Direct link - https://youtu.be/gDQbHc3JqR8
A new episode is here! It's test drive time for the new engine.
Took me a bit longer to make this video, I was chasing my tail for 2 days troubleshooting the check engine light and then I wanted to make sure the new engine is indeed going to last.
I ordered a bunch...
Successfully went on a strawberry run with the mighty Alpina!
Happy to report that this time around it survived the test drive and then some! I've put 320 km (200 miles) on the B7 so far and the engine sounds great. Runs and pulls clean, I've done 3 oil changes and the engine seems to be breaking in nicely. I even went back to the same place we started knocking last time. :D
I did...
Here we go again! Another engine built for project Chicago in this classic wrench-fest episode.
Took me longer to make this video, but it was a lot of work. Hopefully this one lasts longer which we'll find out in the next episode.
In other happy news, E30 320i, project Marbais is back from Poland and looking mint again! As if nothing ever happened. There will be a video on it ...
2022-06-01 11:25:29 +0000 UTC View Post
The supercharged turd is alive and kicking again!
Finished buttoning up everything this morning, took a deep breath and pressed the start button. Fired up and worked perfectly from the get go!
There's still ways to go as we saw with the previous engine, but gonna savor this victory for now.
I'm starting to edit the video tonight, should be out some time next week. Got a to...
Direct link - https://youtu.be/TrBLgmGdVVM
Here we go! New episode on project Chicago!
After a couple of bad Alpina H1 engines, I ended up buying a stock N62B44 engine and made some interesting discoveries. You'll have to watch and see, but we have a solid plan on how to fix it!
This time around, I'm consid...
Here we go, good old, classic wrench-fest episode on the E39 M5 :D
Had a few things to do so I decided to make a video on it. Along the way, I found some surprises and it turned out to be more work than I planned, but it made for more content which is great.
Naturally, we finish off with Autobahn and countryside driving.
Regarding the Alpina, I stripped N62B44 engi...
2022-05-08 23:12:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Got some updates for you.
I went on Sunday to see another used Alpina H1 engine (an hour and a half away from me) with a verified 160k km (90k miles).
You'll be shocked to hear this, but that one is bad as well. In fact, it's the worst one I've come across yet (pics above). 7 out of 8 cylinders are scored! I repeat 7!
Felt kinda sorry for the guy as he bought it 2 years ago fro...
And the news is not good.
It arrived rather quickly and yesterday I unpacked it, started filming and taking a closer look.
I removed all of the spark plugs so I can look inside the cylinders. Nothing too horrible at first, but the engine has heavy carbon deposits on the pistons and valves. Then I tried to turn it over by hand, it moved a bit and then it was stuck.
I though...
2022-04-30 13:27:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Here it is, a project that no one was expecting!
I posted a teaser on Instagram and I think no one is expecting or hoping for an SUV, haha.
That being said, I'm not a fan of them either, but somehow this one ended up being a lot nicer and cleaner than I initially thought.
That burbly V8 is wonderful and the exhaust note actually sounds nicer on idle than Alpina.
Shouldn'...
2022-04-28 22:23:30 +0000 UTC View Post
I give you project X5!
Honestly, didn't want or expect an SUV in the fleet, but my girlfriend loves the X5. When I jokingly showed her this one, she said that's the car for me and actually insisted that we go and see it. And she never gets excited about cars!
So I bought it for her right before we went on vacation. It's a 2009 E70 X5 V8 4.8i, N62B48 355PS (Alpina engine is based o...
Here is the aftermath.
Sadly, that beautiful engine didn't last long. Why and how are explained in the video.
I'm not mad or upset, just disappointed cause a ton of time and money went into it. Yet another hard lesson learned, but here you can see the main reason why I try to do everything myself and not rely on someone else.
Since filming the outro, I pretty much ch...
2022-04-23 20:45:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Unfortunately, Alpina is dead, again!
In short, the engine suffered catastrophic damage due to the block not being sleeved properly.
After the test drive, I found metal shavings in the oil filter housing so I thought it spun a bearing. Before pulling the engine out, I decided to do a visual inspection of the cylinders and if everything looks good, do a compression test.&...
2022-04-21 00:12:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Well, the saga continues. Don't read further if you don't want spoilers.
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What was supposed to be a pleasant first drive and a beautiful day, turned into a disaster.
I covered around 100 km with the car and everything was going swimmingly, up until it didn't.
I noticed a knocking sound from the engine and I stopped to assess the situation and called a...
2022-04-18 17:52:56 +0000 UTC View Post
The first drive was going great, up until the point it didn't.
I'll save the good stuff for tonight's episode, but sadly, it's serious. Anywho, I shall fix it again!
Direct link - https://youtu.be/-rZpYcAqqLM
Buongiorno from Italia!
Part 6 of project Chicago is here. This is the one, the big nerve wrecking moment and pushing the start button for the first time.
