". ." (xllx)
05/15/2016 at 19:49 • Filed to: None
8
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". ." (xllx)
05/15/2016 at 19:49 • Filed to: None | 8
| 23 |
As you may recall, back in 2013 the Wheeler Dealers did an episode on a car called FSM Syrena 105.
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Mike bought the then yellow car in Poland, and as is usually the case gave it a “thorough overhaul” with the help of Edd China. It ended up being sold to a certain Bubble Car Museum in Lincolnshire.
However, 2 years later the same exact car, now back in Poland again, was featured in another TV show called “Samochód Marze: Kup i Zrób” (Dream Car: Buy and Restore), which is a show that helps people who own interesting cars in need of restoration.
The Syrena, as it appeared in Samochód Marze was non-functional and in a somewhat rough shape, especially for a car that had undergone a restoration just 2 years prior and spent time as a museum exhibit. Here are some of the highlights of the 2 year old bodywork:
On top of those, the little pieces Wheeler Dealers had chromed were already peeling badly, and the bonnet was so shoddily fitted it was catching on the scuttle (cowl), causing damage:
It was also quite rusty:
In fact, after a little inspection, the show’s host discovered that there were actually holes in it, that needed to be repaired:
The bonnet, the pillars and the scuttle were fully repainted, while the rest of the paintjob was touched up where needed. Chromes were also redone.
As I mentioned before, the car wasn’t in working condition in the beginning of the show, despite current owner’s efforts. He had replaced the 3 coils, the HT leads, the spark plugs and the carb.
Turns out the car just needed a quick ignition interruptor switch and ignition timing adjustment.
Unfortunately, the test drive that followed unearthed some big problems. The car was struggling for power and had a violent shake coming from the motor despite new engine and gearbox mounts. The first issue was caused by low compression on all 3 cylinders...
and a crappy, aftermarket first muffler (which is a critical part on those 2 stroke Syrena engines), which on top of being pretty much non-functional was catching on the front left wheel, preventing full lock.
As the host mechanic dismantled the engine, he also discovered that the cooling system was filled with regular tap water...
...which caused horrible rust within the whole system.
The violent shake of the engine turned out to be a symptom of a bent crankshaft.
In the end the Syrena received a full engine clean and overhaul, with a newly balanced crankshaft, new pistons, bearings, and seals, and a new flywheel and clutch to boot. And of course a full new exhaust system.
There were also issues with the braking system, which is another thing the Wheeler Dealers actually “repaired”. While a wheel sticking may not have been their fault, the way the brake lines were installed, using pieces of wire, almost certainly was, if not through shoddy work then through omission.
The last thing that had to be done was getting rid of the horrible Chinese retro-look radio that the WD used to replace the original head unit for some reason:
It was swapped for a period-appropriate one (which also looks horrible by modern standards, but is at least true to the times):
All in all the show’s host got to spend a lot of time trashing the people responsible for the previous restoration. In an interview with Auto wiat (Polish edition of Auto Bild) he was quoted as claiming that the only job that was done correctly and with any sort of real purpose was the electrical work (installing an alternator and switching earth to negative).
After 2 years it’s hard to judge which problems were directly caused or ignored by Edd during the restoration, but it’s fair to say that an experienced mechanic should have picked up on the fact that the engine was on its last legs. Same goes for the crappy exhaust system. The way the brake job was done is also inexcusable. It’s also fairly obvious that whatever body shop they used to respray the car did a rather poor job.
Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch
> . .
05/15/2016 at 19:57 |
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Neat, thanks for the translation. (My Czech is bad, my Polish is worse)
MultiplaOrgasms
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:00 |
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Are you trying to tell us that Wheeler Dealers are primarily interested in profits?
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> MultiplaOrgasms
05/15/2016 at 20:02 |
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Compared to what they make selling the show, I’d assume that profits achieved through sale of cars are miniscule enough to consider not releasing complete botch jobs on the market.
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MultiplaOrgasms
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:04 |
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Filming schedules bruv.
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> MultiplaOrgasms
05/15/2016 at 20:06 |
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And that excuses them how?
It’s not like Edd does all the work either.
ranwhenparked
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:06 |
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Not too surprising, really. I figure the production schedule means focus mainly on having a car that looks fully made over for the “after” shots. They take you through the problems and kind of explain what you would have to do to fix them, should you encounter something similar, but they probably don’t have time to do through fixes themselves.
