08x04 - Frogeye Sprite

[bunniefuu]

This is Wheeler Dealers, where
we're on a mission to turn back the

tongue of the rust, rebuild broken
engines, and tidy up tired interiors.

I track down the motors to save.

And I work day and
night to make sure these

icons of motoring have
another chance to shine.

And then we sell them on for a profit.

Well, we hope.

Now this time, I'm on
a hunt for a pint-eyes,

British classic that
delivers real driving thrills.

This is a frog-eye sprite, named after its
distinctive headlamps that sit up front.

This small but perfectly formed
two-seater has put a smile

on the face of sports car
fans since its launch in 1958.

It was built as a sports car, which
a chap could keep in his bike shed.

The 948cc engine may seem small, but the 43
horsepower somehow manages to give this perky sprite a

real feeling of speed and acceleration on the B
roads, even if the speedo tops out at just 82mph.

Its bags are fun to drive, but can
we find one for under five grand?

Well, I've been putting
in the hours on this,

and so far it's been
a fruitless search.

This is one hard car to track down.

Don't get me wrong,
there's frog-eyes out there,

but they'll simply be
restored and go for big money.

There's one here for 8,750.

There's another one for 9,250.

And I found a lovely one, and it's 9,750.

All brilliant cars, but slim pickings
for a Wheeler-dealer like me.

I thought I could pick up a rough car
for around three and a half grand, but so

far all I'm seeing is well cared for
sprites on sale as far away as South Africa.

No use to me.

Now this is the bit where I usually
find something, can I get all excited?

But I'll tell you what, these
cars are so thin on the ground

that I'm seriously thinking
about giving up the search.

And it's been years
since I've been defeated

by a car, but this
quirky British classic...

I don't want to say these words,
but it might just have beaten me.

But then, out of the blue, my luck changed.

Well, I was getting a little
bit frustrated with the search

for a frog-eyed sprite, and it
was getting absolutely nowhere.

But by sheer luck, my
mechanic mate Paul was driving

home last night, past a
local dealer, and guess what?

They've got one marked up on the forecourt.

I know very little about the
car, other than it's in our price

range, under five grand, it's
red, so I can't wait any longer.

I've jumped in the motor,
I'm on my way to go and see it.

So, here we are, and it looks
like a proper place, doesn't it?

Classic car dealer, and here's a tip.

If you are going to buy a
classic car, make sure you

get it from somebody who
knows what they're doing.

I'm surrounded by MGs, old rovers, and
this looks like the car I've come to see.

A little frog-eyed sprite.
I can't believe how small it is.

It's the perfect car for my tall mechanic
and my wide frame. Just look at it.

And this must be the fella.
Hello, you, Will.

Hello, Mike. I'm Will.

Hello, Will. How are you doing?

Nice to see you. Thanks for coming.

Pleasure. So, what can you tell
me about the little frog-eyed sprite?

This is a lovely little thing,


Owned by a customer I
asked for the last 21 years.



So, he's had it a long time. He's decided
it's time to sell, so I snapped it up.

Fantastic, yeah. Nice on his little car.

What about this interior?
So, are these seats different?

They probably are.
Someone's changed them at some point.

It's been restored about 25 years
ago, but you can buy all these bits.

You can? Really?

You can buy all the trim.
You can buy almost everything new.

Stuff like this, because this is corroded.

Well, you've chosen a good one
there, because you can't buy that bit,

but you can get that re-anodised
or polished or re-chromed, whatever.

So, there's no fear in doing any of that?

Nope.

It's fantastic, isn't it? And what can you
tell me about underneath? What's it like?

It was restored a while
ago, but it's still very solid.

I think it's quite good in there, really.

Right, let's get under the bonnet.

I love the way these open up.
The whole front of the car is brilliant.

Look at that!
Oh, that is just perfect, isn't it?

It's wonderful and charming underneath.

It looks like it just
needs a bit of a tidy up.

I'll just go round with the cloth.

I like it under there.
That's put a big smile on my face.

So, it's all very good under there.

I'm a little bit concerned about
the paintwork, though, on the top.

I mean, it's crazing and cracking
and bubbling up, not only here,

but actually all over
the little thing, isn't it?

Yeah, structurally it's very good,

but cosmetically you probably
want to do bare metal re-spray.

What about a tuner cover or a hood?
Has it got all of that?

It's got a hood, tonneau, it's got side
screens, it's got everything you need.

So, it's got everything to keep me dry?

But saying that, on a day like today,
it doesn't look like it's going to rain.

I want to take it for a drive.
Is that right?

Of course it is.

Top work?

Well, it's been ages since I've been
behind the wheel of a frog-eyed sprite.

I've got to tell you, I feel like Mr
Toad, squished into these tiny chairs,

big steering wheel up front.

