18x06 - Mercedes Benz

[bunniefuu]

Come on, come on, Harry.

This time.

You ready?

Yeah, go for it.

We're tackling one of the
greatest off-roaders ever built.

Let's see if it starts up.

But decades crumbling
through the wilderness.

Look at that, crip rail.

And that will need a bit of attention.

Have left this Japanese 4x4 in rough shape.

There you go, that is one broken cable.

We've got a once-in-a-lifetime
chance to revive it.

Tell you what, I'm really happy with that.

Oh yes.

There we go, here we go.

And prove it can still
tackle the toughest terrain.

It's like holding on to a wild beast.

I'm Mike Brewer.

Oh.

And I've been buying and
selling cars for nearly 40 years.

It's rattly, smelly and
it's blooming brilliant.

Now I've set up shop in Britain's
motoring heritage heartland.

Oh yes.

Along with ex-formula one
mechanic, Mark Elvis Priestley.

That engine management
light never put you off then.

Together we're going to buy.

Top man.

And fix up.

Look at the state of it.

It's got a spirit of
ecstasy and everything.

The most iconic and
exciting cars on the market.

Oh mate, I love these things.

Malt the supercharger to it.

And you end up with a car that does this.

With Elvis' engineering skill.

And there it is, the offending article.

And my car-dealing clout.

He's going to be over the moon, isn't he?

Elvis better get the posh tools ready.

We should be able to
make ourselves a tiny profit.

This is my job and I blooming love it.

Now I've been thinking of the next
car for the Wheeler Dealer workshop.

And I've been chasing a
car for literally decades.

But I can't seem to find one
in the UK that's any good.

The car in question is
a Toyota Land Cruiser.

The early one, an FJ40.

If it's in diesel form, it's called a BJ40.

Now because I can't find one here.

I thought, why don't I go to source?

Japan.

Because Japan, they're right-hand drive.

They're generally in good order.

So I've found a company
online that do it all for you.

And I've left them a bid of what
I'm hoping is a really decent car.

Well this is the vehicle.

It's a 1979 BJ40.

The diesel variant.

It's got a winch on the front.

It does need a little bit of work.

Right now, I left them a
bid of £16,000 for the car.

And, well hey, I've won the auction.

And I don't think that's bad, you
know, for an original BJ40 like this one.

I think that's pretty good money.

It will definitely leave
us a bit of room to fix

the car up and to
extract the profit out of it.

I just hope it arrives here safely.

The Toyota Land Cruiser was the vehicle
that made Toyota a household name.

Legend has it, in World w*r II, Japanese
forces found an abandoned US Army Jeep.

Left behind by retreating troops.

And this became the inspiration
for the first Toyota Land Cruiser.

It was popular as a military vehicle.

But Toyota wanted to take on the
civilian market and the mighty Land Rover.

So they adapted it into a four-wheel
drive and offered it for less money.

A shrewd move as it became a huge hit in
the deserts of the Americas and Australia.

And became known as
the Bush Taxi in Africa.

By 1980, it had hit a
million sales worldwide.

There's no doubting the
Land Cruiser's pedigree.

And they're such a
rarity here in the UK,

I'm hoping that by
importing ours from Japan,

there could be a tiny
profit in it for me and Elvis.

Now I've just got to sit
back and wait for it to arrive.

Harry.

Oh yes, nice one.

All right, see you in a sec.

Mate, I've just put the phone
down to Harry, our transport guy.

It looks like you had good
news from the look on your face.

Yeah, I am quite happy.

Remember that Toyota Land
Cruiser I bought in Japan?

Yeah, like a couple of
months back, that one.

Yeah, it was almost two months
ago when it's finally arrived.

I'm a little bit nervous
because I've never seen it.

Wow, yeah.

You should be terrified
because if it's no

good, it's a long way
to go back for a refund.

It's very true.

Right, he's just about to pull up.

Shall we go and have a look?

All right, exciting.

Come on.

Come on, Harry.

That'll do you.

We'll unload from here.

I'm very excited.

You ready?

Yeah, go for it.

Here we go.

Ta-da.

Yeah.

Oh, yes.

I love it.

Did you know it was going to be yellow?

It's mustard.

That's pretty yellow.

No, it was mustard on
the sheet when I bought it.

That looks like mustard.

That is great.

Shall we get it off?

Right, you ready?

Yeah, mate.

Bring it back.

Let's see if it starts up.

Oh, yeah.

That is amazing.

Yes, yes, yes.

It's brilliant.

It is brilliant.

