Richard.Hammonds.Workshop.S01E05
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00:00This time...
00:02Fire him up! Let's go!
00:04After months of delays and spiralling costs,
00:07we finally launch the new workshop.
00:10Yay! We're officially open.
00:13This is when the hard work starts.
00:15But as usual, I get carried away...
00:17The man who's doing this is going to think I'm an idiot.
00:20...and enter us into the most prestigious car show in Europe.
00:24What an honour to be here.
00:25Some of the best cars in the world. We'll be there.
00:28It's a race against time...
00:30I'm consulting the instructions.
00:32...and our reputations on the line.
00:35I might actually do a runner.
00:38Cars have been my life.
00:40He's giving you a big bump!
00:42Talking about them...
00:44This is a force of nature.
00:45...thrashing them...
00:46That's not what I wanted to see!
00:49...and crashing them.
00:50I'm not going to let you get away with this.
00:52It's a swimmer!
00:54...and crashing them.
00:58But now...
01:00Don't panic. I'm here.
01:02I'm fulfilling my lifelong dream
01:04and starting my own classic car workshop.
01:08Should I get my overalls on?
01:09Restoring some of the finest classic cars in the world.
01:13Heavenly automotive lord.
01:16With father and son team, Neil and Anthony Greenhouse.
01:19We're trusting him and our reputation.
01:21Look away.
01:22Bodging in process.
01:24Oh, you son of a...
01:25I'll be learning how to be a businessman.
01:27What you need is the smallest cog.
01:30You've got my attention a bit now.
01:32And getting my hands dirty.
01:34I'm going to swallow this screw in a minute and die!
01:37You do it quietly.
01:38It'll test my bank balance.
01:39We could ruin the business.
01:41...quies and my relationships.
01:43You'll enjoy it.
01:44Will I?
01:45As I take my obsession to a whole new level.
01:48It's the best game I've ever played
01:50and the most terrifying.
02:06It feels so good to be driving into the new workshop.
02:09This is what we've been working towards for months.
02:12Now we've got to get everything ready for the launch event
02:14this coming weekend.
02:16I've invited friends and people who've been there
02:20on a journey with us, yes.
02:24But also potential customers.
02:26And actually, it's got to start paying its way soon.
02:29Because this is costing a lot of money.
02:31I mean, we're into its hundreds of thousands now.
02:35That I'm in for.
02:37So I want people to be impressed.
02:39It's like all projects, isn't it?
02:41They take twice as long and cost twice as much.
02:44Well, this is that times ten.
02:50THE LUNCHBOX
02:54Big moment. First day.
02:56We look cool.
02:57Reservoir cogs.
02:58Reservoir cogs.
03:00Yeah? This is it.
03:02This is the day.
03:03Hang on, do I have to say anything?
03:04If I declare this?
03:08Oh, hang on, I can't get the key in this.
03:10Right.
03:12Hey!
03:14Oh. Gentlemen.
03:15Here you go. Day one.
03:17This is it.
03:19We're in.
03:20Yep.
03:21I mean, it's not completely finished yet.
03:23We're going to load the van.
03:25I've got my van full of stuff. We've got to get it in there.
03:32Oh! Oh, yes.
03:33Look at it.
03:35This is hardly anything.
03:38So, you're saying I sold my beautiful Lotus
03:41to give you somewhere to keep this.
03:42That's it. Perfect.
03:44Brilliant.
03:45You need all this. You need every bit of this.
03:48It's like some itinerant tramp that follows us around.
03:52All we've done is walk down a bigger, hauled-in place.
04:00Guys, Saturday is roaring up at us.
04:05That's the big day.
04:06I've still got stuff to do with organising it.
04:09I've got to finalise a list of all the people I've invited coming.
04:13When they come in here, it's got to be like,
04:14this is ta-da, and it's got to be ta-da.
04:17Wow!
04:18Not ta-da.
04:20Yeah, you do your bit, and we'll do ours.
04:22We'll do ours. Don't worry.
04:23All right. See you later.
04:26It's great to be in the new workshop,
04:28but we've got four days to get it looking as we want it,
04:31to impress our customers, to get people in, start booking work in.
04:35This launch is vital to attract new business,
04:38so it's got to make some noise.
04:41I've got the perfect man for the job.
04:44I've recruited Zog, an old mate from my motoring journo days.
04:49He's been masterminding publicity and logistics for the event.
04:53I've been brought in to do this PR director stuff,
04:57to help make a splash.
04:59And I've come up with a plan to get some local interest going,
05:03that we should have a cavalcade of classic cars around the town of Ross,
05:07and hopefully we'll catch some nice pictures of that happening.
05:10There's a lot to do,
05:12and time is running out.
05:14I'll talk to the press, I will talk to the local radio people,
05:18I will talk to the local television people.
05:20Have you got a route planned?
05:22No.
05:23Have you got somebody to warn the police and things
05:26that you might be having a little procession through the town?
05:30That's a good point.
05:32We need to find somewhere to gather at the beginning of the cavalcade.
05:35In Ross? Yeah.
05:42Left here? Yeah.
05:45See, now, we can come along here.
