It’s me, Mark Stone, and in this episode of the Backseat Driver Podcast, I dive into the ever-evolving world of automotive restoration and modification, with a particular focus on resto-modding, where classic cars retain their soul while gaining modern performance.

I’m joined by Tony Shine, who talks me through his journey from a young enthusiast modifying Volkswagens to tackling an ambitious Ford Cortina Mk II build that perfectly balances period looks with contemporary engineering.

We get into the nuts and bolts of what makes a successful resto-mod, from chassis design and suspension upgrades to integrating modern, high-performance engines without losing the character that made these cars special in the first place. Tony also shares his thoughts on how trends in car culture evolve, the role of craftsmanship, and why attention to detail still matters in an age of off-the-shelf solutions.

This episode is a thoughtful exploration of passion, skill, and creativity, and a reminder that restoring and modifying cars is as much an art form as a technical discipline.

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I'd like to welcome to the backseat driver a man, shall we say, many facets, welder, fabricator, mechanic, restore modder, and that's restoring modified cars or modifying restored cars.

Call it what you will, but I'd like to welcome to my seat driver, the one, the only, Mr. Tony Shine.

Thank you very much, Mark.

Thank you.

Right, basically, let's get it out the way.

What is resto mod?

Resto mod.

A resto mod is a car that looks sort of as it did when it left the factory.

Yeah.

But the underpinnings are nothing like.

Yeah.

So it's a lot of.

It's a shell.

It's a shell, basically.

It's a shell.

Yeah.

So a lot of them now are the body shell on a new generation floor pan.

Yeah.

And that's where a lot of them are going.

Yeah.

How did you get into this?

Because, I mean, you now work in the car industry.

You work for.

You work for Specialized Automotive Services, one of the.

One of the backseat driver's main sponsors.

But what you do is quite mundane compared to what you do away.

But how did it all this come about?

I've always been into cars, you know, since a really early age.

And as a lot of us do, we started with the.

I started with the Volkswagens.

Beetles, Yeah.

I had a Volkswagen fastback at 18.

Yeah.

You know, modified them, lowered them.

The cow look scene was quite big at the time.

Yeah.

So went through all them.

Then I got into like the.

More the Fords.

So I had Ford Escorts.

A lot of Ford Escorts.

Yeah.

All the max power stuff.

Yeah, we did all that sort of stuff.

Really creative stuff.

Well, old hat now, I. I must say.

But yeah, at the time it was really creative, you know what I mean?

It got a bit wacky towards the.

End of the expiry was.

I mean, it was a magazine that became an absolute movement.

Oh, yeah, it was massive.

It was massive.

And it's.

It's gaining.

It's gaining now.

It's coming back.

It's coming back.

Correct.

Yes, it's coming back.

The kitted cars are coming back.

Yes.

Yes, they are.

Yeah.

So, I mean, your most famous one at the moment is your ford Cortina Mark II.

Ford Cortina.

I use that description, Mark 2, 4 Cortina, very loosely.

Yeah.

Because apart from the bit of the bodywork, there's not a lot of it Mark 24 Cortrina anymore, is there?

No, just run us through, front to back.

Back to front, you tell me.

Yeah, basically to bottom, since it don't sit as high as what he did?

No, no, definitely not.

I found it in a lay by, yeah.

Yeah.

Down in Tunbridge in Kent.

Where is.

Where I am actually from.

All right.

So I moved up here a lot of years ago.

Yeah.

So found that car back in a lay by and it was a two door.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's not a GTO, anything like that.

It's just a base model.

Yeah.

So I put a fiat twin cam in it and five speed box, lowered it, 15 inch alloys, slammed it, painted it purple.

Yeah.

And that's how it lived for a long time.

I meant to be about it.

That was meant to be it.

But then obviously the big wheel started coming on the market.

Yeah.

So I brought a set of MB imperious 22 inch rears.

Yeah, 20.

20 inch front.

And I wanted to put them in the mark too.

Yeah.

But you know where this is going.

No, they weren't going to go in that car.

So I got a bit drastic with it.

You have to start cutting bits of body work away.

Yeah, most of it.

So all the outer shell is all its original panels.

Yeah.

So the doors, the wings, the bonnet, everything is all the original panels but the roof.

The roof's been chopped three and a half.

The windscreen's been laid back four.

Yeah.

And everything modified to suit the chassis is a full laser cup frame underneath it.

Format two that you build yourself.

I built myself.

I designed it and then where I worked at the time, they cadded it and it got cut on a tube laser.

Yeah.

So the frame's pretty.

Pretty accurate.

And then on that it's got XJ40 running gear.

Yeah.

The rear end's narrowed 12 inch.

The front end probably more like 15 inch.

Yeah.

And then obviously the big wheels on it.

Rover V8 engine, 3.5 low compression, lump ARP head studs on it set as.

Far back as you can get it.

Yes, it's.

The idea was to get it a bit like a tvr.

Yeah.

So the engine is well under the bulkhead.

Halfway under the bulkhead.

The dashboard is 10 inches longer than stock.

But it is a stock dash.

Yeah.

And then it runs a big T3, T4 single turbo.

Yeah.

