Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Today on Car SOS.

FUZZ: King of the road.

NARRATOR: Master mechanic Fuzz Townshend.

FUZZ: Nothing stops us on Car SOS.

NARRATOR: And parts-blagging petrol-head Tim Shaw.

TIM: I love cars!

NARRATOR: are on their undercover mission to rescue

classic cars for deserving owners.

TIM: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: This time, the granddaddy of the hot hatches

gets the boys salivating.

-That is very, very original.

NARRATOR: It's a sporty classic that is hiding its fair share of trouble.

-Some cars, they just die.

NARRATOR: The boys go head to head.

-The rules are simple, there are no rules.

NARRATOR: And once again, it is going to be a race against time

to hopefully give one unsuspecting owner.

-This is magic!

NARRATOR: The surprise of their life.

-This is my car. -It can't be the car.

-This is your car. -Yes!

-You've been Car SOS'd.

NARRATOR: Today Tim and Fuzz are on their way south to Hampshire

and for ex boy-racer Tim, it is all a bit too much.

-Today is the day that I have been waiting for.

-Okay, so it's a VW Golf.

-G to the T to the I in the house!

-Mark 1. -Yes, the GTI. In fact the best one.

Now, what do you know about these cars Fuzz

'cause there is nothing I don't know about the GTI Golf.

-Okay. The original Golf was introduced in 1974 but the GTI.

-Yes. -Came out in 1975.

-And it was the and still is the, in my mind, original hot hatch.

-Well, you have got to give 'em that. Yeah, absolutely.

NARRATOR: Yes, if you want a car synonymous with the 1970s and '80s,

look no further than the Mark 1 Golf GTI.

It might have been small in stature, but there's no doubt this was a giant of a car.

Brash, confident and self-consciously modern,

it became one of the most influential cars ever to come off a production line.

A practical, compact, fuel-injected three-door motor

that spawned a whole host of sporty hot hatch imitators.

That said, the one the boys are on their way to see

is no longer hot and definitely not sporty.

It belongs to trainee building surveyor and father of two, James,

who's been Golf mad since he was a lad.

He bought his Mark 1 GTI, after saving long and hard,

almost 20 years ago

and he hasn't been able to part with it ever since.

Even after it was involved in an accident in 2001

that left the car in the garage and him with a life-changing disability.

TIM: Ladies and gentleman,

Mark 1, the original bad boy.

NARRATOR: It was his wife Zena, who first wrote to Car SOS with a cry for help,

and in order not to raise any suspicion from her car mad hubby

she's left James' brother Dan and his mum Teresa

to let Tim and Fuzz in to see the car.

-How's it going? -Hi, Fuzz, how you doing?

Right, the most important thing is where is James?

-James is in Tenerife. -Tenerife? -Why is he in Tenerife?

-The only way we could keep this a secret is if we ship him off to a foreign country.

Get him out the way.

-Can we go and have a look at the car?

-Certainly can. Let's go. -Come on, then.

TIM: Right then. FUZZ: Here we are.

-GT-I like it.

-Look at that. Looks great actually. Look, that is totally original.

TIM: Let's get it out.

NARRATOR: While they extract the car, let's go back in time

to find out more about this automotive legend.

Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1975

is the souped-up version of the standard Golf,

VW could hardly have predicted the success and influence

that this front wheel drive, 1588 CC engined, lightweight car would have.

It had the practicality of a small family-sized four-seater car

with a large boot,

but put down your right foot

and it had enough poke to pin your shoulder pads to the bucket seats.

Few cars can lay claim to spawning a whole market sector

but the Golf GTI certainly can.

-There we go. -Great.

-Oh, yes. -Let's take a look at it.

-I tell you what, this car is a shed.

-It is, isn't it? -It is.

I mean, it actually is being used as a shed.

-Now Fuzz here has never had a GTI Golf.

-It's true. -That's shocking, isn't it, for a car guy?

To never have had a GTI. So let's give him a second to bond.

Now, go on. This is something we won't want to see.

So we need to get out of here.

-I'm feeling the love. -Bond away, Fuzz.

-Right, well, this is the first problem.

Let's get this lot out and then we can see what we've got inside it at least.

NARRATOR: So while Fuzz gets shifting,

Tim finds out more about owner James.

-Right, let's talk GTI Golf.

-Yeah. -Okay, why the GTI?

-We got it back in 1999. -Right.

-No other car came into the frame.

And once he owned it, he thought he was the bee's knees.

-He bought it and then he soon met Zena afterwards.

-Babe magnets the GTIs, yeah. -Pretty much. Um, he got himself a job.

-Right. -Um, traveled up to Winchester every day on the motorway.

Unfortunately, there was a shunt on the motorway where somebody

went up his rear end essentially.

-Okay. -And, um, since that point the Golf's been written off.

-So the, the accident damage we can see there,

is what happened when he had the shunt.

DAN: That's correct, yeah.

-If you don't mind me saying that appears to be fairly minor damage.

DAN: Yeah.

-But the insurance company wrote it off? -They did.

NARRATOR: The damage might not look much,

but it was enough to take the car off the road,

and that is where it sat for the last 14 years

quietly rotting away.

-Right, well that's that clear. Argh.

