04x07 & 04x08 - BMW 635CSI (Part 1 & 2)

[bunniefuu]

Hello and welcome to Wheeler Dealers.

The show that saves
classic cars from the

scrap heap and gives them
another blast along the B roads.

This time we're looking
at one of Munich's finest.

A car with a reputation
for speed and style.

The fabulous BMW 635 CSI.

The Wheeler Dealers mission is to buy and
restore a classic car that will sell on for

a profit and we've got a healthy budget of
up to £4,000 to turn around a BMW 6 series.

This is a truly timeless silhouette with a
sharky front nose and a long elegant back

and a passenger cabin big
enough for even the longest of legs.

Now this is the business end.

Just look at all those horses
strapped in there ready to Rumble.

It's a work of art and
the silky smooth power is

ready to be delivered
from the first turn of the key.

I'll be finding us a sexy 6
series and my mechanic mate

Ed China is in charge
of sorting out the oily bits.

The 6 series was launched as a GT car.

A machine for the well-heeled
that behaved like a sports

car but threw in space and
comfort as part of the package.

For the equivalent of 50 grand you've got
film star looks topped off with a creamy

smooth three and a half
litre six cylinder engine.

With 218 brake horsepower 0
to 60 only took seven seconds.

We've got four grand
to buy and restore a 635

CSI of our very own
but this is a classy car.

Will we be able to find one for the money?

The good news is there's lots of
BMW 6 series out there for sale.

You can find a decent low
mileage car for around 8,000 pounds.

Problem is I haven't
got that kind of money.

I've only got around half of that.

So to find a car that hasn't had
its interior cut about with some

layery speakers put in it
all seen the wrong side of

a hedge is like trying to
find a needle in a haystack.

Now being an old Wheeler dealer
I know the only way to do this is to.

have Patience and go through the
weekly inkless and trade magazines.

methodically page by page
until the right car leaps out at you.

I know it's in here somewhere.

The last one I pick up would you
believe it happens to be the local

paper and there's a card
just around the corner.

Says here BMW 635 CSIA
finished in red with a beige interior.

That's a worry because it doesn't say
whether it's leather or whether it's cloth.

I really hope it's leather.

Also says it's in very good condition.

But here's the hook.

It's the price.

It's only 2,600 pounds.

And in my eyes that's well within budget.

A good tinkering money left over.

Hello.

Yes.

I wonder if you can help me.

I'm ringing about the BMW 6 series.

The 6 series is getting to an
age when rust becomes a problem.

So first question is about the body work.

And the paint work,
is it nice and straight?

It is.

I'm also keen to find
out about the interior.

A bit of leather would be nice.

In the advert it just says beige interior.

Is that leather?

That's a little bit disappointing.

I was hoping for leather.

A few more questions
and it's clear that this owner

sounds like a straight
bloke with a straight car.

And he only lives 20 miles away.

Bye bye.

Well, Tony sounds
frightfully posh on the phone.

And that could be a good indicator to
how well a car has been looked after.

Fingers crossed, this could be the one.

This is the car I've come to see.

It could do with a bit of spit and Polish,

but it's still a real head Turner.

At first glance, the signs look good.

I'm a happy man.

You must be Tony.

How you doing?

I'm very well, Tony.

Very excited to be honest with you.

Yes, she is.


my favorite all time cars.

It looks exceptional.

It looks lovely.

You told me on the phone
it had been repainted.

It had been, yeah.

Just basically to tidy it up a
bit, make it look presentable.

No accent damage.

No accent damage, no.

Now, I remember these.

They used to fit me like a glove.

Oh, it does feel like I've just come home.

Honestly, it really does.

Look at the dials, they're fantastic.

Even modern BMWs have still
got this look and feel about them.

Oh, it's awesome.

Does it all work?

All the knobs and buttons?

It all works, mate.

All works.

Fantastic.

All present correct.

Oh, it's lovely.

A little bit disappointed it
hasn't got leather interior,

but maybe that's
something I could look into.

Another job for me to do.

But it feels fantastic.

Oh, I'm getting all excited.

Right, let's have a look round the back.

Oh, look at the size of that.

It was one of the selling points for
these cars when I was selling them.

It's massive, isn't it?

You get four people in it.

You get all that shopping.

It's a proper family car, this is.

Really nice.

Now, a good selling point on a BMW

is make sure that it's
got a full tool kit, has it?

Yes, I was very pleased
to see it's all there.

In fact, including the BMW
torch and the glove compartment.

Oh, brilliant, brilliant.

