14x08 - Austin-Healey

[bunniefuu]

The 1965 Austin-Healey 3000
Mk3 BG8 is the Wendy-your-face

dream of British sports
car lovers everywhere,

thanks to a seductive blend
of luxury and performance.

But this big Healey isn't all it used to
be, with a leaky radiator, ancient carbs,

tyre exhaust and a worn interior.

It's got what looks like black
silicone bathroom sealer.

But I believe that if Ant
and I can get this Healey

looking and driving like
a proper English roadster,

I don't think that's
been off there in a while.

we can hit the jackpot,
putting it before the

most discriminating
car buyers in the world.

That's the problem with an
auction, it's a bit of a gamble.

We could actually lose money.

Now today is a good day because I'm on
my way to go and see a car that's got me.

almost giddy with excitement
because when I stand in front of this car,

I won't know whether to bow, salute,
curtsy, because this is a British icon.

The car in question is
an Austin-Healey 3000.

It's not just any
Austin-Healey 3000 either.

This is the much sought after BJA engine
Mk3 1965, bigger engine, bigger carbs.

They are hot property right
now on the global market.

Mint quality cars can approach $100,000.

Fingers crossed that this car I'm going
to go and see lives up to my expectations.

because the price is high.

He's asking $40,000
and that would be the

most I've ever spent on
a Wheeler Dealers car.

However, it doesn't matter because
a car like this, if it's in good condition

and it's got no rust, I know
that I can sell it for a profit.

I'm almost there.

I'm going to try to wipe
this stupid grin off my face

and not give away any clues that I'm going
to be excited when I stand in front of it.

Okay. Well, that looks like Brett.

This looks like the green Healey.

Oh, my God.

Look at the rust on this car.

It's got holes in the floor.

Look at the state of it.

He said it was in mint condition.

How disappointing.

This could have been a
complete waste of time.

Absolute waste of time.

Hey, Brett, how you doing?

Good. Sorry I was on the phone.

Didn't mean to be rude.

No worries. No worries.

Hoping things are well.

How was your trip here?

Trip was long and yeah, I'm a little bit
disappointed if I was to be honest with you

because it's been a long journey and
you said that this was a rust-free car

and I can see through
to the floor of this car.

It's not as described and I think I've
had a wasted time to be honest with you.

Don't get your knickers in a twist.

I got something over here for you.

This is actually the
car I want to show you.

I was on the phone, sorry.

I've been going straight past.

Is that for real?

It is for real.

Ah, see?

Now we're talking.

Oh, that's fantastic.

This is the car that I told you about.

No, this is great.

Look at this.

This is exactly what I'm looking for.

That is just exceptional.

What a great little car.

So what's the story behind it?

How did you come by?

You know, it was actually my
father's car and after he passed away,

I got it and, you know, I've
had it for about 10 years.

Okay, well let's have a good look round it.

Let's start at the very front.

Let's pop that bonnet open and
let's have a look at the engine.

Look at that.

Really nice and tidy down into the Wells.

Really is.

Roughly.

That lovely three litre
straight six that's good.

It's got the bigger SU carbs on it.

Absolutely love it.

Let's have a look at that interior.

Yep, and the top should just come down.

It's not really half, so you should
be able to just get all of that off

and everything open and take
a look and... Is the first word.

I mean, look at that interior.

Completely original.

Looking a bit worn out though.

All the trims there and there's a few
cranks up here on the walnut dash.

Sure.

But fantastic.

Underneath, the carpets,
no holes, nice solid floor.

All the knobs, dials, door cards.

What's that shut like?

Yeah, this is a good car.

Right, let's have a look at the back.

Oh wow.

Nice and straight.

No signs of accident damage.

In the boot, I could dig down into that
floor, but I really don't think I need to.

I can see it's nice and straight.

I'm sort of a little bit bowled
over if I was to be honest with you.

Let me just make sure there's
no rust on the chassis underneath.

Okay, yeah.

It's pretty good underneath there.

Perfect.

That's not bad is it?

Yeah, told you.

Right, so can we see if it fires up?

Absolutely.

She's going to fire, I
can tell you straight away.

Come on girl.

Sounds really rough.