05:47This is the nice bit of Ross.
05:48It's all nice, if you don't mind, just cos you're a Ledbury man.
05:51Richard's a great ideas man,
05:53but also away with the fairies a little bit.
05:56He'll start something and get bored.
05:58Then we go round there, past the moothouse.
06:01That's a moothouse.
06:02We've got caterers to worry about.
06:04We've got the mayor, who's going to come on the day, to worry about.
06:09We now have to commit to what we've talked about and do it.
06:13Right, look, we want a meeting place.
06:15This is picturesque, spacious,
06:19give people, like, 45 minutes to gather,
06:22and then set off.
06:25Right. Well, it's huge.
06:27Yeah, plenty big enough.
06:29A dignified exit.
06:31Oh!
06:32Get a proper car.
06:34So, everybody gathers here.
06:38Will we have a section coned off?
06:40I don't know.
06:41Just for the classics, or will they have to park randomly?
06:44Cos there's Saturday, there might be a lot of shoppers.
06:46We can't just make that decision. We'd have to ask.
06:48OK.
06:51Right. There's a lot to sort out.
06:57The launch day is now just two days away,
07:00and back at the workshop,
07:01My head feels like it's going to explode
07:03because it's one thing after another, after another,
07:06deadline, deadline, deadline.
07:08But we've got to get through it.
07:10We've got a million and one things to do,
07:12and I'm just really, really worried
07:13that we're not going to be ready for the open day.
07:15I know Richard's been really busy today, doing what he's doing,
07:18but I can really do with him being here to give me a hand.
07:22I'm on my way to get some car parts,
07:24but they're not actually for a car.
07:26They're for a car that's going to be a bit more expensive.
07:29But they're not actually for a car.
07:31They're for my top-secret project.
07:34We need a handrail on the mezzanine level,
07:37but I want it to be a bit decorative.
07:40So I've taken inspiration from those Airfix kits
07:42I used to build as a kid.
07:44I'm going to do a giant version of one of those.
07:47It'll be brilliant and a huge success, and people shall admire it.
07:53I've known Richard Hammonds a very long time.
07:56When Richard is involved in something,
07:58he immerses himself.
08:00I've got a trolley for you. Ready?
08:01Brilliant.
08:02But then he's easily distracted, like a kitten with a roll of wool.
08:06No, no, no.
08:09Yes.
08:10But this isn't just passing fancy.
08:12This is a business. This is people's livelihoods.
08:15Where would I find a horn?
08:18Where's our horns?
08:19Who's got the horn?
08:21I'm just concerned he keeps focused on the business and the turnover
08:27and the profit margins and looking after the employees.
08:32Good mission, that.
08:33We're good. This is a reasonable haul for what I want to do.
08:39Back at home...
08:40Eyes.
08:42I'm pulling a late one
08:44to make sure my Airfix-inspired balcony is ready for the launch.
08:49Oh, God, Benny.
08:50I've even roped in my dad.
08:53We haven't worked in a workshop together since I was a tiny dot.
08:56So, yeah, right now, it's great, but there's a lot to get done.
09:01We've got this, this and this.
09:07More importantly, my beer's over there.
09:09I will party that once you've done that. I'll hold it.
09:12Right, we're going to weld it there.
09:14Yeah.
09:15And there. And just hope it hasn't got any magnesium in it.
09:17Because if I weld to that, it might explode in our faces.
09:21That's the sort of thing.
09:22That's nice.
09:23I just stand back a bit when I do this.
09:25Yeah, I will.
09:26Hold that to there.
09:29Yeah, yeah.
09:30And then, zz, zz, and it won't explode.
09:34Well, don't ask me, mate. I haven't heard of that.
09:36Well, oddly enough, I've not welded an old nail to a screw in a mini intake before.
09:40I can't say I have either. Not recently.
09:41Everybody ready? Yeah.
09:46Right, George, I think we've done it.
09:48Brilliant.
09:50That was a lot of weld.
09:51I think I did a brilliant job there.
09:53You were excellent.
09:54It's a double-edged sword, isn't it?
09:55We're having a great time in there,
09:56because we're, you know, two blokes messing about building stuff.
10:00But actually, I've got this deadline looming.
10:02It's got to be ready.
10:04Well, I bet Mum's pleased you got involved, a little bit of peace.
10:07As to herself.
10:08Probably.
10:12Right, now we're just a day away from the big launch.
10:16I was expecting to find everything ready.
10:20There's still a lot to do.
10:23I feel not an early night coming on.
10:30There you go.
10:31That is the mother of Hoovers.
10:33Is it?
10:34And you look like the right candidate to operate it.
10:38That's a vacuum cleaner.
10:39Yep, just plug it in.
10:41Oh, excellent.
10:42Don't bother with number one, go straight for flat out.
10:45Obviously.
10:49Anthony, where do I plug this in?
10:54I reckon I've got about 30 seconds until the novelty wears off.
11:04Is that the mayor of Hereford?
11:07It is indeed.
11:09We can run that curtain as well, along the bottom of that beam.
11:11Yeah, we can. Perfect.
11:12Perfect, along that straight beam.