Seriously, I'm so happy.

This is original, and
they're only original once.

This car's come all the way
from the other side of the world.

Look at that winch.

That is some proper old school
heavy duty engineering right there.

It's fantastic, isn't it?

Yeah, the wheels could do
with a little bit of a paint up,

so that sidestep, but I
did notice this trip route.

Yeah, I mean, that will
need a bit of attention,

because it will cause problems if
we leave it, but I can take care of that.

Lovely.

Okay, now, the one thing you didn't see,

but I did when I got it off the truck,

look at that interior.

Well, it's right hand
drive, first of all,

because you got it from
Japan, but look at that.

It's amazing.

It is fantastic.

It's all pericret.

It's even got the original
plastic over the sun visors.

It has, yeah.

Never take those off.

Leave them there.

How good is it?

That's fantastic, mate.

Really good.

I love it.

I'm falling in love with it even more.

A little bit of paint on the bottom half.

Obviously, we'd need to do that.

Inside, little dicky seats.

It's just got so much
character in there, isn't it?

It's just brilliant.

So, why don't we take it for a quick spin?

Absolutely.

Oh, yes.

Oh, that's it.

I feel like Carlos Sainz
in his Toyota Celica,

you know, back then in those days.

Look at that.

Scandic flick.

I tell you what, mate, even over the
lumps and bumps of this mild terrain,

it's actually a nice place to be here.

It is a bit rattly.

You do get thrown around a bit,

but it's got so much charm and character.

It's lovely, isn't it?

Simple, effective.

I love it.

I absolutely love it.

It almost transports
you straight back to the

time and place where
this originated from.

Yeah.

Well, mate, I've got to tell
you, we bought this for £15,000,

but then we had to pay
some fees plus shipping,

and then we got to register it,
so it owes us just over £20,000.

Well, you reckon even at £20,000,

there's still a profit in this car?

Yeah, because where are
you going to find another one?

I mean, they're rare out of the box.

If you wanted a classic car that you
could be a little bit more adventurous

and go and see the
scenery rather than just

drive to a car park
and put it on display,

then what else could you
go and buy these days?

Yeah, it's true.

And what you're doing is
you're buying into proper

originality direct from
source, straight from Japan.

This has not been moved around
the world, modified and played with.

This is exactly where it was born,

and then it's come directly to us.

And it's not been touched
since it left the factory in 1979.

It is literally all original.

I mean, this is a vehicle
that can climb literally

to the top of a mountain,
and it has done.

And if me and you can wear
a appetite by taking it on really

just some long grass and
knowing full well it can cope with it,

can you imagine what it's going
to be like if we really challenged it?

Wouldn't it be great to throw
some scenery at this car, eh?

Yeah, it's nothing more than it deserves.

The mighty Land Cruiser has really stamped
its Mark on the 4x4 world over 70 years.

I mean, back in its early prototype days,

it even reached the
highest station on Mount Fuji.

And since then,

well, it's scaled every single continent

and netted Toyota sales
of over 10 million units.

But what does it mean
to own one of these things

in the modern climate?

This is a 1979 BJ40.

It's a great car,

but can a 40-year-old
off-roader still tackle tough

terrain, or should it just
be kept as a collectible?

One thing's for sure, though.

Getting it here all the way
from Japan did not come cheap.

I need to go through it,

give it a thorough assessment and make sure
every single element is working perfectly

and maybe even add in a few
enhancements along the way.

My first port of call will be
one of the BJ40's key features.

Now, one of the great
positives about our car is

that it comes with a
rare factory-fitted winch.

They are, of course,
integral to any good


sure it's working well.

This particular winch
takes its power directly from

the engine using a PTO
shaft or power take-off shaft.

So I need to fire it up to
make sure it's working properly.

Okay, now the engine's
running, I need to disconnect,

drive from the vehicle
itself by moving this

high-low selector
into its neutral position.

There we go.

Then I select first gear

on the main gearbox.

Now, because we've got
drive disconnected from the car,

the car won't go anywhere.

But now what I can do

is I can select unwind.

on the winch mechanism itself.

and then if I lift the clutch,

the winch should start turning.

Absolutely nothing at all.

The PTO shaft isn't
spinning and I've got to say

when I selected the winch lever
positions, it didn't feel positive.

There was no resistance on it.

It felt strange.

And having seen that there's
nothing happening with the shaft itself,

that could be a real
good problem, you know.

If I've got to replace that entire winch,

that's a huge issue that we
just haven't accounted for.

