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Ant Anstead Master Mechanic
Ant’s got the summer off and a baby due in 12 weeks. Rather than put his feet up or paint the nursery, he decides to fulfill a childhood fantasy… to own a 1950s Alfa 158. Unfortunately, this would set him back around $20 million to buy… so he’s going to build one himself from the ground up! In this intimate piece of storytelling, Ant opens up about his life and motivations as well as the good, bad and ugly of building a car from scratch.
Ant has 12 weeks until his baby boy is due, and the same amount of time to fulfill a childhood fantasy; to own a 1950s Alfa 158, but since he doesn't have $20 million lying around, he's going to build it.
It's week two of Ant's ambitious Alfa 158 build. He's found a donor 1950s chassis and is about to find out if it's fit for purpose with a healthy dose of media blasting. Once that's done, the build can begin in earnest. Ant and the crew cram into his classic Porsche, named Agnes, and hit the streets of Huntington Beach in search of life's essentials.
Ant visits an Alfa specialist, hoping to buy a live rear axle and ends up with more than he bargained for. It's win-win, but the tricky part will be trying to fit a Spider's axle, gearbox and engine into a 158.
Ant is beginning to feel the pressure of his ambitious Alfa 158 build. The only place he can get the correct body mold on short notice is his own shop back in England, more than 5,000 miles away.
A torn bicep threatens to derail the Alfa build. Ant's wife Christina stops by to make sure he isn't overdoing it.
Ant's 158 and injured arm are both progressing steadily, but he still needs lots of help from the camera crew. Making matters worse, the body is still in transit from the UK.
For week seven of Ant's Alfa build, he takes the team on a surprise pilgrimage to see an original $20 million Alfa 158.
The engine for Ant's Alfa 158 is still missing in action. He's been working early mornings, late nights and weekends.
Ant hopes to sweet-talk a few bigwigs into giving him permission to take his completed Alfa 158 to the US Grand Prix in Austin, however, the car isn't done, and his arm still isn't fully healed, leaving the heavy lifting to his crew.
Ant's ambitious Alfa build is on the home stretch, but his new baby could come any day now. Ant gets good news about his plan to unveil the car at the US Grand Prix, but a million critical details must still be sorted out.
With the deadline looming on his Alfa 158 build, Ant has yet to even start the engine, let alone give the car a test drive. Ant needs to finalize the look of his creation, so he seeks out legendary designer Chip Foose.
Ant has to strip the Alfa 158 down, paint every part and rebuild the car in time for its debut at the US Grand Prix, then he puts the car through its paces on the track to see if performance lives up to expectations.