11:17Strip's there.
11:18Strip's there.
11:19Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:24Does it feel like home yet?
11:27I feel like hell.
11:29It's absolutely state-of-the-art.
11:32State-of-the-art. Everything's new.
11:35Look at that!
11:36That is proper exciting.
11:38A legend is born, et cetera, et cetera.
11:44I am on fire, aren't you?
11:46Yeah, I am.
11:48Somewhere behind me is a man from BBC Hereford and Worcester.
11:53Richard, this is an exciting project.
11:55So who's this for, then, is it?
11:58Super million pound cars,
11:59or could it be something we've got knocking about in the shed as well?
12:01It could be anything.
12:02If it's something that somebody cares about enough
12:04to invest time, care, patience and money,
12:07then that's what we're here to do.
12:09I'm really excited for tomorrow.
12:10Once people come down and see what we're doing,
12:12hopefully they'll like it and we'll get jobs off that,
12:14which then, going forward for the future, will help.
12:17Very nervous, but this could be actually something big for all of us.
12:23It looks like we're set.
12:25There's just time to wow the boys with my little bit of creative genius.
12:34Dun-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!
12:40You see?
12:41What's that?
12:42Well, it's the rail, it's the handrail.
12:44And this is to legislative heights and all that sort of stuff, legal.
12:48That's quite impressive.
12:49You did that?
12:51Yes.
12:52What do you think?
12:54It's like a big kit car.
12:56Exactly right. Very clever.
12:58Tomorrow feels like a day that I thought would never come.
13:04For, I don't know, 18 months we've been thinking about it.
13:07Coming in this building when it was first going up
13:09and then stopped and then started again.
13:12The first wow will really matter to us because this was our shared goal.
13:16This is what we're wanting to build.
13:17It'll be fun for friends and family,
13:19but I have invited some potential customers.
13:23And this is a chance to say,
13:24look, there we are, this is what we've got, this is what we can do.
13:27This is the heart of it. This is what we've been working for.
13:30So it matters to all of us personally as well that it looks bang on.
13:46Oh, my Lord, oh, my Lord, the day has come.
13:48I've been, not dreading it, but I've been apprehensive
13:52because a lot hangs on it.
13:54So I will shoot over to the workshop
13:57and make sure that everything's tickety-boo there.
14:00And I want to check out the route for the cavalcade
14:04just to make sure there's no sudden diversions or something
14:08sprung up since we last had a look.
14:10You know how it is.
14:13Morning.
14:14Good morning, Richard.
14:15As shy and retiring as always.
14:16I know.
14:18How are you?
14:19I'm not too bad, Neil. How are you?
14:20Oh, not too bad.
14:21Nice to see you again.
14:22Looking nice.
14:23Yeah, thank you very much.
14:25I'm going to be quite nervous about today
14:27because we've got a lot of loading on this.
14:28Did you sleep much last night?
14:30No, I never slept at all.
14:31No, nor me.
14:34This is it.
14:35We've got Dean, inevitably with one of his Bentleys.
14:38Harry Metcalf, we met him at the London Concourse,
14:41but I've known him years.
14:42Big car collector.
14:44He could be a customer.
14:46Even my mum and dad are in.
14:48They've all come.
14:50The plan is we're going to do like a parade lap of Ross
14:53and then we set off on the drive to the workshop.
14:56Then it gets a bit nerve-wracking
14:57because that's when all these people are going to see
14:59what we've been working on all this time.
15:02Nice bit of architecture.
15:03It's a proper old market town.
15:05And with any luck,
15:08the crowds will gather on the pavements
15:10and think, what's going on here?
15:12Must find out more.
15:13Oh, and take my classic to the smallest cog.
15:18OK, everybody, fire them up.
15:21Let's go.
15:29If I get lost...
15:30Oh, God.
15:31Well, I can't remember the route.
15:34Look at them behind us.
15:35Big wave.
15:37That's Drive Monty on the road.
15:43Give them some horn.
15:44Hooray!
15:45Yay!
15:48Slightly wider than the gearbox there, isn't it?
15:51Yeah, it's made for me, isn't it?
15:53Whoa!
16:00Well, this will surprise the good folks of Ross.
16:02It will.
16:06Busy in Ross.
16:11Hi.
16:13Hello.
16:15Classic cars do make people smile.
16:17I know that's a cheesy thing to say...
16:18Yeah, they do.
16:19..but people are grinning their heads.
16:21That looks beautiful, down that street.
16:29Ah.
16:30Well, I have no experience with major parking events.
16:36I didn't know that this would be part of my brief
16:39as global PR director for the smallest cog.
16:43But I'm sure we'll muddle through
16:45without the cars banging into each other.
16:48Oh, God, I'm really not.
16:49I'm all of a sudden thinking,
16:51what will people make of it?
16:53What if they look and say that's rubbish?
16:55They won't.
16:58I hope not.
17:00Ooh!
17:02We are now waiting for the cavalcade.
17:05No diversions on the route, thank heavens.
17:08Let the day begin.
17:14Well, at least I didn't get lost.
17:16Here is the E-Type.
17:20Hello. Hello.