We've managed to get our hands
on one of the most impressive.



the Toyota BJ40 Land Cruiser.

It's come all the way from Japan and if we
can restore it close to factory condition,

we'll have one of the
best examples in the UK.

But we have to sort the
broken winch out first.

Now in more modern vehicles,

winch systems are often electrically.

or even hydraulically driven, but
here we've got a proper old school

industrial mechanical way of
operating the winch and it uses this,

a PTO or power take off
box that takes its drive directly

from the main shaft of the gearbox
and then in turn operates on this,

a PTO shaft that spins and runs all
the way to the very front of the vehicle.

turning the winch.

But that's not happening at the moment.

So that is where I'm going to
start because when I turn the lever

inside the c*ck,

it pulls on a short cable,
only about that long,

operating another lever just here.

If I move the lever manually at this end,

it should move that
same cable in the same

way at the other end,
but it's not happening.

So it's moving at one
end and not in the other.

Yeah, which almost 100% tells
me that that cable must be broken.

The only way to be sure is
pulling the cable out to have a look.

There you go, that
is one broken cable.

That should be about that long
and the other half is still there.

But I tell you what,
if that is the entirety

of our problem, well
that is a massive relief.

I'm going to get the rest of that out and
just see exactly what I'm working with.

It's hardly surprising that metal fatigue
has worn the cable to breaking point

because it's been getting
the Land Cruiser out of scrapes

since 1979.

But that's not the only problem.

I can also see that these little brass
bushes here, they're alignment bushes,

are heavily worn to the point where
they've got deep grooves in them.

So they're also going
to need some attention.

What they do is control
this cable through this tricky

S-bend as it sits in the car
and keep everything in alignment

and operating smoothly.

Ultimately, all of this is
going to need replacing.

So that sounds
like a job for Mike.

There he is!

How are you, bud?

Yeah, all right.

What's been happening?

I tell you what,
I've been all over it.

It all works.

It's a 4x4.

It's a proper off-road,
rugged vehicle.

It's got a winch on the front.

The winch doesn't work.

And I've done a little
bit of investigation.

The cable, at some point
in its life, has done that.

Okay, well I'll tell
you what I'll do.

I'll just go down the
local Toyota BJ40 shop

and I'll just pick up
another one, shall I?

Yeah, what time's that open?

Yeah, exactly.

Where on earth am I
going to get one of them?

Yeah, I don't think you
are, so you might have

to get one made, but
can I leave that with you?

Yes, you can leave it with me.

That's going to be a
nice tricky problem.

Is there anything
else I can do for you?

Well, I've taken the bracketry off
and I was going to give you these

because look, these little spherical
bearings, they're made of brass.

They should look like
that all the way around,

but if you turn it over,

so it's heavily warm.

Don't tell me you
want me to get them.

Well, I was going to ask you to get me some
of these, but I had a quick look myself.

You can't buy them either.

I think actually

it's going to be quicker for me to just
make some of these up on the lathe,

so if I take care of those,

can you get me one of those?

Okay, well good luck with
that, and in the meantime,

leave me with it.

Good luck with that.

While I wait for Mike
to source a new cable,

I'm going to take a look at the
Land Cruiser's deteriorated bodywork.

Now, the roof on our BJ-40 here is actually
made of fiberglass, but the gutter rail

that runs right
around the outside,

that's made of metal.

Now ours is heavily corroded
here, and unfortunately,

you can't just buy
a replacement part,

so I'm going to have to manufacture
my own replacement section,

and it is quite long,
which could be tricky.

The nice thing though is the entire roof
does unbolt and can be taken off the car,

so I can go and work
on it on the bench.

To remove the roof,

I just need to loosen off
the bolts holding it in place,

and Bob's your uncle.

Now I can get to work.

on the corroded guttering,

first cutting both ends
of the rusted area,

and then prizing it free
to check out the damage.

There we go.

Right, this is the
offending article,

and you can see that
it's rotten all the way along

from one end to the other.

If it was a small area
that had damage,

I could just do a
localized repair,

but this is just too big, so I'm going
to have to replace this entire section.

The next challenge
is going to be,

first of all, remaking this in
steel, but also you can see

there's a little strengthening
piece in here, which to me looks like

it's spot welded in place, so
I'm going to have to drill that out

and make sure it goes back
in exactly the right position,

because it also houses
these little c*ptive nuts.

While all this cracks on
in the workshop, I'm off

to see if I can sort out
our winch cable problem.

Part of our Toyota.

