Reawakening the craziest TVR of them all, the Scamander, plus the Wheeler's secret TVR collection

Well, welcome to a new Harry's Garage video. No, we are not in the garage at home, we are in the Trough of Boland, a beautiful part of England I know quite well because up here is where Peter Wheeler lived and we used to come visit here and see the amazing TVRs he then created, all sorts of cars. But the last time I was with Peter was with a very special car that was the barmiest TVR if you like I'd ever seen and it was called the Scamander and the idea of it was, according to Peter, it could go up these malls but he could also go into a lake and cross, he had a boat and he wanted to get to his boat as well. Just barmy, typical Peter and I just have very fond memories of Peter taking me around and saying yeah this is the answer to life, this is the car everybody needs. It then progressed and we did, I did actually, the last time I saw this car I actually went out into Oldswater and it did swim and it did about six knots and it's just crazy. That was 12 years ago and a few weeks ago I got a call from Peter's son Joe and he said what about the Scamander, do you think we could get it going again? I'd really like to see it on the road. I said I'd love to see that, can I come up and see what it looks like now and if we can get it going and behind this door is where the Scamander is and Joe is. So let's open the door and go and see this crazy TVR. Joe, thank you ever so much, good to see you again. What a shed, what things to see and there it is. Yeah, oh it's so good to see it. Yeah, some hibernate and obviously this is where it's been, it's been resting for a while. And you've got all these other toys in here that I recognise, I can remember with your dad in that up on the moor, series one. Yeah, it's got a funny story with that one, the year I was born it came here and it's just a complete coincidence it's called Joe, so that's where it's stuck and it's still here. Yeah, as I say it's quite tricky the terrain around here isn't it, you want something proper to get about the farm. And I think that's one reason why it did stay because going across the wet fields in particular it's really surprising how good they are, really surprising. Well they're so light compared to now, yeah and it's got oversized tarps, it wouldn't have to be, stay standard with your dad really. No, no it had to be changed obviously. Yeah, so it's super light but yeah just before we get to Scamander which we will do, which is just epic, there's me my last time I was in it swimming, there it is, it does swim and it does go on the moor. I just think we ought to go around some of these cars here because there's a bit of a story here isn't there? Yeah, well some of these TVRs, one of the stories was so after my dad passed away, I've got two older sisters Lizzie and Ali and my mum surprised us one morning and we woke up and said yeah we're doing something today so I think we're in the car an hour and a bit, asking obviously a load of questions where are we going and it turned out to a TVR dealership. I was about eight at the time, so luckily my sister, me and Ali and Lizzie all chose cars at that age. So this is where the Cigaris ended up because me being an eight-year-old Cigaris, it obviously appeals to an eight-year-old. Absolutely perfect, look at it. Yeah, this is where it sits so yeah. And now you're at the grand age of 20. And you've driven it? Yeah, I have, well only the insurance is a bit of a problem with all of them but yeah, not on the roads yet but hopefully. Right, so you didn't take a test in it or anything silly like that? Oh no, no, no, yeah definitely not, I don't think that would have gone too positively. Well, excellent choice, brilliant colours as well, a Cerbera. Yeah, a Cerbera, so this is Annie, which is Annie's choice. I think she's more of a, she's not the oldest but I think she's more of a wise person so I think she likes the practical of the two seats in the back too, so I think that's why that was her choice. She's got, yeah, family sort of intention so to take the four up. Four, yeah, so that's where that. It's a very sensible choice. And then your dad's, I didn't know he had one of these. Yeah, so this is, well his dad's car which he always had and yeah, so it's based on an Elvis where you get the chassis and then obviously it's a coach built so you build up around that and that's, that's seated for a while. So that's a family heirloom. Yeah, it is really now. Yeah, I think that's going nowhere too soon. No, and then infamous cars. Yeah, this hasn't been, this hasn't been around for a while. It's, so this is my dad's last Tuscan race car, which the distinct flip-flop colours with the purple and green. I wouldn't expect anything else. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, this is, this is half in the work for a conversion by my dad and then just didn't, didn't finally complete it. But now it's a bit of a, bit of a dilemma to be honest because, right, do you take it the full way or do you take it back to the true race car where it's been, all the moulds are correct now for the interior and stuff. So, I don't know, the racing, the racing side is also intriguing as well. Right, so what, a conversion into a road car? Conversion into a road car, yeah. Yeah, so there's been a few things changed and it's still got the, the V8 from the, from the racing days but just in, in a dilemma at the moment. Right, I always remember with your dad the, the engine was always interesting on his race car because it was always a development engine, wasn't it? And people grumbled that he was always easily the quickest on the straights. Well, I think that's the way he liked it, to be honest. Well, he did own the company and the race series. Yeah, so I think that, that stays as it is. Yeah, yeah, so it's a pretty healthy engine in it, let's say. But this car I remember seeing, and your dad, I've never seen a smile on his face like when I saw him in this car. And this is quite a rare car, isn't it, this? Yeah, so, yeah, based on the 5000M, so a series in Canada which went to Canada and managed to import one back and I think that was his base for, for building his, his race car to do classic racing. Yeah, we went, we had a Aston Martin DB4, he was racing that, but he wanted a historic TBR to race and he didn't quite fit in the early griff where a 3000M he could fit in. Yeah, that's, I remember, that's story I remember him telling me and then it had a five litre engine, this one in Canada, he thought that's the one I'll have. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, yeah, that was, it was more trying to get it back to fit in all the classic racing, so that's why it was established and he loved that type of racing, so. And he did race this in 2008? Yeah, so this was, this was raced in October, so he did one round. Wow, and you've got ambitions to race this, haven't you? Oh yeah, I would, I would love to have a go, definitely, and see, see, see what it has to do, but yeah. Wow, we ought to quickly move on to... Yeah, so this is the Mark II Tuscan, this was the final choice for my oldest sister, Lizzie, and Lizzie's sort of personality as well, Lizzie's a bit more of a wild side, so I think it's like the convertible look, so yeah, that's why it descends from bright red. Brilliant, uh, collection, but we really ought to talk about this, Commander. Now, we've been dancing around on dates and things, as you do a bit of racing these days, don't you? Yeah, so, uh, just coming back from Dubai, uh, I'm doing my... As you do. Yeah, so I've just, uh, it turns out I'm doing my degree at Bentley too, at the moment, so, um, it turns out an opportunity arrives for, for doing the Bentley Continental GT3. Unbelievable. I've, uh, worked up through British GT, uh, yeah, and now... Genettas, I think. Genettas, in the Genettas, yeah, um, and now it's, yeah, the GT3, um, so the Bentley GT3, it was, it was, uh, we made it 24 hours, came fourth in class. Unbelievable, because that hasn't raced for a while. Yeah, so it's, it's, uh, it's not had an Evo package, so it's 2018 was the last time it was raced, um, well, homologated, so, um, yeah, it was a pretty event that managed to finish. And it finished fourth. Yeah. And there were some new boys there that didn't finish, wasn't there? Yeah, yeah, so there was the factory Audis, um, and, and all the new Ferraris. The two 96s? Yeah, the GT3, so two of them, um, and a new Mercedes, so yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a good weekend. And how many hours racing did you get then? So I did, uh, six and a half in total, um, but it was, it was even more impressive because the car managed to do nearly 24 hours of testing before we did the 24-hour race, so it was a real, real achievement for the car. Well done you, yeah, and there we're back to something completely different. The Scamander hasn't, the Scamander hasn't done anything then for how long? 10, 12 years, it's not really turned a wheel, so, um, yeah, yeah, so we had a quick look at it yesterday, still needs a service, um, and getting back on the road for an MOT, um, but