Postal Van to Coastal Van Ali-A's Superchargers

I'm Ali-A and this is Superchargers! We put you in the driving seat

to transform your boring and broken family car

into the ride of your dreams.

ENGINE ROARS

-Yay!

-That is awesome.

My Superchargers team, mechanic Rebecca...

Get your muscle in it.

..and cool car nerd Sideways Sid...

Nah, this is too cold.

..are as mad about motors as I am.

This is where all the big boys' stuff is kept.

Together, we will be helping kids all over the UK

transform their old family bangers...

Look at the state of that.

You're hit by not the best of smells.

..into wow-factor wagons...

-Love it.

-..by fixing the problems under the bonnet...

This is the most intense thing in the world.

Excellent!

..funking up the inside with gadgets and gizmos...

Feels like I'm a billionaire who lives in a mansion.

..and giving the outside of a car a spectacular new look.

It's absolutely awesome.

And the best part...their parents don't have a clue

what it will look like until it's too late.

Goodbye, old banger!

I was about 50% nervous. I'm going to 60 now.

Three, two, one...

-ALL:

-Open the door!

-Ohhhh!

-Look at it!

Hold on tight, this is Superchargers.

Hello and welcome to the show that puts you in charge

of transforming your set of wheels from bonnet to exhaust.

You might know me as a gamer, but I'm also mad about motors.

So, I've put together a supercharging team,

mechanic Rebecca and cool car nerd Sideways Sid,

to makeover family cars across the UK.

And today, we're helping a family in Cornwall

fix up a rather unusual vehicle that they could not live without.

My name's Sonny, I'm aged 11, and I love surfing and dance.

-This is my mum.

-Hi!

And this is my brother.

I'm Joby and I'm eight!

Joby also loves catching waves, and we often go to the beach together.

This is my van, an ex-Royal Mail post van.

The back bumper is held on with gaffer tape.

These seats can be very uncomfortable

as there are springs sticking into our backs,

and that's not good.

Last time the van went into the MOT,

the mechanic said there was loads of problems under the bonnet.

And if we can't afford to get it fixed, we're really in trouble,

because in the countryside, there are no bus routes near us.

Mum, what would you do without the van?

-Would you miss him?

-Oh, yeah, I'd really miss him.

And we totally rely on it, of course.

What do you think would be the worst thing I could do to it?

Make it really bright coloured.

I think I'd feel quite embarrassed

driving round in something like that.

Ali-A, please help us

supercharge the van.

We've got lots of good ideas

to turn it into something awesome,

and I know Mum will like it in the end.

So, guys, welcome to Superchargers.

Now, Mum, you're going to be leaving this van

in the capable hands of Sonny, so how are you feeling?

Now I'm actually here, it's hitting me what's going to happen.

Yeah, pretty nervous.

I'm normally in control of everything in our family,

so it's quite weird handing over the reins.

Joby, how are you feeling about it?

Really excited.

We need to get more of an in-depth look at it,

so if you come over here, Sonny,

I'm going to grab my little vlogging camera and make you do

a bit of a tour of the car for us, OK?

When you go round to the front, it's pretty much pink.

Oh, yeah, look at that. It's completely faded.

I can see we've got a little bit of missing parts here...

-Yeah.

-We've got a few dents at the bottom here.

-Lots of scratches.

Look, we've got some plants growing here as well.

I've noticed there's actually nothing covering the wheels either.

Nice. What do you get up to in the back of the car?

A lot of the time, eat meals in here.

Fish and chips is one of the main meals.

So, literally like a portable home, almost.

-Yeah.

-Nice.

So, Sonny, there's lots of bits and bobs

that we are going to be working on for sure,

but for the moment,

it is our turn to do a little bit of brainstorming.

Only you and I will be able to see this.

This is quite funky.

Whoa-ho-ho! Good reactions.

-Yummy, but no.

-Ooh, yummy.

They're getting pointers here.