BJ40's prowess is the fact that it's a
very capable off-roader, and the fact that

it's got a winch on it
makes it even more capable.

It could literally tackle any terrain,
and having a winch that works

could be a matter
of life or death.

It can really get you
out of a tricky situation.

So me and Elvis really
want to make sure

that our winch performs
well, but unfortunately

the cable from the mechanism
that drives the winch,

as we know, has failed.

So I've been scratching around
on the Internet, and I can't find one,

but I found a company
called Cable Tech,

and their expert is
a guy called Chris,

and he said if I was to bring it
along and show him, hopefully,

he might be able
to rebuild me one.

What this company.

doesn't know about
cables isn't worth attaching

a ratchet strap to,

so our winch cable
should be in safe hands.

Oh, look at this place.

Proper engineering shop.

I love it.

That man over there is
the man I've come to see.

Chris, how you doing, bud?

You all right?

What have you been up to?

We're making some.

push-pull control cables.

What's the biggest you go?

Tanks.

Cables for tanks.

I'm definitely in the right place then,
aren't I, if you can cover all of that.

I'm kind of hoping
you can help me out.

Have you ever seen
one of these before?

This is off my Toyota.

BJ40, 1979.

Have a look at that,

and if you pull one end,

you can see what's happened.

So it can be repaired,

but what can we do
to our cable to repair it?

Right, so we're going to
make a whole new one.

We'll use a conduit
like this, slightly thicker.

It'll make the conduit stronger.

This is a flexible

push-pull core.

It's stainless steel,
and over time, this one

would be able to add
a little bit more flex.

Fantastic.

All right, lovely.

So what's the first
thing we need to do?

Right, so we'll take it
over to that bench there,

and we'll start measuring this.

Measuring?

Yeah.

Let's go for it.

The new cable will be
made from a conduit,

or cable housing, with the super strong
stainless steel cable running through it.

Everything has to be
exactly the same size as the

old one, or it still won't
make our winch work.

Right, so these are the
bits that are over length,

obviously, at the moment,

so what do we do
with these then?

So I'm going to get
the conduit to size first,

and then we're going
to do the inner cable.

Ah, gotcha.

So now that we've
cut it all to size,

we need to see if this inner
goes through the conduit first.

All right, okay.

It looks like a good fit.

Next, Chris adds a metal
eye to one end, which will

connect our cable to the
levers on the Toyota's winch.

And so we can actually
go and crimp this side now.

And then we'll finish
off with the other end.

The crimping machine
squashes everything together,

locking it all in place and making
the inner cable and conduit one piece.

I love these machines.

They're really
good, aren't they?

Yeah, and then you
stick it in from the bottom.

Get your setting correct
for the right depth,

and then you hit the button.

Can I do it?

Yeah, you can.

Press start?

Go for it.

I feel like I've done something.

Happy with that?

Yeah, yeah.

All crimped together?

Before any cable

leaves the facility,

the team uses

stress testing machine to ensure
they're safe and fit for purpose.

Right, so what is
this machine then?

Right, so this machine is preset to test
all of your ranges of the cables we do.

So the light duty is set for
a pull load of 80 kilograms.

So then we'll put it in

the machine like this.

We'll trap the back end there,

and then we'll just
pull this lever back.

If it survives the strain,

Chris has solved our problem.

Nice, nothing's pulled apart.

So that's it?

That's it, that's done.

How much is all this
work going to cost me?

Well, with all of the.

machine parts we've made for you, you're
probably looking at about 120 pounds.

Which I think, you know, for a
part that you can't buy anywhere,

it's a handmade part.

I think that's an
absolute bargain.

So, thank you, mate.

Let's get it back to the
workshop, get it fitted.

No problem.

Back in the workshop,

I've made progress on the roof.

by sourcing some
material to make a repair

on the rotten rail.

My challenge now though,

is as you can clearly see,

my replacement piece
is one straight section,

and it needs to end
up looking like that.

And to do that,

I need to make a very specific
V-shaped cut, or mitre cut,

in our new piece of metal.

Now you could use a
series of protractors,

mitre angle finders, and
these mitre saws do that

job, or you can use
this method, which I love,

which uses a bit of brown
paper and some sticky tape.

I'm cutting two strips.

of stiff brown paper to lay along
the length of the old angled roof piece.

I join them together,

then fold the template in half to
replicate the angle I need to cut at.

Right, there we go.

That ingenious bit of old-school
origami has now created what will be

the perfect angle
for me to cut out,

then bend the piece of metal,

and then weld it up again,
and that should give me

an identical replica of
the one we've taken off.