it's, uh, just, uh, yeah, just been hibernating here at the moment. It is just the most extraordinary thing, and you were showing me earlier some of the sketches you did on this, you actually drew it out, didn't you? Yeah, yeah, not many people know about that, but you did like a pen probably, probably not on a piece of paper, it was probably on a bit of, well, it's, it's good drawing, the one you showed me, yeah, yeah, really nice, but it was always central driving position, wasn't it? It was obvious, yeah, it's so central, definitely, uh, to see everything around you, especially on the moor, you don't want to be on one side and see the rock on the other side, so that's, that's why it was pretty central, and I think you can also fit more people in, right, yeah, the three seats, with the three seat layout, um, yeah, a bit of an event with everyone in, and yeah, the obvious thing, anybody else except, uh, Peter would think, oh, it has to be four-wheel drive, because it's going to go up on the moor, no, he demanded two-wheel drive for lightness, yeah, exactly, yeah, and, uh, also it's more, uh, something to get it working with the wheels as well, when it goes in the water, yeah, that was also another choice. Well, that, yeah, I first saw it 2008, and we dipped into his pond, and, um, it was all right on the moor, but he had these funny paddle things, he thought it would work on the back wheels, and you'd just drive off, and it just made a muddy mess, and didn't really go very quick, yeah, so that, yeah, I think, was that the first time the skeleton, yeah, yeah, it was very early days, but then we came back 2012, and it was completely different, it was on skinny tires when I first drove it, sort of vintage Bentley racing tires, and it was, I say, it was all right, well, on the rough, I was amazed, it's like a Dakar car that I sort of know, and it has lots of suspension travel, and it was actually really good on that side of things, it just didn't quite work when we dipped it in the water, but then it did, in this form, it was extraordinary, and also just how it cornered, because it's wide track, it was a real surprise how good it was on road, it's quite noisy in there, yeah, it's got a bit, yeah, a bit of a stance, but yeah, it's a lot of things going on, definitely, that's for sure, the fans, because you haven't driven this, have you? This hasn't been driven, yeah, like I say, it's, this is 10 years I've not driven this, so, no, so, did you ever go in it, do you think? Yeah, I think I remember sitting on the side, sides of it, but yeah, never turned a wheel yet, well, that is the idea, I wonder if we can get it going, but you've had a good look around, yeah, got a few, a few fuses to have a look at, which is a bit of a mystery, but we've managed to solve that now, so it does turn, turn over now, as I say, it does need a, need the oil drop in, and a service, but it is, it is working, so what have you done, so you just put a new battery on it, so, so, literally, yeah, a new battery, and then having an issue with a fuse, which we managed to solve now, and, because you couldn't get the fuel pumps, we couldn't get the fuel pump, that was it, we couldn't get a fuel pump, so, and we tried for ages, tracing everything, and then it was, in the end, it was just a dodgy fuse, which had a, a problem, didn't have at the top, but at the bottom, it was broken, so that's why we missed it, it's a tricky thing to work on, isn't it, because it all has to be waterproof, so it's not as though you look underneath and wiggle stuff, yeah, yeah, so that, that was, I think, that was another idea, so the idea was, this, this back was just, just sort of the demonstration of actual pickup, where you can stand, stand in the back, or sit in the back, but the idea was that this is interchangeable back, so you could have different layout, well, layouts, so I think one of the maddest ones, when I was speaking to the designer the other day, yeah, the designer which did it, his favourite one was, all he wanted to talk about was the gun, with the machine gun on the top, for the, the army usage, so, yeah, just army use, yeah, not on the moor, yeah, so, that was, and then there's the flatbed ones for transporting stuff, that's Graham Brown, is it, the designer, yeah, Graham Brown, yeah, you're saying he's at Bentley now, yeah, he's at Bentley now, so, yeah, small world, and he does dashboards or interiors, yeah, he's on exterior at the moment, so, right, yeah, some of the stuff you'll see was, yes, it's done by him as well, so, yeah, great, yeah, what a legacy, so, what