Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Today on Car SOS.

TIM: Oh, ho, ho.

American muscle car heaven.

NARRATOR: Master mechanic Fuzz Townshend...

FUZZ: This is absolutely catastrophic.

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

25% discount on the nose.

NARRATOR: Are on their undercover mission to rescue classic cars

for deserving owners.

TIM: Oooh yeah.

NARRATOR: This time, the boys take on an almighty V8...

TIM: This garage has the show and the go.

NARRATOR: With a big-block all-American classic.

FUZZ: That is going to use obscene amounts of fuel, isn't it?

NARRATOR: The boys get the fright of their lives.

-Look this car has been cut in half!

-We're gonna have to do it.

There is no other way.

NARRATOR: And Tim is going to have to go ballistic.

I feel like I'm riding on a war head.

NARRATOR: If they are going to give one unsuspecting owner...

MAN: This is magic!

NARRATOR: The surprise of their life.

-This is my car. -This can't be the car. -You've been Car SOS 'd.

♪ (theme music plays) ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Today Tim and Fuzz have hit the road and are off to muscle beach.

Here we are then Tim.

-Los Angeles. -No it's not L.A. -Miami

I need to stop you there Tim.

I know you have been asleep for a while, while I've been driving but no,

this is Southend-on-Sea, it's like being on holiday.

Forget that; in fact forget England Fuzz why?

Because today we are doing our very first American muscle car.

TIM: Yes, OK USA.

And what is it, which car is it?

-It is a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

-Stingray it is.

And that particular car was a game changer in its day Fuzz.

NARRATOR: Yes it certainly was!

The corvette stingray C3 was possibly one of the most characteristic and

recognizable cars ever made, as American as the Bill of Rights,

with a super long bonnet, mega wide wheels, and an enormous V8 engine the stingray

was not so much a car, as a statement of intent.

Having said that the one the boys are off to see is more a statement of ill health having

been forced off the road with a myriad of mechanical problems.

It's the property of plumber and step father of two Peter who's owned his beloved 1974

stingray for nearly 20 years, he's spent thousands of hours doing up this 7.4 liter

monster however bit by bit work on his beloved car has,

thanks to a crippling disability, become an impossible task.

-7.4 liters?

-Yeah, that is 7.4 times bigger than my parents' one liter metro city X that they

used to ferry me and my two brothers and my sister around in.

FUZZ: Hold on that is illegal, that is six people.

-Back then it wasn't. -Oh.

NARRATOR: The car is stored at Peter's parents' house but Car SOS were called in by his

brother Richard who's hoping the boys can inject some much needed muscle car

magic back into Peter's life.

-Hi, Richard? -Hello, hi.

-Hi, we have come about a courgette.

A courgette stingray, is your brother in?

RICHARD: He is not.

TIM: Great so can we see it right this second?

'Cause he's really excited.

RICHARD: You can.

TIM: And he is really excited and I am very calm.

Can I do that?

-I am very excited. -You can. -Sweet, 3-2-no.

Oh yes, check that out.

-Let's get straight in there.

TIM: That is a stunning car, 7.4 liters of muscle.

FUZZ: This is great, should we get it out of here?

-Yeah, let's bring it out. -Have a proper look at it.

NARRATOR: And while the boys bond with their new friend let's find out more about this

iconic all American legend.

TIM: That is insane, that car has the show and the go.

NARRATOR: Unlikely to have been created for the shy and retiring the corvette stingray

is a motor that screams 1970s America, a time when cars were just big.

It could pull naught to 60 in around six and a half seconds

with a lightweight fiberglass body

and with the big block engine the corvette could summon up enough effortless power and

low down grunt to earn it a place in the muscle car hall of fame.

Nowadays used C3s average between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds

depending on condition

but one thing is for sure you get an awful lot of car for your money.

-Look at that! -Well look at that!

I tell you what I have worked on buses and trucks with smaller engines than that.

TIM: That is just gorgeous.

FUZZ: What are the problems with this car Richard?

Because It kind of looks in pretty good shape overall.

RICHARD: Mechanically it has had a problem with the gearbox after he took it

down the drag strip.

It won't change out of first gear.

And they completely rebuilt it and it still has the same problem.

FUZZ: We have a big problem on our hands there then.

Yes Tim?

TIM: I have spotted something, I've spotted rust.

The wing is rising over there.

FUZZ: You are right.

TIM: Shall we go have a chat about Peter?

You do your thing, have a look around and see if you can find any other problems.

FUZZ: Ok, I will do, see you in a bit.

NARRATOR: So while Fuzz looks for a few positives.

FUZZ: One good thing, the interior looks pretty good.

That's excellent.

NARRATOR: Tim finds out about its corvette loving owner.

TIM: How come Peter went for a corvette?

RICHARD: Ever since he was a little kid he had a little model of a corvette,

a dinky a dinky model.

-It's just got bigger. -That's right.

It has been his baby really, ever since he had it.

No matter how difficult things might get financially, that would be the very last thing

he would get rid of.