Right, let's see
just how accurate

this origami was by offering
it up next to the original piece.

Putting this little bend
in and see if they match.

Oh, yes!

I mean, it's perfect.

It couldn't be any better.

It's absolutely perfect.

That's amazing.

I'm well pleased with that.

So all I've got to do now.

is weld that up, and
then we've got a perfect

replica of the piece
we're trying to replace.

Once I've welded the
joint together and tiled it

up with a grinder, it just
needs one final check.

That is absolutely brilliant.

Then it's time to fit my new
piece into the existing roof.

I tell you what,

I'm really happy with that.

Once that's drilled
and pot riveted

and then painted,

I don't even think you'll tell the
difference between the old and the new.

And actually, if I'm
going to repaint this,

I might even think.

about a total colour change
before I put it back on the car.

But I'm well pleased.

We've got hold of a rare Toyota
Land Cruiser straight from Japan.

And I've just sorted a
new cable for the winch,

which will help bring
it back to full spec.

Elvis, mate!

Yeah, come and
have a look at this.

Look how nice that is.

Remember that
old push-pull cable?

That is precision engineering.

That's lovely.

Good work, mate.

Nice.

Right, what you been up to?

Well, I took the roof off, I've cut
out all the corrosion that was in there,

remade a new
panel for the sides,

and that's now
off being painted,

so it's going to look great.

Right, before you think
about fitting that, though,

let's think about if
you've sent the roof

off, it's going to have
a nice new paint job.

Yeah.

So why don't we get
those little bits painted and

get the car sort of
matched in, deeply polished,

make it look really nice
and tie it all together.

Yeah, it's actually a good idea.

And in the meantime,

I've got some little brass bushes to
make to get this installed in the car.

And now we need to
think about where we're

going to put it through
at paces at the end.

Well, it's a proper
off-roader, isn't it?

So it needs to be
really stretched.

What are you thinking?

Well, Britain.

We are blessed with
sunshine and beaches.

Yeah, which bit of Britain?

Yes.

What about what Britain.

has best to offer,

which is mud, rain and terrain.

Yeah, perfect.

I mean, that is exactly
what this car's all about.

So why don't I find somewhere
we can really, really get it off-road.

And in the meantime,
I'll talk to the paint shop.

I'll get this together.

Lovely.

Nice work.

While Mike hunts down
some tough terrain,

I need to fabricate
replacements for those

worn-down brass bushes.

Now, perhaps unsurprisingly, trying
to replace this heavily worn brass bush

from a 1979 Land Cruiser's winch mechanism
is not the easiest thing in the world.

I've searched online and
I can't find one anywhere.

So I've decided to make my own.

I'm going to be using something
called phosphorus bronze,

which is actually
very similar to brass,

but a little bit
more hard-wearing,

less prone to corrosion,
but still easy to work with.

I've put some in
the lathe already.

And the challenge here is
that this lathe, it's fairly basic.

It only works in two axes
and only in a straight line.

And yet our bush,

as you can see,

has a fairly heavily
curved radius on it.

That's going to be difficult.

But I've taken as many accurate
measurements from that one as I can

and from the mechanism
that it sits inside.

And so,

I'm going to give it a go.

Firstly, I need to shave the end of the
piece of bronze down to the correct width.

Just ever so gradually,

little bit by bit,

like five flour at a time, just
shaving this radius into the bush.

And eventually, I'll
sort of join the two by

using a file to create
a crown of that radius.

The file allows me
to round off the edges,

recreating the same
curve as the originals had.

Once I'm happy,

the last job is to bore a 10
millimeter hole into the middle.

Okay, so I've bored the
hole now through the middle.

I'm really happy with the
way the bush is looking.

And the only thing
left is to use the parting

tool to finally remove
it from the job piece.

Look at that.

That is a thing of beauty.

I'm so happy with that.

Almost better than
the original, isn't it?

And if I just slot it into
the original bracket,

we'll see how it looks.

It looks perfect.

I'm so pleased.

That, together with that new
cable that Mike's had made,

is going to make our winch work
again on this car and give it nice, smooth

operation through its travel.

So all I need to do is get the other one
made and throw it back onto the vehicle.

While we wait for the roof to
come back from the paint shop,

I'm giving our Land
Cruiser some final checks.

And I've discovered a problem.

You know, ever since I first sat in
this car, I've been trying to figure out

what this switch on the
dashboard is that's marked up FD.