Been sitting for some time.

Turn it off.

Well look, let me tell you what I think.

I think it starts, it looks great.

I'm pretty sure it's going to run great,

but what I need to do is this Brit needs
to take this Brit out on a little date

and we need to start
our little love affair.

So if you wouldn't mind, can I
just take her out for a test drive?

Absolutely.

Thank you very much.

Outstanding.

I'm driving a 1965 BJ8 Mark III that's
been kept in the garage for 10 years.

It's British Racing Green.

Oh, there's a little bit of
stuttering in those carbs.

They've been sat there
for year after year after year.

Come on girl.

But you can feel those
SU carbs dragging a bit.

They will need tuning
and balancing before we let

the car go onto a new
owner, if I was to buy it.

So the overdrive isn't working.

This is a problem that we're
going to have to fix and sort out.

That needs new veneer
on it, sort out the interior.

The good thing about this
heli though is everything is here.

All the chrome work's really good,
the roof is good, the rear glass is good.

It's wonderful, I love it, but there
is risk to this if we do take it on.

Brett is asking 40,000 dollars,
that's around 32,000 pounds.

But we're inevitably going to
find things that need repairing

and we could be spending
a little bit more money.

If we get the jobs right, we do it right,

I'm absolutely convinced that not
only will we end up with an amazing car,

we're going to end up with a
very, very tidy profit as well.

But for that to happen, I
have to buy it at the right price.

What'd you think?

Well, I think I want to shake
your hand every opportunity I get,

because it was so nice to be
back behind the wheel of a heli.

Unfortunately though, it has got problems.

Yeah, it's been sitting.

Those SU carbs.

Yeah, they need to be resynchronized.

They really do, it's the
overdrive, but it's not working.

Dash is cracked, but I do love it
and it is exactly what I'm looking for.

It just comes down to price
and how much you'd take for it.

Well, you know, I've done some
research, checked the market,

the BJ8s, they're very
popular right now, you

know, and you just
don't find these so often.

So I'm at $40,000 is where I'm at on it.

$40,000?

I absolutely love it.

Would $30,000 buy it?

Got to, you got to come
up, meet me halfway.

Can we not meet in the
middle and do $32,000?

$35,000, stuck at $35,000.

$35,000?

That's very fair.

$35,000.

This car's telling me to buy it.

Buy me, buy me.

It is.

Do it.

Hold out your hand.

Good man.

You got a deal.

And I just bought myself a Healey 3000.

Yes!

Yes!

An Austin Healey 3000.

In this condition,

rust free is like finding the
crown jewels for me, it really is.

It is so good.

I'm so happy and I can't wait
to see the look on Ed's face.

And son, I'm on my way.

I'm so in love.

It's an Austin Healey.

How good is this car?

So let's start showing you
around, starting with the inside.

It is utterly beautiful, this car.

It's got vinyl interior.

It's pretty tired.

And we've definitely got to
do something with this dash.

This veneer is broken and it's cracked.

So we need to find
some way of replacing the

veneer or replacing
the dash caps entirely.

Four speed though and overdrive?

No, unfortunately it's just the four speed.

We've broken overdrive.

Yeah, I mean it's electronic,
hopefully you can just fix that.

What's it sound like?

It is a tiny bit fluffy.

Let me show you under the bonnet

and why I think it's a little bit fluffy.

But on the way down,
just salivate over the

wire wheels and the
chrome and the bright work.

Ladies and gentlemen, the
Austin Healey 3 litre straight six.

That's really tidy, looks
great inside the wings.

I love the fact that it's
got all the colour in there.

What's it drive like?

Well, it overheats.

In fact, I think it's
dripping some water out of

it already because it
overheats quite quickly.

Well, that's no problem.

What we'll do is we'll
take this out, upgrade

it, change it, put a
nice new modern rad in.

Like the sound of that.

But really, I suppose the
big thing under the bonnet

is just tune those SUs
up and we'll be good to go.

The SUs?

Yeah.

Just get rid of them, triple webers.

That's perfect.

That's exactly what I want to hear because
if we can get triple webers underneath,

so it's going to sound more throaty
and it's going to perform a lot better.

And I think we're just going
to find a customer really easy.