NARRATOR: We wanted to find out a bit more about Peter's passion so we rocked up at one

of the Essex corvette owners club monthly meets and pretending to do a few

interviews for a new club website we sneaked an undercover chat and what

better place to talk about his beloved stingray.

PETER: As a 14 year old I remember seeing it for the first time and

just fell in love with it.

That was the car I wanted and always wanted.

It took until I was about 29 before I can afford one but I have had it about 20 years and

I just love it to bits.

NARRATOR: Well Peter is obviously a dyed in the wool muscle car fan so why is his

pride and joy off the road?

PETER: I've got problems with the door locks, the gearbox isn't working.

It's been like that for about two years now but I'll never get rid of it.

It's one of those things.

It's just, it's a passion really.

NARRATOR: It's also passion that is perhaps preventing Peter from seeing that there

is in fact more than a few minor problems with his car.

FUZZ: So we have a crack around here and this wing has lifted up,

that means it is likely that we have problems with the steel frame that goes around

here and everything hangs off it.

If that's the case we're gonna have to cut into it this to find out where the rot is.

NARRATOR: But of course it's not just a list of works that's keeping it in the

garage, Peter has another reason why he deserves the Car SOS treatment.

I am building up an impression of a guy who just adores that car.

Why is that not on the road?

It is not for the want of trying, the problem now is he's got difficulty getting around.

PETER: I have got problems on my knees at the moment so it is a bit of a struggle

to get underneath the car.

I just had an operation six months ago and I am still getting over

that at the moment.

RICHARD: He's had three operations on his knees and he's had to have

a plate put in his knee.

-And how old is he? -He is 50!

TIM: He is 50, so he'll never go back to having full mobility?

RICHARD: Yeah.

NARRATOR: So bad is the arthritis in Peter's knees that not only will he

never fully recover he's also facing further major surgery.

He will never be able to work or walk properly ever again.

The crippling pain he suffers is ever present and he faces a lifetime of discomfort that

will only get worse.

His days of working on his beloved corvette are gone for good.

-Do you think he can fix that car?

-I don't think physically he'll be able to do that now.

You can be optimistic but I think realistically with his knees he hasn't got the

mobility that he would need to be able to get it back on the road.

TIM: So, sum up to me what it would mean for him to have that car

working back on the road?

RICHARD: I think it would mean everything to him.

I think to go back out on the road with that, listening to the roar of that engine is

something that I think he would pay dearly for.

TIM: Right, well that's the plan.

We've got to get cracking.

Okay, let's go and see how Fuzz is getting on.

FUZZ: So we have a fairly tidy looking engine bay but looking at the paint work I can see

there is lots of crazing and cracking beneath the surface.

Now that, on a fiberglass body car is not an easy problem.

We are going to have to take that right back to the substrate and put new

fiberglass in there and put new gel coat on the top, not a quick job.

-Fuzzbot. -Yes'mon.

TIM: Right, let me tell you about this car, this car is Peter's baby,

we have to be just like that, mega careful with it alright?

-That's ok. -What have you discovered?

There are lots of problems with this body, crazing everywhere,

the wings lifting, I reckon we could have rot in the birdcage underneath.

-Right. -It's a big, big job.

TIM: The time is ticking on this one then.

So let's get it locked and loaded and get out of here.

-Yeah, come on then. -Right.

NARRATOR: Although Peter lives 40 miles away, he often pops in to see his mum and dad and

of course check up on his beloved corvette so time is very short,

the boys have set themselves just 3 weeks before getting the car back,

although Richard is already having second thoughts.

-You're nervous, aren't you? -I am yes. -You don't want us to take it?

RICHARD: Yes, I'm reluctant to let it go because of the simple fact that it's his car and

he never lets it out of his sight.

TIM: You know what, trust me that car will come back a runner,

a peach and it'll put that smile back on his face.

-That's a deal. -All right, done.

NARRATOR: So with the car on the trailer, it's off on the long trip back to HQ.

FUZZ: Today Tim it's all about the muscles.

Muscle car on the back and muscle-head in the passenger seat.

NARRATOR: Where Tim still can't get over the fact there's an

American classic in the workshop.

TIM: Ah, look at that.

Isn't that stunning?

I tell you what if you could have anyone get out that car wouldn't she'd be a long,

leggy blonde or a brunette and look what we have got.

-Short, grey and eggy. -Gutted.

NARRATOR: Well Workshop Phil might not be everyone's idea of sexy

but the car most certainly is!

TIM: Fuzz, stop for a minute son, we have a corvette in the house.

FUZZ: It is good isn't it?

It is great but there are loads of cracks under the surface.

-Yeah. -It's going to be a big body job.

-Do you know what, body work not a problem here.

-I want to have a look underneath.

Get it up, yea.

NARRATOR: Yes cracked and crazed paintwork holds no fear for the boys,

massive structural problems however, that's another story.

TIM: Right, question.

Tell me how big the gap was here at the bottom of the A-post.

FUZZ: I don't know, about five or six mil or something like that.

That is absolutely massive.

