18x04 - Fiat 124

[bunniefuu]

this time we're out to prove you can
have the supercar experience oh it just

wants to go go go go go without
splashing supercar money nice one I love

these they're a budget Ferrari are they
this Maserati is packing some serious

power oh what a monster but it could
whop us in the wallet the components

themselves can come in over a
thousand pounds so we need to keep a

tight hold of the purse strings that
would be about 2,000 2 gram for the

radio if we're to show this budget
supercar it's out there with the big boys

this car's got some beans on it oh it really
is it's like holding on to a wild beast

I'm Mike Brewer oh and I've been
buying and selling cars for nearly 40

years it's rattling smelly and it's
blooming brilliant now I've set up shop

in Britain's Motoring Heritage
heartland oh yes along with ex-formula

mechanic Mark Elvis Priestley so that
engine management light never put you

off in together we get to find top
man and fix up look at the state of it

it's got spirit of ecstasy and
everything the most iconic and exciting

cars on the market oh yes bolt a
supercharger to it and you end up

with a car that does this with Elvis'
engineering skill and there it is the

offending article and my car dealing
clout he's gonna be over the moon

Elvis better get the posh tools ready
we should be able to make ourselves a

tidy profit don't break it because
I've got to sell it so just drive it

carefully now I guess what passed
me on the way into work I mean like flew

past me this morning what a Ferrari


mean out of our league surely
yeah I've looked on the Internet at 50

grand plus yeah but it did get me
thinking how can you get that supercar

experience without when to spend
Ferrari money I mean it's tricky in it

because a Ferrari is a Ferrari so
you can't just do it on the cheap back in

the late 1990s into the noughties
Ferrari was owned by Fiat and they

also own Maserati at the same time
yeah and there's a car in the range of.


but with a Maserati wig on it and

what are they going for nowadays
well I found one that's got a naturally

aspirated v8 engine looks really
good in terms of the color combination

and it's 10 grand can you believe it
no that's decent isn't it because it's a

Ferrari engine and that's Fiat money
the word supercar it froze up all kinds of

connotations about high performance
but also high price tags the dream of

owning a supercar could be just
that for most people out there couldn't it

just a dream that's unless you're
willing to think outside the box in

the late 90s Ferrari took over a
struggling Maserati teetering on the

brink of extinction their expertise
led to the launch of the 4200 GT a top

quality yet affordable supercar it had
the Maserati badge 18-inch alloy wheels

plenty of room to make it a daily
driver and under the bonnet and

naturally aspirated 4.2 liter Ferrari
v8 and that's why I know the 2005.


bargain buy you know I've been around a

few Maseratis and there are quite a
few gremlins you need to look out for they

do suffer with electrical problems
and then sticky dash the material on the

knobs and buttons on the dashboard
tends to melt it can be cured but

unfortunately it costs money so
I'm not going to deny it I'm pretty

excited because I'm on my way to go
and see an actual car dealer who's got.

this car for sale on his forecourt he's
had it there a while he hasn't sold it

yet his name is Andrew and on the
phone he's already said that he'll let

it go for 10 grand but if I can get it
for anything something grand I just

won't be able to contain my excitement
you must be Andy I have you must be

my I am nice to see you and then I
get greeted by this a Maserati marked

up under 10 grand I like it you had
it in stock long we've had it a few a

few months bought it from a client
part of his collection he had a 3200 which

he wanted to keep so we bought
the 4200 off him all right well listen I'm

here to have a good look round it can
we start with the engine? Of course we can.

Lovely. Oh nice mate that sounds
fantastic and this is the Ferrari

engine isn't it? It is, it's the 4.2


isn't it? It's a great engine.
And in the time you've had it you've had no

trouble no? Nothing at all. Right let's
turn this off. Wow look at that interior

that's something else isn't it? And with
the red carpets. Yeah it's got the electric

multi-function heated seats flappy
paddle gearbox no tears no rips

dashboard looks good everything looks good.
It has got the issue with the

sticky black dales. Yeah which is
a bit of a shame isn't it so that's a

thing that will need doing on this.
I really like the car I think it looks

really smart. Do you like it enough
to buy it? Well I like it enough to try it

so if you don't mind can I take it
out for a quick spin? Love you too.