Exhaust.

Have a look underneath.

It's got the four silencers,
two out the back.

Right, I've got a plan.

Let's do away with the four
sil*ncer exhaust out the back.

We'll go two silencers sporty outside.

Done.

Really as easy as that.

Who wouldn't want a
BGA British racing green

and absolutely loud as you
like with side pipes coming out.

But before we think
about getting too excited,

there's one other thing.

This is awful.

I'm glad you said that because I
thought you might want to keep it.

Inside is really good.

The boot floor is rust free.

It's really all together, this car.

You've done all right.

I know.

You've done all right.

I've done pretty good.

So remember what we
need to do with this car.

It's going to be about sight, sound and
smell because I want to take it to auction.

That's a car for auction.

You know Barrett Jackson's coming up.

Yeah, and if we get it right there,

trust me, we won't be
losing the shirts on our backs.

We'll have enough money
to buy some new shirts.

You're going to need it.

Huh, what are you trying to say?

Even pretty cars can have ugly secrets.

It's got what looks like black silicon
bathroom sealer, which is basically a budge.

I've just gone and bought a gorgeous


I'm so in love.

But it's not without some problems.

Badly tuned carbs, a broken
overdrive, a leaking radiator.

Now it's down to Antoni to get this
slice of England back in top form.

Fritz Date with the auction block.

Right now, Healeys are really, really hot

and an auction is exactly
the right decision for this car.

And on the face of it,
it doesn't look too bad.

But not too bad is not
good enough for an auction.

We're only going to have a few seconds
to grab the bidders by their senses,

which means she's got to look great,
sound great and even smell great.

First order of business,
pull that leaky radiator.

and check the engine for
any other nasty surprises.

So I have to unbolt the bonnet
and drain all of the coolant.

To pull the rad, I unclamp the coolant hose

and unbolt it from the
front of the engine bay.

These Healeys have a
reputation for getting really hot

and that's because the space within
the engine bay is really confined.

I recommend upgrading the
radiator to make it more efficient.

But that's Mike's problem.

While I'm in the engine bay, I'm
going to remove these SU carbs,

make way for the big webers.

I'll remove the air filter covers and then
unbolt the carburetors from the intake.

Detach the fuel line, then lift and remove.

I'm just going to clear this interior out.

I kind of like these
old school vinyl seats,

but can't really replace
the smell of leather.

The seats unbolt from the brackets
and the rear seats are a simple remove.

This vinyl is a little
worn, so we're going

to reskin the seats
and the interior panels.

I'm thinking beautiful red leather.

I love this straight six engine.

It's a thing of beauty.

Plus, it's one of the
reasons why Healeys were

so successful on the
European rally circuit.

But it does have a
reputation for leaking oil.

In fact, Healey owners often joke
that the oil leaks are quite deliberate.

It's all part of the rust proofing process.

And like every other
Healey, this also leaks as well.

And I can see it's coming out from
between the rocker cover and the engine.

And that should have a cork
style gasket making it sealed.

But actually, it's got what looks
like black silicone bathroom sealer,

which is basically a bodge.

So I'm going to take the
rocker cover off and investigate.

Normally it would
just unbolt, but I need

to apply a bit of
leverage with the scraper.

This is the problem with bathroom sealer.

It's sticky.

It looks like a gasket,

but it is literally just a bead of sealer.

I've got hold of a rocker cover
gasket, which is really good news,

because you don't want to leave the
top of the head exposed for too long.

Mike bought this from a
British auto parts store online.

I've cleaned the top
surface of the head itself

and the bottom surface
of the rocker cover

so I can get a really good contact between
the gasket and make sure it's oil tight.

Now, Austin and Healey are really nice.

They actually put a little plaque on
here telling you about the valve clearance,

but I'm not going to
set that at this stage.

I need to do that when the engine's warm,
and I've still got loads of work to do.

So I'm just going to
temporarily fit this finger tight,

and then once I've got the engine running,
I'll take it off, check the clearance,

make sure everything's
running tickety-boo,

and then put it on
properly for one final time.

If you do it too soon, you
might compromise the gasket.

