ABDUL AUDIENCE CAR_RESTORATION_TEAM FAISAL FAMILY_OF_MAZ FINA FUZZ_TOWNSHEND JEFF MALE_IN_CAR MALE_WEARING_GLASSES MAZ NARRATOR RESTORATION_TEAM_WORKER RESTORATION_WORKER ROB THOMAS TIMO TIM_AND_FUZZ TIM_SHAW TOMAS NARRATOR Today on Car SOS, dyed in the wool,petrol head, Tim Shaw. TIM SHAW I love this car. Absolutely, it's just stonking. NARRATOR And mechanical maestro, Fuzz Townshend. FUZZ TOWNSHEND You know, I love the smell of gearbox oil. NARRATOR Are once again on their undercover mission to rescue classic cars for deserving owners. NARRATOR This time, the boys take on a paradigm of German engineering. NARRATOR Fuzz gets his hands on Tim's secret diary. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Ooh, that's a naughty thing to do isn't it. NARRATOR The Workshop Team get their annual deep clean. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Uggh! NARRATOR And the stage is set to make another automotive dream come true. TIM SHAW Hi guys! AUDIENCE Yeah! TIM SHAW [LAUGHS]. TIM SHAW Hello, mate! MALE WEARING GLASSES Oh, I don't believe it! MALE IN CAR This is like all your Christmases in one isn't it. NARRATOR Today, Tim and Fuzz are on their own doorstep, travelling down the road to Walsall in the West Midlands, to pick up a car about which Tim could talk for England. TIM SHAW So they got together and they made this car up and out came the 2.7. So they loaded it, put Bilsteins on em. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. TIM SHAW And, they stripped out the interior. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. TIM SHAW Then they changed the seats in some of 'em. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. He's gonna keep going, you know. TIM SHAW They got loads of 'em. They had take it on front. FUZZ TOWNSHEND He's gonna keep going! TIM SHAW Ladies and Gentlemen, today we are picking up a... TIM AND FUZZ BMW E30 Alpina! TIM SHAW If this one is a real one.. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yep? TIM SHAW ...it's a massive deal! These are so rare! NARRATOR Yes, it may have spawned a thousand replicas, but the genuine BMW E30 Alpina, will forever be remembered as a symbol of the 1980s. This was the car that did everything right. Beautiful to drive and stunningly engineered. It just didn't get any better. 210 brake horse. Nought to 60 [UNIT CONVERSION 96.561 km] in 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 143 miles an hour [UNIT CONVERSION 230.136 km], made the car unassailable. But who or what was an Alpina? NARRATOR Well, back in 1960s Germany, a small engine tuning company called Alpina was so good, that their modified BMWs won just about every race they entered. NARRATOR By the 1980s, the company was recognised as a car manufacture in its own right, taking factory BMWs and improving them and rebuilding them at every level, engine, suspension, exhaust. The distinctive Alpina body kit may have been widely counterfeited. But what you couldn't fake was the staggering Alpina performance. These were BMWs that were so much better than BMWs! Well, apart from the boys are about to pick up, which, hasn't been bettered. It's been battered. TIM SHAW I don't know. I feel bitter sweet about it, because I'm sort of like, is it gonna be a real one and if it's not, I'd rather not do it, 'cause it's too painful. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Well, let's hope you're in for a treat, old Timmy Boy! NARRATOR Today's car belongs to 55 year old, Town Planner, Maz. A car geek, from a family of car geeks. NARRATOR He bought his beloved Alpina back in 2006. Loved it, cherished it and, quickly racked up the miles in it. Sadly, a sequence of horrific events meant that when the car officially failed its MOT and went off the road, Maz was in no position to do anything about it. TIM SHAW If this is the real deal, it is all of my Christmases at once, dude. The real deal. I've always dreamt of working on an E30, 2.7 seater Alpina. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Well, come on, let's go and meet Faisal and let's take a look at the car. NARRATOR It was Maz's brother, Abdul and nephew, Faisal, who wrote to CAR SOS, to say that getting Maz's Alpina back on the road really would mean the world to him. TIM SHAW Where is he? Where's Maz, by the way? FAISAL He's at home. He works from home, so he's at his own house. FUZZ TOWNSHEND There's no chance of him coming here? ABDUL Oh, no, no, no. TIM SHAW Can we see it? FAISAL Yes you can! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Wey hey! TIM SHAW Right, come on! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Look at that! TIM SHAW Here we are! TIM SHAW I told you! Wait! Just wait! I'm not gonna react until I see certain marks on it, in certain places. FUZZ TOWNSHEND May we go in? TIM SHAW Wait! FAISAL Yes, you can. ABDUL Sure you can. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Oh, I'm going in. TIM SHAW Pass me that splitter. Pass me that splitter, right away. TIM SHAW If it's Alpina. Where your right hand is now, it would say. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Oh! TIM SHAW It would say what on it? FUZZ TOWNSHEND It says "Alpina!" [LAUGHS] FUZZ TOWNSHEND Here we are! [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW But you can buy these as an after mark. Two minutes. Where's the light switch? FAISAL Oh, just above the thermometer. TIM SHAW So far so good. TIM SHAW Just wanna have a little look at something. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, come on. TIM SHAW Ooh! FUZZ TOWNSHEND He's making all the right noises! FAISAL [LAUGHS] ABDUL [LAUGHS] FUZZ TOWNSHEND Brilliant! FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] Look at that face! Come back here now! TIM SHAW Wait! One thing. TIM SHAW Oh [GASPS]! FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] FUZZ TOWNSHEND I told you! TIM SHAW Yes! It's a real one! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Exactly! So there you go! TIM SHAW It's the real deal. It's a genuine C2 2.7 Alpina. FAISAL It is. Yeah. TIM SHAW Oh my word! FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] Look at that face, eh! TIM SHAW Right, on and up. TIM SHAW Let's go. Go enjoy yourself now. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, see. TIM SHAW That's the one! FUZZ TOWNSHEND See, told you. Told you. TIM SHAW That is the one! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Come on! Let's go and have a look! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Let's reveal it, in all it's glo-- oh, okay! Missing rear screen. Missing front screen. FUZZ TOWNSHEND So, here we have it. BMW 2.7 litreETA block. And there's, probably gonna be little chance of me turning it over. I'll see if I can. No, I can't do it by hand. So we don't know, whether that's working at all. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, let's take a look in here. We've got no seats. Now, already I can see, a little, a little patch of rust here, coming through. But the carpets are all there. The interior, apart from the seats, appears to be, there. I mean it's salvageable condition. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Right, so let's just have a look underneath, see what we've got. Fairly, crusty, fuel pipes and the like. But, the big problem with these, is this body kit. Rust starts if there's just a tiny little nick in that steel body. Then, it can start rusting away. It could be a rough 'un. TIM SHAW Right, come on, from the beginning, let's have it. How come Maz, so Maz is your Uncle right? TIM AND FUZZ He's my Uncle. TIM SHAW Your Dad's Brother? FAISAL My Brother. FAISAL Yeah. TIM SHAW Okay, so how come he's got that awesome car in there? FAISAL He's always had a, a love for BMWs, and, bought the car, 2006. TIM SHAW That's such a rare thing to own. FAISAL Yeah. TIM SHAW And he must clearly, cherish it. FAISAL He loves that car. TIM SHAW How important, is Maz to you? FAISAL He's an amazing person. I've learnt so much off him. My passion for cars and stuff, that comes from Maz. ABDUL He's a very good family man as well. FAISAL We used to, go to car shows, and everything. And, I used to love it. FUZZ TOWNSHEND We've got this mottled blue, dye ingress from a cover that was on there. That, is gonna leach into anything that we put on top of it. So, it's back to bare metal. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Right, okay. Here the water has sat against the steel, right on the edge, where, it offers the least protection and it's rotted away. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Feeling the wheel arches. It's rotten. It's gone from being just little bits of surface rust to structural now. That's bad news. FUZZ TOWNSHEND The good thing is, it's a pretty cool car. TIM SHAW What has happened in Maz's life to mean that, the car that he loves so much, is like that. FAISAL When he bought it, his health was fine. But then 2008, he fell really ill. He suffers from Lymphedema. TIM SHAW Lymphedema. So, oedema meaning swelling? FAISAL Yeah, swelling, yeah. FAISAL He had fluid on his lungs. ABDUL Me and his Mrs went. We drove him to hospital. The Doctor, said he should be the intensive care unit. It's very serious. TIM SHAW Straight to intensive care? FAISAL Yeah. ABDUL When he was in hospital he couldn't speak. He was writing notes. He was telling me to sell the car. FAISAL And this is what he had left. TIM SHAW "If you can sell the Alpina. Spend the money to sort out Vincent's room." TIM SHAW This was saying goodbye. ABDUL He was saying goodbye. FAISAL Yeah, yeah. Yeah. ABDUL It was a long time being on a life support machine, three weeks. TIM SHAW How long was he in hospital for? FAISAL He spent a few months and then, it took him a very long time to recover. ABDUL It took a while. A very long time to recover. TIM SHAW What does this mean, in terms of, for the rest of his life? FAISAL He still gets the flare ups of, infection, that can knock him out for a week or two weeks. And that's why he hasn't been able to, get out and work on the car. FAISAL I've always said to him, "I will get it sorted. I'll do it. I'll do it." But, I suffer from Lymphedema as well. TIM SHAW So you of all people understand why that car is in that condition? FAISAL I can't do it myself as well. TIM SHAW We are. We're gonna do it. FAISAL Amazing. ABDUL Yeah. TIM SHAW Let's go and see how Fuzz is getting on. Come on then! TIM SHAW It's emotional isn't it? FAISAL Yeah. TIM SHAW It is, seeing it go, but, the thing is, when it gets done, it'll be all worthwhile. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Right. We're loaded up. TIM SHAW Come on, on that note, let's get the hell out of here! TIM SHAW Don't worry okay. FAISAL No. TIM SHAW It's all gonna be fine. FAISAL Thank you. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Pleasure meeting you. Take care! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Here we go! See you later! TIM SHAW Cheers guys! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Reality check. TIM SHAW Reality check it is! But I don't care about the rust Fuzz. Welcome to the world of early BMWs! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, okay. TIM SHAW That was cool. It's a real genuine 2.7 C2 Alpina. That's the one. TIM SHAW That is a treat, for us to be working on. FUZZ TOWNSHEND This is your moment! This is your time to shine! NARRATOR Well, Tim may well be unable to contain his Alpina joy, but, now it's arrived at the CAR SOS Workshop, Fuzz has a more sobering point of view. FUZZ TOWNSHEND I can already see some troubles through here. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Oh, oh, we got lots of rot here. We've also got corroding petrol pipes as well. TIM SHAW Yeah. FUZZ TOWNSHEND And then, oh right, actually, we've got even more rot here. Somehow water, is getting down, this A-post, settled at the bottom here, and then rotted out from the inside. TIM SHAW Bilstein Springs coil overs, is what they did in the factory. Wow! Wow! FUZZ TOWNSHEND You gotta stop thinking of the glitzy stuff. TIM SHAW No! FUZZ TOWNSHEND And start looking at, what we actually genuinely have here. So, gearbox oil leaks. It's showing it's age. I mean, come on it's done 170,000 miles [UNIT CONVERSION 273,588 km]. TIM SHAW That's 170,000 smiles, Fuzz! FUZZ TOWNSHEND And Tim, take a look here! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Look! In the side skirts. Is that an inch gap there? FUZZ TOWNSHEND They don't fit. TIM SHAW Which should be Alpina. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Those, cannot be, the correct side skirts. FUZZ TOWNSHEND I think there's a danger that this has just been made to look like one. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Alright, so let's take a look at it. The exhaust, is wrong. Are these genuine Alpina Wilwood brake calipers? FUZZ TOWNSHEND The front splitter on this, is made from fibreglass. Now shouldn't that be plastic rather than fibreglass? FUZZ TOWNSHEND We've got, an old BMW that's rotten. I'm not sure that this is a genuine Alpina. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. And dramatic music aside, I'm gonna leave it to you, to find out whether it is or not. NARRATOR The boys have embarked on the restoration of a 1990 BMW E30 Alpina. And although it clearly is a BMW E30, whether or not it's an actual Alpina has started to play on Fuzz's mind. TIM SHAW I'll give you the keys with the, genuine centre cap, as it says on the back [WHISTLES]. There we are! There we are! There we are! FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW He loves this stuff! TIM SHAW Oh, and have a look, on the wheel itself it says, genuine Alpina. It actually says, "Alpina." Stamped into the alloy 4G. FUZZ TOWNSHEND That's right, 'cause you can't buy the wheels separately, can you? There you are. FUZZ TOWNSHEND What really matters, is what's in there. And, whether that number tallies with the genuine Alpina or not. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, let's give it a go. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Woh hoh hoh! Yeah! TIM SHAW Yeah baby! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yes! TIM SHAW Woo hoo hoo! FUZZ TOWNSHEND No, no, no, no! TIM SHAW Fuzz, listen to that! There's a...! FUZZ TOWNSHEND No, don't do that. TIM SHAW What? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Don't just rev an engine from cold, okay. We know we've got a starting engine and that's brilliant. That, is something of a win. I reckon I'm gonna take the engine out. TIM SHAW Yep. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It's a bit scruff in there. TIM SHAW Yeah. FUZZ TOWNSHEND And it's going to need, a full service. TIM SHAW Right. FUZZ TOWNSHEND In the meantime, we've got to get all this body kit off, all the wheels off and all that kind of stuff. TIM SHAW I'll be Team Alpina. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, brilliant. TIM SHAW You can be Team, uh, everything else! TIM SHAW Done. Yeah. Right, sweet. Tools. On it! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Alright, thanks very much. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Cheers! TIM SHAW Love it! Love it! NARRATOR Well, counterfeit or not, it's still Maz's pride and joy. And we have got to get it back on the road. NARRATOR Sadly, the one thing that's not in doubt is, that it's got so many deep rust holes and enough oil leaks to mean that this is gonna be a full restoration. So, it's away with all the plastic panels, out with all the running gear. And off we jolly well go! NARRATOR The car's 2.7 litre engine might be running but it's still gonna have to come out for a full service, at best. Or, a total rebuild, at worst. Fingers crossed for that one. NARRATOR Then there's the gearbox. That too has been leaking oil. That'll have to come out, for an overhaul, and a new set of oil seals. NARRATOR And then there's a whole load of all important Alpina detail, that needs attending to. Where are the seats and where are the essential badges that should adorn the car, letting you know that it's a real Alpina? NARRATOR Of course, that's just the tip of the restoration iceberg. As the deeper the boys dig, the more problems they're uncovering. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Now when we picked this car up, it didn't look all that bad. But now that we've got into the car, and we've stripped everything out, we've now found, all of the rot spots. Starting here at the front of the wheel arches, we've got holes down there. One of the most, dangerous is the rot around the bulkhead, where the brake pedals fits. If this car had been used on the road for much longer, this would flex, and suddenly, you don't have, any brakes at all. FUZZ TOWNSHEND We've got rot around the drain channels, in the sunroof as well. And that has allowed rot to form, all the way down to the A-post. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It's probably, an easy week's worth of welding on this car alone, just on all these little patches. TIM SHAW Everybody wanted an Alpina. And how did you get an Alpina? Well you couldn't afford the real thing. And they didn't make many of 'em. Just get yourself some badges. And, wow, the world was awash with fake ones and Maz has been collecting them here. Look, that's a fake one. That's a fake one. But, let me show you something which is a real treat. That, my friends, is the real deal. And just, I mean, look at the gap between the C and the 2. This is how BMW aficionados know whether it's a real Alpina or not. But unfortunately, look, it's broken. It's missing the tip of the seven. You see where it's just cracked off. But look on the back. It's there. And it may sound silly. You will not find another one of those anywhere, trust me. They are like rocking horse twaddle. So, it's a weird thing to say. But the first thing I'm gonna work on with this Alpina is that badge. And I know a man. NARRATOR Well they say the devil is in the detail. So, while Tim is dealing with the icing, Fuzz is taking a bit out of the cake. All 2.7 litres. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Here's the BMW engine. Now we've got the, flywheel off it here. And, the clutch as well. I'm looking at the clutch centre place, because there's a lot of life left in it. At a 170,000 miles [UNIT CONVERSION 273,588 km] this has been changed at least, once in the car's life. But also, the flywheel's not too badly worn at all, so that's pretty good. There's a little bit of blueing to it, so it has got, warm at some point, probably, from some overly enthusiastic driving. But, that's pretty serviceable. We can use that again. But what we don't know yet, is what sort of condition the engine's in. If, it has been driven enthusiastically, then you can expect there to be some wear in here. Take the sump off, and, check a couple of bearing sills. They seem to be fine. We can probably avoid a full on rebuild of this engine. FUZZ TOWNSHEND There we are. And off, comes our sump. Now the good news is, that it's not filthy dirty in there. The oil's been changed on a regular basis. And the other thing is, I can't see any little bits of metal in the bottom of the sump either. We might be, onto a winner. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Alright, let's see, what sort of condition, the bearings in. Alright, this is what we're looking for, a white metal coating. And, it's looking like it's in, good shape. You've got these, drillings here, where material has been removed, to better balance, the whole of the crank shaft. This might have been done by Alpina. It's well balanced, then it will be able to spin up a lot better and you'll be able to get loads more power out of it. This crank has not been re-machined. I think that's pretty impressive. For 170,000 miles [UNIT CONVERSION 273,588 km], that is remarkable. What, a piece of engineering this is. NARRATOR So, at last a clue. A perfectly balanced crank shaft. Was that done by BMW or Alpina? NARRATOR What we do know is that Tim has a tiny part that will also require a surprising amount of work. TIM SHAW Right, this is Stalybridge, out towards Saddleworth, East Manchester. And we're coming here to see a guy called, Rob, who doesn't in fact, know I'm coming. But, he's a mate of mine. Well, he, was a mate of mine until I smashed one of his models. TIM SHAW I know you're in Rob! TIM SHAW Rob! TIM SHAW I wanna show you something. TIM SHAW Take that! TIM SHAW 2.7 Alpina E30 badge. ROB Come on in! TIM SHAW It's a beaut, isn't it? ROB It is! ROB You can see how thin it is too. And the edge has been, nibbled away. TIM SHAW Can we fix it? It's super, eh? ROB I think it's fixable, Tim. TIM SHAW Is it? ROB But it's gonna be tricky because, it's very thin. The edges have been damaged. ROB If you have a look at that edge, there, where me finger is. TIM SHAW Oh yeah. ROB Can you see how it's been bent up? TIM SHAW Yeah. Yeah, yeah. ROB And the corresponding edge, on the rest of the badge is also bent up. TIM SHAW So the edges are both like that, Rob? Is that what you're saying, they're like that? ROB Yeah. Because someone snapped it, as they've lifted it, it's brought those, edges up like that. So I need to get that, flat. TIM SHAW Right. ROB Now, the problem you've got is because this is brushed, this finish. When I go to try and replicate it, because that's raised, that will end up, looking different, to the rest of it. TIM SHAW This is a nightmare isn't it? ROB Yeah. TIM SHAW But, if you had to guess how many hours this badge will take to get it right? ROB It could be about, 10 hours. ROB The secret Tim, is in the preparation. You get it as accurate as you can. It's thin. It's surprisingly hard. I wonder if it was anodized. TIM SHAW I cannot believe how complex this. ROB Yeah, but you never do Tim. You always think it's really easy. TIM SHAW But, and you can see, if you look on that two there. ROB Yeah, there's a dingle. TIM SHAW There's a little nubbin on there. Can you get that out? ROB Well, using the burnishing tool, it's slowly going down. TIM SHAW Are you gonna repaint the whole badge? ROB I'll have to Tim, yeah [LAUGHS]. TIM SHAW Pressure's on you Rob. Honestly mate, right. I'm gonna leave you to it. ROB See you Tim! [LAUGHS] NARRATOR And while model maker Rob, puts in the hours, joining the two parts, gluing on, backing for strength, and repainting for a seamless join, back at the Workshop, the Team have a similar challenge except on a much larger scale, in particular the front A-post, cutting out the rot and replacing it in situ with good strong steel is taking hours of the Welder's time. NARRATOR And then, there's the rest of the car. And while these unsung heroes get their noses to the grindstone, Tim and Fuzz are out on the road, to find out more about this 1980s icon, and why the Alpina BMW was so much better than the BMW BMW. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Come on then Timmy Boy! This is, your moment, your first drive of a BMW E30 Alpina! TIM SHAW What a wonderful car to drive. The sound, the smell, the way you interact with it. This is the car in my mind, that made BMW. It's just mwah! TIM SHAW Right, so it feels like a modern car. So, I'm massively at home with it. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, it has a very modern feel, because BMW made all the interior very early on. They got it right. TIM SHAW But I love the fact that Alpina had the balls, had the guts to come along and go, "No, no, no, no, still, we can improve on it." And they did it. And they increased the length that the piston goes up and down by changing the crank. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, so greater flow, in the same cylinder. TIM SHAW Yeah, so you can get more fuel and, more gases in there, more power. FUZZ TOWNSHEND That's right. TIM SHAW And the gearbox is tight. The steering is tight. You feel like you can go, alright let's be honest with you, how far can you sit in this car as a passenger and chill with me? FUZZ TOWNSHEND I could sit in this all day. I could do a very, very long journey. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Big enough for a family. TIM SHAW Yep. FUZZ TOWNSHEND They absolutely ticked every box. TIM SHAW Press that button up there. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay. That's a sort of check console, to make sure that everything's working. TIM SHAW It's like being in the cockpit of a plane. FUZZ TOWNSHEND So, we've got a fully loaded dash. We've got the, dip oil temperature here. We've got the engine oil temperature there. We've got our inlet manifold pressure. And then we've got our engine oil pressure. TIM SHAW This is all racing driver stuff? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. TIM SHAW Right, my favourite knob, the air conditioning knob and the reset knob, they both light up when you press them and they're so sexy. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Press! Press! TIM SHAW Oh! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Awww! [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW I did something with my finger, not just a touch screen in the modern age. TIM SHAW I'll just drop it into like, second. FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] Yes! TIM SHAW That is an Alpina. TIM SHAW Now, if you know you're Beamers, you know the sound of an Alpina. You can tell them because they're so unique. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It's like a higher pitched six cylinder sound. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Going down a bumpy road? TIM SHAW Yeah. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Where are the squeaks? Where are the rattles? TIM SHAW None of them. FUZZ TOWNSHEND There aren't any. TIM SHAW No. FUZZ TOWNSHEND This car, is built to chew up miles and spit 'em out, like they're nothing. TIM SHAW This car just makes you wanna keep your hand on the gear shift all the time, at the top of the wheel like you're ready for a race, 'cause it just makes you feel like you're ready for a race. FUZZ TOWNSHEND I know. TIM SHAW Oh, it just guns, this car. It is just a gun. This car is just an absolute weapon. FUZZ TOWNSHEND You don't wanna give this back do you? TIM SHAW Honestly. No, I love this car! Absolutely. It's just stonking. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah! BMW, you nailed it! And Alpina, you put the cherry on the top! NARRATOR There you go, a cherry on top of a nail. Now that would make a mess! NARRATOR Though, not as big a mess as the BMW back at the Workshop, where they've now discovered even more structural rot along the cars sills. And on top of that, they've still yet to establish whether or not it's the real deal. Alpina or not Alpina, that is the question! NARRATOR Tim and Fuzz have taken on a BMW E30 Alpina, an iconic car by anyone's standards, if that is it's a real Alpina, not a bogus lookalike. FUZZ TOWNSHEND I have my suspicions. RESTORATION TEAM WORKER So do we. NARRATOR The car, belongs to 55 year old Town Planner, Maz, who's dreams of restoring this German classic were wrecked, by a serious genetic condition, that on more on one occasion has come close to ending his life. FAISAL He still gets the flare ups of infection, that can knock him out for a week or two weeks. NARRATOR Since arriving at the Workshop, the car has kept the Team in constant state of surprise. Surprise which has come in the form of unexpected rust. TIM SHAW The more you dig with this thing the worse it gets to. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Oh, man, loads of sealant, loads of filler, absolutely everywhere. NARRATOR One discovery after another is keeping the Welders and Fabricators very busy indeed. It's not all bad news though as Maz's nephew, Faisal, and niece Fina, have popped in bearing gifts. NARRATOR They've managed to locate the car's missing seats and sneak them away. And with a car this rare, that's a huge relief. TIM SHAW Not only have we got the Alpina seats here, that were hiding before, but this is Faisal's wife, Fina. FINA Hi! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Hi! Pleased to meet you. FAISAL Hiya! TIM SHAW Right. Come on in here! Come over here! Come on! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Hi Faisal! FAISAL Hi! Are you alright? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, cool. TIM SHAW Come on stand, near the car! FAISAL How you doing? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, good, you? FAISAL Yeah, good. TIM SHAW Fina, Fuzz. TIM SHAW How's Maz doing? FAISAL He's good. TIM SHAW Any suspicion at all? FAISAL Nothing. He doesn't have a clue. TIM SHAW So how do you think he'd feel if he was to see the car like, this? FAISAL Woh! No way! FAISAL No way! TIM SHAW Right, what your head's thinking now, say it? FAISAL I'm in shock. FAISAL It's bad, isn't it? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, yeah, it's bad. If you look down there. FAISAL And there. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It's there, yeah. You've got rot around the bulkhead here, where you're brake pedal box goes in. TIM SHAW It's a bit scary. FUZZ TOWNSHEND But there is, another area, of big concern. And that is, on the sills. At some point, the car has been jacked up. It's pushed the sill up. Now, if you imagine, that's your sill, which is placed in a welded tube. It's got loads of strength in it. If I try and, squash that together that's a strong, piece of construction there. But when you jack it up there, what you get is a little bit of kink, here. And now, if I push there, it hinges in the middle. If this car, had a head on collision, God forbid. TIM SHAW That's where it would bend. FUZZ TOWNSHEND So it's, basically, just lost it's strength. FAISAL Because of, being jacked in the wrong place? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. What looked to be, a pretty, easy, easy restoration has turned out to be, a mega job. TIM SHAW Faisal, what's worrying you at the moment, man? FAISAL Will it get back together, the way it was. FAISAL If he ever found out his car was like, I don't know what he'll do. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It just got serious, didn't it? FAISAL Yeah. He could never see the car like this. FUZZ TOWNSHEND It might not look like it, but this, is progress. Things are, moving forward with this car. FAISAL I, want you to, make it the best E30 Alpina. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, that's it. FAISAL I want him to be happy with it. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay. Nice to meet you Fina. FAISAL Cheers guys. Thank you. NARRATOR Yeah, Car SOS might have seemed like a bit of fun a couple of weeks ago, but now it's just got serious, and not just for Faisal, 'cause the countdown to the surprise reveal is underway. NARRATOR We know Maz is a big fan of old cars, but as it happens, he's also a fan of old buildings. So, just imagine, if His Majesty the King... TIM AND FUZZ His Majesty the King? NARRATOR Yes, the King... were to let us borrow the Royal Residence, where he keeps his private collection of old cars. NARRATOR If that's not a reason to make sure the BMW gearbox is not dripping oil, I don't know what is. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Right, so here's the gearbox out of the Beamer. We've got, a weepy seal at the rear here, the output seal. And a weepy seal, on the input side as well. If you've got your oil in there, then everything should work fine, you've got lubrication. If it starts running dry, then you get rapid wear and the gearbox fails. FUZZ TOWNSHEND There's our nut, off. And because we've got three, gears, we're going to use a three legged puller. FUZZ TOWNSHEND There's our flange. What we thankfully haven't had with this gearbox, is dirty lubricant, which acts a bit like a grinding paste. There's hardly any wear at all, so this can be reused, and that's good. So the only component that we have to change is the gearbox seal. There's our old oil seal. It's done its work. Time, for binny bedtime. FUZZ TOWNSHEND This, is our new seal. Now, there's a spring around, the inner face. This goes to the inside. Tap it in, nice and evenly. Refit our flange. Just tap that down. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Get out nut, sealing ring. So that's our gearbox output seal. A fresh change of oil, mate it back to the engine, for the new clutch, and it'll be as good to go for many more thousands of miles. NARRATOR So that's one leaky component sorted. Now onto the next, the back axle. And while Fuzz is keeping busy in the Workshop, stemming all the oil leaks, Tim has set off on a mission to finally settle the car's identity crisis. TIM SHAW Fuzz is doing my nut in, about this car potentially not being a real Alpina. And if there's one place on the planet that's gonna know whether or not it's the real deal, it's here, the home of Alpina in Buchloe in Germany. Surely these guys know. Come on! Let's go and find out. Let's put this to bed once and for-- oh, wow! TIM SHAW Actually, listen, before we go in there, you've got to see these ultra rare Alpinas. What a treat. This is the BMW Z1 Alpina. It's got the same engine in it as our car. And watch this. This is my favourite door on any car. TIM SHAW I mean how cool is that. They made 66 of these Alpinas. This is the V8 Roadster, mainly for the American market. But the holy grail, the one you want, is this one, the B7 S Turbo in Alpina green. And that thing, is quite frankly, priceless. TIM SHAW Timo? TIMO Yeah. TIM SHAW Hello mate. Tim from the UK. TIMO Hi Tim. Nice to meet you. TIM SHAW I need a favour. On there, is the chassis number for a car that I do believe is a genuine Alpina. TIMO Yeah sure. I can have a look at it. TIM SHAW Okay. TIM SHAW I just need confirmation from here, where it was made I'm assuming, that it's a real one. TIMO Can't find a build sheet. TIMO Sorry. Maybe we can dig a bit deeper with the engine number. NARRATOR So, squeaky bum time in Germany. NARRATOR Back at the Workshop, after hundreds of hours, the Welders and Fabricators have at last passed the car over to the Prep Guys, for, filling and flatting, and the moment they've all been waiting for, the respray, when the car goes into the booth, then primer, and comes out in its original colour of Alpina white. NARRATOR All we need now, is the confirmation that it's not just the paint that's factory. TIMO So Tim, here we are in the engine room. TIM SHAW Oh, so this is it. This is where the magic happens. TIMO Yeah, right. TIM SHAW And this is porting isn't it, removing metal. TIMO Well this is Thomas. And Thomas is with us since, 34 years now. And he's preparing the cylinder head. TIM SHAW How does Thomas know where to remove the metal that BMW, put there in the first place? TIMO [FOREIGN DIALOGUE] THOMAS [FOREIGN DIALOGUE] TOMAS He just said, "He's got a magic finger and experience of 34 years." TIM SHAW That's brilliant. Okay, so it's just experience? TIMO He knows about handmade. All about handmade. TIM SHAW Right. So all feel? TIMO Yeah. TIM SHAW Wow! That's amazing. TIMO Well, if your car, is a genuine Alpina, he probably built the engine. TIM SHAW Oh my word! That's incredible! NARRATOR Now the biggie! The car's identity. Is it real? TIMO Tim, we looked in, all of our archive, we really dug deep in our engine department. TIM SHAW Okay, what is it? TIMO Let's have a look. NARRATOR Ooh, what does that face tell you? NARRATOR Fake or fortune? NARRATOR Well, back in the West Midlands, they're about to find out! FUZZ TOWNSHEND I just, don't know, where to go first. I mean the centre square is nice. TIM SHAW Guys! I've got some news, regarding the Alpina! FUZZ TOWNSHEND What? TIM SHAW Check out my new best mate! TIMO Hi Tim, we've checked out, your engine number in our archives, and I can confirm that your engine is a genuine Alpina engine. So, congratulations! CAR RESTORATION TEAM Yeah! TIM SHAW [FOREIGN DIALOGUE] which means it's a real Alpina! CAR RESTORATION TEAM Woohoo! NARRATOR There! Was it ever in doubt? NARRATOR And with the knowledge that this is a 100 per cent certified Alpina, the rush to give the car back can begin. NARRATOR All the glass is prepared and fitted. And, those first few bits of all important trim are attached. And, what seems like kilometres of electric cable can, bit by bit, be wired up. TIM SHAW I have never once before, seen a car with so many holes in it, where stuff goes, whether it's a rivet or a relay or a screw or an axis point, whatever it is. It's like a colander from the front. It's like a sieve. TIM SHAW Fuzz? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah. TIM SHAW I reckon there are over 300 jobs in the engine bay. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Is that all? I've got a spaghetti western going on in here. It's a shootout! NARRATOR Yes. But when the going gets tough, the Car SOS Team get going, like a well oiled machine. All the running gear and brakes are bolted on. NARRATOR The car's interior starts to go back in. And the star of the show, the fully restored 2.7 litre engine, complete with leak free gearbox, is lifted into place. FUZZ TOWNSHEND The car is now motoring ahead now. We've got the engine and gearbox in as well as the front axle sub assembly and all the front suspension. We've got the rear axle assembly in. And of course, new brake lines in place as well. NARRATOR Yes, but no matter how many jobs are ticked off the list, there's a whole load more still to go. And with just hours left on the clock, the Team are starting to flag. TIM SHAW These guys here are almost at the finish line. The motivation and drive has just died, to be honest with you. They're so tired and so at the end of their tether. I need to do something. You know what I mean? [WHISPERS] TIM SHAW Guys? Fuzz, everybody, can you all just stop what you're doing for a moment, please. Come outside with me for like, literally 20 seconds. Everybody! Everybody! TIM SHAW Stand where you are. Shut your eyes! TIM SHAW Shut your eyes, enjoy the moment! Feel your zen. Feel relaxed. Imagine you're back at home in your beds, alright. This is like a power nap. RESTORATION TEAM WORKER Why what's it? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Ugh! NARRATOR What an idiot. TIM SHAW Come on. Get back to work all of you! Let's get on it! TIM SHAW Right, the badge is back from Rob's. And look at that. What crack. Well there was but you just can't see it anymore. Mint. [SIGHS] So here we go. I literally have, one shot at this. Find me another car, and find it where, if it's out. I'm not making this up. If it's out by two mill, [UNIT CONVERSION 0.08 inches] "Oh, it's a fake, it's not a real Alpina." So, I've taped this up, right. I've checked online and from speaking to my guys at Alpina, 20 mill [UNIT CONVERSION 0.8 inches] from the top, the bottom of the spoiler, in effect. And 20 mill [UNIT CONVERSION 0.8 inches] from the right. TIM SHAW That's a massive sigh of relief for real, quite seriously. NARRATOR And breathe! FUZZ TOWNSHEND Well then Timmy Boy, I think it's time you know? TIM SHAW Is it time to ee, ee, ee, hopefully, wey hey? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yep. TIM SHAW Oh, let's do it. Come on then. FUZZ TOWNSHEND You ready? TIM SHAW This is a big moment. Guys, we're about to go for an engine start. Are you ready? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay, here we go! CAR RESTORATION TEAM Wehey! TIM SHAW C2 2.7 straight-six Alpina in the house, is running. Nice work guys! That is beautiful. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Excellent! TIM SHAW Right, knock it off! Knock it off Fuzz! TIM SHAW Sounds good don't it? RESTORATION WORKER It sounds alright, yes. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Now, have you got everything arranged for tomorrow? TIM SHAW I have, yes. TIM SHAW Who'd like to get this car done and get it the hell out of here? CAR RESTORATION TEAM Yeah! Woohoo! TIM SHAW That's what I'm talking about guys! Back on it. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay. Come on then. TIM SHAW Let's put it the top. Right bonnet. Where's the bonnet? NARRATOR Sandringham House in Norfolk has been a Royal Residence since 1862. The private home to generations of British Monarchs, known as the most comfortable house in Britain. Nestled in 60 acres [UNIT CONVERSION 242,811 sq mtrs.] of beautiful gardens, and, home to his Majesty the King's private collection of old cars. Although, today, one of them is not quite as old as all the others. TIM SHAW Fuzz, but what a place, what a day and what a car. FUZZ TOWNSHEND I know it looks absolutely magnificent doesn't it? TIM SHAW Alpine white contrasting with the genuine, Alpina club front and back badges. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yes, yes. Yes. TIM SHAW Mate, this car, is as good as it gets. And the location, is better than it gets. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Yeah, okay. We're genuinely here, at Sandringham House. TIM SHAW Yeah. What do you wanna know about that? FUZZ TOWNSHEND Well, how have you managed to pull that one off? TIM SHAW I've got friends in very high places. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Oh, come on! TIM SHAW No, I have. Look, I just needed a phone-call, "Hello can we borrow?" "Of course you can. Not a problem." TIM SHAW Anyway listen. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Just tell me the plan. TIM SHAW This is the plan. Maz, is coming here today to Sandringham for a tour of the House. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Okay. TIM SHAW And he's a massive Royalist. So that's a great day for Maz as it is. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Brilliant. TIM SHAW Also, I've recruited one of the guys that work here. He's gonna take them on a tour of the House, including a tour, of the historic vehicle collection, owned by the Royal Family. And guess what? There's one over there that you wouldn't expect to be owned by the Royal Family. FUZZ TOWNSHEND And here it is! TIM SHAW And it's not owned by the Royal Family, it's owned by Maz. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Fantastic. So is that, where it's gonna go? TIM SHAW Hiding in there with the family, with you. I'm gonna be a beekeeper. When the time's right, I'll get my guy to open the door and the rest is history. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Alright. Fantastic. TIM SHAW Yes. Let's get the family in. Get them round the car. Then get you hidden with the family. Give him his car back. FUZZ TOWNSHEND Alright. It's a plan. TIM SHAW Come on! Let's bring them in! NARRATOR Yes, Maz, who is a big fan of the Royals, is here today on a family day out. What he doesn't know is that his family are already here and that the highlight of his day is being reunited with his beloved Alpina. TIM SHAW Come on in! Well there it is. FAMILY OF MAZ Wow! FINA It's just been sat on our drive. FAMILY OF MAZ It's really nice. FINA I think he will just be really shocked. I don't have him as a man who cries, but I think he'll be really overwhelmed. NARRATOR So, family happy. It's now time for Operation Right Royal Ruse, to go into action. NARRATOR Fuzz and the family get hidden away behind the scenes. Tim adopts the disguise of His Majesty's Keeper of the Bees. TIM SHAW Right, I've gone. But don't worry, I am still here. NARRATOR And, before you know it, Maz, Faisal and Maz's brother, Abdul turn up, and are met by Sandringham Guide, Jeff, who is in on the scam. JEFF Okay, so we'll head off, just round to the Old Stables. There, we've got a collection of, some vintage cars, some Rolls Royces, state limousines and one or two other cars. MAZ I used to work in the Royal Parks many years ago. JEFF Did you? MAZ Yeah. I used to be a Litter Picker, in St James's Park. JEFF Oh, right. MAZ As a student. NARRATOR Slowly, but surely, Maz, who seems to be enjoying his day so far, is drawn further and further into this Royal web of intrigue. JEFF So, just around the corner here, we have a special car. I don't know whether you'd be interested. It's something that, not everybody gets to see. JEFF Afternoon Bob! Got a Gentleman here who's, interested in a car. TIM SHAW Maz? MAZ [SOBS] FAISAL You alright? TIM SHAW Are you alright? TIM SHAW You alright? MAZ [SOBS] TIM SHAW Are you okay? TIM SHAW Have you any idea what's going on here? MAZ Nah! TIM SHAW Okay. That car there, that... MAZ It's mine. TIM SHAW That's your car. How, how do you feel? MAZ Oh, I can't explain it. TIM SHAW That's your Alpina. MAZ Wow! MAZ Well, I was wondering why we had people giving us buggy rides around here. FAMILY OF MAZ [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW Faisal, why did you write to Car SOS? FAISAL You mean the world to me. And I know this car means a lot to you. MAZ It does. FAISAL So I wanted to get it done up for you. MAZ Oh, thank you. MAZ I'm, I'm, just absolutely gobsmacked. FAISAL I love ya! MAZ You're a legend. FAMILY OF MAZ [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW He can't take his eyes off his car! FAMILY OF MAZ [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW Is the penny dropping yet, that that's yours? MAZ Yeah, yeah. It's just, just-- [SIGHS]. TIM SHAW What did you think when you saw that? MAZ I was just blown away. And, it's mine. TIM SHAW Did you recognize it? MAZ Oh, of course I did! FAMILY OF MAZ [LAUGHS] TIM SHAW The second you saw it? MAZ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, everything about it. My everything. TIM SHAW Can we have a huge round of applause, for Maz and his genuine, Alpina! FAMILY OF MAZ [APPLAUSE] Woah! TIM SHAW It is the real deal. MAZ Yeah. MAZ It's amazing. NARRATOR The last time Maz saw his beloved BMW, it looked less like his pride and joy, and more like a bag of nails. Rust had permeated every part of the car. It was tired, tatty and was clearly going nowhere. NARRATOR Now, it's been transformed back to the stunning car that left the factory some 33 years ago. The shabby stained paintwork is now gleaming Alpina white. The 2.7 litre engine and gearbox have been completely refurbished. The oil leak's a thing of the past. NARRATOR The car's interior, is now complete, cleaned up, and ready to soak up the miles. And in pride of place, at the back, that all important original badge advertises the fact that this beautiful car is indeed a full blown certified E30 Alpina, one of the greatest cars to have graced the road. TIM SHAW How does that feel when you got this car? MAZ It was a dream come true, 'cause the car was rare. I loved the fact that it was white. But it's the straight-six. It's the drive, it's so smooth, and, torquey and powerful. If you're into communicative driving, then get an E30 Alpina. And, you feel everything. You're connected basically. TIM SHAW Can we talk about what happened to you that meant that unfortunately, this car ended up in the state it was in when we picked it up? MAZ All of a sudden, I fell ill. I have lots of weird, you know, set of recollections, 'cause I must have been drugged up a lot at the time. But it was very scary, yeah, very scary. I was getting a lot of visitors and I was thinking, they're only letting visitors in 'cause [LAUGHS] you know, I'm not gonna pull through. Well obviously, that was a long time ago, but I do get, you know you get. TIM SHAW Flare ups? MAZ Flare ups, yeah. TIM SHAW What helped get you through it? MAZ [BREATHES HEAVILY] Don't give up, really. I mean, I think, you know, no matter how bad you are, or where you are, I mean, it's not over til it's over, really. Yeah. I'm blessed with a, very good family, and friends. TIM SHAW Well, they want you to enjoy this car. That's the most important thing. I wasn't you to get out in this car, with Faisal sitting beside you. MAZ Oh yeah. TIM SHAW What are you going to do with this car? What's gonna be the first trip? MAZ Try and find some nice roads somewhere, country roads. And give it a, gentle blast. TIM SHAW So it's with great pleasure, Maz, that you have been officially CAR SOS'd. MAZ Oh, thank you, Tim. TIM SHAW I hope this is a day you remember. MAZ No, I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it. TIM SHAW Right then, young man. Look at that smile. Look at you thinking, shut up I want to get out of here! FUZZ TOWNSHEND [LAUGHS] MAZ I still don't, understand what's happened here, but, obviously my car's been, made new again, somehow, miraculously. FAISAL How does it feel? MAZ Oh, it's just like, I mean, just like it was before, yeah. FAISAL It sounds exactly the same, yeah. MAZ The sound. It feels tight. FAISAL Brings a smile to you! [LAUGHS] MAZ Yeah! [LAUGHS] MAZ The noise. FAISAL Does it feel real, you driving it? MAZ It still feels very surreal. Like, it's a dream that I'm back in it. FAISAL Yeah. MAZ Yeah. FAISAL You've just been smiling since you've started it! [LAUGHS] MAZ I know! [LAUGHS] MAZ The straight-six, just a beautiful finishing touch to 'em. The plaque's back. It's just amazing, on a day like this, with the sun out. A great car to be in. ### ### ###