17:22Hello. We're here. Hello.
17:23Why are the doors up?
17:25Yes, because the mayor's coming to...
17:27We didn't... Did you want it shut?
17:29No, we'll have the doors up.
17:30In there.
17:32No, that's not going in there.
17:33That's not going in there.
17:34These are going in here.
17:36Everything's here.
17:38Does anybody know how many cars we've got?
17:40If you go forward... 20-something.
17:41Right, so one, two, three...
17:42He's never done anything like this before.
17:45And all these people who are here are enthusiasts.
17:49They know their stuff.
17:51They know what they need.
17:53So this is kind of the big sales day, isn't it, as well?
17:58This is enormous.
18:01So the hope is they'll be impressed
18:06and it will generate some work.
18:13Ladies and gentlemen, great silence, please, for...
18:17And it's the right worshipful mayor.
18:19Right worshipful mayor of Harrowford.
18:20Ladies and gentlemen, it does really give me great pleasure
18:24to officially cut the ribbon
18:26and wish everybody all the best for the future.
18:30Yay!
18:32Thank you for doing that. I really appreciate that.
18:34Come on, Charles, that's pretty cool.
18:37We're officially open.
18:39Now for the serious bit.
18:41Salesman mode, Hammond.
18:43Right, get to work, you lot. In there.
18:46Thank you very much for joining.
18:48We will be doing tours for everybody.
18:52These are all things that you guys will be familiar with.
18:54The prep booth in there.
18:55I'm really excited that we've got those air-connected tools for it.
18:59It's about controlling dust, obviously.
19:01This is when the hard work starts.
19:03It's about them focusing on the customer,
19:06making sure that they have got work coming in.
19:08That genuinely isn't bad for a gents.
19:10These guys will have seen far, far worse.
19:12Oh, we have.
19:14Am I right in the assumption that this part here
19:17is something of that kind?
19:18Yeah. But you can't buy them.
19:20This isn't a normal table. This is one-inch thick steel.
19:23It takes the heat away, so when he's welding the bejesus out of this,
19:26it doesn't move and it dissipates the heat.
19:28There's new equipment. It's tidy and clean,
19:32which is an important factor for producing quality.
19:36On this oven, you can press a special button
19:39and those jets come in and it circulates the air.
19:41With the experience of Neil and his team,
19:45I think it could be a very good success.
19:48It's a nice car.
19:49Yeah, you've got to fix it for me.
19:51What do you want doing to it?
19:52I'll show you.
19:53And the problem is here.
19:55Oh, on the bottom of the wheel arch?
19:56Yes.
19:58So a man of your calibre could fix that.
20:00Yeah.
20:03I think I just booked him off to his job.
20:04What? He's a carer?
20:05Yeah, seriously.
20:07Yeah, I talked him into booking his car in.
20:09Oh, brilliant.
20:10I think it's fantastic. I'm a Herefordshire resident,
20:12so I'm very, very pro of that.
20:14I think it's absolutely wonderful. We've got some real quality.
20:17A massive leap from where they've come from,
20:19but, you know, Neil and Anthony are no mugs.
20:23They'll see it through. They'll carry it off.
20:25They are genius at what they do.
20:27It's a whirlwind.
20:29My head's spinning.
20:30I'm really happy and I'm really tired.
20:34It's fantastic.
20:36It's really incredible.
20:37It's sort of super high-tech, comes to Herefordshire.
20:41He's a good boy. He should be very proud of himself.
20:47Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please.
20:50We're going to try and do the photograph now.
20:54Everyone by your vehicles.
20:56And make sure the camera can see you.
20:59If you go that way a little bit, Rich.
21:01Hold it there.
21:03Everybody.
21:07I am relieved beyond description that it's the end of the day.
21:10This has been our place. We built it. We made this.
21:14And it was hellish hard work.
21:17And then everybody coming along, it was really nerve-wracking.
21:20But it went well.
21:22It's actually here now.
21:24All of the effort to get here was to get to the start line.
21:27And that's where we are. That's what this is.
21:29So, yeah, this is the start. This is where we kick off.
21:37The launch event was good. It launched us.
21:40And people saw that's who we are and where we are.
21:42But there are bits of work coming in.
21:44But I think another little push to get it over the edge
21:48and to say, we're here, we're real, and we want work.
21:52Because that's a big hungry beast we've created there.
21:54That needs feeding with jobs, a lot of them.
21:5720 grand a week.
21:59And we're going to do it.
22:01We're going to do it. We're going to do it.
22:03We're going to do it. We're going to do it.
22:0520 grand a month. And I've had a bit of a smart idea.
22:08This might work. I don't know.
22:11This might not work. It might be a stupid idea.
22:14Why am I doing this? He's going to think I'm an idiot.
22:18Hello. How are you doing?
22:19I'm all right. How are you, mate?
22:21Good. Yeah, not too bad, thank you. Not too bad. How about you?
22:24Very well, you know, toddling along.
22:25We're doing well. We've launched our little business.
22:27We've got work coming in, but I want to get...
22:29Yeah, I want to put our name on the map a little bit.
