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00:00I'm Ant Anstead. I've been fixing cars since I was a teenager and I've set myself the task of
00:12restoring and selling eight crumbling old cars for profit. It's the ultimate road cruiser and
00:27the stakes are high because it's personal. The cow room is now the bathroom. Okay,
00:34everything I make is going towards this 500 year old farmhouse. She goes today, which means big
00:41hammer. That I bought for my mum and dad to retire in. So what's going wrong there? Lodged. But it's
00:47a total wreck. How far away from collapse is this? A really good storm could cause a problem. Let's do
00:54it. With my family by my side. Feels like a proper brake pedal now. And some help from
01:01my engineer mate Darren. Are you joining me to the right? Yeah, why not? I've got the best team around
01:06me. Ed, watch out! As I take on eight wrecks on wheels. Perfect. And a house that's falling apart.
01:16What, the whole thing's being kept up by chicken wire? Pretty much. It's a massive gamble.
01:21Come on, breathe. I am losing sleep over this. I'll be honest, I have no idea what's going on.
01:37Work is underway on the 500 year old farmhouse, which I'm renovating for my mum and dad to retire in.
01:43But to my cost, I'm learning that nothing is straight forward.
01:49Yeah, I finally have permission from the council, from the listed building individuals that I can
01:54take this render off the front of the house. You walk through the village and there's loads of
02:00homes with exposed timbers. This categorically proves the house had exposed timbers. I think
02:05ultimately this is going to need a oak framed expert to come in.
02:11And that will not be cheap. I need a car to flip to help pay for the removal of the render and the
02:17inevitable oak framework. Fortunately, I have a secret weapon. My best pal Darren. Expert car
02:25restorer and automotive sleuth. He has a lead on a project that can be just the ticket to pay for the
02:32work on the front of the house. I saw this advert online, an alpha sud. I mean, they're not renowned
02:40for their quality and rust resistance. They were put together near the Bay of Naples in a salt
02:48air environment and they started rusting the minute they were produced. Ant's not happy because nobody
02:55believes that an alpha sud is not going to be rusty.
03:07Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Alfa Romeo. Problem is though, he's not sent me to see one of the
03:12beautiful ones. He sent me to see an alpha sud, which is, I know, going to turn out to be a massive bag of rust.
03:19From a design perspective though, it does come out of that era. You know, late 70s, early 80s,
03:25when cars were just retro-cooled. Right now, retro-cool's back.
03:40Gosh, I feel like I've been ganged up on.
03:42Sisters Helen and Janice inherited the 1980 Belina alpha sud from their uncle and along with Janice's
03:50husband Steve are quite the welcoming committee. I'm a little bit taken back. I wasn't expecting a
03:55gang of you guys. Whose car is it? Well, our uncle bought it from brand new, 1980. He's the only owner?
04:02That's right, yes. He used it for, I think, around nine years and then parked it up. We don't know why. He always
04:08planned to get it back on the road again, but unfortunately he didn't. So it's been sat there
04:12for 35 years. And do you remember why it was taken off the road after nine years? Was it rust?
04:17No. I don't believe it was rust. No. It's not rusty. No. Listen, I'm here to see an alpha sud.
04:23We already know it's rusty.
04:24Yeah. You might be surprised with this one.
04:28Really? Yeah. Yeah. It's in an amazing condition for a 44-year-old car.
04:34Have you tried to start it? No. We haven't started it. We haven't cleaned it. We decided that we're
04:39going to sell it as it is. It's quite sad that it's been in the garage for so long
04:43and nobody's been able to appreciate it. Yeah, I'm really excited to see the alpha now. So this is it.
04:49Can we put it out in the sunlight? We can try. It's not being moved all that time,
05:10but we can certainly try and get it out. The car's not moved an inch in over three decades,
05:17so it's no surprise the brakes have seized. But there is a simple fix.
05:22One of the things I can do is hit the brakes, try and shock them free.
05:36Yeah. They freed up already.
05:41A bit more movement. Oh. Ah, okay.
05:44That's the first time it's moved in 35 years. It is.
