13x11 - 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo

[bunniefuu]

If you're after a coupé with an excess
of luxury and power, then here you go.

The 1983 Mercedes 500 SEC.

Mercedes of this
generation, I reckon probably

one of the finest cars
ever made in the world.

A 5.0-litre V8 capable
of propelling this

heavyweight from 0 to


Wicked!

But after 30 years, things
may have slowed a little.

It's just lacking in certain departments.

They're not the cheapest to maintain, so
it's important to find the right example.

It's more of a kind of an 80s dentist car.

What?

Can we not only restore
this king of the auto

barn to its former
glory, but improve on it?

There are a few issues.

And still eke out a profit.

I've got to somehow
drag that car back to life

and make it the best
possible example of it ever.

There you go.

Good luck, I'll see you tomorrow.

So after a little bit of
searching, I think I've

found a really good
deal on a true 80s classic.

A car that's got all the things
that me and Ed are looking for.

Those rakish, pillarless coupé lines.

And it is a Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC.

The reason I'm excited about
going to see this car is because

this is one of the great
unloved cars of a generation.

They're undervalued, but I
think they are fantastic cars.

And this one seems like a really good deal.

Costs range from a few
thousand dollars to the mid-teens.

I'm about to check out one that's
been listed at five thousand dollars.

A little over three thousand pounds.

Which is a really keen price.

They usually come with these bulletproof
reliability stories, these cars.

But there are a few
potential areas to look out for.

Like slip in transmission, tired
suspension and sunburned paint.

And usually if anything goes wrong on those
cars, it costs a fortune to put it right.

There are just fewer and fewer people
who are intimate with these early Mercedes.

Luckily, I have Ed.

Which means I also have an
opportunity to make a profit.

This looks like the address.

And that looks like the car.

Are you Walter?

Hey.

How you doing?

Mike.

I am Mike, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you Mike.

You must have heard me come up.

I did.

Wow, look at your cars.

California hot rods.

But I haven't come to see these two.

I've come to see this.

Well that's the one that's for sale.

These are not for sale.

Right.

Right, gotcha.

What can you tell me about it?

How long you had it?

Mike, I bought it fifteen years ago.

And I had it four or five years.

Sold it to a very good friend.

He had it ten years.

He moved and I bought it back.

Wow, so you've had the car twice.

I've owned it twice.

That's great.

It's like a bad penny.

Is it really like a bad penny?

Or a good penny?

If you liked it once, you must have
liked it again the second time around.

It's a wonderful car.

Okay.

And why are you selling it?

I prefer the older cars, Mike.

So you just want to get rid of this?

I just don't need it.

Yeah.

Well, what a great looking car.

It may have been the best
car in the world in 1983.

It has quite a reputation for that.

It is a very nice car.

Well, I've always said I think they're
one of the finest built automobiles ever.

And I'm hoping that
some of that legacy is still

there in this car because
it's over 30 years of age.

So I want to have a good look around
it from front to back, if you don't mind.

Not at all.

Should we pop the hood?

Let's pop the hood.

Wow, look at that.

That wonderful Mercedes V8 engine.

It looks absolutely, totally original.

I mean the whole thing.

It's very original.

This was a European car,
so it has smaller bumpers.

Yeah, you had to get these
on grey import, didn't you?

This was a grey car.

It was imported in America in 1983.

Maybe while we've got the
hood up, we can hear it turn over.

Well, we can, but it'll turn
over, but it won't turn over

smoothly because it seems to
have a little miss this morning.

It does here.

Okay, well, you know,
well, there's eight cylinders.

It could be a lead, it could be a plug, it
could be bad fuel, but let's have a listen.

Could be anything really.

Sounds alright.

Doesn't sound too bad.

Oh yeah, I can start to, it's
got a little bit of a flutter, yeah?

I love this.

You know, it's this bit that's
missing that I really like.

It's this rakish look and these pillarless
coupe lines that just set this car apart.

Well, let's have a look inside.

Looks good.

Very nice indeed.

Exactly what you would
expect, a quality interior,

nice leather, got that
wooden burr on the dashboard.

Some of it's cracked, I
gather that's a Californian sign.

California sign, I suspect.

It's got everything,
electric seats, cruise

control, electric windows
all the way round.

Round the back, it looks very nice.

What's the trunk like?

Huge, look at the size of that.

This is a beautifully presented car.

Does it drive?

It does drive, Mike,
maybe on six cylinders.

Do you mind if I take it for a test drive?

Please do, enjoy.

Oh, wonderful.

I've forgotten just how
good these cars are.

Mercedes of this generation,
they are just so well made.

I reckon probably one of the
finest cars ever made in the world.