we're going to do then, do you want to see if we can actually make it, sort of, start up, start up, yeah, yeah, definitely, oh, let's, let's do that, yeah, so, engine is, right, directly behind the driver, yeah, yeah, so, the engine, well, a lot of heating work's gone into it, to get it obviously to, to cool down, yeah, but, yeah, it's, it's, it's mid, mid, well, as close as to the middle of the car as possible, obviously, for weight reasons, so, that's where it sits, and that's why it's a bit of a theatre inside the cabin, let's have a look, so, yeah, how do you do it, so, you just take some of the padding out, that seat flips down, doesn't it, and then, yeah, so, this seat, all these seats flip down, because this was another idea, and you'll see the fuse box, another idea was, when that, when that pad's there, now, this could be a, sort of, a stretcher, as well, for rescuing people, right, so, that was, that was another idea, so, you could have a stretcher either side, right, in, in, in the, in the army, so, that was another idea, yeah, or sleeping, when you're, yeah, well, I'm sleeping and exploring, and if you're injured, all purposes, really, yeah, so, yeah, that was the thing, and then, yeah, and take this, this is where the magic is, wow, yeah, that's, that sort of explains why it was quite noisy in here, yeah, definitely, that is right there, my goodness, there's not a lot of cover on that engine, is there, there's no soundproofing, yeah, well, as much as that, and then, obviously, you've got a lot of fans to, to heat it up, so, that's right, yeah, so, I, I remember, just from my piece, looking at the detail, it was three litre V6 Ford unit, 275 horsepower, and actually, an automatic gearbox in it, I can't remember where, yeah, on the other side, yeah, yeah, right, so, you've been in here, squirreling around yesterday, yes, just trying to make these, yeah, these fuel pumps go, yeah, these fuel pumps, I was really stumped by it, and then, obviously, it led to a fuse, but, from that, yeah, this works off two systems, for the chassis module, and then, you obviously, have the engine module, and there's a bit of TBR, and then, there's also the, the Ford system too, so, and not a lot of drawings or manuals to go on, yeah, so, it's a bit of a puzzle, but as soon as everyone gets together, the team I've been talking to, yeah, yeah, the information stops flooding in, so, they remember it, yeah, and lots of fans, wasn't there, because it's not a lot of, where's the rad on this thing, so, yeah, so, you've got two in the back, and then, another one at the front, so, right, quite a bit of cooling needed, now, what have you, what have you done, have you changed the fuel, sort of, fresh fuel in it, yeah, so, fresh fuel, still need oil, as I say, it's not, it's not moved yet, so, there's still, still a bit to do, to get it back running, but, at the moment, it does turn, and, and is able to drive, yeah, you think, I like, I didn't realise, there's a tax disc on here, it ran out of tax, at the end of November 2013, so, yeah, so, that's when, yeah, well, that's obviously, when it was up, but, yeah, it didn't, didn't move for that year, I don't think, no, and it's a commercial vehicle, isn't it, yes, definitely, yeah, it's, yeah, it's, obviously, got its all uses, yeah, so, that was the ambition for it, well, I can't wait to see if we can, yeah, you actually get it to move, which I don't see, if you've got fuel, you've got sparks, and you, and you, yeah, you've run, but you just haven't actually put it in gear, and, yeah, so, can you discuss everything, yeah, as it was, well, as it went, went in here running, so, it should, should be no problem, oh, I've forgotten about that wheel, yeah, so, that lifts up, and then, it's a two-step process, one, so, hopefully, fingers crossed, everything's, as it was, so, battery cut out, I believe, somewhere, yeah, you've got a master down here, just isolate the battery, oh, I'm just looking at jet off and road, I don't remember that, so, they, yeah, so, yeah, the jet, you can have it, well, obviously, both off, or just for road use, and then, you can have both, to get some more, more power, right, it's clever, yeah, here we go, oh, look, look at that, yeah, so, that all comes alive, yeah, and you can hear the fuel pump, right, which is a good sign, well, that sounds very, very good, doesn't it, yeah, yes, it's super smooth, yeah, I can't remember where the exhaust, where's the exhaust on this thing, it sounds quite throaty, yeah, yeah, there it is, it's coming out of here, oh, it's got one the other