05:56If that doesn't say 80s, nothing will you? No.
05:59Oh, man. So do you mind if I have maybe 20, 30 minutes on my own?
06:04Yeah. Yeah, that's absolutely fine. Okay.
06:10Wow. That is crazy.
06:12The Alfa Sud, meaning Alfa South after Alfa Romeo's southern Italian factory in Pamelliano Darko,
06:24was launched at the Turin Motor Show in November 1971. Boasting a water-cooled boxer engine, front
06:31McPherson strut suspension and a low bonnet line, the Alfa Sud is considered by many to be the forebear of the
06:38hot hatch, as it drove like a sports car and predated the Golf GTI by four years.
06:44Alfa Romeo manufactured over a million Alfa Suds, but now there's just over 150 that are still
06:51road legal and driving on the UK streets today, which tells you just how rare a good condition
06:57specimen is to find. I mean, very, very rarely am I speechless and I've been pulling project cars
07:08out of barns, sheds and garages all over the world for decades. I mean, look at this interior engine panel
07:15here. The paint's on it. This is how it left the factory. The chassis structure, the body work,
07:25is remarkable. This is a real survivor. And there are a few blemishes. Look at the underside of the
07:39bonnet. It's still got the stickers on it. I wonder what the mileage is. 31,000 miles and the headlining's
07:48brand new. These seats are awesome. This is probably the best surviving Alfa Sud on the planet.
08:04This is the car finder's dream.
08:11It's crazy. I, yeah, I don't need to see anymore. It's a miracle car.
08:18In Alfa Sud terms, this car's a unicorn. It might be a unicorn, but it's one with an engine that hasn't
08:26turned over for 30 years. And I know exactly what Darren will say if I buy another car without
08:31checking if it runs first. But it's the holy grail of Alfa Suds. Yeah, I've just got to have it.
08:38Do you have any idea about Alfa Sud value? We're thinking between three and five thousand pounds?
08:43Yeah, I mean, you're banging the right window. That is the kind of going rate for a project.
08:47And I'm willing to take a huge amount of risk because obviously this car's not turned a wheel
08:51in 35 years. No, exactly. I'm just going to offer you bang in the middle of that. Four thousand.
08:55I'd really love to put this car back on the road. What do you think? I'm happy with four. Yeah.
09:00I think if it's going to go to a good home. Yeah, it would be nice to see it back on the road.
09:03Yeah, it would be nice to see it back on the road. Yeah, definitely. Are you happy with that?
09:06Yeah, I think so. I'm happy with four. Yes, we'll accept four.
09:09We have a deal at four thousand. Right, well, I'm going to shake two hands at the same time.
09:12Thank you very much. Oh, that's amazing.
09:18This is one of those cars whose provenance is so unique and rare that when you find it,
09:23you have to buy it. And it is wild to me because 35 years ago, the car was put into a garage.
09:29That garage has created the perfect cocoon, the perfect environment to preserve the car.
09:35It's like Tutankhamen. It just survived. I can't wait to get this back to the barn to show Darren.
09:55Check this out.
09:59Oh, this is crazy.
10:06I think it's probably the only rust-free alfacade that's ever.
10:14I am speechless.
10:16Feast your eyes on this.
10:21I know. Look at this panel.
10:23That is insane.
10:26And even the, look, it's got the factory paint on the top of the shock absorber and everything.
10:30I know.
10:34Oh, this is crazy, right?
10:38Do you know what I like as well? The radio blank. It's never had a radio and that is the original
10:43alpha radio blank.
10:44This isn't a candidate for restoration.
10:47No, because it's original only once.
10:50When a car is as rare as this alpha, I don't want to restore it. I want to preserve it, complete with
10:56blemishes and defects. To get the most profit, it needs to be treated like an archaeological find.
11:01We're not going to paint this. It's only original once. And I think we need to embrace these tiny imperfections.
11:11So I'm thinking we very slowly and carefully analyze the engine. There needs to be a bit
11:18of work done on the underside rear suspension. You see, I think if you're in the market for a
11:25one owner, totally original alpha sub, I don't think there's another one. No.