A bit of accident damage at the back.

Well. Rusty tailgate.

Yeah, that's gonna take a little bit of repairing

but a workshop manual,

just what I need.

NARRATOR: Yes, the car's obviously well past its sell-by date,

so why can't its owner let it go?

Before he went on holiday,

we went undercover to find out more.

Pretending to be from a web magazine we caught up with Golf devotee

James and wife Zena at a motorcycle show

where he told us where his love of engines came from.

-That'll be my dad's fault for buying me a,

a little Honda when I was a kid.

Sending me around the fields, um, careering around the place,

around the trees, around the house, down the drive way.

NARRATOR: Of course, it didn't take much to steer James from two wheels to four

and his beloved motor.

JAMES: For me, it is the Mark 1 Golf GTI.

I have got one of those sat in my garage

and yeah, love it.

Just the driving experience, you know,

the older technology.

Um, it's been sat in the garage for a while, but yeah.

I bought it a few years back and I just love it.

I can't bear to let go.

NARRATOR: Well, the Golf is obviously never far from James' mind,

but the day of the accident was also the day his life changed forever

and made him a prime candidate for the Car SOS treatment.

-And what did he get, whiplash or something?

-It turned out to be a little bit more serious than that.

He started suffering with headaches

and they have progressively got worse and worse and worse,

um, to the point that they are really debilitating for him.

-What do you mean by headache?

-You know with a migraine that you are going to be unwell

but in a couple of days it is going to be gone.

-Yeah. -But with James, it's constant, it's day-in day-out.

-If I am honest, I cannot think of anything worse.

-The neurosurgeon described it as being one of worst pains

a human being could experience, it's that bad.

-Most of the time he copes with it,

but there have been times when he's held his head in his hands

and has said, "I can't cope anymore, mum, with this,"

and the tears have just flowed.

And to have to put up with that,

you know, night and day,

if only I could take it away.

NARRATOR: For the last 12 years James has been controlling

his almost unbearable headaches with pain suppressing injections

and spending what pain-free time he's had with his family.

But the injections are becoming less and less effective and the future looks bleak.

Work on the Golf has become a practical impossibility.

-Ooh. Rusty underside of the bonnet

and lots of sprayed, spurty, dirty oil.

Most of these ancillaries look like they have had their time as well.

That radiator is absolutely shot.

TIM: What would it mean to him doing this car up?

-Everything.

-We are hoping that doing up the GTI,

he's going to remember

some of those fun times before it all started.

-Yeah. -This nightmare.

-Right well that's what we're gonna do,

we're going to put that car back on the road.

Better than it was when he first got it.

-Is that good? -That's good.

-Come on let's see how Fuzz is getting on. -Let's take a look.

-Hmm. Sunroof works.

That is something I suppose.

-Fuzzbot. -Yeah. -What are we looking at?

-Well, apart from the engine, the rust issues, the accident damage, the.

-Right, so the big question is, what I want to know

is where does James think the car is going?

-Well, Zena's got a relative that used to work for Jenson.

-Yeah? -He's retired,

and she's sold him the story

that he's gonna take the car away for a couple of days,

put it on his ramps in the garage.

-A couple of days? -Yeah.

-We might be a little bit longer than that.

-Three weeks. -Three weeks. -That's your lot.

-Zena has got that all planned anyway.

-Right, let's get it loaded up, the clock is ticking.

-All right. -Come on.

NARRATOR: Well, with the car up on the trailer and goodbyes said.

-See you in three weeks.

NARRATOR: It's off to the Car SOS HQ where a whole load of hard work awaits.

-Oh, yes!

FUZZ: Look at you, so happy.

-Do you know what? If there was one car

I cannot wait to get back and crack on with, it is that one.

Get your foot down, squire, and get cracking.

NARRATOR: Yes, Tim might be keen but that because he's wearing his GTI tinted glasses,

but once the car is back at base and up on the ramps

it's time for a bit of a reality check.

-Okay, that's about there.

Okay. Let's take a look underneath it.

-Right then, what a treat! -Treat? Yeah, if you like rust.

If you like holes, lot of 'em through there.

Oh, here we go.

These little plastic trims hide everything, don't they?

So, there's rust beneath there.

I reckon those wheel arches will be shot.

-Fuzz, what'd you expect? This car is an '80s GTI, right, they rust.

Particularly on the modified area like the wheels arches.

This is a.

-Look, it's pouring out oil from the engines.

-Okay. Well, I wasn't suppose to see that.

-Actually, actually, look it's actually dripping.

-Okay so the engine is going to need looking at

but this car Fuzz is a car we are lucky to have in

and I cannot wait to start modifying this car.

-Hold on, whoa.

What? Modifying it? No, this needs to be stock,

it needs to be as it came out of the factory.

Come on, it even has its original wheels on it.

It will look absolutely mint

if we put it back to its original ride height.

-Right, I appreciate your argument but you're just wrong.

-No, no. -GTI Golfs were always better when you lowered them.

FUZZ: Oh, rubbish.

NARRATOR: Well the arguments may rage on, but one thing is for sure,

before this car goes anywhere,

there's an awful lot of work to be done.

TIM: So, modify this car.