I love our little Austin
and Healey, but

unfortunately on the way back to the workshop,
it did spring a leak in the radiator.

There's nothing wrong with
the top and the bottom tank.

It's just the core that sprung a leak.

So I bought it to my friend Juan,

who can install a new core
while preserving the original parts.

Hey, how you doing?

I'm all right.

Yeah, not bad at all, thank you very much.

So this is my little radiator.

Okay.

What's first?

The first thing to do
is going to be melt the

solder around the brackets
to remove the brackets.

We need to be wearing safety goggles.

I don't want you to hurt yourself.

I hope these are expensive ones.

I want to look good.

Here we go.

Real simple.

Right on.

Lovely.

Remove all the old solder
and then clean it with a brush.

Well, listen Juan, because you've
done such a great job of this side,

and I feel like I want
to take a part in this.

Sure.

Is there any chance I
can do the other side?

Yeah, you can handle it.

I'd love to.

There you go.

There, you can see the solder coming up.

The solder coming out, yeah.

Right here.

You can pull it out now.

I should pop it out.

Yeah, there you go.

Thank you very much Juan.

Do the same thing.

Yeah, I almost feel like a
professional radiator engine.

There you go.

And there it is.

It just came out by itself.

Comes off, and then we get rid of this.

I get a little bit more heat on it.

A little bit more heat,
and then brush it down.

Exactly.

That's good.

The next step will be remove the tank,

and you've got to be careful,
because the tanks, they're delicate.

If you put a lot of heat,
you can punch a hole in it,

and then it's not going to look good.

Well, if it's delicate, and you can
break them, I don't want to do that.

So I'm going to give you back the
gloves, and I'm going to get you to do it.

Got it.

Thank you.

With the brackets off,
Juan can remove the tanks.

The tanks are delicate,

and the tool he's using can get as
hot as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Okay, Mike, so this is done.

What do we do with this now?

Well, the next step will
be put it on the sandblast,

so we can get it cleaned up.

I can do that.

I love a bit of sandblasting.

You know, what is incredible
is being able to take a part

that's over 50 years
of age, like this radiator,

take it apart, clean it up, and
put it back together, and keep it.

Ha, look at that.

Oh, wow, Mike.

This looks fantastic.

This is a brand new core.

Big difference between the
brand new one and the old one.

Now I just got to get
ready to put it together.

Sandblasted pieces are prepped
for reassembly around the new core.

To make sure the metal
is absolutely flawless,

he heats up the brackets, tank, and
brushes on a pink liquid called flux.

It's a chemical agent that cleans
dirt and debris off the metal,

and helps the solder
bond for a smoother finish.

Recoring the radiator
should fix our leak problem,

but there's only one
way to know for sure.

Okay, so I'm going to do a pressure
test now to make sure we got no leaks.

We got 10 pounds going on already.

I can't see any bubbles.

That's good news, huh?

No leaks whatsoever.

No leaks.

Looks perfect.

Looks like it's good to go back to the car.

Wonderful.

Now I need to give
this a little dusting of

black paint before I get
it back to the workshop.

Give it to Andy.

There is no manual for this.

I've just got to come up
with a plan in my head.

We're off to a good start,

readying our Austin Healey 3000 MK3 for
the greatest classic car auction on earth.

I fixed the oil leak, and Mike
has helped sort the radiator issue.

No leaks whatsoever.

And while I like the look of this
car, the sound isn't quite there yet.

When BMC replaced the
MK2 with this model, the MK3,

they used the opportunity
to create more horsepower.

And one of the little tweaks was to
fit a more efficient exhaust system.

So the MK3 has this, a dual
system, and it has four silencers,

two in the middle and two at the back.

And yes, it's more user
friendly because it's quieter.

But this car is going to go to auction.

I don't want it to be quieter.

I want it to be really loud.

I want it to grab the bidder's attention.

So I'm going to do away with this, and I'm
going to fit a modified side exit exhaust.

It's going to be like those
early Healey rally cars,

which means it's going to look
better, plus it's going to sound better.

But first, I'm going
to get this old one off.

I've already detached the
exhaust from the manifold,

so all I need to do is unbolt it from
the hangers behind the rear silencers.

I don't think that's
been off there in a while.

