Season 1 2021

I am really chuffed to finally be able to bring you some actual content on YouTube, after all these years of nagging me, I've finally got around to it!

The ‘difficult’ second episode, partly because this project is quite a challenge. My mate John parked his Range Rover in his garden quite some time ago and my job is to bring it back to life…

Thanks to my production pixies for wrangling this video into life and thanks to my brand partners who are supporting the channel. To find out more about them, please go to our website: www.workshopdiaries.com
But first; enjoy the video and let me know what you think and feel free to give me any suggestions for future videos...

The jam-packed third episode with more wrestling with John’s ‘garden-find’ Range Rover and the first part of the build story of my Guinness World Record attempt for the World’s Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van.

Taking a short break from John’s ‘garden-find’ Range Rover we change scenery with Chris’s 1962 Alvis TD21, a luxury performance car for dashing gentlemen of a heroic persuasion. Lots of jobs to do but let’s start with something simple; an intermittent headlight problem...
Also, part two of the World’s Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van project; having ripped out a perfectly good diesel engine from a brand-new Sprinter I can now start to think about its electric replacement. I have a lot of measuring to do!

Thanks to my production pixies for capturing the magic and stringing it all together in a plausible fashion.

Big thanks to my brand partners who are supporting the channel; to find out more about them, please go to our website: www.workshopdiaries.com

So, grab a drink and settle down to enjoy the episode and do keep sending me your comments and questions…

Back to a bit of a wrestling with John’s ‘garden-find’ Range Rover; having sprayed fuel all over the workshop floor I now need to work out exactly where it is leaking from and whether the fuel lines can be repaired or if they’ll need to be replaced…

Also, part three of the World’s Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van project; having removed the diesel engine, chosen the electric motor and 3D scanned the mating faces I now need to work out how to connect the gearbox and motor shafts together so in this episode I explore the various components and how they could go together…

For the first segment of this week’s show; I tuck into a few juicy jobs on my Outspan Orange car. On its last few outings, it has been pithing me around somewhat, so now is as good a time as any to concentrate on the orange and get under the skin of this fruit-loopy jalopy. I had great fun peeling back the issues and getting stuck into some orange fixes!...

Part four of the World’s Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van project; having removed the diesel engine, chosen the electric motor, 3D scanned the mating faces and settled on a new ‘old’ solid flywheel, Stephen and I set to work in the machine shop creating a coupling to join the gearbox shaft to the motor shaft…

Part five of the World’s Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van project; having spent a lot of time on my SolidWorks 3D cad software designing an adaptor to connect the gearbox bell-housing to the casing of the electric motor I finally get to start making it and get busy with a waterjet profiling machine. Then I crack on assembling all of the pieces…

Joining me for a cup of tea this week is Danny Hopkins, the Editor of Practical Classics magazine. He helps me answer a few of your questions and we hatch a plan for an amphibious road trip!

Thanks as always to my production pixies for yet more late nights, capturing my chatting, fettling and fumbling and squishing all that into what I like to call; an episode.

This episode is squashed full of more orangey goodness; following on from my first test drive in a while https://youtu.be/3a6Vo9lpYr8 I ended up with another list of jobs to work through and it made sense to start with the noisiest problem; a whining bearing. Trouble is there are three spinning things that could be the problem, the crankshaft, the water pump or the alternator…

Thanks as always to my production pixies for their camera wielding and frame fettling, bringing you another episode.

So, make yourself a well-rounded fresh juice and kick back for your fix of Edd-ness!

This episode, having spent a while working on the mechanical side of the electric ice cream van, I start to think about what it should look like on the outside. So, it’s up to Crewe for a dab of paint.

Many of you have asked what ever happened to the Wheeler Dealers 1916 Cadillac we re-built for the ERA’s 2016 Peking to Paris rally. Well, are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…

Thanks as always to my production pixies for their camera wielding and frame fettling, bringing you another fine episode.

