17x06 - Porsche 997

[bunniefuu]

I think the journey may have been worth it.

That looks like a
sharp old car, doesn't it?

But there's a good
reason for its low price.

Oh dear.

That sounds expensive, doesn't it Elvis?

I'm hoping Elvis's F1 engineering
know-how can save the day.

Looks like such a brutal
process, just tearing away material.

Whilst I try to cash in on the
latest craze for retro styling.

I want to capitalise the market and I think
doing it this way is going to really work.

Can we get this legendary
track star firing on all cylinders

in time for a huge event at the
home of British Motor Racing?

Oh I love it, love it, love it.

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

It's rattling, it's noisy,
it's utterly wonderful.

Now I'm set up shop in Britain's
motor inherited heartland near Oxford.

Oh God, stop smiling.

Along with ex-formula one
mechanic, Mark Elvis Priestley.

Come on, hurry up.

Together we're going to buy.

I love these men, so do I.

And fix up.

Right down that end mate.

Yeah I'm fine.

The most iconic and
exciting cars on the market.

Why is it on a trailer?

It hasn't rubbed for 30 years.

30 years?

With Elvis's engineering skill.

Oh my goodness, what a mess.

And my car dealing clout.

I think you're being a bit
cheeky with your pricing.

We should be able to
make ourselves a tidy profit.

Another happy customer.

Another happy customer.

Hello babe, how you doing?

A beautiful morning at the workshop
could be about to get even better.

I'm hearing Porsche and cheap.

Yeah, no worries Dan, listen.

That sounds great.

Look, I'll be more than happy
to take the car off your hands,

but we need to just
come and check it out first.

Alright, cheers mate, bye bye.

We?

Yeah, me and you, the team.

Going to look at what?

Porsche.

What, yeah?

911.

No way.

How much?

It's a 2006 997, the
cheapest one in the country.

15 grand.

No, get out of here.

What's wrong with it?

Well, it's a dealer who's got the car.

He took it in, it was running fine,

and then all of a sudden it's developed
a noise coming from the engine.

It's outside of his capability to fix it.

So that's where I step in, 15 grand.

Those 997 engines, particularly the
pre-2008 ones, they're prone to problems.

Things like bore scoring
or the IMS bearings failing.

It could be a massive gamble, but
it could be a massive profit for us.

Don't bother to get
yourself a cup of coffee,

I'll treat you to a
nice one on the way,

because we're on our
way to go and see it now.

Mate, I am so excited about today.

Got me buddy with me on
the road, trailer behind us,

on our way to go and see
that famous Stuttgart badge.

Yeah, this is a rare treat for me to
come out on one of these blind visits.

You've got to come out
every now and then, I love it.

What is it about Porsches though?

I love them too.

It's that feeling that you get
behind the wheel of any Porsche,

particularly the 911.

It's the rear engine, it's that guttural
response you get in the pit of your stomach

when you put your foot
down, the handling, the styling,

plus being a car dealer, the fact
they never seem to lose money.

The thing with the styling of a Porsche
is it's pretty unique in the car market,

particularly in the sports car market.

No other car looks like it.

It stands out a mile, you can't
miss one, so I do love them.

The 911's trademark
silhouette has survived

since the car was first
manufactured in 1964.

The 997 generation was
built between 2004 and 2013

and used water cooling on
the 3.6 litre flat-six engine.

Prices for 997's are starting
to climb into the big league,

with good examples passing 30 grand.

So now is the time to buy,
especially at half that money,

which is why we're driving up to Litchfield,
north of Birmingham, to see this one.

Yes, most people would
run a mile from a Porsche with

any engine fault, but we're
going in with our eyes open

and we'll soon work out if this car is an
opportunity, or simply a can of worms.

Hold on, hold on, hold
on, don't get me too excited.

Oh yeah, look at that, that's proper.

I'd love a 997, I can do
that, it does look good,

but it's what we can't see
that might be the worry, mate.

That looks fantastic, I love it in black,

with the big wheels on
it as well, tinted glass.

Dan, how are you doing? Nice to meet you.

Good to see you. Glad you made it up.

Do you know what Dan, I think
the journey may have been worth it?

I did say on the phone how clean it was.

You described it very, very well,
but what's the service history like?

It's got excellent service history.

Has it?
So it looks like it was well cared for.

It's been extremely
well looked after, yeah.

Right, so this problem that has developed,
it's happened since you've had it?

Since we've had it, yeah.

Do you mind if I fire it up?

No, of course not, I've got the keys here.

