Wheeler dealers gone down hill
Discussion
Winky151 said:
This piece of s
t van episode is already annoying me.
I was thinking that myself, but credit where it is due they clearly had a plan for it and the end result was impressive (if still a deathtrap).t van episode is already annoying me.I wondered how many Scooby Doo references there would be, but the one that did get slipped in was subtle enough.
Oh, and 'big gay Ant' still very much in view.....
Guffy said:
I'm very late to WD, only started watching them from the beginning last year, so have seen the series develop over a short time, the very early ones are perhaps a bit low-rent, but really enjoy the rest.
I was sad Ed left, but think Ant is doing fine, although did you see the bolts securing the light bar protruding into the Dodge cabin and right beside Ant's head, that could be a sore one over a rough road.
I noticed those bolts. I was wincing every time I saw them. I thought the tyres looked a bit close to the arches in some shots too. Not "scene" close, but still too close for comfort.I was sad Ed left, but think Ant is doing fine, although did you see the bolts securing the light bar protruding into the Dodge cabin and right beside Ant's head, that could be a sore one over a rough road.
Guffy said:
...did you see the bolts securing the light bar protruding into the Dodge cabin and right beside Ant's head, that could be a sore one over a rough road.
Details like that are really annoying. It wouldn't exactly be difficult to find button head socket screws for the inside and dome nuts to make the outside look neat.Patch1875 said:
Don’t think they added the clear coat into the costs...
or the bed liner, or the disc brakes, or the trailing arms for the rear axle, or the dampers (unless air springs don't need dampers?), or the front crossmember/control arms/uprights.gareth_r said:
Guffy said:
...did you see the bolts securing the light bar protruding into the Dodge cabin and right beside Ant's head, that could be a sore one over a rough road.
Details like that are really annoying. It wouldn't exactly be difficult to find button head socket screws for the inside and dome nuts to make the outside look neat.All that posing. It could be Top Gun. Ant's got a lovely wife.
Derek Smith said:
gareth_r said:
Guffy said:
...did you see the bolts securing the light bar protruding into the Dodge cabin and right beside Ant's head, that could be a sore one over a rough road.
Details like that are really annoying. It wouldn't exactly be difficult to find button head socket screws for the inside and dome nuts to make the outside look neat.All that posing. It could be Top Gun. Ant's got a lovely wife.
Also wondered how accurate the costs were as a fair few bits (like the clear coat and bed liner) seemed glossed over in the build and the costs.
What do people make of the man hour figures that have finally (reluctantly?) been included in the final pricing?
96 man hours for this build, which included:
- complete suspension renewal including fabrication of new pickup points and plumbing of an air bag system
- fabrication of new front (and rear?) bumper(s)
- engine and gearbox change, including an apparent attempt to fix the original engine and modification of a cross member complete with new gearbox mounting points
- fabrication of a custom roof rack and wiring of the lights
- installation of a hot water system
- full interior kit out including fabrication of a table
- engine cover modifications
- leaking roof fix
- new gearbox selector
- bench seat fabrication
There's also the unspoken stuff including removal and refitting of powdercoated parts, strip down and presumably prep for the clear coat, etc.
I might be wrong but there surely must be a big team of people doing this work? Or Ant's pace is super human? A lot of this stuff required some careful planning, designing, measuring, etc. too. Engineering time not included but every bit as important so who does that?
I know, I know, the magic of TV right. I just wondered if I'm the only one thinking the man hour estimates seem beyond suspect? Presumably if the were realistic it'd prove that more people are involved?
96 man hours for this build, which included:
- complete suspension renewal including fabrication of new pickup points and plumbing of an air bag system
- fabrication of new front (and rear?) bumper(s)
- engine and gearbox change, including an apparent attempt to fix the original engine and modification of a cross member complete with new gearbox mounting points
- fabrication of a custom roof rack and wiring of the lights
- installation of a hot water system
- full interior kit out including fabrication of a table
- engine cover modifications
- leaking roof fix
- new gearbox selector
- bench seat fabrication
There's also the unspoken stuff including removal and refitting of powdercoated parts, strip down and presumably prep for the clear coat, etc.
I might be wrong but there surely must be a big team of people doing this work? Or Ant's pace is super human? A lot of this stuff required some careful planning, designing, measuring, etc. too. Engineering time not included but every bit as important so who does that?
I know, I know, the magic of TV right. I just wondered if I'm the only one thinking the man hour estimates seem beyond suspect? Presumably if the were realistic it'd prove that more people are involved?
P-Jay said:
Enjoyed the Van ep.