NARRATOR: Tim and Fuzz have taken on James' 1982 Golf GTI.

It hasn't been driven for over a decade

and is now riddled with rust

and has an engine that is dripping oil.

Although for ex-boy racer Tim

the list of works seems to revolve more around style than practicality.

-Let's get it off. -I can sense modification.

-Let's have a talk about some sensible modifications.

TIM: What? -Okay so if we can upgrade things like the brakes

and make those better than that is cool.

-Sorry. Did you just use the word "modification"? -"Upgrades." "Upgrades."

-Modify the suspension. Sits lower, better handling. Back to the original.

-But the ride height. -It performs better when it is lower.

-No, it doesn't. -Yes, it does.

-No, it doesn't. -Yes, it does. Well, let's see what Dr. Tim

comes back from the shop with, shall we?

-You get some advice from the experts. I reckon they'll say original.

-Let me do that now. How do you think it should be set up?

I think it should be modified.

I think it should be modified as well, right.

Okay, take care now. Bye-bye then.

NARRATOR: Well, whether standard or upgraded

one thing is for sure

the car's shocking shocks will need replacing

and they're just the tip of the GT iceberg of jobs to be done.

Both the car's front wings are so rusty they are beyond repair

and will need swapping out.

And of course that oily engine hasn't been fired up for many years

and will need a great deal of attention.

So while Fuzz gets intimate with the GTI

Tim is off to sort out those springs and shocks

and of course he's up to his usual tricks.

-Right. Now, as an ex-GTI driver

I'll tell you one little thing, it is like a club.

There are all these signs like the VW signs

all the GTI stuff going on.

So I have come up with a few cheeky little tricks

to get a whole whopping amount of discount.

NARRATOR: There's nothing that Tim loves more than a bargain,

and no lengths he won't go to, to knock a little off the price.

-Hello, mate. -Hello.

-How you doing? Nice to meet you man. Sweet. I am one of the brothers.

-Oh, yeah? -Big time, I mean, like.

-Wow.

-Oh yeah. Do you know what I mean? -Oh, wow.

-Right, so I need some help on a Mark 1 GTI.

I need to get some suspension for it.

Now the guy I am working with says we should keep it stock-o, what are you thinking?

-No. It is a car to modify. -It is, innit? Absolutely.

So, what I'm thinking is maybe put it on some coil overs

so you can adjust the height depending on how you feel that day.

-Yeah. -What have you got that we can have a look at?

-Yeah, we've got plenty you can look out.

-Which way? -Follow me this way.

NARRATOR: And while Tim goes off to look for some nice new springs

back at the workshop Fuzz is pulling apart the old ones.

-Somebody has left me with a nasty chewed up

disk retaining screw here.

The Allen key is just turning in it

so I am going to use this little star drive.

See if I can. It says one size up.

Just see if I can knock it in.

Okay, right.

See if I can. Just very gently.

Ah, yes.

That's it.

Doesn't work every time

but it's worked this time, so that's good news.

NARRATOR: Fuzz is stripping down the front assembly

to see what original parts he can salvage.

-That we'll have to replace and chuck it away.

Right, let's get these bolts off.

All of this will come off.

This disc is scrap, we're gonna get rid of that.

That'll all be gone.

All we are going to retain

is the hub area here and the wishbone.

Obviously we'll clean this put new bushes in.

So we will just pull it apart,

chuck away what we don't need and clean up the rest.

NARRATOR: Well, the brakes and wishbones might serve as a light starter,

but of course the heavy main course for Fuzz is yet to come.

Back at the spare suppliers, Tim is going all state of the art

fitting after-market parts

or modding is an industry that exploded back in the 1980s

and it's a trend that is still going strong to this day.

-Oh, mate, check this out. Mark 1. -This is a Mark 1.

We are actually restoring at the moment.

-What have you got in there? That is an Audi lump, isn't it? -Yeah, that is a TT.

-1.8. -1.8 turbo, yeah.

TIM: Perfect fit, eh? MAN: Let's go and see the springs.

-Let's see the springs, right.

NARRATOR: The GTI is already 15 millimeters lower than the standard Golf

but, for some, that just isn't enough.

TIM: Hang on, move your hand, what does that say?

That's wireless LAN.

-Yeah, so this is the latest damping adjustable, coil over.

-What? -So you can literally have an app on your phone

and you can switch between your comfort, your sport, your soft.

So it actually.

-No way. -Increases the damping on the shock absorbers.

-How technology has moved on.

Right, what else have we got? What are we looking at for our car?

-You can go with a spring. -Right. Just a normal regular.

-Well, this is an uprated spring,

this is what a lot of people go for.

-Put that back. Not a chance. Because through and through brother.

-Right, let's go. -In fact I got something to show you.

Check this out. Not just the T-shirt.

-Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: In an effort to get discounts

Tim has several strategically placed tattoos across his body.

But please never ask to see his BMW.

-This particular line of coilover. -Yeah.

-You have adjustable platform on there.

-Okay. -So you can adjust the ride height of the vehicle.

So if the vehicle sits too high,

or too low you can adjust the collars on it.

Just get it to sit into the right ride height.

-So can you do this for like club prices?

-Oh, sure. Yeah.