It's a good sign of good ownership.

Now, let's have a quick look under the
carpets because they're such a long car.

They had such good brakes in a day.

They suffered a lot of rear end damage.

So all you need to
do is lift the carpet up,

have a quick look
underneath, check the floor,

pan, make sure it's nice and straight and
there's no nasty crimps and dents in it.

And there's nothing in this one at all.

I'm getting more and more excited.

I shouldn't be.

Should never get excited when you're
buying a car, but I can't help myself.

Oh, I must talk about these
because other than the interior,

the other thing that lets this car
down are these very nasty alloy wheels.

Yes, I would agree with you there, Mike.

In fact, this car was
actually exported to Canada

and then re-imported back
again with these wheels.

Because they are Canadian wheels.

They're very, very nasty.

And it's one of the things
that I really want to change.

You just don't happen
to have in your garage

the four BBS alloy wheels.

Sorry, mate.

Okay, that's another job for me.

I'm gonna have to go out and find some.

Tires are good, wheels are nasty.

Right, yeah, the paint
work's lovely, isn't it?

I like the chrome door
handles as well, very nice.

And the shot lines are good.

Little test for shot lines, actually.

Get yourself a pound coin.

Just rub it down the gap and
make sure it doesn't pinch anywhere.

That shows that the car
hasn't broken its back.

And this one all looks in very good order.

I'm getting excited
now because the next

question is, I'm gonna
take you for a test drive.

Sure.

Now the good news is,

I probably know more about Tony's
car than he does because during my time,

I've bought and sold
hundreds of six series BMWs.

And if there was every pair needed doing

to one of these cars,
no doubt, I've done it.

Now this car, on the
face of it, looks amazing.

The bodywork is as straight as a diet.

I can't contain how excited I am by
just seeing this car for the first time.

What I can hear is a loud noise
coming from the exhaust at the rear.

It's blowing quite badly and
that will need some attention.

So that's gonna be quite an
expensive job, I would imagine.

And there's a peculiar whistling noise coming
from over by the passenger side window.

Although I'm not pushing
it hard into corners,

the steering is quite woolly.

All right, I know this car's getting on for


I can't feel what's happening
under the front wheels.

It's not very communicative.

So that's another problem that
Ed's gonna have to address for us.

To be honest with
you, I almost feel guilty.

going back and bidding Tony
on his fabulous six series BMW.

He loves this car and he obviously thinks

it's worth more money
than I think it's worth.

But there are these problems.

So I'm gonna go back and I'm
gonna see if I can get a few quid off.

Fingers crossed.

Oh, wow!

Clouds of smoke behind me as I arrive.

She pulls well, but there are a
few problems on the test drive.

Exhaust is a bit fruity.

And then the doors, I
don't know if you noticed,

but they whistle, so the
rubbers must be perished.

But those things don't really concern
me because I know we can fix those.

The other things,
like the leather interior,

I know it's not a bother of yours,

but it needs leather and it definitely
needs a set of different alloy wheels

because I'm not gonna
sell it with wheels like this.

So overall, I reckon I got a
good grand to spend on this car.

So I was gonna make you an offer.

You wanted a 2.6 for it?

That's right, Mike, yeah.



No, no, sorry, mate.

Come on, 1900.





Still too much.

I've still got all that
money to spend on it.



It'll be yours for two grand.

Two grand? Two grand is the deal.

Go on then.

Yes!

I got a 6 Series.

Wicked.

I'm so happy.

My tidy 6 Series for two grand
has put a big smile on my face,

but will my mechanic,
Ed Chyna, share the vibe?

Ed?

Hello, mate.

How are you, fella?

All right.

Good, what do you think?

Well, it's big and it's red and it's a BMW.

I like it.

I bet you're thinking it's a car
that's got the least amount of work

you've ever seen in your
life on Wheel of Dealers.

It's looking very tidy, I'll tell you that.

It is looking tidy, but unfortunately,

you know, with me, there's
always a few problems.

Well, I've already seen, I mean,
there's a problem here, there's a big gap.

And the actual rubber's sort of
perished all the way down there.

Yeah, I'm glad you noticed
that, because on the test drive,

this car was whistling to me.

It was...

But hopefully not too expensive.

I don't think it's going to be a dear job.

I reckon you've got bits for that
laying around your workshop.

You can do it easy, Ed.

Possibly, but what was going on here?

I mean, they're quite
original, but, you know.

Yeah, I think they're
original to the 80s, Ed,

and they come in from
Canada, these wheels,

because this car went out to
Canada at some point in its life.

