Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Today on Car SOS ...

We're not burgling the place...

NARRATOR: Master mechanic Fuzz Townshend...

FUZZ: If I mess this up,

it's just gonna cause a disaster.

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.

That is stunning! Well, what's left of it.

NARRATOR: This time the boys take on a '50s French classic.

J'adore la voiture.

NARRATOR: But what was once a ground-breaking motor...

They must have been space-age to people then.

NARRATOR: Turns out to be a pile of rusty parts.

It's absolutely everywhere.

NARRATOR: Tim tries out his big bang theory.

-(laughing) -No!

NARRATOR: And it all goes wrong for Fuzz.

-(cheering) -See ya.

Why didn't you shut your mouth?

NARRATOR: As once again, they attempt to give

one unsuspecting owner...

God, this is magic!

NARRATOR: The surprise of their life.

Pete, you've been set up.

Can't be the car.

-This is your car! -Yes!

You've been Car SOS'd.

NARRATOR: Tim and Fuzz are heading to the South Coast

and Eastbourne, although Tim appears to have

overshot and ended up in France.

(with French accent) Today is a very big day

for the Car SOS.

There you go.

Because this is the day that we pick up

our very first French car.

Oui, c'est vrai.

And it is a Citroen Traction Avant.

Bien Sur.

One of the most iconic French cars

of the pre and post-war years.

Superb!

Ground-breaking in its time.

One of the first ever front wheel drive production cars.

OK, let's break some ground and get there, en eva!

NARRATOR: Yes it may look old fashioned in the 21st Century

but when the Traction Avant,

which is French for front wheel drive,

first rolled off the production line

back in 1934, it bristled

with state-of-the-art technology.

It was enormously successful and over the years

Citroen produced over three quarters

of a million of them right up to 1957.

Of course, the one the boys are here to see is not quite

as ground-breaking as it used to be,

in fact, it's in a downright sorry state.

It belongs to retired watchmaker

and former charity fund raiser Andrew,

and it's been his long-term passion

for the last seven years.

But when ill health started to take its toll, the progress

on his beloved Citroen slowed to a grinding halt.

-Here on the right. -That's it? Brilliant.

-Come on, man. -Ah! Smell the sea air.

NARRATOR: It was Andrew's son Shaun

and daughter-in-law Arena

who made the emergency call,

hoping that Tim and Fuzz could fast-track

the Traction Avant and give his dad a real boost.

This is your dad's house, right?

-It is. -Where is he?

My mother's taken him to hospital for a blood test.

A blood test. Done.

He could be back any second.

Then my mother's taking him to my sister's to wait

for the plumber while my sister's at work.

Right, okay, that's elaborate. It's good.

The car's here at his house?

-It is indeed. -Can we see it?

-Yeah, yeah. -En Eva.

-Okay. -Check my French out.

-Oh, this is the bit I love. -Oh, yes!

That is stunning.

-Wow. -What a gorgeous car,

what's left of it.

Wow, this thing is cool.

Very cool.

NARRATOR: Yes, cool is the word as it was thanks

to the Traction Avant that Citroen

first earned a reputation for advanced technology

and innovative engineering.

Designed around a one-piece chassis-less body-shell

it was one of the first ever front wheel drive cars.

It had independent torsion bar suspension

and hydraulic brakes.

In fact, so convinced was company founder

Andre Citroen that this car was the future

that he tore down his old factory

and built a state-of-the-art new one,

but in doing so went broke.

The company's new owners Michelin, however,

stood by his plans to produce a car that was reliable,

had outstanding drivability

and was well ahead of its rivals.

Look at that!

The French have style, don't they?

Yeah, totally. This whole car is stylish.

Can go have and a chat about your dad round the back?

-Yeah, yeah. -See you in a while. Come on.

NARRATOR: So while Fuzz gets his hands dirty...

First of all, let's see if this engine turns at all.

Aaah, yes.

NARRATOR: Tim finds out a bit more about

its dedicated owner.

Right, tell me about your dad, what kind of guy is your dad?

Very practical, quiet, down to earth.

He's a "doer" he wants to be using these all the time.

He restored my very first car when I was 17.

NARRATOR: A stroke ten years ago forced Andrew

to retire from the intricate business of watchmaking.

Son Shaun bought him the Traction Avant to work on

to help him with recovery.

I gave it to him after his retirement,

as a project for him to do.

How pleased was he with it?

Oh, over the moon, absolutely over the moon.

You know, I mean, he was dreading retirement.

-A gesture from son to dad. -Yeah.

"Dad thanks for everything you've done for me,

I'm gonna give you a car."

NARRATOR: For a while the restoration

of the Avant went swimmingly.

Underneath,

it looks like Andrew has been very busy indeed,

it's looking good.

NARRATOR: But when ill health started to take its toll,

the progress on his beloved Citroen

slowed to a grinding halt.

We wanted to find out why.

So before the boys arrived,

we installed a hidden camera inside the house

and gave Shaun a camcorder to interview his dad

for a bogus family history DVD.

