Original subtitles

NARRATOR: In this Car SOS...

FUZZ: Wow, what a little beauty!

TIM: It pulls and pulls and pulls, doesn't it?

NARRATOR: Master mechanic Fuzz Townshend...

FUZZ: Hey!

Nothing stops us on Car SOS.

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

TIM: I don't actually think it's got any rust on it.

MAN: You don't think so?

NARRATOR: ...are on another undercover mission to rescue

classic cars for deserving owners.

TIM: Oh, yes!

NARRATOR: This time a 1960s convertible

puts the frighteners on the boys.

TIM: Oh, my...

FUZZ: It's like Frankenstein's monster.

NARRATOR: It's a soft top beauty

that's had a hard-hitting life.

FUZZ: This has gone headlong into a solid object!

NARRATOR: Proper repairs are a massive gamble.

But will prayers be answered?

MAN: Oh, this is magic.

NARRATOR: To give one unsuspecting owner...

MAN: This is my car!

WOMAN: It can't be the car.

NARRATOR: ...the surprise of their lives.

MAN: Yes!

TIM: You've been CAR SOS'd.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Today's car rescue mission

sees Tim and Fuzz on England's east side.

FUZZ: We're in the heart of Essex.

TIM: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: They're here to pick up

a seductive Italian... two seater.

FUZZ: It's a 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider.

TIM: Sexy little convertible car.

FUZZ: Exactly. Great looking with that look

that Alfa Romeo try to emulate now on their modern cars.

NARRATOR: It may lurk in a dusty barn,

but this is one Spider no one need fear.

The curvy Alfa Romeo Giulia convertible

was a master stroke of sixties Italian design flair,

oozing gran tourismo elegance from every detail.

TIM: Despite the fact that it's a beautiful,

gorgeous little convertible car, one massive problem.

FUZZ: It's in the UK. TIM: Right. Which means?

FUZZ: It was made in the 1960s.

TIM: Which means? FUZZ: In Italy.

TIM: Which means?

FUZZ: Rust. TIM: Right, okay.

So, we're going to pick up the Alfa Romeo "Rustyetta."

NARRATOR: The Alfa Tim and Fuzz are heading for

belongs to Paul,

who started restoring the car back in 1974.

He was making slow but steady progress

until 15 years ago,

when a debilitating disease derailed his life

and now decades of hard work are frozen in time,

gathering dust and rust.

FUZZ: I like rust.

TIM: You like rust?

FUZZ: Yeah, I had rust for breakfast.

Oh, wait a minute, that's rusks.

TIM: That's rusks.

NARRATOR: It was Paul's son Phil who sent out the Car SOS

hoping to see his dad's project back on track.

TIM: Phil? PHIL: Yes.

TIM: Hello, mate. PHIL: Pleased to meet you two.

TIM: How you doing?

FUZZ: How's it going? PHIL: Pleased to meet you.

TIM: First things first, where's your dad?

PHIL: At home.

TIM: He's definitely not coming anywhere near here?

PHIL: Definitely not coming down here.

TIM: Second thing's most important thing...

FUZZ: Where's the car?

PHIL: Over this way.

FUZZ: Lead the way.

This is always the sort of place.

Get these doors open. Come on, Phil.

PHIL: Ready?

FUZZ: Okay. Here we go. Look at that.

TIM: Wow, look at that. That is gorgeous!

FUZZ: It's amazing. Fantastic!

TIM: That is a pretty car.

FUZZ: Nice to drive as well.

TIM: No way.

NARRATOR: This 1963 Giulia Spider

harks back to the golden days of Alfa Romeo road cars.

Renowned for exhilarating handling and peppy engines,

the Giulia Spider also boasted svelte bodywork

by the great Pininfarina.

When it launched, the motoring press salivated,

describing the little Alfa as

"probably one of the most delightful small sports cars

which will ever be produced."

With a top speed of nearly 110 miles per hour,

the Giulia was a genuine sports car.

But rampant rust has seen most dissolve away.

Now rarity and ageless appeal

mean a good one will cost well over 30,000 pounds.

TIM: Do you know what you've got here?

PHIL: Well, my dad does.

TIM: I'll tell you what.

Let's leave Fuzz to give it the once-over

and let's go have a cup of tea or coffee

and talk about your dad, yeah?

NARRATOR: It might be a shell now,

but Paul's car does bear the hallmarks

of many years' hard work.

FUZZ: Wow, what a little beauty.

NARRATOR: So, while Fuzz gives it the once-over

Tim finds out the full Giulia story.

TIM: Right, Phil, that car in that garage, how come?

I want to know the whole story.

PHIL: 40 years ago, my dad bought it

in a garage sale for a fiver.

TIM: Five pounds?

PHIL: Five pounds.

TIM: Right. Even 40 years ago, that's a steal.

So what did he get? The whole car? Engine, car?

PHIL: Everything. Yeah. The whole complete car.

NARRATOR: Well, not quite a complete car,

as Fuzz is discovering.

FUZZ: All we have is an engine.

There really is nothing else with this car.

No dash, no seats,

no interior whatsoever.

TIM: And what kind of condition was it in?

PHIL: Not good. TIM: A complete wrecker?

PHIL: Pretty much. It had been used for rallying.

FUZZ: This car is starting to worry me.

I see lots of little ripples.

There's something not quite right about it.

NARRATOR: Needing to find out

more of the story behind this Alfa,

we caught up with owner Paul at one of his favorite haunts,

a heritage railway center.

By pretending to make a video for a vintage railway DVD,

we got him talking about the model train set

he had as a boy.

PAUL: As far as the bedroom was concerned,

you couldn't get to bed.

Everything was taken over by the trains.

NARRATOR: But of course, we soon gently steered him

onto his great passion, the Alfa Romeo.

PAUL: I found it in a garage.

It was completely knackered then.

We've been building it ever since.

FUZZ: I tell you one thing, though.

It looks like Paul has actually spent

some time working on this car.

He's lavished a bit of love and attention on it.

PAUL: I moved down to Essex from Birmingham,

and we brought the car with us on a trailer.

NARRATOR: Over the decades,

Paul invested many hundreds of hours and pounds

repairing and painting the Alfa's body shell.

PAUL: It always was there in the background,

ready for the moment.

NARRATOR: But 15 years ago, Paul's life was shattered

by the onset of Parkinson's disease.

His slow but sure physical decline

meant working on the car became impossible.

That is why Paul's Alfa deserves the Car SOS treatment.

PHIL: Yeah, it's not good.

His dream to finish the car when he retired is...

he can't do it.

PAUL: I think I'm coming to the stage

where I don't know whether I'm going to

see the bloody thing finished.

PHIL: The plan was to restore it

and drive the car he'd always wanted.

NARRATOR: With working on his car now physically impossible,

Paul will soon have to face the loss of another passion.

PHIL: He's still got his driver's license,

which he's not going to have for too much longer,

so this is the last chance for it

and is one thing I've always wanted to see him do,

is drive that car.

And he's never actually driven it.

TIM: So he still loves it.

PHIL: Loves it. Absolutely loves it.

TIM: Has he come to terms with the fact, do you think,

that he's never gonna get that car on the road?

PHIL: Yeah, I think so.

TIM: What do you think it would mean to your dad

to get that car on the road?

PHIL: Everything. Absolutely everything.

It really would.

TIM: Right.

PHIL: Everything.

TIM: All right.

I understand the importance of that car.

I totally do.

Will you leave it with us?

PHIL: Thank you.

TIM: That car is gonna be sweet,

and your dad is going to drive it before his license goes.

That's the plan, and that's what's gonna happen, all right?

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

Right, Fuzz, come on, then, what's the plan? What's it like?

FUZZ: I'll tell you what.

There's more than meets the eye with this car,

but I think we should load it on the trailer,

get it back to the workshop, and give it a proper look at.

TIM: All right, here we go.

FUZZ: Here we go. Okay, use that momentum.

Come on, men.

TIM: Look at that. Gorgeous piece of glass.

FUZZ: I like his stumpy little bobtail.

TIM: That's what your wife likes about you, isn't it?

So where does your dad think the car is going?

PHIL: He thinks all this is being dug up

and he can't get in here.

TIM: Okay. So if he does happen to come down

and see that it's not being dug up?

PHIL: I've got a backup plan.

TIM: Right. What's that?

PHIL: He thinks that the car might be around my house.

TIM: Okay.

NARRATOR: Well, whether it's plan A or B,

the boys don't have long to work on the car--

just three weeks to transform it back to its former glory.

TIM: Fuzz.

FUZZ: Yup?

TIM: Yes. Yes, mate.

FUZZ: Good-looking car.

TIM: That is a pretty little car.

FUZZ: Yeah, they are... really pretty little cars.

TIM: And I'll tell you what.

There is a lot of work to do, too,

but it doesn't bother me in the least.

If ever there was a story

where somebody needs the car doing up,

Paul needs that car putting back on the road.

The clock is ticking.

Every day we have that car is one less day he can drive it

because his license is being stripped from him in a year.

FUZZ: Yeah, but I mean, you know, this could be--

TIM: We can straighten it, we can jig it.

Don't get on the down about it, Fuzz.

Let's get it back to the workshop

and let's just have a look at it, all right?

NARRATOR: Back at the workshop,

it's that time when the boys found out

exactly what they've got themselves into.

FUZZ: This car might look very shiny on the top,

but I tell you what,

it's hiding a multitude of sins underneath there.

I'm gonna get it up and have a good look.

TIM: The thing about this car

is all the wheels being wobbly and what have you

gives you this sense the car is, wooo, twisted.

But is it the shell or is it the chassis or is it both?

NARRATOR: Remember, Paul bought the car

back in the early seventies,

with it having been raced in hill climbs and rallies.

FUZZ: It's like a toy car.

It doesn't have any of its correct lines.

NARRATOR: The chances of its whole body

having been badly bent in a shunt are very high.

TIM: I feel like I'm living in a warped world.

FUZZ: You are living in a warped world.

TIM: Feels like it's been in the sun

as a piece of chocolate on a really hot day.

I want to make a claim, Fuzz.

FUZZ: What's that?

TIM: This car is a write-off.

FUZZ: I think, yeah, it's had an accident

or it's had some poor repairs.

Let's take a measurement

from the bottom of this steering swivel here.

NARRATOR: By finding out how the car measures up,

the boys will soon know

if this Alfa's the peach they hoped for

or a lemon with a twist.

The amount of work it is going to take to repair

this 51-year-old Alfa Romeo

is balancing on a knife edge,

or in this case, a tape measure.

FUZZ: So, it's 193 centimeters, same thing on that side.

NARRATOR: If the diagonal measurements don't match,

it could mean the car's already bashed and beaten body

is also twisted,

and that could be a time consuming

and expensive nightmare to put right.

FUZZ: That's 193. That's exactly the same.

TIM: Okay, so the lengths, cross wheels are right,

but we need to measure

straight down the line and across as well.

FUZZ: Okay.