Some people might like them,
but personally, I don't like them.

I think they really date the car.

And I think it'd be nice to
find some BBS alloy wheels.

That'd be very cool.

Some original ones to go back on it.

It'd just liven it right up.

A little something for
you to do in the afternoon.

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I can find some.

Right, now, round the back, it's
all nice and straight, full tool kit.

Oh, and it's fantastically
straight, isn't it?

It is, a pin-straight car.

I'm really pleased with the bodywork.

It looks amazing, doesn't it?

Does it really, no ripples or anything?

No ripples.

However, while we're down here,

just have a listen to the
exhaust, because there

is a bit of a blow, to
be honest with you, Ed.

Yeah, I reckon I can fix that.

That's the baffles, I think.

So, Ed, what do you think of it in here?

Well, it's very clean, but it's very nasty.

It is nasty, and it's like a Chav Chek,

and I was hoping this car
would have a leather interior.

So maybe that's another job for me.

I'll go on a hunt for
some nice interior for it.

Shouldn't be too hard to change over.

No, but other than that, it just needs a
clean with the carpets and everything else.

But great, eh?

Okay, not too bad, though.

So there you go, Ed, our lovely BMW 635.

Yeah, it's good, and there's not
that much work to do on this, really.

Not really, except for
the interior, obviously,

and then we've got
the exhaust at the back.

Exhaust, and across the wheel.

The wind rubbers have
perished, so actually, when

you say it like that,
there is quite a thing to do.

So there's the keys, enjoy it.

Thank you, sir.

Good to see you again.

Catch up with you soon.

See you soon.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

I've just spent 2,000 pounds buying
one of my favorite motors, a BMW 6 Series.

I've got a budget of up to four grand,

which gives me 2,000 pounds
to spend on a restoration.

But this is a quality
motor, so I think I'm

going to have to keep
my eye on the parts bill.

Time for Ed to get the big
beamer up on the ramps.

And here we are back at the workshop,
and what a lovely drive back it was, too.

This is a dream to drive, but
there's something not quite there.

It's a performance motor.

It's German engineered.

It's got a three and a half liter straight
six motor, which is really powerful,

and therefore, the
handling is very important.

It should be tight and
precise, and it's not.

So I'm going to get the thing up in
the air, and have a good route around.

I'm going to start at the
back of the car, just because

the suspension setup is
actually simpler at this end.

Let's start with a look at the big bushes.

No movement there,

and no movement there.

Now, the drop link to the anti-roll bar
is actually, the rubber's very perished.

There's quite a lot of movement.

I'll check the other side.

And again, just as perished,
and you can see there,

again, loads of movement.

That's quite a small
part, it's quite cheap.

So the obvious thing
to do is to change that,

and hopefully that'll take
out some of the squishiness,

because as it's attached to the anti-roll
bar, as the car goes around the corner,

the whole thing will roll.

This resists that
movement, and of course,

when it doesn't do that,
because it's perished,

it means that the whole car's going to
roll around a bit more than it should do.

Now, it's going to be pretty easy.

to get this drop link off, because it's
just this bottom bottom I'm doing now,

and then I think the
top will just fall off.

Okay, so it's not just
going to pop off, but I

reckon a bit of penetrating
fluid, and we'll be okay.

Hey, and now we have it, it's off, hurrah.

Now, these are the drop
links I've taken off the car.

You can see they're all dirty.

If I get the replacements out of the bag,

obviously very shiny,
but also, if we compare it,

say, with this one, you
can see that the hole here.

in the rubber of the new one
is actually very, very small,

compared to the one I've just taken off.

And the reason for this is that
this one is now stretched and worn,

whereas this is obviously tight,
ready to go back onto the car.

Because the rubbers are a tight fit,

the new rear drop links are
hard to wrestle into place.

You need more penetrating
fluid and a bit of muscle.

It's a fix well worth doing.

The parts cost 22 pounds,

but the handling is transformed.

That's the rear sorted.

Now I'm going to give the front
suspension a quick checkover.

Just having a quick look at
these front suspension links.

Effectively, it's a track control arm,

and everything seems in order.

Now it's connected to the strut,

which looks like it's been recently
replaced, which is good news.

In fact, as has the steering
ball joint here, so it's not those.

Ah, now look, there's some tearing.

in the rubber part of this suspension link,
and there's loads of movement as well.

So basically, because this locates

the bottom of the strut,

when it's moving around
because it's too flexible,

of course, the steering
is going to be quite vague.