What was your profession?

I'm basically a watchmaker.

NARRATOR: And it wasn't long before the conversation

steered around to his long-term project.

It's taking longer than I thought always.

It still is not 100% finished.

I would like to and I must try

to get this finished before I die.

NARRATOR: With Andrew's health deteriorating,

they don't know how long they've got

and Fuzz is finding out there's a lot of work to do.

FUZZ: What I have noticed is a real covering,

all over it, of surface rust.

It's absolutely everywhere.

The steel is all pock marked.

We're gonna have to do some serious work on it.

NARRATOR: The 60-year-old bodywork

is starting to show its age.

Being so close to the sea,

I think the salt in the sea air has just got to it all.

There are lots and lots of bumps in the roof.

This is gonna be a mammoth body job.

-What happened next? -Unfortunately

-he had a second stroke. -Right.

That must have rocked the family.

Yeah, it was tough.

What's it like watching your dad?

You know your dad's your hero when you were a young boy.

Yeah, it's not easy. I don't want to go there.

NARRATOR: What Shaun doesn't want to say

is that in the last couple of years,

his dad's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

I don't know at this stage

how much longer I've got to live.

NARRATOR: It is a devastating disease

that means he's no longer able to concentrate

on the restoration of the car.

It's gone. Yeah.

This is what happens.

I'm talking

and I know what I'm talking about,

but suddenly it drops out and I think to myself,

"I don't know, what was I talking about?"

NARRATOR: Shaun's desperate to get his dad's

beloved car finished

while he's still well enough to enjoy it.

I mean, every time we come down,

I'll disappear into the garage, won't I?

And often we go out to the garage

and actually, there's very little change

or no change.

You know what? Life can be so cruel, can it?

It's tough, yeah.

He can't do the things that he used to do

and you can see that he desperately wants to,

so to see him happy and have the pleasure out of it

would absolutely be enough for me.

That's what I would like to see.

-You all right? -Yeah.

Well done for talking about that mate. It's obviously tough.

Steering wheel, well not attached.

This is cracked, seen better days.

Not bad though, but not good.

Right then, Inspector Clouseau?

I tell you what, Tim, this is one solid car

and I found loads and loads of parts.

-Bad news is... -What?

Look at stuff like this.

The chrome, all the bright-work

is absolutely tainted.

Right, so we need some re-chroming...

NARRATOR: Well, one thing's for sure:

they're going to have a busy three weeks,

but right now they need to get out of here

before Andrew gets back.

At this rate, he'll see us going around the corner.

NARRATOR: But how are they going

to explain the Avant's absence to a man

who is in the garage every day?

Where does your dad think that the car's going?

To a museum for a restoration exhibition.

Right. So this will be the before

and they'll have a new one after.

-Correct. -Okay, we're all secure.

NARRATOR: Well, Shaun's plan is a clever one

and it seems his dad has fallen for it,

although it appears to be not the only plan on the table.

TIM: I've got some news for you. FUZZ: What's that then?

I'm gonna have to go to France.

Just letting you know I'm probably going to have

to go to Bordeaux, Monaco, Paris.

Really?

Well, maybe I should let you know

that a lot of these Citroen Traction Avant

were built in Slough.

There are loads of parts over here.

-What? -Absolutely no problem.

Shut your bouche!

You can get absolutely everything

you need in Blighty.

There is no need for you to go on

any long trips anywhere.

D'accord?

Shut up!

NARRATOR: So that's Tim's holiday in France ruined,

but with the car back in the workshop

it looks like there's going to be no time

for anyone to have a break.

TIM: Have you ever seen this before?

No, I haven't.

You know when you see pictures of people scavenging dumps?

Yeah, it is, isn't it?

Guys, has anyone in here, hands up

who's ever worked on an old Citroen before?

Hands in the air!

Phil?

I remember them coming out when they were new.

TIM: But you haven't worked on one?

-No. -Right, no one?

NARRATOR: With no oracle to turn to

and parts scattered all over the floor,

this car has now become a big three-dimensional

jigsaw with no picture.

Looks like the boys are up a French creek

without the proverbial paddle.

You know what?

I think we're in trouble!

NARRATOR: Tim and Fuzz have smuggled away

Andrew's 1954 Citroen Traction Avant,

but it's a French car that's in so many pieces

it's more like a Chinese puzzle.

And it's got the whole Car SOS team mystified.

That could add a week to this

and that's a week we don't have.

If we don't know where everything goes,

we've got to take our time, simple as that.

NARRATOR: What would be helpful

is another Traction Avant to act as a guide.

And guess what.

You're gonna love me.

Put your hand out, shut your eyes.

From the cupboard, a Traction Avant.

That is absolutely ridiculous.

Roughly speaking, that's the same shape.

At least I can see where the exhaust is supposed to go.

NARRATOR: Well putting the parts back together

might be one of the boys' problems,

but there are a lot of other jobs to do

before they even get that far.

The chrome trim that once shone proudly

is covered in rust

and will need re-chroming or replacing.