NARRATOR: And no matter which way the boys try it,

the dimensions all match up.

What a relief.

FUZZ: It's about the same,

you know about two millimeters difference.

You know what?

I don't think this car is that twisted.

I think it's just had some terrible repairs.

NARRATOR: The car's subframe might be square

but it's the rest of the body that's now bothering Tim.

TIM: Look at this here.

It's got like a centimeter of filler or something.

FUZZ: Yeah, but I think that's what it is.

I think it's just filler.

TIM: I know this thing measures up okay

but this car doesn't feel right.

But I suggest this car goes into a vat of acid,

we dip it to remove every single bit of filler,

every single bit of whatever

and we get back what we get back,

and that's our starting point.

FUZZ: If we dip it, though, we might get nothing back.

Like you say, it's a patchwork, it's a real gamble.

NARRATOR: So, whether or not to dip and strip the car

is a tough call.

TIM: We can see here, a terrible repair panel.

NARRATOR: Either way, what's certain is the body shell needs

completely stripping of all mechanicals

before the decision can be made.

TIM: The other things we need to look at

are obviously interior.

FUZZ: Yup.

TIM: What else do we need to look--the engine, hello.

FUZZ: Now those engines can be problematic,

especially if they've been filled with the wrong coolant.

TIM: Right.

FUZZ: Because they're all aluminium,

and there's all kinds of things going wrong.

NARRATOR: So, making sure the engine is reliable and powerful

joins the bodywork on the to-do list.

With the Alfa only having been half rebuilt by Paul,

getting it back to a bare body shell is quick work.

So the doors...

FUZZ: Watch your little tootsies.

NARRATOR: ...the running gear...

FUZZ: Still got it. I don't want it slipping down.

NARRATOR: ...and of course the engine and gear box

are unbolted, ready for an in-depth appraisal.

FUZZ: It's been a very long time since this engine was last used.

NARRATOR: Now Fuzz can set about

delving into the engine's innards...

FUZZ: Oh, bloody hell, that was heavy.

NARRATOR: ...to see what repairs it might need.

TIM: Fuzz is in the workshop working on the engine,

and I've got what's left of the car, the shell,

on the back of the car here.

I'm taking it to see a friend of mine called Tim

to actually get the car stripped.

I'm just hoping it's not going to come back

either a bag of rust or just a piece of Swiss cheese.

Right, Tim, come and have a look at this one.

A walk in the park for you, this is.

NARRATOR: Fuzz was clear

he's not keen on stripping the car.

It could uncover a myriad of holes and bad repairs,

but Tim is convinced it's worth the risk

and will save them time.

What does a professional think?

STRIPPER TIM: Okay, what have you got for me?

TIM: It's an Alfa Romeo, it's a Giulia.

One careful owner from new,

and it's in the gorgeous color of white.

Oh, yeah!

STRIPPER TIM: Looks beautiful from here.

TIM: I don't actually think it's got any rust on it.

STRIPPER TIM: Mm-hmm.

You don't think so?

TIM: No, I think not.

STRIPPER TIM: Okay. Well, the process is quite...

revealing.

TIM: Should we go and get a cup of tea?

STRIPPER TIM: You go and have a cup of tea.

I'll have a good look around it.

TIM: You definitely want to have a look around it?

STRIPPER TIM: Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

NARRATOR: With 25 years in the biz,

stripper Tim knows not to be fooled by looks alone.

TIM: Is that a magnet you've got there?

STRIPPER TIM: It is, yeah.

Doesn't stick to this car very well.

TIM: Yup.

STRIPPER TIM: It's dropping off everywhere.

TIM: There's not much filler on it really, is there?

(laughs)

I wouldn't check inside the boot.

Boot's fine. It's all good.

Leave the boot out.

STRIPPER TIM: No, looks, uh...

Looks like it's hiding something in there.

TIM: Yeah. No.

STRIPPER TIM: Dead body, probably.

TIM: Yeah, it could be hiding your body

if you don't take this car on.

NARRATOR: Never one for death threats,

Fuzz only needs gentle persuasion

to lift the lid on the top half of the Alfa lump.

FUZZ: Loads of different sizes of nuts and bolts

have been used all over the place here.

This has had a bit of a backstreet engineering.

Look at this horrible stuff, silicone rubber,

gets all down the oil galleries and gums everything up.

Cam cover...

removed.

There are some nasties.

This cam chain is a little bit loose,

so what's happened is it's worn against the cam cover,

so I bet when this engine was running,

it was making one heck of a racket.

STRIPPER TIM: Oh, crikey me.

TIM: Oh, no.

STRIPPER TIM: What have we here? The chassis...

patchwork quilt, I'm afraid.

NARRATOR: At the stripper's,

the assessment of the big white can of worms is over.

STRIPPER TIM: I'll come and have a chat with you about this.

TIM: What are you thinking? What's the headline?

STRIPPER TIM: If we go ahead with it,

you're going to have something

that resembles a car still, of course,

but you're going to have

all that revealed bodywork and panelwork.

Be better just taking away as it is and working on it.

TIM: What I do know is dipping a car is what

anyone who's doing a car up properly should do,

particularly with a car in that state.

STRIPPER TIM: I can't make that decision for you.

We don't know what's under there 100 percent, do we?

NARRATOR: It's decision time for Tim.

Does he strip or scarper?

TIM: Do you know what, I've made my mind up.

Let's just get in and get it done.

I'll deal with the flak.

STRIPPER TIM: Brilliant. Let's go for it.

TIM: All right, let's do it.