With you being in the club for sure.

-What are we looking at. what sort of discount?

-At the moment I can do you 20%.

-I mean.

-Yeah. -You know what I'm saying?

-30. We'll show you a good price.

-35. -35?

-Yeah. -You've got a deal.

-All right. It'll be worth your while.

-Yeah? -Serious.

-Can I get a T-shirt? -No.

-Okay. -Just take these and go.

NARRATOR: So it looks like Tim might have backed down on the modding debate,

adjustable shocks, not quite original

but Fuzz can put them to the factory setting.

He will be pleased.

Although currently, he's busy struggling with an oily old lump.

and I don't mean workshop Phil.

-Right, drop it down a little bit more.

Okay, it's cam cover.

Right, okay.

Now, take the car up now.

NARRATOR: This 1,588 CC four-cylinder engine

was what gave the GTI its bite.

Fed by a Bosch K-Jet fuel injection

it could manage a respectable 110 brake horse power,

that was of course if it wasn't gushing oil everywhere.

-Engine out.

NARRATOR: That leak that Fuzz spotted earlier

could mean something worse than just worn gaskets.

So Fuzz strips the engine back to try and find the source of the problem

but it's not great news.

-Right. Well, I was going to treat you with one of my jokes

about springing into action.

-Yeah? No, no, no. Carry on, I'm all ears.

I wouldn't mind hearing a joke at the moment. Cheer me up a bit.

-Well, this is a joke. What are you doing?

Why have you stripped the engine?

-Because it has been pushing oil out

of every single little orifice, every seal.

And I'll tell you what these bores are really worn.

If you feel down there, just watch you don't cut yourself.

-Fuzz, okay.

No, I agree with that, right, but we don't have time,

you don't have time to do this engine.

-But we have to build it.

-Right, we'll ship it out then, farm it out. We'll rebuild somewhere else.

-No, no, no. I'd rather do it in-house.

Really, if we can.

I'd like to make sure it is done properly.

Besides, who else is gonna do it?

NARRATOR: So while Fuzz strips that engine back even further

Tim gets back out on the road.

When they brought the car in

virtually every panel was suffering from deep and chronic rust.

So rather than try and mend them all

Tim knows a place that should help with replacements

and make a great day out for this GTI nut.

TIM: Oh, my gosh, look at this.

I was not expecting this.

NARRATOR: It's like Tim's birthday and Christmas all at once.

TIM: Look at this place, I'm in heaven.

Look at these cars. Aren't they just absolutely stunning?

There's an old Scirocco here.

That is the Oettinger.

I had a poster of that car

on my bedroom wall.

NARRATOR: To the uninitiated

this might look like any other early Golf

but those by super-tuner Oettinger are so rare,

they're almost legendary.

There's maybe a handful of these in the country.

-Dude, put it there.

To the best GTI museum I've ever seen in my life.

-Thank you very much. -I'm Tim. Nice to meet you. -I'm Daniel.

-Right. I don't wanna get side-tracked. I'm here to get some parts.

I'm hoping you guys can help me.

-Have you got a list? -Yes, I have. Right, so, it is a Mark 1 GTI

two front wings, I need a tail-gate,

I need a sunroof panel, I need front panel, I need side panel, a bonnet, an immaculate bonnet.

-Yeah. -I need a GTI front grill.

You know with the red around the outside?

-Yes, I do. Yeah. -I need a rear parcel shelf which is probably

hard to come by.

-I've got all that in stock.

-And discount. Like 20% discount.

-Ooh, I don't know about discount.

We don't, generally as a rule, do any discounts.

-Yeah, but, mate, eh. I am in the club, brother.

Stick me in any one of those cars, blindfolded,

if I know what it is,

just by the feel, 5% per car?

Bang. Four cars.

-That sounds good.

If you can guess them I will give you 5% off each one.

-Right. -Let's do it.

-Let's do it. -Come on then.

NARRATOR: Well, Tim's been barking on about how well he knows his Golfs,

now's his chance to put some money where his mouth is

with an awful lot of discount at stake.

-Right jump in.

-Where is it? -It's that way around.

-It's a left-hand drive for a start, I can tell you that.

Right straight away.

-Now, what's that?

NARRATOR: For those of you at home car number one is a Mark 2 Golf GLX.

-Mark 2. Sunroof, they didn't do the Campaign.

I don't know what color it is but seats are comfy,

GLX, because it's well comfy,

left-hand drive, five-door Golf.

-One for one. You got that right.

-5%! Yes, please.

Right. Next. This game's amazing.

NARRATOR: Car number two is a VW Corrado.

A VW Corrado.

TIM: Ooh.

Ooh-ooh. Ooh-ooh.

Is it a Corrado?

-Yes, it is. -Yes, it is. 10%.

-You're getting worried now? -I am.

NARRATOR: Car number three, a Mark 4 Golf GTI.

TIM: Ooh, dashboard. Ooh. Mark 3.

I can tell. Yes. Oh, no. Yes, it is a Mark 3 GTI.

That is all I can tell you about it.

-I am sorry to tell you, Tim. -What?

-You've failed. -Is it the Mark 4? It's a Mark 4.

-It certainly is a Mark 4. 5% back to me.