The whole of the car's interior

including the seats, door cards and dash,

have all but disappeared and will need restoring.

By far the biggest job is the rust-ravaged body,

that's going to absorb the most man-hours

but Tim has got a great idea

of how they can speed up the process.

-Fuzz. -Yep?

Fuzz, I've got a suggestion to make.

Why don't I roll the shell out of here now,

try and get it soda blasted, okay...

Yeah, okay, good idea.

And in the meantime you can be cracking on with...

Well, with what, actually?

Um, interior, go to the trimmers...

do something I'd do.

I'll go and sort the seats out, have a cup of tea.

By the way, how long have I got?

24 hours. Simple as that.

If they can turn it around in 24 hours,

we can tidy up the workshop, we can do something like that.

24 hours, I don't know.

Guys, Tim wants you to tidy up the workshop apparently.

Did I say that?

NARRATOR: There are lots of ways to get rust

and old paint off metal,

Soda blasting is one of the gentler ones.

In the UK there are probably

only a handful of companies that do soda blasting

which, knowing my luck, will mean there's a massive,

great, big queue and I need to work out

a way of getting right to the front of the queue.

Hello, mate. Soda blasters?

-Yes, we are. -Great. Right.

So I need a massive favor.

Here's the problem. That car there,

needs to be soda blasted in the next day, max.

(scoffs)

We've got about four or five vehicles waiting to be done.

NARRATOR: As usual, Tim has a ruse to beat the queues.

-So I come along. -Yes.

Show you something amazing that can impress

all your friends at dinner parties

and Christmas times and birthday times.

-Oh, that should be good, yes. -If I can jump the queue

and land in position number one?

Soda blast that right now

and you are left with this new bit

of knowledge about soda.

Well, a new bit of knowledge would be good.

-Yeah? Do we have a deal? -Go on then.

All righty. Come and help me get this off the trailer.

NARRATOR: Soda blasting was first developed to strip

the paint and tar from the inside

of the Statue of Liberty.

The restorers needed to find something

that wouldn't damage the thin copper skin...

Things move very slowly in space.

NARRATOR: And they found kitchen grade baking soda

was just the thing.

So let's get this straight,

so what happens is, the bicarbonate of soda

comes out the nozzle,

hits the car, and then the crystal

or the grain actually separates.

It fractures.

Right, it's the energy release there

which fractures the paint on the car.

You've got it, yes.

Without producing enough heat to distort the metalwork.

That's right, no heat.

Whereas when you're using a different sort of blast media,

you could blast a hole in it.

-Right. -This, you can't.

NARRATOR: Well, Tim can't wait

to get a go on the nozzle.

Yes, this is good.

You should try this, it's amazing!

NARRATOR: And while he's having a blast

with the car's exterior, Fuzz loads up

the car's tatty interior and drops it at the trimmers.

Cliff, stop what you're doing. -Oh, yeah, mate?

We got an emergency on.

NARRATOR: This is normally Tim's manor.

Will Fuzz be able to talk trimmer Cliff

into yet another rush job?

It's the old car? God, I don't believe

you're actually giving me a week.

NARRATOR: This car has been around for many, many years

and the name of the game is to get it back

to as original as possible.

-Look at that. -That's the original color.

FUZZ: That looks really nice, doesn't it?

NARRATOR: So the seats were once grey pin stripe.

Right, so the big question is,

have you got any of that sort of patterned material?

Well, we'd have to go around the back.

NARRATOR: Cliff's store room is an Aladdin's Cave

of hard-to-find materials and rare fabrics,

but that doesn't mean that they'll have the exact cloth

used in the French factory over 60 years ago.

Color-wise, it's not far.

I thought this was pretty close.

I think that looks quite nice, that lifts it up.

NARRATOR: So it looks like the inside will be grey check,

rather than its original pin stripe.

What we can do, once you've got all of these sorted,

I'll bring the car in,

then you can put the roof lining in.

You want a roof lining as well?

-Yeah. -Well, cheers, Fuzz!

NARRATOR: Yes, Looks like Fuzz has picked up

some tips from Tim,

who, back at the soda blasters,

has come good on his promise

to part with a bit of fascinating

scientific knowledge.

Well, sort of scientific!

-A bit of baking soda. -No.

Right, it's a game of chicken.

There is a reason I've still got this on.

-I'll put mine on as well then. -You can if you want, right.

NARRATOR: As any schoolboy chemist will tell you,

when you add an acid, like vinegar,

to a base like soda,

you are going to get a lot of carbon dioxide

very quickly.

(laughter)

Should we do another one?

NARRATOR: Isn't learning fun?

Thought you were meant to chill with it for a bit.

(laughter)

Yes.

Was that worthy of jumping

-the queue or what? -Yeah.

NARRATOR: Well, Tim might have wangled his way

to the front, but the car's still going

to need a full 24 hours of hard blasting.

With the shell and interior out of the workshop,

and the Avant's engine already rebuilt

by Andrew, both the lads

find themselves with time on their hands.

