauge about 60
70 but it's just crept up it's got really

wiffy in the car it's got very hot
and the car's starting to run a little

bit lumpy somehow I don't think this
Renault Alpine wants to leave France.

I can see steam out of the back I
might have to pull this car over in a

second come on make it come
on please don't break down.

well what a nightmare it's overheated I
mean I've been going so well I've been

driving back fourth gear cruising along
keeping an eye on that temperature Gauge

and it has been rising then
it drops back down again

but now it's just peaked
and obviously it's overheated.

this is a disaster now I could carry
on driving and risk blowing the head

gasket or I could get my good
friend Paul to collect me as there's

nothing he likes better than a 300
mile trip and he knows a lot of jokes but

there's no way this car is rocking
up to the workshop on the trailer when

it's cooled down I'll drive it
around the corner to Ed's.

oh look at that bonjour how
are you you're right I'm well

mate this is wicked a Renault
Alpine I love the kind of retro kind of

futuristic 70 styling on this the billet
wheels that wicked front it's a cool

car I'm so pleased that you're pleased
and it doesn't only look fantastic it

drives amazingly to probably the best
driving classic car I've ever been in I

love it but not only that just look
how strong it is look at this bodywork

it's immaculate it's absolutely gorgeous
obviously you straight away I can

spot it to give the wheels a bit of a
Polish small potatoes Edward small

potatoes those wheels are easily
polished up and then look inside here

Edward sit your little bum in there
look it's a little bit tight but it is

actually very nice in this it worked on
one of the previous owners was a car

trimmer and he's done an amazing
job fitting it out inside absolutely

gorgeous no that's cool that's good
it's very good well thing is right how

much did you pay for this I only
give 12,000 pound for it this is what

I was worried about you've got a
really good exterior and a really good

interior which means mechanically
it's gonna be completely stuffed but it.

wasn't stuffed initially initially
when I first went to see the car it was

really nice I went and bought it a
car showroom took it for a test drive it

wonderful but then on the way back
it sort of all went wrong it overheated

and I mean really overheated and as
you can see there's evidence of it we

can actually smell kind of like
the burnt water smell you get from

overheating and you can even see
some of the water fluid actually that's

leaked out the thing is I'm not gonna
know what that is just by looking at

it it could be a leaky radiator
causing it to overheat it could be leaky

plumbing but it could also be leaky
head gaskets how dare you don't you

swear in front of me using the word
head gasket it's never gonna happen

I know it's gonna be a little blockage that
you can clean out but make sure you do it

right because whoever comes and
buys this car will want to drive it and

they're gonna want to get it hot and
we can't have it overheating on the

test drive because they'll be saying
au revoir you and I both know that a car

this old is not going to be just the
overheating problem when we take it

apart there's gonna be all kinds
of other stuff we're gonna find that's

wrong with it the other thing as
well Ed is the engine was running.

slightly lumpy and I know that
this is a strong engine so I reckon

there's more power to be had out
of it maybe we can get it to go rah I

think I need to take it into the
workshop give it the one sober and find

out exactly what we are gonna have
to fix on this I can't wait for you get it

on the ramp let's get it in okay but
it is a very cool car the car behind

me is genuinely exotic it's not
playing at it it really is it's got

fantastic futuristic styling it offers
loads of character and charm and it's a

rare sight on British roads and
that's all good but right now I don't

it's one thing for Mike to assess a car
at the roadside but in the workshop I.

can dig deeper the Alpine looks good
but top tip never trust a car's looks I

spend two hours systematically
checking every single item electrical

mechanical and cosmetic and no surprise
I found a problem well the brakes look

pretty new but that bearing sounds
like it needs to be changed it's not

sounding good at all I'll get to
that later what's more worrying is I'm

seeing old and new evidence of leaking
Mike made the car overheat but it's not

the first time that's happened now
I've seen a couple of little leaks at the

front of the water system not too
bothered about that because they should

be easy to fix what I'm more
worried about is all this kind of brown

deposit on the back of the aluminium
block and this rust is only going to.

be coming from the water system
itself I can see the pump up there that's

covered in this stuff anyway to be
really sure to get the car nice and

hot and see what's leaking overheating
can be caused by something very small

and simple like a faulty hose or very
big and expensive to fix like a leaking

head gasket as the engine turns
over the temperature rises the coolant

circulates and brings the temperature
down since the engine is in the back

and the radiator is in the front
there's lots of pipe work and plenty

of potential places for leakage well
the engines now nice and hot and the

iron has kicked in as I'd expect
there's two obviously clearly you can

see this one at the front here there's
also one it seems to be leaking out of

the water pump on the engine I'm
hoping this one I'll just see sort it.