22:32Long and the short of it, what's the chance
22:35of me getting a car we've been restoring and have restored
22:39to the Hampton Court show?
22:42Well, you know, it all depends on the quality of the car, really.
22:45The event was created to gather the 60 best cars in the world.
22:51Only the best.
22:52But you still have your, like, tier two.
22:56What do you have to be to get in there?
22:58Yeah, I think what you're referring to is probably the Club Trophy.
23:02That's it.
23:03The Rolls-Royce Club might submit a car
23:05and the Bentley Club might submit a car.
23:06It's a Ford Escort RS2000.
23:08But that, to a lot of people now,
23:10is going to be seen as a really special car.
23:12I mean, that's, you know, people, they remember them fondly.
23:15I would say this, we've never had one before at the event.
23:19But these cars are all gathered here
23:22because of the passion of the owners of these cars.
23:25You know, this is a car that people's dads would have owned.
23:28Exactly. That was my thinking.
23:31So, do you think we could do it?
23:34I think we could swing it.
23:36Oh, mate! That would be...
23:40I promise you, it will be up to scratch.
23:43Yeah, look forward to seeing the car there.
23:44Mate, that's brilliant. Thank you, Luke.
23:46I owe you big time.
23:47Cheers, buddy.
23:49Cheers. Bye.
23:51Oh, my word.
23:52I did not think that was going to work.
23:54I thought he'd just laugh me out of town, but it worked.
23:58The only thing is...
24:03I've got that slightly anticlimactic feeling you get
24:05after something really good news,
24:06then you realise, yeah, we've actually got to do it now.
24:12Ah, it's not far away.
24:18I bought this fast Ford to showcase what the lads can do
24:22and hopefully turn a profit when we eventually sell it.
24:26We've stripped the car
24:27and completely restored the rusted body.
24:30Now it's ready for a full re-spray and rebuild.
24:38Chaps, I've just been talking on the phone
24:42to the organiser of the Hampton Court Palace Concord.
24:46And long story short, he said we can take and show our Escort there.
24:52The Hampton Court Palace.
24:53The big event.
24:54As the Cog, as us.
24:55It's our work.
24:56Alongside the best cars in the world.
24:59Are you happy to do that?
25:00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:01It puts us on the map.
25:02It's not far away.
25:05How long have we got?
25:06Next week.
25:07What?
25:08Next week.
25:10What, this week coming?
25:11Yeah.
25:13Well, that has got to be the...
25:16You've repaired for some late nights, then.
25:19I'd love to go, though.
25:20I'm a bit nervous timescale-wise, but I'd love to go.
25:23I'd love to get it there.
25:24It's a good idea. You know it is.
25:26Puts us on the map.
25:27OK.
25:29Hampton Court Palace.
25:31That's up here.
25:32That is, that is.
25:33Do you know how big that place is?
25:35Yeah, I've seen it.
25:36That's like Rolls-Royces, Bugattis, everything.
25:40That's all the top end stuff.
25:41And our work will be there.
25:42Oh, yeah.
25:44I meant it when I said it.
25:45Some of the most discerning car collectors
25:46and some of the best cars in the world will be there.
25:49And they're going to be all right.
25:52They see it as an opportunity.
25:54They get it.
25:55I can't put into words how long this car's going to take to build,
25:58so we won't be going home.
26:00We literally will not be going home.
26:02You won't get another chance to get it mounted there.
26:03Whatever it takes, we've got to get it done.
26:08Right, we'd better get on with it.
26:10With so much to do, we've drafted in Neil's brother, Andrew,
26:14also a bodywork specialist.
26:16Spraying a car that's going to be shown at the Hampton Court Concours
26:20is a massive test for both our new £65,000 paint room and Neil.
26:25Good luck with it.
26:26All right, first one.
26:28Don't buck it up.
26:36Oh, hello.
26:40I love the colour.
26:42Were you nervous?
26:43Yeah, very much so, yeah.
26:44Well, that is a significant moment.
26:46First one done.
26:48Right, gentlemen, we must commence Operation Rebuild Escort.
26:52Oh, yes.
26:54Two days.
26:55That's all we've got to turn this shell of a car
26:57into a show-stopping concourse star.
27:02Two more. Two more.
27:08Hello, baby.
27:10Two more.
27:18Overnight, I've had a call.
27:21What a beautiful place.
27:24Wealthy local businessman and classic car nut, Dean,
27:27was so impressed by the new workshop that he wants to see us.
27:31Immediately.
27:33This reminds me of Willy Wonka they should be.
27:35It's just absolutely jaw-droppingly pretty.
27:39I'll take it.
27:43Despite the RS deadline, this isn't an invitation we can put on hold.
27:48He's said that if we impress him with our work,
27:51we'll be in with a shot of restoring a super-rare Type R Bentley.
27:55Please follow me, gentlemen.
27:56Following you.
27:57Yes, please.
28:02A Series 2 Land Rover.
28:05Yeah.
28:07Now, there are two significant things that we need to improve on this car.
28:12Obviously, because this has been used for going down to the bottom field,
28:17where we do some clay pigeon shooting.