Thank you all for your support and helping to save this supercharged beast!
2022-04-02 09:07:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Part 5 of project Chicago!
In this episode, we are reinstalling the engine and transmission back in the car. There was so much work to be done here it simply couldn't fit all in one video in the end.
I'm already editing the next one where we will start the car so hopefully it won't be too far behind.
Hope you enjoy it!
2022-03-27 23:01:19 +0000 UTC View Post
If you don't want spoilers before the next episode comes, stop reading here and don't watch the video. :)
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Link - https://youtu.be/P7mMpk4yETI
Since the release of the last episode, I've been working 13 days straight on the Alpina to put everything back together. 2022-03-25 20:37:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link - https://youtu.be/lb8DY75oEQI
Here we go, part 4 of project Chicago! Full engine rebuild!
This was a ton of fun, a great learning experience and something I wouldn't mind doing again on another project.
Hope you like it! I'm gonna get busy putting this thing back into the car. The next episode s...
I'm editing the video as I write this, but wanted to share a few pics of the fully rebuilt Alpina H1 V8 supercharged engine!
Pretty big moment here. I had a properly good time putting this thing back together and thoroughly enjoyed every moment! Hopefully it'll work, lol.
Anyway, it's going to be a very long technical video, start to finish assembly from the bare block to putting ...
Just wanted to give you a little update on the Alpina and share some pictures of the engine rebuild.
We are starting with a bare block and reassembling the complete engine. Since it's not as simple as slapping parts together, it's going slowly as I'm triple-checking everything along the way to make sure it's assembled properly and all clearances are on point.
So far it's going grea...
2022-03-06 19:39:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Welcome to a rather fascinating episode!
Where do I even start here? Grab snacks and get comfy while we tour this place and touch cars that haven't been touched in 20, 30 years.
Fernando, the guy in the video that's giving us a tour of this crazy place, wrote to me back in December. After seeing pictures, it was clear as day I had to go film and explore this place!
Too...
Here we go, part 8 of project Karlsruhe has landed!
The transformation is now complete. This engine now runs as well as it looks!
Very happy with the end result and I'm super motivated to continue and finish this project.
The next video is going to be a tour of a defunct BMW dealership in Tarragona. I had a properly amazing time in Spain and that video is going to be very fascin...
Direct link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0poXkM-dFDI
Part 7 of project Karlsruhe has landed! Feels like it's been forever since I worked on this car so I included a little recap at the beginning.
I was planning to make this one episode from start to finish and have the car running by the end of ...
2022-02-09 19:56:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Got all sorts of updates coming your way!
First of all, Luis picked up his new E39 528i Touring Individual. He came with his girlfriend and drove it home. Lovely young fella, he's super excited about the car which was great to see and he has plans to fix it up. He already washed it and detailed the interior. Makes me really happy that it went to a good home where it will be put to ...
First of all, thank you all for your lovely comments! It's pretty clear that whoever ends up with the E39, it's going to get a lot of love and care.
We have a whopping total of 70 Patreons that expressed their interest in taking the car. I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised that many people are interested in taking an old broken BMW, haha.
Anyway, having you read through 70 comments a...
Buckle up for a classic, hour long all-wrenching episode on project Raleigh!
This crazy V10 thing has become, alongside E39 M5, my favorite car in the fleet. Don't know what I love more, wrenching on it, driving it or looking at it.
It's a feat of engineering that BMW or any other car manufacturer won't be able to repeat and I thoroughly enjoy working on it. It's now fully mechani...
Alright, turns out we have a lot more people interested than I thought in Timo's E39. I was thinking that we randomly pick someone, but as I was typing this, I got a notification that raffles and giveaways based on chance are forbidden on Patreon. Therefore, we can't do that.
What we can do and what's allowed according to their guidelines, is that you, Patreons, decide who's going ...
Howdy and happy new year, everyone!
Yes, it's been a while since I posted but as you know, I was on vacation for 2 weeks and when I came back, I just had a lot to do around the workshop and we actually have some exciting news there!
I was planning to take project Castellón, E21 323i to a dyno in this video, but sadly I couldn't get an appointment in time. So instead we troublesho...
Here's something to keep you afloat until I'm back from vacation. :)
We are not wrenching on cars in this one, but hopefully you still find it interesting.
I want to give a huge thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I'm truly grateful for all of you!
Some quick update on project Marbais, the E30. Today insurance examiner came by, looked at the car, took pictures and ...
I'm not even sure how to start. I'm absolutely heartbroken, ashamed and feel like I've let everyone watching this down. You'll understand as you come to the end of the video and stop reading here if you don't want to read spoilers.
Not how I imagined this going. Think I pushed myself too hard, rushing to finish the project, rushing to finish the video. Tha...
2021-12-16 23:45:32 +0000 UTC View Post