out a little nip up on the clip
which it is so now I gotta go back to

the other end now it's not unusual
for a water pump to fail and this one is

leaking quite a bit so I think the
best thing to do is replace it but if

that doesn't fix our overheating problem
then we really are in trouble but first.

things first this is definitely a job for
a DIY er first drain down the system.

the next step is to disconnect the
hoses running to the water pump

remove the air filter and unbolt
the water pump itself there we go one

water pump quite tricky to get out
it's gonna be a lot harder to put back

in I reckon a water pump is one
of those things that can't really be

tinkered with it's more sensible to buy
a new one which I've already ordered for

220 pounds this is our failing
water pump actually looks a lot more

complicated than it is obviously
you've got your crankshaft driving a

fan but which in turn drives this
pulley which ultimately drives the

impeller inside the water is sucked
in through there and blown out through

there now our new one you can
see obviously when the impeller is

spinning around it's flinging the
water around the system which helps

cool the engine now the reason this
one's failing is because the bearing and

seals on here will have worn and water
escapes and that means the whole thing

can overheat obviously before I can put
this new pump onto our engine I need to

swap over the pulley but also a
little cover plate on the back this new

pump is used on various models of
Renault Peugeot and Volvo but the.

pulley and cover plate are only
found on the Alpine and swapping over

parts like this can require special
tools a puller is great for separating

pressed on parts from a shaft it's a
must-have if you plan to tackle this

job and it's feasible at
home if you have the nerve.

the pulleys off which is good what's
not so good unfortunately is there is a

keyway on the original shaft from
the original pump now the thing is that

key way is to locate this pulley
onto the shaft so it doesn't spin in

relation to the impeller the problem
is our new pump doesn't have.

that it's designed for a press on pulley
so I think looking at this I might be

able to modify this if I pop that
pulley into position you can see

it's got this kind of slots on a key
way on the pulley there if I actually put

that onto there actually cut a slot
in the shaft I think this would then

locate the pulley onto the shaft and
do exactly the same job as the key way

so all I have to do bit of
grinding and job could be done.

I'm using a cutting disc
to fashion a slot a few mil

wide which will be perfect to
accommodate the top spacer.

even if I say so myself
that is a good little fix.

and then I can bolt everything back
together and get it in the car as I'm

reinstalling I make sure I don't
damage any hoses as I manhandle the

pump back into place I'm running
the car up to temperature watching for

leaks and topping up coolant
any trapped air is expelled using the

bleed nipple I'm satisfied there are
no more leaks on this car and I'm pretty

much 90 odd percent sure that it won't
overheat again but of course we won't be

totally sure until we've taken
it for a test drive unfortunately

I've got loads more work
to do so watch this space.

the Alpine could do with more grunt
and I'm told the smartest route is to

up spec the carburetor but you
can pay two grand for that the Alpine

owners Club is about to launch their
own carb upgrade and so I've decided to

take a look John how you doing buddy
it's good to see it last year what a place

you got here well you did say that
you're dealing Renaults and you really do

think yeah you got no goldini we're
no paraphernalia all over the walls well

hopefully you can help me then
because I've got this beautiful Alpine

310 and it's got that cracking 2.7
liter v6 the problem I've got is the

engines just missing that bit of
mid-range grunts we're developing a

product at the moment it's actually
using the Holley carburetor from the

American muscle car sort of scene
what about the performance what do we get

well we should be seeing at least 20
horsepower increase or so right you

definitely got my attention John takes
me to his demo area an underground car

park where the club keeps a treasure
trove of classic Renaults so this is

what I'm looking at yeah this is a
GTA but essentially the same engine

as your 310 okay what we'll do is
get rid of the air cleaner yeah take

the carburetors off they're quite
restrictive we'll get rid of that and

the manifold with the whole lot yeah
the whole lot goes Wow okay then we

replace it with this is the new
remanufactured manifold so this shiny

bit on the top is the bit that
you've adapted that's from a muscle

car you've attached it to this
manifold yes very clever this goes

straight on like that yeah then
your carburetor sits on top of that air

filter and that's it so this is the
the Holley carburetor is it that's it

here fantastic that goes on top of
there yep and then the air filter on

top of that yep straight up cracking
that's much tidier in it and these are

much easier to tune and fiddle yeah
they're very tunable transform the car

okay so the new carburetor the
manifold this air cleaner and all the

bits and pieces how much is all
that gonna come to the whole kit all

inclusive the bottom line is seven
nine five can't you do a bit better

than that is the best I can do hold
out your end I'll have one I've spent

less than a grand and I'm gonna be
adding to the Alpine's performance

drivability and appeal and that's going
to matter because John also told me

that the market for these cars is
tough right now we're gonna need all the.