And then obviously I've got an RX8 gearbox in it as well.

Yeah.

So it drives.

But the idea was to make it low look like it wouldn't drive.

Yeah.

But it goes everywhere.

And of course it's flat.

You were saying it's flat inside, it's flat.

The floor pan's completely flat.

You sit on the floor.

The pedals are more or less level with you.

Yeah.

It's a bit of a quirky seating position.

Yeah.

But it's not uncomfy, if you know what I mean.

It's.

It, it is a driver.

It is a driver.

Even though it does look a bit mad.

It's not an air ride, it's on.

It's coilovers.

Yeah.

So now you're talking about a suspension.

What suspension do you put on them?

This has got.

It's all jag.

But I've just modified the front now so it's got a top adjustable wishbone.

Yeah.

So I can move the camber on the wheel now, which I haven't been able to done with the standard wishbones.

So it runs AVO coilovers.

Yeah.

Front and back, which have.

Is.

I've always used AVO stuff.

So it's just designed to ride at a certain ride height.

Yeah.

You know, still goes over Sleeping Policeman.

Yeah, it goes everywhere.

Two up straight.

Yeah.

Drives everywhere.

Yeah.

Even in snow.

Yeah.

Now, I mean, like you were saying, Fords have always been a very popular vehicle for all this.

I mean, what is it about Fords that for love cutting up for a better description?

I don't know.

I think the.

The thing with the Mark II, the Mark 2 was always the ugly duckling.

The Mark 1 was a really nice car.

The Mark 1 was basically an American style.

Yes.

That was a fine on the back.

That was from the era when the British were trying to make cars look American.

Yeah.

But because they were so small, it never worked.

No.

And then the Mark II was a bit square.

Yeah.

It still had a sort of shape to it.

But then the Mark 3 had a lovely Coke bottle back end.

Yeah.

So it was the car in the middle that no one liked.

I mean, just looking at.

When I was a kid, I grew up, my dad had a Mark 1 Super, but a Mark 1 GT.

Yep.

The absolute ultimate.

Aubergine.

Now that was color.

Yeah.

Color and half coloring off.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nice.

It was the Ugly Duckling and that sort of what drew me to it.

Yeah.

If you know what I mean.

It was.

It was.

You couldn't defy the three box saloon better than a.

No, could you?

And so the idea of the build was to keep it looking like a Mark two.

Yeah.

I, I didn't want to change the lights.

I didn't want to change.

I must say, I feed the car.

If you squint, it's still a Mark II.

It's a Mark 2.

Yeah, yeah.

It's still a Mark II.

A bit different though.

Yeah, it's just a windscreen angle.

Yeah.

Because the windscreen is laid back four inches.

Yeah.

And the roofs come down three and a half.

It just changes the whole look of the car.

Yeah.

You know, just that one mod alone.

Yeah.

You know, there's loads of other mods on it body wise, but the, the roof.

And it's surprising how many people don't even notice that it's been chopped.

Oh.

Yeah, but a lot of people don't notice because they come up to you and say, what have you done?

He looks different.

Yeah.

And then when you tell them, of course you have.

You know what I mean?

It's a bit like when you shave your beard off.

Have you had your head?

No.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah.

No.

So.

But the car is, you know, it took six years to build.

Yeah.

And I did everything to it.

I painted it, did all the body work, painted it be floor pans, built the chassis, built the engine, settled the suspension up, wired it.

Yeah, everything.

Trimmed it, everything.

Yeah.

So that car is just solo effort.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

Now just out of interest, cuz you've done others as well, we'll come on to those.

When you build a chassis and everything else, how do you go on with the chassis number?

Because every car has a chassis number.

Well, all of a sudden your car's chassis is not.

Do they retain their original number?

How does all this work?

It retains it.

It retains the original chassis number.

I mean.

Yeah, that's always run.

Because it's been done so many years, that car.

Yeah.

You know, because I've had that car 31 years.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

So it's been done a real long time, you know.

Yeah.

So back in the day I took the chassis number out of the car and put it into the new chassis, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

Because.

And that's the way you did it, you know what I mean?

But yeah, no, it's, it's been on the road for a good few years now, you know.

And how do you design the chassis?

Do you take, do you find the original chassis design and go off that?

No, you start from.

So you use all the geometry from the donor car.

So all the geometry for the.

For the suspension.

Yeah.

The XJ40.

Yeah.

So you jig the.

You jig it up.

So you build a jig as it was on the cross member.

So the front with the wishbones.

So you jig it up to that and then you narrow it.

Yeah.

But it's still got the same, same geometry as what it did have from the first place.

So just putting it.

Basically you take an XJ40 chassis and shrink it.

Yeah.

And then.

And then.

I know that's very simplified.

Yeah, yeah.

So then, so once you've.

Once you've jigged it up and shrunk it, because obviously you're trying to get your wheels in.

Yeah.

So on the Cortina, the front end narrowed that much.

Yeah.

Because the car sits that low.

Yeah.

You still got to turn the wheels.

Yeah.

So you've got to turn the wheels inside and then work out your whips.

Yeah.

And then that gives you a new cross member width.

Yeah.

And then you build the chassis in accordance with that.

So your ride height.

