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Mike and Elvis are going global. This time, the stakes are higher, the deadlines tighter and the motor transformations are more jaw-dropping than ever.
Mike and Elvis are going global. This time, the stakes are higher, the deadlines tighter and the motor transformations are more jaw-dropping than ever.
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MotorTranscript
00:00This has been a boyhood dream, for as long as I can remember.
00:25What a treat to be able to be let loose in the iconic, and I can't wait to say these words, BMW M1.
00:36We are driving a million-dollar supercar. Can you believe it?
00:42Never, ever thought I'd see the day.
00:46I have pictures of this car in my dealership. It's a dawn on the walls of my dealership.
00:52The view from every angle is amazing. Even out the back, we can see over this mid-placed engine.
00:58The noise is incredible.
01:00This is the ultimate hire car, and I've got it for the day just to get us to the car that we're on our way to go and see.
01:07This car is all about that important M badge that's strapped to the front and the rear of it.
01:16Yeah, absolutely. And look what that kick started. A whole revolution in BMW's history. It started with this.
01:22I'll give you one guess of what car we're on our way to go and see. One guess.
01:29I know what it's going to be. If we're going to buy an MBMW, it's got to be an M3, because that's the daddy.
01:35Yeah. And it's got to be an E30. Yes, man. Boom, mate.
01:39I am all over it. I love it. What a great idea.
01:43I've just dropped the cog. Are you ready?
01:48Oh, yes! Yes, yes!
01:53After wheeling and dealing our way across the UK, fixing up hundreds of cars, it's time for a new challenge.
01:59Look at you. You had a mullet.
02:01At least they had coloured cameras when I did mine. Look, yours are still black and white.
02:04So we're setting off on a global adventure.
02:10To buy some of the world's most iconic cars.
02:13Listen to the sound!
02:16And with the help of local wheeler dealers.
02:18A faddy a quattorote.
02:21Rescue these national treasures.
02:23I'll tell you what, brother, she's pretty tidy under here.
02:25And make a few euros or dollars.
02:28You got yourself a deal. Thank you. Well done.
02:30And Lottie in the process.
02:32Oh, you got a convertible!
02:34Look at that!
02:36This has been a boyhood dream.
02:37Ohhhh!
02:47Haarste denn, Lederhausen in Baggett.
02:50What on earth does that mean?
02:51Did you pack your Lederhausen?
02:55Well, mate, we're here in southern Germany.
02:59Famous for cars, beers and sausages.
03:01Exactly!
03:02Another two of my favourite things.
03:05Oh, hello.
03:07That wasn't me, by the way.
03:08That was that guy going past me the other way.
03:13Look, I've got to say it.
03:14We're on a way to potentially go and buy a BMW E30 M3 in a BMW M1.
03:24Best day ever!
03:25It's the best day ever!
03:26It's the best day ever!
03:29Look, I spent my life looking for cars and this one, when I found it, I got excited.
03:34Hence the reason we've come all the way here to Germany.
03:37And I want you to take a breath when I tell you the price, because I've agreed to come and see the car at, be the most expensive car we've ever bought in wheeler-dealer history.
03:47Yeah!
03:4970,000 euros.
03:51Wow!
03:53Seven, zero, zero, zero, zero.
03:56Surely that's one too many zeros, even for an 80s icon.
03:59But it could be money well spent to celebrate the wide arches, butch body kit and incredible performance of the E30 M3.
04:09The E30 does boast a 2.3 litre engine with 200 horsepower and its bespoke suspension set new standards for handling performance.
04:18Cut to the chase, this is one of the greatest driver's cars of all time.
04:22So, no surprise, it's got cult status amongst serious collectors, who can spend six figures on low mileage examples.
04:34People are willing to pay for these cars, Elvis. They're willing to give really, really strong money.
04:40I want to get us there.
04:42Mate, you know that anyone who's ever bought an M3 has done it because they want to be a racing driver, and they drive it as so.
04:50It's going to have a few problems.
04:51We've got to go over it with a fine-toothed coat.
04:54Yeah, I know, mate.
04:56Dude, I've bought several M3s in my time, and every time I stand in front of them, I'm more excited about the fact that I'm standing in front of an M3.
05:03Rather than focusing on the details, on the car itself.
05:06Can we just agree that if either of us get carried away, and we're overlooking some obvious flaw...
05:12We pull the other one back.
05:13Yes, please, yeah.
05:14Because I think it's going to happen.
05:15Right, yeah, we can do that. We can do that.
05:16We're tag team.
05:17Tag team around the car.
05:19That lovely little pub there on the left, that's got our name written all over it. Proper German.