In this episode I start by working ON my workshop rather than just IN my workshop and the job is adding a retractable compressed air hose reel via a new spur to my existing Sharkbite Air compressed air ring that was supplied by one of our brilliant partners RWC. You can find more information about their push-fit system here: https://www.rwc.co.uk/product-categor...

Also, part six of the Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van story follows my installation of the motor controller/inverter onto the gearbox/electric motor assembly, which involves a bit of fettling with some high voltage cabling.

In this episode I work with my mate Neil Burgess upgrading the suspension on his 2007 BMW Mini Cooper S rally car.

The struggle continues on my mate John’s garden find 1986 Range Rover, which some of you commented looks like it has been at the bottom of a duck pond for years. It’s true, it really does! It’s got serious rust and mud everywhere and today I’m attempting to tackle the rust in the fuel tank, as well as having an electrifying chat about Volt versus Current.

My mate Neil Burgess and I continue upgrading the suspension on his 2007 BMW Mini Cooper S rally car. Having tackled the rust on the front subframe, we can finally get to fitting the new suspension parts but with the new adjustability and increased negative camber, will it all fit back on the car?

2007 R56 BMW Mini Cooper S Rally car Suspension Upgrade, Part 3 - Edd China's Workshop Diaries

This week I find out whether a cement mixer and a bag of screws can clean a rusty fuel tank and I make some replacement fuel lines so the struggle continues on my mate John’s garden find 1986 Range Rover, surely sometime soon we are going to finally get it to start!?

'Will it start?' is THE question we have all been wondering about since John's garden find 1986 Range Rover was pushed into the workshop! Having already installed some custom made fuel lines and a new fuel filter, this week's job is to install a new fuel pump and sender into our freshly de-rusted fuel tank and then get that tank re-attached to the car. Surely once the fuel is flowing the engine will start?... Or will we find something else that needs to be fixed first?...

My mate Neil Burgess and I continue upgrading the suspension on his 2007 BMW Mini Cooper S rally car. Having improved the front by adding some increased caster bushes, adjustable camber strut tops and a pair off adjustable Ohlins shock absorbers we then had to modify our freshly refurbished subframe to make it all fit! With that all done and ready for setting up, this week we turn our attention to the rear suspension and set out to make the rear toe and camber adjustable. But will this thoroughly modern Mini be as easy to upgrade as you'd think?...

2007 R56 BMW Mini Cooper S Rear Rally car Suspension Upgrade, Part 4 - Edd China's Workshop Diaries Ep17

Have we covered all of the bases when upgrading the suspension on my mate Neil Burgess's 2007 BMW Mini Cooper S rally car. Good question. It has taken ages but is going well. Having improved the front by adding some increased caster bushes, adjustable camber strut tops and a pair off adjustable Ohlins shock absorbers we then had to modify our freshly refurbished subframe to make it all fit! With that all done and ready for setting up, this week we continue with the rear suspension and finish off making the rear toe and camber adjustable. Having successfully swapped out the trailing arm's metalastic bush for a spherical bearing we have now got to the fun part; bolting on all of the shiny new parts...

2007 R56 BMW Mini Cooper S Rear Rally car Suspension Upgrade, Part 5 - Edd China's Workshop Diaries Ep18

The day has finally come, our 1986 Range Rover is finally going to get clean. But will it make a difference, will we be able to tell at all with all that rust and peeling paint? Will the car still be carbon neutral if we wash off all the vegetation? Will it fall apart if we remove all the cobwebs? Will it simply dissolve when the water hits it? Well, we're about to find out. Surely, now it runs and it's clean, it will be ready for its MoT test. Or will we find something else that needs to be fixed first?...

Edd China's Workshop Diaries 19: Wash day for the Range Rover (Flushing out the Range Rover gearbox, should the transmission fluid really look like chocolate sauce?)

Edd China's Workshop Diaries 20: A date with destiny. (Fixing the perished Range Rover brake pipe, should the brake pipe really look like a wet twig?)