Most of his ideas were completely bonkers.

I just want to see what you're doing.

You can't. This is between us guys.

Well, I think she's feeling pretty nervous,

because she's just got no idea what's going on.

What about... This is quite cool.

Oh, yeah, that's really nice.

You like that? OK, that is awesome.

-That is...

-I want to see it.

-That is your favourite so far?

-Yeah.

-OK, nice one.

I could see Sonny's reactions only,

so it's really hard for me to know

what he was being shown.

Mum, what would you definitely not want to happen to your precious van?

I would be really embarrassed if it was really flash.

Remember, this is all up to you, Sonny, so ignore Mum.

We'll make this happen.

-So, I'm going to grab the key.

-OK. Please look after it.

There we go. We will look after it, don't worry.

The power is now in our hands.

The next time Mum sees her van,

Sonny will have completely supercharged its look.

I'm excited about it all getting started,

but I kind of almost want to fast forward

so that we can just see what we end up with.

She doesn't know what I've got up here.

That's right, Sonny.

From now on, it's just between you and my team.

Back in Cornwall, Sonny's busy doing his thing.

As you can probably see, I'm at the beach. It's a lovely day.

Such good surf today, and I really want to get in.

While he hits the waves,

Mum's freaking out that her old postal van is gone for good.

So, it's just started really hitting me that I've let Sonny take control.

I just don't know what it's going to be like.

Is it going to be really embarrassing to drive around?

Am I going to love it?

Mum's imagining the worst, but brother Joby is just imagining.

If it was my design...

Rocket boosters so I could fly into space.

Make it an amphibious vehicle.

Give it wings. Big monster truck wheels.

If Sonny's secret design is half as good as his surf skills

and dancing, his family's in for a treat.

I've lined up my mate Sideways Sid...

-Hello, folks.

-..a car vlogger and encyclopaedia of motors,

to help beach-mad Sonny with his van's new look.

So, he's brought him to meet designer Ben Skinner

to make his own surfboard.

Sonny, this is Ben.

Ben, this is Sonny.

-Sonny, how are you doing, mate?

-Yeah, I'm good.

So, you might be wondering why I've brought you to a surfboard designer

when you should really be designing your own car.

Well, me and Ali-A put our heads together and thought you could

incorporate some surfboard designs into your very own car.

-What do you reckon?

-Yeah.

Yeah? Sounds awesome?

-Yeah.

-Let's get started.

Having my own surfboard custom-made for me

has literally been my dream all of my life.

Sonny didn't know he'd be designing his own board today,

but he's already been working on some ideas for the van.

Those three colours I've used to make all of these.

Like a sort of ocean design.

Those are great, yeah.

I'm going to make a wave.

Ben has hooked Sonny up with his illustrator Verdii

to turn those colours into the surfboard design of his dreams,

and maybe match it to the van.

It's coming together really nice.

Can you see it on your mum's van?

I am actually really liking this design.

This is where your board starts.

The hardest part was definitely making the board thin and smooth.

Really good, mate. Really good.

ALI-A: I am loving those ocean colours!

It's a really nice metallic blue, and it's exactly what I wanted.

Good choice, Sonny.

My favourite part was definitely spraying the board.

It was just incredible.

If your van looks half as good as this,

then it's going to look absolutely mega.

I can't wait to see the finished board,

or exactly how Sonny uses his design on his van.

Wow, what an inspiring day for surfer Sonny.

And how cool that his board is going to totally complement his van?

That is totally rad, dude.

But before Sonny can bring those design ideas to life,

he needs to make sure his old post van is roadworthy.

So, I brought in my mechanic Rebecca,

a-car mad racing driver...

..who's never happier than when up to her neck in oil.

What a fantastic family vehicle you have.

Yeah, it's pretty good.

I've checked over every inch of it,

and there's a few issues that we can fix together today.

-Are you up for that?

-Yeah, that would be cool.

