My first instinct as this show kicked off was that if anyone "test drove" the tires off my car like Mike did, I would kick their.... You can burn the tires off AFTER you bought it, not before.
I watched it, an interesting show. I chuckled a little on the casual comment that it had taken 5 hours just to strip the Jag rear control arms and drive shafts out. And they didn't even show the alignment shimming process when he put it back together. Been there done that and it does take a while
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Mike.... FFR2100 - 331 With Kenne Bell 1500 Blower. T5 and 8.8 w\' 3.08\'s. Best ET 11.71 @ 117
- Chevy motor with EDL carb
- They reduced the main and secondary jets by two sizes to improve idle emmisions.
- Gelcoat, no paint, looked good from 10 feet
- Car "looks" stretched to me but is 90" wheelbase. I think it's the doors being so low and the way the fenders drop lower at the cowl.
- Body lifted off in one piece, doors, floors, hood, trunk, everything
the listing for this show said "cobr@" - i thought at best it would be a Mustang Cobr@ or something but lo and behold, it was really one of our cousins.
i was absolutely fascinated at how easily the body lifted off. imagine we could do that?
i was surprised the emissions inspection in England was so strict for a replica. Their AC replica. all them brand new diesel-powered have fumes so strong i get sick walking around the streets of London.
and i was surprised by all the templates and measurements that had to be taken. i thought California CHP and B&L was tough!
i wonder how often you have to go back for smog check in the UK. they just made it on all accounts and surely the cats will wear out fast if on a carbed car.
I have been watching that show for a couple weeks. I am enjoying it quite a bit. I was suprised to see the Cobr@ last night.
I like the fact that they actually show some work being done on the cars. They never seem to include alignment work on the 3 or 4 shows that I have seen. I also liked how they referred to the car as hand crafted.
The car looked pretty good, but a couple things caught my eye.
Bowtie engine - sin in my book.
The very low doors do make the car look streatched. I think the whole car is low slung. Did you notice that there was no room for gauges behind the steering wheel? It was right up at the body.
Hood scoop looks more like a 69 Mustang than a Cobra.
The side vents were a stamped piece screwed on from the outside. I would have to change those.
I like the fact that they changed the wheels. It looked much better with the deep dish rears.
I am still amazed that most states have done away with any sort of inspection. I have seen some REALLY dangerous cars on the road. Just yesterday I saw a car that had been side-swiped in the past and the rear wheel had about 30 degrees of camber. Of course the tire blew...
When I lived in New Zealand, cars over 5 yrs old, inspected every 6 months. England is really tough. They will park you for a rusty floor pan.
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MKIV Roadster....FFR7694
3-link Moser, Wilwood brakes, 347, TKO
I've been watching WD since Velocity picked it up because I like unusual euro cars and you actually see someone working on fixing and updating unusual things. The American shows are mostly 3o minute commecials for products and have very little actual contant. Any real gear head will like WD...
That being said some of the repairs Ed makes are a little sketchy. Non-computerized carb and a cat? How long is that going to last (long enough to get the car past the test I guess). Re-using bolts and other fasteners that are past their prime is another thing you'll see him do a lot. Other stuff he is really tops on, like welding, body work, and he even showed off a state of the art internal engine cleaning system.
They have done alignments on previous shows, so skipping it is no sin in my book (although he should have at least mentioned it).
I like the fact that they changed the wheels. It looked much better with the deep dish rears.
That one baffled me. They were 3 piece wheels, probably Compomotives so they could have simply changed the rear rim barrels for roughly $100 each to get the offset they wanted and not spend 1700 British Pounds ($2600) on new rims.
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Mike.... FFR2100 - 331 With Kenne Bell 1500 Blower. T5 and 8.8 w\' 3.08\'s. Best ET 11.71 @ 117
You see the MKIII version of Gardner Douglas.
The new MKIV body shape is more standaard.
An other toy of GD is the Lola T70. Thats realy an amazing car (belongs to the fasted cars on the plant with a chevy powerplant.
For information
I live in Holland and here are the rules a lot strikter than in the UK.
I buildt a GD-cobra and we need alway an injection system and CATS,carb is not allowed.
Also the special cartax is now realated to the horsepower (CO2 relation)
For example: a mustang cost about 35.000 euro in the US. In Holland you have to ad 50.000 euro of cartax. Same shit for new built cobra's with a V8 and 400 hp.
Other countries require at this moment already euro 5 engines for new built kits. Otherwise you are not allowed to drive the car on the road.
In europe a lot of governments will make the live of a kitcar builder misserable.
So the smaller engine cars are popular
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Koos
Stock 302 EFI with Omex motor management
...In europe a lot of governments will make the live of a kitcar builder misserable...
In the US we are coming into a presidential election that may turn us into that direction. Our freedoms are constantly being chipped away. I'm afraid the wrong choice in this election will mean we have crossed the point of no return.
i agree with everything everyone said. interesting show, interesting to see a Cobra, it was butt-ugly, interesting to see unusual cars, EDD is a great mechanic, and i learn something every show.
i am glad they are in HD now... the first season was done with a Beta Cam and seemingly ONE light bulb.
there were shots into the wheel wells when EDD was doing the brakes, you could hardly see a thing.
i am canceling my Cable TV for high-speed internet only (half price). Wheeler Dealers is literally the only TV show i watch. i hope it's available for streaming.
Wheeler Dealers is literally the only TV show i watch. i hope it's available for streaming.
.