help we can get this is a Renault
Alpine it's a super rare motor and a

superb driver's car but not for long
well what a nightmare it's overheated

and sorted out the job which made
this dream car a bit of a nightmare the

overheating but it's got more to do
he gave the car a good going over and.

he's found that the wheel bearings
have failed to it's now time for me to do

one of those jobs that Mike likes
to call hidden and by that he means

something he didn't bother to pick up
when he was buying the car and the job

is grumbling rear wheel bearings well
to be fair to Mike he's probably more

concerned about all the smoke and
steam coming out of the back end of the

car to worry about load of noise
so I might let him off the bearing I'm

trying to get to is right down in the
depths there so I need to remove the

hub the disc and therefore the caliper
wheel bearings are essential to a car's

good health you are the junction
between the wheel hub and the suspension

if they wear excessively it's an
MOT fail and is also potentially

dangerous they are also a good
chunk of work to replace especially on the

back of this car well normally on
many cars anyway if you undo that nut off

the drive shaft you have some kind
of access to the bearings and probably

pull the hub off but in this particular
case what I need to do now is actually

pull the hub and the disc out from
the upright and to do that I need to get

the upright off the car and to
do that I've got to undo a fair few

little bits and pieces now to
disconnect the upright in the hub

which are co-joined I need to free
the ball joint that connects them to

the lower suspension arm it needs
a firm tug to pull it away well there we

go the upright is now off the
suspension and the work really is

just started but the first things
first I just want to hear how bad this

bearing sounds it does sound pretty
awful before I go much further want to

give it a bit of a clean so I can
really see what's going on but also

this is going to get in the way but
later on so I want to remove that dust

cover as well so with the grease
out of the way I can now see what's

going on and you can see the outer
bit of metal there was actually the

kind of inner part of the bearing
and then the inner bit of metal is

actually the hub so what I want to
do is basically try and push the hub

through the bearing but actually
what I was doing is end up

pulling the upright and the
bearing off the hub with a puller.

bearings don't just fall onto the
bench I've got to wrestle off the disc

from the hub and need a
puller without it I'd be in trouble.

with the base of the hub
secured I pull off the disc.

now the bearing is inside the upright it
needs to be pushed out from underneath

this is normally easy but the bearing
is held by a special threaded retainer

which is going to be a
massive battle to undo.

I'm going to need to do
a few modifications here.

my plan is to try and undo this nut that's
basically what it is a really big nut I'm

actually going to make
up a special tool out of

some angle iron I happen
to have lying around

and you can see straight
away just give me a

bit of tool just to give
it a bit of extra oomph

I'm going to go for a
third leg as well and

then I'm going to weld
this nut on top of there.

like so and then that way
I can get a tool on there

give it some hopefully
it should start to undo.

if I can't get the massive
nut undone I'll have

to consider swapping
over the hub and upright

which is around 200 pounds per
side but I'm hoping my custom-made

tool will do the job if I've got
the muscles to make it work.

okay well here we go I've got
my nice big lever my special tool

all I have to do now is exert
an awful lot of force here goes.

I tell you what maybe a
little bit more leverage.

you know what I reckon we're
gonna need a little bit of heat.

there it goes my top
tip never be defeated

I've only used a few
bits of scrap metal and

some gorilla engineering
and I'm out of a

tight spot oh well
it's still hot but it's out.

now you've got to
imagine after all that hassle

there's an easier way
of holding a bearing

and of course there is
which is why they do it

differently now so I've
got at least something

to show for my efforts
I've managed to remove

the bearing's dust cover
but obviously it's not

over yet for the bearing
itself I need a hydraulic

press well there we
go we managed to get.

our bearing out of our upright you
can see it's a double ball race bearing

and what happens over
time is the ba*ls wear

away and of course
that gets that bit of slack

and of course end up
with that kind of gaunty

noise which is why we
have to replace them.