TIM: That is an inch, you can get your hand in that.

FUZZ: Let's get it up and see what we can see underneath it.

That is bad.

TIM: It feels like the nose cone of this car wants to fall off.

Fuzz I'm actually quite scared to get underneath this car if I'm honest.

-Really? -Well look at the state of the car's trying to break in half.

NARRATOR: Tim might well be nervous with getting on for one and a half metric tons of

corvette bending in the middle, it could be a bit of a health and safety issue!

TIM: I want to show you how bad this is, alright?

-Ok. -Check this out.

-Yea, alright, ok, I'm watching.

Ok.

-In place. -Right. -Intact biscuits.

FUZZ: Alright, what's going to happen when that hits the deck?

Crushed!

NARRATOR: Not for the first time the boys are facing a car that might look,

at first glance, like it just needs a bit of spit and polish,

but is in fact a great big four wheeled can of American automotive worms.

FUZZ: This could be absolutely catastrophic.

This is structural stuff.

NARRATOR: Tim and Fuzz have taken on Peter's 1974 corvette stingray: an all American

muscle car that once graced the drag-strips but now has an intimidating list of

mechanical and structural problems to sort out.

FUZZ: There's some severe movement down here.

We're going to have to dig in to this car to find out what's going on.

NARRATOR: So the boys are crossing their fingers and hoping that the cars 7.4 liter

big block engine is not going on the list of works.

FUZZ: Let's lift that hood!

Here we go.

-Reveal the beast. -Look at that.

Blimey, that's a lot of engine.

Look at the size of the carb.

-Massive Holly four barrel carb.

-Look at the size of it.

FUZZ: I'll tell you what, shall we give it a go?

-Yea, let's do it. -You ready? -Go on.

Ah, look at that.

-Hey-hey! -Yea, come out.

Watch this, you can see the injects of fuel.

-That's cool. -I can see it right there how that carbonator works.

Whoa!

(laughter).

FUZZ: I tell you what; that is going to use obscene amounts of fuel, isn't it?

TIM: Whatever the problem's with this car Fuzz, no matter how catastrophic

they might be.

-The engine is not one of them.

-Even if it is trying to burn my face off.

We've got, we've got to get this car back on the road.

The car is a monster.

NARRATOR: Well that is at least one bit of good news,

but a working engine does not necessarily mean a running car.

The corvette's four-speed gearbox is refusing to run through the gears and will

need taking out and given a total rebuild.

The cars paintwork is cracked and blistered and will have to be completely

stripped off and re-sprayed.

But the biggest potential problem could be internal structural rust,

because although corvettes have a fiberglass body, it's held to the chassis by what is

known as the birdcage.

A strong steel cage that also acts to protect the occupants.

It's bonded into the fiberglass shell, so if this has developed rot the

boys are in big trouble.

FUZZ: What I want to find out is why that body is moving, where are the mountains?

NARRATOR: Across the road from the workshop is Fuzz's storage-yard where there lies

the remains of another corvette that suffered a similar problem,

it should act as a useful reminder to the boys but instead turns out to

be a sobering sight.

FUZZ: OK so this frame here is what is known as the birdcage.

TIM: Yeah, runs around the top of the window, goes down the bottom here, along this sill,

comes up here, you can see it here, ends there and goes across and down,

so it actually creates a cage around the passenger.

FUZZ: Yep.

NARRATOR: To replace a whole birdcage requires massive open-heart surgery.

TIM: It's actually been cut right across, look at this.

Follow the cut right along here, up there, over the gearbox tunnel,

down here through the router there, this car is cut in half.

NARRATOR: And in this case it became so much work the owner had to kiss

goodbye to his car.

TIM: The cost of joining the car back together, getting the shock gaps right,

getting everything right is absolutely huge.

And if our car has the same issue as this one had,

that will not be done in the time we have.

FUZZ: OK so what are we going to do?

We haven't got a choice.

-Look this car has been cut in half. -I know it is a big job.

It is a massive job but even if we have to work 24 hours a day.

-Which we will. -Yea, we're going to have to do it, there's no other way.

NARRATOR: Well to take Tim's mind off the faulty bodywork there is always the matter of

the faulty gearbox which will need to be removed and taken off to a specialist.

-Oh yes. -Wow, look at this 2004R.

-Shall we get it in? -Yeah let's get on.

NARRATOR: Auto box mechanics are like the alchemists of the motoring world as it's only

they who know the secrets of what goes on inside that mysterious metal casing.

BRET: Ok Fantastic, what's wrong with this thing then?

TIM: I don't actually know.

The guy we picked up from said, "this is my brother's car and there is

problem with the gearbox."

-Right. -I know, as far as we know he's used it for dragging.

-He's drag raced it? -Yeah it's drag raced it, is that scary?

Should I not be telling you that and taking it out of here?

No that's fine, that's fine.

That is the most complicated part inside a car, as far as I'm concerned.

BRET: A lot of people won't touch these.

TIM: Are they simple?

BRET: They are pretty simple once you get to know them.