05:24Beer Keller, yeah.
05:26Come on, beer later, we've got an M3 to look at.
05:2870,000 euros would be a huge investment for us, but if this E30 is in decent condition, I reckon we could turn a profit.
05:40Nothing like a bit of Bavarian bravado.
05:42Hi.
05:43Hi.
05:45Hi.
05:46You must be Sebastian.
05:47Yes.
05:48Sebastian, nice to meet you.
05:49I'm Mike.
05:50Nice to meet you.
05:51Hey Sebastian, I'm Elvis.
05:52Nice to meet you.
05:53Okay, so what can you tell us about the car?
05:56Yeah, I bought it with a partner about 18 years ago, so it was in not good condition.
06:02So we decided to rebuild and restore the car and we put new paint on it, we welded some stuff, we made the engine and I made the technical stuff and he made the bodywalk.
06:14Wow.
06:15The real treasure in this car is going to be under that bonnet. Can we have a look?
06:18Sure, sure, sure. Let's do it.
06:23Get in.
06:24Look at that.
06:25So it's had a full rebuild.
06:26Yeah, the engine was full rebuild, new pistons, new gears.
06:30New everything basically.
06:32Really, yeah.
06:33I mean, how many miles since the rebuild?
06:355,000 kilometres.
06:36Oh, wow.
06:39A rebuilt engine's good news, but this is still a 35-year-old car.
06:44And it's covered a whopping 180,000 kilometres.
06:49Time to break out our very finest fine tooth comb.
06:53I mean, I can see some obvious things straight away, like there's a couple of stickers missing on the hubs.
06:59In fact, the wheels itself, they could probably do a bit of furbish.
07:04These are the kind of details that are going to matter, aren't they?
07:07For any hope of a profit, this car needs to look brand new and we can't afford any hidden problems.
07:13Sounds like a job for Detective Priestley.
07:16I'm going to be looking for any signs of potential accident damage.
07:20When a car's been fully rebuilt, you've got to ask yourself the question, why was that done?
07:24Was it done just to restore the car or was it done because there was some kind of issue in its history?
07:29The interior is lovely, I have to say.
07:41Oh, apart from that, it's got what looks like a cigarette burn in this beautiful fabric.
07:48That tiny bit of damage probably means a whole seat retrim and I've also uncovered a crime against the most important single letter in performance motoring.
07:59Have you spotted the glaring obvious error from this view?
08:03The M3 badge is on the wrong side, isn't it?
08:05Exactly, it should be over there.
08:06It should be on that side.
08:07There's also another thing as well.
08:08If you look at that red stripe in the bumper, that's for the Evolution model, it should be on here.
08:12Details matter, so they're the sort of things we would have to get right.
08:15But none of the details matter if this high-mileage E30 doesn't deliver on its reputation as the ultimate driving machine.
08:28We're in Germany, they go fast here.
08:30We're on a nice bit of road.
08:32Ready?
08:33Yeah, go on, plant it.
08:34Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes!
08:36Oh, I've still got it, mate!
08:39Oh, that's got some tug, isn't it?
08:41I tell you what, that feels lovely.
08:43That has got some tug.
08:47We're driving in southern Germany, a BMW E30 M3, and almost everyone that sees us on the street,
08:55and we go past, they either say something or wave at us in this car.
09:00It's a celebrity.
09:01It's not us.
09:02The car is a celebrity.
09:07Is it me?
09:08Are we in top gear now?
09:09Uh, yeah.
09:10Can you hear that?
09:11A little whiny sound.
09:12It's a, well, it's kind of a dull sort of constant noise.
09:19It's not bad.
09:20I definitely wouldn't say it's bad, but my experience of driving these before, it feels like it could be a little bit tighter.
09:25This car's at 181,000 kilometres.
09:27Correct.
09:28And although the engine's good, 5,000 kilometres old, mate, that is basically brand new, isn't it?
09:34And it's the rest of the car that's perhaps my worry, because I think I'm a little bit tired.
09:38Right, there's definitely some brake judder.
09:39I could just feel that.
09:40Did you see it?
09:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:42I was just about to say that, yeah.
09:43So that is a worry.
09:45So look, it's not without its problems.
09:47It looks amazing on the outside.
09:49You know, this is a car that just has to be right.
09:53So we're going to take a gamble, mate, because this is an awful lot of money.
10:00Don't put me under too much pressure, but let's, why don't we go back?
10:05We've now got some tools, haven't we, to negotiate with Sebastian.
10:09I'm slightly terrified at the amount of money that this costs.
10:13Of course, the potential to make quite a lot of money off the back of it is still there, but there's also potential to lose quite a lot.