Right here we go.
It just hauls this car it really does that.

Ferrari V8 engine up front it just
oh it just wants a go go go go go it

doesn't want to slow down. Right as
soon as I touch the paddles here we go

into manual mode I'm going to come
down to almost a crawl so I can just put it

up through this paddle
shift make sure it's good.

That's not good that could be a
little bit of a problem because it's

just not changing up and down
as quickly as I would like it's kind of

lazy the way it's doing it. And
that's not the end of it listen to that.

that's the rear quarter on my left
hand side on the passenger side that is a

little rattle coming off the suspension
that's just rattling away that's

another problem.
The only thing that lets this

interior down is that Ferrari problem
it's got the sticky buttons everywhere

and all the vents all the sticky stuff
is just nasty every time you touch it

you actually get it look on your
fingers this sticky stuff so somebody is

going to spend an awful lot of time
trying to tidy that up. Lots of these

problems would send a normal
customer running for the hills but does all

this distract from this car do I
still like this Maserati? Well I think

buying a car that does nought to
sixty in sub five seconds it sounds.

like that and it does this to your
face and it feels the way it does when

you're holding on to the steering
wheel yeah I can definitely see this one

coming back to the
workshop with me and Elvis.

I mean the car there's some real
good positives about it the engines lovely

but it is a bit slow that gearbox so
maybe that might need looking at. But

Mike you've got to bear in mind it's
a 17 year old Italian supercar yeah

it's true so it will have an issue or two.
Of course it will there's just a

few surprises. But you do like it.
I like the car I just think that I'm

gonna need a little bit of help price
wise to cover all these little jobs so

you've got to advertise for ten grand
all by a fiver yeah I'm just thinking you

know what's fair for this car is nine
thousand five hundred pound. Ninety five

hundred pound is a fair bid. Lovely
just bought myself a Maserati 4200 GT

with a Ferrari engine. Yes nine thousand
five hundred pounds bags me a Maserati

with a Ferrari engine. Oh getting it
for that price really does give me and

Elvis a head start so we can start
doing some of the important work we're

gonna need to do to be able to
turn a profit on this car. I just hope that

boy's got a big smile on his face
when I get this back to the workshop.

Yes there it is you bought it.
Yes nice one I love these I mean they're a

budget Ferrari aren't they? They certainly
are a budget Ferrari yeah a Maserati it's a

good one as well it's the


look at what's under there?
Of course I do yeah let me at it.

Oh what a monster but it's a Ferrari so
when it goes wrong it's expensive. Yes

it's got a lot of v8 Ferrari
complicatedness in there. I mean it's

got no oil leaks it's
nice and bone-dry

underneath. The rest
of it dries well? Well it

dries very well it's got the cambia
corsa gearbox so it is there I say a

little bit sloppy it's got a sport mode
so it can be aggressive but in normal

mode it's just a little bit lazy it's a
bit slow. Well you got to keep your.

fingers crossed it's nothing big and
mechanical inside the gearbox because

that could become expensive. It's not gonna
be that it'd be something else. There's a

rattle coming from this rear upright
so whether it's a lower wishbone

suspension bushing. So it rattles down
the road like a one-man band? A little

bit like that yeah the horn section
being the exhaust. Quite good. On the

top isn't it but yet so kind of supercar
esque. No rips no tears no nothing wrong

with it just the same problem that
you get with every Ferrari, Fiat and

Maserati of this generation. Sticky dash.
Sticky dash yeah why didn't they ever

get on top of that? Oh it drives me
mad doesn't it because they've all got it.

