11x11 - Volkswagen Type 2

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wheel Of Dealers, an
iconic bus with profit written all over it.

That was one sweet deal.
VW expert Ed has radical ideas.

Seriously?
We're not going to change it? No.

But Willy's plans to keep
the bus pure backfire.

So is that really how I'm
going to actually get this apart?

I deliver a distinctive solution
that adds to the VW's wicked style.

What we want to go for is
that really cool half moon look.

I hunt down the faded classic
cars that need a second chance.

Ed is the mechanical master
who turns them around and

when they're done we sell
them on, hopefully for a profit.

Write up a list of the top 10
most instantly recognisable

cars in the world and the
VW Type 2 will be near the top.

It's brick like yet iconic
shape is always in

fashion. Pristine examples
can scoop up to £50,000.

The T2 is a family of utterly functional
designs from the 1950s that have

charmed 5 million drivers in panel
Van, minibus, camper or pick up form.

So isn't it time we had
a splitty to call our own?

The West Coast of the
USA is a global destination for

splitties because the dry
climate keeps rust at bay.

But the prices are high so
I'm searching on the East

Coast in hot and humid Florida
where prices are 30% lower.

I can't seem to find
anything except for when you

move away from the coastline
the options do open up.

There are more vehicles
out there and they are

a bit cheaper but some
of them are so rusty.

Except for this one, it's a 1967
VW bus 13 window which is great.

It's been customed on
the outside, it's got no

interior whatsoever and
it's for sale for $14,800.

But it's the key word in the advert,
it says that this one is rust free.

So I'm going to jump on the phone
and find out a bit more about it.

The seller is a girl
called Chris who sounds

like she knows a
thing or two about VWs.

So a lot of work has been previously done.

And she says the 67


free and that's exactly
what I need to hear.

Brilliant, see you in a bit. Bye.

Well what a lovely lady
and if that vehicle is half as

good as she says it is then
that could be a pot of gold.

Now she's in South Carolina, I'm a few
hours away, it's time to hit the highway.

I'm heading up north to
a town called Greenville.

Now this VW bus I'm going
to go and see has been

slightly customised, it's
all in black in the pictures.

Chris says it's got a stripped
out interior, tinted glass

all the way around it and
sort of blacked out wheels.

I know a lot of people
would be put off by that.

See a lot of people prefer
their campers to look more

traditional, pastel
colours, nice frilly interior.

I don't care about any
of it to be honest with you

because I know the key
to one of these VW buses

is the fact that it's got
to have a rust free body.

This is the American dream isn't it,
wonderful houses, immaculate lawns,

beautiful properties and some wonderful
cars that I've come a long way to see.

Look at this, brilliant. Hey how you doing?

Hi how are you?

Are you Chris?

Yes, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too, yes.

Very excited about being here actually,
looks like you've got quite a collection.

Yes VWs.

This is your passion then?

Yes it is.

What do you know about this one?

It's a 67, 13 window deluxe.

It looks really nice and straight,
the paintwork is really good.

Yes I had pretty good work done to it,
it was a little rough when I first got it.

Can I have a look underneath?

Yeah sure.

Oh wow, that looks like new.

Yeah it's greyed up under
there, no rust or anything.

Okay let's get round the back.

Right now, what have we got here?

It's a 1.6 single port.

Looks in really good
order doesn't it, nice and

tidy all the way round
the engine compartment.

Well I've got this mechanic who tells me whenever
I look at a Volkswagen engine I should always check

the end float which is basically this pulley at the
back I should see if there's any movement in it.

And this one looks nice and solid
so it's very good, very nice indeed.

Let's have a look round the side.

Now it was the 68 that
had the sliding door.

Correct.

This one's got the...
The barn doors.

Barn doors, I love
that, it's great isn't it?

Now I'm expecting to find in
here Chris, a lovely furnished

interior with a sofa,
maybe a bed, a little cooker.

Nope, surprise.

It's a surprise is it?

I know what to expect
and it's going to be this.

Yes, just like the pictures.

Well the bad news is it's got absolutely no
interior whatsoever but the good news is it does

give me a chance to see that there's no signs
of rot or rust anywhere, it looks really good.

No I've had that all professionally
welded in front and back.

Well that looks alright.

Now let's have a look
in what I call the office.

First up these seats,
they're not standard are they?

No they're not but
they're very comfortable.

Hey look it, headlining's
missing, door cards are missing,

half of the dashboard switch
gear is missing, there's no radio.

There's a lot missing but
like the back you can still

see that there's no rust,
there's a lot of potential.

Yeah it needs some work doesn't it?

I like the original
speedometer, that's good.

And it's also got the nice steering
wheel, lovely old steering wheel.

Well I can see that there's plenty of work
to do in there. I suppose the only thing left

for me to do Chris is to get it out on the
road and take it for a test drive, is that ok?