So I'm going to have to replace that part,

and I might as well do the other side
because it's bound to be just as bad.

But to get it out,

I'm actually going to have to move
the chassis member here as well.

But shouldn't be too
hard a job, I don't think.

This time I get an easy ride and the
chassis member just unbolts and lifts out.

This job is straightforward because I've
got a ramp, which gives me great access.

You could tackle it if
you have an inspection

pit, but it's not something
I'd recommend doing

by the side of the
road with a trolley Jack.

Well, that wasn't too hard, was it?

Well, that was a relatively simple job,

but I am confident that
Mike is going to notice

the difference when he
gets back behind the wheel.

Ed's given me a hard
time over getting the interior

and the alloy wheels
sorted for that BMW 635.

He's honored me to get down to
the scrapyard and see what I can find.

But I'm a busy boy, and last time I looked,

my nice estate car didn't
look like a courier Van.

I've got much better
things to do with my time.

So what I've done is I've
logged on to an Internet

auction site and I've
managed to buy us another car.

Yeah, you won't be right,
another complete car.

with a beige leather
interior and alloy wheels.

It's 350 quid, and we own it.

Our 6 Series BMW is a performance motor,

and you can never enhance a
performance motor too much.

I've got a lovely little trick up my sleeve
that will not only improve the handling,

it'll also make it look better too.

And this is it, a strut brace.

Now, these are really
popular with the street races,

not just because it's shiny
and it's easy to bolt on,

but actually because there's a
performance advantage as well.

Our BMW is fitted with
MacPherson strut suspension.

You can see the tops of
the struts here and here.

Now, when you drive along
round corners and stuff,

the chassis will actually
flex ever so slightly,

and that means that the suspension geometry
will change the way you don't want it to.

Now, with the brace in position,

those strut tops are held
rigidly in position, which means

the suspension geometry is
exactly the way you want it.

The brace is easy to fit.

Undo the nuts on the top of the suspension,

fit the strut, and secure into place.

Performance and style, and
all finished in under an hour.

Mike felt that the exhaust system of this
car was a little bit loud and a bit tired,

and I was thinking, perhaps
the baffles have gone.

Well, I was right,

the baffles are actually
completely missing.

This sil*ncer here has been replaced.

with a cheap repair of a couple of pipes,

but also, this bat box is
actually rusty and full of holes,

so no wonder the
exhaust system is too loud.

The best option, be generous,

and replace both parts of the system.

Exhaust systems get a lot of abuse and take
a real hammering in their working lives,

but I'm going to be really careful here

because I'm reusing some sections of this
system and I don't want to damage them.

So I'm opening the seam with an angle
grinder and then teasing the exhaust apart.

I've asked my mate Paul to drop by
because four hands are better than two.

when it comes to handling a
heavy center section of exhaust.

Okay, well done.

School just done there.

Lovely.

Now, I could save a fair few quid on this
car by using pattern parts, but to be fair,

I want to keep our BMW
as original as possible,

so I'm going to be using genuine BMW parts.

Now, there are three really
good reasons for doing that.

The first is because
they're German engineered,

they're going to be really
good quality and probably going

to last quite a lot longer
than normal pattern parts.

The next reason is, of course,

because this car is a performance car,

it's got a fantastic engine in it and the
exhaust system is part of that performance.

Therefore, if I use tested parts
that make the tuning perfect,

it's going to perform
to the best of its ability.

Now, the third reason
is because the tooling

is the same that was
used on the original car,

the parts are going to fit perfectly.

While Paul is fitting the
hanger for the rear box,

I'm just preparing the front
box here to make sure that the

pipes are all clean, ready for
our middle section to be fitted.

Now, once the rust is all gone, I'm
going to fit some exhaust sealing paste

to make sure it's got
a proper airtight seal.

Without this paste,

the exhaust system will
not be airtight and this will

reduce performance and
could lead to an MOT failure.

The new parts slide together and then
the clamps go on nice and smoothly.

It gives me a good feeling because a
garage would probably have charged me

over a hundred quid in
labor for this afternoon's work.

Well, the exhaust is fitted
and there's only one true way

of finding out whether we've done
a good job and that's to start her up.

Well, it's definitely not blowing and
it just sounds so much more refined.

It's a lot sweeter.

That's a good job well done.

Ed.

Hello, mate.

How are you, fella?

All right.

Good to see you.

That's X-Series BMW.

I love these cars.

I really love these cars,
but it still looks exactly

the same as it did when
I dropped it off to you.

