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MG Midget and Sprite General - Frogeye on Telly

Discovery; Wheeler Dealers; Tuesday 26th April at 9pm.

I am sure we won't learn anything about Frogeye's we don't already know, but it might be fun viewing. If nothing else it might push up the sale price if you are selling a Frog in the next couple of weeks!

Mark
Mark '59 Frog

I think you will find that it belongs to our very own Alan Anstead, only problem is that I do not have a dish, can anyone copy onto a CD for me ?
John M Platt

Neither do I!
A Anstead

Ok so I am confused! Did they use Alan's car to show how great a car they are? Not the one they did up to sell? Surely you aren't going to tell me it is all pretend?

I have a dish but no dvd recording capability I am afraid - somene here must be able to help out the two of you!!

Mark
Mark '59 Frog

Wow, I love wheeler dealers (apart from Mike Brewer comes across as a bit of a plonker!)

I watch them on youtube, generally OK quality and normally uploaded reasonably promptly.

Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

Is Discovery channel only available via satellite? Or is it on terrestrial digital transmissions too?
Guy

It's also on Virgin Media (Cable). Not sure if it's on Freeview.

Bernie.
b higginson

We have Discovery on cabel but I dont think it runs the same programming as the Uk derpartment does...
Arie de Best

Mine is the green one driven about before the restoration project. Filmed at Longcross where I am led to understand they used to test Military fighting Tanks.
A Anstead

Found this 'sneak preview' on youtube, this must be your car then Alan, I am jealous! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agJyoz3zbC0

Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

If you want to buy it, here it is! £11750
http://www.mgmidgets.com/stock_midgets.php
Ed does all the work and someone else makes the most profit. That's business I guess!
Neil K

saw most of it last night. I never realised how easy a restoration was! did you see the paint runs on the gear lever shroud? As ever an interesting programme which I enjoyed, but would you buy one of his cars? not a hope!

advert on mg midgets.com seems to be a bit dodgy lots of contradictions.
d cusworth

The real loser seems to be the dealer who sold it so cheaply in the first place!
I suspect that the programme is somewhat less than transparent about all the facts and I would be surprised at so apparently straight a car going for only £4500 from a dealer even if somewhat original and with tired paint.
I think the aim is to try and show what someone can do with a car themselves because if you had to employ a professional mechanic the labour costs in all of their episodes would hugely outstrip the profit margins in any case.
I can't begin to imagine that they didn't know that Mike Authers was a dealer, or if they didn't they didn't do their homework very well!
Matt1275 Bucks

At the end of the day it is just light entertainment.

They wouldn't want to film a man in his potting shed meticulously polishing all the components and restoring the car 'properly' over a period of many years.

There will deffinatly be ommisions of certain truths. Watch the one about the Triumph Spitfire and look how easily the cylinder head comes off! Ha ha, I wish mine would come off...

Cheers,
Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

I am more worried when they respray the cars, did you see how they "prepared" the elan's body? it took us 2 years of grinding and matting the cracks, rather than a grind and skim of filler!
d cusworth

I'm saying nothing about the guys on the show as they help the club I'm in at the NEC but the program, and there was a similar one years ago, promotes the idea of buying a classic car doing very little to it and sell to make a good profit

Then as now they are very economical with costing details and think gross and net profits are the same thing

Some that don't know and shouldn't try will see programs like this and perpetuate the idea of buying a classic for a low price do next to nothing to it and sell it on for a profit, when it doesn't work out that way for them it's the fault of the car which has probably deteriorated in their ownership

It's like the E-Type reborn, the cost stated in the program I suspect was a lot more than stated and I'm told a lot of the work was done by Jag heritage trainees, (probably at no charge?), IIRC the production company had trouble selling the car even at the lowered costings

It's no wonder joe public has a dim view of classic dealers and mistrust private sellers
Nigel Atkins

I always wonder just how much of the work Ed actually does himself, if any, as he never wears overalls and is never dirty. I have never seen anyone else, DIY or professional stay that clean!

Trev
T Mason

Hey, leave Ed alone, he's cool. I wish I had his knowledge and his workshop and his tools. I'm glad I'm not quite as tall as him though. He has trouble fitting in cars!
Neil K

I'm not having a go at Ed, just wondering if he does the work. Maybe he does the work then changes for the filming. I also dont think its his workshop or his tools (probably just somewhere cheap on a farm to film the show). I say this as there never appears to be any other cars there or any signage outside which you would expect if runnung a business from there. As for tools there is a name mentioned in the credits (cant remember who).

Trev
T Mason

I believe that there are some people who can just stay clean - my friend has her stallions in pale pink rugs which are as clean now as at the start of the winter - my little b@-£;@/:(s can't stay clean in dark ones! Same as her, she wears a beautiful White habit for side saddle that would just attract dirt on me!
rachmacb

Hi guys, not that impressed, to my mind it's still a £5K car inspite of the work done, it all looks pretty poor, the bonnet had a lot of problems, ie seams filled in etc, I thought you were supposed to put the proper brake m/c in to cope with the disk brakes ? getting rid of the original wheels, in all it looks as though it all needs doing again properly I'm sure those air filters won't be doing their job properly either, one floor pan looked as though it was just a flat metal sheet, that might just have been the shot.In all I think I would be very upset if I had just paid £8.5 K for it

gordon
g c pugh

it was not a patch on the other programme where that young lady,with help, did her frogeye and did a lovely job.


Gordon
g c pugh

That was Lizzie Bartlet's car. Lovely it is too.
Gary & Gaps

If anyone hasn't seen this and still wants to it is now on youtube(search for wheeler dealers sprite). Despite all the rantings about them not doing a proper job etc. (which a do agree with) I still enjoyed the show.

My girlfriend now thinks the Midget isn't as cute as a frogeye and wants to buy the car that was on the show! (She loved the colour!) ha ha.

Cheers,
Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

Hi all just for comparison this looks like the "real deal"


http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C199612

gordon
g c pugh

It caught my attention that someone questioned how much of the work actually was done by Ed, and didn't anyone notice that when the car came back from paint it seemed to have all the small bits and pieces in the engine bay mounted etc. a really time wasting job as most of us know.

But never the less I did enjoy it (on youtube) but I just could not understand when doing that much work on a car (poor or not) that they for example didn't just give the engine a good clean and a splash of paint, and replaced things like the rugged up emblems, pancake filters and such.
Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

This thread was discussed between 23/04/2011 and 29/04/2011

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