11:33Now, right now, I couldn't even guess the value of the car. There is nothing on the market to compare
11:37it to. And that's why my gut says we should sell the car at auction. We're either going to make
11:42a tiny profit or maybe even break even, or an auction gives the possibility of something crazy
11:49happening. Some crazy profit would be welcome because removing the concrete render at the front
11:59of the house has revealed some nasty secrets. And there's a big hole.
12:08The original wattle or wooden slats and daub, a mix of mud, straw and twigs, has developed some
12:14obvious weak spots. And the supporting oak beams aren't looking too healthy either.
12:20The concrete render has made matters way worse.
12:24Just opening up that little bit of render on the front wall reveals how damaging that concrete
12:31render has been. It's suffocated the building. It's caused damp within the oak frame.
12:35And I'm just going to have to remove it inch by inch, reveal the whole structure.
12:42And then it's either going to get expensive or really expensive.
12:48Wow.
12:49It's not as easy or cheap as simply replacing rotten sections.
12:56This is a grade two listed building and that means any renovations need to be agreed with the local
13:02council planning department. This is a minefield of red tape and I'm well out my comfort zone.
13:08So I've asked for some help. Heritage Consultant Donna Giles.
13:11What are the challenges?
13:13So with the wattle and daub, if the purist would want you to replace it, exactly. So take out the mud,
13:19get rid of the damaged wood, reuse the mud and mix it with new.
13:23And that's crazy. The issue is then how do we then treat the timber to make sure that it becomes
13:32watertight. Oh man. Oakbeam expert next.
13:36Yes, absolutely. All right. For Donna to step in.
13:41I might actually have a good night's sleep because I am losing sleep over this.
13:45More than ever, I need my Alpha Sud to make some money. Which for a car that hasn't turned over for
13:5330 years is a really big ask. What the car needs is a full diagnosis. Checking and stepping through
14:03each of the elements of the engine to find out why it isn't starting. Rush it and it could cost me
14:09thousands in potential engine damage. Right. Come on, baby. Work with us today.
14:18Checking the camshaft is a good starting point.
14:24Wow. Looks brand new in there. Oh, that's amazing. There's not any sludge or anything.
14:31Those cam loads are absolutely perfect. It's the best we could have hoped for, but we still need to be
14:38cautious. You can tell it's not run in years though. The oil sits at the bottom. Yeah, I think what we
14:44need to do is maybe coat it with a bit of fresh engine oil before we attempt to turn the engine
14:49over, just a little bit of lubrication. Because the engine has lain dormant for so long, hand turning
14:56the engine is the gentlest option. This is the moment of truth. I just need to attach a wrench to one
15:04end of the crank shaft and give it a gentle clockwise turn. Okay, I'm just going to do it really,
15:10really gently to start. There's movement there. That just moved. Oh, that's just released. Look.
15:25That is just fully loosened up.
15:26Those valves are just moving beautifully.
15:37Yes! We should fire up.
15:38We're attempting to awaken the slumbering engine of my 1980 alpha sud. It turns by hand,
15:56and that's all the encouragement I need. Let's crank it. Let's crank it. Moment of truth.
16:03All right. All right. This is spark only. Yep.
16:13No starter. No starter motor. Tap it? Tap it. The Alfa's starter motor has a built-in solenoid,
16:20which can stick. A firm tap often frees it up. You ready, Ant? Yep.
16:26No spark. No spark at all. No spark. The starter motor sounds fine,
16:38so it must be the ignition system. So the coil has power. Is it just as simple as the leads?
16:44Well, hang on a second.
16:49No. The coil has power doesn't mean the coil's working.
16:51No. It's got to be the coil. Finally, the issue solved. The ignition coil transforms the 12 volt
17:07battery into a much higher voltage to fire the spark plugs. A dead coil means no spark. Sourcing a new
17:15one should be easy enough. It's about 30 quid online. But until it arrives, frustratingly,
17:20the Alfa's side has to stay sleeping a little bit longer.
17:33While I wait for the ignition coil to arrive, there are plenty of other jobs that I need to address.