Yeah.

So it all dictates the ride height of the car, your kick ups on the frame for the rear, especially the rear suspension.

So the layout plans dictate all them dimensions where it's got to be.

So it does take a bit of working out, you know what I mean?

So, I mean, do you like forms better to put the shell on it periodically to see if it all fits?

Yes.

So again, that, that shell was Dalpin, because it was such a floppy shell, so nothing inside it.

Yeah.

So take it on and off.

It's just like a jelly.

Yeah.

So I put a dowel pin in the body shell.

Yeah.

To line up in the chassis.

Yeah.

So when that body went on every time it sat in the same position.

Yeah.

So then you can start building stuff and take it off, be the next bit and you know what I mean?

And so forth.

And so that car was a complete rolling shell.

Yeah.

With the roll cage welded on before I welded the body on.

Right.

So the body's welded back on.

Yeah.

So it's still a monocoque shell like it was originally.

Yeah.

It's not a body.

Bolt on bolts all like that.

Yeah, still exactly same as it was.

Right.

So.

But I mean, you're basically building a car from scratch, aren't you?

Basically, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Which I've never done before.

Yeah.

You know, so to, to try and do that was like just madness, really.

Yeah.

I mean, where did you gain the experience?

Did you read a lot of books or did you talk to a lot of folk?

Talking to a lot of folk.

And also I brought the Boyd Conington chassis book.

Oh, yes.

So I read that from front to back quite a few times.

If you even built that car to give a general idea of what I was doing, you know what I mean?

Because I'd never done that before, you know what I mean?

So.

And then obviously the Internet weren't quite as.

When I built that car.

There weren't really much Internet about, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

So yes, folks, there was a day.

When there was no Internet.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So.

And your phone was attached to the one.

Yeah.

Now it's easy, isn't it?

You just Google it, you know.

But no.

So back then it was a little bit harder to get, you know.

And how on earth do you do that?

You know?

Yeah.

You know, but it's just sometimes you've got to make stuff, which I did.

Yeah.

I set all the steering up.

I got everything set up.

I modified all my rack so it's the right width for bump steering, everything.

Yeah.

And I put it on the car.

I turned the steering wheel left.

Yeah.

And the wheels went right.

Because the Jag.

Yeah.

Steering is at the back of the cross member.

Yeah.

Not the front.

So I put a rack on it that's supposed to be at the back of the cross member.

Yeah.

And put it on the front and it turns right, not left.

So then I've got a left hand drive Sierra rack.

Yeah.

And put that on and it went the right way.

Do you know what I mean?

So you learn sometimes by your mistakes.

So I concluded you'll have to remember what each component comes off for you.

Yep, yep.

And that's one thing that back then people did.

Yeah.

Cars were built from loads of other cars.

Yeah.

You know, so that car's Jag XJ40 running it.

Yeah.

It's Nissan 350Z.

Front calipers.

Yeah.

BMW front discs.

A Sierra steering rack.

Yeah.

It's got an aftermarket Chevy steering column.

Yeah.

The back end is obviously all jagged J40.

Yeah.

You know, gearbox is RXA.

Yeah.

Prop shaft is a RX8 to a Jag.

Yeah.

Which has been specially made from a place in Leeds, you know, so.

But like you say, when you, when you come to maintain these cars.

Yeah.

You've got to remember what.

You have a list of what bit comes off what.

You have a book.

You have a book of what's in it, you know.

You know, and then some stuff gets changed and upgraded, which is which is what's happening to the car over the last two or three years, you know, to make it more of a driver.

I mean, I know you said you'd a problem because It's a Rover V8 in it.

Yes, but that's modified.

That's modified, yeah.

So, I mean, the Rover V8 was a favorite engine.

I don't whether it still is because, I mean, I dare say there's becoming a shortage of the things around the place now.

I have a few of them for spares.

No, no, it's back in the day when everybody got a custom car, everything had a Rover in it.

Yeah.

You know, all British modified cars had a Rover in them.

A lot of them did, you know, so I wanted to use.

Well, they're easy to get.

It was a powerful enemy.

Oh, yeah.

To get.

They're not very powerful because he only made about 160 horsepower in the SDI.

They sound good, though.

They sound good.

You got that burble.

Yeah, so.

So I wanted to use the Rover.

So it's a.

It's a Range Rover engine, but it's a low compression one.

The very lowest compression they do.

Yeah.

So instead of the tin head gaskets, it's got carbon head gaskets on it.

Yeah.

To lower compression a bit more.

And then on top of that, we run a T3, T4 hybrid turbo.

Yeah.

Which blows through a modified 650.

Holy carb.

Yeah.

Kept blowing head gaskets.

So now it has ARP head studs on it.

Yeah.

So.

And that's been touchwood.

Yeah.

A reliable.

Yeah.

Good engine.

Probably makes 300ish horsepower.

Suppose the other beauty of the Rover V8 is it was always described, to a degree, Hawthorn.

Buick.

Which means was a Buick engine.

Yeah, it was a Buick engine.

You'll be able to source various custom parts and bits from America.

Why?

Because, I mean, it was an American engine.

Yeah.

You don't need to.

There's so much available from here.

Yeah.

The only downside to the Rover is it's quite an expensive engine to build if you want to get performance out of it.

Yeah.

It gets expensive.

Big valve heads and all that sort of stuff is expensive.

So that engine.

Mine's completely rebuilt.

Yeah.

New cam, new cam, chain wheels, lifters.

Yeah.

Everything inside that engine is new.

Yeah.

So.

And it's built for the turbo.

Yeah.

But the thing is, you don't build them for performance, do you?

No, no.

It's just a good, reliable lugging engine.

Yes.

It's a street car.

Yeah.

That is a streetcar.

It's never even as a roll cage in it.

Yeah.

It's never intended to be a race car.

Yeah.

It's a pure street driven car.

Yeah.

You know, so.

So.

But as time's gone on, I mean, what made you think, I finished it and a week later, no, I haven't.

I want to do this to it.

What.

How does the evolution process go?

Do you just suddenly sit there at night and thinking, I'll do that.

How much is that going to cost me?

No, the cost never really comes into it because you do a lot of it yourself.

It's.

It's just parts, you know, but the drive is to make it drive as a normal car.

Yeah.

As wacky as the thing looks.

Yeah.

You saw the obvious answer is why did you leave it as it was, which was a normal car?

Yeah, that's quite a good question, actually.

No, that's good reason.

No, but you do it because you want that.

You do it, obviously.

You modify stuff because you want people to notice it.

Yeah.

And that's the first and most important bit.

You know what I mean?

So, to me, the bodywork side of it, it was always going to be purple.

Yeah.

It's just the right shade of purple that he's done in now is correct for that car.

Or how I like it.

Yeah.

But it wants to be able to jump in it, start it up and go to the shop in it.

Yeah, start it up and drive back.

Yeah.

And that's what I wanted.

I wanted a car I could drive whenever I wanted.

Yeah.

Not whenever it worked.

You know what I mean?

Now it's, It's.

Honestly, it's.

It's pretty good now.

Yeah.

Pretty good car, you know.

So do you consider the Cortina finished?

Never will be finished.

Right.

Because we're always upgrading it.

So, you see, it's just come out of a spell now where it's been upgraded again because we went to NSRA Supernats in it this year.

Four hours there, four hours back, the exhaust comes out the side, four hours down the A1.

Yeah.

It's not good.

But the window's down.

Yeah, it.

Yeah, it's noisy.

Yeah.

So the exhaust now goes out just after the back axle.

Right.

So chopped it all up, modified it.

And I've put exhaust cutouts in it now.

Under the floor.

Yeah.

So if I want a bit of noise, I can make it a bit noisier.

Yeah.

But on normal driving, it goes out the back, not at the sides, and it's way quieter.

Yeah.

I mean, I Started it up for the first time yesterday after doing all the bits and pieces to it.

And it's so different.

Yeah.

And we've done the front suspension as well.

Yeah.

Modified that because I wanted to be able to adjust the camber of the wheels.

Yeah.

In and outer top.

So I've made a. I jigged them up the top wishbones.

Jigged him up.

And I've made some CDS tubing ones.

Yeah.

So now I've got more room.

And it's on 3 quarter unf adjustable poly bushed ends.

Yeah.

So now I can adjust the front end, which I've been doing this morning before I come here.

Trying to set the angle up on the front wheels.

Is the engine finished, do you see?

Engine's done.

Engine's done.

Engine is done.

It runs.

It runs nice and it goes everywhere.

It's not a race car, it's a street car.

So it doesn't want to make stupid power right now.

Talking of modifying things, your next ongoing project.

Yes.

Type 3 Volkswagen, which was the evolution of the Beetle.

Yes.

But at its engine.

I'd like to point out.

In the back.

In the back, yeah.

And yours is going to have a TVR V8 in the front.

In the front, yes.

I mean, what gave you this idea?

A type 3 Volki?

I had a tie 3 when I was about 18.

Yeah.

We pulled out of somebody's garden in Westrum in Kentroom.

Yeah.

So we pulled it out and we obviously modified it and bits and pieces, lowered it because the cow look scene was about.

Yeah.

So it's all lowered in that.

And I got to wanting another one.

Because they're a rare car now.

Yeah.

There's not.

There's not many of them about.

You know what I mean?

And you got one and cut it up.

So.

Yeah, so I. I got one.

Disrespect.

No, the reason I cut it up, though, was because when I got it, I got it from a place called Harlow down near London.

Yeah.

It was cheap, but it was cheap for a reason.

Yeah.

The bottom six inches of the car had totally gone.

Yeah.

The whole front end looked like it had been shot with a.

A shotgun.

Yeah.

So I. I brought the.

The complete front end and all the bottom six inches from a place called Tire 3 Detectives.

Yeah.

And I replaced the whole front end and the whole bottom six inches with an earlier car.

Yep.

So it's got a 68 front end.

Yeah.

Grafted to a 72 back end with all the older panels put on it.

Yeah.

So it was always a mongrel that car.

Yeah.

So it's never going to be worth anything.

Yeah.

So.

And I decided that I would try and build the car in a year.

Yeah.

Using one of my frames.

Exactly the same setup as a Cortina.