These were originally $60,000.

That's over $135,000 in today's money.

One of the unique
selling points of the SEC is

the fact that you can
roll down both windows.

Look at that.

And you get this wicked pillarless coupe.

It means that you've got no bead pillar
that's going to give you a blind spot.

You can just hang out
the window and cruise.

If I was to wind back the roof,
it'd be like I was in a convertible.

Wicked.

However, this one is
not about its problems.

It's lost its shine, really.

You know, all of that German
build quality is still there.

But unfortunately, it's just
lacking in certain departments.

And they're important things.

Number one is the brakes.

They feel really spongy.

There it is, a little clunk.

But the real risk with this car is that
sublime 5 litre V8 powerful engine.

This one is only about a V6, possibly a V7.

It seems to be missing on
one or two of the cylinders.

It could be something
really seriously wrong.

However, it could be just
a couple of fouled up plugs.

It could be a broken down lead.

But then when you think about
it, this car isn't a lot of money.

And if I was to get it a bit cheaper, I
know that the risk would be minimal.

So what do you think?

Well, it's back in one piece.

My main issue with this car is that
engine is lacking a whole heap of power.

I couldn't really find out whether this
car drives down the road as it should do.

And that was a bit of a problem.

So what could be your best number?

$2,500.

Yes, $2,500.

Hold that in your hand.

I just kind of got myself an SCC.

I don't believe it.

Thank you very much.

I've got some grand plans for
this car and they're kind of exciting.

See, this car is fundamentally
the same as an AMG SCC.

I've currently seen one
advertised out there for $140,000.

I'm not saying this is ever
going to be an AMG car.

But an AMG tribute car, it could be.

If we was to get this car as
close as we can to a tribute car,

I'd definitely know there'd
be a profit in it for us.

And that is why I think
this car is worth the gamble.

AMG is the performance
division of Mercedes-Benz.

Those three letters refer to
the founders of the company,

Borthorick and Melger,

and the birthplace of
Borthorick, Rosapache.

Hang on, hang on.

When you said pillarless coupe,

I was thinking more along the
lines of a Malibu or a Charger.

I was even getting excited
about the idea of an AMC Marlin.

This is the ultimate pillarless coupe.

This is the one, a Mercedes-Benz 500 SCC.

The thing is, it's got the lines.

It just hasn't kind of got
the muscle I was hoping for.

It's more of a kind of an 80s dentist car.

Right, what I'm seeing is this.

First and foremost,
under the bonnet of this car

lies that bad boy.

There you go.

That is your Mercedes-Benz V8 engine.

That is pretty cool.

Now, you need to cast
your mind back to a time

when there was these two young
engineers who worked for Mercedes-Benz.

One of them was called Orthrid,
and the other one was called Melger.

They were AMG.

Mm-hmm.

But this isn't an AMG.

Not yet it isn't, but that's
what we're going to do with it.

We are going to turn this into an AMG car.

Okay.

What we're going to do.

is we're going to build the ultimate
tribute car to those two geniuses at AMG.

One of them was a misunderstood engineer.

The other one was a bit more
savvy and a bit more businesslike.

He knew what he was doing.

In fact, it sounds just like me and you.

But anyway, what we're going to do

is we're going to put the
wide body wheel arches on it.

We're going to put the AMG wheels.

You're going to do the AMG stuff
under the bonnet to the engine, you know,

get your spanners in there
and just make it happen.

Now, that I am more interested in,

but let's face it, they
didn't make very many

AMGs, and they made
even fewer parts for them.

Don't worry about that, because
the world of AMG and Mercedes-Benz

is vast out there online.

There's plenty of users, groups, clubs.

There's plenty of enthusiasts.

I'll find the parts.

Okay, well, let's talk about
the bit you have got, the car.

I mean, how does he drive?
What are we starting with?

Right, what we're starting
with is a 500 SEC V8.

Well, actually, it's more like a V7,
because one of the cylinders has dropped,

the brakes don't work,
the steering's a bit wonky.

Shall we get on with it?

Come on.

I've chosen the most
expensive car Mercedes-Benz

had to offer in 1983,
and that's the 500 SEC.

Mercedes of this generation.

Now, I reckon probably
one of the finest cars

ever made in the world.

And we've set out to pay tribute to
this once-independent tuner, AMG.

Now, Mike has decided to
send us on a mission to convert

our dentist car into a full-on
wide-bodied AMG tribute car.

Now, I'm well up for that idea, but
Mike also has complained about the fact

the engine didn't really
run right, so I've taken it

out, taken it apart, and
had a really good look inside.

Now, first off, I can actually see

the barrels and pistons
are all in really good Nick.