Lovely, there you go.

I'll tell you what though, Elvis, when
you open it up, there you go, there you go.

Look at that interior,
that's nice, isn't it?

It's lovely, it's triple black, black
leather seats, electric as well,

it's got the big sound system in it.

Looks great, let's have
a listen to that noise,

because that's the
bit I'm worried about.

Oh dear. As I said, yeah.

Yeah, that sounds
expensive, doesn't it, Elvis?

Doesn't it just?

Oh yeah.

The thing is, that noise
sounds almost identical

to the noise that a noisy
valve lifter would make.

And more often than
not in this, it's not that, it

is the thing that we've
already discussed before.

You can often hear it on
one side more than the other.

That noise that we're hearing then is
the piston slapping around inside there.

It's just rocking inside the cylinder
where it's got too much wear

as the piston scored its
way up and down the cylinder.

Another tell-tale sign is that
one of the two tailpipes is sootier,

it's darker in colour
than the other, and that's

kind of what you've
got here, haven't you?

But, you can see, look at that.

That shows you that
really the problem is only

on one side, another
typical sign of borescope.

That's a big job, isn't it?
On one of these, it's an engine-out job,

and most people will
be thinking, well, that's

the end of the engine,
you've got to replace it.

I mean, the only real
way to find out is to

get my borescope in
there back at the workshop,

get buried down in there with a camera,
and that's the only way you'll know 100%.

I know it sounds ridiculous
with the engine faulting like it is,

but is there any chance I can just
make sure it starts, stops and goes?

Yeah, of course there is.

Yeah, you don't mind.

All right, you can drive.

I'm on a test drive, and it's a
Porsche, and it's at five miles an hour.

This is the most ridiculous...
I know it's ridiculous.

Well, that's as fast as we want to go.
We don't want to go any faster.

I'll tell you what we can do, we can
check things like the electric windows,

they work, the electric sunroof works, I
can feel the air conditioning's working,

we can switch across into manual.

Does it steer? Does it steer?

Yeah, it steers.

It does, and do the brakes work?

Yeah.

Well, I think that's good enough for me.

The question is, am I prepared
to take a gamble on this car?

It's almost certainly
got borestroke damage,

but the usual price on
one of these is 25 grand.

The Wheeler dealer in me is saying yes.

That's good enough for me. Let's go back.

That's a joke. An absolute joke.

But that was a test drive.
That's all you get.

Mate, I'm going to tell you, you
could have driven a little bit faster.

That was ridiculous.

Yeah, frustrating.

It was frustrating.

How was that, then?

Well, never been in a
faster car and gone slower.

Well, you know, it
drives, it works all right.

All we wanted to check for is to make
sure everything works, and it all does.

Yeah, it does, and that
gives me confidence.

The bit I'm still struggling to, you know,
be completely comfortable with is in here.

It still makes me nervous, and I
just feel like we need a bit more

investigation to fully know what it
is and how serious it's going to be.

So is it like 14 grand now?

No.

Did it change at 14?

It hasn't changed, nope.

It didn't change?

No.

So it's still 15 grand?

It's still 15 grand, yeah.

Okay, you got a deal.

Oh, right, you got your machine already.

You're a proper car dealer.

No worries, I'll pay you.

15 grand could be the deal
of the century, as long as

Elvis can fix the engine
without breaking the bank.

I can't take the eyes off it.

Look at it, swinging out
there behind us on the trailer.

That's our Porsche 997.

I can't believe I'm saying those words.

It does look amazing, but
there's still a big worry, mate.

I mean, what's under the
boot lid is a concern for me.

It could be quite a
simple fix, or it could be far

more serious, so let's
not get too carried away.

The word icon is a much overused
term in the car world, isn't it?

But the Porsche 911 definitely is one.

There have been enhancements
over the years since it was first

introduced in 1964, but the basic
concept has remained largely unchanged.

Other than the switch from air-cooled
to water-cooled engines in 1998,

Porsche have very
firmly stuck to the, if it

ain't broke, then don't
try and fix it philosophy.

In fact, this 3.6-litre flat-six engine
should be capable of doing 177mph,

but with the knocking noise that
we discovered on our test drive,

I think if we push this one
too hard now, we destroy it.

That noise and the
blackening of the tailpipe

strongly suggest that this
car has a bore score issue.

What we don't yet
know if that is the case is

how many of the six
cylinders are affected,

and the process of
bore score is the pistons

scraping up and down
the inside of the cylinder.

Metal fragments then come off
that and find their way through

the oil system, and that can
cause even more problems.