new bearings are not
readily available I found

a supplier in Germany
who charges 75 pounds just

for one as usual it gets a heavy coating
of grease and is forced in using the press

and then the hub and upright can go back on
the car it's best practice to do both sides

of this painful procedure
a specialist would

charge 300 pounds for labor and you'd still
have to pay for the bearings on top well

despite this looking
exactly the same as when

I started the job I've just
done will make a really

big difference to the
driving experience of this

car and of course not
everybody is going to be

able to tell the grumblings
of a wheel bearing

and therefore the less
scrupulous might not

even do the job but
let's face it a connoisseur

will notice and more
to the point any car that

leaves this workshop
has got to be in tip-top

condition Ed you all right buddy how are
you doing ain't getting on with that bit of

French flamboyance
a lovely Renault Alpine

well I'm kind of happier
with it now I've had a

look at it really because
you were really focused

on the overheating problem
and I was just concerned

there would be loads
of other things to worry

about and is there well
there is actually hasn't.

exactly got a clean
bill of health but first

things first the
overheating is now sorted it

turned out it was the
water pump that was

leaking which meant of
course it could actually

overheat now that's
replaced it now runs up

to temperature and
sits there beautifully so

no more steam no more smoke no more worries
well there are a few other little bits and

pieces I had to replace
the rear wheel bearings

because they were
quite noisy bit of a pig

to do the job but I had
to get the parts from

Germany mate I can
see that you work really

hard on this car but I've
been busy too because

I've been speaking to
some Renault Alpine owners

about up specking this
motor and I've got the

perfect solution okay
has it got to be a nice big

present I haven't
unfortunately no I'm having

this specially made so
when it does arrive you'll

be able to bolt them
straight to the car and

it's a new set of
carburettors and when you do

put them on the motor
instant power upgrade but I

look forward to fitting
that as soon as it turns out.

when Mike dropped off this motor he was
talking about giving it a bit of extra power

now that's something
we have done to a fair few

cars in this workshop
but with this particular car

I'm a bit worried about straying
too far from the path of originality

having said that though when somebody
comes to buy this nice little sports car

all the extra power might
make a big difference

so I think it's going
to be worth the risk.

in a rare fit of generosity
Mike's got me this

carburetor upgrade
with auto choke designed

for use on an American muscle car it's a
four barrel carb with vacuum secondaries

now this is a relatively
new modification that

helps Alpine drivers get
a bit more oomph from

their engines I think
it's actually quite a good

plan because Holley
carbs are pretty reliable

they're easy to set up
and you do get a nice

bit of extra grunt and
they're really easy to

fit as well at least that's what I'm hoping
when you take off the air filter cover you

can see the car's
current setup a twin and

single carb I do love
how quirky this is you've

got this twin carb
running the back four

cylinders here then
you've got a single carb

running just the two
cylinders at the front

but actually the choke is on the single
carb so it can't be easy to get this set up

properly to remove
the whole lot I just have

to disconnect the
accelerator cable and the

fuel pipe so now I've
undone some of the easier

things it looks like
it's going to get really

complicated but it
isn't because all these

mechanisms and linkages
and Springs and stuff

they're all attached
to the manifold and the

manifold has held on
to the engine with just

four bolts and a couple
of hoses so it should

be nice and easy to
remove I unbolt the manifold

disconnect the air hoses
and the whole caboodle

comes off in one easy move putting on a
replacement manifold would usually involve

some modification before I can reinstall
luckily I've got this pre-made kit to save

some of the hassle so I've got a standard
Renault manifold that's been machined away

then welded on this
special adapter plate which

is going to then fit this
four barrel carburetor

with vacuum secondaries
what does that mean

well we know that a
carburetor's job is to add

fuel to the air being
drawn into the engine

so you're driving along
you're operating the

throttle which of course
in turn operates or

opens these little
butterflies here and that kind

of meters the amount
of air and therefore fuel

mixture that's going
to go into the engine

so when you're really
giving it some you've

got those wide open the
maximum amount of fuel

and air is going to be
flowing into the engine

from there but because
of that there's also a

vacuum that's caused
that operates this little

diaphragm down here
on the side and then that

opens the secondaries
as well so you get

twice as much fuel and
air mixture going into

the engine you get
bigger bangs and therefore

get more power if you like tinkering with
things mechanical then you'll find this

rebuild quite fun
everything is made to go with

everything else so
it's only a matter of

following the instructions
and the carb assembly

onto the manifold it
takes less than an hour a

specialist might charge
you 70 to 100 pounds to

do this but they might
also charge you for

setting it up the heads
need a clean plus a new.