So XJ40 front and rear, Rover V8 RX8 gearbox.

Yeah.

Exactly the same car, but I didn't want to take six years building it.

Yeah.

So in six months, I built the frame, all the running gear on it.

Yeah.

Top door, the floor, all new floors and it's all new bulkhead in it.

Engineering, gearbox, in exhaust, built 3 inch exhaust system all the way through the car.

Everything built on that car in six months.

Body bolted on and everything and then covered it.

Yeah.

And it never really gained momentum after Covid.

Yeah.

Because the Cortina was still taking bits to time up with bits of running issues and stuff, and.

But just recently we've got back into getting that car ready.

So now you were saying to me, you've widened the front, you've lengthened the front and.

Yeah, it's the.

Putting a V8 in the front of it with keeping the bulkhead flat.

So you still got the interior space.

So it still looks like a Volkswagen inside.

It's still.

Still got the original Volkswagen dash.

Volkswagen steering wheel.

Yeah.

Everything inside that car is Volkswagen, apart from the seats.

Yeah.

Which are Mazda MX5, because they're good for what I do.

Yeah.

But visually, that car is still a Volkswagen.

Yeah.

All the bumpers on it, all the trim on it.

Yeah.

Obviously the wheels are a bit bigger than what it came with, 18s and 20s on it.

But visually, that car.

It'll be a TVWI wall.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it will be.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So.

But it looks stock and it's going back in the color.

When I first got the original Volkswagen, which is the Volkswagen orange.

All right, so it's just going to go orange.

Yeah.

With maybe bronze wheels or something.

I don't know.

Yeah.

But.

But the front end is actually 6 inches longer than the stock.

Yeah.

Just to give a bit more room for the.

For the engine and the radiator and all that stuff on the front.

Yeah.

For some reason, I decided to lengthen the front of the car a whole six inches.

Yeah.

So it's easy thinking about it, but when you actually come to do it, you think, why the hell did I do that?

Because, not being funny, you'll have to lengthen the body, the.

The bonnet, the bonnet lid or boot.

Yeah, yeah.

Which is now the engine.

Every bit.

Every front panel will now have to be 6 inch longer than just that easy.

Is it?

Because when you pull them apart.

Yeah.

They don't line up again.

No.

So it changes all the angles of his shot lines and all.

Absolute nightmare to do.

Absolute nightmare.

I've done it and the car does look good.

Yeah.

But it took a lot of doing.

Yeah.

You know, it's.

Do you ever regret doing some things to them, thinking, why did I do this?

It's made my life very difficult.

Yeah.

I wanted to do more to it, to be.

Be fair, but I sort of got sidelined.

Yeah.

Because originally I probably wanted to sell the car down the line.

Yeah.

And keeping it more Volkswagen looking.

Yeah.

I think it would sell better.

Well, I mean, that.

That's.

That's the sort of car that a Volkswagen enthusiast would buy.

To a degree.

To a degree, yeah.

Because it still looks stock.

Yeah.

You know, you could put a set of Volkswagen wheels on it.

Yeah.

And it.

And it would look stocked.

Yeah.

You know, but obviously you've got the V8 rumble for the.

The TVR engine, but it's actually got a proper TVR engine in that one.

Why tvr?

I got it cheap.

All right.

And, yeah, I like the Rover setup.

So the setup is same as a Cortina.

Yeah.

So it's exactly the same as the Cortina, but refined.

The Cortina.

Yeah.

As I've been using the Cortina.

So then refinements ended up on the Volkswagen.

Yeah.

So that has adjustable top suspension arms and bits and pieces it.

That.

That I found going forward with the Cortina that it needed.

Yeah.

So that.

So every time I had something cop for the Cortina.

Yeah.

I cut it for the Volkswagen as well.

Right.

So it's exactly the same car underneath, just different body on it.

Which just out of interest, which engine, because TVR, you stick a V8 and put a variety of sizes.

It's a 3, 5.

All right.

Just a standard 35.

Yeah.

That is a.

That's got an intake manifold on it and it will run a Holly 394 barrel carb on it.

Yeah.

Whereas the Cortina, obviously, with the turbo run the three, the 650.

So what gearboxes have you got?

Is it the box that came with the car?

No, it's got a RX8 box, the same as a Cortina.

All right.

So I made an adapter for that as well.

Yeah.

Because that works really well in the Cortina.

Yeah.

It's such a nice box to use.

Yeah.

Such a nice box.

I mean, where do These ideas come from.

It's like I said, you sit down at night and think, why don't I put a.

Get a Volkswagen and put a TVI V8 in it?

But not what it should be.

No, no.

I've always been a bit.

A bit like that with the cars, you know, I mean, I would just, you know, you'll do something.

Not, not to prove a point, but.

Yeah, you know, I mean, if you.

Think back, the Volkswagen engineers off the books put a hyper.

Put a 1.6 injection performance engine in the Golf, which was basically nothing more than a design purely as a. I'd be very sexist now.

A lady shopping car.

Yeah.

Then they stuck a W8 in the back of a Golf.

Fiat decided, I'll tell you what, why don't we see if we can turn a panda into a four wheel drive?

Because, yeah, Ms. Sidor Agnelli was embarrassed because he used to go.

He used to go up into the mountains in the Land Rover and his mates took the mickey.

Why haven't we got a Fiat four wheel drive.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And they turned the Panda into one off, but became an iconic car and they sell well and I've had four of them.

The.

The Fastback is a good car.

Yeah.

Because that did come with fuel injection.

Did it?

The last ones of them.

Yeah.

Had fuel injection on them.

They were.

Because the engine was basically a Beetle engine.

Yeah.

But the fan housing instead of being on top of the engine is at the back of the engine.

Right.

So it fits under the boot floor.

Yeah.

They have a boot on a Type three front and back.

Yeah.

Which is a bit weird.

But they weren't a bad engine.

My Alpine's got a boot from.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But with the engine being in the back, it hasn't got the upright housing on it.

Yeah.

So the fans on the front.

So it's a right compact low engine.

Yeah.

You know, and they're quite a quick little car, really.

Yeah.

And they go well.

They go well.

But obviously I want you one that's a little bit different.

Yeah.

But.

But stock, you know, but can look stock, you know, which he does because.

I know one thing that has been done because they're a.

Basically the Beetle engine was a flat engine fork of shovel the Subarus into and things like that.

That is a common thing now, the EJ swap with it with Subaru in the back room.

Yeah, yeah.

A few of them put the Rover VH in the back of them.

Believe it or not, you could buy an adapter plate.

Yeah.

And put a Rover V8 in the back.

There is one.

And I'm sure now it, it does the centerpod drag racing.

Yeah.

And it's got a Rover V8 in the back of it.

Right in.

In the back of a Fastback.

Yeah.

But that's a regular pod car.

I suppose the problem is, given the fact they were air cooled and you're putting in a water cooled engine is.

Yeah.

Cooling them down is keeping them cool because somewhere along the lines the air that would is naturally forced into them driving down the road isn't.

Yeah, but that's, that's the big unknown of mine.

So with.

We're working on the Cortina.

The Cortina has a massive rad in it, so I've done the same thing.

14 liters of.

14 liters of water that car holds.

Yeah.

Engineer Rad.

14 liters.

I brought 100 mil thick core.

Rad.

Yeah.

I chopped the bottom off, chop the top off, made a tank that was twice as wide as the radio.

So it's 200 mil wide.

Yeah.

And four inches deep.

That sits on the bottom of the radiator.

Yeah.

And then I made a new top housing where the intake pipe goes through the radiator over the top of it.

Yeah, it's got a tank each side.

And that's bigger than a.

The top of the core as well.

Yeah.

So there's 14 liters of water in the engine and the rad that, that thing runs as cool as a cookie.

So will you have to do the same thing with the Volkswagen?

Because ultimately, I know it's a custom built chassis and everything else, but you're still dealing with a car.

Yeah.

That was rear engined and air cooled.

Yep.

So it has got two holes in the front balance.

Yeah.

So I tried to make them look a bit like a common gear.

A common gear.

Oh, yeah.

As the two little slots in the nose.

Yeah.

So I've tried to incorporate that sort of look with a bigger hole.

Yeah.

And maybe we're probably gonna have to put a slot in the bottom of the valance underneath the front bumper.

Yeah.

And that will draw air through the rad.

But we'll have twin fans on.

I'm gonna say, I conclude you'll put bigger fans and everything else on.

Yeah.

That you can physically turn on.

Yeah.

That will have two on that 14 and one.

There'.

There's only enough room for one fan on the Cortina.

Yeah.

So.

And.

And you very rarely hear that fan come on.

Yeah, very rarely.

Because it runs that cold.

But I think that runs about 85 degrees all the time.

Yeah.

I think it drops to about 80 on the move.

Yeah.

So it runs fairly cold.

Yeah.

But the, the Volkswagen, it'll be a bit of an unknown.

Yeah.

We might need to put some more slots in it somewhere.

But that's the joy of doing it, you know what I mean?

So.

Yeah.

Now, even though the Volkswagen or the tvwi.

I like that.

I quite like that.

Quite like that.

About to put that on the boot.

Yeah.

It's real love.

You already have your next project in mind, which is a bit unusual, is this one, because you want to take part in and you better explain what it is.

So is drag and drive.

So in the States it's quite popular.

Really popular.

So it's quarter mile drag racing and then there's two or three tracks, maybe four tracks.

You do in a week.

Yeah.

So the car's got to be tax and insured, road legal.

Yeah.

The car has to drive from one track to the next track.

Yeah.

So in America that's obviously a bigger deal.

Yeah.

Because you might have 500 miles between each track.

Yeah.

Even more so they do it overnight.

So they're driving all weathers.

Yeah.

And some of their cars like Tom Bailey's and Tom Bailey's car and Steve Morris's car.

Yeah.

Three and a half, 4,000 horsepower.

Yeah.

Doing a quarter of a mile in.

I think Tom Bailey did it in about five, nine, five or whatever it was.

Yeah.

And then jumped in it.

Yeah.

Drove it to the hotel and then drove it to the next track in the morning.

Because the thing is, you've got to have a trailer on the back.

You have a trailer on the back.

So you run a set of street wheels.

Yeah.