What a laugh!

Now, these little cars have a loyal following
around the world, and I can see why.

I've always thought they
were a bit Sunday afternoon

drives and cream teas, but you
know what? I could be wrong,

because when you put your foot down
on the accelerator, it shoots forward,

and when you drop a gear, listen to that!

Sounds awesome!

And when you push it into these tight
little B-roads, it handles like a limpet.

Do you know what?
This is a proper driver's car.

Now, usually when you're
buying a car, I'm telling

you to press every
knob, dial, switch button,

check the air conditioning,
electric windows, the CD player.

Well, there's none of that stuff to
worry about in this little frog-eye.

It's just a couple of simple switches
up on the dashboard, one for indicators,

one for lights, and one for wipers.

Everything works.
It's all just a bit tired.

The seat is busted,
because I can move around in

it, and it feels like the
phone's gone as well.

But you've got to remember,
this car is over 50 years old.

Now, I've been tooling around
in this car for quite a while,

and the one thing that really
lets it down are the brakes.

When you do stamp on the
anchors, the thing squirms to the left,

and it pitches and rolls.

And if we do buy this car, that's
one of the first jobs we have to do.

So what do I think?
I think, yes! Look at it!

It's a car that belies its six decades.

It's a proper, usable, classic.

He's advertised it for £4,95,

which isn't bad for a car
that you can use every day.

But clearly, it's got
a profit margin in it.

He is a dealer after all.
I don't think he talks my language.

So I'm going to go back and see
if I can Nick the profit off of him.

Did you enjoy that?

That was great fun.

It wraps itself around you,
this little car, doesn't it?

They're great, aren't they?

Yeah, very nice.

Well, there's no denying I like this one.

It's a very good car.

Now, you had it marked up for £4,95,

so man-to-man, what's the
best price you can do for me?

Four and a half.

Four and a half grand?

I think I can make those figures work.

Hold out your hand.

Right.

I caught myself a frog-eyed sprite!

It took a long time to find this sprite

and it was the only one on
the market in my price range.

At over 50 years old, I
wonder whether this old girl

is going to hold a few
unexpected surprises for my head.

But right now, I'm feeling well chuffed.

There could be big
money in this little motor.

This is our cute 50s drop-top
with lashings of classic appeal.

Do you know what?

This is a proper driver's car.

Four and a half grand secured
me this serviceable frog-eyed sprite

and I'm hoping Ed
can turn his cheeky little

Austin Healy around
and double our money.

It's a big ask, but he who dares?

Well, look at the face.

Says it all, doesn't it?

I'm still smiling.

I'm loving every minute of this.

Although I will say, these open roads are
not suited to our little frog-eyed sprite.

It was much happier on the little B road.

It's pretty intimidating.

I mean, stuff like this big Van is enough
to rattle the bones of this old frog-eye.

Not far to get back to the workshop now
and I've loved every minute of this journey

and this little frog-eye
has been talking to me.

I love its character.

We want to turn this into a
proper Wheeler-dealer's motor

and to do that, we need
to sort out the mechanicals,

sort out the paint work, fix those brakes
and then we'll take this car from lead two

and put it right up there in
the premiership where the

big bucks are and I reckon
we can double the money.

Yeah, I'm talking 9,000 pounds.

Let's see what Ed thinks of that.

You bought us a roller-skate,
got one for the other foot?

It is a bit like one.

It is a frog-eye sprite.

It is.

Get those size 13's in.

Squeeze yourself in.

Hang on, I've got one leg in.

That's good.

You can do it.

Look at that.

Yes, you're in.

I have to say, while I am in,

but I can't move my leg.

There's no way I could drive this thing.

Don't worry, I'll do the driving.

Look at it, Ed.

British craftsmanship.

Isn't it wonderful?

The carpets, I have to
say, do look a little bit tatty.

It is a bit Fredbear.

And the seats look a
little bit unpleasant as well.

They could do with a
bit of a refurb person.

Refurbish, yeah, that'd be a good idea.

Right, now, have a look at the outside.

If I can get out.

It is a bit of a struggle to
get out of here, to be honest.

I wouldn't want to do this in a hurry.

You'll see the carp sigh
relief as we get out of it.

What do you think?

Well, I think the bodywork
is not looking so great, is it?

It's got quite a few little
sort of star crazes going on.

There's a bit of rust underneath here,

but it's actually quite bad.

I'll be honest with you, Ed.

It's not just here as well.

It's all over the car.

Well, the thing is, I would suggest
that means we need to do a full respray.

I thought we would be
doing a repaint on this carp.

I don't like the red.

What?

I don't think it's a very common colour.

You know, I think, you
know, the kind of frog-eye

fans would probably prefer
a green or the baby blue.