There's no scoring, there's
no damage anywhere.

So that's all fantastic.

The rest of the engine also
seems to be in pretty good Nick, too.

Now, the heads, on the other
hand, are a few tiny issues.

First of all, you can see there's a lot
of carbon deposits all over the valves.

Also, some of the spark plugs
were actually quite oiled up as well,

and there seemed to be air
leaking past the fuel injection seals.

Now, all of those problems

can cause the engine to run incorrectly,
but actually, it's all kind of irrelevant,

because when you think about
it, to do a proper AMG tribute car,

we need to improve the
performance of the engine

by actually putting on
proper, genuine AMG heads.

Now, I've sent Mike off to try and find
some original AMG heads with the camshafts,

and that's no easy task.

But the thing is,

if we're going to increase the performance
of the engine, we also need to think about

increasing the performance of the handling,

so I've also been doing
some suspension work.

If we just compare the old
parts with the AMG upgrades,

it's actually quite clear to
see some of the differences.

First of all, you can
see that the new spring

is about an inch and a
half shorter than the old one.

It's also slightly thicker in diameter,

of course, that makes the spring stiffer,
helps compensate for the lack of coils,

but also, it means that the car is just
going to sit on the road much more nicely.

It's going to lower the center of gravity,
it's going to lower the roll centers,

and of course, the car's
going to look better as well.

Now, that's coupled with
a custom-designed shock,

which has been specially
tuned to work with that spring,

and of course, the way the dynamics
of the suspension are supposed to work.

Now, moving on to the brakes, you can see
this is our standard 500 SEC brake disc.

It's vented, which means
it's already going to have

quite a good bit of stopping power going
on, but if we now compare it to our new one,

you can see the new one is
actually slightly bigger in diameter.

It actually comes from a 560 SEC,

and of course, that extra bit of diameter
gives you a little bit more leverage,

which makes it slightly
easier to stop the car.

But better than that, if
you look at the calipers,

you can see this caliper
has got a single pot, that's

the original caliper, but the
new one has got twin pots,

so it's actually got two
sl*ve cylinders either side.

Now, because you have more surface area,

you have more mechanical advantage,

and you couple that with the
extra diameter of the new disc,

then of course, you've got
much better stopping power,

and that's really going
to help to slow down

all those extra horses we're
going to get from the engine.

Right, so we're now down to
the upright, the stub axle on there,

and you can see that
both the bottom ball joint

and the top ball joint
do need to be replaced,

because they are both quite perished.

But then, once all this is done,

we'll have the beginnings, or the foundations,
of a great little suspension setup.

To ensure we take full advantage of
our suspension and brake upgrades,

it's essential we replace
all the tired rubber

bushes that make up
our coupe's foundation.

Early AMG parts are
near impossible to source,

so here we found a modern equivalent.

The suspension and
brakes set us back $1186.

Now, my work isn't going to stop here,

as I still have some work to
do on the back end of the car,

but you can really see already that
it's going to make a big difference.

But actually, it's going to
be how these modifications

feel on the road that's going
to be the real difference.

With the ride sorted, we can turn our
attention to the engine performance.

Mike's managed to find some
authentic AMG heads online.

He says they're fine,

which is why I've sent them here to
some engine specialist called Motorworks.

I'm Ed.

I'm Cisco. Nice to meet you.
Welcome to Motorworks.

Thanks very much. We have a
look at these heads we've got there.

Yes.

Cool. Okay, so this is one of our heads.

This is one of the cylinder heads.

It's a partial AMG cylinder head.

Partial? That sounds worrying. Okay.

By partial, I mean a lot
of the major work to make

it an AMG cylinder head
has already been done.

As you can see, the porting
has already been done.

If you compare it to a
stock cylinder head port,

you can see how much material has
been removed off of your cylinder head.

The hard work has been done on this so far.
Correct.

So what needs to get done is we
need to lighten the valve spring retainers,

lighten the rocker arms,

and you have to switch the camshaft
to a more aggressive profile camshaft,

and the intake valve
diameter needs to be bigger.

So once you've changed the camshaft,

lightened all the little bits
and pieces, put on bigger

valves, and we're going
to get loads more airflow,

and of course, that's going
to give us way more power.

Yes, it is.

The next step is we're going
to throw this in the washer.

We're going to
pressure test the other

cylinder head, which
we've already taken apart.

Cool.

So Ed, now we're going
to plug up all the holes,

and we're going to put 55 PSI,

and that's just to ensure that
there's absolutely no cracks.

So really, we're putting the air where
the coolant would normally go, okay?

So we're now going to
dunk it into the water tank.

Correct.

Put up the air pressure
and see how we're doing.