-Taking it easy? -Empty workshop.

You do it? How'd you get on at the trimmers?

It's all done, all sorted.

-It's all being done. -Is it?

It's all in the process, nothing to worry about.

So let's get this straight, this is all rather weird.

So the car is being soda blasted?

-Yep. -The interior is being

dealt with at the moment?

-Exactly. -What are we gonna do?

-I dunno. Just chill? -Come with me.

Put that down or bring it, whatever, come on.

NARRATOR: That's right,

Tim's arranged a treat for Fuzz...

a drive in a forecourt quality Traction Avant.

Can you imagine, these cars introduced in 1934,

they must have been space-age to people then.

Look how smoothly it drives.

It feels really planted and solid.

It feels kind of modern, in a way.

Yeah, it does.

This feels like a modern car that has been sort of retro'd.

Yeah, I know what you mean actually.

NARRATOR: With this car, Citroen

put the gearbox ahead of the engine

to drive the front wheels.

This allowed the Avant to sit about six inches lower

than anything else on the road...

which improved both its handling

and gave it its distinctive looks.

I wasn't expecting to love this car so much,

but it's made me realize

what we've got in the workshop now.

FUZZ: It is absolutely tremendous.

If that car ends up driving as well as this car,

I'll be over the moon.

This car is the paracetamol of the car world.

In that, you have a little drive in this

and it takes away all your worries

and pains and headaches and problems.

-It's nice, isn't it? TIM: It's a painkiller.

It's so cool...

Look behind you, look how big it is.

It's massive.

That's not a car, that's a room.

NARRATOR: The Traction Avant very much helped pioneer

the family motor as we now know it.

It had superior cornering and ride

thanks to the independent suspension

and also set new standards for safety

with its rigid single-shell body.

In an era when most other cars were built on a chassis,

Citroen conceived a test to prove

that the pioneering single-shell body

was safe by driving first a bog standard

chassis car then a Traction Avant off a cliff.

The monocoque fared a lot better,

people were convinced

and almost all cars nowadays

are built in the same way.

TIM: Try and pick a fault in this car.

Try and find something that's not cool about this car

and hasn't been well thought through.

The passenger.

NARRATOR: There's little doubt that technically

the Traction Avant was well ahead of its time,

but what it evolved into went several steps further.

I'll tell you what, this car is so advanced for its time.

Absolutely, but if you want something

that also owns the road, Fuzz,

this thing, the DS, is just that car.

NARRATOR: After Andre Lefebvre designed

the Traction Avant, he didn't rest on his laurels.

After 18 years of secret development

he unveiled the Citroen DS

and it became an overnight sensation.

Introduced AT the Paris Motor Show

on the 5th of October 1955 by the end

of the first day, they'd taken 12,000 orders.

-Welcome to the jet age. -Welcome to the '50s diner.

-Look around it. -I'll tell you what,

When I was a kid, we used to live in houses

that were furnished with things like this.

And look at the pedals,

what's that, I've got a mushroom on the floor.

That's my foot brake, isn't it?

NARRATOR: In France DS is pronounced

Déesse which means "goddess" and, even now,

60 years after it was launched,

it still looks otherworldly.

Could you imagine in 1955 when these cars

were first introduced?

It must have looked like it had come from another planet.

Come on, you just got to love driving cars like this!

It's so different.

Technology on the cutting edge of design of the time.

I hear all that, but it is really weird

to drive this, but it is cool,

J'adore la voiture!

That means "I love this car" in French,

and I've never said that about a French car before,

so that's a big deal to me.

NARRATOR: With its hydropneumatic suspension

and tracking headlights,

the DS, like the Traction Avant before it,

only cemented Citroen's reputation

as automotive visionaries.

This is a massive statement. This is Citroen.

That's it, just that. Yeah.

But Citroen aren't as cool as this anymore,

TIM: This car screams cool.

Come on, Citroen, make another one of these.

Seriously, make another one. I'll buy one.

You've got two orders right here.

NARRATOR: Well, let's hope the lads

have gleaned a bit of inspiration

from their mini French style road trip

'cause they're going to need it

as the stripped and primed shell is now back

and the hard work starts here.

What have we got?

-Oh, yes. -Now that is good.

Good lad.

That is magnificent.

Now that is going to have saved us

so much time in the workshop.

NARRATOR: Yes, soda blasting might have cut a corner,

but the car is hardly ready for its MOT just yet.

The rust may be gone, but there's an awful lot

of pitting that needs to be filled,

smoothed and rubbed down,

and that will take hundreds of hours.

And of course, there's still the little matter

of putting that jigsaw of parts back together.

Smell the sea air.

NARRATOR: Just a few days ago, Tim and Fuzz,

took on Andrew's Citroen Traction Avant,

a classic vehicle that really did change

car manufacturing history.

What a gorgeous car, what's left of it.

NARRATOR: But what they picked up

was barely recognizable as a car,

and more a kit of rusted parts.

The French had style, didn't they?