But first of all you've got a converter here at the front, then there you've got a series

of planetary gears and clutches that hold or let the planetaries spin,

at the bottom of the pan there you've got a valve buddy that controls the clutches.

-Right, ok, so it's really simple. -Yeah that simple, that easy.

NARRATOR: And there we all were thinking it was complicated!

Now, back at base work on the car has started in earnest, the tired old paint is coming

off but with the doors removed, Fuzz's worst fears about the birdcage look like

they might have come true.

We found a load of rot at the bottom of this crucial A-post.

This is where a lot of the cars strength is actually derived from.

So what we need to do is put the strength back in at this point here.

This will all have to be reconstructed with fresh steel.

NARRATOR: But it's not all bad news, the rust is localized to the A-post and Fuzz thinks he

can fix it without having to cut the whole car in half, although it's still going to

need major surgery.

FUZZ: If we're going to weld that we've got to get this fiberglass out of the way.

We're going to have to cut all the way down here and remove this fiberglass and then we'll

be able to get to this steel structure beneath safely, weld in some new fresh steel and

then we'll have to graft all this back in.

NARRATOR: Yes if you have a fiberglass bodied car at home this next bit might

make you wince.

(sawing).

FUZZ: Alright, there we have it.

It's brutal but at least it exposes everything that we need to see to be able to

repair this car.

NARRATOR: What came in as a complete car is now turning into what looks like a pile of

scrap, and at the repairers the gearbox is also being taken down to its component

parts, but at least it looks like they might have gotten to the source of the problem.

TIM: So what is happening with this then?

Have you got good or bad news?

-We found one concerning thing. -Right.

BRET: Is when this transmission been built, obviously this is a machined

surface, very flat.

-So what are these thing, these are the veins, right?

-These are the galleries. -Ok.

BRET: This right here, at some point's been stripped and they've put an insert,

a helicoil, into it.

TIM: So somebody's over-tightened the bolts into that and they've pulled all

the threads out.

BRET: The problem is the insert hasn't gone all the way down, it is sitting proud.

-Can you feel that, oh it is yeah. -Yeah.

NARRATOR: An auto-box works by using pressurized fluid to operate servos,

clutches and change through gears.

But if there are any gaps between the network of chambers the pressure is lost

and changing gear becomes impossible.

BRET: So that bit that is sitting high will actually distort where

it's sealed around there.

TIM: So that tiny, weeny, probably a third of a millimeter of proud coil

there, is the thing that is making the whole gearbox go wrong.

BRET: Yep, yep you'll have cross-feed from one gallery into another gallery.

-Right guys. -Which is going to cause you a problem.

TIM: It's time now to stop your grinning, drop your linen and get on with it.

Get cracking, I love you, see you in a bit.

BRET: See ya, bud.

NARRATOR: Back at base and the rest of the car has just come out of major surgery

and is heading towards the road to recovery.

FUZZ: Right, so we've patched up most of the scuttle now, and that should serve this car

well for another good 40 years, even longer if we put some protection on it.

On to the next job.

NARRATOR: Out on the road Tim is in search of parts and the longer he's in the car the

more time he has to scheme.

I'm now 2 hours and 15 minutes into get wheel trims for the corvette,

but I'm going to make this worth my while because the place I am going to apparently

sells loads of gorgeous corvettes and I've never driven one.

NARRATOR: Well that is about to change as Tim has already phoned ahead pretending he's

in the market to buy and wants to test drive a corvette, any corvette.

TIM: Oh yes the C6, that is gorgeous.

Wow this was worth the journey.

-Oh good. -Tom is it? -It's nice meeting you.

TIM: Tom hi, we spoke about a yellow, an old yellow corvette yesterday on the phone.

-That's right, I remember, yea.

Good gosh look at these stunning beauties, C4?

TOM: That is a C4 that's actually a Calloway twin turbo,

200 mile an hour car that.

TIM: And that if I'm not mistaken is the C1.

TOM: That's a rally car that's actually driven from London to Sydney.

And you've got all these parts as well.

What are they off, I recognize those.

TOM: Ah, well those are trim rings from 1969 to 1982 with the original rally wheels.

TIM: Right, okay, cool, wow look at that, let's go have a look at this

yellow one I am interested in.

-Okay. -I don't want to take up too much time, but I've got a...

-Okay, right.

TIM: Hello Gorgeous.

Look at that, that is stunning.

TOM: Well it's a 68 corvette, it's the first of the C3s in this truly fantastic shape.

-I want a piece of this, can we take it out? -Of course we can.

-So who's driving, you want to drive? -Yes, let's drive.

NARRATOR: Well Tim might be going the long way round to procure a set of wheel trims

but back in the workshop Fuzz is making light work of Peter's car.

We've been having a few problems with the operation

of these headlamp units,

probably because the car has been standing around for a while.

It's operated using a vacuum system, it's basically free energy really.

The pins are all really dry so first of all I'll spray some penetrating fluid in there and

just work the mechanism back and forth a little until it freeze up.

Right let's see if this works, apply some vacuum, ah-ha,

here we go, look, up she comes.