And so I think I like
to go for the baby blue.

Now, I've seen those
colours, and I think the baby

blue would suit the
shape of this a lot better.

So you're thinking of changing the colour.

We might as well.

If we're doing all that work, why not?

I admire your optimism.

Crack on with it, yeah?

That's what I say.

Right, have a look under here, Ed.

OK.

Feast your eyes under there.

Look at that.

Oh, no, mate.

I'm sorry, I've just said that it
really isn't easy to paint in this car,

but actually, it's got so much
exposed metal working here.

You've got the wings and you've
got the flitches and the bulkhead there.

I'm going to have to take
everything out to get a respray done,

and that means it can take out the engine,
the gearbox, you know, the whole lot.

This engine and gearbox
is like 50 years old.

It's going to be held in by four bolts.

Rusty bolts?

Four bolts, Ed.

It'll take you half a morning to do it.

And if you're going to do the
job, you've got to do it properly.

Oh, well, that's fair enough.

OK, but actually, the engine
itself looks quite interesting

because I can see a little
plate down here saying 1275,

which seems a bit bigger than standard.

Well spotted.

It should be a 950.

This one's got the up-racing
engine, 1275, so it's got more power.

A bit more sporty, cool.

Yeah, which is all great,

but it's a little bit too powerful
for the brakes, unfortunately.

And that's because it's
got drums on the front.

Now, a cousin of this car, the MG m*dget,

actually runs discs up front,
so I reckon if we can get hold

of a pair of those, we can
actually just swap them over.

Discs on the front.

Love it.

So, what do you think of that then, Ed?

Well, it seems like I've
got quite a bit of work to do.

I've obviously got the interior
and those seats, the shiny stuff,

got to take the engine and
gearbox out, obviously then

respray the whole car, change
the colour, do the disc brakes.

Is that it?

Well, I suppose while
you're doing all of that,

you might as well do something
about these old wheels.

They're kind of nasty, too.

Maybe some mini lights, perhaps?

Tied it right up.

You've got a lot to do, son.

You'd better crack on with it.

I really had better crack on.

This is a perky-looking little classic,

and from what Mike tells
me, it's also pretty perky

under the bonnet, what with
the upgraded 1275cc engine.

The trouble is,

the standard brakes aren't
really up to all that extra power,

and if we're going to get top
money for this car when we sell it on,

we really do need to make
this car stop as good as it goes.

So, for me,

the first job is going
to be under the bonnet.

Wow, that's heavy.

Now, it might have escaped your notice,
but actually, I'm quite a tall chap,

and it would have seen that this car
has been designed to be driven by hobbits.

Now, also, this bonnet is
rather quirky the way it opens,

but it's not very useful
when it comes to actually

getting access to the
engine and mechanical parts.

And also, it's so heavy

that I'm kind of worried it might
collapse on me at any moment.

So, before I do anything else, I'm going
to remove the entire bonnet assembly.

This bonnet is made of
good old heavy-grade steel,

so I'll need help to lift
it clear of the bodywork.

After I've disconnected the electrics
and a hinge bracket on either side,

the front end is ready to be removed.

Instead of buying new parts to upgrade
the brake system from drums to discs,

I've bought the whole hub assembly
second-hand from a Sprite specialist.

It's from a donor car, a m*dget,
and it costs just £100 for both sides.

Now, the way I'm going
to change our drum brakes

to disc brakes is by
actually replacing the

complete upright and
wishbone assembly as one lump.

So, to do that, what I need to do is
disconnect the track rod end here,

the brake lines,

also the top ball joint
here from the top arm,

and also, I'm actually going to take
off the wishbone itself from the chassis.

Before I can start,

I'm clamping the flexi pipe, or brake hose,

to make sure when I
remove the drum assembly

I don't get brake fluid all
over the workshop floor.

Now, before I can undo any of the bolts.

that hold the suspension onto the car,

I need to just take up some of
the tension in that spring there,

making sure I don't go too far to
actually lift the car off the ramp.

That should be enough.

So now, I can undo the top arm.

A split pin secures the castellated
nut in position on the top arm.

The nut is done up to the required torque,

and the split pin stops
the nut from vibrating loose.

Then it's onto the ball joint.

Release the top nut,

crack the ball joint with a little tap,

and then I can begin work.

freeing off the wishbone itself.

Snipping the old flexi
pipe which carries the brake

fluid means I can release
the suspension spring,

and finally, the drum brakes themselves.

Ever wondered how they work?

I'll take the drum off.

You can see, there are two sl*ve cylinders.

So the hydraulic fluid
is coming into those,

the pistons inside there
then actually push out,

which in turn push these little
shoes to the inside edge of the drum,

and of course, as that
happens, they exert a load of

friction, basically, and of
course, that slows the car down.

Now this design is
about 50 years old or so,

you'd think by now
there'd be another way of

doing it, and of course,
there is disc brakes.

These are our second-hand
replacement brake disc assemblies.

They come from an MG m*dget,

who's actually a cousin
of our Austin Heaney.

You've got your brake disc,
and you've got your caliper.

Now the way that the caliper works

is you have two hydraulic
pistons, one either side.

They in turn actually
act onto the brake pads.

You've got some friction
material on each of these,

and of course, they go either
side of the steel brake disc.

The more pressure you put into the brakes,

the more friction is caused,
and the more your car stops.

Now this system is much more efficient and
effective than the old brake drum system,

which is how we're going to get
our brakes to work much, much better.

Okay, so it's time to
bolt on the donor part.

Big stuff first.

The wishbone fits snugly.

Then I push home the spring,

and take up the slack on the
suspension with the transmission Jack.

That makes fitting the top arm much easier.

With the split pin in place,

I can think about replacing the
flexible brake hose I cut earlier.

Cracking the union off and securing
the new brake line is a five-minute job.

And then I'm ready to connect
the new fixing to the caliper.

So far, so good.

The second-hand m*dget parts are
going together well on the frog eye.

A sprite specialist might charge 150 pounds
in labour to do this sort of conversion.

So far, it's taken nearly two hours
to get both sides swapped over.

Well, there we go.
Both sides are good to go,

so now I need Paul to help
me with the bleeding process.

Bleeding the brakes expels any air in the
brake fluid out through the bleed n*pples

and makes sure you have
good pressure in the system.

Paul is in the driving seat for this one.

Okay, Paul, you ready? Put it down, please.

Up.

Up.

Down.

When you can no longer see
air bubbles in the brake fluid

and the pedal pressure
has firmed up nicely,

we then know the discs and
calipers are ready for the road.

This disc brake conversion
has added a vital new dimension

to the sprite's driving experience.

Confidence.

Because now we can
fully exploit that pepper

little engine as we're
flying around those b-roads,

we know we've got the stopping
power to stay out of trouble.

Job done.

At first glance, the paintwork
on our frog eye looks okay,

but delve a little bit deeper and you
can see it's not really up to scratch.

There's even little bits of paint
bubbling up like this little bit here.

Now, if we're going to get top money,

this car needs a really thorough prep and
then it needs a fresh new coat of paint.

And it's not just the crazed
paintwork that needs a lift.

Look at this scratched and worn metalwork.

It's supposed to catch the eye
and set off the shape of the car,

but at the moment it's a real turn-off.

Mike's been on the phone
about this dull metalwork.

He's found a local place who
can refinish it and Polish it.

So, while I get stuck
in with the strip done,

he's going to sort all that out.

So, over to you, Mr B.

Wow, look at this place.

Are you Ray?

How are you doing, mate? I'm Mike.

Spoke to you on the phone?

Right now, in here, I've got these
old bits for our frog eye sprite.

Let's show you what we've got.

Remember, these have been on
the car, Ray, for about 50 years.

I mean, what can you do with that?

Yeah, we can clean them up for you,

get that up to a mirror finish.

If you come over here, and I'll
show you exactly where we do it.

Cracking.

So, what is this machine then, Ray?
What does it do?

This is a polishing machine,
and first of all, we're linism on here.

Linism?
What is this, like a big belt sander?

This is abrasive belt sander, yeah,

and we take all the
marks out with this one,

and then we go through
to the polishing stages.

Ray has been doing this for
decades, and he's an expert at linism.

That's where he uses the abrasive belt
sander on this high-speed polishing spindle.

Go too hard, and you damage
the surface of the metal.

Too soft, and you don't cut
out the worst of the marks.

It's a lost art, isn't it?

Hand finishing.

It was probably hand finished 50 years
ago, and it's being done again today.

Once Ray is happy that the
surface is ready for polishing,

he swaps the belt for a polishing mop.

It's a circular polishing tool
made from sisal, a type of string.

This block is a polishing compound,

and with it, Ray gradually
builds the sheen on the surface.

Now we're talking! Look at that!

Just look at the dull old aluminium,

compared to the refinished metalwork.

Magic!

Refinishing all these parts
will cost me about £100,

much cheaper than buying new parts,

and we keep the car looking
as original as possible.

Look at it. Look! It looks amazing!

Glinting in the sun.

It's going to look fantastic
bolted to our frog-eyed Sprite.

I can't wait to get it
back to the workshop.

So, I'm feeling good about this Sprite.

Ed's already upgraded the brakes,

and now he's halfway
through the strip down.

We're making great progress.

Profitsville, here we come!

Hopefully.

Welcome back to the show with a
mission to bring classic cars back to life.

You bought us a roller-skate.
Go on for the other foot.

It is a bit like one.

Here's a frog-eyed Sprite.

We've really taken on
a challenge this time.

Our frog-eyed Sprite may be small,

but there's a vast amount
of time and money needed to

turn this British classic into
a top-drawn money earner.

If we get it right, we could double our
money and sell it on for 8, maybe 9 grand.

So, the really hard work starts here.

This car is tiny by 21st century standards,

and because of that, the
strip down has been very quick.

But now, I can keep it nice and simple.

I could just rub down the paintwork
and send it off to be resprayed,

but I want this car to be


And the thing that's been
bugging me ever since

we talked about the
respray is this engine bay,

because there is so much
painted metal on show.

Now, to do a really good job, I need to
strip all this back and prep it properly.

And of course, you've guessed it,

that means we need to take
out the engine and gearbox.

This 1275cc engine is
the legendary A-Series,

a version of which can
be found in the Mini.

Its simple, straight, 4-cylinder design

is pepped up by these
big twin SU carburetors.

Donald Healy, the Monte Carlo
rally winner turned ace engineer,

married the engine to this
innovative sprite design.

He created one of the first
cars with an integrated chassis,

which reduces body flex
and means the car's sporty

car characteristics can
be enjoyed to the full.

The beauty of working on a car this simple

is that really, should you
decide to take the engine

and gearbox out, it's
not that much of a bother.

So far, this lot has taken me
a couple of hours, perhaps,

and if you imagine doing it on a modern
car, it would be an absolute nightmare.

Now, to get this engine and gearbox out,

all I've got to do now is undo
a couple of nuts and bolts

that hold the mounts
on for the engine and for

the gearbox, and then
this lot should be out.

You can clearly see the square
rubber mounts which the engine bolts to.

They soak up vibration and make the driving
experience a bit less rough and ready.

Removing the mounting
bolts is a simple task.

Then it's on to the transmission tunnel

where the last of the
gearbox mounts are located.

It's all going to plan.

Now, if you're going
to lift an engine out of

an engine bay, what
you need is one of these.

It's an engine crane.

Clearly it's designed
for that particular job.

It can handle up to about a ton of weight,

which, of course, that
engine certainly doesn't

weigh, but without this,
it could be a real pain.

With it, it's going to
be an absolute breeze.

All I have to do is attach the engine and
the gearbox to one of these chain devices,

and then I can just take the weight
and then lift it away from the car.

You can hire an engine
crane for around 30 quid a day.

I've attached these four
lifting chains to the engine

in various places, so now
its weight is spread over

all of these four points, so
really, we're ready for lift-off.

I know this engine and
gearbox will come out in one

because 50 years ago,
that's how it went in,

on the small MG production
line in Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

A little jiggle here,

a little fiddle there,

and there she blows.

We have lift-off.

Well, there we go.
That was nice and simple.

Didn't cause me too much grief to get out,
but now I've done the easy bit, really,

because now I've just
got to strip the engine bay

of all of the other stuff, and
there is tons and tons of it.

Wish me well.

Okay, it's not that big a deal, but
it's probably going to take a few hours

to strip the engine bay of all
the nefarious bits and Bobs,

but eventually, I can
see the wood for the trees.

Now, it didn't take long, but I've finally
cleared the engine bay of all the gubbins,

but now I can see half a century's
worth of grime, oil, and dirt,

and all that has to be cleared away before
I can get on with the sanding process.

Now, to help me with that, I'll
be using some engine degreaser,

so I spray that on, that'll cut
into all that grease and grime,

and then I can wash all that
away with some clean water.

If I didn't strip this gunk off,

then my sanding discs would just clog up,

then prepping the surface
would take a lot longer.

The degreaser is cheap,
just ten quid a bottle.

Scrubbing it into all the
crevices with my trusty brush

is quite therapeutic,
really, for me and the car.

I've degreased the engine bay

and I've even scrubbed
some of the really tricky bits,

and now I need to wash
it off with clean water.

Hot water would be better,
but I've only got access to cold,

but it works well enough.

Well, that's cleaned up the worst
of it, so now I'm waiting for it to dry,

and then I want to get Paul in to
give us a hand with the rubbing down.

The degreasing was well worthwhile.

These inner engine bay
panels are sanding back nicely.

I'm using my orbital sander where I can,

but it's quite a heavy duty tool.

Where we need a bit
more control and finesse,

Paul is using good old fashioned sandpaper,

and his good old fashioned hands.

Body prep is something you
can do in your own garage,

and on a job like this, you'd
save around £600 in labour alone.

Ed! Wow!
They usually want to get to this point.

I asked what you've been up to,
but clearly, you've been a busy boy.

