I believe one of the revisions in the new 2021 Highway Code states that you’re not allowed to extract a barn find car without Jonny Smith being present.
This is the number one reason I emailed Johny .. once I moved it would never be the same again and I could have never done the car or my grandad the justice it deserved and what johny and Phil (behind the camera) did was amazing, my family want to say thank you 👍🏻
I think the correct wording is actually "...without a Jo(h)nny Smith being present." I am also offering barn find extraction services in the North East Scotland area.
It has to be said that the camera person has done a great job filming with a slow gentle pace that just adds to the atmosphere of your enthusiasm and commentary 👍🏼 Well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Love the looks of those cars and would be a great candidate for restoration. Looks like they used a lacquer paint when they did the respray on it. Lacquer is bad about lifting because the solvents in it can attack the surface underneath if it's not prepared properly, especially if you put it over an existing non lacquer paint and if you use a primer underneath it that isn't compatible with lacquer paint. It also needs a slightly rougher surface to adhear to so you should sand the primer with 320 grit sandpaper before spraying the paint and give it 3 coats, then sand with 600 and give it 3 coats of clear for the best chances of it lasting a long time.
It always worries me starting something that’s been sitting that long, the oil would have separated and there is high probability that oil galleries could be blocked.
What would the oil have separated from? That said, I agree I would have changed it along with filter and tipped a glob of oil down each spark plug hole before even touching the key.
@@dj_efk the oil separates into 2, you get a clear nasty liquid like varnish, it stinks! And a black VERY thick sludge like tar. So starting something that’s been sitting that long is a huge gamble as it can seriously damage the engine as the tar will block the oil system and will prevent lubrication.
La Grande Motte, with buildings by the architect Jean Balladur, was developed in the 1960s ands 70s as part of a plan by the French government to keep French vacationers in France
Very nice car. Cheers to Nick for getting in contact with Jonny. I love that people are being so supportive and contacting Jonny himself, a great community. Good luck with the restoration!
Wow what a lovley motor and brilliant story can’t wait to see this finished his grandad had a massive love for this merc abd it’s brilliant story can’t wait to se this finish 👊🏻👊🏻🥰🥰
Bloody hell Jonny, what an awesome episode. Just love the barn (garage) finds... Same what a car. Hope we see it running and driving in the show soon 👍🏼
That’s such a cool motor,, I wish my familys motoring history was that classy! Hopefully he will have it on the road very soon ( maybe a catch up film next year? ) Great video 👍🏻
The peeling of the paint is caused to a reaction between the original paint, probably a thermoacrylic paint and a more modern kind of 2 component paint. I am working on a 63 Chevy that got painted many years ago. I encountered the same problem, luckily on a lesser scale than this.
What a beautiful yacht , please do a revisit when this cars been done . I reckon RU-vid’s Tom Davies “GeoWizard “ could pin point where that hotel is to recreate the photo . May I add , I agree with your brother. The Hunt for Red October IS the best film ever 😁
If you can shed any light on where the hotel is I want to revisit with the car.. I’m going to be documenting the restoration and will attend some shows with it, it would be nice for a revisit at some point
@@NicksGarageUk can you take a high resolution picture of the photo and email it to me . Plus is there any clues to what route your grandad took ? Hopefully the hotel is still standing and hasn’t been demolished
the paint cracking off in sheets is common with old cellulose based paint, its very fragile, and does not expand at the same rate as the underlying metal.
Jonny will you be attending the Classic Car Show at Tatton Park Cheshire this 21st & 22nd August? Well worth a visit, it also has plenty of auto jumble stalls, I can recommend it, it's a great weekend for Petrol Heads. 👍🙂👍
Shouldn't have been started. Much damage could have occurred on a car sitting for 35 years. Hand turn the crank bolt to see if its seized. Spray fogging oil into the cylinders and wait overnight. Bypass the bad gas, as was done.
I inherited my Grandfather's car after he died (Mum's Dad), I was reluctantly convinced by my Mum to sell it because I had bought a new '95 Renault Laguna (which I still have) it just happen to be a 1963 220 se sedan😣. To find or buy one now would be $30- $40,000 AUD if ever want to own one again. Well at least I think we have a hub cap or two in the garage.
Oh how I feel sorry for you mate, I inherited 2 motor bikes from an uncle when I was 10yrs old, thank goodness my father argued to keep them, today at 50 I have 2 of the lowest mileage Ducati's in the world, Rj in Oz
I absolutely love your show, that said. Don't ever rub the dirt off the beautiful chrome ( thus scratching the piss out of it) again or I'll cross the pond and smack you. Keep up the great content.
Am I the only one here that would prefer to squirt some lubrication in those cylinders before turning it over and trying to get it running? Poor thing. Those cylinders would have been bone dry...... Lovely old tool though. I hope it gets to run again.