NARRATOR: Now that he's taken the plunge,

all Tim can do is worry.

(exhales)

TIM: Why do I get the feeling

this is the last time I'm going to see this car?

She's gone already.

NARRATOR: Blissfully unaware of the stripping stress,

Fuzz has gained access

to the engine's hard-working inner chambers, its cylinders.

FUZZ: Ah, blimey.

That was an awkward one.

This engine is a wet liner engine,

which means that these cylinder liners

sit inside the water jacket

and the coolant flows all the way around the cylinders.

Now, these cylinder liners need to stand slightly proud

of the top of the cylinder block here.

If they don't, that means that the seals

that they sit on at the bottom could have compressed,

which means these liners will have pulled down,

and what could happen then is we get mixing of oil and water.

It's like a head gasket failure basically.

The engine would not be serviceable.

So that's just ever so slightly above the level of the block,

but it's not as much as I'd like.

I think that these liners

may have actually pulled down a little bit.

They may not be standing proud enough.

And if that's the case, we're in trouble.

I think we're going to send this engine away

to a specialist,

somebody who works on these engines day in, day out

because I'm just not too sure about this one.

NARRATOR: An Alfa specialist equipped with bespoke tools

is the best bet to get that engine up and running.

Back at the stripper's, the car's shell has been baked

to a crisp 570 degrees Fahrenheit

and is now enjoying a relaxing chemical bath.

So, to take his mind off what horrors that may reveal

and eager to taste life as an Alfa male,

Tim has hit the road with Rod Smith...

...a man who's owned his Giulia Spider for 40 years.

ROD: Yeah, yeah.

TIM: Tell me the truth.

Did you buy this car

because you knew it would be a babe magnet?

ROD: No, actually I bought it six months before I got married.

I just fell in love with the shape.

TIM: Does your missus love it?

ROD: I'm divorced now.

(laughter)

TIM: Is that because of this?

ROD: Partially.

(laughter)

TIM: Now, how hard do you drive it?

ROD: I've raced it in France,

hill climbed it in the Isle of Mann,

and driven it to Milan.

TIM: No way.

ROD: So, it's a sound bit of kit.

TIM: This is my first time driving an Alfa.

It is a lovely drive, isn't it?

ROD: They're beautiful.

TIM: It pulls and pulls and pulls, doesn't it?

ROD: On the largest size as well.

You see, she's got twin 40s on.

TIM: It drives like a peach.

ROD: Yeah.

I've got a powerful E-Type, I actually prefer this.

TIM: I've driven MGAs.

I've driven, you know, all those cars.

You can drive this car like a modern car.

I'm not giving any consideration

to the gear box or the clutch at all.

It's absolutely rock solid.

What a cool car!

NARRATOR: It's all very well enjoying

an almost pristine Giulia,

but Tim is about to get a reality check.

(exhales)

TIM: This is it, Fuzz. D-Day.

NARRATOR: The car is back

from the brutal paint and filler stripping process.

FUZZ: Trailer's a good sign. TIM: Trailer's a good sign.

NARRATOR: It leaves nothing but a bare steel shell and...

a big, tall bag of nerves.

TIM: Please, it worked being dipped.

Oh, my...

Patchwork.

FUZZ: There is not a single original straight panel on that.

It's like Frankenstein's monster.

It's not an Alfa Romeo.

It's bits of bean tins. It's an old tea tray.

There's no way that that car can be done in double the time.

That is your problem.

NARRATOR: With Fuzz too traumatized to face facts,

it's left to Tim to try and look on the bright side.

TIM: I'll tell you what, yeah, it is like a patchwork quilt,

but if you look at the chassis itself,

that looks pretty straight.

Hang on a minute.

Oh, my gosh.

Look at the gear box tunnel there, the bulkhead.

(squish)

TIM: It's had a heavy impact. STRIPPER TIM: Hell of a squash.

Let's just get it in now. I'm not gonna show Fuzz.

That will just destroy him.

FUZZ: So, I've thrown a bit of a hissy fit there.

I'm going to have to apologize to Tim.

But that car's in such a bad state,

and who's it that is going to have to do all the work on it?

It's going to be muggins here, isn't it?

But you know what?

I'm just going to have to knuckle down.

Get on with it, Fuzz.

TIM: You know what?

I've crossed the line this time. I've crossed the line.

NARRATOR: With the workshop a little tense for his tastes,

Tim's decided to try and make

the body stripping fiasco up to Fuzz

with the only way he knows how: by going shopping.

TIM: I'm on my way now to an Alfa place,

and apparently they are one

of the most well-stocked parts suppliers in the UK.

And I've got a list of parts,

and I'm hoping I can get the wings

and the front panel and the whole list of parts

to take some of the pain away

and kind of get me off the hook a little bit.

Fingers crossed they've got what we need, eh?

NARRATOR: This little company in Leicester

is one of the best known Alfa Giulia parts places

in the UK

and Tim's best bet

if he's going to rescue the stricken Spider.

TIM: Hello?

Operto, does that mean open?

TONY: Good morning.

Hi, I'm Tim.

I rang up, actually, a couple of days ago

about some parts for a Giulia 1963.

TONY: Oh, that's right, yeah, a Spider.

TIM: Yes. That's right.

I've written-- It's a right-hand drive.

I've written a long list of parts I need.

I'm hoping...actually, I won't bore you with it,

but I've hired a massive van,

and I've got a lot of lads out there in the car park,

ready to help me out.

Right, so front wings,

can I grab a pair of front wings?

TONY: No, I'm afraid.

I can get them to order, but I don't stock them.