Absolutely.
The car has been completely stripped down,

and then it's been rubbed down,
and now it's ready for the paint job.

Was it difficult getting
all this stuff out?

Well, it was easier
than it might have been,

because the car is so
small, it was a real breeze.

What else have you done?

Well, I've done the disc brake conversion,

so now it's going to
stop as good as it goes.

Fantastic! I've been busy too.

Remember the old metal that was inside?
It was all cruddy.

Look at this! Wow, look at that shine.

That is going to look so
good on the new paint.

I know we've talked about
this before, but just so I'm 100%,

we're definitely going to
go with the colour change,

and we're definitely
going to go with baby blue.

Well, with a car of this
era, and a car of this shape,



Fantastic. I will tell the paint shop.

The mighty Sprite has been here
at the paint shop for two days now.

Apparently they've already
primed it, so now it's ready for colour.

We'll have a look at this.

I managed to find this
chart on the Internet.

It's actually, as you can see, a paint
code chart for the old Austin Healey.

Now, I've been looking for that
brilliant baby blue from 1959,

and I think this is it.

Apparently it's called Iris Blue.

Our frog eye was covered in
cellulose paint, but in the 21st century,

we've moved to a more
eco-friendly water-based system.

Old dog, new trick.

Well, as you can see, the colour's going
on now, and it looks really, really good.

I'm liking that a lot.

But because we're actually
doing a colour change,

Jake can't only just paint
the outside of the car,

he's also got to do the
door shots, the door cars,

a little bit around the gear stick, and
of course all the stuff under the bonnet,

that exposed inner wing
and engine bay area.

Clearly, when you do a colour change,

it's a lot more work than
just the same colour respray.

So, I'll leave him to it.

A lot rides on this paint job.

On a curvy car like this,

the final coat will show any
imperfections in my preparation.

Let's hope I've done my job properly.

I must admit, I'm a little nervous

as I head back to the Wheeler-dealer's
headquarters to await the car's return.

Oh, wow!

In the daylight, you can really
see how different this shade is.

It's totally transformed.

I can see why this particular shade
of blue is so popular with the Sprite,

it really suits the shape
of this mini roadster.

Wait till Mike sees it.

It's going to knock his
little cotton socks off.

This is probably one
of the most impressive

resprays we've ever
done on Wheeler-dealers.

Engine and gearbox out, a colour swap,

it's been a lot of work, but
I'm 100% happy with the result.

It's charming.

So, the frog eye's looking great,

but I'd say we're only
halfway through the restoration.

We've got loads of work
to be getting on with,

so I'm going to get Paul to give us a
hand to put the engine and gearbox in.

I've left the engine as it was.

We've got to leave something
for the new owner to tinker with.

As I rebuild the car, I will, of course,

replace all the necessary
gaskets, washers and hoses.

I'm not going to replace every nut and bolt

because it is nice to see a
bit of originality on the car.

Strange as it seems, a
version of this tiny engine

was the auxiliary power unit on the
legendary post-WWII Centurion battle tank.

With the gearbox in
place, I can fit the gearstick.

And then that lovely new painted shroud.

The knob is the final touch.

Everything is spic and span up
top, so it's time to go down under.

to connect up the exhaust,

and then, with the battery bolted in
and the coolant system fully topped up,

the sprite should burst back into life.

But, as anyone who fiddles with cars knows,

things don't always go to plan.

Fingers crossed.

So here we are, we'll just fire up.

Well, that's fantastic.

So it runs beautifully, which is lovely.

So now I'm just going to try the gears.

So it's first, second, third and fourth.

All the gears work nicely as well.

So with that all sorted,
it's time to refit the bonnet.

And as before, it's a three-man job,

and I just hope that we don't
damage all this lovely new paint

when we jiggle it into position.

Now a nice top tip here,

when you've got this
much fresh paint around,

it would be a real shame
to drop a spanner on it

or perhaps actually
stove the bonnet into the

bodywork because I'm
just protecting what I can.

with a few of these soft towels.

And that way we should end up with a nice,
pristine car with no damage whatsoever.

Okay, nice and gently.

Up a little bit at your end there.

That'd be lovely.

Well, that's the first
time that the bonnet's

been on since I did the
disc brake conversion.

It looks great, and I feel that the
car has really moved up a league.

In fact, I can actually
smell a bit of a profit.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

When Mike bought this
old English sports car,

it was a serviceable
runaround, but look at it now.

We've spent hours and hours
bringing it right up to scratch,

and when it's finished,

it's surely going to be one of the
best Frogye sprites on the road.

This Frogye was a decent
everyday driver when I

bought it, but we decided
to really get stuck in.