Yeah sure, take it for a cruise.

Now when these were
new, back in the 60s, one

of these would have
cost you about £1,000.

Today they're changing hands for


take into account of inflation,
they're still several times more.

So why is that? Well it's the VW Magic
that keeps earning them the money.

A bit behind the wheel with this,
it's like a glimpse to another world.

I absolutely love the driving position, the
view out, you've got the windscreen right in

front of you, this great big steering wheel
and it actually gets down the road alright.

The gearbox is a bit, well, hit or miss.
There's a lot that's right with this Van.

What's harder to like is the slug-like
power and it wanders around a bit.

Let me tell you, you
know I'm not doing this for

effect, that's me trying
to keep it in a straight line.

This car does rip around on
the road, maybe that's an H thing.

So the crunch is, do I
want this splitting? Well

the thing is, there's
a lot of work involved.

Whether it's going down the
standard route to do a retrofit interior,

there's going to be a lot of work
to go down the custom route.

But if we do it, we'll end
up with a cracking splitting.

The good thing is, it's a really
good starting point and you've got

to think that I'm never going to
find a cleaner one for the money.

This is a really, really straight Van,
so I think I should go back, try and get it

a little bit cheaper and hopefully this
splitting will be coming back home with me.

Back in one piece.

So how did it drive?

Yes, it's rather charming
actually. It's not the fastest

thing in the world but it sort
of just bumbles down the road.

And I can see the appeal, why
people love these VW buses.

I really do like it and all
the time I'm in the vehicle,

I keep wondering, am I ever
going to find a better one?

I don't think so.

I tend to agree with you actually.

It comes down to just the price.
So you want how much?

$14,800.

See I was thinking more like $13,000.

No, I can't do that.

I bought cash with me, I'm
willing to just drive it away.

I'd just rather keep it here
and sell it here in the US.

What would you take for it?

I'd take 14.

So it's $14,000?

Yes.

I'll date you around.

Thank you very much.

I just bought myself a VW Splitty.

I bagged a bus for less than £9,000.
That's a breathtaking deal.

A car this good could
give me a profit of £5,000.

But this bus isn't a period look and
won't deliver that purse the way it is.

Can I change it enough to boost the price?

The VW Type 2 is recognised the world
over and this one is rough free to boot.

There's a lot that's right with this Van.

It's got bad boy locks and bad boy driving
manners with its slow, imprecise steering.

It wanders around a bit.

Let me tell you, I'm
not doing this for effect.

That's me trying to
keep it in a straight line.

However, this Splitty
has got a lot going for it,

but it needs an awful lot
more to make me money.

Ed loves his VWs and he'll
be under massive pressure

to get this one right or
his reputation will suffer.

Still, I can't wait to see his
face when he sees our Splitty.

Well, how about that?

I've got myself a VW bus.

Now I'm in South Carolina
heading towards the

port so I can get this car
shipped back to the UK

and I've got some really great
ideas about what we can do with it.

We can go down that traditional
route, make this really period,

you know, do pastel colours, do a
proper campervan, insulation inside,

make it look really, really cool.

Or we could carry on with Chris's work.

Maybe go down that SoCal
route, you know, slam it to the deck.

But maybe there's a different way.

Maybe there's something we
can do that takes the best of both

of those worlds and mix it
up together and puts it in one.

One of the things that we
will have to address is the way

this car drives because at
the moment it's really sloppy.

The steering's a bit all over the place.

The gearbox, well, is sort of hitting home.

I'm heading towards the port.

I can't wait to get this on the boat

and I can't wait to see what Ed
makes of our fantastic VW bus.

Oh, look at that.

You beauty.

I recognise that little chirp
from the exhaust anywhere.

Oh, you did, son? You alright?

I'm very good now, yeah.

This is great.

Oh, I'm so pleased you're pleased

because I've gone and got just
for us, not just any old vehicle,

I've got one of the most legendary,
rarest, most iconic vehicles on the planet.

Welcome to our VW Splitty.

You've done very well.

You can tap any part of it and you
won't find any rust, any rot anywhere.

Go on, have a look
underneath, see how tight it is.

It really is.

I'm impressed.

I mean, either it's been really well
repaired or it is just beautifully original.

And the news doesn't stop there.

OK.

I paid less than £10,000 for this vehicle,

so this is a real opportunity for me
and you to earn some really good profit.

That is a bargain.

Well, let me give you a guided
tour starting down the back.

OK.

Look at that little AE engine there.

It's a 1600 single-port, loads of power.

It's a little bit stuck
in the 60s, this engine.

So I was thinking we could put
in a modern 2.0-litre turbocharged,

supercharged, something smart to
get it down the road really quickly.