Right OK, sorted.

Both of them working, another job to tick off the list.

NARRATOR: And while Fuzz gets hands on with the cars mechanics,

Tim is finding out just why the corvette has been such an iconic car

for such a long-time.

-What is it about corvette that you love is so much Tom?

-Just the style, the race history.

You know, when you've got a corvette you're a part of an enormous club.

TIM: Yea, everything about it screams cool.

It is a cool car isn't it?

TOM: Absolutely cool, yeah.

The thing about American muscle cars on English roads is a lot of people feel that

they're, you know, they're inappropriate they're over-sized, they you know,

get thirsty, 'cause they are very noisy big lump, aren't they?

TOM: Yes but they're I think robust is a better way of describing them,

it's big heavy engineering, I mean they work.

NARRATOR: The C3 corvette was in fact the third generation of the stingray line and was

in continuous production from 1968 to 1982 but it didn't end there as corvettes are still

being made to this very day and it's the much more modern C6 that Tim has

his beady eye on.

TIM: You've got a black C6 out the front.

-Yes. -Is that for sale as well?

-That's for sale, yes, everything's for sale.

TIM: I've got to be honest; as much as I adore this car I've got this thing in my mind,

which is saying, be more sensible, go for something a little newer.

TOM: Ok, well I'm very happy for you to go for a drive in it.

TIM: Ok have you got the keys on you?

-I have. -I'll see you in a couple of hours.

-Ok great.

TIM: Cheers mate, thank you.

Oh yeah, guess who's only gone and got themselves a corvette C6 for the afternoon.

The first thing that strikes me about this car is the sound of the engine.

I'm tweaking the accelerator pedal and already you can hear it wanting to scream.

A comfortable drive feels very, very low.

But it feels very, very steady to drive which is a great thing.

I'm going to put my foot down.

Woah 6.2 liters, V8, naught to 60 in about 4 seconds.

I feel like I'm riding on a warhead.

People talk about corvettes as being a straight-line weapon,

this thing most definitely feels like that.

Let's give it a little bit of beans.

(engine revs)

Did you hear that?

Wow I tell you what, it flies!

This is the car that you get in when you are on your way to an argument.

And I love it!

It makes me feel rock hard.

Phew, that car is hot.

-It's nice, isn't it? -It's an absolute, take those off me.

What a beast!

TOM: It's tremendously fast, and uh, brings out the best in you and the worst.

TIM: Decision time, right, so C3, C6, C3.

NARRATOR: C3 or C6?

What about the wheel trims you came for Tim?

TOM: You've got to make up your mind whether it's going to be a daily driver

or a collectable car.

The problem is here you're selling both of them so well but I'm stuck in the

middle thinking actually the only thing I really, really love of everything in here is

those hubcaps as weird as it sounds.

NARRATOR: Ah, at last!

TOM: Well if you like the hubcaps take them away.

-Really? -Yea. -So I can just take those?

TOM: Yea well they're trim rings technically but yes you can take them.

TIM: You are a genuinely nice, lovely guy, a lot like me.

-Well I think you'll be back. -I think I will be back.

Tom thank you so much, I'm going to go away and think about it.

NARRATOR: Well there you go, Tim seems like he is indeed buying himself a corvette but

just one little bit at a time!

Meanwhile back at the workshop the tension is starting to rise as the work on

Peter's car is going painfully slowly.

(inaudible).

NARRATOR: It's now two weeks since the lads netted a stingray.

-Yes. -Fantastic, check that out.

NARRATOR: This big-block monster belongs to plumber and step father of two Peter whose

muscle car dreams were shattered when crippling arthritis and a series of

failed operations robbed him of his mobility.

PETER: It's been a bit of a struggle to get underneath the car.

I just had an operation six months ago, I'm still getting over that at the moment.

NARRATOR: But what looked like a hunk of solid muscle car turned out to be a

bit of a flop.

TIM: Look at the state of that the car is trying to break in half.

NARRATOR: So Fuzz hacked in to the shell and cut out the rot and replaced

it with fresh steel.

The car's faulty gearbox has been sent off for some expert care,

but they're still a long way from putting it all back together.

In fact the car is looking a lot worse than when it arrived,

so what will Peter's brother Richard think when he drops by to see how things

are getting on?

-Fuzz? -Yep, ah. -We have a visitor.

-How's it going? -You remember Richard don't you?

NARRATOR: It was just a fortnight ago that Richard anxiously handed over the

corvette keys, scared of what might happen to his baby brother's pride and joy.

-Now this is the car. -Yep.

-And quite a lot has happened to this car since the last time you saw it.

RICHARD: It looks roughly corvette shaped.

TIM: It does look corvette shape but I have something to say to you, which was,

it was obvious when I met you that you were rather unhappy about us removing

this from your grasp.

RICHARD: Well it's because I know it's my brother's pride and joy.

TIM: Now you talked about the damage you thought this car sustained.

The work that needed to be done to it.

-Yep.