No doubt you're going to tell me all
the work has been done underneath.

Actually, you're right.

Pop down here.

It's a lovely new shiny exhaust system.

Fantastic.

So it sounds lovely now.

It does indeed.

I had to change the back two
boxes as they were both shot,

but also remember while I was down
there, the suspension was a bit dodgy

and I found a couple of suspension
links that were actually past it.

So I've changed them and now
it's going to be tight and precise.

Wicked.

So we're nearly there, aren't we?

Well, kind of, but we need a new interior

and we've got to sort out these
wheels and that is your department.

Follow me.

Look what I bought you.

Another BMW.

I know you like these cars
and how much work do we

need if we just have a
gander at those alloy wheels?

Okay, they're pretty special.

I'll give you that.

Pretty special.

How about the wheels and the tires?

Okay, so the tires have
got quite a bit of tread on.

They're nearly new.

Fair enough.

Now have a look inside.

All right, now that's pretty impressive.

That looks like almost like
a brand new leather interior.

All right, that is good.

You've done well.

And the good news is,

the whole thing just come
to a few hundred quid.

I reckon I've saved us at least 500 pounds.

Our challenge is to buy, restore,

and then sell on a modern classic
with a budget of up to 4,000 pounds.

When you're dealing with
desirable cars like our BMW 6 series,

that's pretty tight.

But my mechanic, Ed Chyna,

is up to the job.

He's halfway through the
restoration of our brilliant beamer.

The suspension has been sorted.

A strut brace has made the engine shine.

And half the exhaust has been replaced.

We've spent just over 3,000 pounds,

but we need to keep
costs down if we're gonna

make a big profit
when we sell the car on.

Lots of work done,

but still plenty for Ed to do.

So while he fiddles with his spanners,

I'm off to meet a guy called James
Soule, who's got a showstopping zixa,

and he's willing to give me a tour.

Get on with it!

Now James has brought down
his fabulous-looking BMW 635 CSI.

It was the poster on my
bedroom wall, this car.

I can't contain my excitement.

And it does look stunning.

And you're a young man,

so why a big old car like this?

I was looking at some other cars,

but when I had a look at this one, I
fell in love with it and had to have it.

I wanted something that was quick,

like my 205 I had before,

but had the sort of motorway
mileage lugging of my dad's 5-series.

And it kind of...
It fell in between?

Yeah.

Now James, your car
does look in mint condition.

Have you done much work to it yourself?

Yeah, I've done a fair few things to it.

One thing I did, I did a xenon
headlamp conversion here,

and that gives a much
brighter light in the light,

because they haven't got the best
lights, old technology and all that.

I've also put on some Alpina wheels.

Took me six years to find them.

Wow.

And I've upgraded the suspension to M6
suspension with some slightly lowered Springs.

Is it dear to do this?

I mean, do you have to put it into a BMW
garage or do you get your hands dirty?

I try and keep it away from
BMW dealers because they're

just a bit too expensive
with their labour rates now.

But I've got a specialist I use.

and a local guy that does a
few bits and pieces for me.

Excellent.

And what parts are they
dear to buy for a car like this?

Or are they quite reasonable?

These are really expensive.

The wings are about 500 pounds.



Yeah.

Painted?

No.

Well, you've got to paint it as well.

Yeah.

Wow, that's dear.

And then you've got
things like the exhaust.

I mean, that's 500, 600
pound for a new exhaust.

Is there a way to overcome that?

Is there a cheaper way to get bits?

What I try and do is I try
and always have a parts car.

I bought a car for 150 quid
and I use that for spares.

Now what should people look out
for mechanically with the 6 Series?

Generally they're pretty bulletproof.

The oil spray bar, which is
under the cam cover here,

can loosen and that can starve the top of
the engine of oil and obviously cause wear.

So that's worth checking.

The other thing is that
the manifold can go.

and they can crack.

And I've replaced mine
with a stainless steel one.

What's the biggest buy-in
no-no with one of these?

Basically on these, rust.

They rust on the inner
wings and the outside wings.

And really when it's done
that, it's uneconomical to repair.

I was going to ask you
next if I could have a go.

Yeah, sure.

No problems.

Fantastic.

I can't wait.

Wow.

A 6 Series BMW as tight as this to drive.

It's an absolute pleasure.

Cast your mind back to what the rich
folk were driving around in back then.

And they were smoking around in big Merc
coupes or very, very clever Audi Quattros.

And to compete with all that technology
that was coming out of Germany,

BMW introduced this, the 6 Series BMW.