28:19Unfortunately, we've had it too close,
28:21and some of the clays have dropped.
28:24That's what's dinged it. I see.
28:26So, there's a light, small little dint in there.
28:30Some paint has been taken away.
28:33The driver's door, it doesn't shut properly.
28:37That would drive you insane, I would say.
28:39Exactly. But I've been waiting for this moment in time
28:42for you to come along and get it done for me.
28:49On the basis that Neil does the work,
28:55conducts the work on my Land Rover satisfactorily,
28:59he has the ticket to go to the next level with the R-Type.
29:10Hampton Court starts tomorrow,
29:13but scary the deadline to get the Escort there is tonight.
29:16While the chaps crack on with the final stage of body rebuild,
29:20I'm off to get the interior that's been at a retrimming specialist.
29:24This Escort will be the first car we've done from beginning to end.
29:28The fact that we've got the chance to take it to Hampton Court
29:30is just extraordinary.
29:34Getting there is one thing.
29:36Being laughed at at the show for being a bunch of bumpkin idiots
29:39with a terrible car is another one.
29:43Right. This is where I came about six weeks ago to drop the trim off.
29:48And now I'm back to collect it.
29:56Exciting.
29:58That, I think, is the man.
30:01Steve-o.
30:04Hello. Nice to see you again, mate. I'm here.
30:07Um, how are you doing?
30:08That's looking good.
30:09That's good news. How did it go?
30:11One of the worst of the headrests to do.
30:14That's just my opinion, anyway.
30:16That looks brilliant. I mean, that is...
30:18As far as the RS2000, that is it.
30:20Yeah, yeah.
30:22I mean, that is the bit, isn't it? That's what everybody thinks of.
30:24Genius. Well done, Seb. Thank you very much.
30:27Is this mine? It is.
30:28That looks fab, doesn't it?
30:30Originally, the car had black seats,
30:32but beige was an option, and I've gone for that.
30:35I'm really pleased.
30:37Right, I'll go and put that in my car.
30:39If they've got any of the... Bloody hell, I wouldn't...
30:42No, I'm...
30:44It's embarrassing. I've struggled.
30:47Um, any of the bits that anyone can bring for me, brilliant,
30:50because I am going to... As soon as it's in the car, I'm off.
30:55One of those goes in.
30:57That looks really good. It's going to look gorgeous against that midnight blue.
31:01That will look fab.
31:04The stakes are high for this car. It really, really matters.
31:09This is also really, really not finished.
31:13Oh, that's an hysterical laugh.
31:15Yeah.
31:16What I really enjoy is when one is on a tight deadline,
31:21making sure everybody else feels the pain.
31:24It's not, strictly speaking, your deadline. It's mine.
31:28But I'm sharing it with you.
31:31Is that helping?
31:32Should I shut up? I'll go away. I'll leave it to you.
31:35I'll... I'm going to stand over here now while you finish your critical work.
31:42Thank you, chaps, for your diligence and speed.
31:46Mostly the speed.
31:50OK, taking this home to much praise.
31:54I'm not going to lie, I'm wondering if I should have gone black rather than beige.
31:58But it's too late.
32:06Oh, look at that.
32:07I like the colour.
32:08That's a nice car.
32:12They've done all this as well, haven't they?
32:14Oh, my giddy goodness.
32:16What I am doing here is something rarely seen around these or any other parts.
32:20I am consulting the instructions.
32:23I need to know which way round the seat runners go, so I'm looking it up.
32:27Yeah, they all think I'm an idiot.
32:29Has anybody ever opened this?
32:32We already know it. We don't need to look it up.
32:34I know it. It's all in my head, isn't it?
32:37OK, we're missing something.
32:40There's something that goes between these and the seats, isn't there?
32:44There's a frame.
32:45No, shouldn't be.
32:46No, the rails don't go directly on there.
32:48Yeah, they should do. They definitely do.
32:50We could have a major problem in that case, couldn't we?
32:52Massive.
32:54They don't fit directly to the seats.
32:56There's another little bit that goes in between.
32:58If we can't find those, we can't put seats in and we can't take it.
33:04Basically, if anything goes wrong, we can't take the car
33:07and something has gone wrong.
33:10I might actually do a runner.
33:15I'm genuinely tempted.
33:19I'm so worried.
33:21I think everybody's getting properly tired.
33:24Mistakes have been made. Things are taking four times as long as they should.
33:27If we don't get it to Hampton Court, we'll just have thrown money away.
33:33Cheer up, Hammond. Don't be down.
33:35I have a plan.
33:36Up my house, there's some old Capri seats which look very similar to them.
33:40I'm going to have a quick look and then I'll tell you in two minutes then.
33:44I have the answer in my hoarding collection.
33:48I've got it.
34:05I'm hoping that's what we need.
34:19Those are the bits.
34:20Multitasking.
34:21Seatbests, you're only eating at the same time.
34:26I was told never to speak my mouth full.
34:29Luckily, it's not full.
34:31It's only half full.
34:34Well done.
34:36You don't realise how lucky you are.
34:38Oh, the smugness now is going to be agony.
34:44Gentlemen,
34:46the rag and bone man has solved it by finding one of his...