So this is actually the moment of truth.

Yes, it is.

It looks good to me.

So that's great.

So there are no cracks, big or small.

That's fantastic news. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Having confirmed our heads are sound,

they're off to our high
temperature steam clean.

So these are all the parts from our head.

So this is the standard
cam, or the cam we used to

be had in our head already,
and this is the new one.

Now, I mean, to look at it straightaway,
you can't really tell much of a difference.

It does say AMG on the end here,

so clearly, you know, Mike
wasn't too far off the Mark,

but what essentially is
better about this one?

This camshaft that we're going to be
using has a more aggressive profile to it,

which is going to give you more lift

and more duration on the valve.

The other thing I was talking to
you about was the spring retainer.

This is the stock valve spring retainer.

versus the valve spring retainer
that we've already lightened.

You can see the difference.

Yeah, so there's like a radius on this one
here and a bit of a shoulder on that side,

and then also there's a lot of material
removed from the top of that one as well.

So what kind of weight
saving do we make on this?

You're about 10.5 grams difference.

between... I mean, you can
kind of feel the difference,

but then, of course, there's
obviously eight of those, isn't there?

So that's quite a saving there, isn't it?

Wow.

The other part that we
have is the rocker arm,

and you can see the stock rocker arm

has these big flaps on the side, which
we've already removed on this one.

Okay, yes, so there's a huge
amount that's being machined

off there, and also it
feels different on the back.

I see you've taken off... Yes,
we also smoothed the back part.

Okay.

The valve that we're going to
be using is a stainless steel valve,

which the head diameter, as you can see
right here, it's a lot bigger... Wow, yes.

...than the stock valve.

So then you have all those
parts that have been lightened,

and, of course, that means
that when they're moving around,

they actually have less inertia
because they're lighter, and,

of course, that means you can
actually get some energy saving,

if you like.

We're going to get more
power going to the back wheels.

Yes, correct.

So you've still got to basically reassemble

the head with all this new stuff,

but, of course, you've still
got to cut the valve seats,

presumably to make the valve actually fit.

Correct, yes.

In that case, I'm going to leave you to it
because you've got a ton of work to do.

I don't want to get in your way.

Thank you very much, sir.

Cheers.

I've looked everywhere
for the parts we need,

and it's really not easy.

After searching around the
Internet for what seems like days,

I finally found all the parts

I've been looking for.

There's somebody on
here boasting about all these

AMG parts that he's
got ready for a tribute car.

It's the wheels,

the wheel arch extender
kits, the front splitter,

the rear spoiler, the interior,

absolutely everything I need.

Now, not for sale, though.

Let's see if I can change his mind.

Hello, is that Bob?

It is.

You've more or less got
everything that I'm looking for.

I'm interested in buying
them if you want to sell them.

I appreciate it, but I wouldn't be
interested in selling them at all.

It's been too many years
of accumulating the parts.

Have you got the car as well?

I don't have the car yet.

Why don't you just sell me the parts
for the car and then buy the car off me?

It's really a dream car of mine,

so I don't know if that would work for me.

I'm sorry.

If you just give me a
price, give me a number,

Chuck me out a number that will
make you want to sell these parts.

Come on, give me a number.

$15,000.

Done.

$15,000, and this is the deal.

I'll put them on the car,

and when you come to
see the car when it's finished,

if you don't want to buy the whole car,
I'll give you your $15,000 for the parts.

You got yourself a
deal, That is fantastic.

What a relief.

Listen, I was hoping to
buy some parts today.

I never thought I'd
find a customer as well.

Thank you, mate.

Thank you.

Ed is going to pull off that car, and
we are going to have one epic build.

And that build is going to be serious.

This is sacrilege.

Mate, how you doing?

Not too bad, sir.

I checked out those heads that
you got, and they're pretty nice.

Thank you very much.

They were a tough find.

I got to tell you.

Okay, well, I mean, they need a
bit of work, but it won't be too bad.

Okay, do you want some good news,
or do you want some really good news?

I think I'll have whichever
news you want to tell me first.

I found the parts that we
need for the AMG Tribute Car,

and I found a buyer for the
Tribute Car, all in one deal.

So what exactly have you promised him?

If he likes the car, he'll buy it from us.

And if we don't get our job correctly,

I have to buy the parts off
of him at exorbitant price.

So yet again, I've got to
somehow drag that car back to life,

and then obviously with
no budget at all pretty much,

I've then got to make it the
best possible example of it ever.

Yeah, there you go.
I knew you'd be on board.

Right, good luck. I'll see you tomorrow.

AMG began their journey
way back in the 60s,

improving Mercedes
performance mechanically.