10:20Somehow, we need to achieve visual perfection and fix the brakes and diff.
10:27Squeezing the profit out of this is going to be a tough ask.
10:34Well, it drives really, really well.
10:36There were a couple of little things I think we found when we were driving it around.
10:40Yeah, one or two little details, and these cars are all about the details, as you well know.
10:44So, with that in mind, you advertised it for 70,000 euros.
10:49Yes.
10:50We've come a long way to come and buy your car, and we were kind of hoping that you would sell us the car for 65,000 euros.
10:59No, I'm sorry, that's too far away.
11:02It's too far away?
11:03Yes.
11:04I would do 69,000, but that's the lowest.
11:0869,000 euros?
11:10That's a huge amount of money.
11:12But, are we really going to walk away from this?
11:15Um...
11:16Sorry.
11:17Come on.
11:30Our world tour has brought us to Europe's motoring heartland, Germany.
11:34In my tick book of things to do, we've nailed it.
11:41In Germany, in Bavaria, with mountains around us on this beautiful day.
11:46This is epic.
11:48Absolutely epic.
11:51We could soon own this almost pristine E30 M3.
11:55Yeah, almost pristine is a fair description of the exterior of this 80s icon,
11:59but our test drive has revealed some worrying issues under the bonnet.
12:05To bag a discerning buyer, we need to fix the brakes and if,
12:09plus ensure the car looks perfect, and Sebastian has driven a hard bargain.
12:17Come on.
12:2069,000 euros.
12:24Hold out your hand.
12:25I can't believe I'm doing this.
12:26You got yourself a deal.
12:28Well done, Sebastian.
12:29Thank you very much.
12:32I don't think I've ever felt as excited or nervous by a deal.
12:38We've got plenty to do, though, and for an uber high-performance car like this,
12:42we're going to need a special kind of workshop.
12:44Right, so I've been having a conversation with the classic division of BMW.
12:52Yeah.
12:53And I've been asking them if there's any chance that we could use maybe one of their facilities.
12:58And it's a bit weird, but they've sent me a drop-in location.
13:02They've just said, meet at this place.
13:05Amazing.
13:07It might sound like the plot to a Bond film, but BMW have been very clear.
13:13This place is for our eyes only.
13:20Well, mate, he did say it was a nondescript building.
13:23It is.
13:24Are you sure this is it?
13:26Hey, I bet there's a secret knock.
13:29Hello.
13:30Hello.
13:31Are you Mark?
13:32Yes, I am.
13:33Would you like to join me?
13:34Yeah, it'd be great.
13:36Wow.
13:37Intriguing.
13:38We've either just entered BMW's top secret facility or Munich's premier swingers club.
13:44Everyone get naked.
13:45Fingers crossed.
13:46It's the former.
13:48This is all a bit mysterious.
13:50Where are we?
13:53Oh!
13:54I've seen this lot.
13:58That's incredible.
14:00Welcome to BMW, you haven't?
14:03That is mind-blowing.
14:05My head is going to explode.
14:07Wow.
14:08This is amazing.
14:10Well, I just don't know where to start.
14:11Can we have a look around?
14:12Yes, for sure.
14:13I'm going to start over in.
14:16OK, now I understand why they need to keep this location secret.
14:24They've got everything here from their Formula One history to the iconic hand-painted art cars.
14:30It was Andy Warhol that got his paintbrush out to create this famous M1, which is now valued at around 50 million pounds.
14:40Now, when we spoke, I did say that we've got this car that we need a bit of space to work on, so did you manage to find anything for us?
14:46Yes, we are lucky enough to have a workshop and we will borrow it to you just for a little number of days.
14:54OK, well, that's very kind of you. I mean, we've got quite a bit of work to do.
14:57We have.
14:58I managed to get us three whole days of workshop time.
15:04So that's 72 hours to turn around a 35-year-old E30 with problems under the hood.
15:12Don't panic because Mark's found a space in what must be the world's greatest BMW workshop.
15:17Keep going. Yep. All good.
15:19Their classic centre where only the best technicians and now me and Elvis
15:26lovingly restore cars and motorcycles from the company's past.
15:31Yep, that looks all good there, mate.
15:40All good? Yep. Just going up enough for you to get the seat out.
15:43No worries.
15:47About there?
15:48Lovely.
15:49Yep.
15:50Yeah.
15:51Bit more.
15:54So I need to work out how to fix that damaged upholstery.
15:59Oh, that's heavy.
16:01And my priority is that worrying sound we heard coming from the rear axle.
16:06No serious buyer is going to pay top price for a whiny M3.
16:10The E30 M3 was noted for its pretty epic handling and a large part of that came from this.