17:39And next is the suspension, which means stripping down the rear axle.
17:44And the surface rust on these trailing arms, but look at the condition of the rubber.
17:49It's basically new. I guess I've always been in the headspace that when you restore an old car,
17:54you inherit old problems. This, with a little bit of a shot blast and a lick of black paint,
18:01is going to look like a brand new part. So the cool thing about restoring cars,
18:07is mostly they follow the same pattern. So although I've never stripped down an Alfa side axle before,
18:12the engineering is so far pretty basic. So there's so many similarities to cars of the era,
18:21that I'm just going for it.
18:23It's actually really clever. This outer bracket here not only holds the spline for the hub,
18:35it has the two trailing arms, one here, one here, caliper.
18:42And it's that aluminium bit in the middle that gives it strength.
18:44It's pretty cool. Well, that is the rear axle completely stripped. Now for the front.
18:55I don't want to do the kiss of death, but at the moment,
19:08it's coming apart really nicely. That is the front end stripped. You know,
19:21looking at what I've got to tackle, basically undo the red oxide and just like the rear end,
19:26get these into satin black.
19:30I need to get the suspension over to Darren in the workshop for it to be shot blasted.
19:38And while Darren's hard at work, I've escaped for the most British of breathers and to check in with my dad.
19:54Man, it's so awesome to be here. This is basically where I spent big chunks of my childhood.
19:59Who's playing today?
20:00Eton Bray. We're playing at Marksbury, our team at Marksbury, and we are vying for third place.
20:06And if we get third place, we're promoted next season.
20:10Cricket is a huge family game for us. I played from the age of 10 and my dad's now an umpire.
20:16Right. Okay, gents. Toss the coin.
20:19I'll have heads please, Darren.
20:21Pull his heads. I was what they call a slogger in the game. Go out and try and hit the ball out
20:26the ground, which sometimes worked and sometimes sadly didn't. So Eton Bray win the toss and bat.
20:32Have a good game, guys.
20:36Yeah, dad loves to step away and involve himself in cricket. And the minute he stopped playing,
20:43he started umpiring.
20:44Yeah, he's out.
20:57The project's absolutely brought everyone in the family together,
21:00but it's cool to be here and both of us to chill out for a minute.
21:04Although I'm not going to chill out because I need to go speak to the oak guy.
21:07How to bowl a left arm unorthodox spin or the structure of car suspension? Yeah, I understand
21:17that. But the same can't be said for the timber structure of my grade two listed farmhouse.
21:23And it's obviously issues. And if it was a car, I'd feel within my comfort zone. But the fact that
21:27it's a house, I'll be honest, I have no idea what's going on. To give me an idea of how much
21:32it's going to cost to salvage the damaged oak timbers, I've got an appointment with Ben Blackwell,
21:38my structural engineer. Good to see you. Thanks for coming out.
21:42Thank you, yeah. Obviously, where the water's been trapped behind the render,
21:45we've got a little bit of damage to some of the timber. The worst damage is here on these two
21:48particular timbers. I mean, they've completely lost contact with the sole plate here. So essentially,
21:54these are hanging from the structure around it rather than being cropped as robustly as we'd like.
21:59I can tell you that that's bad. Yes. Yes. Good. I can do. Good. But fixable.
22:05What is the fix, though? Okay, so the timber's going to be rotten up to a certain point,
22:09and we just need to test the strength of the timber. Above where it started to rot,
22:14it's going to be a lot stronger. So if we splice in new timbers, joint them in,
22:18take them down to the sole plate, refix them properly, we can re-establish the strength back
22:22into the building. Oak tends to go one of two ways as it ages. It'll either turn crumbly,
22:28or it'll go like concrete. And sometimes you'll find beams like this. The centre of it will be
22:33rock hard, be really good timber. That kind of sounds like good news.
22:37Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Yes. I'll take any win I can right now. Yeah, good. It is a win,
22:46but depending on what Ben finds, the new timbers could cost anything up to five grand.
22:51Like this entire... But returning them to their former glory is going to give the house a whole
22:56new lease of life, and stop it from falling down. Just like the Alpha suspension.