-Right. Okay. That's. Right.

NARRATOR: Car number four is a Mark 1 GTI Campaign.

-What's that one?

-Mark 1, leather steering wheel. Campaign.

-It certainly is a Campaign.

-Yes!

-15%. -Well done. -How did I do?

-That's three out of four cars.

-Mate, that was a great game. I loved it. -Well done.

You are an enthusiast.

-15%, eh? Right, let's go and square up.

NARRATOR: Well, Fuzz will be doubly happy.

Period parts and a decent discount too.

Now back at the workshop

and the panel beaters and welders have moved in

to cut out the rampant rust.

And while they get on with that,

it's a good time for Fuzz to slip on his platform shoes,

plump up his shoulder pads

and take his very first test drive in a Mark 1.

FUZZ: Okay, here we go. Whoa, feel that!

NARRATOR: Yes, for the boys this is just like jumping into a time machine.

-You worried, Tim? Because an old man driving.

I'll tell you what, with this car

we have an absolute, wa-hay! Under-steer icon.

-You know what? I can't take my eyes off the interiors.

-Is that because you can't bear to look out of the window?

-Well, there is that. But I had forgotten how well I know these cars

and this one is in gorgeous condition.

It is as if it is new.

I expect to look in the rear view mirror

and see a 16-year-old boy and it's me.

NARRATOR: With a long and celebrated history

Golfs have been made continuously for 40 years.

In that time over 30 million have run off the production line

making it one of the top ten best selling cars ever.

-Beautiful.

I love you, little Golfie.

-This car reminds you

that it's very easy to be over impressed with technology.

And you don't need it, you just need a good combustion engine,

a little bit of injection and a well-designed car.

-Absolutely wonderful.

NARRATOR: Well, Fuzz is definitely becoming a convert

but will that be enough for Tim

to add him to the GTI Brotherhood?

-I said to you at the beginning when we picked our one up

you'd get bitten by the GTI bug.

Is there a little nip?

-Yeah I can feel it there's an itch.

-There is, isn't there? -I need to scratch it.

-Buying one? -I'd like one, yeah.

I could use one of these every day.

-I want that same feeling

and the only way I'm gonna get that is by driving the new one, the Mark 7.

-Yep.

NARRATOR: The Golf GTI has been re-incarnated many times over in its four decades,

but has stubbornly remained one of the top selling hatchbacks on the road.

So just how much has it changed

and has it kept up with the times?

-This is it Fuzz, the new GTI.

My good God, this thing flies.

-It does, doesn't it?

NARRATOR: It might still have tartan seats and a Golf Insignia

but there's nothing retro about the Mark 7 GTI.

For a start, it's powered by a two liter 217 brake horse power

turbo-charged four-pot.

-This car is just like effortless to drive.

I could focus on something totally other than driving,

but if I want to focus on my driving,

put it into sport mode. Tiptronic.

-Okay. -And have some fun with it.

Gorgeous car. German engineering, man.

This car is absolutely bob on.

Absolutely spot on.

NARRATOR: As far as looks go, it might not sit out from the hatchback crowd

as much as it used to.

But with a top speed of 155 and 0-60 in around 6.5 seconds,

the souped-up Mark 7 has certainly earned its place at the head of the table

in the GTI's 40th anniversary celebrations.

-That's the GTI smile I am talking about.

You're still wearing it.

You're trying to turn yourself off

because it's a modern car. But no, Fuzz.

-That's true. -You've got it.

-You sit in one of these, start driving and you just go.

NARRATOR: Well, the Mark 7 might have left the boys grinning,

back at the workshop there's an old Mark 1

that is now in so many bits, it would knock the smile off anyone's face.

TIM: GT-I like it.

NARRATOR: Tim and Fuzz have taken on James' Mark 1 Golf GTI,

a car that's left an indelible mark

on many an '80s boy-racer.

-Beautiful. I love you, little Golfie.

NARRATOR: This particular 1982 model belongs to a man

who's been suffering from a constant migraine for the last decade.

-The neurosurgeon described it

as one of the worst pains a human being could experience, it's that bad.

NARRATOR: But it's a car that's causing the boys an awful lot of trouble.

-What are you doing? Why have you stripped the engine?

-Because it has been pushing oil

out of every single little orifice, every seal.

NARRATOR: With the engine rebuild now complete,

it would be nice to think that it would soon go back in the car.

Unfortunately, with galloping rust

having done its thing over the past decade,

there's not much car left.

-That is scrap.

NARRATOR: So it's going to be a full on scramble

to get the bodywork ready in time for its re-spray.

-Delivery! -Okay, that's great.

TIM: Wings.

-I'll tell you what, we got a bigger problem here. -Oh, great.

-This entire engine base is gonna need soda blastin', I mean, it's so rotten.

-Look, dude, I'm not taking this car anywhere yet.

I've had enough today, right?

So what I'm thinking is.

Two wings, two people, a wing each.

-If you are that tired. -Yeah.

-What we'll do is one wing each and the one who does it quickest.

-Right. -Gets out of taking this to the blasters.

-Come on, game on.

NARRATOR: With a screen dividing them,

the lads prepare to go head to head in a stripping competition.

The first one to be paint free wins.