Problems that could end up
costing us an awful lot of money.

But the only way to find out
is to get this whole engine and

gearbox out of this aerodynamic
body shell and take a closer look.

A flat-six engine is exactly that.

Rather than the V-shaped design
of a V6, the cylinders are horizontally

opposed, with each pair moving
in and out at the same time,

the advantage being the engine's better
balanced with less vibration throughout.

So, this feels like a
bit of a moment of truth.

Finally got my hands on this
enormous engine, and I'm finally going

to find out how serious the
issues are that we've got with it.

We've bought one of
the most desirable sports

cars of all time, a
Porsche 997 Carrera 2.

And at £15,000, it's the
cheapest 911 in the country.

The low price is down to the engine.
It has suspected bore score damage.

We don't yet know how bad the problem is.
Best case, it's only one cylinder.

Worst case, we could be
looking at a full engine being built.

This is a bore scope.
It's fitted with a tiny little

camera which, now that
I've taken the spark plugs out,

I can fit all the way
through the cylinder head

and inside the cylinder
to take a closer look.

I'm starting with cylinder
number six because this

is the one on these
engines that gets hottest.

This is the one where
that misshaping of

the cylinder typically
tends to occur first.

So, here we go. We can start to
now see inside the walls of the cylinder.

If I turn it round, I can
get a full 360-degree view.

Oh, there it is. I can see it.

Score marks up and down the cylinder wall.
Bore score.

Now, part of me is quite pleased with myself
for my early diagnosis of this problem.

But the other part of me, well, a bit
more concerned because I've checked

one out of the six cylinders and
already we've found signs of the problem.

If they were all damaged
in the same way, this

could end up being a
very expensive repair job.

There's only one way to find out.
I've got to check them all.

Oh, yeah, it's got it in there as well.

Actually, that's quite bad.

On to the other side.

Expert opinion varies
as to how common bore

scoring is in these
water-cooled 997 engines.

The consensus is that
around 4% will go on to

develop the problem
in at least one cylinder.

It's looking like our engine is one of
the unlucky ones and I'm worried that

our worst fears of an expensive engine
rebuild could be about to come true.

Now, having checked all six cylinders,
I can confirm that cylinders four

and six on this side of the engine
have a pretty severe bore score issue.

What I can't yet be sure
of, because of that small

blurry screen on the bore
scope, is just how bad it is.

Cylinder number one also
looked like it might have a

problem, so things could
still get worse on that front.

Mate, it's confirmed we've got
bore score on at least two cylinders

on one bank, so that little test
we did with the tissue coping...

Mate, I mean, we
thought that anyway. That's

why the car was
cheap in the first place.

But now you've confirmed it, what are we
going to do? Is it something you can fix?

Well, it's all fixable, mate, as
everything is, you know, but what I

can't do is do it here, because it
needs some specialist equipment.

I can strip it down, get it up to
some specialists I know up in

Bolton, some mates of mine,
they've got everything we need there.

So it's definitely doable, it's just
going to mean a bit of a trip up north.

Well, it looks like a trip to
Bolton, because I'd rather

you did it than anybody
else and we have got to fix it.

I'll get ready to hit the road.

Alright, be safe.

Elvis is off up north and I'm heading out
to the Landy, because I've got my own idea

how we can maximise the profit of our 997
by cashing in on the latest styling craze.

There's a big movement at the
moment that's called backdating.

It's where people are buying later
Porsches, but trying to make them look

more like a retro Porsche by doing
some nice, gentle styling modifications.

Even Porsche themselves,
the manufacturer, are jumping in

on the act and they are
backdating some of their newer cars.

So I was thinking, well, if they're
doing it and it is a route to market and it

separates your car from other cars out
there, then maybe I should be doing the same.

So I'm going to get some
inspiration. I'm going to

go round and see a fella
called Neil Bainbridge.

Now, Neil is a guru in a Porsche world and
he's got a rather large Porsche selection.

And within that selection of cars he's
got, I know he's got a few early RS's.

And I'm hoping they will give me
the ideas I'm looking for for backdating.

Neil.

Hi, boy.

How are you, mate?

How are we good?

You alright? Good to see you.

How have you been?

Yeah, busy, busy.

Neil Bainbridge has been maintaining,
restoring and race preparing high-end

air-cooled 911 classics such as the
RS, RSR and ST models since the 1980s.

It is a proper Aladdin's caberner.
You've got everything, haven't you?

Clients spend big money
for Neil and his team

to retrofit classic parts
to their modern cars.