I've taken the main section of the
exhaust off while the car was in the air,

but I'm now going to lower it
so I can tackle the manifold.

Most manifolds of the
period were pretty agricultural.

They were made out of
bulky and heavy cast iron.

It doesn't really do a lot for performance.

And yes, they were just effective.

They just did their job.

But nowadays, there's far better options.

The problem with cast
iron, and I can feel it in my

hands right now, it's really
heavy and really bulky.

Plus, if you put your
fingers inside the ports,

you can feel how rough the surface is.

And it's that roughness that's
going to interrupt the flow of gases.

Plus, just look at it.

The gases are going to travel down here,

and they're going to build up at
this area and create a traffic jam.

I'm going to overcome that traffic
jam by swapping the cast iron manifold.

for stainless steel tubing.

Now, tube is perfect for
making exhaust out of,

because it's the same size
and shape the whole way.

The gas flow is going to be consistent.

Plus, it's really smooth on the inside.

But as an added bonus,
I get to use thinner wall.

And that means the noise
is going to resonate better.

When our car passes over the
auction block with a stainless exhaust,

it's going to sound awesome.

These custom-made flanges will be
the connection point for the manifolds.

So I need to bolt them to the
intake to check my spacing.

Right, this is where the
manifold starts to get tricky.

Now, the problem is that an Austin-Healey
is a classic 1960s British sports car.

And like all sports cars from
the era, space is a premium.

The engine bay is really, really tight.

So I need to somehow
get six pipes into two.

And I'm going to use these.

Six into two.

These are called collectors.

And these are perfect for allowing flow.

In fact, if you look down the
barrel, you can see that this is

designed deliberately to allow
the gases to escape quite quickly.

Now, I need to get these two
collectors to fit in one tiny little space,

which means I've got to be creative.

OK, I need to miss the footwell.

The engine is going to have slight
rock and wobble on it when it's running.

I need to miss the engine mount.

And then it needs to
pass through that hole.

to escape out the back of the car.

It is really tight in there.

But I reckon I want to go one to here
over the top and then down to the third.

The thing is that there
is no manual for this.

I've just got to come up
with a plan in my head.

And I'm going to start with
the back three manifolds first.

In America, what I'm building
would be called headers.

They are common in the
hot rod and custom car world.

And they're going to take this
Healey to the next level of performance.

Building custom manifolds
is all about checking,

double checking, and checking again.

The pipes will have fairly complex
curves from the flanges to the collector.

So I need to constantly adjust and test
fit to get everything in there just right.

At this stage, I'm not even
bothering with full Wells.

Just tack everything
together and see what works.

That way, if it doesn't fit,
it's easy to separate the pipe,

the flange, and the
collector, and try again.

Now, this section is a
little bit more complicated

because I need it
to go in three pieces.

I want it to turn the corner,
go around the footwell,

and then turn into the head.

I'm tacking small pieces of tubing together

because the curves are a bit too close
to be able to use a proper pipe bender.

I just want to check before
I go any further that this fits.

Yeah, that's really lovely.

This pipe misses the footwell.

The collector's in a space
exactly where I need it to be.

Now, the great news is
because this point at the flange

and this point at the collector's a fixed
position, I can do this bit on the bench.

Ideally, each pipe would be the same length

before it runs into the
collector, but I'm working

with such limited space
that that's not possible.

Right, just give it one last final fit.

Check everything's okay.

It looks fantastic,
and it is a lot of work.

Plus, I still need to fully weld
it and then give it a Polish,

and it's still only half a job.

I've got to crack on with the front.

Now that the tubular manifold's finished,

you can clearly see how the flow
of gases is going to be improved.

If you look at a cast iron one, it's
this area here that causes the problem.

The gases escape the engine, and they
all bunch up into this huge traffic jam,

and that means that you're
going to get back pressure.

But don't take my word for it.

I can demonstrate.

A little bit of tissue,

and if I blow using an
airline down this port,

I want the gases to escape
out the back of the car.

The problem is they don't.

They actually bunch up here,

and then some of those gases
come back through these two ports.

They go back into the engine, and that's
really bad because once the gases are fired,

they want to go out because
they're no longer combustible.