Strip down, upgrade,
and repaint the sprites.

in the hope that we could secure
a big money deal when we sell on.

Will our huge investment
of time and money pay off?

The work has been
painstaking, and it's not over yet.

It's time to fit that polished
metal work I delivered to Ed.

The bright work around our cab here

was looking pretty badly
scored and a little bit dull,

until Mike took it to
a specialist polisher's.

And look at it now, it
looks as good as new.

Now, unfortunately, the kind of places
that provide this professional service.

are actually getting a
bit few and far between.

We need to make the
most of them when we can.

Classic car craftsmen and women

have a wealth of knowledge
that we need to keep going,

so remember, use it or lose it.

The bright work is screwed on.

The c*ck has certainly got back its
sparkle, but there's something missing.

The seats.

Now, you might remember
that Mike felt that these seats.

needed a bit of work, and
I think he's probably right.

If you look, you've got
some torn seams here.

There's bits of vinyl
wear all over the place,

and there's some holes in it as well.

Now, it should be a relatively easy thing
to refurbish with this kit that we've got.

It comes in two parts,
you've got the seat back

and the seat base,
and the idea is to strip

all the old vinyl off, all the old foam

and wadding off as well,
down to the bare chassis,

and then build it back up
again with brand new foam,

brand new wadding, and then top it
off with some nice, shiny new vinyl.

These seats really are about as basic
a design as you could, well, design.

A few retaining bolts, a line of tangs

holding the vinyl in place
on the chassis or frame,

simple to strip, and
hopefully simple to rebuild.

It's another job you can tackle at home.

The seat refurbishment
parts are all sold separately,

but for £220 we bought the whole
lot as our seats need the full Monty.

The seats had different
covers when we bought the car.

This kit will tie the look of
the interior together again.

And with that, the interior
is completely transformed.

Simple as that.

We're almost there, but I've always thought

the wheels on the Sprite undersell the car.

They look a bit pedestrian,

so my final touch is to upgrade the wheels
fitting period mini-light style alloys.

They give the car attitude and kerb appeal.

Well that's it.

The frog eye was easy to work on and a
charming companion to have in the workshop.

And it's had a complete overhaul and
I'm confident that our Sprite has gone

from a serviceable runabout to
the top table of classic motoring.

Fun British sports cars don't
get much better than this frog eye.

Our Sprite is the perfect mix
of originality and restoration.

It has retained its original character.

but has been improved by sensitive
upgrades and top-notch new parts.

Our mate Paul came up with the lead
which brought me to this little cr*cker.

What's the best fire sh**ting do for me?

Four and a half.

Or about your end?

A bargain, but there was plenty
for Ed to get his hands dirty with.

You've got a lot to do son,
you'd better crack on with it.

The brakes on the frog
were dodgy old drums,

so we spec'd up the car
with a disc brake upgrade,

a big improvement for 21st century driving.

The bodywork needed a respray
but that meant engine and gearbox out

as we went back to basics
on this old school classic.

We opted for an RS Blue
colour swap to try and maximise

the amount of Sprite fans
who would want to buy the car.

Wait till Mike sees it, it's going
to knock his little cotton socks off.

With the shiny new paintwork,

re-polished metalwork
and a refurbished interior,

the car was complete.

But how much did this
comprehensive rebuild cost?

Well, the biggest bill was for that respray

and to be fair,

we also laid out a lot
of cash on the interior.

All in all, the car owes us just
under seven and a half grand.

We might not be able to
double our initial investment

on this car but there's
sure to be a big profit in it.

Ed, how are you doing?

Look at that!

Oh, Ed, I love it.

I absolutely love it. It's brilliant.

I must admit, I'm actually
quite fond of the old girl myself.

And that blue colour, it's stunning.

It gives it a proper period feel.

We did make the right
decision on the colour, didn't we?

We totally did.

It is a very handsome colour
and I think it will actually

attract some more interest
when we come to sell it on.

And you've done exactly
what I asked you to do.

You've taken a downy old car that was
languishing down in the lower divisions

and you put it right up
there in the premiership.

What about that lovely interior, the
polished metalwork and these racing wheels?

Brilliant.

It does all look very special, doesn't it?

It certainly does, Mr China, and I've got
a very special test drive lined up for us.

Yes, we're at Brooklands,

the birthplace of British motor racing.

If you had the need for speed, this was the
place to come in the early 20th century.

It had the right crowd and no crowding.

Famous land speed record holders
like Sir Malcolm Campbell and

John Cobb race here and
everything from Bentleys to Bugattis.

grace the famous banking.

Now, Ed, everyone knows that
Brooklands is famous for its bank circuit

and just around this corner,
I've been told a bit, still exists.

And look at that!

Oh, look at that.

It's like going back in time.

That's amazing.