They then started to turn their attention
to things like styling and aerodynamics,

offering a very simple front
spoiler just to reduce lift.

That then evolved into things like
side skirts and then rear aprons,

and of course ultimately
a rear spoiler on the boot.

What we have in front of us is
perhaps their most radical version.

It's the C126 wide body kit.

It's a whole load of fibreglass parts,

including replacement front
wings and these rear quarter flares.

Now the whole point of the flared arches

means you can actually
fit much wider wheels,

and of course that almost
doubles the tyre contact patch,

which means you improve not
only the styling, the aerodynamics,

but also the handling.

People say nothing
ventured, nothing gained,

and other people are
going to say this is sacrilege.

This is a $2,500 car I'm cutting into.

When it was AMG doing this, they
were slicing into a $135,000 vehicle.

Slightly more stressful, I'd imagine.

Well, I've now removed both the
outer skin and the inner skin as well,

so I now need to put back
some structural integrity.

What I'm going to do is
end up with a strip of metal.

I'll roll it to make sure it's the
right kind of arc shape, if you like.

It's actually going to come
from the inner wing in there.

I'll weld it in place all the way
to the out and join about here.

So I've chosen 16 Gauge sheet
metal steel for our inner Fender weld,

using a metal shear for the cleanest cut,

and then rolling to gradually
give me the arc I need.

Then I trim off the edge to give me a taper

before drilling the plug holes I
need for the welding process.

So this is my rolled piece of steel.

You can see all the holes down one side.

That's how I can plug
weld it to the Mercedes.

Now I need to attach it to the car.

I'm going to use these rather
clever little things called Clicos.

They're rather like reusable pot rivets.

Just pop it into this
little pair of pliers here,

and then you can see,
if you look at the tip,

actually as I crush it, it gets narrower,

and of course that means
I can get it through a hole,

and then when I release,
then those little jaws open up,

and of course that
holds everything in place.

It's rather clever.

Right, so all the welding is now complete,

so finally our car has now
got back its structural integrity.

So the next thing I can do
is actually have a go at fitting.

I'll just hold it roughly in position,

make sure I've got the
filler cap in the right place.

You can see there's a bit of a gap there,

and that's because our
little metal wing there

needs to be trimmed
just a little bit more.

I'll take it easy until it fits perfectly.

Well, that is great, because
now all the hard work is done.

All I have to do is prepare the metal,
and then I can bond this panel in position.

With our AMG spec heads complete,

I've sent them back to check if
all that AMG magic has paid off.

And here's the man
himself, Tom from Port Flow.

How are you, Tom? You all right?

Good to see you.

So, now, we've done some
work on that AMG head,

but I do believe you've got the
original SCC head here as well.

Yeah, it's right here.

Oh, that one, okay.

Have you put this on the bench already?

Yeah, we flow tested it already.

You flow tested that
so you've got a measure

from it, so where's the
new one that Ed sent down?

It's right here.

On the bench, ready to go.

Look at that, it's looking good.

So, what is a flow bench?

Well, this thing is going
to measure how much

air goes through this
port and past the valve.

Right, so the port we've opened up,

we've made those a little bit bigger.

We've also opened up the
valves and made those a bit bigger.

The idea is you get more air in,

more fuel in, bigger bang, faster car.

Are we ready to go with this?

We need a little hearing protection.

In the early days of AMG,

they took what Mercedes manufactured

and massaged that to
accomplish their performance goals.

I want to confirm this
performance with flow bench testing.

Opening the valves up.

An airflow bench simulates
the airflow through the engine.

We're testing the internal
aerodynamic qualities of the head.

Basically, how smoothly can you get
air in and out of the combustion chamber?

Is that it? We're done, Tom?

Yep.

The old SEC head, what was
the measurement on that then?

Can we look at a graph of where that is?

Right, so that's the pink line, all right,

and I can see that was
quite impressive as it was.

So what about the new improved one?

It is now.

Oh, yes, look at that.

You can see where it goes up in increments.

Not a great improvement down the lower end,

but once it gets into the
mid-range and the higher end,

a significant improvement.

Tom, I can't thank you enough.
You're a top man.

I've completed the passenger side rear
quarter and now fitted the front wings.

Only one panel left to
complete our transformation.

Our fibreglass panel is now
ready to be bonded in position.

You'll notice there's a whole load of
extra holes all the way around the panel,

and that's because I need to hold it
in position as the panel bond cures.

Now, the thing is, if I
was to use the Clicos,

of course, they become a permanent
feature once it's actually gone off.

So instead, I'm using tech
screws because they are sacrificial

but also should be able to wind
them out once everything's dried.

Once this stuff goes off,
it is absolutely forever.