His garage is like the greatest
hits album of Porsche models.

I love that last of the year-cooled
911s, which is beautiful, the 993.

That is amazing.

That's a 997.

So is this a customer's race car?

This is a customer's race car.

If you're looking for inspiration for
what you should do, there you go.

I mean, there are some bits of it I like.

I love the big wheels and the
fact that it's got a big spoiler.

But no, I couldn't go that extreme.

So if that's a bit extreme, how
about this for a little bit of patina?

Do you know, I do love this.

This is an amazing
looking little car, isn't it?

It's a Porsche 356.

This is quality.

This is the patina look, where people
have cars that look rough and ready,

but fundamentally they're
all drivable underneath.

They've got nice interiors.

Can you imagine if I took
a zip wheel to my 997 and

started knocking the paint
off to make it look like this?

I need something like this.

I love these G-body cars, post 1974.

It's got fouchalois.

Classics.

It's got the Carrera graphic on the side.

It's a nice sort of backdating feature.

And of course, look at this.

You can't beat a ducktail, can you?

This is kind of more like it.

Yeah, you can make this work on your car.

The Carrera name was adopted by
Porsche following the 356 victory in the

gruelling 2000 mile Carrera Panamerica
Mexican road race in the 1950s.

To this day, their
fastest cars still carry

the Carrera name in
celebration of its success.

20 years later, Porsche's unique
ducktail spoiler and their lightweight

aluminium fish alloys combine for the
first time on the iconic Carrera 2.7 RS,

which dominated races
around the world in the early 70s.

50 years later, they're still the
most coveted of the 911 family.

So remember the G-body downstairs?

So what that's trying to emulate
is what we're looking at now.

This is 73, original 27 RS.

So this is a car that was the
shape of the 60s all the way up to 73.

So this is an earlier car.

And the G-body car being 74 onwards.

That's the route.
That's what I've got to do.

I've got to go down that route.

You need the wheels, the
decals, the spoiler, you're in.

I want to capitalise the market and I think
doing it this way is going to really work.

I told you, we've got
just the thing for you, sir.

I tell you what I'm going to do,
I'm going to take a picture of this

because that is exactly what I
need to go back and tell Elvis

we should be doing to our
car, but it's been fabulous.

Want to get it finished?

I'm going to run it
round and show it to you.

We'll go down the pub.

We'll go down the pub in it. Perfect.

While Mike sorts out the way our 997 looks,

I'm focused on fixing its
engine's bore score issues.

To save us some money,
I've broken down the engine

and sent it ahead of me to
Porsche engine experts Hartec

who have all the
specialist equipment I need.

This is the workshop
where all the magic happens.

What an amazing place.

And through those doors is where
I've been stripping our engine down

to find out exactly how
serious the problems are

and maybe how much it
might cost us to get it fixed.

Morning Grant.

Elvis, how are you?

Yeah, good mate.

Good man.

I see you've found it.

I'm afraid so.

And you're right, we feared
the worst and there it is.

You've got classic
bore scoring, I'm afraid.

Yeah, I mean I saw
that with the ender scope.

That's the worst one, isn't it?

There's a couple of little
sides on some of the others.

Just starting in areas, yeah,
but that's your main issue.

Okay, and I mean in
terms of a fix for this,

how many of them do you think we
actually need to set about repairing?

The problem there is
that you're left with five.

that are exactly the same
material, exactly the same design

and so consequently have
the inherent weak spots.

So at some point they
probably will suffer like this then?

Yes, yeah.

Okay, and what's the solution then?

Because you can't just take that out.

Over the last 15 years we've
developed our own solution of repair.

We completely machine out the cylinder.

We replace it with
an aluminium alloy wet

liner with much better
surface bore material.

We're going with a nickel ceramic plating.

It's the same type of material as
Porsche used in the air-cooled 911s.

GT3, turbo, much, much more durable.

So cars that never
suffered with a ballstorm?

You've got it, yeah.

Right, makes sense.

Okay, well I mean look, the decision for me
is going to come down to what this costs.

You've already made a big
saving by bringing it here as it is.

If we were looking purely
at just fixing the immediate

issue, a new cylinder
going in is £600 plus fat.

So Chang Joel 6 is £2,500 plus fat.

I mean in my mind, having got to this point
where it's stripped into all these pieces,

it sort of makes sense to do it all.

I mean I just hope we're going to end
up getting our money back in the end.

We've bagged ourselves the
cheapest Porsche 911 in the country

but that has come at a
price, as I'm now discovering.