Set of drags.

Drag wheels in.

In the trailer.

All your tools in the back.

All your spares in the back just in case.

Obviously you're going to break something.

Yeah.

Because you're trying to post a quick time.

So there's all different classes.

So in the UK they do street weekend.

Yeah.

Street week.

So I would like to do that.

Yeah.

Because it looks a whole lot of fun.

Yeah.

So the car of choice might be a bit different.

It'll be comfortable.

It will be comfortable.

It will become small, but it will be.

So the idea is to build a Rover P4, which is an iconic British car, really in it.

You know what I mean?

Not a luxury car, but.

Well, they were a luxury.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean they always said Rovers were like middle to high end management car.

And there's a car you are bank Manager.

You're a vet, drove around it.

I've always liked old British cars.

Yeah.

So.

But obviously we wouldn't leave you standard.

So the plan.

Totally shy, we're talking.

The plan is.

Yeah.

So once the Volkswagen is painted, which should be painted early in the new year.

Yeah.

I've just got one more panel to do on that body, work it and then that's the whole cars in primer.

Ready for the next step towards getting painted.

Yeah.

So once that's painted, that's going to go home and put it in the garage.

Yeah.

And we'll put that back together at home.

So that leaves a space down at the other garage.

So we'll fill that with a P4.

Yeah.

So I've been collecting parts already.

So we're gonna two door it, coupe it.

So it's got a nice flowing back on it.

Yeah.

Possibly shorten it depending on how the coupe job looks.

Yeah.

We're going to run one of my frames underneath it, but we're going to run the frame to look more like a pro mod with a cage on it.

Yeah.

So it's not a whole tube frame, it's more of a driving car frame.

Yeah.

We'll probably use a strut front end.

We'll probably use a Ford nine inch rear on.

Yeah.

Ladder bars on.

On four bars.

But we want to run a twin turbo, thousand horsepower, small block shooting.

Right.

But I want to do it on a car as well.

Yeah.

So it'll all be blow through as the Cortina.

Yeah.

So the injection is probably the wisest way to go.

Yeah.

But I don't know anything about it.

So I'll be, I'll be honest, I know nothing about all the electronics on the car.

So it had to be simple for me to run it.

Yeah.

So I thought I'm going to try and do it.

Yeah.

A thousand dishors power with a carb on it.

Yeah.

So but the difference will become in the, in the wheels.

So I've already got the rear wheels which are 24 inch by 15.

Yeah.

And we'll, we'll be running a 21 inch wheel on the front.

Yeah.

As narrow as I can find.

And they're, they're a two piece split rim.

Yeah.

So and we're running a 405, 25, 24 tire on the back.

Yeah.

For street use.

Yeah.

And then for the racing purposes we'll run a 15 by 15 with a big drag slick on.

Yeah.

And a narrow skinny front wheel.

So that's the idea behind that.

Yeah.

Is to run Dragon Drive P4 with a thousand horsepower.

Yeah.

I mean, do you sit down at night and sketch away?

I do, yeah.

I've got loads of little doodles own.

Yeah.

On pads and stuff.

You know, there's some.

If I get an idea, I'll just quickly write it down or draw it out or do something.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

I have a good idea of what I'm building before I actually build the car already.

Yeah.

So the plan doesn't really deviate.

What does deviate is the actual using the thing.

Yeah.

And realizing that stuff don't work and then you've got to change it, you know, I mean, when I built the Cortina brake, master cylinders and all sorts of stuff to try and make the car look smoother and cleaner, but it.

It doesn't work.

Yeah.

When you want to maintain the car, how do you get to all the reservoirs when they're under the dash?

Yeah.

And all the dash is all wired up and it's like.

It's a nightmare.

Yeah.

So I've changed loads of it's on that car to make it more workable and use.

Yeah.

So that's what we'll do to this one.

So have you found the Rover?

Not yet, no.

No, we will find one.

I'll find a shell.

Because I conclude.

Excuse me, people who modify old cars, I know full well, and that's one thing that I've no problems with.

They will find the oldest, rattiest example they can find because they're not going to start completely pulling to this.

A nice addition, fully restored coin.

Will use one that's basically out of the scrap yard.

That's right, yeah.

And.

And that's what I've done, you know.

I mean, the Cortina, you know, that.

That it was a rusty old car.

You know what I mean?

The Volkswagen was a rusty old pile of rubbish, really.

You know, saved.

I look at it as though you're saving the car.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

So the Rover.

The Rover will be.

I won't be buying a car.

Yeah.

Full car.

I'll just try and buy a shell.

Yeah.

Because all the floors are coming out anyway.

Yeah.

I only want the outer shell, you know, and I've got to fabricate most of that because you've got to make the coupe bit work.

And I've got to convert the doors.

Yeah.

Because they obviously got four doors and the doors are aluminum.

All right.

On a Rover, the.

The bonnet and the boot lid, I believe, are aluminum.

Yeah.

And the four doors are aluminum.

So what I would like to do is build a two door, a longer door.

Yeah.

In aluminum.

Well, they all in the normal way.

You're going to go for the suicide?

No, I'm not going to go suicide, no.

They're nice and everything but I'll just keep them going normal.