It's about six or eight weeks delivery for those.

TIM: Okay, well, can I grab front panel?

TONY: It's the same with those, I'm afraid,

comes from the same factory.

Those are parts everybody else wants.

TIM: Bumpers, I need the chrome ones.

TONY: I can get some chrome ones in about three to four weeks.

TIM: Boot lid?

TONY: No. They all rot through. All the good ones are gone.

TIM: Speedo?

TONY: You can find them on the Internet sometimes in America,

but in Europe they're all in kph.

TIM: Steering column, Tony?

TONY: No.

TIM: Dashboard?

TONY: No. 'Cause it's right-hand drive again, you see?

TIM: Oh, my gosh, Tony, Tony, I've hired a van.

NARRATOR: With only more bad news

for his already unhappy mechanic,

Tim may well want to take the long way

back to the workshop.

FUZZ: Look at that! TIM: Wow!

NARRATOR: In the Car SOS garage

is a 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider.

It's been owner Paul's project car

ever since he bought it as a wreck 40 years ago.

TIM: So, he still loves it.

PHIL: Loves it. Absolutely loves it.

NARRATOR: The debilitating symptoms

of Parkinson's disease

has ruined Paul's plans to get his car on the road.

TIM: Every day we have that car is one less day he can drive it.

NARRATOR: The boys went the full monty

with the engine going off for a rebuild,

the body getting a full dip and strip.

FUZZ: It's like Frankenstein's monster.

NARRATOR: A horrific patchwork quilt

of stitched-up steel panel repairs

has been brutally revealed.

Since then, the workshop have been taking cover,

as Fuzz has now had a good look at the Alfa's shell,

and the more he sees, the less he likes.

FUZZ: Unbelievable.

Bits like this bodged together.

This car is a pile of scrap.

The piece de resistance is this front end.

This has had one almighty wallop.

There's a crease around the tunnel here,

which would indicate that this has gone headlong

into a solid object.

NARRATOR: Just as Fuzz's fury reaches critical levels,

Paul's son Phil has dropped by for an update on progress.

TIM: Phil! Hello, mate.

How you doing? All right, listen.

Just before we go in there, I want to explain Fuzz's mood.

He is in a real foul mood, and it's about the Alfa.

PHIL: Doesn't sound good.

TIM: No, it's not good. Fuzz?

FUZZ: Yeah?

TIM: All right, dude. I got Phil here.

He's come to take a look at the Alfa.

He's had a nightmare journey on the M40.

FUZZ: Nightmare journey, eh? I tell you what.

Let me tell you what a nightmare journey--

Come and look at this car.

I mean, there's hardly any straight panels on it.

That's a makeup. Makeup--

TIM: But doesn't it-- Just hang on two secs.

Doesn't it look great, Phil, like, really great?

Doesn't it look like the work that's been done has been--

PHIL: There's a lot of work gone into it.

FUZZ: I tell you what,

it's not only work that's gone into it.

I think a tree's gone into it, an ocean liner has gone into it.

TIM: You know what, though, Phil?

Two secs.

That is your dad's car, that's Paul's car, right?

PHIL: Yeah.

TIM: How's it look?

PHIL: It looks good. It looks a lot better

than I thought it was gonna look, if I'm honest.

I can now picture it being a finished car.

FUZZ: I can picture me being a finished mechanic.

TIM: Okay. He's got a smile on his face

for the first time today, which is good news.

But it's going to be amazing when it's done.

PHIL: Totally amazing.

TIM: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Emotions are running high,

but for Phil, it's personal.

After all, this is a car his dad has slaved over

ever since he can remember.

PHIL: My dad's reaction,

I'm going to have to stand behind him

because he's probably going to fall over.

He's not going to know what's hit him when he sees it.

It's been like that for 40 years.

He's never driven it.

The engine's never started,

so to see it finished and to be able to drive it

is going to, is going to mean so much to him.

TIM: Is that the Alfa place? I've got a 1963 Giulia Spider...

NARRATOR: With getting the car back to Paul

and keeping Fuzz calm now the priorities,

Tim has gone into parts blagging overdrive.

TIM: Okay. It was a lot of repair panels.

NARRATOR: Every arm is being twisted.

TIM: One of those, please. Yes.

NARRATOR: And every favor called in to get hold of

those rare Giulia repair panels and parts...

TIM: Where are we going?

...that will help out the workshop.

NARRATOR: Despite Tim's best efforts,

many panels have been impossible to find

and had to be fabricated by hand.

FUZZ: Might not be very pretty, but it's going to do the job.

NARRATOR: But there's relief

when a replacement front section is delivered.

FUZZ: Now, that's it.

With this, we've got some chance of getting that to align up.

NARRATOR: With a steady trickle of repair panels now coming in,

Fuzz and his team are making real progress,

with the Alfa shell starting to look like

a more solid object altogether.

With the body soaking up all of Fuzz's effort,

it's just as well the Alfa's engine

is at a specialist in Hertfordshire

for its rebuild.

Tim's popped by to check on progress.

TIM: Hello, mate. How you doing?

I've come to say a massive huge apology.

It's an apology for the fact that you've, I believe,

taken delivery of our Alfa Giulia engine 1963 bag of nails,

which was taken to pieces by Fuzz,

and he didn't quite know what to do with it.

MAN: We've got your engine--

TIM: Well, I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry about the state of it.

MAN: Honestly, we can deal with it without any problem at all.

TIM: Really?

MAN: It's all we do, is Alfas.

TIM: Well, I've come to help out,

so can we have a look at it?