One of the biggest problems with your van

is the shock absorbers have completely worn out.

Shock absorbers are part of a car's suspension.

They work with big springs to keep the car steady.

If the spring was on its own, the car would bounce all over the place.

The shock absorber stabilises the springing motion,

giving a far more comfortable ride.

Each wheel has its own shock absorber,

so we have to get the van up in the air for a look.

Can you see, it's leaking?

-Yeah.

-So, it's not really doing what it's supposed to do any more.

We need to undo this bolt and this bolt.

Before I got to the workshop, I felt a bit nervous,

but as soon as I arrived, all the confidence just came into me.

Ah, there we go.

So, we've just pulled out the shock absorber, and as you can see,

-it's a bit...

-Disgusting.

-It's leaking, isn't it?

-Yeah. It's leaking all over the place.

This is the new one.

We need to feed it up here.

It was quite tricky putting on the shock absorber,

but it was great fun.

You're doing a grand job.

Ah, I jinxed you!

Spoke too soon.

Rebecca's an expert,

so please don't try to fix your car on your own.

OK, new shock absorber.

Brill.

I feel like the van's going to be a lot safer to drive

now that we've fixed all of our problems.

So, after some great work on the shock absorbers,

Sonny's learned a thing or two about how a car works.

So, it's time for him to turn his thoughts back

to his surprise final design.

Here's a quick sneak peek of what's coming up.

Sid's got a surprise for Sonny.

What do you think?

And what will Mum and brother Joby think

when they see their transformed van?

-ALL:

-Open the door!

I can't wait.

And for more of Ali-A's Superchargers,

head to the CBBC website, where you can have a go at this...

No!

Go!

Try your hand at this...

The pressure is on.

And see if you can beat your friends in our musical quiz Honk A Song.

-You ready?

-Yes.

-Let's do this.

-They're ready, let's do it.

CAR HORN HONKS A TUNE

Sid coming in there.

Olly Murs, You Don't Know Love.

-Ah, well done!

-Well done.

That's a good guess.

And there's more song honking action over on the CBBC website,

so go and check it out.

Aaargh!

Back in Cornwall, Sonny's realised

just how much his van is part of everyday life.

My family love going to the beach and surfing and mucking about.

And we love eating fish and chips at the end of the day.

But it's really not the same without our family van.

Enjoy your chips, Sonny.

So, Mum, how are you feeling about the whole process?

We're missing our baby van.

And not being quite so windblown would be nice.

Joby, how are you feeling about the whole thing?

I'm feeling hungry.

I've decided I definitely want something

where we can sit in the van and eat our fish and chips in the warmth,

-watching the sea out the window.

-Have fun!

Time for Sonny to see his beachtastic ideas come to life.

And I've brought in designer Shawn to help.

What colour would you like the van?

I think, like, a light sort of turquoisey-blue, which would...

I think that would be pretty cool.

-Yeah, this one?

-Oh, yeah, that looks really nice. Yeah.

Ah, I see what Sonny's doing.

He really is going to match the van with the ocean colours

on his new surfboard.

-SID:

-Yes, Ali, and he's not finished yet.

With the waves...

Like, a little bit dark blue at the bottom,

so, like, the dark blue fading to the green, fading to the light blue,

and then the blue background.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, that's a really nice final design.

-Excellent.

My worst fear for the van would be really shockingly bright coloured

so that we'd stand out and get stared at everywhere we drove.

Bold blue and green waves?

I'd say that's pretty stand-out!

Sonny, you're a brave boy.

Sonny's replaced his broken seats with comfy new ones...

..and added a deck chair-inspired cover to fit his surfmobile theme.

But the best part of Sonny's design is yet to come.

A personalised beach-themed interior.

From the pebble-patterned floor to the sky blue ceiling,

Sonny's chosen everything to match his family's seaside lifestyle.

I really love the fact that it's going to have storage for wet suits,

beach towels.

There you are.