So I've got to get this right first time.

Well, this is now going to
take about 24 hours to cure.

I can then remove all of the
screws and then with a skimmer filler,

actually blend the new
fibreglass panel with the

original bodywork, and
then it's off to the body shop.

I've been looking everywhere
from California to Stuttgart

to go and find an exhaust
system for our AMG tribute car.

Do you know what? I can't find one.

And in the world of AMG or tribute world,

nobody out there has got a complete
exhaust system that they want to sell,

and that's been a
little bit difficult for me.

So I've done the second best thing.

I've borrowed an authentic
AMG exhaust system,

and I've brought it down to
my friends here at Magniflow.

They're going to 3D scan it, and they're
going to replicate that exhaust exactly.

And believe it or not, they're
even going to improve on it.

I can't wait.

Richard, how are you?

Hey, how are you, sir?

Oh, let me fist-bump you.

Is this my exhaust system?

Yep, I've got most of the parts here.

We've got one of them
already up in the 3D scanner.

Perfect, okay.

But I want to just kind of go over
what we're doing for the project.

What we're going to do is replicate the
whole AMG authentic exhaust system.

So just talk me through it.
How does that work?

Well, first thing's first.

We put it up on the 3D scanner,
and we create a plot map.

So I'll capture all the
data from the bends,

the size of the mufflers, the hangers, all
the way down to the length and the tips.

So you can replicate the
whole exhaust system.

without replicating some
of the defects like this.

That's the great part.

So once we've digitized it, we
can actually make some changes.

So if we need to correct for some,

it looks like an impact there, or if we
want to make any other changes to the system

to accommodate whatever you
need, we can do that all in CAD.

Perfect. Right, 3D scanner.

Yes, sir.

Wow.

Well, I've never seen
anything like it before.

It's very high-tech.

I see you've got our headers,

or the headers off the
authentic AMG, but not my head.

So what you're seeing is
the actual scan process,

and it's sending out basically

a large amount of laser
components that are reflecting

off the object going
back to provide distance.

And as it's rotating, it's
taking that image as it sees,

and it's creating a 3D model.

So we get an exact replica of what's here,

now put into the machine,
as a bunch of plots.

So you can imagine millions of little dots

that are in there that we'll
have to actually assemble

into creating what is a actual 3D
model of tubes and a cylinder head.

So what we've created is a visualization.

It doesn't really have
any dimensioning on it.

So the next phase is we take
all those little individual plots,

and we assign them to
actual dimensions and sizes

and shapes, which we
do right behind us here.

Fantastic. Look at that.

You can see the same
model that we've created,

and now we can actually see,
as you see there, the flange,

and we've got some dimensions for the bolt
spread, so we can actually recreate that.

I gotcha.

So this machine actually comes
up with the real fundamental data

that you can send through to the machines
to start cutting, bending, manipulating.

Correct.

It's awesome.

See the boys busy at work, Richard?

Yep.

Always good to see.

So it's all done by a computer.

Correct.

How many bends in this bit of pipe?

Well, as you can see here, it's two bends.

Most of the parts in the head are
gonna be one and two bends apiece.

So we already combined the two
segmented bends that the factory had.

The mandrel, you can see, is
already pulling apart that first one.

It's gonna find the distance
between the second bend,

come back, pull that one, and
pull the second bend out as well.

Can I see it?

That is...

That's incredible, isn't it?

Even with all the technology
being employed here today,

the final finishes still need skilled
craftsmen to bring the design home.

So here we have it.

We've got everything laid out,
Jose's got all the pipe profiles

kind of tacked in, and we've
got the mufflers, the tube bends,

and obviously everything
from inlet all the way to tailpipe.

I can see replicated the shape exactly.

The only difference I can see
is the difference in muffler size.

Why is that?

Well, you'd ask for
something with a little bit

more sound to it that's
got a little bit more voice.

So what we've done is we've
put an actual X-pipe muffler

to help cancel some of that
sound but reduce the body size

so that we can get a little
bit more voice out of it.

Richard, that looks absolutely fantastic.

I really do appreciate the work.

But I can see at the
moment it's just tack welded.

There's still plenty of welding to finish
it off, so I'd best just leave you to it.

All right, indeed.

Our coupe is now back from the paint shop,

and our new flared wheel
arches are looking resplendent

in their fresh coat of paint.

Mike has also revealed our predicament.

If Bob doesn't like the finished product,

then we're going to be in
a serious financial pickle.

So I guess the pressure is on, and
the devil will definitely be in the detail.

Now, I've already fitted.

Our wonderful 5-liter AMG
spec engine is now in position,

and attached to that are the headers
that Mike had specially engineered for us.