And this one's particularly bad look
at the vents look they're horrible and it

actually rubs off in your hands sticks
your fingers together. It's nasty but

it's fixable. Other than that mate you
happy with the car? I absolutely love

it mate I mean it's a
beauty isn't it? I actually

got this car for £9,500.
Oh my word that is an

absolute bargain. Oh mate you've done
so well and we've got to keep our fingers.

crossed because we still don't know
the extent of the repair bills but hey

I love it. Okay well I'll get the
door you can have a play with that

gearbox. When it comes to finding
a car with all the attributes of a

supercar but without the price tag
you'd struggle to do better than the


perfect. But that does not take away the

excitement of now having an Italian
supercar right here in our workshop

and it's all about what's underneath there.
A 4.2 litre beast producing

almost 400 horsepower and taking
this car from nought to 60 in 4.7 seconds

with a top speed of 177 miles an hour.
For a budget price we've got a

Maserati here capable of holding
its own against supercars of many

times its value. Traditionally brands
like Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini all

created barriers to entry because of a
high purchase price but also because

repair and servicing bills were so
astronomically high that it put a lot

of people off experiencing the joys of
ownership. In recent years though one.

or two companies have popped up
making aftermarket parts for these.

cars and that means that spares have
become more readily available so with a

little bit of know-how you can find
parts to keep these things on the

road and get many of these jobs done
yourself. Now on the face of it this is a

great car that Mike's brought us. A
lot of car for the money he paid for it as

well but there are one or two concerns.
The various rattles and groans

that it seems to have and that gear
changing issue as well and they could

all come with some serious repair
bills attached to them so I've got to.

be careful and that doesn't run
away with us. So once I've taken this

sticky dash out which Mike pretty
sure will agree to do for me as I've got

so many mechanical jobs on my hands
I'm gonna get this car plugged into a.

diagnostics machine and keep my fingers
crossed. On Mike's test drive he noticed

our Maserati's gear shift were a
little lazy so I need to see if I can

get to the root of the problem.
Now to give me a much clearer picture of

exactly what state our Maserati's
in I've borrowed this it's called a

Leonardo diagnostics machine and it
can flag up any errors that might need

my attention. I've already been through
the engine parameters the ECU and they

all look good as Mike said that Ferrari
power unit in there looking sweet but

one thing that's worried me right from
the moment Mike turned up with this

car was the clutch. The components
themselves can come in at over a thousand

pounds. I can run a diagnostics
and it'll tell me how much of the

existing clutch is worn already. Now
if I get a number that's anywhere close to


to pull that clutch out and replace it.

So if we run the diagnostics okay there
we go. Clutch wear 29%. That is a massive

massive relief. I can't tell you how
relieved I am with that. 29% might sound

like a significant number but actually
in one of these it's absolutely fine

and has already saved us
a huge amount of money.

Okay the clutch is in good Nick but
that still leaves me with a question

Mark over what's causing the lazy
gear change issue. To investigate further I

need to take a look underneath the car.
All right let's have a look.

Okay well at first glance actually
doesn't look too bad. Oh okay right

that's the actuator for the gearbox
that's got a leak and it's quite a

bad leak I've got to say.
What happens is when you pull a gear on the

paddles behind the steering wheel it
uses hydraulic pressure down those

lines there so can use that actuator
to then select a gear inside the gearbox

because we've got such a bad leak.
Yeah that's going to cause a loss of

pressure and I wonder that could
actually be one of the reasons that

Mike found that gear change to be
sloppy or a little bit slow. Either way

that's going to have to come off
the car and be serviced and find out

exactly where it's leaking from
but hopefully it's not too bad a fix.

Okay first job to do then.
While Elvis cracks on in the garage I found

someone who can solve our sticky
button problem and for a fraction of the

price of buying new ones. His name is
Roland and he's based out of this unit.

in Peterlee near Middlesbrough. Roland.
Hi mate. Mate how are you? Well good.

Go on you can shake me hand I don't mind.
Nice to see you mate you alright?

Nice to see you too. I
recognise this this is my

Maserati interior. Yep.
Wow. In the process of

giving them a quick clean down
ready to paint. Lovely well I don't want to

disturb you while you're
working shall I grab

a chair? Yeah. Nice.
Right then Roland so

this is a problem isn't it and it's
a problem I faced before actually

anything from the Fiat group like a
Maserati, Ferrari, Fiat they tend to

just get these sticky button problems.
Why is it? I believe it breaks down due to

fluids that detailers use.
Because the coatings

a really weird
texture isn't it I mean if

I take this for instance it's got a
soft texture so it's that soft texture

that's getting broken down by the
chemicals and turning sticky. Correct.