NARRATOR: Alzheimer's disease has robbed its owner, Andrew,

of the ability to finish this seven-year project,

and his family are desperate to get the car completed

before it's too late.

I don't know, at this stage,

how much longer I've got to live.

NARRATOR: But even with a huge pile of work

still to do and an even tighter deadline

to get it done,

sometimes even the most dedicated team members

can get distracted...

especially when it comes to the unending task

of rubbing down the bodywork.

So dull, this, isn't it?

Boring, big time.

Actually whilst we've stopped for a minute,

-that reminds me. -Yeah?

I've got to go to the trimmers.

Right, where are the keys?

Okay, I have an idea. Competition.

-The idea is get one of these. -Yeah?

Roll it down this lovely curvaceous wing.

PJ. (whistles) Move out a little bit.

It's like a game of Citroen Crazy Golf.

-Gotta get it in the hole? -Gotta get it into PJ's mouth.

That's it, so PJ, open wide.

Poor chocolate.

First one to get it in gets to go to the trimmers.

The other one has to stay behind

and do all the flatting.

-Right then, you're on. -Okay.

-Let's go for it, let's go. -Right, okay, here we go.

Right, PJ, open wide, much wider.

And, oh! Your go.

All right then, this is it, challenge is on.

Back up a little bit PJ, in by an inch.

Open that hideous hole of yours.

-I'm wicked at Crazy Golf. -Yeah?

He turns away, without even looking.

I can hear the crunching from here.

-Yes! -Oh, no way.

Yes, you get the sweet, I go to the trimmers. See you.

Why didn't you shut your mouth?

NARRATOR: And trimmers on this occasion

means the chrome trimmers.

When they picked it up, the chrome was pitted

and tired but Tim knows just the place to sort it out.

Do you know how in life they say

there are a few things you have to do,

right, like the Great Wall of China, go to the Grand Canyon,

or like a skydiving. Well, this one,

where I'm going now is for me one of the top of the list.

And I'm dead excited. Chroming.

NARRATOR: As far as Tim is concerned,

you can keep your swimming with dolphins.

Electroplating is where it's at.

-Hello, mate. -Hello, Tim.

-How you doing? Good to see you. -And you.

Right, I've got a good one for you here.

Challenge time, I know you like a game.

So pair of bumpers, door locks off a car.

If you can tell me, Adam, of which car it is off.

I will, for the first time is my life, pay full price.

If you fail...

-Is that a promise? -A promise.

If you fail, half-price, go.

Discount.

You haven't given me a lot to go on, have you?

Exactly, yep. Stop the clock.

Here we go, let's have it.

Eh... (chuckling)

They're French, I'm gonna go Citroen,

could be '40s, could be '50.

So you're not going Italian, Welsh?

No, I'm sticking with Citroen,

and I'm going to go '50s Citroen.

Okay, well, you're gonna have to wait

till the end of the day to find out

because--bring one of those come on, I want to see

-the whole process. -Go this way.

NARRATOR: First up on Tim's whirlwind tour

is shot-blasting which will strip off

all the old chrome, dirt, and paint.

So how long does this process take?

A realistic turnaround would be about six weeks.

But you wanna find out whether or not

you were right with the car.

Can you do it in a week?

-Seven working days. -Seven working days, done.

NARRATOR: Well, it looks like he may be paying full-whack,

but at least Tim's managed to knock something

off the time, and that's a good deal

as chroming is a long, drawn-out process.

The plating tanks, this is where it all happens.

NARRATOR: Once the parts are back to metal,

they're electro-plated with copper.

This acts like an undercoat

to fill out the minor dents and scratches.

TIM: I can see something submerged hiding in there.

Oh, no way, that is the coolest thing

I've ever seen.

The Jaguar cats having a bath.

NARRATOR: And while Tim is enjoying his day out,

his other half is back at the workshop

and it looks like he's doing his nut, quite literally.

We have to check that all the nuts and bolts are tight.

What we have here is a castellated nut

on this shock absorber.

We have to tighten the nut up

until it gets to the requisite tightness...

that's nice and tight now.

Now, there's a hole that goes through the shaft,

I put the split pin through and then bend it round.

Now, that nut

cannot move backwards or forwards, it can't release.

It is an old-fashioned mechanical way

of locking an important nut into place.

NARRATOR: There are hundreds of nuts on this car

and each and every one of them will have to be checked out

before they hand it back to Andrew,

so that'll keep Fuzz busy.

Back at the chromers,

Tim has reached the next part of his tour

where copper plating turns into nickel plating.

This is the bit that makes the chrome so shiny.

Oh, there it is, Look at that.

Excalibur. Wow.

Do you know when I fell in love with chrome things?

When I saw "Terminator 2,"

And you know that liquid metal man?

-Yeah. -He's like made of chrome.

I always thought he was the coolest dude.

Now, come on, put me out of my misery.

-What? -What is the actual car?

Right, I will double or quits you, right.

If you can guess which model it is...

-Double our full price? -Yep.

