Ed China begins work on a 1962 Alvis car in episode 4 of the Workshop Diaries program.

Posted on April 25, 2021
Classic cars
Ed China begins work on a 1962 Alvis car in episode 4 of the Workshop Diaries program.

In "Edd China's Workshop Diaries," the former "Wheeler Dealers" host is already working on a Volkswagen T5 van and a Land Rover Range Rover, but in the fourth episode he begins a new project.

Because of the Range Rover's problems, the Chinese have decided to put it aside temporarily and shift their focus to the Alvis. One of many defunct British automakers, Alvis dates back to 1919 and has since built a cult following with sports and race cars. The company ceased manufacturing cars in 1967, but a continuing car program was announced for 2019.

The TD21 was originally owned by a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy (typical of the Alvis ownership demographic, according to China), but now faces a long list of problems. China decided to start with the headlights.

To figure out the problem, the headlight switch needed to be removed from the dashboard, so China first looked at the new replacement switch for clues. Unfortunately, no useful clues were found, so China decided to pop out the walnut fascia of the dashboard and look around for a nest of wires behind it.

Replacing the headlight switch solved the problem, but China noted that there was also a problem with one of the secondary lights. He will save that for a future episode.

China also continued the story begun in the previous episode about setting a Guinness World Record for the world's fastest electric ice cream van. This time, he discussed removing the diesel engine from a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and sourcing a motor in preparation for electrification. He wanted to use that motor with the stock Mercedes transmission, so he scanned two parts to design a custom adapter. To see how he modified it, watch the video.

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