What's the method then to get rid of it?
So basically the process I use is

all by hand just isopropanol, a rag
and just hours and hours of scrubbing

basically till you get back down
the bare plastic clean and then use a

laser to etch the symbols back in. Right
so what's the first job then just take

some of this stuff and just keep
cleaning yeah? Just give it a clean.

The isopropanol completely strips all
the paint off the buttons taking them.

back to bare plastic. What if I was
to get in touch with Maserati and say I

need new buttons what would they
charge them? Well for instance these six

buttons they would be around about a
thousand. Oh you're kidding me seriously?

No no the radio that would be around
about 2,000. I beg your pardon? Yeah about


Well I'm happy to clean away and

save the money. Once the buttons
have been stripped back the next step is to

repaint them. So what's the process
here what are you gonna do first? So

we basically put a couple of coats
of base coat on white and then black.

obviously let it dry and then we'll do
some lasering on them. Right gotcha so

the the white base coat once you
laser etch the black off that reveals

the icon. I gotcha okay well listen
I'll leave you to get on with this bit

because of air and safety and all
the rest of it and I'll peer through the

window if that's alright with you.
No problem.

Ronan uses standard automotive paint
for the buttons but crucially adds his

top-secret coating to seal them
preventing the stickiness from returning

in the future. It is an amazing level
of detail you have to go through to get

that sort of supercar finished.
The final step of the process is to take

the plain black buttons and reinstate
the individual markings. Whilst those

are drying Roland has the console
prepped and ready to go. So this one was

prepped earlier on so we've put
some white on put some black on so now

it's a case of giving us a quick laser.
How do you operate it? Yes so basically

we use a computer which has all the
predetermined symbols on and then we

basically just line the laser and let it
fire away. Super alright show me an

action do I have to put any safety
equipment on? Yeah there's glasses. Right.

I wonder why these sporty glasses
are up there these are gonna look nice

oh yeah look at that nice one right
laser away. The laser Roland is using

is specially calibrated to emit just
enough heat to evaporate the black

paint without melting the
plastic underneath. In less

than 60 seconds the whole
console will be complete.

Oh brilliant I just love it look at
that I've never seen anything like it

before in my life. That is so classy
isn't it what a job all that stripping

down and preparing. Our budget supercar
is no longer a budget supercar it looks

factory fresh doesn't it? Well done
mate absolutely love it. No problem at all.

Isn't that amazing Roland's refurbished
all our sticky bash and for just 550

pounds a fraction of what Maserati
would have charged. I'm also out on

the road having sent our knackered
gear actuator to my mate Simon's shed.

It's not just any old sh*t this is where
Simon's company SS Autotech work their

magic on refurbishing parts. They've got
all the specialists kit and knowledge to

get it working again. What are the
main things that go wrong with them?

Leakage is the most common problem
obviously you've got dynamic moving

parts in here so you've got Teflon
based seal material moving on steel

steel pistons they do wear out so
eventually you lose more and more

pressure and you get sluggish gear changes.
Which is exactly the fault that Mike

found on the test drive. Okay so
we're gonna strip this down have a closer

look inside and hopefully rectify all
those problems. Yeah we'll do that.

Right where do we start? Okay so
let's put her in the jig and we'll get our

tools on it and start stripping the
whole thing down. As we strip the

actuator down it's not long before
we spot one of the potential culprits

for the gear shift issue.
Wow look at that that is the seal isn't it

that's what we're talking about.
You can see the way here on the end

because you've got another seal with
it that houses this chamber and that's

polished. Yeah. Polish that out so yeah
she's she's worn. So the good news is

it's quite a common thing we can
replace those seals and that should

then hold that pressure and give
us that positive gear shift back.