-So, it's game on. -Yeah. The rules are simple.

-Yes. -There are no rules. Let the fun commence.

-See you on the other side. -See you in hell.

NARRATOR: As usual, Tim has something up his sleeve,

and in this case it's the rest of the workshop.

-Just all pile on it.

NARRATOR: To fully sand down a car panel

takes hours of painstaking work.

Much better then to let someone else do it.

TIM: Right then. Stop the clock.

-No way! No way!

No way. Something fishy about this.

-Soda blasting, mate. I'm gonna go sit down for a bit.

-I'll see you later.

NARRATOR: Well, let's hope for Fuzz's sake

that soda blasting the shell will save hours of rubbing down by hand

because up till now everything else has been painfully slow.

That worn out old engine has now been refurbed but not refitted.

Likewise Tim has got his hands on some upgraded suspension

but it's still not on the car.

And that's all because work on the rusting body

has been holding the whole project up.

It's now back from its day at the soda blasters

but has been put under wraps

as James' mum and his wife Zena

have dropped in to see how things are going

and are quite frankly in for a bit of a shock.

-Right, come on through. You haven't met Fuzz yet, Zena, have you?

-No. -Fuzz, over here, squire.

-Yeah. -Come and meet James' better half.

This is Fuzz, this is Zena. Zena, meet Fuzz. Fuzz, meet Zena.

-Hiya. How you doin'? -Nice to meet you.

-Hello, Teresa. How is it going? -Right, so you have been in Tenerife.

-Yeah. -On holiday, having a great time.

What an amazing way of getting James out of the way.

A couple of questions before we show you the car.

How much work did you think needed doing to this car?

-Um, not a massive amount.

I mean, it had a ding in the back where it had obviously been hit.

-So had a ding, okay.

-Um, and then one in the front wing

and there's been a bit of rust on it.

NARRATOR: Sounds like an easy cosmetic make-over

rather than the full on surgery.

-Here we go.

NARRATOR: So she may be in for a surprise.

-Here we are. -Nothing wrong with it at all.

All completely.

-Oh wait a minute. -Oh.

-Oh, my gosh!

TIM: Hang on a minute. TERESA: Oh, my.

FUZZ: Did I say it was finished?

-Yeah. Did we say?

FUZZ: There's not very much of it, that was actually right in the end.

We took the engine out, we found so much rust,

everywhere, around the front, around the bulkheads.

-How much of it is left of what we gave you?

FUZZ: There's been a lot a lot of problems.

It was all hidden under the surface.

Take a look at these parts.

those are the front corners.

-Oh, okay. -That was basically what was left of them,

they are just completely rotted at the bottom,

-Oh, God.

-Yeah. It was really bad. It was really bad.

NARRATOR: Yes, and if they think Fuzz's lecture ends there,

they are quite wrong.

-It has got an entirely new front end,

so it will be a Golf again.

-Yeah? Oh, dear.

-The underside of it is rotten as well where all the suspension goes on.

It was pretty much a death trap.

TERESA: Not much holding it together then. FUZZ: No.

NARRATOR: Oh, dear.

FUZZ: The doors are okay though.

ZENA: That's something. FUZZ: Yup.

NARRATOR: Yes, at least that's one positive.

-What do you think it will mean to him to get that back?

-I think, he'll be absolutely gobsmacked. He'll think it's amazing.

-Really? -Really, so much.

-I didn't expect that at all, just thought maybe cosmetic.

-I don't think he has any idea that there was that much wrong with the car.

So I think he's going to be amazed. Yeah.

I think it will just mean so much to him, it really will.

NARRATOR: The plan to get the car back to James is now in place.

Both he and Zena have been invited to a VIP launch

of a new exhibition at his favorite museum.

Little does he know that the main exhibit is going to be his very own Golf GTI.

At least that's the idea.

Of course first the boys have to get the car finished.

And with less than a week now to go, they need to get a wriggle on.

First on the agenda is to get the car in to paint.

A few hours in the booth and that tired old shell

is at last starting to look like the sexy silver beast it once was.

And whilst that's being done, it gives Tim the chance

to sort out an all important period detail.

-Right, check out my dilemma.

That is from 1986-1987, right?

That one is like from the late '70s,

and our Golf is 1982.

I kinda need to merge the two and join them into something from 1982

when our Golf first came out.

So, I want to show you some genuine magic. Check this out.

As I turn around. No peeking.

Oh, yes!

Look at this bad boy! That thing looks absolutely spot on.

It looks like it is from what, the '80s, '70s something like that

but, you know, the truth is

on the back, hello,

we have USBs, we have RCAs,

we have the usual connectivity there and we have Bluetooth.

We have everything you could possibly want and it looks period.

How cool is that? And you know what?

Even Fuzz is going to appreciate it.

I hope.

NARRATOR: Well, the GTI shell is now looking like

it's just come off the production line.

Beautifully painted but lacking any moving parts,

time to put it all back together, starting with the suspension.

The only bit of modification Fuzz will allow on the car.

And even then, he's put it to factory settings.

-A lot of people nowadays, like to lower the height of their cars,

lots of people say it is all about handling and so on and so forth,

it's not.

What it is, it's all about the way that the car looks.