I actually had to go
online to find out, and

I've discovered that it
stands for front drive.

But I've also discovered
that, sadly, it doesn't work.

Now, by front drive, what
it means is it takes the car

from being two-wheel drive

to being four-wheel drive by
engaging a front drive system

to add to the rear
wheel drive at the back.

But interestingly,

it doesn't do that through
a simple mechanical

linkage through a
lever from the c*ck.

It uses the power of a
vacuum coming off the engine.

It takes a vacuum from a pump mounted
onto the back of the alternator here.

Everything's pointing towards the vacuum
side of this system as being the problem.

So that's where
I'm going to go next.

The FD switch in the
c*ck opens a valve,

forcing the vacuum
to pull on a diaphragm,

which in turn engages
the front prop shaft.

Okay, so this is where the
mechanical magic happens.

This is the transfer box,

the big lump in between
the rear wheel drive system

and the front wheel drive system.

And on the side here,

well, this is what translates our
vacuum power into mechanical movement.

Inside here is a diaphragm

that moves under vacuum pressure,
and that gives us the mechanical movement

that then engages front drive through
the prop shaft and onto the front wheels.

Of course, all of that takes its power
from the vacuum coming from the engine,

which passes down
these solid pipes here into

these flexy hoses
here and into the unit.

And I've got to say,

those two flexy hoses are
not in the best of condition.

In fact,

I think I might have
just found the problem.

There's a split in one
of those rubber hoses.

Now, if we've got a split in the
system, we are not going to maintain

the negative vacuum
pressure that the system needs,

and it won't work.

But it might also mean that the fix is
as quick and simple as just replacing

that short section
of rubber hose.

And just to be
safe while I'm at it,

it makes sense to switch
out the other hose too.

Okay, as you can clearly see,

that one has seen better
days and will never do.

So, I've got some vacuum hose,

a pair of cutters
and some new clips.

I'm going to take
a length off these,

cut a new piece of pipe
and put it back in the car.

If this solves the problem,
then when the car's

in two-wheel drive,

I should just see the
rear wheel spinning.

And when I pull the switch
to activate the FD mode,

all four should turn at once.

Right, let's give it a test.

Let's fire it up.

Right, I'm going
to stick it in gear.

and lift the clutch, and we should
just get two-wheel drive operation.

Okay, that's two-wheel drive.

Yes!

Look at that!

Amazing!

That's it!

This car is now transformed
back into being a full

four-wheel drive off-roader,
just as it should have been.

Now, I know Mike
wants to test this.

I've got no idea really what he
wants to do with it, but I'm still waiting

for this roof to come back painted,
that's going to transform the look of it.

So, I'll give it a bit of a spruce up
all around the rest of the car as well,

and then I'm ready to take it wherever
Mike wants to go and prove that this.



the Land Cruiser,

is still the top of the pile when
it comes to proper off-roading.

We've imported.

a Toyota BJ40 from Japan
and have been restoring it

close to factory condition.

The bodywork's been
touched up and polished,

and the renovated roof is
back from the paint shop.

So, I just need Mike to
help me lift it into place.

Oh, wow.

Wow, Elvis, that
looks amazing, son.

Look at that.

I know.

I'm just wiping off
the last remnants.

of its journey from Japan.

Look at it.

Oh, I love the fact
that you've tied in.

the grille and the bumper and the
wheels with what is, no doubt, the roof.

Yeah, it doesn't look good.

And I've stuck some new tires on it as well
because if we're going to go off-roading,

we've got to have some
proper grip down there.

Is the winch now working now
we've got that push-pull cable?

It is, yeah.

He's a lovely job on that.

So, that's now working
exactly as it should,

but we have now got
a proper 4x4 that looks

good and is capable
of taking on any terrain.

And I've got the
perfect place to take it.

Yeah, go on.

We're going to go and
see my mate Duncan.

Now, come on, the name
should give it away, Duncan.

It's a good Scottish
name, isn't it?

We're going to Scotland.

We're going to go to Scotland.

When we get there,

Duncan's going to give us a
proper off-road experience.

Love it.

Yeah, okay.

Well, it's cold up
there, so I need to get

some cold gear on.

And can you give us a hand to get
this roof on because the last thing

we need in Scotland
is a convertible.

Exactly.

When I imported our
Land Cruiser all the way

from Japan, it looked
like a bargain buy.

But 40 years of off-roading meant
not everything was ship-shaped.

There you go.

That is one broken cable.

I went on a mission to help
get the winch working again.

Happy with that?

Yeah, yeah.