They're not worth anything to the engine.

However, if I do exactly the same
test on our new tubular manifold,

blow it down here,

it actually sucks in.

In fact,

it sucks in so much,
it keeps the tissue off.

So what's actually happening
is it's this collector here.

That's the area that's
promoting the flow of gases.

The gases are escaping down the tube.

They collect into this area,

and it promotes the
other tubes pulling the

gases as well, and
that's called scavenging.

This is going to increase the flow of
gases and give our car more power.

That's the manifold done, but it's
only the top half of the exhaust system.

I now need to get
underneath and do the rest.

The starting point for
the underneath of the car

is the sil*ncer, and it
sits in this area here.

Austin Healy at the time tried to
improve the sound of their road-going cars,

so they fitted a pair of
really large silencers,

but I'm not going to do the same.

I'm actually going to
fit a single sil*ncer, this

one here, and you'll
notice that it's half the size.

And the reason is I don't
want all that sound muffled.

I want the auction room to reverberate
and sound like a 1960s race car.

I want to grab bidders by their ears.

Now all I need to do now is mount it.

I just need to weld brackets onto
the sil*ncer and cut the tailpipes,

or side pipes really.

I have so much room to work with here

that the test fitting process will be
much faster than with the manifolds.

I'm going to use the
existing exhaust mount,

but because the sil*ncer
is so much shorter,

I'm going to put the rubber
onto the tube that exits the car.

Now that the sil*ncer's secured,

I want to go from this
fixed position at the sil*ncer

all the way up to this fixed
position at the manifold.

Now the original car had smaller tube,

it was inch and three quarters,

and I've opted for a two and
a quarter inch diameter tube.

It's much bigger,

and the reason is I
want it to sound different.

The bigger the tube, the more
the sound reverberates inside.

It makes a deeper, throatier noise.

I'm using FlexiPipe as
part of the connection

between the collectors
and the sil*ncer.

It will give the exhaust system a bit
of gear and absorb engine vibration.

To ensure maximum structural integrity,

the FlexiPipe is both welded
and clamped into place.

I'm really pleased with how
this exhaust has turned out.

I've got to do a few more welds and
then get onto that Weber conversion

before I can hear what
this car really sounds like.

Prezi, hi man, how are you?

I'm good.

Look what I've got for you.

Be careful with it, it's still a
bit wet, I've just painted it up.

It's got the original
top and bottom radiator,

and a guy called Juan,
who's an expert in radiators,

replaced the core.

Then we pressure tested it,

and I can tell you with confidence,

this Healey will no longer ever leak.

Lovely.

Good, eh?

So what have you been up to?

Have a look.

Still looks like the same car,

same wheels, same paint.

Yeah, I can't see what you've done.

But closer.

Oh, it's the exhaust.

I like that.

Very cool.

Stainless steel, and I see
you've done it out the side.

So a little nod to this
car's racing history.

What else have you done?

Did you do the oil leak?

Yeah, oil leak's done,
and it was actually the

gasket that sits
underneath the rocker cover.

Well, in fact, there wasn't a gasket,
there was some bathroom silicone sealer.

I think I've been guilty
of that in the past.

Shame on you.

Yes.

I've also had the interior
out, and that's gone off to go

to the trimmers, get done in
that beautiful new red leather.

Wonderful.

It looks like we're on target,

and that's good news, because
this car is now definitely consigned,

it's definitely going to the auction.

We're going to have
thousands of eyes pouring over

this car, making sure
we get the details right.

She needs to sell.

Oh yeah, she needs to sell
right, and hopefully turn a profit.

No reserve, right?

No reserve.

We could actually lose money.

At least we're rescuing a Healey.

Now the exhaust system's done,

the carburettors are
in, and now the cooling

system's finished, and
this is the moment of truth.

A 1965 Austin Healey 3000 Mark 3

has an official date
with the auction block.

The car should sound amazing,

but we won't know for sure

until the engine is buttoned up.

Now this is part of the build.

that I'm most excited
about, because this one

upgrade is going to
tackle three of the senses.

It's going to make the car sound better,

feel better, and if you
open up the bonnet,

it's going to make the car look better.

And it's these Weber carburettors.