side, as well, god, that's fantastic, yeah, I mean, we got fuel gauge and things, or, yeah, so, the fuel gauge, currently, I need to get the fuel gauge back up, because that was part of my work, to try and sculpt what the problem was, so, the fuel gauge, I know we've got fuel at the moment, but, yeah, we don't have that at the minute, right, yeah, and then, just need some more information on the alternator at the moment, the alternator, why, you don't think it's charging, I don't think it's charging at the moment, so, on a lost system, so, where the hell is the alternator on it, so, the alternator is down the side of here, and I just can't see how it's charging at the moment, because it's not plugged in, yeah, but, I don't know, I need some more information, and you do, you're studying electrical engineering, aren't you, yes, yes, yeah, so, some reason, yeah, can go hand in hand, but it's a bit of an issue at the moment, obviously, more studying to do, yeah, but, I can't get over how sweet that sounds, actually, that's, that's good, so, we don't, yeah, we could almost put this all back together again, then, yeah, definitely, and then we'll put it into gear, and see what happens, yeah, definitely, it's only 12 years since it's moved, yeah, I think, under its power, we've been, a lot of pushing's been happening with this car, though, isn't it, yeah, yeah, so far as it's all been, quite a bit of work, try the master, yeah, I do like those, and then we'll, yeah, you're gonna, what we need to do, is just run it for about a couple of minutes, just to get some temperature into it, there's gonna be a bit of smoke as we fill up the car, I think it's only steam, isn't it, yeah, that's all right, it does look a bit boat-like from underneath, isn't it, yeah, it's got lights and things like that for an MOT, oh, you've got a wiper, wait, is that an indicator, oh, yeah, there was something, yeah, yeah, got an indicator, yeah, oh, that's good, yeah, headlight, I didn't realise you'd hidden them under that mirror, yeah, where all the lights are, right, I'll give it a, shall I just pull up and go to the top and come back, try, try if you think so, yeah, going into gear, it moves, it moves, 12 years since it last moved, look at that, that is an amazing sight, now we'll find out if he's got reverse, it has reverse, exit, oh, he's showing off now, closing the canopy, wow, look at that, sounds like a drive shaft or something making a noise, it works, I know, you got brakes, I suddenly thought, brakes, yeah, I've got brakes, I've thought that as I was coming down the hill, I'm going to get in, Joe, that's all right, go on, that was, no, no, no, you carry on, I'll have, right, now you've got, oh, you've got to use your mirrors, haven't you, that one mirror's working anyway, that's one thing we need to, yes, need to update, what have we got, are you going to close the canopy again, that was very brave, there we go, you haven't got a lot of readouts then, is there, no, that's what we need to, that's the dash we need to find the model of, right, for the battery, I need to get one camera going, but I see that one's working, yeah, I'm, I'm actually surprised, it's not bad for a 12-year layoff, yeah, yeah, did you change the fuel, you said, uh, we didn't even change, you haven't changed fuel, we just put more fuel in, oh, you just topped it up, yeah, yeah, look at the film, that's quite beautiful, you had a lot of snow yesterday, didn't you, yeah, we had a lot of snow, yeah, it's all, all gone, it's just such a weird, yes, isn't it, yeah, well, I can't tell you how comfortable it was to ride, it's very, it's soft, isn't it, yeah, it really is a soft setup, yeah, I'm not too sure that in the back, that noise, it's like a driveshaft, or something, it could be the prop though, couldn't it, yeah, that's a trap, no, it's off, isn't it, yeah, yeah, it could be the prop, do you want to go up in it, no, I don't, I'm going to wait until it's, it's got an MOT, and all, all cool, and drive it on the road, yeah, well, thank you, Joe, yeah, it's all right, so it's an experience to have it back out, yeah, no, absolutely fantastic, and it all works, all works, there we go, well, there you go, a working Scamander, so next stop is, I suppose, an MOT station, in a couple of days time, just get everything sort of together, but I hope you enjoy this video, and sort of bring this car back to life, thank you for Joe for giving us a tour, and his expertise in getting it this far, and if you have enjoyed this video, keep watching, keep subscribing, more videos coming along very soon.