Absolutely it would work as good as new.
Perfect. Before we replace the

worn-out seals every part of our
actuator needs to be cleaned by hand

then placed in an ultrasonic bath.
The machine creates bubbles which burst in

the water due to sound waves emitted
within the bath. These bursting bubbles

remove all the remaining fine dirt
particles and grease leaving us with

parts which look brand new.
Right Simon so everything's now clean we've

got new seals and everything new
gaskets as well it's a couple of new

components here as well though aren't they?
There are so when we rebuild and we

don't want to build it as standard
because they do fail so what we've done

first thing is a selector shaft the
original one here where the selector

finger bolts to it's been wasted and
that can bend around there. So that

becomes a weak point that you've
seen bend over time. That is a weak point.

exactly so what we've done to overcome
that we've made it out of a solid and.

we've clocked the position of the
bolt holes here and that is made out of

very strong tool steel not going to bend.
So you can see it stronger so

that's one of your little modifications?
That's one of our little modifications

and then one of the other mods we've
made now this is a very important one

on these hydraulic rams see this
black shiny coating that's the DLC

coating. That's what
DLC stands for? Diamond

like carbon so it's
a very very hard like

diamond coating yeah and the
the base of this is a graphite so it's a

lubricity as well that will give you


so that that's a huge amount. It should
last a lot longer with that that's the

idea that's what we want to do is
to make it a much stronger improved

actuator. All that's left to do is
reassemble the actuator then we can.

put it through its paces on this
hydraulic rig which will recreate the.

gear changing motions it will
experience when it's back on the car.

You can see the actuation happening
yep all the gear cycles here so you've got

that radial movement as well as
the sort of forward that's right and it's.

holding pressure and it's holding
pressure very well so I'm happy with

that your potentiometers are reading
correctly as well so that's good to

go that's great I'm happy with that
yeah well I'm very happy with that

nice one right well listen I'm so
pleased that's now working but now that

it is whilst I've got the car apart and
up in the air is there anything else I

should think about are there any
other weak points in this system I should

think about replenishing or
replacing yeah I would definitely look at

the f1 pump okay brushed motors
and they do wear out they sound.

expensive though everything's expensive
in these systems if you go to a main.

dealer Maserati or Ferrari it's going to
be extremely expensive but there are

Alpha pumps which is the same
thing it's a cell of speed pump at a

fraction of the cost and it will do
the same job so it's the same part but

it's a cut price option that's right
that's right they're out there Mike on

to Dallas brilliant no no
problem at all you're welcome.

Hey up fella alright mate I'm a man
bearing gifts oh what you got right

remember that Maserati dashboard
you give me look at it now that's not the

same one that is the same one there
what that is amazing I mean it looks

brand-new that is gonna make the
interior absolutely phenomenal it's gonna

be great also I picked up that
sellers be pump for you well done

crazy that they can Charles 1383
pound for a Ferrari or Maserati and yet the

same Alpha part is 169 exactly and
it does exactly the same thing with the

actuator and the sellers be pump we're
gonna have a nice snappy gear change

yeah and we've done all of this
remember on a budget yeah we should put

this car up against like proper
supercars shouldn't we I was thinking

something along those lines because
I really would like to test this and I.

mean properly test it put it through
its paces because I can't wait to get

behind the wheel well let me
give you that and I'll go and find out

somewhere we can take it nice one and
after I fitted this I've got a suspension

that's all out as well Mike did a
great job finding this Alpha Romeo

seller speed pump which has
saved us a huge chunk of change it's a

like-for-like replacement so I can
just bolt it in place with the old one

used to sit right now before we fit
our newly refurbished actuator it's a

really good tip to install these
high-pressure hydraulic lines that go

from the valve block into the
actuator itself before we install the unit

because once it's up in the car they
become very difficult to access but.

it's also really really important we
get these in the right order they all

look very similar but they have to
go in a very specific position now on

the valve block itself the manufacturer
has stamped numbers from one to five to

designate the order but as I took
the lines off I took the time to put

the corresponding number of tire
wraps onto the end of those lines there's.