set of gaskets which are included in the
kit and then we're ready for the manifold

which sits lightly in
place then is carefully

bolted down with equal
even tightening our car

does have an aftermarket exhaust system but
so far it's not really been delivering any

extra benefit because
of the factory carbs

but I am hoping this
is all about to change.

now of course we've
fitted an automatic choke

which is electrical
rather than the usual

mechanical way of doing
things so I need to add

some wiring now obviously
you're going to need

a feed for power and
luckily the original carburetor

setup had a fuel
shutoff valve so I can use

that feed for that so I'm just going to
connect that up and also of course I need

an earth and for
that I'll just use the

carburetor itself a few
modifications still to do

the throttle linkage
and the fuel in it are

on different positions
on this carburetor than

they were on the old
carb setup the icing on the

cake is the new air
filter with this chrome lid.

which has a lot more
je ne sais quoi than the

old one finally this
engine has a bit of sex

appeal and a small bonus
the old manual choke

cable which looks so
nasty against that interior

trim can be pulled out
and discarded and now

for the moment of truth here we go waiting
for fuel to get into the carburetor.

a little bit of gas.

that sounds good.

well that sounds better already and I
think if you couple our new carburetor

with the existing
aftermarket tubular manifold I

reckon we're going to be
good for an improvement

of at least 20 odd
horsepower which is fantastic

now the real test is
going to be how much

better it is on the open
road but I think we're

well on the way to making
this alpine even better

than when it was new
which is going some I'll

tell you Ed's already
worked his magic and made

this alpine a better
car than it was a few

days ago I'm hoping
for a decent return on my

investment when we
sell but that could be a

challenge because
alpines are super rare and

few people know how
good they are the Renault

Alpine is a classic
car to Cherish but this

rally champ is also
a car for hard driving I

couldn't walk away
from one as good as this

but it wasn't that good
well what a nightmare

it's overheated and has
repaired the car's serious

overheating he's sorted out the grumbling
bearings and he's even given the car a much

needed boosting
power all this is going to

get the alpine ready
for sale but a specialist

car like this isn't well
known in the UK and

it's going to take
some selling Mike and I

both know that this
alpine is a rare old beast

and that means that
the market we're going to.

is going to be rather
small and out of that

limited number of people
most of them are really.

going to know what
they're talking about so this

last job is really important
I need to make sure

that every last
detail will stand up to

scrutiny old French
cars often suffer electrical

problems and ours
is no exception I have

discovered the high
beams aren't working but

before I do that fix let
me hoover out the lights

an odd task but some
strangely large insects

now deceased are residing behind
the glass and they need to be evicted.

now to the main beams
I'm not worried about the

yellow lenses they're
actually legal in the UK

I'm more worried about
their lack of function

I can hear a click from
the relay which is a

good sign it's in here
somewhere fixing and

electrical force is all
about trial and error

I check the fuses they're okay and
of course I need to look at the bulb.

okay well straight away
I found a problem the

wire that connects the
earth to the actual bulb.

holder itself is broken
off I'm gonna have to put

a new terminal on there
before we get any further.

so I install the terminal
for the missing earth

connection the lights
still don't work but

then I realize that
the relay isn't clicking

on anymore which I can
actually feel I think we

found the problem an
intermittent fault on the

relay just two pounds to
swap from a motor factors.

oh look at that quite literally brilliant.

now the last job I need to do is sort
out those rather tatty looking center caps

rather than buying new ones I think
I've got just the thing to tart them up.

right so I need to try and get this
out to make it a little bit easier to

rub down and then
paint and that's actually

held in by a little clip
at the back here so

I just get this little tool here should be
able to persuade it there we go fantastic

on a modern car you'd spend 20
quid on four new caps for in the factory.

that's not an option for us as they're
no longer made but I can repaint them

top tip is to use a good old enamel
modeling paint applied with a fine brush

and you'll get a good resilient finish.

so much easier on the
eye I think you'll agree

when Mike first showed
me this alpine it did seem

the only thing that
was wrong with it was it

was overheating but
actually after digging a

bit deeper I found
all kinds of other stuff

that needed attention
luckily none of it was

too massive because
this car was essentially

pretty decent but now
it's much better than

pretty decent it's
excellent and that's exactly

the way any car should
be before it leaves our

workshop look at it
just look at it our redo

alpine 310 a gorgeous
car in anyone's book this

is a car with motorsport
DNA a car that stands

out a car that is
different and finally a car

that can't be bettered
I couldn't find a 310

in the UK and even
in France they weren't

exactly growing on
trees but I did find a car

and once tasted I love
the way it goes through.