Now, the thing is, because
you're going to make

us sell this, then it's
all about the profit.

Therefore, leave it as it is.

So you just don't want to touch it at all?

No, it's fine.

It works really well.

It works as it was designed for the car.

In fact, it's slightly more powerful
than what came out of the factory.

So, yeah, leave it as it is.

OK.

What about the rest of
the driving experience?

The steering's a bit wayward.

Yeah.

The gearbox is like stirring
a stick in a porridge bowl.

Can you sort those out?

We can have a look
at maybe trying to sort

of stiffen that lot up,
make it a bit better.

But, you know, that's what you buy into.

Really?

Yeah.

Let me show you inside.

Because I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking it's all going to be
fitted out, it's all going to be lovely.

Got a little burner, got a little sink,

got some sofas to sit on.

But you'll see that I've gone
for the minimalist approach.

You really have, haven't you?

It's actually not a bad thing because
you can see the real fabric of the vehicle.

And, yes, there have been
a few little tiny repairs here

and they've been done
really well and it's just

really, really solid metal,
so it's actually great.

I think it's a fantastic little canvas.

Perfect, yeah.

A nice blank canvas for us.

We can put some carpet
in, put a seat at the back.

It'd be really cool.

It's not a camper.

There it is, a microbus.

Just to smarten it up, make sure
that it really sings its own praises.

But leave it like that.

Hold on a minute.

Let me get this right.

So you don't want to do the engine.

You don't want to do the interior.

Not much.

What do you want to do?

You've got to think
about what we've got here.

We've got this amazing bargain car.

And the thing is,

it doesn't really
necessarily need much work.

I mean, sure, looking at the cab, you could
do a few little bits and pieces there.

It's not ideal in there.

But I just think the most
money we can make on this

is if we don't actually
spend any money at all.

So you're saying the least money we spend,

the more money we're going to make.

Trust me, I know Volkswagen's
this is going to work a treat.

Okay, hold out your hand.

That's a deal.

Yeah, let's get it in the workshop.

This is so fantastic to
finally have one here.

What a car, a VW Splitty.

Now, I'm a huge fan of
the Volkswagen anyway,

but with this car's
fantastic 60s heritage,

amazing rust-free bodywork,

it is a real honour to
have it in the workshop.

But the question is, what
are we going to do with it?

I need to make the VW easier
to handle without splashing out

or taking away from
the Splitty's originality.

I have a plan.

So I've decided to
tackle the rather wayward

steering that Splitty buses
are often plagued with.

Now, one of the main reasons
for that problem is this thing here.

This is the steering box.

Now, the steering wheel goes onto a
shaft, which goes down into this box.

There's a gear there,
there's another gear on

this side, and effectively
that little thing there

actually converts the rotary
motion on the steering wheel

to a kind of a linear motion
here off this steering arm.

But the movement is translated
through a network of rods and bushes

and each stage worsens
the feel at the wheel.

The upshot of all of this is,

it doesn't matter how precise the
positioning of the steering wheel,

by the time it's gone
through all of this system,

the end result is rather woolly and
not very pleasant on the open road.

I'm going to swap out this steering box.

for a rack and pinion system,
which is much more direct.

It's a tough job, though.

I have to take off the
wheel and indicator selector

and now disconnect the old
steering box from under the car.

This is the last bolt, so hopefully...

There we go.

Just going to slide off
that steering bearing.

Voila!

So, that's our old steering box and column.

Now, despite how old this bitty is

and how rubbish the steering
has been for all those years,

there's surprisingly few
solutions on the aftermarket scene.

I've actually gone for one that's
designed and built in the UK.

It costs £850 and seems
really rather comprehensive.

This box is pretty big
because there's lots inside.

I'll be re-engineering a significant
part of the steering system.

So, this is the entirety of our kit.

First of all, we have this mounting plate.

You can see it's beautifully made.

It's laser-cut, then folded
and obviously then plated.

That's going to actually attach
to the underside of the Van

and then everything's
going to be attached to that.

The next bit we can see here
is a brand-new steering column.

So, the bearing at the
top of that, of course,

is going to stop the steering
wheel actually wobbling around,

but at the other end,
you've then got this UJ,

again, very nice and
taut and no slack in there.

That goes into a bevel box, which converts
that rotary motion through 90 degrees.

and that then goes into our
custom-made steering rack.

On the end of that is a ball
joint, another brand-new one.

That, of course, then attaches
to the existing idler arm,

which then goes through the
track rod ends to the steering.

So the whole idea is to
remove any slack or backlash

from the system to turning a woolly
steering into a lovely, precise steering.

Step one is to cut a template

to help me position the mounting plate.

I use a bit of photo
glue to hold it in place.

Now I Mark and cut the cavity.