MAN: Of course we can. TIM: I love this guy.

MAN: Here's your engine.

TIM: Oh, yes, it is. I recognize that little bad boy.

Well, it's a wet liner engine, kind of corroded.

You've taken three of the liners out already.

Where are the other three?

MAN: The other three are over here.

TIM: Let's have a look at those. How bad are they?

MAN: There's a lot of corrosion at the top of the liner there...

TIM: Yeah.

MAN: ...which we don't think will come out.

TIM: Now, to Fuzz, if I'm honest,

Fuzz would see those,

he hasn't got a clue about what they are,

or any of these things in here or even that.

He would think that was a cup of coffee.

FUZZ: I thought he was a proper mechanic.

You thought Fuzz Townshend was a mechanic?

MAN: Yeah.

TIM: He's a florist.

MAN: I thought he was a really good mechanic.

TIM: No, he's got those big pieces--

He deals in those pieces of green, sort of spongy stuff

you put flowers into and stuff.

MAN: You're taking the mickey.

TIM: No, no. That's what he does.

NARRATOR: Whereas Tim, of course,

knows all about Alfa engines.

TIM: I like your homemade tool for pulling out liners.

That's great.

MAN: That's the Alfa Romeo factory tool.

TIM: Is it really?

MAN: Yes.

TIM: Look at the state of it.

MAN: It's been around a couple of years.

TIM: So, tell me something about this engine,

which would be considered massive anorak stylie.

MAN: One of the things they did with this engine

to improve reliability

is they deducted cold water out of these

on to the exhaust valves.

TIM: Just as the liner's removed.

Look at that one.

Now, I'd guess that there would be a rubber seal around

the inside of that there which seals it against the block.

Oh, it's perished pretty much.

MAN: That's correct.

TIM: Are they good little engines?

MAN: Very good little engines.

TIM: Right. MAN: Very well developed.

Basically developed from Alfa Romeo's

Formula 1 technology of the forties and fifties.

TIM: Right.

NARRATOR: Now the engine is stripped down,

it's ready for reconditioning.

The car's cylinder head is precision skinned.

MAN: Each time we take out

probably a thousandth of an inch...

(machine whirring)

...to make the heads perfectly flat

so the gasket seals properly.

NARRATOR: And the valves are carefully refaced

to improve efficiency.

MAN: So, we've made it near perfectly smooth,

so seals nicely against the cylinder head.

NARRATOR: And that corroded engine block is steam cleaned

and made ready for a new set of cylinder liners.

It's a simple but slow process

of tamping them down into the block.

MAN: The very tool I need.

It's the tool for holding the liners down

when you turn the engine over.

TIM: This is the cam rod. What?

MAN: Straight in.

You seem to be quite adept at doing it.

TIM: That was just beginner's luck.

NARRATOR: With the crankshaft slotted in

and the end caps on,

the engine is well on its way to completion.

TIM: On goes the sump.

Job done, nice one. Thanks very much.

NARRATOR: After a stuttering start for the Alfa,

at last some momentum is building.

The body has been expertly sculpted

back into that beautiful Pininfarina shape,

all ready to be sealed inside

a fresh coat of alabaster white paint.

While that paint dries,

it's a chance for the boys to enjoy some fresh air.

The Brera Spider is one of Alfa Romeo's

most recent convertibles.

FUZZ: The sun is out. The sky is blue.

We're here on the Italian Riviera.

TIM: Yes. What? No, we're not.

It's winter. It's freezing.

That's why you've got your tea cozy on.

♪ ♪

FUZZ: This is currently

the last in a long line of Alfa Spiders.

They're built for drivers.

They're built for car enthusiasts, aren't they?

I mean, look, the attention to detail on the interior...

TIM: Yeah, it's got a horn.

It's got hazards, it's got a start-stop button.

If you press stop, does it do anything at speed?

FUZZ: Get off. I'll tell you what,

have you got a stop button?

TIM: No. Hand brake?

FUZZ: Wish you bleeding well had.

TIM: Is it tight to drive, though?

Is it a good drive?

FUZZ: Yeah. Yeah, it is. It actually feels pretty good.

A taut little car. You know what, though?

It's quite a long way off the ground,

so it's not as sporty as the early Alfas.

It's not really built around a Grand Prix car

or anything like that.

It's not like a race car.

NARRATOR: That raw sports feel Fuzz is missing

harks back to when Alfa was at the top of its racing game,

its cars driven by some of the greatest names

in Grand Prix,

from Enzo Ferrari in the 1920s,

Nuvolari in the thirties,

and Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s.

FUZZ: Bit modern for me. Give me the old one.

TIM: I'll have this one, you'll have that one.

FUZZ: Okay. Really? TIM: Yup, yup.

Now, could we go back to the workshop?

'Cause it's freezing here.

NARRATOR: That race-bred engineering know-how

was still filtering through when the Giulia was designed.

And now Fuzz is getting an up close look

at some of that Italian ingenuity.

FUZZ: So, that is the rear axle positively mounted.

Now, where are all the brake components?

I've never seen a triple leading shoe setup before.

So that goes like that.

Give me a little bit of slack.

All right. Push back a bit. There we go.

Ooh, they are a bit of a devil, Phil.

I thought it was tricky before. It's even worse now.

Up a bit, up a bit.

Ooh, you beast. Got it on. That's that in place.

Each of these three wheel cylinders

has hydraulic fluid going to it,

so when you put your foot on the pedal,

the cylinders push the brake shoes out against the drum

and that gives you the braking effort.

In the technology stakes, this is like Betamax to VHS.