16:18It's a limited slip differential.
16:20I could hear a slight whirring sound coming from down here.
16:23It could be a sign that the crown wheel or the pinion might be worn, even both.
16:27To the point where if we have to replace them, that's going to get expensive.
16:31A new limited slip differential would set us back more than a thousand euros.
16:37Low-mileage E30 M3s can fetch six figures, but with 180,000 kilometres on our clock, we need to keep our costs low to stand any chance of a profit.
16:53That's heavy.
16:54That's heavy.
16:56I'm going to strip it down and hope I can find and fix the problem.
17:03I'm looking for signs of wear and tear on the teeth of the crown wheel here.
17:09Discolouration where it may have overheated.
17:11Although there's nothing really too visual that I can see as being a problem, it is the tiniest bit tight.
17:17Now what I need to do is to make sure that the pinion gear sitting in the front of the diff here is meshed correctly with the crown wheel.
17:24If they're out of alignment or too tightly meshed together, you can get overheating, whining noises like we heard on our test drive,
17:32and ultimately a broken diff.
17:34So it needs investigating.
17:36And I've got a lip test to do that.
17:38I need everything spotless, so I'm using brake cleaner to remove the old oil.
17:48Next, I'm applying marking paste to the thrust face of our crown wheel.
17:55Once that's dry, I can rotate the diff by hand, which should leave a clear witness mark where the two gears engage.
18:02What I can actually see is a pretty clear picture that the engagement is happening too far towards the outside of the crown wheel teeth.
18:14Now the problem with that is that it's not spreading the load evenly.
18:18We're not using the strongest part of the tooth.
18:20We should be seeing that witness mark sitting nicely in the centre, but we're not.
18:24It's offset.
18:25The solution is going to be to take these two caps off the side of our differential, see what kind of shims we've got behind here,
18:33and if we can, find the right amount of adjustment to bring that nicely back to a central engagement.
18:40With the caps off, I can assess and measure the old shims and take a punt on a new size.
18:45I'm going to try new shims that are ten thousandths of an inch thicker than the old ones.
18:51It's a tiny adjustment, but it could make a huge difference to the performance of our M3.
18:56Oh yeah, that is much better.
19:06That's exactly what I was looking for.
19:08The witness mark is now central on the tooth, which shows it's exactly where we need it to be,
19:14and hopefully that's the solution to that annoying little noise.
19:16We'll never be 100% sure until we get everything else sorted and the car back out on the road.
19:25And that's where I am, heading to the other side of Munich.
19:29It's an absolute pleasure. Thank you.
19:32See you later, chaps.
19:34I need to seek out some expert advice on the high-end German car market.
19:38This is a mecca for all things automotive. It's called Motorworld.
19:45It's a huge, great big facility that houses dealers and collections,
19:50and you can come and visit and have something to eat or stare at an Aston Martin Valkyrie.
19:57In a few days, one of Europe's biggest high-end car auctions will be taking place in this very room.
20:031973 Ferrari Dino.
20:09What's this one? Yeah, 300 grand. Look at that. Amazing.
20:13So I'm grabbing five minutes with Suburbiz specialist Marcus
20:18to get a few tips on what to do to our M3 to reel in a top-end buyer
20:23and earn some serious profit.
20:27It is about who is able to buy a car.
20:30The target group is 35 years old to, let's say, 60.
20:35And what are they dreaming of?
20:37And they dream about the car when they went to school or to university.
20:41And they say, hey, when I grow up, when I make my money, I buy this car.
20:46And this is it. Most of the cars which have an up-going price are from, let's say, 80s and younger.
20:551980s onwards. I've noticed that. I really have noticed that recently.
20:58In terms of level of we need to get our car to, how far do I have to go with my BMW E30 to get it to a level where it's attractive to somebody that wants to spend 80,000 euros?
21:11Your car is quite high mileage if I get it right at 100.
21:15It's 180,000 kilometers, but the engine was rebuilt only 6,000 kilometers ago.
21:20Then this is quite a good thing because this is attractive for a buyer because the most important thing or the most expensive single part is the engine.
21:32So, good engine is an important thing. Detailing it and taking care of the interior, I think, is a very important thing.
21:40OK.
21:41They always make jokes about me. If I put my nose inside a car and smell...
21:46You're like me, I do the same.
21:47Hey, if it smells like leather or like an old car should smell, this is a good sign.
21:53So, smelling good? Looking good? It sounds like Marcus is describing me.
22:00To get our E30 looking anything like these beauties, we're going to need time for some serious detailing.
22:07Which means LBS needs to get a wriggle on and fix the mechanicals.