nowhere I can get them mixed up
now basically the way it works is as

hydraulic fluid under pressure around


and into these five ports it comes in
in different combinations depending on

which gear you select and those
different combinations translate into

either lateral or vertical movement
here at the actuator and it's that that

selects the right gear in the
gearbox all I need to do now is get it

fitted using my tire wraps as a
guide I can fit the hydraulic lines in the

correct positions on the pump then
apply sealant around the edges and get

it bolted back onto the gearbox
this is where that little tip really pays

you back knowing that I can't get
these wrong I just need to match the

numbered lines from the pump with
the valve block and Bob's your uncle.

well there we go that's it pretty much
all back together all I need to do now

is put the reservoir back on fill it up
with fluid and bleed it and we should

have a fully functioning Cambia
Corsa gearbox like this car should have

always had and the best bit is we
haven't had to pay a supercar premium

to get it done Elvis fella come over
here I think I found us the perfect

place to take the Maserati where
well now how much you like a racetrack

there's a supercar meet at Castle
Combe amazing I mean look I would love to

get that on a racetrack well I've
entered us into the event but there's some

really good company there Ferrari 550
Porsche 911 Turbo S Aston Martin Vantage


vanquish Zagato and then there's this

turning up as well an Aventador
wow that's a proper list of cars that has

got a 6.2 liter V12 engine I'm not
sure we're gonna keep up with it but

we can definitely have a lot of fun
definitely have some fun and we're

prove to these people that you don't
need to spend hundreds of thousands of

pounds like they did to go and have
fun mate it's a great idea I love it nice

one I've got one last mechanical job
to do on our Maserati and that's trying

to solve the handling issue Mike
noticed on the test drive now Mike

told me there were some problems
with the handling of this car he said

it was loose and sloppy at the rear
end not like a Maserati should be and

so I've been through all of the
components checking bushes dampers

linkages trying to find a source of
that problem and I've also spoken to a.

specialist and both of those things
have led me to this point here this

little bush on the end of this
linkage that controls the rear track of

the car has play in it you can see
it moving like that and that shouldn't

be the case now if you take that to
a Maserati main dealer they're most

likely going to want to change this
entire lower arm at a cost of close to


us so I've done a bit of digging online

and I have found myself this which is
just that little replacement bush on its

own at a cost of just 55 pounds
which is much more like it so I should

be able to replace it myself now
because the bush that I need to

change is inside the end of this
adjustable track control arm I need to

measure it now to make sure that
when I put it back it goes back at

exactly the same length so I don't
adversely affect the tracking of the

car the adjustable arm length is


it's exactly the same when I put it
back together with that checked I can

set about getting to that worn out
bush now this stud here runs through

the linkage and then through the
bottom of the upright and into the.

lower arm on the other side but
I need to get it out to be able to

remove this linkage and change the
bush now I could use a stud extractor to.

get that stud out of there but you do
risk damaging the threads when you.

do that so I'm going to use this
old-school method of winding two nuts

onto that thread lock them against
each other and use those to wind the stud

out the second nut locks the first
one in place so when I get my spanner

on the first one with a bit of brute
force I can get the stud moving then.

I can get the linkage off and over
to the bench right with the two rubber

dust covers out of the way now gives
me access to the bush itself this is the

bit that has all the play in it that I
need to replace because of its unique

design I need to get a special tool
with a very thin wall they'll slot over

the top of this top hat insert and
then be able to press on the part of

the bush that has the interference
fit inside the link itself sometimes you

can use a socket to do that but in this
case I needed this cost me about 40.

pounds but it's gonna make the
job a whole lot easier I'm using the

hydraulic press to remove the bushes its
purpose built for the job but you could.

do this at home carefully using a mallet
once the old bushes out I just need to

use the press again to push the
new one in then after applying a bit of

grease I can get it back on the
car right there we go that's the last of

all the major jobs on this car
now done I've still got to give it a

service and check the tracking but it
all looks good and I'm really pleased

that all of the jobs we've done have
somehow improved this car either through

its performance or handling like this
without spending a fortune and I hope

that that gets us just a little bit
closer to proving that you can have

the supercar experience without
having to spend supercar money.

when Mike bought it there were a number
of reasons why our Maserati was going

cheap that is a little rattle coming
off the suspension it's just rattling.