I reckon I'm probably going to have a bit of a fight with Tim about this one.

We'll have to wait and see, won't we?

Right, let's get this baby in.

I'll tell you what actually, this is quite a nicely put together car.

Good German design.

Hitting it with a dead weight hammer to get the front bush lined up.

Right, just the top one to tighten up now.

Right. That's sorted. Perfecto-mundo.

NARRATOR: So with the four corners fitted,

time to start on that gaping empty engine bay.

-Keep it coming.

NARRATOR: And as you'd expect with efficient German engineering

it doesn't take long to get that 1600 engine back into place.

-That's it. Oi, not too far. Okay. Crane out.

Right.

NARRATOR: And once the engine is fitted, on goes the exhaust,

followed by those shiny replacement wings.

TIM: I'll tell you what, Fuzz. -Yeah.

-I've made a lovely job with this paint work.

Yeah, it's just stunning.

It's a beautiful piece of German engineering and we've done it proud.

-Do you know what? -What's that?

-It is bitter-sweet for me giving this car back.

-I know what you mean, you get so attached to them, don't you?

-Yeah. It is like a holiday romance.

-You're right, actually. Totally. -It is.

It's like you meet that gorgeous girl, fall in love with her

and you are there for a couple of weeks, three weeks in our case.

And all of the sudden you gotta give her back to her real life.

-I know what you're saying, yeah.

-James gets it back, and we are left with an empty ramp.

-That's it, you never hear from her again.

-Who gets the girl? Me or you?

-I think it's gonna be me actually.

-No, neither of us. James is. Come on, let's get it done.

-Yeah.

NARRATOR: With little more than half a day

to finish the car off and get it to the museum,

there's still one major worry.

Whilst the engine's back in the car, it's not been started.

FUZZ: No.

NARRATOR: And no matter how hard they try

the old Golf just doesn't want to awake from its 14-year slumber.

It's a problem that has the whole crew stumped.

It looks like it's going to be a late night in the workshop.

-There's this time in doing up cars

which I kinda compare it to surgery, I guess.

When you've had. Look at these guys as being surgeons,

we've had three weeks to work on this car.

And this is the day before the car goes back.

And this is the time we find out

whether or not all that hard work is actually going to come together and work,

and the engine is going to tick over.

-Ready? -Yeah.

-Yeah! -Yeah!

All right, then.

-Okay, knock it off, Phil, knock it off.

-Let's get the bonnet on, let's get the rest of it done,

and let's get it back to James, yeah?

NARRATOR: A smoothly running engine might be a relief,

but there's still umpteen jobs to go, so it's back to the grindstone

because in less than 12 hours time

the car is going back to its unsuspecting owner.

NARRATOR: At the Milestones Living History Museum in Basingstoke,

you can enjoy life as it was in the early 20th century.

A town center complete with old shops, ancient vehicles,

and strange looking dummies.

Some a bit stranger looking than others.

-I tell you what, all these mannequins give me the creeps.

And talking of dummies

what are you doing there, Tim?

And why are you dressed like that? Give me that.

-What are you doing? Oi. What are you doing?

-What are you wearing?

-You are destroying my look. Check me out.

-Well, I have, yeah. -Oh, yeah. Do you like it?

-Well, yeah, I do.

But I thought that this was a straightforward give away. What are we doing?

-Absolutely not. I am one of the world's leading directors

and we are making a commercial which ends in the return of a car.

NARRATOR: Yes. Tim's plan is to hide the film crew

and the car in plain sight

using the museum as a film set

and luring unsuspecting owner James

right up to it before he realizes what's going on.

-Right then, Fuzz. -Okay. What's going on here then?

-Well, have a look around you because you are now.

Oh, carefully stepping onto the set

of a car insurance commercial.

But you know what, before we talk about that.

Wow.

FUZZ: Isn't that an amazing car? It really is.

-No, but think about the transformation from what it was to what it is.

That is almost straight off the production line.

That is absolutely perfect.

We have done it again, now let's give it back.

So here is the plan.

So in the middle of filming this advert I'm missing my actors, my extras.

-Yeah. -So James walks in.

Just doing a tour with Zena,

and all of a sudden I'll have one of my girls go and drag him over

and just be a couple of bodies on the set.

-Yeah. But he will know that it's his car.

-No it is covered over with a big gold cover. -All right. Okay.

-Because it is Midas Cover.

We will cover the cars, you won't.

-Midas Cover. -Let's go and get the family, come on. They are here.

NARRATOR: Later today, owner James will be arriving to what he thinks

is a VIP tour of a new exhibition at his favorite museum.

What he doesn't realize is the star exhibit is going to be his beloved GTI.

And he also doesn't know his family are here to add to the surprise.

-And check that out.

-Wow! -Fantastic. That's amazing.

TIM: Think he's gonna like it?

-Most definitely. Yeah. -Yeah?

-You've done a brilliant job.

-Now James is seconds away, so I want you guys hiding with Fuzz on the bus.

-Okay. -When you hear the time is right come running out.

We're gonna get cracking, all right?

NARRATOR: So Fuzz gets the family hidden away in a nearby double decker.

Keeping the atmosphere calm with one of his fascinating stories.