22:12We've only got 36 hours left of our workshop window.
22:16When I drove the car, I noticed a sensation called brake judder.
22:21It's when the brake pedal sort of pulses back under your foot under heavy braking.
22:26And it can be a symptom of a number of things.
22:28I mean, if the car's been sat for a long period of time, corrosion or rust could have built up on the disc and it could be that.
22:33It could be that the brakes have worn unevenly.
22:36I mean, these cars tend to get driven quite hard and that means the brakes can overheat.
22:40And it can even, at times, warp the disc.
22:42The first step for me, though, is to check and find out exactly what it is.
22:45And I'm going to use this.
22:46It's a DTI gauge or dial test indicator.
22:49And when I mount it positioned accurately against the disc face, I can then rotate it and see if it's still running true or not.
23:01Right, I've got my mount magnetically attached to the suspension leg with the gauge positioned up against the face of the brake disc.
23:08And as I rotate it, we should see the dial move to show just how out of true this disc is.
23:15Now, we've got a tolerance of between 0 and 20 on the gauge, which is 0.2 of a millimetre.
23:20Anything within that, we're OK.
23:22Anything outside of that, we've got a more severe problem.
23:25In other words, if the gauge goes up, our profits go down.
23:32Oh, dear.
23:34There we go.
23:35Straight past the 20.
23:37Oh, my goodness.
23:38Yeah, that went right up to 50 on the gauge and back to 0.
23:45So that is half a millimetre out of true as we rotate that through 360 degrees.
23:51And unfortunately, that's going to mean I need to replace the front pair of discs at least.
23:56We've come to Munich, the home of BMW.
24:11Ready?
24:12Yeah, go on, plant it.
24:13Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.
24:15Oh, I've still got it, mate.
24:17To transform this €69,000 E30 M3 into one of the best examples on the road today.
24:25Attract a top-end buyer and net ourselves some serious profit.
24:33And after 48 hours hard graft,
24:37we've got a chance to soak up some local culture
24:40and learn more about the three Bs this region is famous for.
24:43BMWs.
24:46Bratwurst.
24:47You need a shorter sausage or a longer bun.
24:50And beer.
24:52Oh, my word, look at that.
24:54Co-pilots only.
24:55Co-pilots only, I like that.
24:56Well, we'll definitely have one for my co-pilot
24:59and I'll watch him drink it with joy.
25:02Superb.
25:03This is the best thing ever.
25:06Cheers, mate.
25:07Cheers, mate.
25:08Delicious, that is.
25:10Genuinely,
25:11that is quite possibly the best sausage I've ever eaten.
25:14Genuinely.
25:15It's got cheese in it.
25:16In it?
25:17Yeah.
25:19But there is a serious reason why we're here as well.
25:22We need to go and look at the competition,
25:23go and see some of these cars out there,
25:25see what we're up against.
25:26Some pretty decent stuff, isn't it?
25:27Let's try and have a look round this way.
25:31If I've learned anything from my trip to the auction house,
25:34it's that detail is everything.
25:36What are you doing?
25:40Where did you get a ruler from?
25:42I bought it.
25:43Because you know how bad from the back of our car is on the wrong side?
25:46Yes.
25:47We've got to get it exactly right on this side.
25:49So I've been going round looking at the badges on the back
25:51and I've taken a measurement.
25:52Mate, you're not as silly as you look, are you?
25:54It's all about the details.
25:55It is, yeah.
25:56All about the details.
25:57I've got another sausage.
25:58Oh, yeah.
25:59There's loads.
26:00So, you know, I don't want to go to waste.
26:05Now that, that's a special edition.
26:07It is, yeah.
26:08It's lovely, isn't it?
26:10Yeah, very nice.
26:11Look at the rims.
26:12It's got the different spots.
26:13Is this yours, sir?
26:14Yeah.
26:15How long have you had it?
26:16Plus 30 years.
26:17Wow.
26:18I bought it from you.
26:19Oh, wow.
26:20You want to have a look underneath?
26:22If we can, that would be nice.
26:24That is nice.
26:25Now, now we are talking about a 9,000 kilometer cot.
26:29Wow.
26:30And you've only done 9,000 kilometers in it?
26:32Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:33I bet there were 9,000 really great fun kilometers as well.
26:36Yes, you know, I think it's just a run-in.
26:39Yeah.
26:40It's just a run-in.
26:41Barely a run-in.
26:42That's amazing.
26:43The one thing that I've noticed when I'm walking around these cars is
26:46a lot of these cars have come in with 19 in trims,
26:49some with 16, some with 17.
26:51Yeah.
26:52That seems to be acceptable in the E30 market,
26:55because our car is currently sitting on 15-inch rims.