34:48I am the Lord of Hoarding.
34:50Neil's collection of tat has solved the problem.
34:55This pile of junk is what we need.
35:00That's the difference between all of our efforts being wasted
35:04and being worth it.
35:11Gentlemen, we have 45 minutes left.
35:15And more than 45 minutes of work to do.
35:19Yeah.
35:20What I'm going to do is call Luke,
35:22the very nice man that gave us the slot
35:25at one of the world's premier concourse shows,
35:29and plead with him.
35:30Hello, Luke?
35:33Hello, mate, it's Richard Hammond.
35:36We're booked in to arrive at sort of six this evening,
35:41or is it five?
35:43Six is good, yeah.
35:45Right.
35:48I've got two choices.
35:49I can just be late and blame the traffic,
35:53or say, is there any chance we can push it a bit later?
35:57I mean, this is beyond down to the wire.
36:02Well, okay.
36:04I mean, we obviously would love to help you out this evening,
36:09but, you know, we're in a royal palace here.
36:13There's a lot of security.
36:15There are people that live inside Hampton Court Palace as well.
36:18There are quite a lot of rules
36:19about when we're allowed to bring the cars in.
36:22Yeah.
36:23So there's not much we could do to push it this evening,
36:27but we could welcome you in
36:30before the show opens tomorrow morning.
36:33Ooh, what time would we have to get there to do that?
36:36Erm, that would probably be about 8am, 7.30, 8am.
36:40So we could take it in in the morning?
36:43Yeah. 8am. Yes.
36:45Yes. Then we will do that.
36:47Luke, that is wonderful, wonderful news,
36:49and I thank you for it.
36:51All right. Thank you, Richard. Good luck.
36:53Cheers. Thank you.
36:54Cheers. Bye.
36:55Yes!
36:58Oh!
37:00That's...
37:02That's a significant yes.
37:04Yes?
37:05Yes. We've bought some more time.
37:08We can deliver it tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock,
37:10which means we've bought the time we need, hopefully, to get it ready.
37:14We'd have to leave at about 5.
37:16It's a bit brutal, this.
37:22Look at that.
37:26I feel so tired, I just want to go to sleep.
37:28There's no point in going this far and giving up the day.
37:31You've got to keep going.
37:32Come on, then, Tarquin. Let's have an in.
37:35Oh, that's looking a bit better. Look at that.
37:39That is a relief to see that going in.
37:53That's come a long way in seven weeks.
37:55It's come a long way since Monday.
37:56Yeah. At least the whole car, hasn't it?
37:58And I bet none of the other cars were done in seven weeks.
38:01Let's just get it there, innit?
38:05We are turning up at one of the premier automotive shows in the world
38:09with an old Ford.
38:10Shall we do a hand-drawn floor sales sign
38:14on a piece of cardboard with stickies and a windscreen?
38:16Is that classy, sir?
38:20Well, the Parsoners, welcome to Well, the Parsoners.
38:27On the road to the World of Parsons,
38:28we're going to be driving a car that's been around for a long time.
38:32Morning. Morning.
38:35This is one of the top three classic car shows...
38:38It's actually in the world.
38:39..we are driving... A Land Rover.
38:41..through the best bit of it.
38:45Oh, that's gorgeous.
38:47Oh, he's got dust on him. He fell. Oh, my word.
38:49Bentley Sport.
38:51Oh, that's for Mr Toad.
38:53Ha-ha.
38:57This just got real.
38:58I didn't bring my Vaseline, my friend.
39:00Are we OK?
39:01Watch your side, Rich.
39:02I am watching my side. You're OK, you're clear.
39:05I can't breathe in.
39:06Can somebody watch the tail of my trailer past that Bentley
39:09because I don't want to sell my house.
39:14I reckon we slipped into this event a treat and nobody noticed.
39:16Nobody noticed, mate. Nobody noticed.
39:22That was terrifying.
39:25It was, wasn't it?
39:26It was, wasn't it?
39:27It was, wasn't it?
39:28That was terrifying.
39:34Are you sure about going on the lawn?
39:35Oh, right. Outside the palace?
39:37He meant the other grass. Oh, brilliant.
39:39That's fine. Yeah, I meant that grass.
39:40That's going to mess the croquet up, isn't it?
39:42It's going to be fine.
39:43That's some of the best cars in the world.
39:44In the world?
39:45There's people who've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds
39:47to bring them here.
39:48And our car, from our little workshop...
39:49Yeah. ..is amongst it.
39:51Yeah.
39:52It's on the edge, but it's amongst it.
39:55Let's have a stroll down and just check out the competition.
39:58See if they're in with a chance.
40:00Yeah.
40:01Yeah.
40:02OK, fine, that line is on there.
40:04Yeah.
40:05And, like, that's all in one.
40:06Look how sharp it is on that edge.
40:08Size of the wheels.
40:10That, that, that is...
40:11I like that.
40:13Yeah.
40:14It's not perfect, though.
40:15No. I'd say.
40:19I tell you what, I was a bit nervous bringing it here today.
40:22You were?