I test fit before I drill
the holes for the bolt

and then use some stone chip to tidy up
before I rebuild the rack onto the plate.

Here's a top tip.

Don't tighten any bolts
until all of them are in place.

This conversion could set
you back £500 in labour fees,

but I think it's definitely doable at home.

But it is always easier with a ramp.

Well, everything's now together,
so before I put it into the Van,

the first one I do is just pop
this little ruler into position.

This is really important.

To help me line up the
system after installation,

I need the rack to be
centred just like the wheels.

There we are, smashing it.

So this is now set, ready to
go into position on the Van,

but there's one more
thing I have to do in the cab.

The new steering column is slightly
wider, so before the assembled

plate goes in, I need to
enlarge the cavity in the floor.

Now I'm ready to get
the new rack onto the car.

It's quite interesting the choice
of nuts they've gone for here.

If you think about it, we're
playing with the steering,

you don't want any of this new stuff just
to fall off the car because of vibrations,

so they've gone for what's
called a prevailing torque nut.

Now, you can see the hole is non-circular,
it's got this kind of oval shape to it,

and those kind of narrower
sides grip hold of the studding,

so you actually have to
overcome this prevailing

torque to actually
wind it up, the studding,

but, of course, that same grippiness is
what stops it falling off under vibration,

so it's a very useful thing to have.

I'm ready to connect everything up.

Add the new steering column,

and finally, give
everything a nice tighten-up.

Now, this new steering rack is
going to completely transform.

the way this Van handles,

and therefore it's going to make
it feel so much better to drive,

but unfortunately I've got a
whole load more stuff to do

before I get that wonderful
experience on a test drive.

Now, we need to do something
with the wheels for our splitty.

I could change and follow the
wheels, but that's been done before,

so what we want to go for
is that really cool half-moon

look, which is a hubcap
that goes on the wheel.

Problem is, with a wheel with this profile,

the hubcap sticks out a little bit too far.

The only way to counteract
that is to make the dish

a bit deeper, and that's
a process called banding,

and behind this door is a guy
called Steve, who can help me out.

Steve has been banding
wheels for almost 30 years.

Extending the rim sounds quite simple,

but it's complex and time-consuming.

OK, what's the first job in the process?

Sandblaster. Cool.

As she works for Steve, get
stuck into the wheel for me.

The surface needs to be spot on, and after
about half an hour, it's looking good.

And now Steve gets the wheel into a jig,

screws it up and then cuts off the rim.

Don't try this at home.

OK, so you've cut the top of the rim off.

Yeah. Where are we at?

We've now got to fill the gap with a
steel band for the outer rim to attach to,

which obviously gives
you a deeper dish look.

Yeah. What would you recommend?

I would suggest you went with
a two-inch band on the rears.

and a one-inch band on the front.

That's cos it's a staggered look.

Yeah, to get the staggered look.

OK, yeah, let's do that. OK, cool.

Steve has the band pre-cut,

but the shaping needs to be done by hand.

My hands.

So just a nice, even motion.

Yeah, Steve, just keep it going.

Is there any tips to doing this?

Not particularly, just turn the handle.

After a couple of turns,

the metal is circular enough to work with.

How's that then, Steve?

Jobs are good and light.

I wouldn't want to do a six-inch one.

Steve spots the band into place.

Once it's secure and he's
happy with the position,

he adds the old rim.

Then it's on to the jig for a
seam weld all the way round.

Steve cleans up the weld and we get
our wheel back, only two inches wider.

That is fantastic.

All the hard work's done there, is it?

Yeah, all done, mate.

Yeah, ready for priming now.

That's exactly what I
was hoping for, Steve.

The half-moon isn't going
to stick out as far now.

Exactly.

Brilliant.

Our wheel takes three
coats of paint plus lacquer,

and that's a whole day
to complete a set of four.

Now the wheel's all been painted
up, I've got to say I'm happy with that.

Look at that deep dish look.

And I just borrowed this off of Steve

just to see what the finished
article will look like when it

goes back on the bus, and
I've got to say, it looks fantastic.

This time it was Ed who
wanted to do smaller,

cleverer jobs to build our profits.

With much improved
steering, we're on top so far.

Now that is a real problem,

I don't really know how I'm
actually getting this apart.

But deep down, does our Splitty
actually want to be upgraded?

We've got a VW Splitty.

I can't wait to see what Ed
makes of our fantastic VW bus.

And we've got a good chance
of making five grand on it.

Ed wants to improve the way it drives,

and he's adamant the
route to ridges is to do less,

not more than a bus.

Mike and I are trying
to maximise the money

we can make out of
this fantastic Splitty,

and that means coming up
with all kinds of cunning ways

to make our bus better without
actually breaking the bank.

And a really good candidate is
that rather woolly gear selector.