26:58Yeah.
26:59They look too small.
27:00You know, original, this came on 16.
27:04Now I put it up to 17.
27:0617.
27:07With these original wheels.
27:08Yeah.
27:09It looks not like a sportive, I guess.
27:12I think that's the owner's choice.
27:16Our wheels need a refurb as it is,
27:18so I wonder if we could go the whole hog and do an upgrade.
27:22These are those 16-inch wheels that seem to be quite popular.
27:25It looks lovely.
27:26It gives it that sporty look, doesn't it?
27:27A new set of 16-inch rims won't be cheap,
27:30but it could increase desirability and add value to our car.
27:37Well, if there's one thing the Germans like more than a sausage,
27:39it is BMW M3s.
27:42And you can see that the level of professionalism
27:46they put into their cars, the way they're presented,
27:48the way they look.
27:50Me and Elvis have got a little weeny hill to climb
27:53to get ours to that level,
27:54but I think we're on the right track.
27:56It's a dawn start for my last day in the workshop.
28:05After spending time and almost 200 euros
28:10replacing the front discs and pads,
28:12I've now only got a few hours left
28:14to ensure everything's precision perfect under the bonnet.
28:17The engine in the E30 M3 is a great one.
28:25It's actually made up of some brilliant bits.
28:27The cylinder head, interestingly,
28:29was actually the same one used on the M1
28:31that Mike and I drove the other day.
28:33They basically just hacked off cylinders five and six
28:35to make it fit in size.
28:37This is a brilliant thing.
28:38However, you might be wondering,
28:40why on earth have I got to do anything to the engine
28:42given that it was only rebuilt entirely
28:44just a few thousand miles ago?
28:46Well, the answer to that is after any full engine rebuild,
28:49it's always worth doing some vital checks
28:51after a few thousand miles or kilometers
28:53to make sure that everything's bedding incorrectly.
28:55And that's exactly what I'm going to do now,
28:57starting with the valve clearances.
29:04The valve clearance is the tiny gap
29:06between the camshaft lobe
29:08and the little cup which it acts upon.
29:10It's important to get these valve clearances just right
29:13because if the gap is too big or too slow,
29:15the engine will lose efficiency and ultimately performance.
29:20So what I'm looking for down here just beneath the camshaft
29:23and the cup in which it sits is a gap using my feeder gauges
29:27of between 0.26 of a millimetre and 0.35 of a millimetre.
29:32It's not very big of a window.
29:34You need to make sure it's accurate.
29:35The clearances on the first view have been absolutely fine,
29:40as I would have hoped,
29:41but this one definitely needs some adjustment.
29:44To avoid future engine damage,
29:48I need to increase the gap between the cam and the cup
29:51with a thinner shim.
29:52Right, that's 3.60.
29:57And I want something that's a tiny bit smaller than that.
30:01And they come in little increments of about 15.15 of a millimetre.
30:07So I'm after a 3.55.
30:11It's got it stamped on it.
30:13So I can pop it back in,
30:15go through the process of checking it again,
30:17and hopefully it'll be spot on.
30:23Perfect.
30:24With workshop time running out,
30:29Elvis needs to work fast to get our E30 engine back to a factory-fresh state.
30:35While I tackle the interior.
30:38Because no top-end buyer will pay our target price
30:41with a cigarette burn in the front seat.
30:44It's fantastic, isn't it?
30:45All the material is everywhere, isn't it?
30:48Yvonne is a professional trimmer,
30:50or as they're known here in Germany, a saddler.
30:54Ah, look at that.
30:56BMW Houndstooth.
30:57Perfect.
31:00Okay.
31:01Lead the way.
31:05Right.
31:08First thing you're gonna do, Yvonne.
31:09So, as erstes werde ich hier das, das wegmachen,
31:14damit ich den Sitz auseinanderbauen kann.
31:16Right, so you're gonna take all these panels off,
31:18and then you're gonna start dismantling the seat.
31:20Does that mean that you have to get underneath here?
31:24Yes.
31:25They're quite complicated, I will be honest with you, these seats.
31:29There's a lot of components to it,
31:31so, yeah, let's get unbolting unscrewing.
31:34What do you need?
31:35Okay.
31:36We're gonna recover our burnt seat cushion in period-correct fabric.
31:42Already I'm in trouble.
31:44I am, cos it keeps screwing in.
31:46Keeping our M3 looking as original as possible.
31:49That is a big screw.
31:53That way, that's it.
31:55Perfect.
31:56Ah, cos it's got thread lock.
31:57Yeah.
31:58Three.
31:59Perfect.