And they went for pure
style and absolute finesse.

And they got it.

Bang on the button.

James's car is a treat to drive.

You can feel everything
that's happening underneath.

That's because James
has put a lowering kit on it.

He's dropped the suspension.

He's made it handle more like a
sports car rather than a big GT Cruiser.

Also, James's car is incredibly rare

because he has gone for the
hen's teeth of all gearboxes,

the manual, and he's
put a short shift kit on it.

Now what that does do is
that makes this car handle.

a lot better because you don't drive
it like you drive the automatic version.

And you feel more in tune with the road.

Our car, mechanically, is perfect.

There's not much to do to it.

A little rattle on the exhaust and
a few other tweaks here and there.

But what lets our car down is our
car hasn't got the nice leather interior.

And that's one of the things
we're gonna have to do.

Our car also hasn't got
the nice alloy wheels.

We've got those useless
looking things all on it.

Other than that, I think
we've got the basis.

of a very, very nice BMW 6 Series.

So, on the whole, although
I'm impressed by James's car,

I still like our one.

When Mike bought this car,

there was a problem with wind noise.

Not with Mike, actually, but with the car.

And also, the doors wouldn't shut
properly and I know what the problem is.

Basically, somebody hadn't bothered

to attach the rubber properly
when they did a respray.

But because the rubber is in perfect condition,
once that's popped in place properly,

it'll be a nice quick fix.

But I did notice, on the door rubber,

it's actually slightly perished.

So I've got a replacement,

which will mean that
will fit together beautifully.

The seal is pretty simple to remove.

Refitting is also straightforward.

Carefully feed the seal into
the channel on the body shell

and push home with a
large, flat-headed tool.

Mike noticed a bit of
wind noise in the test

drive, but another
telltale sign of a worn seal

is when the interior
footwells start getting damp.

You might think there's a
hole in the floor, but it's always

worth checking the seals
because rain can easily get in.

Hey, well, there we go.

Actually, it wasn't as hard
as I thought it was going

to be, and there we
have a perfect airtight seal.

But now, for the bottom half of the door.

Removing the door seal gives a
good opportunity to check for rust.

The bottom seal is a classic place
for water from the road to collect,

held in situ by the rubber seal.

From there, it's a short step to corrosion.

But this BMW looks solid.

Good news.

Refitting and replacing these seals has
probably saved around £120 in labour,

a good afternoon's work.

Welcome back.

We're halfway through getting
the beautiful BMW back to its best.

So far, we spent three
grand on our mile-munching


available budget of four.

But we're hoping to sell
the car on for a decent profit,

so the big spending stops here.

Time for Ed to go green
and do a bit of recycling.

Our BMW just oozes Uber quality,

but unfortunately, when
it comes to the interior,

all that dated 80s German
style is a bit too much to bear.

Now, thanks to Mike's
Internet shenanigans,

we now have a
replacement leather interior.

But before I can get that in,
I've got to take the old interior out.

And that's going to take quite a long time

because I've got to
take off the door cards,

the front seats, the rear seats, the
centre console, the rear door cards.

Once I've done all that,

I've got to do the same
thing with the donor card.

And then I've got to put
all the new bits back in.

And I've got to do all that
within Mike's allocated half a day.

You know what?
I think I'm going to crack on.

Removing an entire interior is a challenge.

There's all sorts of clips, fixings,

electric wires and switches to negotiate.

But keep a clear head and put enough time
aside to do the job and you'll be fine,

especially with a well-made
German car like this.

Now, normally at this stage, I
give you a top tip about the fact

that you should save all your screws
in a nice little plastic box or something,

just so you know where they are so everything's
safe when you come to use them again.

But this is already getting quite tricky.

There's lots of screws, lots of
different screws with this car.

So I've got another top tip for you.

Sheet of paper, bit of
masking tape and a pen.

What you do then is work out where
your different screws are going to go.

So now imagine here,
I've got four different

kinds already, but I
remember where they go.

This one went here, so I'll
place that on the paper there.

This one went on the other end of
the door card, so I put it over there.

And these little two here
came from this bit in the middle.

I'm going to take them
down and right on them,

this is the offside door card.

And then when I come back to it,
when I've finished the whole car,

I'll have a wodge of paper, of
course, but at least I know exactly

where each of these
screws is supposed to go.

Very cool.

Next is onto the seats.

Now these aren't electric,
so they're easy to strip out.

Thankfully, the donor car my
bought has manual seats too.