It was either these triple shoes or it was disc brakes,

and disc brakes won.

Up we go.

These Italian cars are really quite nicely put together.

I've got a bit of a newfound love for them.

PHIL: Just-a like-a mamma used to make.

NARRATOR: Fuzz may be putting the brakes on,

but the car is actually only days away from being ready,

so Tim needs to get going

and sort out how to give the Alfa back to its owner Paul

in a way that he'll never expect.

PHIL: Hello.

TIM: Phil, hello, mate. It's Tim.

PHIL: Oh, hi, Tim.

TIM: So, your brother's over from the US,

he's looking around different churches

to get a christening done.

PHIL: Yeah.

TIM: Right, check this out.

What about if I was white collared up,

I am the vicar, and then leave the rest to me.

PHIL: You will go to hell for it,

but, yes, sounds like a good plan.

TIM: I'm going to hell anyway.

PHIL: I'm looking forward to it.

TIM: See you later. Cheers, dude. Bye!

NARRATOR: The chapel at Layer Marney Tower in Essex

is the perfect place to reunite Paul with his Alfa,

so the family, Car SOS,

and the newly ordained Father Shaw are all booked in.

TIM: What have I got myself into this time?

Me as a vicar? You're having a laugh?

NARRATOR: And perhaps more worrying

than the thought of Tim dressed as a vicar

is that Phil's brother is only in the UK

with his unbaptized baby for a few more days,

so the pressure is on to get the car finished.

There's a full wiring loom still to weave in

that comes with its own built-in obstruction--

a language barrier.

FUZZ: So rosa is pink.

You're getting your exercise in today, Phil.

NARRATOR: The engine is back

from the specialist fully rebuilt.

FUZZ: Lower.

Easy now.

That's got her.

The eagle has landed.

These are just nicely designed, high revving,

lightweight,

classic Italian engines, twin-cam.

It even looks good.

Open the bonnet up, you've got a treat to look at.

NARRATOR: Now, after a few hours

of careful threading and fettling,

the engine is almost ready to fire up

for the first time in 40 years.

FUZZ: Let's see if we've got any action here.

Right. Hands free.

(engine cranks)

(engine cranks)

(engine revving)

Yes! Sweet as a nut.

(engine revving)

NARRATOR: With the revs building,

the final fit can begin.

Windscreen, door handles, and boot lid

all snap snuggly into place.

TIM: Oh, yeah. Do yours.

FUZZ: Sounds good.

TIM: Mine sounds almost as good as yours.

FUZZ: I tell you what, this is a great place to be.

This car has not been on the road since the early seventies.

TIM: Stunning.

FUZZ: Imagine that.

TIM: Yeah, but do you know what, Fuzz?

It keeps playing on my mind because Paul,

he's got a year maximum left of having his license

before he has to give it back.

FUZZ: And enjoying this beautiful car.

TIM: But if there was one car to choose,

if you had one year left of driving,

wouldn't it be this one?

FUZZ: You know what? We've got to make sure

that he doesn't have any more time away from it.

He's got to get on the road with it straightaway.

TIM: Yeah. So two more seconds to appreciate it,

then we need to hit the ground running, Fuzz.

This car has to be working perfectly,

'cause every second counts.

FUZZ: Okay, that was the two seconds just gone.

Let's go.

TIM: All right, then.

Look at that.

How proud of this number plate is this car?

Fiddly, fiddly. It's in.

NARRATOR: With just a trip to the trimmers

to fit the new soft top remaining,

in the nick of time

this Italian beauty is back to her best,

ready for the road home.

Deep in the heart of rural Essex,

Layer Marney Tower sits regal and resplendent.

Built during the reign of Henry VIII

nearly 500 years ago,

the tower is now a prime venue for weddings and christenings.

But the only religious ceremony here today

will be the renewing of vows

between a cherished car and its deserving owner.

TIM: Fuzz? FUZZ: Yeah.

TIM: You ready? FUZZ: I'm ready.

TIM: We're ready.

FUZZ: Bring him in.

TIM: Right, you're ready for this?

PHIL: Yup.

NARRATOR: Phil has dreamed of seeing his dad

drive his cherished Alfa all his life,

and it's him who gets a first look

at the reborn Giulia.

TIM: Three long weeks of hard work.

What did it look like the last time you saw it?

PHIL: Not good.

TIM: Okay.

PHIL: Oh, my God!

(laughs)

FUZZ: There you go, a car you've known all of your life.

TIM: It's your dad's car.

PHIL: Jesus.

FUZZ: You got there.

Last time you saw it, it didn't look like that, did it?

PHIL: It's unbelievable, mate.

TIM: It's your dad's car, mate.

NARRATOR: The clouds may have rolled in,

but nothing will put the dampers on a day

that Phil's been dreaming about.

PHIL: It's perfect. It's unbelievable.

I...I never could have pictured it.

TIM: Right, now let's talk about how we give it back.

So, your dad is coming with your brother and family,

but what they don't know

is the vicar they're going to meet is...Hello!

FUZZ: The Reverend Tim Shaw.

TIM: Yes, it is. The man of the cloth.

♪Kumbaya, my Lord ♪

It's me.

NARRATOR: While Tim morphs from hooded parts blagger

into a man of the cloth,

Fuzz and Phil park Paul's Alfa in its stable hideaway.

FUZZ: There we go. I reckon about there.

Looks good in here.

PHIL: Beautiful.

TIM: Karen? Hello.

NARRATOR: Layer Marney's resident

wedding coordinator Karen has been drafted in to help.