Just one more thing to fix before we can take our 1986 Range Rover out onto the road and to its MoT test - is this really it? Well, we're about to find out. Surely, now that it runs and it's clean, it's got drive and hopefully brakes that work, it will be ready for its MoT test. Or will we find yet more things that need to be fixed first?...

My orange has a mean right hook. This week I finally solve the mystery of why my Amazing Outspan Orange has been pulling to the right for so many years. It takes quite an investigation but eventually I find the cause of the problem. But, will fitting some adjustable suspension parts be enough to fix the problem for good?

Edd China's Workshop Diaries 21: Amazing Outspan Orange Part 3 - classic Mini front suspension fix (How to set up adjustable castor and camber)

Not really a fair race but while driving the Range Rover to the MoT station for its date with destiny I had a bit of a tangle with a Tesla.

Edd China's Workshop Diaries 22: Driving 'Moss' Daisy to the MoT station & Fixing the wiring on a trailer & Adding some bling to the mezzanine.

Driving 'Moss' Daisy to the MoT station turns out to be a little more eventful that planned. Then, with the filthy 4x4 out of the workshop I also take the opportunity to get some other jobs ticked off my ever growing list: I track down and fix a wiring issue on my car transporter trailer (a Brian James Race Transporter 6) and then I go upstairs to finish a job on my hang out space - the mezzanine's stainless steel balustrade.

Stainless steel balustrade supplied by SWR Balustrade in Hemel Hempstead. Curved handrail bent by T+T Tubecraft in Woking.

Hot metal and a hammer should fix my wonky steering but then I have to set up the classic Mini suspension that sits under my Amazing Outspan Orange. This week, having solved the mystery of why my driving orange has been pulling to the right for so many years; I now need to correct a bad fix of some old accident damage. After some heating, bashing, cutting and welding I get the mushed suspension mount back to standard(ish) and then I set up the suspension geometry with some low-tech methods. But, will all of this corrective work finally get this orange oddball back on the straight and narrow?

Here's how I did it! Two years' worth of development into one video, I suppose it makes sense that it's a bit long, but worth the wait: No more diesel fumes with your ice cream ever again!
It's all very well converting a brand new Mercedes Sprinter ice cream van to ev electric drive but really, that is the easy bit! The hard part is converting the carpigiani ice cream machine inside the van to electric drive as it normally uses the van's diesel engine to power the pulleys around. I finally put my degree in product design to good use and invent perhaps the most vital part in the world's first all electric ice cream van. And if you have ever wondered how an ice cream machine works, I can help you there too...

This 1966 Sauterne Gold Mustang is both beautiful and rare but our pony has some gremlins in the electrical system. Randomly flashing lights and a battery that keeps going flat, well, I suppose I'd better get under the bonnet and check out the wiring.

Worst MoT test fail ever?! We know John's Range Rover is in a terrible state and now that it's Official, we'll have to decide whether to do it up or blow it up!

Running low on fuel? Go Electric! Here's how I built my Mercedes Sprinter EV conversion battery pack. 360 volt, 23 kWh and a whole lot of wires! Can you build your own electric vehicle, well, with great care, a lot of patience and the right tools and equipment, I did just that. And then I set a Guinness World Record in it. The fact that it can make ice cream, well, that's just a bonus!

Will installing thread inserts to replace stripped threads in cast aluminium suspension arms actually be strong enough to go rallying with? Well, first of all does torquing up the big bolts give us a nice click or another horrible bang?

Look who's talking!...Yes he does actually speak, after all this time in near total silence on Wheeler Dealers, the man who was always around to give me a hand does it again, to help with the de-converting of my record breaking electric ice cream van.

The final part of the diesel Sprinter based electric ice cream van project is putting it back to diesel so I can hand it back to the van body converters as they want it! It is a real shame after all this time and effort but the world's first ever all-electric ice cream van must be de-commisioned. Thankfully the legacy of the electric conversion kit for the ice cream machine will live on but if I want another pop at the Guinness World Record then I'll have to build another electric ice cream van... ...now there's an idea!