As much as I love the channel, and hate feeling like I'm criticising, I'm not sure that trying to start that cold engine on 40-year old oil is a great idea, even though it made for great content. Sorry!
I would say someone has tried to spray 2 pack acrylic paint over cellulose paint or the other way round and it has reacted whoever did it thought they would just blow it over, most of that paint will strip off by hand.
You've just fulfilled one of my dreams. Finding that model of Merc in that condition sitting in a dry garage. The only thing that could make perfect would be the 3.5 V8 under the bonnet. Nick, you are a very lucky guy. I'm genuinely jealous.
It always irritates me when people try to start barn find cars, you are likely to do more harm than good. Good chance of wrecking the bores and bearings.
First thing to do with a car that's been stored for years is to remove the spark plugs and get some oil into the cylinders then rotate the engine by hand.
That hotel looks stunning and perfectly goes with the car. Grandad certainly had an eye for design. I’d hesitate to call the style of the hotel “brutalist” but it’s close. Perhaps it would just fall under modernism. It looks like something Architect Jean-Pierre Balladur would have designed, but can’t seem to find anything about him doing a hotel in Spain. If mother can remember where they were staying it might narrow down the area where it is located. There’s also every chance it doesn’t exist anymore, which would be a shame because it looks beautiful in that “visions of the future circa 1965” way. Very world of tomorrow / carrousel of progress.
I think it might be a storage issue tbf! Brick built garages aren’t the best (timber built are best by all accounts as they breath and let the moisture out as well as in) so condensation can build up on the bodywork then freeze or heat up to lift the paint in sheets like that.
Great episode the car definitely needs putting back on the road the paint work problem looks like the mixing of two types of paint which has caused a reaction just needs stripping back to bear metal thanks for sharing 😎
Wonderful! I'd love to have met this gentleman's grandad......I think we may have been kindred spirits, as my family recently took the mickey out of me for washing my Mustang whilst we were on holiday :)
Oh Nick, your grandfather was a great car guy, I'm kinda glad you're uncle never got it running, you've got a stunning old Merc, priceless car, I had an aunt who drove a similar car to yours, I have a 3.5ltr sedan because that's what I can afford, don't let your mother sell it, thanks for letting Jonny show us the car, Rj in Oz
I'll plough through my old negatives - I was in Manchester from '80 - '87 and was forever snapping interesting motors. Perhaps I caught this one. A couple of years ago my wife and I went to visit some of her friends in a little village in NW Thailand, and in the car port was a large machine with a fitted cover. I recognised the shape - not a convertible, but one of the 'stacked light' Mercs. The owner was delighted that I knew what it was without having to look under the cover :)
When I moved from upstate New York to Las Vegas Nevada my neighbor rebuilt his grandfathers four-door 220 I’d never seen a 1963 vehicle without rust and was very impressed with the humongous Strait six under the bonnet this video really took me back
What other RU-vid channel has the latest rimac electric hypercar to sn old merc that been sat in a garage for over 30 years. This channel is going to blow up as it has something for everyone. Great work jonny 👏
Nice one Jonny 🙂 love the channel and the barn finds, Great to hear the stats n info, like a shot in the arm for us car geeks " Sad isn't it ?.lol" you do a great flavour to the show, well done 👍
Hey Jonny I got a '63 Humber Super Snipe languishing under boxes, so when you're doing an international version #internationalbarnfind #globalbarnfind or you're in Cape Town send me a message!
I certainly washed my dad's car after driving through France. We had proper insects back in the day. Most of them seemed to get squashed on the front of his Lancia.
really hope in a few years time we get a follow up Barn Found series to see where everyone you've featured and yet to feature on this series has ended up with their cars
2nd Comment. Sitting at home…in Arizona…I had to laugh as my first car (1969 Chevelle) had rust! Albeit it came from Chicago originally. But none the less it is definitely hot and dry here! Truly enjoy your channel!
You really shouldn't crank over or attempt to start an engine that has been sitting for so long without at least putting fogging oil in the cylinders and letting it soak for a while (days preferably), hand turning it over without any spark plugs in it to make sure it moves freely, do an oil change and then attempting to crank it on the battery. You could do irreparable damage to really rare and unique engines with the way you appear to be going about it. While I understand the entertainment value in attempting to start these old cars, you seem to really care about car preservation so it would be awesome to see you do it the right way and also educate others who might be watching these videos with old cars of their own! - A fellow car lover
Most "will it start" cars we currently see are diesels or have carbs. This Merc has a very early fuel injected engine, I believe. I suspect as we increasingly see fuel injected cars like this being rescued, we are due for a whole new class of pain with clogged injectors, lift pumps, high pressure pumps etc.
