A brand new classic show
Down to earth and up for fun, Danny and Clive are ready to revive
Classic car TV shows are everywhere. Whether it’s Wheeler Dealers, Salvage Hunters or Car SOS, the choice is huge and the ongoing popularity of these shows is proof that, as a hobby, working on classics is as important as ever. It also made our friends at Practical Classics magazine think, ‘Why don’t we have a go too; bring what we do to life for you all to enjoy? We have plenty of material.’
This aspiration only became reality when Amazon called Practical Classics to see if they fancied joining forces. For a long time now Amazon has offered a huge variety of tools and parts, either from third-party manufacturers or via its own Amazon Basics range. So, what better partner than Practical Classics? The mag team can talk about, and use and abuse the tools and parts in a real-world environment – and fix up a classic while they are at it. That’s how Fixing Up was born, and why PC’S ‘welding Stig’ Clive Jefferson and editor Danny Hopkins were challenged with turning the PC workshop into a TV studio, fit for both filming and 21st century classic restoration. The lighting has changed, the shelving has changed, the walls and floor have been repainted and the place has had a complete overhaul. It has become the latest workshop studio; a workshop fit to produce a top-quality TV show, with a TV crew and team ready to make sure the boys keep to schedule and don’t drink too much tea.
The first item on the ‘to do’ list of course was a project to work on. In 2021 the magazine restored a Type 2 Transporter and editor Danny drove it around the UK raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. The trip was a huge success, and driving that van was a joy. And the VW scene Danny encountered was active, friendly and fun.
The temptation to go back and enjoy it again was too much, so a VW van was settled upon. But which one? A T2 or T25 was out of the question because PC had restored one of each in the past five years. So Danny and Clive looked at a more recent variant – the T4 Transporter. But which variant on the T4 camper theme would it be? And with a budget of less than £6k, would it be any good? Find out when you watch the guys crack on (and crack up) as they get to grips with their Transporter steed. Who knows – once the show catches on it could be something a tad more glamorous next time - there’s a world of classics out there, after all.