After months of battling with our Rally car conversion on my mate Neil's Mini, the end seems tantalisingly in sight but is this finally going to be it? Is the Rally Mini finally going to leave the workshop in pursuit of adventure on the open road, or is there just one more twist in the tale?

Well, No and Yes! Obviously nothing should be leaking out of your power steering system but interestingly Adam's 1966 Ford Mustang's power assisted steering system was designed to work with transmission fluid, which when fresh, should be a bright cherryade pink colour and have a slightly sweet smell. If it is brownish and smells slightly burnt then it definitely needs changing and you may have a bigger issue that needs fixing.

In this particular case, the Mustang's factory fitted power assisted steering system has rather a big leak and my job is to work out exactly where the fluid is leaking from and then how to fix it so Adam can safely drive and park up his car without his power steering fluid pouring straight out onto the floor. The question is, will fixing the leak give our American muscle car better steering?...

This 1966 Mustang seems determined to cover our workshop floor with power steering fluid! Having already sorted the leaky power steering ram, I now turn my attention to the control valve which has even more leaks. The upside of having to fix so many issues with this part is that it will surely cure the Ford of its workshop floor ruining habit for good?
Will this be the last part of the power assisted steering that needs attention though? Let's hope so...

Two grown men on a Monkey Bike? And I'm 6'7'' (2m) tall! It was when we got it running that the trouble started.... My mate asked me to help him get rid of an old, non-runner Monkey Bike-a-like lurking at the back of his storage unit, so I thought I might as well see if I could get it running. With Paul Brackley in the workshop to lend a hand, what could possibly go wrong?

How many blokes does it take to strip a Range Rover? Finally, the real work begins. We are ripping the body of John's rotten old Range Rover, it shouldn't take long, it's mostly rusted away already. The guys rally around to help with the task, but are they helping or hindering?

No one gets to go to the pub until the body is off the chassis! Ripping the body of our rotten, rusty Rat Rover shouldn't take long, it's mostly rusted away already. But there's always those little bits hanging on until the end. The guys are back to lend a hand, well, half the point of having a workshop is to get they boys around to hang out and chat, so what if things take a little longer?

Hazmat suits on to tackle the filth! The Rat Rover's body is finally off, so Paul and I can now strip down the chassis to its component parts. But not before we give it another thorough clean. This time we're getting to blast off all crud that managed to hide between the rusty body and its rusty chassis.

A magic trick makes the strip down a doddle but the big lumps have to come off first. Thankfully, big jobs are made light by having a mate around to lend a hand. That's kind of a magic trick in itself. Still, no matter how many rusty bits we remove, that chassis is still a heap of rust and that's going to need addressing.

Having exploded the rusty Range Rover into its constituent parts we now desperately need to tidy the workshop to make some space to keep all of those bits and pieces organised while we work through the refurbishment. Thing is though, despite many hands making light work, Paul seems hell bent on getting busy with his own project; a Jaguar V12 coffee table! So while he hurls ceramic shot beads at his filthy engine, I resign myself to tidying the workshop on my own but promptly find myself a new project to be distracted by... ...a gnarly old boat that is far from ship-shape!...

It's Christmas so we thought it might be nice to eat drink and be merry while having a look back at some of our favourite comments and clips! We also set fire to some food and our partner Milwaukee has some tools to giveaway just for you (see the instructions below)!...

The Best Cocktail Ever, probably, just because it's New Year and what a year it has been, so we thought it might be nice to have a sophisticated cocktail party but instead Edd makes his world infamous Cummfy Banana cocktail (perhaps the best cocktail in the world) meanwhile, the team have a look back at their favourite moments from a packed year of Workshop Diaries malarkey. Our tool giveaway with Milwaukee continues until the 4th of January and Ansell's Christmas offers finish at midnight on the 31st of December...