Traction Avant?

Right, you're right, but I wasn't expecting that.

It's not supposed to go this way.

Right, I'll look after you, don't worry.

NARRATOR: Well, if you can't be clever,

go for the sympathy vote.

Can't believe you got that right.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile at HQ, Fuzz has now checked

all the cars moving parts

and has moved on to its stopping parts,

the brakes.

I'm gonna build up the rear brakes.

Then I can put on the rear hub,

get the wheels on.

Now, these are the Citroen's old rear brake shoes.

There's plenty of life left in these linings

but the problem is,

that it's become contaminated with leaking brake fluid,

which has come from weepy old seals

in this wheel cylinder.

These bad boys, uncontaminated

and ready to go on.

That'll bring the stop back to the go.

NARRATOR: New brake shoes and cylinders will make sure

that when it goes back, it won't just look good

but be safe to drive too.

And it's another job that can be ticked off the list.

Which is just as well, as so far,

the boys have barely managed to keep to schedule.

Tim may have dealt with the chrome trim,

but it's going to take a while to come back

and then will still need fitting.

The interior is similarly still in the shop.

But the car's shell has been soda-blasted

and now fully flatted and primed,

which means it's that special time when it can go into paint.

It also means they're now on the downhill slope,

so not a bad time for Andrew's son Shaun

and his wife, Arena, to pop by

and check on the car's progress.

Although Tim has a bit of mischief in mind.

TIM: How was the journey down? All right?

Good, good, yeah.

-We, um, have some bad news. -Right.

A lot of the car was unsalvageable...

Right.

Because it was covered in a lot of rust.

I think it's best that we show you what's left.

Here we are. Here's your dad's car,

here's Andrew's car.

That's all that's left of it.

-Yeah. -Hang on.

-Right. -What do you think?

Well, if that's all there is of it,

there's not a lot of car.

-They don't believe me. -They're not believing.

Okay, come on! (laughter)

Come here, let me show you.

NARRATOR: Yes, what a couple of tinkers!

It's not all bad news.

-Look at that! -Jesus!

That's the reaction we wanted.

-That's incredible. -It's amazing, isn't it?

This car looks just amazing.

FUZZ: And it's not even polished yet.

-It's looking new. -Yeah.

I'm stunned, absolutely stunned.

I wouldn't actually believe it is the same car,

in all honesty.

That will more than exceed my father's dreams.

He'll be over the moon.

I'll be surprised if he doesn't want to put a bed

in the garage with it and sleep out there.

So let's talk about giving this car back to your dad.

Now he thinks, it's gone off to a museum.

Now we need to get him to this museum.

Almost a condition in prising it away from him

was that, you know, he would like to see the exhibition.

Well, it's funny you should say that,

because I'm actually in charge of that exhibition

-Right. -(laughter)

And I'd like to formally invite him.

(phone ringing)

ANDREW: Hello?

Hello, this is Dr. Chris Peacock

calling from the Bentley Wildfowl

and Motor Museum.

ANDREW: Ah, yes. -Hello, hi,

yes, we have your vehicle,

we have your Citroen.

ANDREW: That's right, yes.

We have a date, which I'd like maybe to see

if you can come down, which would be Friday the 27th?

Can I book you in?

ANDREW: Yes, yes, of course.

Lovely, take care.

Have a good day and I'll see you then.

ANDREW: Right, you are. -Okay, thank you, bye.

-Fantastic. -Oh, yeah.

How was that? NARRATOR: The good news is

that with a date in the diary,

the guys now know how long they've got left,

the bad news is, it's less than a week.

Right, now where I'm trying to find is my mate Jon

and what I'm looking at getting done

is actually getting that crack repaired

in that steering wheel. It is late on in the day,

I admit it, but the bottom line is the guy who owns this car

is a perfectionist. He was a watchmaker.

His attention to detail would be like

nothing I've ever seen.

Right, look at that.

NARRATOR: Yes, Tim's old pal Jon

might be the ideal man to fix that steering wheel...

I'm not having that, right.

NARRATOR: But unfortunately, it looks like he's been

on the wrong end of too many of Tim's favors.

Not that that's going to stop him!

Hello, mate. Sorry to be a pain.

My mate works over there

and he won't allow me in the building.

I need you to knock on the door.

Put your face to the window, knock on the door,

he puts the door up, I'm in.

Two seconds.

-Sure. -Yeah, man.

Delivery, mate.

-That's done. Job done. -Yeah.

(gate opens)

(laughing)

-I've been had! -I'm in!

Jon, I need a favor, man. I'll do whatever it takes.

-Really? -Here's the problem.

Check this steering wheel out, massive crack.

I thought, there's one man on the planet

who knows how to fix that and his name's you.

-Oh-- -Come on!

NARRATOR: Andrew's steering wheel

is 60-year-old Bakelite,

an early form of plastic

that's a lot more brittle

than its modern decedents.

So, what is that stuff then, Jon?

It's an epoxy putty, two part.

So you just cut off what you need

and start squidgy it together.