TIM: How are you? KAREN: Very well, thank you.

TIM: How do I look? Do I look good?

KAREN: Yeah. Absolutely amazing.

TIM: Look, center parting, dog collar thing.

Uh, that's it. How's that?

Are you ready? I'm nervous. I hate this bit.

NARRATOR: The family are on their way down the drive.

Tim's plan is nothing if not elaborate

and even involves tea with the vicar.

TIM: You're going to be in the tea shop.

Serve me a piece of cake.

KAREN: Okay.

TIM: Leave the rest to Father Shaw.

KAREN: Right. Okay. TIM: My child. God bless you.

KAREN: Thank you.

TIM: I absolve you of your sins.

Whoa, there's a lot of sins in there.

Don't want to talk about them.

KAREN: No.

TIM: All right, where are they?

NARRATOR: The time has come,

and saintly Karen snaps into action,

along with our cameraman,

who is posing as a photographer

touting for work at christenings.

PHOTOGRAPHER: I just have to be here,

just to see the routines

and what everyone sort of does in the build-up to events.

MAN: This is granddad.

NARRATOR: Of course, a rather frail Paul

has no idea he's being filmed the whole time.

(indistinct chitchat)

FUZZ: Right. Okay. Blimey.

Okay, this is it.

KAREN: So, if we come through into the, uh, tea room.

Why don't you take a seat,

and I'll get some teas and coffees for you all.

MAN: Oh, lovely.

MAN: How you feeling, Phil?

PHIL: Really nervous.

KAREN: Well, I've got the diary,

which is one of the important things,

so we can have a chat

about availability and things, can't we?

FUZZ: I'll tell you what,

this is the weirdest visit I've ever had

to a stately home.

♪ ♪

Here he comes. The trendy vicar's on his way.

KAREN: This is perfect timing because this is the vicar

that may well conduct the ceremony.

MAN: Oh, good morning. TIM: Hi. Good morning.

Oh, look. A little boy. Lovely to meet you.

MAN: This is Luka. TIM: Hi.

MAN: You can say hi?

TIM: I'm Theo. Nice to meet you. How are you doing?

Hello, little man. Hello.

Are we going to be christening you?

NARRATOR: Now it's a simple case of persuading Paul

that a visit to the stable makes perfect sense.

TIM: One of the cool places that young people these days

are getting christenings done is actually...

We have a couple of barns here

with a manger, with sheep, lambs, and all that...

MAN: Oh, perfect.

TIM: It's beautiful.

The whole family happy with that?

MAN: Yeah.

PAUL: I'd go for the top of the tower.

TIM: Oh, the top of the tower?

(laughter)

Come on, then.

CAMERAMAN: Take your positions.

FUZZ: Right? PHIL: Okay.

TIM: There's a barn over here.

MAN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: With a push from the rest of the family,

Tim heads Paul to the stable,

where the surprise of his life awaits.

The last time he saw his beloved Alfa, it was a wreck,

a lifetime project he never thought he would see finished.

TIM: So, it's like confession,

which is that this is not a christening.

I'm not a vicar, either.

That is, in fact, your car.

NARRATOR: The moment has left him shell-shocked.

TIM: And we've been working to put your car back on the road

because he was so desperate for you to drive it.

Do you believe that's your car?

PAUL: No, because I've never had it in that state.

(laughter)

Brilliant.

Absolutely.

NARRATOR: For Paul, a closer look and a sit-down

in his cherished Alfa can't come soon enough.

After all, it's been a long wait.

PHIL: You pleased with it, then?

PAUL: Yeah.

Press the button.

PHIL: All right.

PAUL: The last time I did any work on the car

was to take that out.

PHIL: Take the glove box out? PAUL: Yeah.

TIM: The glove box was the tip of the iceberg,

if you don't mind me saying.

NARRATOR: Indeed it may now be

a vision of ice-cold perfection,

but restoring this Alfa

nearly had a few cracking under pressure.

The original bodywork was the definitive dog's dinner,

having been batted to oblivion by a risk-taking racer.

Stripped, repaired, and repainted,

those classic Pininfarina lines

are good enough to lick once again.

The pedigree all-alloy twin-cam engine

had been laid up too long and gone lame.

Now fully rebuilt by a specialist,

every horsepower is raring to go.

And the interior, well,

it was nothing more than a side order

of unappetizing leftovers,

but a gourmet selection

of shining chrome clocks and leather

means this gleaming vision in white is as delicious now

as it was fresh from the factory

in Milan in 1963.

PAUL: I cannot believe it.

I'm, I'm stuck for words.

TIM: Gorgeous car, isn't it?

Phil and your boys just wanted to say thank you to you

for being the best dad they could ever wish for.

PAUL: Thank you, Phil.

PHIL: Anything for you. Anything.

TIM: They said sometimes you are kind of stubborn

and kind of hard to tell that stuff to, so they thought--

PAUL: I'm more than stubborn.

(laughter)

TIM: Have they done all right?

PAUL: They couldn't have done any better.

TIM: Paul, you have been officially Car SOS'd.

This is your car.

PAUL: Thank you.

(engine humming, revving)

♪ ♪

PHIL: How's it feel?

PAUL: Remarkable.

PHIL: Yeah?

PAUL: I've been waiting for this moment for so long,

and it's, it's all come about.

PHIL: I never thought I'd see you

sat in the driving seat and driving it.

PAUL: No.

It's fantastic.

It's changed my whole outlook.

It's gotta be one of the best surprises I've ever had.

This is perfect. Absolutely perfect.

♪ ♪

Captioned by Side Door Media Services