Fuzz was worried about quite a number of things, we were hoping none of them would

become true, some of them did.

-Should I? -Not yet, I sense some nerves.

-Yea, a little bit.

NARRATOR: The last time Richard saw the stingray it appeared to be in good nick,

but looks can be deceptive.

FUZZ: I am just going to do this quickly.

-Yep, very nervous man, very nervous. -Here we go.

TIM: There it is.

RICHARD: Is that the same car?

I recognize the bonnet and the bits, the bits that are black.

TIM: OK, Fuzz can you walk Richard around what has been a classic example of

a car which has got a whole lot of hidden problems.

-Right. -Trust me.

FUZZ: Now what you can see here is we are having to get into the A-post,

we knew that the bird cage was probably compromised.

The bottom of the A-post really didn't exist.

So what we did was we cut out the panels here, everything was rebuilt but

round the cockpit basically.

-Death trap!

-Absolutely, totally a death-trap.

TIM: I think that the bottom line is what's been done to this car could be the

difference between life and death for your brother.

So if you want reassurance that it was the right thing to do,

it was absolutely and utterly the right thing to do, to get us to do this to your car.

RICHARD: No, I can see this now.

NARRATOR: So the guys may have gutted Pete's car, but they could also have prevented a

catastrophic accident.

RICHARD: It's a bit of a shock, particularly knowing that he took it on the drag

strip I couldn't imagine that a car that looked as good as it did look could possibly be

as bad as it was being described but having seen what's been done,

it's quite clear that it was.

NARRATOR: The plan to give Peter back his car is now in place,

it so happens that in one weeks-time there's an American muscle car experience day

going on a Brands Hatch Race Track, it will be the perfect camouflage to surprise Peter

with his completed car, he thinks Richard is treating him to a day out. He will in fact

be getting the shock of his life.

Of course between now and then there's a long way to go, starting with

repairing those gaping holes.

Repairing fiberglass is one of the great mysteries of classic car restoration.

Now there's no need for it to be that much of a mystery, but what there is need for,

is lots of patience because it takes plenty of time to do this.

This entire section has been bracketed in using these steel brackets and screws.

NARRATOR: Corvettes are one of the few fiberglass body productions cars made in

America, it's light, strong and rustproof.

But it's also a really fiddly business to repair.

FUZZ: It doesn't look very pretty and it isn't actually.

I've gone through in a couple of little areas so I'm going to have to glass

all that up as well.

'Cause I'm going to put a little bit of resin over these strips of fiberglass and that

resin will go rock hard in just a few minutes so I've got to work

with reasonable speed now.

So I've got all my fiberglass on, now what I have to do is roller it to

get all the air out.

You can see lots of little bubbles in there.

We're going to have to build up a few other layers as well.

NARRATOR: It's easier said than done.

FUZZ: I have made a terrible mess of this.

NARRATOR: Never mind Fuzz you can always rub down your mistakes and start again.

FUZZ: We need to let this set, grind it back, smooth it off and then we can get it ready

for painting after that.

Right.

NARRATOR: Tim is out on the road trying to track down some nice new brake calipers,

for a car that's been off the road as long as the corvette they are a Car SOS necessity.

TIM: Right, I'm in the right part of the world, check this out.

Yes please, trans-am, the newer mustang, C3 corvette on the end.

One of my favorite muscle cars of all time, the GTO.

Look at that!

That is something.

Is there any way I can use these to get some discount?

NARRATOR: They may be as American as apple pie but muscle cars have dedicated

followers this side of the pond too and Tim is one of them.

TIM: Wow, is there a Mick that works here?

-Hello mate, how are you doing?

-Is this your yard? -It is.

TIM: I'll tell you what; I'm in American muscle heaven!

MICK: Oh yea, we get some nice stuff come through.

TIM: Dude, I've came here for some brakes.

-Alright. -C3 corvette. -Yep, we got them to end here.

TIM: Oh, that's what we need.

-Yep. -Can I have a look at those? -You certainly can.

TIM: Oh yeah that's the beast, right, yea, so we got two of those.

Oh yeah, problem.

MICK: For what?

TIM: You're going to have to discount these aren't the right color.

That's a gun-metal grey, I wanted a sharp grey.

They're already discounted down quite a bit to be honest.

NARRATOR: Tim's spent his entire life avoiding full price and he's not about to

give up now.

-So no more discount on that? -No.

TIM: Mick listen, I wanna work out a deal with you ok?

MICK: Go ahead, fire away.

TIM: You're into your American muscle cars obviously.

-Yep.

-I am as well but proving it is hard so if you get, say, four of these cars,

any four of them, right, I'll stand facing away from them so I can't see what they are

drive them behind me and just by the sound of the engine I will pick out,

which one of those four is a corvette.

And you've got a C3 out there.

-Yea we have it.

-If I get it in the right place. -Yep.

-Then 25% discount on the nose, on the nose.

MICK: Why not, let's set that up.

NARRATOR: Well the gauntlet has been thrown down and Tim will have to show he knows his

V8 onions if he wants to come back with bargain brakes.

-Right on? -Let's go through.

-Right, let's do it.

NARRATOR: Back at the workshop and something wonderful is about to happen,

after being rubbed down, flatted and properly primed the car is at

last going into paint.

FUZZ: The corvette is getting its color coats now and then it'll get

its final gloss finish.

It will look absolutely amazing.

NARRATOR: After a few layers of blue flaked black and a layer of gel coat on top the

car will be unrecognizable.

Of course it'll need its brakes and back at the muscle car specialists Tim is now

preparing himself for his V8 challenge.

TIM: You go and get car number one.

-Yep.

-Bring it in, I'm going to turn away here, right so I can't see alright?

-Right, o.

NARRATOR: Of course as a muscle car owner himself he's no stranger to a

big block engine sound.

TIM: Are you ready to get your discount book out, all right then.

You can stand there where you can see the car.

-Alright.

-And I'll stand here and I'll put my hood up and everything so you can confirm.

-Car number one. -I can't see back, alright?

Car number one, go.

MICK: Come in.

TIM: Ahh, ahhh!

Car number two.

MICK: Number two come in.

TIM: Car number two, rev it up!

That is a big block.

Bring on car number three, oh yeah.

-Number three. -Rev it up.

(engine revving).

MICK: Number 4.

TIM: Rev it up!

(engine revving).

So car number one a newish, super charged mustang.

-Correct. -Car number two trans-am.

MICK: No, yes sorry yeah.

Very good.

Number three?

TIM: Okay, let's skip and go straight to number four, oh yeah.

-Alright. -Who's getting a little bit worried?

Three letters GTO.

-It was.

-Yes please, which means that car number three was a big block, C3 corvette.

Yes, come on let's do some discount.

NARRATOR: Hang on Tim haven't you left something behind?

Like your camera phone on selfie mode?

Well he's either a V8 genius or a terrible cheat and only Tim knows the

answer to that one.

Back at the workshop and work on the corvette has gone into overdrive and

guess who's just joined the party?

The now fully restored gearbox.

TIM: That is gorgeous.

FUZZ: It's what I call a gearbox.

NARRATOR: It might look good but fitting it is not easy especially when you are in a

hurry and with just over as day to go before the car goes back the boys are in a hurry.

-Ahhh! -What, what have you done?

-My finger just got trapped.

NARRATOR: Oh come on Tim it's only a finger.

FUZZ: He's not very strong.

NARRATOR: There's a whirlwind of last minute spit and polish jobs,

as well as some more vital ones too, like bleeding the brakes, skilled work.

TIM: How much brake fluid are we likely to need?

-How much have you spilled? -Most of it.

-Up. -Up.

-Down. -Down.

TIM: This is the kind of stuff you pay fully trained auto technicians in

dealerships £175 an hour for and you can see the value for money right there, eh?

FUZZ: How does it feel?

-Good. -Have you got a good strong peddle?

-Yea.

Does it feel absolutely magnificent?

This has got to stop quickly.

(inaudible).

Right, brakes bled, sorted.

NARRATOR: Of course when it comes to pedals the brake doesn't have the monopoly on

magnificent on this car the throttle's pretty special too.

And with just minutes to spare and those last few cosmetic jobs sorted out there's just

one thing left to do.

Right then Timmy.

I've got a nicely warmed up for you, you can hear the fans going,

here is the key.

Take her out of here Tim.

-Come on then.

NARRATOR: And so Peter's corvette make its way majestically from the workshop

tomorrow it's going to be reunited with its devoted owner,

it should be quite a day.

NARRATOR: The much loved Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Kent was once the

home of the British Grand Prix, over the years it's seen its fair share of motor racing

history, triumph and tragedy.

Thousands of cars have been around its 2.4 miles of track but today it's American Muscle

car day, a petrol heads dream!

FUZZ: This is what it's about.

-This is heaven, V8's, Brands Hatch, the best place on the planet for a reveal.

FUZZ: Fantastic yeah, and the smell of petrol.

But Fuzz, the reason we're here is cause there's one car a cut above the rest.

That's too right!

Let's go and have a look at it then.

Come on then.

FUZZ: I tell you what; doesn't that look magnificent?

Wow!

(inaudible).

Wow, look at that!

FUZZ: That is incredible, isn't it?

TIM: That is the best-looking car we have ever done Fuzz.

FUZZ: You reckon, I think you're close there.

TIM: Stunning, Peter's on his way down now.

FUZZ: So is he going to be driving those?

TIM: Well he's going to be driving those around Brands Hatch.

-Gotcha. -But that's not the truth.

The truth is you're going to be hiding away with the family and at the right time,

just when he's come out of the track.

-I've got you. -Guess what comes out?

-Fantastic. -Oh yea.

-Okay, let's get on with this then. -Give his car back, come on.

NARRATOR: So the plan is to hide in plain sight, Tim is going to pretend to be a

special guest at today's Muscle car experience event.

It may be a drizzly spring day in Kent but for these windswept petrol heads their

Daytona dreams are coming true.