away I set about fixing the mechanical
gremlins we can replace those seals and

that should then hold that pressure
and give us that positive gear shift

back absolutely maybe it'll work as
good as new while Mike restored its

supercar luxury oh brilliant I just
love it look at that and now we're

hoping we've unleashed its full
potential and got bags of supercar power

on a shoestring budget Mike bought
the car for nine thousand five hundred

pounds refurbing the sticky buttons
and vents was 550 I saved us a few quid

by helping to rebuild the gear
selector which cost 800 pounds the new

suspension bushes were 136 pounds
and the seller speed pump 170 finally the

service kit and fresh oil was 217
quid giving us a grand total of eleven

thousand three hundred and seventy
three a fraction of the cost of most

supercars on the market and
what better place to put it through its

paces than a supercar track day at
the historic castle comb circuit I used

to come here all the time I am so
at home at a racetrack but before we

hit the track I need to find Mike
who I'm sure is going to be in his

element amongst this lot
wow what a lineup of cars wow

look at this and here he is
he's gonna be so excited.

that looks incredible how are you
fella yeah amazing it's finished any

problems of it finishing it off no
problem at all it's absolutely brilliant

it drives amazingly well and didn't
look good it looks amazing don't it I mean

we are amongst like royalty here we've
got Lamborghini's we've got Porsche's

Ferraris Aston Martin's Maserati yeah
what a lineup and it does feel at home

doesn't it well listen mate before
we get out there on the track you want

to go meet a few of the owners
yes that's the one you yeah let's go

meet that owner so we were drawn
by these two lovely looking cars who

that's mine yes absolutely lovely
that isn't it what a wicked looking car but

this one is like a superstar isn't it is
this yours and Joe's yeah yeah can

you tell us a bit about the car yeah
it's a Lamborghini event or mirror

edition they made 50 of them to
celebrate 50 years the Lamborghini

Miura they come out of 2016 I think
they were released at Goodwood so I got

this car three years ago I think they
did them in black yellow green and

the orange now the Lamborghini
Miura was penned as the world's first ever

supercar the word supercar was
invented once that car was on the road

can I ask yeah how much are they
they're about 250 to 300,000 but they

kind of fluctuate a little bit you
know I got it a little bit cheaper I

must say when I bought it yeah
hopefully it's gone up a little bit

since then and it'll hopefully keep
going up and we'll see what happens

well we were hoping that we could
have the same experiences what you're

getting out of this but in our budget
supercar yeah and Maserati would

love it it's the best car you could buy
for that kind of money Ferrari based

engine the sounds incredible you know
if you shut your eyes you wouldn't you

wouldn't you think you're in a you
know 150 grand supercar we can't wait

to see this on the track no doubt
we're just gonna be in your rearview

mirror I think our slot is rapidly
approaching so we better get

helmeted up and get out there we'll
see you on the track. Thanks chaps.

The Karsalkum circuit is just a shade
under three kilometers long and it's

renowned for being one
of the fastest racetracks in

the country it's the perfect
test for our Maserati.

Wow! This car's got some, woah!

Oh look at that!
This car's got some beans in it!

Oh it really is it's so
at home right here on

a racetrack I love this place as
well it's a proper fast circuit this one.

Right now when I've got the car
obviously it had a few little issues

one of the issues being was that
gear change that took me through it

what's it feel like?
It feels amazing it feels so sweet

I mean it's literally smooth it's crisp
it's brilliant Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Go on Elvis! Oh yes!

Here we go! Turns in beautifully!

Yeah it really does!
Look at that it's sharp

isn't it the way it
turns in that's lovely!

I know but the sound!

Sound is glorious!

Now when I got the car again I noticed
that the rear felt really really loose

but now oh I mean from this
seat from the passenger seat

it hurts when you push it into a
corner it's so grippy on the rear

yes he's just hanging on and hanging
on Go on Elvis go on attack that corner!

Brake brake brake turn!

You know we've got all
these guys turning up here

today and the potential
customer for this car

turning up here today and
these guys would have spent

£60, £70, £80, £100, £200,000
to get the same experience

the same frills we're getting in
this car at a fraction of the cost

That's so true mate yeah
and I can tell you what

from this seat it feels
every bit a supercar.