Mike complained the gear
change was a bit of a lucky dip,

and I've got an idea that will drastically
improve things for less than £100.

Now, unfortunately, just like
the steering out of the factory,

this gear selector was never
really a very precise thing.

And when you think about
it, it kind of makes sense.

On a front-engine
vehicle, your gear selector

will be almost either straight into
the gearbox or very, very close.

Whereas in the bus, it's got to go from here
all the way to the very back of the Van.

where the gearbox is, of
course, attached to the engine.

Let's get Phil in and the bus in the
air to see how it can be improved.

Phil, if you could just start
moving into different gears.

So, as Phil's going from first
to second to third to fourth,

you can actually see an awful
lot of kind of sloppiness going on.

If we actually follow this shaft down,

it goes along here to a little join
where it goes into a tube here.

There's an awful lot of slack there

that goes through a tube all
the way down to the bottom

where it eventually
attaches to the gearbox.

There is a bush in the
gearbox, which is great,

but you can see there is
obviously, again, quite a lot of slack.

My plan is to update the bushes
throughout the whole system.

To do that, I need to remove the
various shafts running under the car.

Once the gear selector is out
of the way, they should unbolt.

But no such luck.

Now, that is a real problem.

I need to actually undo this screw here,

but it should have a hex head or
something on there to actually undo it.

That's missing.

It's obviously been sheared off, perhaps,

so I don't really know how I'm
going to actually get this apart.

I've got no choice but to
cut a slot into the screw head,

but that won't be enough
to loosen the rusted nut.

To expand the metal, I use
my induction tool to apply

serious heat to the collar
and hope for the best.

That's not working either.

It's going to have to be drilled out.

Well, I've tried everything else, and
now I need a little bit of drastic action.

If in doubt, a grinder...

..and a hammer are a persuasive combination
to remove the troublesome collar.

So at last, I wrestled
the shaft from the bus.

This is the first of our gear shifter rods.

It's seen better days,
but it's actually OK.

I think it'll be fine once it's cleaned
up, and then once I've done that,

I can then replace the various bushes.

I always paint even hidden parts like this

to prevent dirt and corrosion
because they look better,

but more importantly, they last longer.

Well, this is my little kit here.

So this little chap goes in
the end of our shaft there.

These go down on the
shaft in the middle of the Van.

Of course, this goes on the end there,

and this goes at the very, very
end right next to the gearbox.

The old bushes have
hardened and cracked over time,

and millimetres of play
have magnified through

the system, but the
new ones should fix that.

Right, now the next thing I need to do

is actually disconnect the
rod that's inside of this tube

because there are two more
bushes actually inside there,

and I need to do that at this end.

Although the VW is in good Nick overall,

small-scale watches are evident.

This joint is welded, not bolted.

It needs to be cut off.

Once the shaft is out,
I replace the bushes,

clean the shaft, and get it back in.

So that should make a big difference.

I could just replace the old
gear selector, but I've decided

to update the system and
change it for a quick shifter.

Now, although this is
actually really simple,

it's quite clever, because what it's doing
is moving the fulcrum point of our shifter

just by adding a little bit of aluminium
and, of course, the step lower down.

So from this distance here,
it's now increased by 25%,

which means that the
movement at the other end

is also going to be reduced by 25%.

Very smart.

This is an ideal DIY job,

and you can restore the car
to standard later if you want to.

Well, that is so much better.

The combined result of those new bushes

and the quick shifter
really is a lovely, lovely

action now, and it only
costs just under £70.

So, a real result.

Ed, how are you doing? You all right?

I'm good, sir, yeah. Good to see you.

Now, I remember this, Splitty.

You confounded me when
I gave you this vehicle,

because usually you're the one
who wants to go a little bit mad,

but on this instance, it was me.

I wanted to change the
engine, make it better,

make it more drivable,
but you kept saying no.

So how far have we got?

Well, I still think it's a great idea.

So the first thing I've done is
concentrate on the driveability,

so we now have a much
more precise steering system

and also taken some of the
wooliness out of the gear change.

Brilliant. So we're still with our
low-cost, high-return strategy,

but how are we going to
apply that to the outside,

because it still looks
very bad for it, doesn't it?

Well, it really does.
It's a bit aggressive at the moment.

We do need to sort
something out, but we can do

it, hopefully, with just
some details, I think.

Things like removing the
tinting film out of the windows,

that kind of stuff, that's all
going to make a big difference.

Then why don't we change
some of the colour on the Van?

We could just paint it.

Maybe if we did the top
white and the V at the

front white, that will
lift it in some way.

That would be classic Splitty,

but the thing is, then I think
you couldn't have it with the black.

You'd have to paint the lower half as well.

Then, of course,
you're looking at a full

respray, you're looking
at three, four grand.

And then that falls out of our
low-cost, high-return strategy.