I haven't been able to find it online. I have Netflix, Blockbuster Online and DishTV (where I can watch recent shows online)...and don't find it anywhere. I'd love to see the older shows. Seems like Velocity has a limited catalog of shows and plays the same ones over & over. I have the DVR set to record all and hardly ever see one that wasn't played before.
I haven't been able to find it online. I have Netflix, Blockbuster Online and DishTV (where I can watch recent shows online)...and don't find it anywhere. I'd love to see the older shows. Seems like Velocity has a limited catalog of shows and plays the same ones over & over. I have the DVR set to record all and hardly ever see one that wasn't played before.
Here it is online on the Street Fire site. They also have a lot of the other wheeler dealer episodes.
When Mike is tearing around with the guys Cobra at the beginning slamming on the brakes, fishtailing around, doing donuts with car, generally beating the daylights out of the guys car. It reminds me of the Allstate commercial with Mayhem driving the guys motorcycle. "I'm some guy you just met on the internet. Three emails later your trusting me with your mid-life crisis." And then he dumps the bike.
The show was relatively interesting. It does have more of the mechanics in it then most of the US car shows out there today, but after going to their web site and seeing some of their pictures on unfinished cars, I don’t think I want to drive one of these. Did anyone else see the rear leg on the roll bar? I’m not too sure I want to trust my head to a bar that is already bent….. even if my wife said it wouldn’t affect anything important.
i am glad they are in HD now... the first season was done with a Beta Cam and seemingly ONE light bulb.
there were shots into the wheel wells when EDD was doing the brakes, you could hardly see a thing.
.
I never noticed that. I've been watching Wheeler Dealers for several years. Before Velocity, I would watch it on Discovery HD. I personally like the earlier shows, as they seemed to tackle projects that could be completed by most home garage mechanics, without special tools.
On another note, there was a show produce in England which featured a mechanic very much like Ed China. During the seasons, he built a few kit cars, a kit airplane, and a kit helicopter. Does anyone remember or know the hosts' name?
Rob
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FFR#2296, 428FE, TKO, IRS (Sold) FFR#0189CP 331/Victor Jr heads and intake
On another note, there was a show produce in England which featured a mechanic very much like Ed China. During the seasons, he built a few kit cars, a kit airplane, and a kit helicopter. Does anyone remember or know the hosts' name?
Rob
I believe that was Mark Evans and it was the "XXX is Born" series. (A Car is Born, A Chopper is Born, etc.) I really liked that show. Evans was enough of a novice so as not to make the show too arcane, and it was very informative.
Tim
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FFR 7681 Mk 4, IRS, 331 with Quad Weber IDAs. Check out my build site: http://www.timsroadster.com
Thanks Tim
That's the guy. Wow! A veterinary surgeon and amateur engineer! I remember the shows about the Cobra, Airplane and helicopter. I would love to see these again, even in reruns.
In 1999, he co-devised the workshop-based "Is Born" format for Discovery Networks Europe. Since then, he has co-produced and presented ten series for Discovery Home & Leisure (now Discovery Real Time). The shows have transmitted in over 70 countries around the world.
A Car Is Born (build of an AC Cobra replica) 15 episodes
A Plane Is Born (build of a 200 mph kit aeroplane) 15 episodes
A Car Is Reborn (total restoration of an E Type Jaguar) 15 episodes
A Chopper Is Born (build of a kit, two-seater helicopter) 15 episodes
A Bike Is Born - Harley (restoration of a Harley WLC45) 5 episodes
A Bike Is Born - Bonneville (restoration of a Triumph Bonneville T120R) 5 episodes
A Bike Is Born - Trike (build of a Boom Power Trike) 5 episodes
A Race Car Is Born (build of a Westfield race car) 15 episodes
A 4x4 Is Born (build of an extreme off road Land Rover) 15 episodes
An MG Is Born (restoration of an MGB Roadster) 10 episodes
Wreck Rescue - follows his journey to help inspire and motivate the restorers of five very different vehicles to achieve their own restoration dreams.
Wood Wizard with Richard Blizzard (crafting wooden objects) 15 episodes
He also co-devised and presented Dream Machines - a prime-time vehicle restoration series on Channel 5.
Rob
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FFR#2296, 428FE, TKO, IRS (Sold) FFR#0189CP 331/Victor Jr heads and intake
When Mike does his end-of-show "profit" calculations, he never accounts for Ed's labor time/cost.
The show would be better if every once in awhile Ed would be allowed to smack Mike upside the head.
I think thats kind of the point, it is the profit for his and Ed work (finding and restoring). I always do the mental calculation in my head (what Ed went through / $ profit). Sometimes they are definately getting a good rate and other times... Not so much...
It would be cool for them to tell us (or at least estimate) how many hours Ed has into each project. That would at least tell us if Ed is making out ok or just working for a couple quid an hour.
It would be cool for them to tell us (or at least estimate) how many hours Ed has into each project. That would at least tell us if Ed is making out ok or just working for a couple quid an hour.
Given the amount of hours that I know many of those jobs take and the meager profit that they often make on the cars, I'm guessing Edd would be in another line of work if his time wasn't subsidized by a fairly popular television show...
Tim
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FFR 7681 Mk 4, IRS, 331 with Quad Weber IDAs. Check out my build site: http://www.timsroadster.com
Check out some of the older shows, Edd is an absolute magician with a rattle can.
I've been watching this show for a long time, and although it's a bit cheesy at times (re: Mike mostly) it's a fun show. I look forward to it every week.
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