All crimped together, whilst
Elvis freshens up the exterior.

I tell you what,

I'm really happy with that.

And work some of his
mechanical wizardry.

Okay, that's two-wheel drive.

Yes!

Look at that!

To get this incredible


and ready to tackle
even the toughest terrain,

We paid £20,400 for the
car after shipping and taxes.

The new push-pull winch
control cable was £120.

We also fitted a new
synthetic winch line for £114.

Elvis' replacement
brass bushes were £15.

A new set of tyres, £641.

And the painting and
polishing was £1500.

Which means the Land Cruiser
owes us a total of £22,790.

It's a lot of money, but I'm
still confident of making a profit.

But first, Elvis and I

want to put it to the test in the
wilds of Scotland's Cairngorms.

This is epic.

Mate, how stunning is this?

It don't get much better,

does it?

Cruising along in what is
the most stunning scenery.

Unbelievable.

I mean, this is literally the perfect
Land Cruiser territory, isn't it?

And I've got to say,

it feels great.

It doesn't feel like
a car of its age.

Engine feels strong,

suspension feels strong.

I know we're not
properly off-road yet.

This is still relatively smooth,
but it's just eating it up.

It's absolutely nothing.

Mate, you don't even
know what's in store for you.

We're on a private
estate in the Cairngorms.

We've got some really
hairy stuff coming up,

so I hope you're
in for a bumpy ride.

Mate, I can't wait.

This is unbelievable.

Look at it.

Right, here we go.

Look, that's Duncan.

Duncan is a three-time
Camel Trophy finalist

with over 30 years' experience

in off-road driving.

He's organised extreme
expeditions for the likes of Land Rover,

Jeep, and Mercedes,

so I can't wait to see what he's
got up his sleeve for our Toyota.

Duncan!

How are you, buddy?

I'm fine, how about you?

I'm fine.

What a place to meet, eh?

Look at this.

This is Elvis.

Elvis, how do you do?

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

I've got to say,

I've been to some amazing
scenery before, Duncan.

This is really special.

What have we got here?

Well, basically 100,000 acres of
a whole variety of tracks and trails.

Duncan, that looks.

a bit tasty, doesn't it?

Yeah, Jeep Wrangler.

Nice bit of kit.

Very nice.

What do you think of this?

I have to say,

that is a sweet-looking vehicle.

Absolutely beautiful.

Looks in great condition.

It is in great condition.

How's she driving
on these tracks?

I mean, so far, really good.

I mean, if we can keep
up with that, we'll have

proved that it's still got
what it takes, I guess.

Can we poly up the hill, then?

Yeah, absolutely.

We're going to head this way down
the Glen, and then we're going to

drop down towards the river that
we've got on the right-hand side there.

Duncan knows these roads
like the back of his hand,

so he'll take the lead.

Oh, yes, here we go.

Here we go.

Oh, yes, immediately.

I'm in my happy place again.

This is just fantastic.

This does feel completely capable of anything
that we're going to throw at it today.

I mean, we've got some amazing
scenery, but we've also got an amazing car.

Hey, Mike, as you can see,

the road's getting
a bit narrower here.

We've got a bit of exposure
on the right-hand side.

We're also about to take
a right-hand fork up here.

And it's a descent.

It'll probably be pretty icy.

It's okay?

Yeah, copy that, Duncan.

Thanks, mate.

Ah, I don't like this.

If that's icy, this is...

And if you feel the vehicle
beginning to slide a bit,

just accelerate
into it on the slope.

Right, so when it slides,

accelerate is what he's saying.

Actually, I'm going to say, mate,

this is just pounding through it.

It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Easy.

I mean, just easy.

It's lovely, isn't it?

Yeah, it feels great.

Icy section downhill here,

Mike, so I've
dropped you into first.

Just take it really
gently down here.

That's a bit of a drop
on the right-hand side.

So be cautious there.

Right, so first gear,

this is all about engine braking,

letting that do the work.

Yeah.

So basically, get in first gear,

take your feet off of every...
Oh, the engine braking is so good.

It won't need to go.

It's a shitty ice.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

Okay, guys, well done for
getting down that slope there.

That's a bit narrow
and treacherous.

Duncan, that was good,

but I reckon we could
push this a little bit further.

Should we get properly
off-road here and test it for real?

Yeah, for sure, guys.

Listen, there's a wee patch
of peak bog ahead of us.

Let's meander our
way around there.

Bring it on.

Oi, that is...

You're covering our nice,

clean car in mud.

Watch out.