You can imagine those amazing racing cars
tearing around here at 100 miles an hour.

Good, isn't it?

And guess what?

I've managed to blag us special permission

to have a go on it.

No way.

Awesome.

Here we go, then, Ed.

That's 20 miles an hour.



And look at that.

We're climbing up the banking.

Look at the angle we're at.

Can you imagine doing this in a real race?

It would have been wicked, wouldn't it?

Overtaking, dice into death
and getting to the chequered flag.

Wicked.

I think maybe it's a good time to
try those new disc brakes up front.

I think so, yeah.

Let's put them to the test.

Hey, what a great conversion.

From drums to discs has made
this a much more desirable classic.

Well, I'm really chuffed
about that, and I'm really

chuffed about a little
run on the banked Turkey.

I never thought I'd get to do that.

I'm glad you was with me.

I'm glad we've done it, but I've
got one more surprise for you.

What's that?

Test hill.

What is that?

Wait and see.

Now look at that.

Doesn't that look daunting?

It does.

Are you sure we're not
going to take off at the top?

It does look like we're going
to be launched into space,

but trust me, I'm going to ease off
the throttle when we get to the top.

The last thing I want to do

is ruin all the hard work you put into
this lovely little sprite and write it off.

Indeed, but we still want to have some fun.

So come on, get the revs up.

I will do.

You ready for this?

Go on, here we go.

Okay, three, two, one.

And away we go.

This is a one in eight at the bottom.

It changes very quickly.

There's one in four.

Keep your foot down.

Come on, you can do it.

There we go.

And now it gets really steep.

Back off, back off.

Oh, my word.

That was fantastic.

It was awesome.

The car is doing so well.

Brilliant.

Well, I've loved every minute of today,

but I guess we should talk
about the serious business

of how much this little bundle of fun
is going to be worth when we sell it on.

Well, I was going to aim as high as
the top of this hill we've just climbed.

What about nine grand?

Are you sure?

Well, I know it's a bit steep,
but it is a great little car,

and I'm always open to offers.

Now, I've advertised
our frog-eyed sprite on a

couple of classic car
websites, and just as expected,

I've had loads of fans of this little car
on the blower demanding chapter and verse.

Now, I've got a couple of
guys coming down today,

the first of which is this
fellow behind me, Simon.

He seems to know his stuff, but then saying
that, when a car looking like it does,

I feel pretty confident
I can close him down.

So then, Simon, what
do you think of it, buddy?

It's lovely, isn't it?

I mean, cracking little car.

I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

I love the colour.

Yeah, traditional colour for a sprite.

I mean, it's great.

Perfect.

Right, then.

So all we need to do, me
and you, is have a deal,

and then you can get it out my
way, and I can get on to the next car.

Listen, Mike, I'm going to
be honest with you, mate.

I'm gutted,

because I was going to
offer you eight grand for this.

Oh, no, I'm never
going to take that for it.

I know, I wouldn't insult you,

but that's all I've got.

I looked at the pictures,

thought, the car's
probably not going to be that

good in the flesh, and
it's better, you know?

Well, I appreciate that.

Thanks for coming down.

Cheers for your time.

No luck there, but perhaps this
chap, Mike, might make my day.

Okay, there, Mike.

So, what do you think of it?

You seem to know your stuff.

I do.

I like these cars.

You've done a really
good job of the restoration.

Thank you.

But still a few little
jobs at once, sorting out.

Like what?

Well, for one, there's the hood.

The hood's a bit tatty.

Ah, well, I mean, the hood
is sort of, as I like to say,

honest and original, and it's sort
of characterful, it goes with the car,

but admittedly, it could do with changing.

Yeah, it's honestly tatty.

I think I'd put a new hood on.

Well, I've advertised the car for £9,000,

so if you could offer me
£8,999, that'd be great.

It's a little bit more
than I'd want to spend.

I'd like to offer you £8,250.

Do you know what?

It's just not enough.

It's such a lovely little car, and I was
hoping to get more towards £9,000,

but admittedly, you've
got to change the roof,

so what do you say?

£8,750.

Still a little bit much.

Can we meet halfway?

Perhaps £8,500?

Make it a little bit more.

I'd love to say yes, but look at it.

It's a little slice of
history sitting there.

£8,600 is yours.

Eight six, we've got to do.

Top work, you've got
yourself a lovely motor.

Thank you.

I'm happy, and the Wheeler
Dealers bank account is happy.

We've made £1,125,

and hopefully this
charming classic will go on

to give another 50
years of faithful service.

What a little superstar
our Sprite turned out to be.

From day one, we've
had a right giggle with our

little frog eye, and it
turned in a decent profit too.

If you want to see more classic
cars getting their chrome re-shine,

then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Ta-ta!