Edd China, the sympathetic mechanic who made the TV show “Wheeler Dealers” much more than bearable, despite all of Mike Brewer‘s (an English car trader turned presenter of motoring television programmes) efforts to destroy it, recently left this popular TV series after 13 years of filming and broadcasting.
Table of Contents
Saabs in “Wheeler Dealers”
Edd’s successor in this series – Ant Anstead, is not as nice as his predecessor, but it certainly makes this TV show better and less boring than the central figure Mike. In 2017, Anstead replaced Edd China as co-host of the car show, and continued to record and broadcast with more or less success.
During the 13 years of filming in this series, Saab cars also appeared, and we mentioned some of them on this blog, such as the Saab 96, which was filmed during the 2017 SAAB Owners Convention in the USA.
2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen
In the latest series, the producers call it “Season 16”, in the third episode of “Wheeler Dealers” the team focuses again on one Saab, and this time it’s the famous Viggen – a 2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen! In this episode, Mike nabs a bargain, but can Ant Anstead work his magic to restore this vehicle to its former glory?
A Coolant Leak
Mike brings a Saab 9-3 Viggen into the workshop with a coolant leak from an “unknown source”. Thanks to Ants “in-depth knowledge” of Saab’s, he knows that the issue is likely to be loose head bolts, the result of an inefficient manufacturing process by Saab when the car was made. Also, a hydraulic failure was also detected in the Viggen convertible – faulty hydraulics in the top, among other problems.
Show host Brewer visits Top Hydraulics to witness the process of rebuilding the hydraulic cylinders for the Saab’s convertible top and to chat about hydraulics for convertible tops.
Joy and Disappointments
Fans of Saab cars will be happy to see Viggen appear in this episode, but the real fans of this show are still a bit disappointed and as they say: “A shadow of her former self this show – has been poor since Ed was stabbed in the back.” and this: “How bizarre they do a car they’ve already done with Edd China! What’s even worse is they go in about scuttle shake and miss completely the fact that when Edd China had one in the show the bulkhead has weakness and can crack, there was a mod to sort this. No mention here! I like Ant, he’s great but the show is not what it was, it was a better format, no wonder Edd left. Also come back to the UK, it’s about the cars, not the silly driving about looking for a phone signal!!! Ant is a a very good mechanic so can do what Edd did, just the production company at fault.”
And some more expert Saab enthusiasts and mechanics add that Ant’s grip in Viggen was not accurate, the part with the tightening sequence of screws – “The tightening sequence is very wrong, all bolts to 30 lb.ft then another pass at 44 lb.ft and then 90°”
Howevere, we love Saab cars, and we love their every appearance in popular literature, movies and television, so we are very pleased with this appearance as well.