32:00Okay, that's the back of the seat off.
32:01That gives access now to this bottom cushion.
32:03Yvonne needs to remove the old material, carefully marking up the corners to create a guide for stitching the new fabric together.
32:20Yvonne has very kindly got this side bolster off for me.
32:33I've got a tailor's chalk, so I'm just gonna trace around this piece, so we know exactly where to make the cuts.
32:48And that is now ready for cutting.
32:53With all the fabric cut, Yvonne is recovering the bottom cushions with our new sections.
32:58But matching the colour of the new material to the old backrest is proving tricky.
33:05So, now we've got the new fabric on this seat, we do end up with a bit of a problem because the back of the seat is a little bit grubby.
33:13It's not that bad, it's just a little bit grubby.
33:16I'm using this.
33:17It's a high-pressure cyclonic cleaner, believe it or not.
33:20So, air comes out, it twists as it comes out and it forces the soap into the cloth.
33:26And then basically you just blow it with air and it blows the dirt away.
33:35I think we're about ready to put the two halves together.
33:38You don't have to watch me do it all by myself, you can't help.
33:50Yeah, that went in.
33:52That went in beautifully.
33:55Look at that, it's as good as new.
33:58And the best bit, it only set us back €500.
34:03Right, let's get this back to the workshop.
34:05Back in our car.
34:07Yes, Auf Wiedersehen.
34:09Auf Wiedersehen.
34:10Yeah, there you go.
34:19If we're going to take the detailing of this car to the next level,
34:22to the level that we've seen here in Munich this week,
34:24and the level that's going to command the kind of price we need to get for it,
34:28I've moved it over to another of BMW Classic's facilities
34:31and it's all about getting access to that, a dry ice cleaning machine.
34:39In recent years, dry ice cleaning's been a game changer for restoration work.
34:43It's non-abrasive, faster and more economical than mechanical or chemical cleaning.
34:48Now this is dry ice, or solid CO2, and it's in pellet form, a little bit like grains of rice.
34:56And it's very cold, around minus 79 degrees C.
35:00And when I put that into this machine, compressed air coming through the airline,
35:04runs through the hose and expels it out of the nozzle,
35:07where I can direct it onto the dirty areas of the car.
35:10At that point, an explosive process called sublimation happens,
35:14where these solid CO2 pellets convert immediately from a solid into a gas,
35:19rather than going through the more normal and slower process
35:22of becoming a solid into a liquid and then into a gas.
35:25And it's that explosive process, as the pellet hits the surface of the car,
35:29that should take away all of the dirt and grime
35:31and leave us with something that's way cleaner.
35:37When you're chasing perfection and the best possible sale price,
35:40the entire car needs to look immaculate.
35:45The pellets hit the car's mucky underside at supersonic speeds,
35:49freezing dirt particles, creating micro-cracks
35:52and stripping decades of grime in an instant.
35:58That's better, I might leave it like that.
36:01I'm determined to take every filthy nut and bolt back to their 1980s glory.
36:06And finally, remove that red stripe
36:09that should never have been on our car in the first place.
36:18Well, that was incredibly satisfying.
36:20I also actually prefer it without it, but importantly, it's now right.
36:25And thanks to my canny ruler work,
36:27we can get the Crucial M3 badge in the right place
36:30and move on to the finishing touches.
36:35All right, mate. Hey, mate.
36:36I've gone and got the seat repaired.
36:37That's perfect, isn't it?
36:39And then I took the liberty of spending a little bit more of our money.
36:43I can see, yeah.
36:45Well, you know, when we've been around and we've seen other M3 E30s,
36:48we've noticed the bigger wheels and they do really set off the car.
36:52So I've taken the liberty of buying these and getting new old stock,
36:56as in the same tread pattern as the original tyres.
36:59Nice.
37:00The bad news is they come to 2,300 euros.
37:04That's the bad news.
37:05That's a chunk.
37:06The good news is I can get 1,000 for our old ones.
37:10Oh, OK, yeah.
37:11So we have spent quite a bit of money on this car.
37:13Well, we have.
37:14Buying our M3 and getting it into pristine condition
37:17is the biggest investment we've ever made.
37:20And now it's finished,
37:21we need to make sure it doesn't go the same way as our beloved Mark 1 Fiesta.
37:28It's the biggest job we've ever done on Wheeler Dealers.
37:30But unfortunately, last night in the hotel car park,
37:33the car was stolen in its covered trailer.
37:36We really do need to keep an eye on it.
37:40I mean, I don't really want to let it out of sight, to be honest.
37:54It's the final morning of our German adventure.
37:57And our BMW E30 M3 is pretty much perfect.
