In spite of been in storage for 35 years, the condition of the bodywork and interior was excellent, but I was horrified when Ant tried to start the engine without changing the cam belts first
Turning over the engine by hand, with the plugs out, is one thing, but starting the engine with cambelts 3 decades old???
Now I know how these programmes work, they do a lot of stuff off-camera that doesn't make the cut, but even if they did, they really should mention it on camera in case anyone else thinks it is a sensible idea...
He also did some bizarre things like dry ice blasting the outside of the carb to free up a sticking butterfly instead of stripping it down
In case you were not aware of the show, the premise is that any profit Ant makes gets plowed into the restoration of an 18th century cottage for his parents to retire to. Also typical of these shows is the plan to send all of the cars to auction with no reserve, and unlike Mike Brewer, Ant seems to have badly misjudged the demand for the cars he is renovating - he has made a loss on the last two cars - a Jag XJS (obvious really, what was he thinking?) and a Lotus Elan Plus 2, which needed costly engine work (because he concentrated on the cylinder head and didn't check the condition of the bottom end). Luckily the Sud didn't blow up, but only made a £200 profit over the £4,800 outlay. I do hope that after the cameras stopped rolling someone had the presence of mind to change the cambelts... and the water pump... and the plugs and points, condenser, oil filter, antifreeze...
Not impressed, frankly
Lauren
This "flipping cars" format beloved by Discovery Channel really doesn't work over here. I suppose there just isn't enough interest, or disposable income to waste on budget classics 