Yeah.

You know, and I like the old stuff but I just like the doors to operate as they should.

Yeah.

So I mean in many ways the P4 was more or less like a smallish limousine in its day.

I can remember being a passenger in the back of one of the beautiful old things to be out and about.

I mean the ones I remember, they always had red leather interiors.

Red leather interiors.

They were like.

Seats were allowed 10 inch thick, you know what I mean?

Like sitting in an armchair, you know, but not quite going to go to that level inside.

But you try and retain like the walnut dashboard and everything else.

The other thing was they used to have this beautiful big spindly gear lever in them.

Well, maybe, maybe, maybe we'll.

I think we might paint the wood on.

Right.

Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, try and a bit of airbrushing.

I've done a little bit of airbrushing in the past.

So maybe we'll paint some wood on it somewhere because we've just done the roller of work and the wood in.

That looks fantastic.

Yeah.

That one for Altis.

Yeah.

That rod.

Jason's done the wood on it.

Yeah.

Re varnished it and read that just looks amazing inside.

But.

So maybe something down that line, you know, just to bring it back to its bit of heritage, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah.

But it'll be, it will be a pure street driven car, same as a Cortina.

Yeah.

Albeit with a bit of all spout, this one.

Yeah.

I've always, never really been into the horsepower but.

Because you're not a speed man, are you?

No, I'm not, no.

No.

I've never been.

Never been into fast cars.

Never, never really want.

I've never had a fast car, to.

Be honest with you, you know, so.

But, but I think to do the Dragon Drive stuff we've got to have something after.

You'll look a bit strange.

You're in 30.

Yeah, you will, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And to be honest, a thousand horsepower small block is fairly simple to do these days, you know, because they're making stupid horsepower.

Yeah.

Fund is American, we've just a source.

It in England or else we just get it from the States.

Because I mean off these, these engines are like incredible.

They just pick A crate.

Yeah.

So a lot of the.

A lot of the American stuff now, you know, your Hemis, your Coyotes.

Yeah.

Your LS engines.

Now a lot of raw crate engines.

Yeah.

So you can buy a crate engine complete with a wiring loom, plug and play, you know.

So they are quite simple.

Yeah.

But I'll probably source everything over here.

A friend of mine, Dan, he's got a charger.

Yeah.

A generally lookalike thing.

And he gets.

They have two or three American cars.

Yeah.

So a friend of his does import a lot of stuff over from America.

Yeah.

In a container, I think, once or twice a year.

Yeah.

So for some of the stuff, we might just have a word with Dan and say, look, can your mate get us this?

Yeah.

Because obviously we'll be running hopefully a small block Chevy, a 4 Le 80 gearbox.

Yeah.

Which is.

Will take a bit of abuse without going stupid.

Expensive.

Yeah.

Because I can't do it on a.

On a mega budget.

I've got to do it on a budget, you know what I mean?

So.

And you'll be like, well, you need a racing clutch or are they a special clutch?

That'd be probably.

It'll be an auto.

All right, It'll be an auto.

So we, you know, like a manual trans break in the.

In the gearbox.

Yeah.

For getting it off a line, stuff like that.

I'm not fully up on the drag racing side of it because I've never really wanted to do it, but.

Yeah, I will have to be when I start building the car.

Yeah.

Because you.

You need some sort of transplant to hold the car on the line before you set off.

So there's a lot to find out about the general building of it, you know what I mean?

You'll have to learn how to warm your tires at the back and all white.

Yeah, I don't think that'd be.

I don't think that'd be a problem.

I love this one.

They're gonna be fine.

So, yeah, we're practicing at the Cortina and the Volkswagen, won't you.

I think I'll probably rip the back axle part of the Cortina if I try it in Cortina.

But I don't mind the odd wheel spin in the wet, but never in the dry.

I'll probably just rip it all apart.

So.

No, I'll over be the laster.

Will you have the urge to do something else?

I'm hoping so.

I'm hoping so.

There's something else.

Yeah.

Years ago I started building a mark for a Mark 3 Escort van.

Yeah.

Into a pickup.

And I built this really crazy body kit for it.

Yeah.

More like a jolly American.

Yeah.

But big arches on the back, big arches on the front, big wheels in it.

And I was going to build it with an RS turbo engine.

Yeah.

But I sort of got halfway through it and then I had too many cars on the go.

Yeah.

So something had to go.

So, unfortunately, the Escort went.

Yeah.

But you've regretted it ever since.

But I kept the body kit.

All right.

I've still got it.

So I've got a front bumper, four wings, two side skirts, everything to build that car again.

And it even had Subaru bug eye headlamps in it.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

The bug idea.

Yeah.

So I've still got them.

I've still got all the bits that I was going to build that car, and that's sort of the car.

If the max power stuff does come back round again, I think that car is sliding quite nice, you know, so.

But that'd be a crazy problem.

We find an Escort, if I wanted.

It will be.

Yeah.

And it's the early one with the little quarter windows.

Oh, yeah.

It's got to be that one.

Yeah.

You know, so the restaurant doesn't look great.

They did a.

In Australia, they actually did a pickup Mark three Escort.

All right.

And you can actually buy them over here.