Which makes it even more ridiculous that they didn’t rebuild the original engine. They obviously didn’t film it properly at the auction either, because the front ride height would have been rather high as they had already removed the damaged engine - or had they? Perhaps they just left it as a non runner, and all the inspection work was carried out afterwards. Who knows.
What it adds up to is a totally inaccurate representation of the process/facts which does not surprise me at all!
It seems that all “car restoration” shows edit the real stuuf we’re interested in, and make things up for dramatic effect. I suspect that anyone who has actually done a restoration for real will realise this. Documenting a full restoration just doesn’t make for entertaining TV. You’d need a whole series to cover it properly. I mean, think how boring it would be… devoting a whole episode to removing a single siezed bolt, for example…
and the engine they fitted probably wasn’t an S130, it certainly had an earlier cam cover.
Nice new colour though!
Another thing that bothered me about this show was the wheels.
I took mine to my local wheel refurbishers. They did an awesome job on mine and my wifes alloy wheels.
I asked if they could diamond cut the elan wheels and they said its not possible to do. So I thought oh well fifty odd year old alloys what do you expect.
Then Ant says he had the alloys diamond cut. I wonder where that happened.
Anyone on here had alloys restored? Diamond cut?
Yes. When I bought my previous Plus 2 S130/5, the PO had had the wheels restored. They’d been diamond cut and looked stunning. I’d suggest finding another wheel restorer.
Diamond Cut…It depends on how many times they have been diamond cut before. It is only possible for an alloy wheel to be diamond cut restored a couple of times, three times at most. Taking slices of material off the rim edge is the problem.
Alan.
I have owned my Plus 2 for 30 years, and the PO before me had it 18. I have never touched the wheels aside from a bit of black paint, I’,m certain the PO never touched them either.
Perhaps I will take the advice and look for another wheel restorer.
Thanks for all the replies.
Just watched it and that another chunk of time I’ll never get back.
Utter $ hit e
What a dreadful watch - did anyone also notice Ant informing us early on that the gearbox had Maxi internals (it was a 4 speed judging by the stick and gaiter)
I used to quite like the guy but this showed him up to be nothing more than a producer of junk TV for the lazy.
(and, speaking as a Building Surveyor, don’t get me on about some of the stuff with the house)
Ant seems to be going through a rough patch.
You have to remember guys these programmes are for the general public not for real enthusiasts. There are some good restoration programmes on YouTube, like Tyrell’s Classic Workshop, Harry Metcalfs restorations of his fleet and things like Retropower although this can be a bit detailed. But they seldom cover Lotus.
The Drew Pritchard programme does unearth some good finds. I used Paul Darby to restore my steering wheel and he was excellent, but expect to be there a while, he can talk….
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