alpine it's fantastic I
couldn't walk away just

bought myself a Reno
alpine and fulfilled a

fantasy but the car
had a secret so far this

car's been really happy
been going along with

the temperature Gauge
at about 60 70 but

it's just crept up the
car's starting to run

a little bit lumpy it
didn't really want to leave

France well what a
nightmare it's overheated

and had to replace the water pump
to avoid any more steamy surprises.

the grumbling wheel
bearings that were a job

and a half to swap over
resulted in ed making

a wacky one-off spanner
there he goes clever

boy I treated us to a
cool carburetor upgrade

which gave the engine
more punch and after the

little finishing details
that often mean so much

we had a car with the
baba boom it was crying out

for what are we in for
the car cost me 12 grand.

upgrade carb was 795
others spares 205 quid

travel was 500 pounds
the alpine is coming out

exactly 13 and a half
large ed how you doing

buddy all right mate
what we got here then if

you have to ask that
question clearly you haven't

been paying attention
we have here for your

workshop with a big cloud
of smoke and steam oh

yeah sorry about that
but tell me that you've

waved your magic wand
over it and now all the

problems have disappeared
didn't happen exactly

like that but now all the
big stuff and the small

stuff is all sorted if
you can actually find

somebody for an
alpine 310 then this is the

one to have well I'm
pretty sure that person

is out there but in the
meantime I'm so excited

to see this car again
it looks absolutely

glorious and I think
this car is wonderful it

is really cool and
obviously sometimes in this

process you kind of
sometimes fall out of love

with a car but not this
one I'm not bored of

working on it and I'm
not bored of actually

looking at it well it's
a shame it's in here

because it's so much better out there because
I recommend you should strap ourselves

into the seats and then
you can sample some of

that Renault alpine
handling magic let's do it.

we're in for track day
mayhem and the alpine

fits right into the high
octane atmosphere

the Reno is a motorsport
car which rewards keen

drivers who don't mind
spending a few quid on tires.

do you know what ed
the Reno alpine 310 is

such a rare car there's
only about six of them

registered in the UK
so what I've done is

I've made a few phone
calls and I've muscled

that scene to a Reno alpine event that's
happening right here at brands that see you

and our Reno alpine
can meet his extended

family i'm good to you
ain't i yeah sometimes.

this is not a race event
it's about learning the

circuit and getting your
car around as smoothly

and as quickly as
possible i think it's time

for our 310 to show
us what it's made of.

oh my word isn't it
look at that oh dear.

whoa down the bottom.

all the roads have bought us to this
point because it's all well and good

you rattling around and
working underneath it but

let me tell you it's a lot
more fun being inside.

the first time i got
into this car i always

said it was one of the
best handling cars period

and now it just feels so much better the
way inspires confidence into these corners.

when i drove this
car before red i said it

was left wanting but
now it wants for nothing

that carb kit is fantastic
because you put your

foot down all the front
response is instant

and away it goes it is
pretty awesome i mean

this car was already
fitted with an aftermarket

exhaust manifold but
it wasn't really getting

the full benefit because
of that standard car

bracket with our new
Holly on there now it's

just fantastic we've
got a very special motor

here there's no doubt
about it so are we going

to get a special price
for it what do you

reckon well i would
like to think so i mean

it's a super rare car
in super condition and

being original and in
left-hand drive i reckon it's

worth what every penny
of 16 grand yeah go for it.

now i know the alpine
behind me is worth every

penny of 16 or 17 000
pounds but unfortunately

the market for this car isn't in the UK
it's abroad in places like Belgium France

Germany and Spain but their currencies have
collapsed and the profit for this motor has

literally evaporated
away now I've worked my

fingers to the bone
to get this car sold and

I've had one offer from a
guy who doesn't want to

appear on camera and
he's offered 13 and a half

grand it's a bitter pill
to swallow all that work

and effort and the
alpine is only broken even

we've not made any
profit but it shouldn't

always be about the
cash i fulfilled a dream

buying this car i followed
my heart and spent

quality time behind the
wheel of probably the

best alpine 310 on the
road and that is priceless

to me sometimes external
forces come into play

when you're buying and
selling cars especially

rare ones like this one
but i'm not downhearted

i'm really proud of
the car and i'm really

pleased that somebody
is going to go and care

for it if you want to
see more classic cars

getting turned around by me and
ed join us soon on Wheeler dealers.