Some of the mechanical issues could be side effects of having sat stationary in a museum for two years, of course. And the rust could just be because it was in the UK for a length of time. Everything rusts there.
S65
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:10 |
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This Was Hard To Look At.
Birddog
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:14 |
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Any “restoration” that can be summed up in a one or two hour film should be taken lightly.
Wheeler Dealers, Fast N Loud, Graveyard Cars.. All of them are in the entertainment business. Cars happen to be the topic.
beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:31 |
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I’d be interested in seeing the results of a few of their other cars, this is one out of hundreds so I can’t write them off completely for this. Especially since this show is filmed 2 years after they sold it.
It’s clear and even admitted in the early seasons that Edd is learning a lot of the techniques as he goes along, especially when it comes to bodywork.
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MultiplaOrgasms
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:40 |
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No, but as I am sure you can confirm a restauration takes a ton of time. And if you just so happen to be contractually obliged to do a dozen of them each year, the quality of the finished product inevitably suffers massively.
It’s not like they work on multiple cars simultaneously.
Svend
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:45 |
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It has been written several places elsewhere and discussions with production staff from the show that a lot of the cars are bought by production staff and not by the cast. Often the cars are out sourced for repairs as they have several cars going at any one time of which Edd China does some screen shots and small repairs such as how to repair an alloy wheel but then sends them away to be done.
Even the buyers are normally production crew or friends of.
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> MultiplaOrgasms
05/15/2016 at 20:46 |
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I’d be pretty furious if I paid 8 thousand quid for that pile of garbage, which is what the museum forked out.
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> Svend
05/15/2016 at 20:48 |
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That’s what I figured was happening. It’s still pretty annoying that they usually have the gall to advertise their cars as best on the market though...
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:50 |
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How do we know it was the same car? Was it mentioned in the video? I’m not doubting anything but I’m just curious.
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> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
05/15/2016 at 20:53 |
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It was mentioned that the car already starred in a certain “well known, British show” (they didn’t give the name, but it’s obvious). Other than that: same plates, same stupid and non-factory paintjob, same stickers on the back windows, same ugly radio the WD installed and it had all the modifications to the electrics that the WD did.
Ssfancyfresh
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:55 |
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I mean, I get it. But the plots of these two shows are completely different. Wheeler Dealers is about buying and flipping shoddy used cars for a profit. This Polish show seems to be centered around honest restoration projects. Two conpletely different premises with different outcomes.
I don’t see this as a poor reflection on the Wheeler Dealers crew.
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Svend
> . .
05/15/2016 at 20:59 |
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It’s just how modern entertainment is, that even supposedly factual shows are aimed more for entertainment than teaching.
The average person these days has such a short attention span and hunger for instant gratification that to show something in full would undoubtedly cause a lot of viewers to turn over.
Take Project Binky on YouTube by Bad Obsession Motorsport. 12 videos of 20-30 minutes long probably haven’t even shown 150th of the stuff that’s gone into the car.
Remember Pimp My Ride? People would often receive a pimped car that wouldn’t even start at the hand over never mind a few weeks or months down the line.
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ranwhenparked
> Svend
05/15/2016 at 21:19 |
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This sort of thing has been going on for a very long time. There was a couple that sued This Old House back in the ‘80s after their (crazy over budget) house was left with bedrooms wired with extension cords run from the floor below, among other problems. And they were pretty much the original “how to” reality show.
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Svend
> ranwhenparked
05/15/2016 at 21:40 |
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Ye’, it’s been going on for years but these days peoples attention spams and want for instant gratification has made the situation worse with so many programmes and channels competing for viewers.
Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
> . .
05/15/2016 at 22:46 |
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It is an FSO, no matter what - that thing was already on its last legs.
HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> . .
05/15/2016 at 23:33 |
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Yup it’s really easy to make something look good enough for TV.
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MultiplaOrgasms
> . .
05/16/2016 at 07:20 |
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I’d be pretty furious if I paid more than €2.000 for anything, really.
boxrocket
> . .
05/16/2016 at 12:25 |
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At the end of the day, I watch WD because of Edd. He’s not perfect, but he’s informative without being pedantic.