FUZZ: We're going to sit on this lovely Portsmouth Corporation

Leyland Titan TD5, dating from around about 1935.

The Titan remained in production.

NARRATOR: Yes. And Tim gets ready for the spoof commercial

for a made up insurance company

by adopting the role of your stereotypical advertising director.

-At Midas Cover, we understand how you feel about the car.

You need to be backing off at this stage.

You're pulling focus on me? What are you doing?

You locked down focus or what?

Your white balance is out for a start.

NARRATOR: Yes, he's very convincing.

TIM: Tom, what are you doing?

Well, is there something funny?

NARRATOR: Right on cue, James, wife Zena, and their entourage,

who are all in on the scam, arrive.

-Hello. -Hello.

NARRATOR: He's expecting to be part of a VIP tour of the museum

but is told straight away that there's a problem.

There's a big traffic jam on the M3

and the rest of the VIPs are going to be a bit late.

-Do have a seat. There is no one here at the moment.

NARRATOR: So to keep them amused while they wait

they're asked if they wouldn't mind watching a new advert being shot.

-We do have to be quiet when we get down there so as not to, uh.

NARRATOR: Although that too is having problems.

TIM: Where is everyone? Where are people? This feels disorganized today.

-Let me just sort it out, let me come up with a plan. -Excuse me.

NARRATOR: Time to spring the trap.

-Are you in this? You're about as much use as the rest of this crew.

WOMAN: Listen, we're in a bit of a bind.

Because, um, basically our cars are stuck in a traffic jam on the M3.

And we are just doing this camera rehearsal.

So, um, we just need, kind of, like, a couple of bodies.

-Candice, can you come on set, please?

-You're literally just. -Candice? Can I have you over here?

-Okay, I'm just sorting it out.

-Hello? -Yeah? -Time, Candice.

This may be a cable commercial

but we have to take this seriously, guys. So.

-If you could just stand on that point there where I'm positioned.

-You are a family, are you? You're late.

-This is our director and, um, Zena.

-Who are you guys? -We're on a tour. Um.

-What, what the hell is. Sorry. Excuse me a minute.

-They're just standing in, they're just helping us out

whilst we're waiting for the cast.

-He's eating on the set, for a start.

-We could just, you know, we could just leave.

-No, you're fine. I need bodies, so I apologize.

Let's just rehearse this through.

Is everyone happy with their shots?

Are you happy with your shots?

-Yes. -Are you guys happy with what the hell you are doing?

-We're just standing. -Okay, I appreciate your help.

-Turn over, slate three, take one. -Action.

At Midas Cover, we understand how you feel about your car.

I'm approaching the car. Andy, you're pulling focus from the car to my face.

So voice over. "Pretties of the gold car cover, Midas Touch." Blah, blah, blah.

Okay, so at this stage, follow me through, Andy, okay?

Two, position B in the middle between our two bodies.

Midas Cover, we don't just protect, we cherish.

Can you pull the cover off the car, please?

And then we pull, yeah.

Thank you. Perfect. Keep pulling it's a huge one.

-Oh, my God.

Oh, my. God.

I cannot believe this.

I have completely been set up.

And I was thinking what an obnoxious person.

-Give James and Zena a round of applause, please.

Come on out, stop hiding. Come out here.

We had a letter from Zena here who told us about your car

and told us about your condition and how you have struggled with things recently.

-Yeah.

-And how you suffer with this eternal headache which won't seem to leave.

-Yeah, that's true.

-And your mum said that she wanted you to smile like you used to smile

because she hadn't seen that for a while.

We wondered if possibly doing this car up for you we might just put that smile.

-It's absolutely amazing.

I. I cannot thank Zena and you guys, and everyone.

It's just fantastic.

NARRATOR: James' beloved Golf GTI had been sitting for lonely in a dusty garage

for over a decade.

It had little chance of ever seeing the road again.

In just a few weeks, it's been transformed.

The rusting wings replaced with new. The damp interior now clean and fresh.

Its engine restored and tuned to perfection.

Its paintwork gleaming like a brand new car.

It's a time warp back to 1982,

and for James, a chance to relive his youth once more.

-You know, with the headaches that I suffer from,

I can be pretty difficult to live with at times.

You know, the children are amazing and my wife.

I'm lucky, really lucky to have found somebody that would put up with me.

I must admit I do still have a bit of a headache.

-It's okay. -It's always there.

Um, but I am not thinking about that at the moment.

I'm thinking about this amazing car and what you guys have done to it.

It's just. It's crazy, to be honest.

It's absolutely phenomenal. I-I love this car.

-We love this car as well

and we really don't want to give it back, but it is that time.

So, James, you have been Car SOS'd.

-Thank you so much.

Things like this don't normally happen to people like me.

I'm just absolutely blown away.

This is got to be up there, you know, second to the birth of my children,

um, and obviously, my wedding day.

It's just absolutely phenomenal.

Gosh. This is gonna take some getting used to.

It means an awful lot to me, reminds me of having hours of fun, days of no pain,

you know I was care free and life was good.

It's just amazing, absolutely amazing.

I can't wait till the summer now to go out with you and the kids.

-Oh. -I'll slow down a bit.

Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.