It's just that water.

No, not if it's not too deep.

No, we'll be fine.

Oi, that is... What a
mess you're making here.

Go on, mate,
you're getting there.

Little bit of a wobble
on your front wheels.

Yeah, no.

You've got it stuck?

I think I have got us.

Why don't you just follow in?

Nicely stuck there, my friend.

Let's have a look.

Let's have a look.

Nature wins again.

I am.

It's happy to be
buried up to its axles.

Protect me here, Duncan.

Yeah, no,

you know, it's soft ground.

Had you kept a bit higher,
it might have been all right.

But listen,

that's why we have a winch.

It's a kind of natural
way of doing it.

Let's give it a test, mate.

Let's give it a go, yes?

Nice one.

The traditional way to winch yourself
out of trouble is to use a land anchor.

You want to be able
to drive out past them.

All right, mate.

Okay.

Which can literally be
a life-saving bit of kit.

Once the anchor is positioned,

it's time to unspool the brand
new winch cable for its first pull.

Okay, mate, I'm just
going to wind it in a bit.

Just gently.

With everything in position,

it's the moment of truth.

All right, Duncan.

That's good.

I'll keep an eye on it here.

Come on.

Come on!

It's working!

It's working!

I love it!

I absolutely love it.

Oh, yes!

That is fantastic!

Let me have a look.

Mate, that was amazing.

That was so easy.

We were really stuck.

It worked like a dream.

I love it!

I love it!

See, didn't I tell you we could
take it absolutely anywhere?

What a bit of kit.

Impressed, Duncan?

Very impressed.

Great piece of kit.

Thanks, Duncan.

You're welcome, guys.

Haven't we come a long way?

Well, you think about it.

This has come a long way.

It's come all the way from Japan, right?

It goes to the wilderness of our workshop,

and then it comes to the wilds

of the Scottish Cair Gorns,

and it absolutely smashes over
anything we throw in front of it.

And we've tested every bit of it today.

I absolutely love it.

What a great little vehicle.

This seems like the perfect spot, actually,
for me and you to sort of just stop,

take a breath,

in the peace and quiet,

have a cup of tea.

How do you fancy that?

I knew you were going
to say a cup of tea.

Yes, mate.

Don't worry, I've got the flask in the car.

Nice work.

But sadly, we have to
say goodbye to our BJ40.

I've listed it online at a
very reasonable £27,500.

Well, I took a risk.

When I clicked that mouse button.

and bought this Land Cruiser BJ40.

thousands of miles away
with never clapping eyes

on it, and it's a risk
I'm really pleased I took,

because not only have we
turned out an amazing vehicle,

but we've also turned out
a vehicle that can literally

conquer the world after
that amazing test drive.

Now, one little advert out
there has got the phone rattling.

I had a chap called Ed,

who's very serious about buying the car.

He can't make it,

but he sent this young lady down.

called Chloe on his behalf.

Let's see if I can put a deal together.

So then, Chloe, eh?

What do you think of our Land Cruiser?

You like it?

Yeah, I really like it.

So in terms of Ed not being here,

no doubt he is giving you a
budget that you can work to.

He has given me a budget.

£27,500?

It's not £27,500.

Ah, right. Well, that hurts.

What is it?

I feel like we could
probably stretch to £25,000.

What?

£25,000?

Yeah.

I can't give you £2,500 off for the car.

I can let it go for £27,000.

How about that?

I could add £500,000 to my budget.

So...

So £25,500.

It's still a long way off, aren't we?

We're nearly there.

No, we're not nearly there.

We're miles off.

This is such a good car.

I reckon I could sell it.

I've actually got other
people that want to buy it.

The only difference is
they're not hearing you off.

£26,500.

I think that's a bit of a bargain.

I could meet you in the middle at 26.

Um...

Hold out your hand.

You've got yourself a deal.

Brilliant.

I don't want to argue with you.

You're here, you'll enjoy the
vehicle, and thank you very much.

Thank you.

You know, me and Elvis have grown
really fond of this Toyota Land Cruiser.

It brought us across rugged terrain,

and more importantly,
it brought us a profit.

Now, it goes to prove that the global
car market is still alive and thriving.

You can buy a vehicle from
somewhere else in the world,

bring it to a destination.

As long as you do your
research, buy the right

car at the right price
and do the right jobs,

you can end up with a car like this,

and I hope you do.

If you want to see more iconic vehicles

like this being turned
around by me and Elvis,

then join us again soon
on Wheel of Dealers.

Tala!