Now, I've still got the rest of the
exhaust to finish, but before I do that,

a little bit more fiddling
in the engine bay.

Buyers of these exclusive custom Mercedes

range from wealthy
oil families to celebrities

to those that wanted the ultimate in
performance and design at the time.

Hard to imagine what started
as two guys in their garage

which ultimately resulted
in Formula 1 success.

Two Constructors
Championships and counting.

The challenge for anyone tackling a tribute

or even restoring the genuine
item is sourcing the bits.

With the help of Bob's years of collecting

and a core group of AMG enthusiasts,

we were able to take
on a project such as this.

The wheels Bob has
chosen are one of two designs

offered by AMG for their
wide-bodied conversions.

The design was slightly flawed in
that a questionable amount of material

was left between the centre
pole and the wheel bolt holes,

making these susceptible to cracking,

often due to poorly balanced wheels
and over-torquing of the wheel bolts.

So it's imperative to torque the wheel
bolts by hand to 24 foot-pounds each,

or 32.5 Newton meters,

and then check them often.

And one very important thing to note, if
you look at the seat of the bolt head there,

you can see that this one is actually
kind of ball-shaped or spherical,

whereas if you compare it to some
others, which are actually conical.

Now, in general, pretty much,

the spherical one is
used by the European cars

and the conical is used by American cars,
a few exceptions, but that's basically it.

But it's vitally important that you
never, ever, ever get these two mixed up.

So you need to check
your wheels very carefully

to make sure that your bolts
or nuts match the wheels.

We have thrown pretty much
everything that was available

in the 1983 AMG catalogue
at our Tribute Mercedes,

and it now looks absolutely stunning.

The finishing touch is
going to be these AMG seats.

Let's hope Bob likes the results.

I set out to find the ideal 500 SEC.

And that looks like the car.

With which to create our own AMG Tribute.

This is the ultimate pinless coupe.

It's more of a kind of an 80s dentist car.

What?

Parts were hard to find,
but I managed to strike

a deal, which really
put the pressure on Ed.

With no budget at all, pretty much,

I've then got to make it the
best possible example of it ever.

Here? There you go.

I'll see you tomorrow.

With AMG spec heads and exhaust system,

small suspension, Bob's
wide-body kit and wheels,

I think we may have built something that
would make Allthread and Melcher proud.

I just hope Bob agrees.

The car itself cost $2,500.

The heads came to $2,325.

Suspension and brakes, $1,186.

The exhaust system, $1,045.

$407 on the interior, $2,530 for the paint
job, and $169 for general maintenance.

A grand total of $10,162.

Around £7,000 and 79 man hours of work.

And that doesn't include the
$15,000 Bob quoted for his parts.

We can't do all this work

and simply take it for
a spin round the block.

We need to take our
creation to a racetrack.

Now we're talking.

Oh, will you look at that?

Is that even the same car?

Oh, that's incredible.

Whoa. Seriously.

Have you seen this thing?

Oh, yeah, I just drove it here.

No, have you really seen it?

That is the ultimate pillarless coupé.

Well, it's all right, isn't it?

All right.

You are the master of understatement.

It's better and all right.

I mean, look at it, Ed.

And look at that dark blue paintwork.

It's so inky.

I could just dive in and go for a swim.

It's definitely come a long way.

It's come miles, hasn't it?

Just look at it.

You've created the ultimate
AMG classic wide boy.

Well done.

I love these wide wheel arches.

They add so much to the design of the car.

And that's to allow for the
bigger tyres, both front and rear.

So we've now got
nine-inch rims on the front.

We've got ten-inch rims on the back.

And, of course, that widens the track.

So it's now four inches wider on the
front and six inches wider on the back.

So the car's been really planted.

Oh, I absolutely love it.

I mean, it is the ultimate package.

Well, hopefully
you'll like it under the

bonnet as well, because
it's now pretty tidy.

And I took the Liberty of
tidying it up while I was actually

swapping out those heads and
fitting those headers of yours.

Oh, look at that.

Five litre V8.

That is spectacular.

That is pretty gorgeous.

In fact, really, the whole car is no longer

the dentist's car you turned
up to the workshop with, is it?

Oh, no, not unless the dentist
is a Jewel thief and he's just

done a big heist and he's making
his getaway on an autobomb.

It looks amazing, but it sounded great too.

When you rolled up, it had a
really throaty note to the exhaust.

And it sounds like it's got
some muscle under the bonnet.

Well, that custom-made AMG spec exhaust

really does now have the
right sound image as well.

Perfect. I've got to try it.

Sure.

Listen to that noise.

This isn't a lightweight car.