38:01And after the huge effort and cost involved,
38:06we decided we'd do anything to protect it.
38:10So last night, Elvis and I took a rather radical step
38:14to make sure the horrible history of our stolen Mark 1 Fiesta
38:18didn't repeat itself.
38:22Just look at it. Looks fantastic, doesn't it?
38:25What a view to wake up to.
38:26This ingenious hotel features an indoor garage
38:30that's connected to your room,
38:32so you can keep an eye on your pride and joy all night long.
38:36There was no way I was letting the most expensive car
38:39we've ever done on Wheeler Dealers out of our sight.
38:42I mean, mate, we've put a lot of work into this thing, haven't we?
38:45And you know what's happened in the past, we can't be too careful.
38:48Right, enough of this.
38:49Shall we get home and go to work?
38:51I suppose so.
38:53I'm already dressed, by the way.
38:54When we bought it, our M3 was in good condition.
38:58Get in? That'd do, wouldn't it?
39:00But what we soon learnt was that good isn't quite enough
39:03for the top end of the BMW collector's market.
39:08Where did you get a ruler from?
39:09I bought it.
39:10Mate, you're not as silly as you look, are you?
39:11Talk about the detail.
39:12So whilst I tackled some niggly issues under the bonnet...
39:15Oh yeah, that is much better.
39:24The witness mark is now central on the tooth.
39:28I kept things period correct with that seat repair.
39:32BMW Houndstooth.
39:34Perfect.
39:35Bring it all together and this has to be the most pristine car we have ever turned around.
39:41We bought the BMW M3 for 69,000 euros.
39:48And turned the 35-year-old car into one that looks like it rolled off the production line today.
39:55We've added some lovely flourishes along the way.
39:59To attract BMW aficionados and potential buyers.
40:04In total it owes us just over 71,000 euros or almost 61,000 pounds.
40:13And to find out if it was worth all the effort...
40:19We're heading out of Munich to the breathtaking Bavarian mountains
40:23to see if our precision tweaks and upgrades make our M3 feel factory fresh.
40:28Oh my God, I'm in love!
40:37Oh, look at that!
40:40It's the Bavarian countryside this car was tuned for.
40:44We've turned the clock back 35 years on this icon of the 1980s.
40:50It just feels so good. It sounds good.
40:53It feels clean. It feels fresh. It feels like a modern car, doesn't it?
40:58And breathed new life into one of the greatest German cars of all time.
41:05This is intoxicating. What a car.
41:11Now Mike's got that out of his system.
41:13Have those tweaks of the differential solved that whining noise?
41:18First and foremost, how quiet is it?
41:20It's like a... it's cathedral quiet.
41:23Yes, and there's no more noise coming from the diff.
41:25You'll also notice as you jump on the brakes into this corner...
41:31Oh, yes!
41:32No more brake judder.
41:33Oh, they are silky smooth.
41:35Yes, they are.
41:36That is wonderful.
41:38Oh, mate, you've done such brilliant work on this car.
41:41You should rightfully be so proud of yourself.
41:45I know the people at BMW Classic are really pleased.
41:49So much so that they put, you know, a BMW Classic stamp in our service book.
41:53Yeah, exactly.
41:54It's just brilliant.
41:55I mean, the thing about this car was when we bought it, it was already a good car.
42:00A good car's not enough, is it, in this space?
42:02It's got to be a great car.
42:03And to make it a great car, you've got to go above and beyond the kind of levels that most people would normally go to.
42:10And that's what we've done.
42:11If you're spending tens of thousands of pounds on a vehicle like this, it has to be spot on.
42:19It has to stand up to scrutiny.
42:21And that's what you've had to do with this.
42:23Yeah.
42:24And by doing it, you've just made this car so very special.
42:30There are not many of these things left.
42:32And to have one in this condition is so rare and so special that it feels like there's an enormous sense of pride behind what we've just done.
42:39So I've had it advertised out there whilst we've been working on it.
42:44I've had a bit of interest.
42:46So there is hope that this car is going to return us a tiny little profit.
42:51And I'll be honest with you, I'm happy with that.
42:53I'm just happy that we got to experience this car in Germany.
42:58I can't believe we've got to sell it.
43:00This is unflipping believable.
43:04So just to be clear, you didn't quite like it.
43:07Oh my God, I'm so in love.
43:16And sell it we did.
43:18Not for quite as much as we'd hoped for, but sometimes restoring a classic to its former glory is payment enough.
43:25Yeah, I mean look, we can fix most things, but maybe not the classic car market, eh?
43:30Tell you what though, time for another sausage.
43:32Yeah, Peter.
43:33Yeah.
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