There we are, yes! All sorted.

Now we've got, like, a full table so we can all fit in.

We could eat our fish and chips watching the sunset.

It'll just be amazing.

But there's one thing that's almost as important to Sonny

as his family van.

It's your surfboard that you created with Ben Skinner.

-What do you think?

-What?!

-This is amazing!

-So we've got the storage.

You can put it in place.

Fits perfectly.

Now, all that's left...

-Whoa!

-..is to add the finishing touches.

Our van's really special to us.

We don't have any other vehicle.

Mum's never had, like, the money or the time to do up the van.

It's just been great.

You worked really hard today, Sonny.

Happy with the result?

I'm really loving it.

I think my brother's going to love it too.

I'm not sure about my mum.

I think all this blue is going to be a bit, like, overwhelming for her.

Welcome back, everyone, to the Superchargers headquarters,

where we're about to reveal Sonny's brand-new Supercharged post van

and I am so excited.

First of all, Sonny,

I'd like to present you with the Superchargers MOT.

This is to let you guys know that the car's road safe,

legal and perfect to drive.

So, Sonny, why don't you remind us

what was your van like when you first brought it to us?

My van was very tatty, quite scruffy.

-The paint was fading pink.

-What about Mum and your brother?

How do you think they're going to feel

when we reveal this car in just a few moments?

I think Joby will really like it.

Mum, I'm not so sure.

-I don't know.

-Oooh! Mum, having heard that, how are you feeling now?

-Are you a little bit nervous?

-Um... I am now.

That's made me really nervous.

Ohhh! Are you guys ready?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-OK, three, two, one.

-ALL:

-Open the door!

The suspense!

Whoa!

That is certainly different to when it first came in, isn't it?

-Totally.

-Wow!

SHE LAUGHS

You liking what you're seeing so far as well?

-So far, so good.

-OK, still a little bit nervous for the rest of the van?

I am.

Sonny's motor's been transformed from faded postal van

to surftastic coastal van.

And there's not a patch of moss in sight.

Should we go in and take a closer look

-and see what else is in the car?

-Yeah.

-OK, let's do it, guys!

-Look at this.

-Wow!

It looks amazing. Joby, what do you think?

Do you like the designs going on here?

-Yeah.

-Surf-inspired, right, Sonny?

We have brand-new seats.

Wow! Can't wait to sit in it.

Now you're excited, Mum.

Outside, Sonny's chosen colours inspired by the ocean.

But inside, this motor's even more wow factor!

The surfboard and the van are perfectly matched,

and Sonny has also added a seating area for those family meals.

MUM GASPS

Oh, my goodness!

Wow, look at this!

Sonny, why don't you let them know everything that's changed

and everything that's new and is completely transformed?

Inside here, we lift this up.

There's a storage area.

-Brilliant.

-This one is for my surfboard.

That's crazy!

Wow!

-This...

-Salt and vinegar!

You guys love your fish and chips.

We had to do it. Mum, how about you?

-How are you feeling?

-I'm still in shock, actually.

I'm just trying to take it all in.

It does feel very, very different.

You just need to head to the beach straightaway,

and to do that, you guys are going to need the keys.

-So here you go.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you very much.

-The power is back in your hands.

Sonny came in with an ex-postal van,

and has completely transformed it into the surfmobile of his dreams.

I'll see you all next time, and all that's left to do

is let them drive away in their brand-new surfmobile.

I love the glittery, shimmery bit of it.

And the big table with the cupboards underneath is brilliant.

I felt really excited when I saw the van,

because now it's the ultimate beachmobile.

I can't wait to put this van on the road, drive it to the beach,

get my board, start riding the waves.

We certainly won't be missed now.

Wherever we go, everyone will know we're coming.

All my mates are going, "Whoa! Is that your van?"

And I'm like, "Yes, that is."

HORN HONKS

I just feel like so much love's gone into it,

so it's made me really love it.

Always thinking about my mum.