23:06The Alpha Sud's dismantled suspension parts have been shot blasted back to bare metal.
23:11Now I want them returned to their original colour.
23:17Hans just rushed the Alpha parts over to me and asked me to paint them sat in black, get them sprayed.
23:22Paint work takes time because you have to build it up a layer upon a layer. And each time you add paint,
23:39you have to make sure that it has a flash off time, which is letting the solvents come out of the paint
23:44before you put the next layer on. Ant's picked an auction and that can't change. It's going to mean a few
23:50late nights. It's the only way that we're going to do it.
24:02Thanks to Darren's late shift, the Alpha Sud's dismantled suspension system is now back to factory
24:08black. Now it's a reassembly job, starting with cleaning up the original hardware. Yeah, the devil's
24:15in the detail. You know, a lot of people will be tempted to put, you know, nice shiny new stainless
24:21or zinc hardware in. But the key is that they're the bolts that left the factory when the car was new.
24:31And it just takes one potential buyer, an Alpha Sud expert, peek underneath and see that extra level of
24:39detail and reassured that this is a correctly preserved car. And that means extra value.
24:54Springs. The reconditioned springs for my struts will ensure the ride height for my Alpha is returned
25:00back to its former glory. Compressing the suspension arm with the jack helps position the spring.
25:11So it's aligned and ready to bolt back into place on the strut.
25:16You know, the more I work on this car, the more I like and admire the engineering.
25:20The front end suspension.
25:44That's the anti-roll bar done. In fact, that's the whole front end done.
25:48This is going to be a beautiful car for somebody to drive. Well, after I've driven it.
26:00The undercarriage of the Alpha might be sorted, but there's still the issue of the substantial crack
26:05in the windscreen. If I want top money, it needs to be replaced. Yeah, over to you, Darren.
26:11I'm looking for a windscreen for an Alpha Sud. 1980. Yeah, that's what everybody's saying.
26:20You've not got one. Do you know anybody that might have one?
26:23OK, I'll keep looking. Thanks anyway. Thanks. Cheers. Bye. Bye.
26:34It's not just the windscreen that's problematic.
26:38Reviving the Alpha Sud's sleepy engine is proving to be a bit of a head-scratcher.
26:43The new ignition coil arrived, it was easy to install and then...
26:46Well, nothing. Well, she doesn't want to fire.
26:54Now, this carburetor's been sat for decades and, of course, all this is all gummed up.
27:00After years of being stood in the garage, the petrol in the carb would have evaporated
27:05and turned into a sticky gunge. You press the accelerator pedal. This is supposed to
27:11move freely and return on that spring and the spring's not strong enough because it's all
27:15pretty dirty and grimy. And I have the perfect idea to get this all cleaned and see if it will
27:23free up the carburetor.
27:27Dry ice blasting is a cleaning method which sounds intense but it's non-abrasive,
27:32so it might be just the key to gently shifting 35 years of engine debris.
27:39Dry ice cleaning specialist Imran and Mike have agreed to take a look.
27:43Now, this is the glorious Alpha Sud. So, this car's sat idle for quite a few decades,
27:49so it hasn't run in years. I've tried to get it running. The carburetor is a little bit jammed up, so
27:55I think if you guys can get in and around the carb, it's actually going to help free it up a bit.
28:00And hypothetically, I should be able to get a nice return on the throttle,
28:05once you get rid of all that gunk. I'm very positive we'll get rid of that gunk. Perfect.
28:22So, dry ice is a form of CO2 which has been compressed under high pressure to form a solid.
28:29We take that solid and force it through our machine with high velocity to remove debris. On
28:35impact it will create a mini explosion where it expands to 500 times its size. It's also minus 80,
28:41so that freezes to help us remove the contaminants as well. It's a wide range that we do. It can go
28:48from anywhere from a house to an oil refinery. We can be used sort of all over.
28:53If the couple of hundred quid I spent on the dry ice cleaning can finally get the
29:01Alfa engine running, by removing 30 years of muck, it will be money well spent.