The carburetor has just one
job, and that's to put fuel and air

into an engine to cause combustion.

But it goes further than that, it not only
causes combustion, it controls combustion.

It's that regulation of fuel and air
which makes the engine run perfectly.

And unlike the SU's,
which only allow fuel

and air to access the
engine in two locations,

the Weber allows access
in multiple locations.

Each one of these barrels
services a cylinder of

the engine, and inside
each barrel there's two jets.

And these idle jets are responsible
for running the car while it's at low revs,

typically under 3000 rpms.

Over 3000 rpms,

it kicks into this jet.

This is called the main jet.

So when you press the
accelerator and really floor it,

the fuel comes through
this piece of kit here.

Because when you hit the accelerator,
of course it opens up the butterflies,

air rushes in, kicks the
main jet in, and it's that

combination of air and fuel
that makes the car go fast.

First, I'm tightening the double-ended
threaded manifold stud into the intake.

A gasket provides a seal.

between the intake and the carb itself.

The carb is mounted on the manifold studs.

Then I use rubber spacer bobbins.

Finally, nuts to complete
the intake carb assembly,

which is then bolted onto
the head of the engine.

When installing, don't over
tighten the bolts or you'll

crush the gasket between
the carb and the intake.

Triple webers.

Find me a petrol head
that isn't going to love that.

Now I need to do the linkage.

The first step is to attach
the fuel rail and the fuel line.

Next, I have to fit the throttle linkage.

Finally, attach the linkage arms
that join the three carbs together.

The linkage is what actually
opens up the butterflies to

allow a rush of air and a flow
of fuel into the carburetors.

I'm so glad we went
for a set of triple webers.

It gives the car a real race
feel and that's what the Austin

Heelys back in the day would
have had, the works race cars,

triple webers and a side exit exhaust.

Now Mike says the
overdrive on this car is broken

and that's a real common
problem in these big Heelys

and before I put the new interior in,

now's the perfect time to tackle it.

Fixing the overdrive is
just a matter of getting

to the solenoid under
the transmission tunnel.

The solenoid is electromagnetic.

when activated by a switch in the dash,

it powers the overdrive.

To make sure this is the problem,

I test the old solenoid by
hooking it up to a battery.

This solenoid's dead.

Swapping in a fresh one will
bring the overdrive back to life.

Now while I'm at it, I
can't stand this boot rack.

It's gotta go.

Now that's how she's supposed to look.

It's really great that Mike's
gone and got the radiator sorted

but it's even better that he
reconditioned the original one.

That way this car
maintains some of its history.

I'm excited about it going in

but I'm actually more excited
about listening to the engine run.

Another advantage of using the original
radiator is that I know it slots right in.

Two bolts holds it in place.

Reattach the coolant pipes,

get the car up on the lift
and repeat the process.

And lastly, coolant.

And the radiator cap of course.

Now this is what I've been waiting for

ever since I started this build.

With the extraction in place
to suck out the exhaust fumes,

this Healey is ready to make sweet music.

Now the exhaust system's done,

the carburetors are in and
now the cooling system's finished

and this is the moment of truth.

On the button.

Plus I've got to do the valve clearance.

The day is fast approaching when
our 1965 Austin Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8

will go in front of thousands of potential
buyers at the Barrett-Jackson car auction.

Luckily for us, Ant
has just one last task

to get the car buttoned
up and ready to go.

The car's been off to the
trimmer and it's come back

with this fantastic and
really tactile red carpet.

And on top of that, all
this leather panel work.

But the bit I really love
is this dark walnut veneer.

It's given this whole interior
a really expensive feel

but it also means that I
get to fit this little lot here.

and you can actually
smell it from two or three

yards away because it is
made of fantastic leather.

And I get to fit it.

That tired old vinyl interior was fine

but fine is not good enough
for the Barrett-Jackson auction.

We need to grab buyers from first glance
and make this classic truly one of a kind.

Our 65 Healey 3000 is the gold standard
of British styling and performance.

A rally champion of yesteryear and
a staple of classic car racing today.

The pinnacle of the big Healey's
has 150 horses under the bonnet

thanks to its three litre single
overhead cam straight six

managed by a four-speed
gearbox and overdrive.