Oh that's good! Oh it's tight isn't it?

And it picks up so fast!

Yeah it really does!

Right talking of supercars
Elvis we're not going to be

charging supercar money
when we come to sell this car No

that's the point Remember
I bought it for under £10,000

Yes And what with the
savings we've made we can

put this car into the
market for £12,000 today

and I don't want to take any
less than £12,000 for it it's

such a good car and a lot
of car for £12,000 isn't it?

Yeah it's very true mate it feels like a
car worth way more than that right now

Right well I can see the feather
with his nose pressed to the fence.

Let's hope that when he
sees how this car performs

today he's willing to
put a deal together.

John was quick off the Mark
when I listed our Maserati online

From chatting to him on the
phone I know he's a supercar

aficionado So I hope he
likes what he's seen so far.

That was fantastic.

You must think John Hi
mate How you doing mate?

Nice to see you So you've been standing
out on that pit wall watching us go by?

Yeah and hearing it what an amazing car

This Maserati is a special
car but why a Maserati?

I love Italian design and
the shape is just timeless the

colour is amazing and
also it's got a Ferrari

engine in it Have you
ever owned a Ferrari?

I have actually I owned a


bills as well and it
put me off I can tell you

Yeah they come with
Ferrari tacks don't they?

Oh yes They certainly do

Well listen Elvis has been driving
this car pretty hard in fact he feels

more like an ex Formula One driver
rather than a Formula One mechanic.

Well that's what he thinks he is
but I'm thinking we're here we've

got a circuit I've got a helmet in
the car why don't you have a drive?

I'd love that that's really kind of you
Yeah go on enjoy yourself Brilliant.

With Elvis alongside
him John can really put

the car through its
paces out on the track

And if he loves it as much as we
do hopefully we'll secure a sale.

Right okay then John.

Here we go perfect
place to test it out Yeah.

Total freedom no other
cars on the road at the

moment what's your first
impression behind the wheel?

The steering's really nice and
actually it's really relaxing to drive

it but you know you've got the
power underneath when you want it

It sounds amazing you can hear
the Ferrari engine in it for sure.

It's got that incredible sound I
mean because it's the V8 you do get

that proper Rumble and you feed
it through the car as well don't you?

Yeah the brakes are
really good as well Yeah.

Which is important.

Come on there we go.

Wow I mean there's not
many cars where you can get

that experience for the
price of a Ford Fiesta.

I couldn't believe it when I
saw it I was just absolutely

gobsmacked at the value for
money really for what you get

Well look speaking of money I
mean you know what we're asking for it

you've seen the advert you've
spoken to Mike we need £12,000 for it

And having now sat behind
the wheel I'm pretty sure I

can see a great big grid
underneath that crash helmet

What do you say £12,000
for this unbelievable car?

Do you know what I'm not even going to
haggle absolutely deal Yeah Absolutely Done?

Not a penny less We didn't
even need Mike Brewer?

No.

Amazing wait till I tell him

Oh well John congratulations mate I'm so
happy for you go on give it another blast.

Oh he's driven it hard I can
feel the heat coming off the car

you've got a big smile
on your face haven't

you look at that That
was amazing Was it good?

Oh I loved it absolutely loved it

Oh fantastic well listen I
feel that with the work we've

done to it me and Elvis are
going to sell this quite easily

I've actually done the deal
already Mike Have you?

Yep.

Really?

Deal What you've
done the deal in the car?

Yep

Well congratulations Thanks You did buy
yourself a cracking motor and well done Elvis

I suppose I better have a turn
on the spanners then have I?

We set out to prove that
you can have all the fun

of a supercar without having
to spend supercar money

And through some canny Wheeler dealer in me
and Elvis have pulled it off with this one

because we've turned out an amazing car
that sits amongst its peers really proudly.

Plus we've found the perfect
buyer who returned us a tiny profit for

it and I know that he's going to
enjoy this car for many years to come

If you want to see more
iconic cars like this being turned

around by me and Elvis then join us
again soon on Wheeler Dealers Ciao.