the english mechanics – Screen Crush Productions Ltd

THE RACE BACK TO THE START

An 8 Part Series for Television

Location: ENGLAND

Year: 1896

AND YOU WANT A NEW CAR

The country is at the height of its power and worldwide influence. The British have been building, engineering, trading and revolutionising everything for the past 200 years.

Britain is heading into the new century with the confidence of a country at the centre of the world.

Everyone is learning new skills, taking pride in their work and have a passion for building things. British trains and ships are the envy of the world.

EXCEPT FOR ONE THING

If you want to buy an motorcar in 1896 you will have to order one

from: THE USA

from: FRANCE

or: GERMANY

Yes.
An English motorcar is

NOT AVAILABLE

The only way to own an English motorcar is to make one yourself

In Britain, many cars were being built by passionate amateur engineers, mechanics and crackpot inventors in their gardens, sheds and on kitchen tables throughout the country.

125 years later only 1 in 10 of us ever look under the bonnet of our cars.

Today's innovators are designing in virtual reality and building cars with 3D printers.

By 1900 there were 700 motorcars registered in England - much sought after but very expensive. Thanks to this guy - a 29 year old engineering prodigy called Thomas Hyler White - owning a motorcar was to become a possibility for all.

He decided to help these intrepid enthusiasts to achieve their dreams. So he went out and bought some large sheets of paper and began to draw the plans that would challenge everyone to build their very own small motorcar.

Young Mr White was surrounded by hoards of fellow inventors, amateur mechanics and engineers who would love to swap their horse drawn carriages for a shiny new motorcar.

In 1900, his plans were published over 31 editions of the tuppenny weekly magazine
“The English Mechanic and World of Science” under the unassuming headline
“A Small Motorcar and How to Build It’.

Today’s young pioneers are building autonomous vehicles that can drive themselves, fly themselves

and whatever this is…?

Only a few English Mechanics have survived.

We found one of the few…

In this 8 Part Series for Television
we ask..

CAN THE ENGLISH MECHANIC BE BUILT TODAY WITH THE SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGIES IN 1900?

..and would today's technologies
make a better job?

Two Teams

A shared passion - generations apart.

TEAM 1900

THE VETERANS

Six of the best craftsmen and craftswomen from the heart of Yorkshire. Six lifetimes of experience in restoring, repairing and rebuilding machinery, cars, bikes and curios. And everything in between.

Their skills have been handed down through family and friends and take a lifetime to perfect.

Their workshops and sheds do not have wi-fi because they don’t have computers. They don’t need computers -preferring to draw their plans in chalk on the workshop floor. Then finessing each part by hand and eye. And something that we can only describe as feel.

Team 1900 will amaze us with metalworking, woodworking and engineering skills and knowledge that we thought had long disappeared.

Determined that their skills will live on – we are introduced to their young apprentices on their first steps to mastering traditional engineering.

In order to stay true to Hyler White’s designs Team 1900 have no doubt that this car can only be built using the original methods and materials. Each team member has repaired and restored many veteran cars so how hard can it be to build one from scratch?

TEAM 2020

THE UPSTARTS

Six young, self-taught designers and fabricators from across the country. They know their way around 3D printers, 3D scanners and Virtual Reality software.

Curious minds, mining for knowledge on GitHub, YouTube and Reddit. Each TEAM 2021 member was chosen for their curious projects and designs for drones, robots, and VR applications.

Unskilled in traditional building methods, they rely on their ability to write computer software that simulates the design and build process. The simulations are tested in Virtual Reality headsets.

Only then are the designs sent to 3D printers that mould, extrude and form each part of their creations.

Team 2021 not only represents the brightest self-taught engineers of their generation, they are a diverse cross section of British talent, hungry to learn and innovate. They capture the spirit of their forebears in Hyler White’s 1900 and believe that modern engineering is more than a match for traditional methods.

The teams are afflicted with self-belief – confident that their own technologies and skills will prevail. However, their natural curiosity drives them to speculate how their opponents will overcome the same problems and hurdles that they themselves face.

This ultimately leads to an unexpected respect and admiration for each other as they bond through their shared passions for cars and innovation.

Team 1900 at Work

Team 2021 at Work

The Rules

To build an ENGLISH MECHANIC Car from Hyler White's original 1900 plans

Budget:

Time to Build:

Vehicle Exterior form:

Maximum Weight:

Power train:

Fuel:

Bodywork Materials:

£25,000

8 weeks

Original Plans

200KG

Team Choice

Scrutineers

Each car will be scrutineered and approved by the
VETERAN CAR CLUB of GREAT BRITAIN.
The experts will be judging build quality and accuracy. The cars will be given time penalties for each infraction of the rules.

The Competition

The prestigious Annual London to Brighton Run is the ultimate test for any Veteran Car.

It’s the world’s longest-running motoring event and still a serious spectacle more than 120 years after it was first held. The 63-mile run begins in London's Hyde Park at dawn, finishing in Madeira Drive, Brighton. Most of the 400 vehicles are petrol-driven but there are also several steam-powered and electrically propelled ones. All entries have to be pre 1905 models and have been dated and authenticated by the Veteran Car Club.

Our cars will be entered in the next Run and attempt to complete the course. Any time penalties incurred during scrutineering will delay the start time of each car.

The first car to reach the finish line in Brighton will be declared the winner.

SERIES OUTLINE

8 EPISODES IN 4 SECTIONS

SECTION ONE

(Episode 1)

SECTION TWO

(Episode 2)

SECTION THREE

(Episodes 3-6)

SECTION FOUR

(Episodes 7-8)

SECTION ONE:
The Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony is set in the grounds of HOLLIN HALL, the home of Daniel Ward and the only known working example of an English Mechanic in Britain. This pristine car holds pride of place alongside Mr Ward’s vintage car collection that includes 2 Rolls Royce Silver Shadows. Daniel Ward welcomes the teams to his home and admires their ingenuity and ambition to take on this challenge.

Video profiles of each team member are presented intercut with reactions from the opposing team members who assess the competition's strengths and weaknesses. Daniel presents the original plans to the teams and allows them to study and make comments and ask questions. “And now here is what you will be building…” The teams part as the original English Mechanic car is driven out of its garage allowing the teams to inspect the car for the first and last time.

The car is driven back into the garage and Toby Ward introduces himself as the head of scrutineers from the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain. Toby Ward presents the rules of the competition and how penalties will be awarded. He allows questions from the teams.

As head of the RAC, Ben Cussons takes the stage to announce the final competition by allowing the cars to race each other in the next London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. We are given a video presentation of the history of the Run and some of the pitfalls to avoid.

The teams are allowed to mingle with each other for one-upmanship and spying opportunities.

Daniel Ward presents the cheques for £25,000 to each team leader and wishes them luck. "See you all in 8 weeks”

SECTION TWO:
Pre-Production

Episode 2 clearly establishes the contrasts between the teams. But the ultimate aim of the episode is to show their similarities. We intercut between the pre-production meetings held at the two team leaders’ workshops, contrasting the dark, oily cavern of team 1900 with the spartan, screen laden biosphere of team 2021.

Some team members are not familiar with each other and a period of establishing roles and capabilities thrills some and disappoints others. No one knows how to build the car but everyone has an opinion. It is the job of the team leaders to encourage open discussion and harness everyone’s talents. On contentious issues the final decision rests with the team leader.

Topics for discussion will be:
How to allocate the budget.
How the rules apply to their plans
Who can fulfil each role and where will they work.
Which engine to build
Production timetable and setting deadlines.

The chat inevitably turns to the weaknesses and threats of the other team. They share what they discussed and overheard during the opening ceremony.

The episode ends with the team leaders’ first visit to the VCC at the oak panelled rooms of their headquarters in London to verify the rules and obligations before the build begins.

SECTION THREE:
Build It ...

These four episodes cover the highs and spectacular lows of building a veteran car. Under extreme time pressure and financial restrictions, each team leader shuttles to the sheds, workshops and kitchen tables of their teams as they use all their tool-making and engineering skills.

As the car starts to evolve - 21st century 3D graphics and animations help viewers through the technical challenges and solutions.

The leaders have to navigate the micro-challenges of their teams failing to meet deadlines or over-promising and under delivering their parts.

The teams gather around a TV monitor to view a highlight reel of their competitors in action.

Tension builds during every episode till the final task of authenticating each new component with the Veteran Car Club.

Each rejection adds to the cost and time pressure. Each approved part returns in triumph to their workshops.

The frustrations of the build are set against some positive and enlightening narrated strands that celebrate the history and achievements of British automotive engineering in general and the mavericks and visionaries in particular. Engineers and scientists defined the era, none more than the car builders willing to stake their reputations and cash to innovate the most advanced vehicles possible.

With the development of electric and driverless transportation we predict the end of cars and car ownership. This series can trace the entire automobile timeline in all its glory and delicious failures.

We revel in the achievements of the R.A.C in motorsport, the range of projects in The English Mechanic newspaper and draw a direct line from The English Mechanic vehicles straight to Formula One.

SECTION FOUR:
Gentlemen! Start Your Engines!

Episode 7
Start car
Road test
Gather at Hollin Hall for final scrutineering with VCC and Daniel Ward and original English mechanic.
Cars are revealed by teams.
Cars are authenticated by VCC.
Time penalties are awarded.
Each team reveals who will drive the cars in the Run. Appropriate dress.
Cars are impounded till November 3rd

Episode 8
The Run
The teams gather before start.
Final preparation and tactic discussion
Mingle with other cars and car owners.
1st car sets off
2nd car waits
2nd car sets off
Follow each car along the route.
Finish Line Brighton Awards presentation.