We spent $35,000 on the car.

The Weber's set us back 3,000.

The interior, including the new
walnut dash veneer, cost 4,500.

Exhaust pipe and new sil*ncer cost $1,400.

Miscellaneous parts including our new
rocker cover gasket and solenoid was 635.

With only 45 man hours in total,

our outlay is $44,535
or almost 34,000 pounds.

We're offering the
car at auction with no

reserves and while we
could make a tidy profit,

we have no protection
from losing our shirts.

To take my mind off that possibility,

Ant and I have come up
with a date with the Twisters.

Look at that view.

Just look at it.

Are you kidding me?

Yeah, it's incredible, isn't it?

Look at the Healey.

Oh yeah, well the Healey.

You smash that, look at it.

Sitting there in the sun
in British racing green.

What a great colour with
the chrome bright work,

that red interior.

You've absolutely
nailed the look of this car.

Yeah, but it's ready for the auction
because it's going to attack the senses.

It can resort the senses.

I mean, come on.

The way it looks,

the way it's going to smell
with that red leather interior

and no doubt, now thanks to the
side pipes and the triple weavers,

it's going to sound incredible.

Oh, look at that.

I'm not being funny, right?

Just sitting there, it looks
so powerful, doesn't it?

You should wait till you drive it.

I can't wait to drive it.

Now we're driving it on this
famous bit of road, yeah?

Yeah, this is called the snake.



Yeah, don't crash it.

I won't, it's got to go
to auction, remember?

Just be gentle.

Oh my, whoa!

This thing flies.

She's lively, she's really lively.

Okay, can we keep it on the road?

Oh no, I'm loving every minute of this.

This is incredible.

Wow, what a car, what a car.

What have you done to it?

It is fantastic.

Not only does it look incredible,

it just feels amazing.

This is really assaulting my senses.

It is.

I don't want this car.

I want to keep it.

I really want to keep it.

Let's just keep it.

I so want to keep, what a car.

We're in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We've come here to put
our 1965 Austin Healey

BJ8 3000 up for sale to the
savviest car buyers around.

We've been getting a
lot of interest in the hall.

Are you guys in the market for Healey?

He was saying that this was his car.

But we've spent nearly $45,000 on the car

and there's no way of knowing what's going
to happen once we get it on that stage.

Nerves have kicked in.

Oh, you are nervous.

I am nervous.

Oh, well look, we've done
everything we can possibly do.

All we can do now is just hope the people
that have had eyeballs on this car earlier,

they're out there.

Let's get this thing bid.

Let's get it raised.

Let's get it sold.

This is our moment.

Keep revving it.

Keep revving it.

This is a no reserve auction and
the bidding starts at just $10,000.

I'm going to put $20,000 down
to a different debt of $42,000.

That's $25,000 of our line.

He's down to a bit $5,000,
down to a bit $25,000,

down to a bit $25,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $2,000, down to a bit $2,000,

down to a bit $3,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $3,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $2,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $3,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $3,000,
down to a bit $3,000,

down to a bit $3,000, down
to a bit $3,000, come on.

That's why we're the Wheeler Dealers, son.

That's why we're the Wheeler Dealers.

$71,000, marvelous.

Well, I don't quite know what to say.

Fantastic.

What did we make?

$71,000.

$71,000 for our Eley BJ8, And the
most expensive car we've ever bought

on Wheeler Dealers,
we've done the right jobs

at the right time, we've
made that car look

perfect, and we've prepared
it for this auction audience.

And what do we do?

We go and sell it for $71,000.

Can't say fairer than that.

Well done, Em.

Are you the guy that built it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah!

Congratulations!

I spotted it yesterday.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Sir, hold out your hand.

Yes, sir.

You just bought yourself
a Kraken Austin Healy.

Well done.

Thank you.

The moment I met our
Healy in Oregon, I knew

that if we buy this
car and do the right

jobs, we should be able
to sell it for a good price.

And we got it across that
auction block and found two people

in the room willing to bid
against each other, and did they.

If you want to see
more cars being turned

around by me and Ant,
then join us again soon.

Wheeler Dealers.

Salah.