I fancy Ant’s a bit braver when it comes to facbrication than Edd was.
Shower was perilously close to ‘pimp my ride’ though.
Was a pretty cool project.I fancy Ant’s a bit braver when it comes to facbrication than Edd was.
Shower was perilously close to ‘pimp my ride’ though.
The surf board table too was a bit P.M.R...
...'Yo' dog we heard you like to surf, now you can surf in your surf van!'
dsmith1990 said:
I've really enjoyed this series, Ant has settled in well and seems to have genuine enthusiasm for what he is doing too. If he has done a lot of the fabrication himself it's very impressive! Was unsure of the van at first but it turned out great.
I have also been enjoying it.AS posted already it's a shame it's moved so much from it's grass routes of building for a budget and home mechanics but seems all these shows do the same. American chopper did the same and grew from nice bikes to costly builds for huge companies, as with Gas Monkey etc....
Some get better other's don't. You just have to watch and enjoy or not
End of the day, it's just 'telly'.
The reason Edd's so missed is that the show had an authenticity to it in the early days, but once they had to follow the dollar to the USA (and getting a commission for such a programme over here would be increasingly challenging as car programmes are spawn of the devil to British broadcasters), it's rapidly becoming a pastiche of Fast 'n' Loud and a zillion other me-too shows.
I think it does well in the USA because of Mike's mockney geezer 'Britishness' and, whilst I respect him for being a genuine lover of cars, they're there for the money, fame and lifestyle.... and who can blame them. Beats trying to flog them from his dealership in Luton!
It would be great to see Edd back on the small screen with something more grass-roots, but for reasons above, I think it would be very hard to get a commission for.
Car programmes these days have to have 'jeopardy' (ie. impossible deadlines, chassis/bodywork that disintegrate, seem a nightmare) so they can thehn pull the rabbit from the hat at the last minute and deliver some custom/exotic one-off 'wallah' - as our American cousins woudl say.
There's just no market for it. Look at Mark Evans. Once he'd exhausted the 'is born' series that was it? Those shows were shot on a minescule budgete too. Still, at least he has a career as a vet to fall back on, even if the programme diversity is poorer for it.
Besides, who's interested in 'fixing' cars these days?
Sadly, your average PHer is rapidly becoming outmoded - me included. Still, I be swinging my own spanners until I'm no longer able to do so!
The reason Edd's so missed is that the show had an authenticity to it in the early days, but once they had to follow the dollar to the USA (and getting a commission for such a programme over here would be increasingly challenging as car programmes are spawn of the devil to British broadcasters), it's rapidly becoming a pastiche of Fast 'n' Loud and a zillion other me-too shows.
I think it does well in the USA because of Mike's mockney geezer 'Britishness' and, whilst I respect him for being a genuine lover of cars, they're there for the money, fame and lifestyle.... and who can blame them. Beats trying to flog them from his dealership in Luton!
It would be great to see Edd back on the small screen with something more grass-roots, but for reasons above, I think it would be very hard to get a commission for.
Car programmes these days have to have 'jeopardy' (ie. impossible deadlines, chassis/bodywork that disintegrate, seem a nightmare) so they can thehn pull the rabbit from the hat at the last minute and deliver some custom/exotic one-off 'wallah' - as our American cousins woudl say.
There's just no market for it. Look at Mark Evans. Once he'd exhausted the 'is born' series that was it? Those shows were shot on a minescule budgete too. Still, at least he has a career as a vet to fall back on, even if the programme diversity is poorer for it.
Besides, who's interested in 'fixing' cars these days?
Sadly, your average PHer is rapidly becoming outmoded - me included. Still, I be swinging my own spanners until I'm no longer able to do so!
dsmith1990 said:
I've really enjoyed this series, Ant has settled in well and seems to have genuine enthusiasm for what he is doing too. If he has done a lot of the fabrication himself it's very impressive! Was unsure of the van at first but it turned out great.
I ready somewhere that they’ve changed directors and You can tell, it feels a bit more British in character, Mike doesn’t do that irritating thing where he’s being interviewed anymore. Although it’s very slickly produced, it’s much more watchable. I’ve really enjoyed it.Sticks in my throat, but I really liked that Dodge van when it was finished. Just the wrong programme to be doing builds like that in. It's not Wheeler Dealers any more, it's just another Yank resto show.
....and obviously, the roofrack bolts and totally unfinished end of the surfboard table were merely the two most blatant of the "really? They left it looking that st?" moments
....and obviously, the roofrack bolts and totally unfinished end of the surfboard table were merely the two most blatant of the "really? They left it looking that s
t?" momentsGassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff