Newmarket mechanic Hannah Gordon, of SPA Motor Company, features in Channel 4's restoration TV show Mend It For Money
A Newmarket mechanic has shown off her restoration skills on national television, giving beat up classic cars a new lease of life.
Hannah Gordon, who runs SPA Motor Company in Studlands Park Avenue, is part of Channel 4’s Mend It For Money - the latest episode of which airs this evening at 5pm.
But the restoration show has a twist, as for each of the restorations features two of the country’s top craftspeople competing to get the job.
The restorers must go head-to-head, pitching their plans to bring prized items back to life. Crucially, they must estimate how much profit the item will make when sold and agree a profit share deal with the owner.
The talented 34-year-old is one such restorer, bringing cars back to their former glory.
So far she has appeared in two episodes of the programme, including the pilot, and features in the episode broadcast today.
“We did the pilot a while ago now and that aired as a one-off in April 2020. It was received really well,” said Hannah, who has worked on cars since the age of about 14.
“Basically, people bring in items that they’ve got sitting around and we restore them.
“When you put your bid in, you say what percentage you want of the final sale price to cover your costs, and then you get restoring the item and then it gets sold. It’s a competition between two restorers and then they try and get the best price for the item.”
Although Hannah went head-to-head with another mechanic restoring cars, she said there were also antiques, furniture and old toys.
There are 20 hour-long episodes in this series – the first – which were mostly filmed in lockdown, which meant there were rules to be adhered to, and there were three cars featured.
Hannah’s first two episodes, featuring an MGC and a Volkswagen Golf, were shown on February 12 and February 16, with the final one – featuring a Porsche 928 – broadcast tonight.
Hannah was given 10 days to restore each car before they went off for auction where she competed with another mechanic from London.
“It was actually really good fun,” she said. “When we were filming, it was more like having a chat with people – it was quite informal. Then the cameras came to the workshop and it was just quite natural to be working in and around them.”
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