If they'd been electric,

then I would have given Mike a real earful

because it's very hard to adapt a
wiring boom to take new electric seats.

The other thing to
check is that the donor car

is the same year and model
as the car you're restoring.

The 635 was in production
from 1976 to 1989.

So you may find that younger
parts don't fit in older cars.

There are quite a few screws to undo here,

but it's not too complicated,
just very methodical

work, but it's going to
be worthwhile in the end.

Taking the seats out gives me a chance

to see how the floor pan looks,

but I never had any
real worries with this car.

It's all solid.

The carpets I'm keeping
after a quick vacuum.

That's actually quite a transformation.

Time to bring in the donor
car that Mike paid only £350 for.

It's an MOT failure with
lots of underside rust,

but for once that doesn't bother me.

All I need is the interior
and those shiny wheels.

I wish removing the
leather interior was this fast,

but really you've got to put aside
a whole afternoon for this job.

Another tip, wash your hands
thoroughly and keep them clean

because this cream leather
shows marks like no other.

Everyone would prefer a leather interior
if they could afford it because, of course,

it does cost a little bit more money,
but you can see here after 20 years,

it is well worth paying
those few extra pounds

because our cloth interior
is looking pretty shabby

and very dated, whereas our
leather interior is looking pretty

much as good as new, and
that's the best thing about leather.

If you look after it, it'll just
get better and better with age.

If your leather is looking past
it, then you can get it recoloured.

A professional will spray the
colour on and then reseal it.

Results can be amazing, and it only costs

around 180 pounds
for an interior this size.

I've got to say, that
interior does look fantastic.

It just, it really is
quite a special thing.

It took a lot longer than I was hoping.

I went over my half-day allowance,
but it was so worth the effort,

and I've got to give credit to Mike
because that was an absolute bargain.

It has totally transformed
the interior of our car.

It's given it some real class,

and I reckon it's probably
increased the value of

our beamer by quite a
considerable amount of money.

This interior would have cost
around 750 quid from a breaker's.

We got the whole car for 350,

and these wheels were part of the deal too.

The rims are fantastic in their condition,

and of course the tyres
are practically brand new,

and it means we can finally get rid
of these ridiculous Canadian alloys.

The original wheels look superb,
and my luck's in with the tyres too.

New ones are around £120 a corner,

but these have got
plenty of miles left in them.

And with that, the BMW
is ready to take a bow.

How good is our car?

Well, it looks showroom fresh,

and for a car that's over 20 years old,

that's really saying something.

This BMW was found through a local paper,
and had one careful and rather posh owner.

I did the deal, and we got
the beamer for just two grand.

Ed worked out why the handling was off-key,

and replaced the drop links
to the anti-roll bar at the rear,

and tuned the front suspension.

Now she should handle beautifully.

An engine strut brace looked
the part and firmed up the chassis.

Replacement sections for the
exhaust let the engine breathe properly,

and we had the 6-Series
sounding like it should.

The passenger side seals
whistled on the test drive,

but Ed replaced the door
seal, refitted the window

seal, and now road
noise is a thing of the past.

Finally, bargain of the decade.

£350 bought us a donor car,

which provided a
fantastic leather interior,

and some original BMW wheels.

So, what did we spend?

Well, the car was worth
£100, the car was £2,000,

the exhaust and fitting kit was £390,

suspension parts were £160,

the donor vehicle was £350,

the engine strut cost £135,

and the door seal was only £25.

We had four grand to spend,

but we only shelled out a shade over three.

Ed!

Hello, mate.

Wow.

Wow!

I'm speechless.

You've made a brewer
speechless, that's a rare thing to do.

Well, thank you very much,

but you really have to take a
fair chunk of this credit yourself,

because when I first got
the car it was pretty sordid,

but then that amazing deal you did, I
mean, look at that interior, it's amazing.

It looks brand spanking new, doesn't it?

Exactly, it does, and then look at
those wheels, they're so superb.

Ed, it is a beauty.

I might take this for a
drive and never come back,

off into the distance, but I know
that we've got to sell this car

and I reckon we're in the money
on this one, so give me the keys,

whoever buys it is going
to be a happy boy or girl.

Oh, six series BMWs.

I love these cars.

I love this car, especially since Ed
has been fiddling with the spanners.

Listen to that engine,

that silky smooth three and a half litre
six cylinder engine now feels torquey.

It pulls nicely through all the gears.

That's because Ed has
changed the exhaust system.

That really has improved at no end.

This car no longer sounds
like a two stroke motorbike,

it sounds like a true BMW.