29:06Nice work lads. Are you happy? Man, that looks great. That looks great. Has it freed that
29:19carburetor up? Completely free.
29:22Oh yeah. It moves now. Oh yeah.
29:25Actually, it returns on the spring now. There you go. Man, that's magical.
29:29Love it. It looks like it left the factory. While I've got you though, do you mind having a look at an
29:33oak beam? Yeah, that's something we could do. Maybe a bit of brick? Yeah.
29:38Marvellous. Yeah, come on. It's at the front of the house.
29:43So now that we're exposing the original oak frame, you can see it's like a
29:48honey brown. Yeah. But inside the porch they'd obviously stained it, so it's a horrible dark brown.
29:55So is there any way do you think ice blasting will get rid of that stain? I believe we can take that back to
30:00that. You reckon you can? Yeah, I believe so.
30:03Dude, if you could do a little sample section. Well, we're here today, yeah?
30:06Yeah. Council planners will need to sign off this cleaning method.
30:10So if I can prove it works with a small sample, it could be the first step towards beautifully
30:16restored beams. And then over here, somebody at some stage has added this brick course.
30:23Imagine if you could get rid of the bitumen and just do a section for now to see if it's doable.
30:27Okay, we'll give these both a go for you now. Yeah? Yeah.
30:33I've got two projects to do. It's not just about the alpha side, it's also about the house.
30:37And I've got people with the skills, ability and equipment to really help the house.
30:41So I really relish these busy days.
30:51In just 10 minutes, the sample patches are ready for inspection.
30:55That's amazing. That is exactly the look I'm after.
31:01Fingers crossed the planning department agrees with me.
31:03This is the bit I've been desperately waiting for with the alpha side.
31:10So I'm just going to drop a little bit of fuel into the ports.
31:25Whoa, wait a minute!
31:26The alpha side lives!
31:36Oh my gosh, it sounds absolutely beautiful.
31:44Oh my gosh, sounds like a performance car.
31:47That's it. That is it. I'm not going to touch it anymore.
31:51I got no one to high-five.
31:53This is a huge weight off my mind because now we have a car that runs.
31:57That's the first time that car has made a noise for decades.
32:02Like, that car's been asleep.
32:04Now she's awake.
32:16The restoration of my parents' retirement farmhouse has reached a crucial stage.
32:21But as I'm learning, everything to do with remodelling a heritage home has a proper process
32:27and a proper price tag.
32:29So I'm pulling in a favour from my mate Duncan.
32:33Now today's a really critical day for the build.
32:35This house is, you know, obviously hundreds of years old.
32:38Its construction is an oak timber frame skeleton.
32:41So our job today is to come up with a strategy that we have to then propose
32:45a heritage of how we do the fill-ins between the timbers.
32:49Morning, morning.
32:50Morning, Hank.
32:51Good to see you, man.
32:52What do you think?
32:53Beautiful.
32:54Yeah, it's going to look stunning.
32:57I would like to expose the timber frame.
32:59We need a solution to fill in where the brick is.
33:01Yeah.
33:02And then a solution to fill in where the mud is.
33:04Yeah, there's lime and chalk plasters that do actually go on this very well.
33:09So they're all breathable and they're very flexible, which is the main thing.
33:14And where it's loose, like here is obviously loose.
33:16Yeah.
33:18It's going to hold that together.
33:20It'll stitch all that back in because the plaster is so fine,
33:23it'll squeeze into all the little cracks and crevices and then bond that.
33:27So we're going to be able to save all of this original mud?
33:31Yeah.
33:31Like mud door?
33:32Water and door, but yeah.
33:33Anything that we can preserve and keep, we'll keep.
33:37So what do you need from me?
33:39A cup of coffee, I think.
33:43Coffee I can do.
33:47It sounds like a promising solution, but for now,
33:50all Duncan can do is create a sample panel for the council to consider.
33:55So this is the lime coat, which is a chalk and lime-based plaster.
33:59There's lots of fibres in this that helps it all bond together
34:03and stops any shrinkage or cracking.
34:05So we just get a bit of plaster and we're squeezing that in against the frame and the panel.