Peter is already on his way here.

He thinks he's going to be treated to a day out by his brother Richard.

What he doesn't realize is that one of the dream cars he's going to be driving is

going to be his own beloved corvette.

He also doesn't know that his friends and family are here to join in the surprise.

-Look at that paint work.

-You can see the reflection, it's like blue and silver sprinkles.

Absolutely amazing.

Breath taking, a lovely paint job.

He will be stunningly pleased with, with what's, what's happened.

Right I'm going to do the honors, the next time you see me will be with Peter.

Wish me luck.

NARRATOR: So while Fuzz and the family get under cover in one of the pit lane garages,

Tim starts to mingle amongst the petrol heads.

TIM: Oh God, there are too many people who know the show, too many people are staring.

This feels like the one that could go wrong, it really does.

NARRATOR: And, right on time Peter arrives keen to take to the track,

but before he can he has to have a safety briefing, where it appears there is

a special guest.

(inaudible).

Yea, um, yes I am that bloke that some people recognize from the television and

unfortunately the bad news is that I am not doing up anybody's car here and no you

can't ask me to do up people's cars.

Cause these guys are "Tim, can you do my car up?"

No, so it doesn't work like that.

No, I'm here under another category today.

So um, I do quite a few shows on television a lot of them in America and

um to do with muscle cars.

And I've been taught by some great guys in America and I wanted to share that

experience over here.

So that's why I'm here, you can bend my ear, chat to me, just annoy me or I'll annoy

you, whatever it is and once again, no, no, don't even ask me alright?

NARRATOR: Well, a brazen double bluff seems to have put Peter right off the scent and

allows Tim to roam freely and, chat to today's drivers, including

our unsuspecting owner.

TIM: Are you not driving?

-Yes I am. -What are you going to drive?

PETER: I don't know, probably end up in an American car, I've always liked the Mustangs

but corvettes are keen to my heart.

Sorry what is?

-Corvettes. -Ah, you're a corvette man?

-Yea, yea, lovely car.

-I have a C3 '74 big block. -Oh have you?

-Yea, it's been off the road for a couple of years now.

-Right.

-The problem is I'm not as mobile as I once was, my knees have been really bad

over the last few years.

-Right yea.

Oh this is the bit where you're trying me to do your car up, I get, I get it,

I get it, I get it.

NARRATOR: The muscle car enthusiasts one by one take to the track until finally it's

Peter's turn.

What he doesn't know is while he innocently goes round the circuit in a vintage Mustang,

in the pit lane the CAR SOS trap is closing in around him.

Alright, he's been given the checkered flag, his life's about to change.

-How was it? -Brilliant.

TIM: Alright, let's move up this way a little bit.

NARRATOR: All Tim has to do now, is keep Peter facing in the right direction

and the trap is sprung.

(inaudible), can we get a photo?

Okay, okay, have you got the car in?

-Did you enjoy the drive? -Yeah, brilliant.

TIM: I've managed to arrange for you to have a drive in something else.

-Yeah.

-So this is what we were thinking, you can maybe, maybe have a go in.

-I don't know what to say.

-Do you recognize that car? -I do.

-Whose car is it? -It's mine.

TIM: Guys.

(group clapping, cheering).

-Did you have a clue? -No I didn't.

-Your brother wrote to me and he told me that you had been struggling recently.

-Yea. -And life hasn't been too easy.

-Not really.

-And he talked to me about your knees and he talked to me about the hell you've been

through and you're an absolute die-hard fan of corvettes and I know that.

And your brother and your family basically rally behind us and said,

"we need to get this car done."

You, you are a very popular man with, you know, a family who adore you and have been

watching you struggle, tough times with your knees and stuff, how does that feel?

-It brings a tear to your eye.

-That's your car, that's your baby.

NARRATOR: The last time Peter saw his beloved car it was terminally parked up,

covered in dust and unlikely to move again.

Now that broken gearbox is freed up and ready to go.

The inner birdcage is now solid and able to take the stresses and strains of a

highly tuned beast of a big block engine.

And the tired and crazed paintwork has been stripped off and re-sprayed and looks

absolutely glisteningly sensational.

Amongst all the cars here today one car outshines the lot,

it's Peter's 1974 corvette stingray.

-It's just absolutely amazing. -How's it feel?

-Brilliant, I can't thank you enough.

-You Peter, have been Car SOS 'd.

-That is great!

I just can't believe what you have done Rich, it is really brilliant.

I have noticed that all those little rattles you used to get when you hit bumps aren't there.

It must have been all the body mountings.

PETER: It's been a big part of my life for the last 21 years, working on it,

spending thousands of hours under the bonnet, and over the last few years it's just been

too hard to do.

It's unbelievable, I missed it so much.

RICHARD: Refuses to slow down, doesn't it?

-Yeah. It wants to go away doesn't it?

-Yeah.

I don't know what to say.

I'm jealous, I'm jealous, I want that car, please come back with your car.

7.4 liters, come on, we did it again, let's go home in our one liters.

-Can we do another one? -No.

Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.