40:23I look at all the other cars here, and it's...
40:25But she's holding her own. She's a good little car.
40:28And the other thing is, with this car, you think about it,
40:31all those old posh high-end cars and millions of pounds worth,
40:34and this is, like, your working-class Euro car.
40:37Me and Dan have never been to a show like this before.
40:39I've always dreamt of it.
40:40And to actually be around this now,
40:42it's like a dream come true for us both.
40:45A lot of these cars, I've only ever read about it.
40:47I've never seen them in the flesh.
40:49Well, now we're playing with the big fishes in the sea,
40:51so this is going to be, like, next step.
40:53And in a minute, I think we've got the judges coming round
40:56to look around our work, so I'm starting to get a bit nervous.
41:00I'm anxious.
41:01Whatever they say, you'll learn by it.
41:03Hello.
41:05Yes, I'm Richard.
41:06Is now a good time to tell you I've got an original as well, custom?
41:10Oh, no.
41:11No, it's not.
41:13As you can see, there is an engine.
41:15The front required considerable work.
41:17It had gone in all the places that these go,
41:20which, Neil, is...
41:21It was... Well, basically, it was delivered by dustpan and brush.
41:27I'm here now.
41:28And in six weeks, we've changed the shattered eggs,
41:31the inner wings, front panel, the bulkhead.
41:34This car originally did have a black interior.
41:36And they let him have them.
41:38So why did you go for pale?
41:39Because Richard decided he wanted the contrast.
41:44I have to say, I've got a real soft spot for RS2000s.
41:47They're brilliant cars.
41:48They speak totally of the era.
41:51Hugely evocative.
41:52What's important about a lot of the judging we're doing is the story
41:56and where the car's come from, how it's got there.
41:58And the story behind this and the guys that have worked tirelessly
42:01for seven weeks really adds to it.
42:04Stunning car.
42:06When you restore a car that's original,
42:08it's that fine balance between keeping it original
42:11and over-restoring it.
42:13Seeing what they've done to this,
42:15they've hit that balance perfectly.
42:18My car is an original one,
42:19and it's certainly starting to show its age.
42:21So I would definitely consider sending the car to them.
42:25Beautiful, yeah.
42:26Takes me back many years
42:28when I was first looking at these back in the 80s.
42:31This is an immaculate model.
42:32Somebody's obviously spent a lot of loving time putting it together.
42:35And it fits in very, very well.
42:39You can park that in a car park next to a Bentley.
42:42I bet more people would be crowding around the asphalt looking at it.
42:47And it's just absolutely meant, and it's not been spoiled.
42:55So, if we're looking at the F40,
42:59elegance of design is the sort of top one out of ten.
43:04Well, you've got to say it's top.
43:06It's ten, isn't it?
43:07Yeah, it is ten. It's absolutely perfect.
43:09And then on the Jaguar, the originality of that was that sort of...
43:14Oh, spectacular.
43:15It's not always those super-valuable cars, though,
43:17that are deserved winners, in my humble opinion.
43:22I do love that RS 2000.
43:24I think that's a...
43:25It's a people's car, isn't it?
43:27It's a people's car.
43:28Unfortunately, the car should have had the original interior.
43:33It's a shame, because every attention to detail was matched for it, but...
43:36It's such a lovely car.
43:38And, you know, the cars behind us, it's an incredible machinery here,
43:42but it stands on its own two feet, doesn't it?
43:44It's a car that people love.
43:45They should definitely be hugely proud of what they've achieved.
43:49This is a Mark II Jaguar 3.8.
43:52The one to have, the M3 of the day.
44:00We brush by the trophy.
44:02I'd say that's about as close as we're going to get to it.
44:05So, ladies and gentlemen, the 1972 Fiat Dino,
44:07the winner of the RAC Club Trophy 2021.
44:12Well, well done, chaps, for doing it.
44:15Well done all. Well done, the cog.
44:16If the judge wants us to restore or work on a car,
44:21what higher accolade than that could you want?
44:24That's very true, because there's somebody who's going to know what they're looking at.
44:26They'll know what they're looking at, yeah. Detail.
44:28And she said that we could work on their car,
44:30because hers is an unrestored one, and we could do it.
44:33That is kind of high praise.
44:37To get here, to this place, with that car,
44:39to me, is more worth more than anything.
44:42And Richard has got a share, and I appreciate that.
44:45It's not just a partnership, it's a friendship.
44:48Proud of you.
44:49Yeah, well, I'm proud of you.
44:50We've had a lot of hours, a lot of cold nights in that carriage,
44:53where we could be using you, didn't we?
44:55It really feels now like everything is coming together.
44:59We've got the workshop we're in,
45:00and seeing what we've seen today,
45:02talking to the people we've talked to, and talking to the guys,
45:06they're confident we can be back next year to compete properly.
45:09I think we could do well.
45:16Cogs, assemble!
45:19Can I need a bigger carriage?
45:22Monty has been good work with all his Ferraris.
45:24Today, you've loaned 226,000.
45:28There are some flaws with this design, aren't there?
45:30Third and final, here's the hammer.
45:32I've got that churning stomach feeling again.