34:13And that'll hold the panel nice and secure then.
34:17And then we've preserved the daub and everything behind
34:20and put a nice coat of flexible lime chalk plaster over the top, which would have been the finish on there originally.
34:30So this is just like a base coat and we'll just put a little scratch and then we let that go off and then process again.
34:44Duncan is working on mates rates, which is a cost I can afford.
34:50But to do the rest of the front of the house, I'm looking at thousands.
34:54And that means the gentle bringing back to life of my Alpha Sud needs to pay off.
34:58So rather than buying new wheels, I've had the Alpha Sud's original 1980 wheels shop-lasted and repainted at a cost of 200 quid.
35:09Look what I got.
35:12Oh, man.
35:14Yeah, they look great.
35:15They're so much better, aren't they?
35:16Yeah, do you think it was the right decision?
35:19Do you know, they did look scabby and wheels on a car really do make the car.
35:23They are a finishing touch and they're as good as new now.
35:27The hubcaps need a final polish, but not too much.
35:30The patina is part of this car's story.
35:34Now, they do look great.
35:35It's kind of refreshing to see a car with very little bling.
35:39We want that kind of survivor look.
35:42I agree with that.
35:43As long as it's clean, I think we should stop there.
35:47All right, let's put the wheels on.
35:57Working on the farmhouse has made me realize how important heritage is.
36:06I'm uncovering what previous owners did to that building.
36:10And ultimately, in 100 years' time, someone's going to uncover what we did on the Alpha Sud.
36:16You know, the romantic side of me thinks that the Alpha Sud community,
36:19who are likely the buyer for the car, are going to recognize the challenges.
36:26Guess we'll find out at auction.
36:31Meanwhile, Duncan has cracked on with the lime plaster.
36:38Right, glasses on for this one.
36:40All right, is this the detail bit?
36:41What we're going to do is gently pull these tapes out.
36:47What?
36:49Man, the lime against the oak.
36:51So you get a nice, sharp line.
36:55There we go.
36:59That'll dry all them little specks, all dry away.
37:02That's amazing.
37:04That is exactly the look I'm after.
37:06That.
37:07It's easy to get too excited at this stage,
37:09because if the people in charge of listed buildings decline this,
37:13then we won't be allowed to do it.
37:14But what we are doing is giving ourselves
37:18a fighting chance of having this approved.
37:19This isn't just about creating a home for my parents.
37:21It's about saving a bit of British heritage.
37:25What do you think?
37:25That is just unbelievable.
37:27It's fantastic.
37:28Really, really good.
37:30This could be how the house should look.
37:31They've got to approve that, surely.
37:33It's just, it's fantastic.
37:34They really have to.
37:35No, if it was down to you and me, it'd be approved.
37:37Yeah, now he's a happy dad.
37:42If the council agreed to the lime render,
37:45it will be costly, but it will be worth it.
37:47And every bit of profit is going to count.
37:49So how much has the alpha suds reawakening cost us all in?
37:54Right, do you want to know exactly how much we've spent
37:57on this little alpha sud?
37:59Purchase price was £4,000.
38:01Mm-hmm.
38:03And actually, we've not spent that much.
38:04£880.60.
38:07Blimey.
38:08So it owes us £4,880.60.
38:14Basically owes us £5,000.
38:16I'm taking a gamble.
38:18I couldn't track down a replacement windscreen,
38:20so I'll have to go to auction as is.
38:23Yeah, I guess in our favour,
38:2580s cars are kind of hot right now.
38:27Yeah.
38:27It has that hot hatch vibe.
38:29Mm-hmm.
38:30It's a niche car, plus it's rare.
38:33There's not many of these out on the road.
38:34No, not at all.
38:35Right.
38:35Before it goes under the hammer,
38:38I'd love to drive her.
38:39Mm-hmm.
38:40I have to.
38:41Ayrton Senna has one of these.
38:43Yeah.
38:43And that guy knows a bit about cars.
39:04All right.
39:11This is the first time that this Alfaçade
39:13has turned a wheel in 35 years.