And people out there
who love their Splittys,

they will let us know if
we get this one wrong,

so you've got a very
big decision to make.

I have. Oh, thank you.

The Splitty has been to the paint shop.

Mike thought a more extensive
paint job would sell well in Europe,

but I stuck to my g*ns
and only painted the interior.

Now it may seem like a
really risky strategy, only

painting the inside of a bus,
but think about the results.

It now looks really wonderful
in here, it's really uplifting,

and it only costs us just under £1,000.

To paint the whole Van would
have cost at least four times that.

But this way, hopefully a new
buyer is drawn in beautifully,

but we do get to maximise our profit.

So instead of spending my money on paint,

I've splashed half the
amount on chrome details,

and the first to get the
treatment will be the windows.

Obviously the windows had to be removed

to make sure we could
actually paint the interior,

but two things that really
bother me about these things.

The first is, you can see this
really rather ridiculous tint on here.

Now, in a really hot, sunny
country, that kind of makes sense,

but in Europe, I think
it would be much nicer

if there was no tint at all and you
could see the lovely views outside.

But the other thing is, you can see these
kind of brackets and screws and stuff.

That's actually so that
the windows can pop open,

and it's a real shame that
none of them actually worked,

so it would be really nice
to recommission that as well.

Ditching a tinted window can be
as easy as simply buying new glass,

but since each pane is £130
and I've got eight to swap,

I'll save a grand and do it my way.

That's just to strip down the rubbers and
metal frame to expose the glass beneath.

If you want to do this, try not to damage
the rubbers, as they cost £20 each.

So I've now taken the
window completely to pieces,

and we're left with a piece of glass.

It's a piece of toughened glass,

and the interesting thing is that
if this is slightly more modern,

it might actually be laminated, which
means you'd end up with a piece of glass,

a piece of glass and a
bit of plastic in the middle,

and the idea is that you
can actually change the tint

of your window by changing
the tint of that plastic.

But because this is so old,

and because it's an aftermarket job,

somebody's actually put on a sheet
of polyester to give this tint on there,

which means all I have to do to get
it off is maybe give it a tiny bit of heat,

a little bit of a scrape,

and hopefully I should
be able to remove it from

the glass and give the
whole lot a lovely clean.

You can also do this to
remove unwanted dealer

stickers or go faster
stripes on the bodywork.

Now, thankfully, this material
is actually quite strong.

Of course, that's one of the
reasons it's used for tinting film.

What I'm doing here, I'm just
running just a little bit of heat,

nothing too much at all, just along
the edge, just to warm the glue up.

And that way, hopefully,
the glue will stay

with the polyester
rather than on the glass,

because it's just one less thing to clean.

It's actually coming away rather well.

I keep the glass clean, and
I'm ready for my new frames.

The old ones were in all right condition,

and they are good enough
for a bus, but not ours.

We've gone for polished
aluminium ones, which are £80 each.

Fitting them into the rubber is
the reverse of the strip down,

except you have to remove
ugly-looking snags from

the corners and close
stubborn gaps in the frame,

all without shattering the glass.

Now that things get a
little bit unconventional,

I'm going to be taking a
rubber mallet to our glass,

and the reason for that
is I need to try and get.

this little gap here to
actually close up, otherwise I

can't get the screws in to
keep the whole thing secure.

So here we go.

Now with the frame together,

I can do up the retaining
screws and get it into the bus.

So that's the rubber in place.

The next thing is a little chrome catch.

Now, when Mike brought the Van to us,

these windows were just kind of wedged in

just by the force of the rubber.

They could have opened at any time.

OK, you've got the hinge on one end
because you've got this open end here.

So now, this time,
by putting this latch in

place, we'll be able to
open the windows properly

and then keep them
open or keep them closed.

With the windows in
place at full day's work,

I need to get some
more bling onto the VW.

Now, because we haven't
re-sprayed the outside of this Van,

it's even more important
that it looks its absolute best.

So I'm planning an extravaganza in chrome.

Basically, anything I
can replace with a chrome

part, I will, including
this front bumper.

But the really cool thing is,
because it's in such good Nick,

we should be able to get
some money back if we sell it.

MUSIC.

It would cost at least £1,000 to
chrome plate a single bumper,

but I've tracked down some
polished stainless units,

including over-riders,
front and back, for £800.

I have also specced
chrome replacement lights,

wipers,

mirrors,

and also some cool deluxe trim

to replace the wonky black
one that was on there before.

I'm not doing these tight at first.

I'm just going to make sure I've
got all of them in the right position,

make sure the trim's looking
happy, and then we tighten up.

In total, I've spent around £1,800,

including the windows, which
is a massive uplift for the money.

Last bit of bling.