It is a bit like plastercine.

I'll tell you what, it goes right inside it.

Look at that, it actually goes all the way down to the metal,

so you know there's a metal support coming across there.

So what we are going to do is squeeze that in.

In far in as you can get

to get as good a seal as possible, right?

How long does this stuff take to dry?

We should be able to work it after about 15 minutes.

NARRATOR: Creating an undetectable join

is delicate and fiddly work.

This is like watching a wildlife program.

Like a beast about to make a kill.

How long do you need to do this?

'Cause I feel like I'm getting in the way,

I'm nothing but a spare part.

See, you can't even talk, you're so far in the zone.

I'll give it back tomorrow morning, yeah?

Say no more, just stay in the zone.

You've got an hour.

Crack on, beast.

NARRATOR: He might be keen to get away,

but Tim has a good reason, as back at the workshop

it's a milestone moment for the Citroen.

-Uh, pretty nice. -It' very, very nice.

That looks stunning, get it started.

Take a look at the seats.

Yeah, yeah, they look stunning as well.

Mate, get it running, let me hear the purr.

What you reckon to the, uh--

What you reckon to this material?

Yeah, they're great.

Put those in there, love those in there.

Yes, I know, start her up.

Battery's charged and everything ready to rock!

We have got a bit of a problem at the moment,

it's just not quite...

(engine sputtering)

-Right, so it won't start? -No, not yet.

I'll tell you what you could do, though.

-Right. -Make me up a timing light

so then I can check out where the ignition timings are.

Right, let's do it.

NARRATOR: Yes, Tim might well be concerned.

With just over one day left before the car

is returned he knows that if they can't get it going,

the whole project is doomed to failure.

So the spotlight now is well

and truly on car whisperer Fuzz.

(engine starts)

Listen to that.

How many years do you reckon

since this old block was running?

I don't know, 20 years or something.

Wow, and it sounds so good.

It's one of the only engines that actually sounds like

it's driving down a road.

Oop.

After 20 years, though. How cool is that? 20 years.

NARRATOR: Well, with that bit of excellent news,

the boys can start the final push.

The finishing touches are going back on.

From the windows, to the newly re-covered seats,

set off by some plush new carpets.

And outside the Avant is starting to look like

its former self as they re-attach

the now fully re-chromed trim.

Oh, yes!

NARRATOR: But it would be a miracle if something

didn't go wrong, and guess what?

As per usual, we have a last-minute problem.

This gear selector arm has been bent.

When you try to put the car into gear it's scraping

against the fan belt and the fan pulley.

It's just gonna cause a disaster.

What I'm gonna have to do is bend it

very carefully back.

If I mess this up, there is absolutely no chance

that this car is going to be ready in time.

NARRATOR: Old-fashioned mechanics

call for some time-honored repairs,

so Fuzz turns blacksmith

to fix the bent gear selector arm.

Bend, bend, bend, bend, bend, bend a bit more.

That'll do.

It's still very twisted,

but it's twisted in the other direction.

'Cause I want to make sure that that's going to

clear that pulley.

This is the moment of which we know

if it's all for nothing.

(engine struggling)

So if I put it into third gear,

it misses it by about 6 or 7 millimeters,

and that's enough for us.

Perfect.

NARRATOR: So back on track,

and time to replace

that now crack-free steering wheel.

That is called a woodruff key--look at it.

Silly little piece of metal,

but it actually just drops into there like that.

That will correspond... with the slot in the wheel.

We have only place you can put the steering wheel on.

Doesn't it look great?

Look at the dashboard! That is a gorgeous color grey

like a primer grey and then a beautiful gloss black,

and with the cream steering wheel,

it just sort of screams art deco.

It's such a cool car.

NARRATOR: Once again, it's going to be

a long old night in the Car SOS workshop,

because tomorrow Citroen-loving Andrew

is hopefully going to get the surprise of his life.

NARRATOR: If cars and ducks don't scream

perfect bedfellows to you,

then it's probably because

you haven't been to Bentley Wildfowl and Motor museum.

Deep in the East Sussex countryside,

it has vehicles spanning over

100 years of transport history.

So where better to hand back

the granddaddy of the family car?

Right, Fuzz, here's the plan, all right?

Right, Fuzz, here's the plan.

Never mind the plan.

Let's go and have a look at the cars, come on.

-Okay. Yes! Audi UR Quattro. -Austin 12.

This is like me and you, old and young.

-Look at that! Yeah. -Pretty, ugly.

NARRATOR: Even among such distinguished company,

the spruced-up Citroen more than holds its own.

The best car in here,

in pride of place, the beautiful Citroen Traction Avant.

-Lovely. -Smell that.

It's a new car smell as well.

Ah, right, the plan, for a change,

is actually dead simple.

I am Dr. Chris Peacock-- hello--

-Oh. Hello. -The curator of this museum.

-Do you like my place? -I do.

Shaun is bringing his dad Andrew

for him to mosey around the museum

-to see his old car... -Right.

