The Repair Shop star has shared a candid update after discovering a challenge that threatens to make one job far more complicated than first expected09:04, 17 Jun 2026Updated 09:05, 17 Jun 2026Dominic Chinea has admitted he has reached a “low point” in the restoration of a battered 1957 Series I Land Rover after uncovering far more damage than he expected.‌The engineering expert, best known for his work on the BBC’s The Repair Shop, has been documenting the painstaking rebuild of the vehicle, which he discovered buried in a hedge near his home in Cornwall.‌Providing an update on the ambitious project, Dominic explained that plans had changed after viewers encouraged him to tackle the rear of the vehicle before finishing work on the front.‌“We are carrying on with my Series 1 Land Rover. In the last episode, we painted the bulkhead and the front panel in this slightly questionable pink apricot beige, but it's quite pink. And I quite like the reference to the SAS Pink Panther Land Rovers, so that's good,” he told his YouTube channel.The television star, 40, added that supporters had backed both the unusual colour choice and his decision to focus on the rear body tub first.After moving the original rear tub and giving it a thorough clean, Dominic hoped he would be able to assess its condition before reinstalling it. However, decades of exposure to the elements had taken a heavy toll.‌“This is, as far as I'm aware, the original rear tub to the car, and I'm very pleased to say that it is going back in place. But unfortunately, those 25-plus years sitting outside in the Cornish weather have not done it any favours at all,” he explained.Once the component had been pressure washed and returned to the workshop, the true scale of the challenge became apparent.‌“I've got the rear tub back in the workshop and precariously on the workbench to start dismantling. And from the highs of last week and getting the new can of paint, painting the new panels and everything going fantastically well, with it all looking beautiful, today unfortunately is a low point of any restoration project,” he said.The discovery left Dominic facing significantly more work than he had anticipated.He said: “This rear tub is a lot worse than I was ever hoping. I genuinely thought it was going to be okay. I knew there were a few little bits here and there, but now I've cleaned it and had a proper look, I can already see how much trouble I'm going to be in with this.”‌He revealed the entire assembly would now need to be stripped down to its individual components.He said: “I'm going to have to strip this right down. And I mean unpicking spot welds, drilling out rivets and stripping it completely. I will try and keep as much as I possibly can, but pretty much every panel has got some kind of damage, some worse than others. None of them are particularly good.‌“It's extremely daunting.”The latest setback is not the first obstacle Dominic has encountered during the rebuild. The vehicle’s chassis was already found to be completely rotten after years spent partially submerged in undergrowth, making it one of the most challenging restorations he has tackled in recent years.Only weeks ago, he also revealed he had accidentally damaged the Land Rover’s seat base while lifting the component, prompting him to consider calling on fellow Repair Shop expert Sonnaz Nooranvary for help before the project is completed.Article continues belowAway from the workshop, Dominic is a passionate collector of classic machinery. His collection includes a 1957 Porsche 356A, several Land Rovers, a Volkswagen camper, a 1958 VW split bus and a 1936 BSA motorbike. He is also restoring an early-1980s Volkswagen Caddy pickup alongside the hedge-found Land Rover.