You couldn't have a split-screen bus.

without this wonderful badge on the front,

and, of course, ours is now
very resplendent in chrome.

Now, the question is, have we done
the right thing by not painting our bus?

Well, look at that.

All this fantastic chrome has
transformed the look of the bus,

but at the same time, we haven't
actually broken the bank at all.

Proper result.

This wonderful bus could
make us a £5,000 profit.

Mr China's plans for achieving this

are to maximise intelligent
choices and to minimise spend.

I like this new business-minded head.

I've got a bit of a problem
with our rear lights on the Van.

As they stand right now, they're
actually ill*gal over here in the UK.

But he's still got some
major issues to fix.

The VW split-screen is a motoring icon.

The thing with these, the more
windows you get, the more they're worth.

And this one has got plenty of windows.

And there's no reason why this fantastic
example should earn us some decent dosh.

£5,000 might be possible
with Edd China's plans

to do smart fixes that
don't cost the earth.

The bus now drives and looks better, but
Edd's still got the interior to complete.

When our little spitty first
turned up at the workshop,

it seemed a bit dark and gloomy

and didn't really have
that kind of optimistic

outlook you expect from
a nice little hippie bus.

But now we've removed all that dark
tinted film and added lashings of chrome,

the outside of our vehicle
looks really rather splendid.

And the interior is also nicely
uplifted thanks to that lick of paint.

The thing is, if we're going to sell this,
we need even just a little bit of interior.

We need some creature comforts.

I'm starting in the back,

a place where Mike and I
have seriously disagreed.

He thinks we should add at
least a bench seat or a bed,

but I thought a blank canvas
was the best way to go.

We've compromised on a
set of cream vinyl door panels.

The door cards were £400,
which I think we will see back,

but I left the floor without a mat

as it better shows off how
good our VW is structurally.

Up front, a carpet softens
the utilitarian origins.

And the same style
door cards clip into place.

I ditched the bucket seats
that came with our Van

because they weren't really in keeping
and they were quite uncomfortable.

But the good news is they're
actually in quite good Nick

so hopefully we'll get a few quid
for them if we can sell them later on.

Now, I would have been happy
with any old bench seat in here

because original VW seats
are so hard to get hold of.

But as it happens, we're very lucky
and these little chaps popped up online.

So we now have a twin
seat for the passenger

side and a single seat
for the driver's side.

Now, even with all this brand new upholstery
to make the whole thing wonderful,

it actually costs just under £400.

and that is an absolute bargain.

The seats just click into place.

If you use a non-VW
kit, you might need a set

of seat runners to
attach the driver's side.

The old steering wheel was
damaged when I replaced

the column, but it had
seen better days anyway.

The new one was £230
in the same VW palette.

When Mike bought the bus,

the dash was stripped out
completely and full of holes.

So I fill the gaps with a retro-look radio,

a cool 60s clock.

and a chrome ashtray.

I've got a bit of a problem
with our rear lights on the Van.

As they stand right now in American spec,

they're actually ill*gal over
here in the UK so we need

to change them so they
actually are legal on the roads.

And the reason for
that is they actually use

the stop, tail and
indicators all from one bulb,

whereas what we actually need.

is an orange or Amber
indicator on a separate bulb

and then stop, tail
and another bulb in red.

So I have to run a wire
between the light cluster

and the brake switch
on the master cylinder.

I crimp on the connector
and bring the wire

through the chassis
to the front of the Van.

Now our new wire that goes from the brake
switch all the way to the back of the Van.

has to be attached to something.

Obviously I want to run it now all
the way along the existing wiring limb

but that means it has
to go into the chassis.

So a really handy thing is
to get hold of one of these.

It's basically a kind of
threading device, if you like.

You've got this kind of
nylon in the middle there.

You can actually extend them
to almost any length you like

and they're fantastic
because they're quite stiff

to actually run them through
all kinds of nooks and crannies.

I connect my wire to the end of
the nylon guide and drag it through.

Easy.

But if you want a specialist to
take a USA car and make the

lights legal for Europe you'll
need to allow at least 200 pounds.

Side lights, please.

Indicator.

And an undo stop.

Right, well we're nearly there now.

It's now time to fit the replacement wheels
that Mike's managed to source for us.

Now you can see when
they're all next to each

other how different
the new ones really are.

This is our standard offset
there and you can see the much

deeper dish on the front
and even more so on the rear.

They're just going to make the
bust look that little bit different.

And the finishing touch.

I think we're done.

When I bought this Splitty I
wasn't sure which direction to take.

Custom or traditional?

But it looks like this VW
has found its own niche.

Managing to look utterly gorgeous

yet being easier to drive
beneath those timeless lines.

It's a massive success.

I wanted a Ross-free Splitty

and I was prepared to
go halfway around the

world to find one and
that's exactly what I did.