That is waiting to be restored.

So, friends and family are here.

We're all ready, I'm Dr. Chris Peacock.

-Let's get out of here. -Okay.

-Come on, then. NARRATOR: Yes, Andrew

expects to see his car here,

but he doesn't expect it to be done up...

Let's go and have a look at the car.

NARRATOR: Nor does he expect to see

so many of his loved ones who've got a chance

to get a sneak peek before he arrives.

FUZZ: Do you reckon he's gonna be pleased with it?

To actually get this one finished

I think is fantastic.

MAN: It's unbelievable, from where it was before,

to the state it was left, to this.

He's going to be absolutely gobsmacked.

NARRATOR: With his car under the cover

and his family squirreled away behind the museum,

the puzzle is missing only one piece--the man himself.

Where are they?

I've got a bad feeling about this one.

-I'm nervous. -Look, there's a car coming.

I'm going to go and hide.

All right? Good luck.

NARRATOR: Right on queue, Andrew arrives with his wife,

daughter Cheryl, and son Shaun.

Andrew, hi. Chris. Lovely to meet you.

Thank you for lending us your car as well.

NARRATOR: Of course, Andrew's unaware

that his every move is being filmed

by hidden cameras.

Tim, in his guise as museum curator...

TIM: A great selection we've got here now.

NARRATOR: Is going to give Andrew a VIP tour...

There are some stunning vehicles.

NARRATOR: Culminating at the before and after exhibit

where Andrew's expecting to see his car

still in pieces.

If you don't mind me saying,

there's quite a lot of work to do.

-I've started on it. -Right.

I've done all the underneath.

Right, we have a car to show you.

NARRATOR: With Andrew's Alzheimer's

being the way it is, Tim's decided

to reunite owner and motor

without any of his usual tricks.

We've kind of done a little bit of wool pulling.

I have a bit of a confession to make.

Oh, right.

So, what are you here to see?

It's the Citroen half done,

which you've got up here.

Yes, well things aren't quite as they may seem.

In fact, we have a slight confession to make.

Actually, we're from a television program

called Car SOS.

We take away people's cars, without them knowing,

and we put them back to the state they should be in.

(laughter)

Actually, we would like to show you

your car as it is now.

-Would you like to see it? -Yes.

And this is your car.

-That is-- -That's yours.

What do you reckon?

Very, very nice.

(laughter)

TIM: There are a few other people here as well

that have come to see. You might recognize.

(applause)

MAN: Everybody else has been in on it.

You deserve it.

Your family wanted you to know how important

you are to them.

What does it mean to you to see this car like this?

Something I never thought I would.

Are you pleased with it?

I'm more than pleased with it, yes.

It's lovely. Very happy.

Very happy with it.

It looks as if it's just come out of the workshop.

It has, yeah.

It's beautifully finished.

I don't know think he can get much higher.

I don't know what I've done to deserve it.

Everything, absolutely everything, Dad.

Thank you again.

It's terrific.

NARRATOR: The last time that Andrew saw

his Traction Avant,

it was barely recognizable as a car,

a rusting shell and an armful of parts.

But now it is museum quality.

The sad-looking seats have been stripped back

and the interior is covered in fresh trim...

The chrome shines as brightly

as when it left the factory over 50 years ago...

And the salt-eaten bodywork has been blasted back,

painted up, and buffed to a high shine.

-Are you comfy in there? -Yes.

Very comfortable.

Do you think that it has sunk in yet?

No, it hasn't.

You're sure you're not just lending it to me.

We wouldn't do that to you. We would not do that to you.

You totally deserve this car.

It's beautiful, it's lovely.

What does this car mean to you?

It means a lot of fun,

driving it around in the last few years of my life.

Your family wanted you to make sure

that your remaining years were as enjoyable as possible,

and they hope that getting this car back on the road

would do that.

I'm sure it will.

The whole lot of you out there...

Thank you very much, thank you.

(applause)

Andrew, here are your keys.

You have been officially Car SOS'd.

That's us, and this is your car.

Thank you very, very much.

Really nice.

TIM: Au revoir, mon petit car.

(applause)

I don't think you would have thought

you'd be driving after all these years, did you?

No. No, I didn't.

The finish on it is beautiful.

Pleased?

Very pleased with it, yeah.

Did you imagine that

this is what was gonna happen today?

-No. -Huh?

No, I hadn't.

I hadn't got a clue.

It has been so difficult keeping it from you.

It really has.

Now he can start looking at those car rallies,

-those car shows... TIM: Yeah.

-And planning to go to them. TIM: Yeah.

So it's not just about the car.

It's going to give him a whole new lease of life.

Well, it's the first time it is been driven in how long?

Oh, Christ, a few years.

I can't say thank you enough.

It's just amazing.

TIM: Au revoir, mon petit car.

TIM: Yes! FUZZ: It's a good-looking car.

Looks like ZZ Top. On to the next one.

ANDREW: It's beautiful, beautiful.

(emotional music)

Captioned by Captionmax