This is a great big German bruiser.

And what we've got now is a car that picks
up its skirt and sprints for the horizon.

This is one rapid, great big saloon car.

Or coupe, shall I say.

And this car's got some tug as well.

Whoa, it just hauls this car, keeps going.

Oh, wow!

What a difference.
You can really feel that extra horsepower

under the bonnet. You can also hear it
coming out of that fantastic exhaust system.

This car is where it should be.

Quick, powerful and noisy.

I can put this car wherever I like.

If I want to go into
this tight right-hander

and sweep it into a
left, I'm going to do it.

It doesn't matter. The car will take it.

Hit the accelerator.

You can feel it gulp in the air.

Greedy engine.

And it's shoving it out
that big exhaust pipe.

This is what this car was made for.

Now, Mike is really giving it his all,

but you can see the Mercedes actually seems
to go around the corner slightly slower

than it really is going, and that's because
it's so beautifully planted on the track.

And that's really because
we lowered the car

by one and a half inches,
but on stiffer Springs as well.

That stops it rolling
around so much as well.

Brilliant.

Edd China, you genius.

This is a proper Mercedes hot rod.

It's going to go on to
wonderful things, this car.

We believe we built a
beautiful AMG tribute,

but Bob's been building this car
in his mind for the last 20 years.

I hope we can live up to his expectations.

Sounds good too, right?

Well done.

How cool was that?

Well, that is the way I
like to turn up to work.

How are you?

Great.

Bob, good to see you.

Ariana, great to see you too.

Will, what do you think?

Beyond my wildest expectations.

Seriously?

This is great.

It's a good start.

It's a really good start.

I mean, the rims, the highly
polished rims, that's awesome.

Go on, suck it all in.

Wow.

And don't forget, Bob,

you're going to need these
to take it for a test drive.

Right now?

Right now, go and enjoy it.

That's what it's there for.

All right.

Now we need to sell this car.

You've done a really complicated
deal, so what's the story?

Well, you think it's
complicated, but it's all

up there in my brain,
and it works like this.

The car we bought cheap for just $2,500.

Yes, but then we spent a
whole ton of money doing it up.

The money we put into it is $7,500,

so the car Rose $10,000.

And then there are the
parts that he gave us.

Well, Bob was being cheeky.

He wants $15,000 for
the price of these parts,

and he was pushing
it there with a price,

but, you know, we wouldn't
have got the car finished.

So now the car owes us $25,000.

Right.

I can sell that car on the open
market for well over $30,000.

So this is the deal.

I'm going to say to him,

either I give him $15,000 in
cash and he can walk away,

or he gives us $16,000
and he keeps the car.

That way, me and you, we get a $6,000
profit, which is around 4,000 pounds.

It's not bad, is it?

No, and it sounds ever so slightly simpler
than I was imagining it was going to be.

Yes.

I know it's complicated,
but it's all up there.

Then you just leave it to
me, son, and I'll do my thing.

LAUGHTER He's like
a kid in a candy store.

Well, so far, it seems to
be going my way, doesn't it,

because they had a
positive reaction to the car

when they first see
it, very much like I did.

Now they've been for
a good test drive on a

racetrack and they've
come back full of smiles.

So then, guys, look at those faces!

Look at the smiles!

So how do you think it's gone so far?

Do you like the car?

It's beautiful. She's beautiful.

Do you like the way it drives?

It drives great.

So is this the car that you
always intended to have?

Mike, this is the car I've been
building in my mind for the last 20 years.

Really?

Yes.

Perfect! That's even better.

OK, well, look, it's a
little bit complicated

when we work out the
deal because you've got.

$15,000 of your parts
invested into that car.

But I get it.

It was a gamble for me
and a gamble for you.

For the parts that are
invested in that car,

I'll give you your $15,000 cash
right now and you can walk away.

Because I know I can
sell this car quite easily

on the open market, or I'm going
to give you a one-off deal right now.

You can give me $16,000

and you can drive this car away.

How about another option?

I drive away with this car for $15,500.

No, don't do that to me!

No, this car is a steal.

If I let you have this
car for $16,000 bucks...

He's done!

The boss has spoken.

The boss has spoken. Perfect.

Thank you very much, Bob.

You just bought yourself one hell of a car.

When I found this car originally at $2,500,

it was always a very cheap car.

But this AMG Project tribute
car would have stalled if

it wasn't for Bob and that
$15,000 worth of spare parts.

Thankfully, he came through
and we managed to turn this

car around and now we've
ended up with a tidy profit.

If you want to see
more iconic cars like this

being turned around
by me and the big guy,

join us again soon on Wheel of Dealers.

Ta-la!

This is the end of the show.