39:16It always blows my mind.
39:18I like it.
39:19I like it a lot.
39:27Woo-hoo-hoo.
39:29Beautiful.
39:34I'm incredibly impressed.
39:37The ergonomics of this car are really lovely.
39:39It reminds me a bit of a Mark I Escort.
39:43Like its simplicity, everything's in the right place.
39:45The pedals, the gear lever, the steering wheel.
39:48The cockpit is really lovely.
39:51It feels like an 80s hot hatch, but without the hot bit.
39:54I think it's fair to say that a car that Ayrton Senna owns
39:58must be pretty special.
40:01I love the gear change.
40:02I love the steering input.
40:04It handles beautifully.
40:06The weight distribution is actually perfect.
40:09I love the driving position.
40:11Actually, truth be told, I love an Alfaçade.
40:14Yeah.
40:14This is a cool car.
40:26Wow.
40:28That is really, really special.
40:30This was the opposite of a restoration.
40:32This was merely a reawakening.
40:34You know, starting with getting the engine running.
40:37Then once the engine was done, it was about reawakening that suspension.
40:41Ultimately, a car that's been silent for 35 years is now ready to go to a new owner.
40:47And for me, as a car guy, the Alfaçade box is ticked.
40:55There's only one place for the car to go now, and that's to auction, which is being held at the classic car sale at the NAEC Stonely.
41:03Welcome here to the classic car auctioneer.
41:08Here we go.
41:09More than 150 collectible classics are going under the hammer today, including our Alfaçade as lot number 764.
41:17And hopefully in our favour, and unsurprisingly, it's the only Alfaçade here.
41:22It's so strange to see the car in the auction room, because actually the first time I've seen it in a space under lights.
41:29I'm so glad we didn't over restore this car.
41:31I think she's going to do all right today.
41:44When was the last time you went to an auction and there was an Alfaçade for sale?
41:49I don't even recall ever seeing an Alfaçade for sale.
41:52Well, if you're an Alfaçade buyer and you're in the market, you will travel.
41:56Or a bid on the loan bid, yeah.
42:02Lot number 764, then the 1980.
42:05It's the Alfa Romeo, the Alfa Sud for you.
42:07I don't know where to put this, but it owes us £4,800.
42:12It's got to make more than £5,000.
42:15So, straight in then, with you online, £5,000 the opening bid in New Street.
42:20£5,000 the opening bid.
42:21Right, we're into the profit.
42:22£5,000.
42:25Rare little car, that's £5,000.
42:26We have to make more than £200.
42:28£5,000, at £5,000.
42:30We have to make more than £200.
42:32£5,000, can't believe it, £5,000.
42:34Take a £200 if it helps.
42:37Put it £5,000 only then.
42:39We'll sell the car at £5,000.
42:41Oh, come on.
42:42Absolutely short, £5,000 only.
42:43It's worth more than £200 profit.
42:45Any more bid now?
42:46£5,000 then, going to you in Drewsby then.
42:48£5,000.
42:49All done, all short.
42:52Fair warning then, £5,000.
42:53Yours online, £5,000.
42:59I think, truth be told, I can't help but be really disappointed with that.
43:03As I stand here today, I think that the broken windscreen affect the sale price.
43:07Because the truth is, the Alfa Sud should have done better.
43:11To remain positive, the Alfa Sud's on the road, saved from a garage from 30 years of being silent.
43:18And that gives me heart, because ultimately I've grown this really cool respect for Alfa Sud's.
43:23They're a cool car.
43:25And we need more cool cars on the road.
43:29Doesn't help the farmhouse.
43:48We want to be a passionate car.
43:51We want to love to be real.
43:53ều-
43:55households
43:58Hundred
43:59One
44:00One
44:00One
44:01tirar
44:01One
44:02One
44:02Two
44:03One
44:04One
44:05Two
44:05To
44:06Number
44:07Three
44:09One
44:09One
44:10Two
44:10Three
44:10One
44:10Mole
44:11One
44:11One
44:12Two
44:12One
44:13Two
44:14Verse
44:14One
44:14Five
44:17One