This bust was so good,
I bagged it on the spot.

What would you take for it?

I'd take 14.

Hold out your hand.

Ed knew the money was in
making the bust easier to live with

so he improved the way with
steering with a rack and pinion setup.

Now this new steering rack is going to
completely transform the way this Van handles

and therefore it's going to make
it feel so much better to drive.

Then he worked his magic
on the gear shift action.

Well that is so much better.

Really is a lovely, lovely action now.

I've provided core wheels to up the style.

I'm happy with that.

Look at that deep dish look.

And rather than splash
the cash on new paint

Ed chose to upgrade the bust's look in
a different way with flashings of chrome.

And inside it proved Ed really
does know what works on a VW.

We're very lucky and these
little chaps popped up online.

Well the results are truly amazing.

But what's the cost?

The Splitty was a bargain
but dial in the upgrade costs

and we're looking at a total
of around 16 and a half grand.

Wicked numbers.

The VW needs a new home and there's one
place it deserves to go before it leaves.

And that is here off England's
wonderful south coast.

That's looking good isn't it?

Oh yeah.

Look at that.

I just love it.

Wicked.

We're alright aren't we?

Well I am.
You're a bit uncouth on occasion.

No.

I mean we're right.

You know we've got it all haven't we?

We've got the sun, we've
got the sea, we've got the sand

and we've got the Splitty
and it looks phenomenal.

The way this one turned out I'm ecstatic.

It is a wonderful, wonderful machine.

But what's interesting is many
other cars just couldn't pull this off.

This car has something
of the free spirit about it

which means it fits in anywhere
but particularly right here.

Right here on the sand.

Just look at it.

It's so cool.

Come on.

Well the bus looks the part
but what's it like on the move?

You are funny.

You really are because you know
some vehicles I get down to the workshop

and you can't wait to
drop it back to bare metal.

You want to rip the interiors
out, go mad on the mechanicals

but with this one you
didn't do any of that stuff

but somehow you seem
to have just made it better.

Well obviously I was pretty tempted

but the thing is we had to do
what was right by the car itself

and this vehicle was
so good when you got it

it didn't actually need to have thousands
spent on the paint job to transform it.

It didn't need thousands of pounds
spent on engineering to make it any better.

It just needed some really tasteful
stuff and to maximise our profit

all we had to do was
just make it a bit better.

So what you're saying is that thanks
to me I did my job right in the first place

and I got us a nice
rough, free, decent vehicle.

Yeah, I guess I can handle that.

Well thanks for that.

Well I've got to tell you all the
improvements they really have shone through

because not only does it look
great but it drives fantastically.

It's nice and slick through the gearbox.

The steering feels so positive, as
positive as a 50 year old bus can be

but it feels totally different.
You have transformed it.

Well thank you sir.

I guess that then brings
us to the question, the

tricky question of what
are we selling it for?

Well the Type 2 market
is a little bit strange at

the minute because the
Internet is awash with them.

There's some really good
imports out there and people

are asking strong money
but I reckon our one can beat.

It's a very good vehicle
for somebody with a

lot of potential and I've
already advertised it.

I've been a bit rich, I've
asked 25 grand for it.

Okay.

But the good news is
I've already had quite a lot

of calls and some of them
have been quite serious.

One in particular is deadly serious.

And you know what that means when
you've got a lot of interest in something?

No discount.

Yes I'm going to ask 25
grand and not give a penny off.

Nice.

And the person who's shown the most
interest is this young lady behind me.

She's called Sue.

Now I've got all the elements in my favour.

I've got the sun, I've got
a wonderful looking bus.

Let's just hope she's got the money.

So then Sue, you do like it?

I do.

Yes.

Very nice.

Have you looked at many?

We've looked at quite a few now.

We've been looking for about 12 months.

Have you? Fantastic.

What do you think of this?

This is by far the best we've seen.

Love it.

Oh, thank you very much.

And why do you want one?

We lost my dad recently
and we've decided

that now's the time to
spend some money on us.

So this is the main reason.

Yeah, good for you.

And you're right, it is
time to think about yourself.

Well it puts you in a
tricky situation really

with me because I
have advertised this.

I've had so much interest.

I put it out there for £25,000.

You've turned up.

I'm pretty confident I am
going to get that money for it.

So that's what I want.

What do you reckon?

Well, this is the one for me.

This is definitely it.

So yeah, I'd love to
take it off your hands.

Yeah, wonderful.

You just bought yourself a Kraken VW.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

The maths are pretty sweet on the bus.

We've scored a profit of more than £8,000.

I always knew this VW bus was a good one.

But it's actually turned out
better than I could have hoped.

And the thought that it's
going to live on and give

plenty of years of enjoyment
gives me a nice warm glow.

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

then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Ta-ta!