Well, BMW all those years
ago really hit the nail on the head

because although this
car is no lightweight,

it's got a big heavy body, it
doesn't flex too much in the corners,

and even though this car
is now over 20 years of age,

it still doesn't roll into the corners.

It still feels tight.

It still feels tall.

Maybe it's got something to do
with that strut brace that he put on,

or maybe that's just engine bleed.

It's a bit of kit this.

It's the perfect car for getting
down to the south coasting.

Now, I could be really
greedy with this car.

They've got a huge fan club.

There's lots of people
interested in getting their

hands onto a six series again,
and I can understand why.

I certainly want one.

So, I'm going to ask 3,750,

and I'm going to look for an enthusiast

who's really going to
appreciate this old bus.

Now, I could have advertised
that BMW in the weekly, Incas,

but to be honest with you, I didn't want
it lost in a whole sea of other six series.

So, I went straight for the enthusiast
websites, and just on pictures alone,

and who can blame
them, just look at the thing,

the phone rung off the hook.

Now, the first bloke to turn
up is the man behind me.

He's named Rob.

We've been out for a
test drive, and he's made

positive noises, but does
he want to buy the car?

Well, I've advertised it for 3,750,

and if he doesn't,

I'm just going to keep
the thing because I love it.

So, sort of wish me luck.

So, what do you think of the interior then?

This interior is lovely.

It's in great condition.

It's great, isn't it?

Yeah, really good.

When I got the car,

it had a nasty sort
of cloth interior in it,

and I managed to find these
seats actually on another car.

It was extensive research, you know,

but it has done a cracking job because it
come with the door cards and everything.

It's just finished it off beautifully.

It does look fantastic.

And all the electrics work in this car.

As you notice on the test drive,

every button, every knob,
every switch just flicks.

It all works.

Winders, radio, the lot.

It's lovely, isn't it?

It is lovely.

And round the back, it's
all nice and straight and tidy.

Very impressive.

No signs of any accident damage,
and you'll be pleased to know

it's got a brand new
exhaust system on as well,

because it had a blow when I first
got the car, so we've changed that.

The whole sections?

Yeah, so you haven't got to
worry about that in the future.

This paintwork looks very shiny, Mike.

Is it new?

Actually, you're right
to point out because

when I bought the car,
I was suspicious too,

and I've discovered that about
a year before I bought the car,

it had been repainted,
and I got a very keen

eye with things like this, and I can tell
you, it's a very professional job as well.

It looks like it was done back to
the bare metal and nicely done.

Under the bonnet, we've done
some good engine modifications.

We've put a strut brace in on the
chassis, and that's stiffened it up,

and what with that new
exhaust, it just drives beautifully.

It sounds gorgeous when you drive it.

It does sound gorgeous, yeah.

It's a really, really nice drive.

One thing I wanted to ask you, Mike,

was these wheels, are they
refurbished or something?

No, they're not refurbished.

When I bought the car, it
had an odd set of wheels on it,

and I did a bit of research,
and I was casting my

mind back to when I was
buying and selling them,

and it should have had
these wheels on it, TRXs,

and when I got the interior, I
managed to source a good set of wheels.

with a decent set of tires
on them at the same time.

Well, Mike, I like the car a lot.

What can I get you down to on price?

Well, I've advertised it for 3,750,

and if I was to be honest,

I wish I advertised it for 4,750
because I've had about 50 phone calls.

Yeah, I can believe it.

And I'm going to be
quite tough with the price.

I want 3,750 for it.

Okay, I'll be honest with you.

That's a bit above my budget.

Everyone says that.

Yeah, I'm looking around 3,600.



But that's a fair offer.

Okay.

But no, this is a car
that I'm really proud of.

We put a lot of effort into it.

Okay.

The best thing I can do for you

is a bit short on petrol.

Okay.

I'll give you 50 quid backseat
and fill it out with petrol.





Yeah.

Okay, I'll take it.

Sure.

Thank you, Mike.

Thanks a lot.

This restoration really tested me.

I paid top dollar for much needed new
parts but then saved bundles of cash

by finding a donor car for
those hard-to-find spares.

In the end, we came away
over 600 quid to the good,

a respectable enough
profit for a quick sale.

Well, I reckon Rob has bagged
himself the bargain of a century.

Not only does this BMW look the part,

it drives fantastically too.

And quite genuinely, I really
would have kept this one.

Join us next time on Wheeler
Dealers when I go looking for

some more classic cars that
we can give the start treatment to.

See you soon.

Ta-la!