The flat-six engine has been diagnosed
with a serious case of bore score.

I've decided the only way forward is to
machine out and replace all six cylinders.

I'm at a specialist Porsche engineering
firm and to save us some money,

I'm going to do as much
of the work as I can myself.

Before I start, the engine is
vapour-blasted to remove any

debris from the block and
leave it all completely clean.

Then my job starts over at the CNC machine.

So now the block is lined up
on the bed of the CNC machine,

what we're going to
do is put a tool in here

that's going to take away the
first part of the cylinder liner

and that's the hardened material,

the one that has the
problem with bore score,

the one that scored deep down
inside the cylinder bore itself.

There we go.

And so the CNC machine actually tells
me exactly which tool I need for the job.

It's tool number 81 and
if I come over to the shelf,

tool number 81 is right there.

It's got a carbide tip on
it which is incredibly hard

for taking away this
incredibly hard material.

OK, so safety goggles on
and we're ready to fire it up.

These CNC machines are called fly cutters.

They operate at around 500 rpm

and have interchangeable
tools, each with a different tip.

So what this first tool
is doing is taking around

about 4 mm of material
off the cylinder liner.

It looks like such a brutal process,

just tearing away material
from this precision engine,

but we're going to replace it, of course,

with something that's going to prevent
these problems from happening in the future.

Next, it's tool number 82
which also has a carbide tip

and will remove a further 3 mm of
aluminium wool from each cylinder.

After that, it's one final tool
swap to another different blade.

This one has a PCD diamond edge.

So as you can see, what's happening here is

it's actually removing
the remaining material

from each of the cylinders
and that will allow us

to then put our new cylinders
in this position, in their place.

The final part of this process
is a really interesting one.

It's a little modification that the
guys here have developed over time.

and by removing some
material from the water jacket

around this engine block, they've
managed to address the balance

of coolant between the
block and the cylinder head

and eliminate some of the hot spots
that have caused some of the problems

this engine suffered
within the first place.

So that's the machining
of the block now done.

Now I can take it through
to another machine shop

where they're going to
turn down some brand new

oversized cylinders to fit
these specific bore sizes.

Here you go Barry.

Perfectly machined cylinder block for you.

Great, thanks very much.

These are the brand new cylinders
that you've had made for us, right?

And that's a new coating on there?

Yeah, this is a nickel ceramic coating.

OK, and it comes with a
little bit of excess material

so each one of these is being turned bespoke
to fit every single one of those bores.

Yeah, exactly.

And how accurate are you
measuring these things?

I will measure down to say 10 microns.

Really, 10 microns?

I mean that's nothing.

I mean a human hair is like 70 microns.

Yeah, exactly, yeah.

And these design details are new too,

so these little cooling fins are
to aid the heat transfer process

and stop these hot spots
occurring in the engine, right?

What you've got here is
more surface area for the water

to help cool the engine down
and stop all of this excess wear.

Excellent, and then the
top is different as well

because we've machined
a little detail into the top

of the block itself which
that's now going to sit in,

which looks very different
to the way it did before.

Well the old manufacturer
used to do what was called

an open deck design and
we've got a closed deck design.

So that diameter there will just fit
into the top of there, sealing it in.

And again, that's going to
stop this ending up misshapen.

Okay, well I know the
specific measurements,

they're still trade secret, aren't they?

I'm not really allowed to
see any of that happening.

Afraid not.

I'll give you that.

You can get on with that process

and I'll go and machine
the other half of the engine.

Great, thanks very much.

Cheers mate.

It takes a few hours for
Barry to turn down all six

cylinders and get them
fitted back into the block,

but I'm very pleased
to say that we now have

a flat six engine
which is four score free.

So having machined out the
two halves of our engine block

and Barry very kindly
turning down our brand

new cylinders and
fitting them in there for us,

it's now the job to put the
whole thing back together.

Now whilst it's all apart,

I've also taken the decision to rectify
some of the engine's other weak points.

That is fitting a new IMS bearing

or the bearing on the end
of the intermediate shaft.

I'm also going to take a look at
replacing the crank shaft bearings

because they're another
weak point on these engines

and hopefully at the
end of all that process.

we'll have an engine
that's incredibly strong

and future-proofed for
the next owner of the car.

So the first thing I'm going to do is start
by putting in the main bearing shells.

The engine bearings reduce friction

between the rotating and stationary
parts of the engine and support the crank.

Once they're in place I can drop
the new crank shaft into position,

bolt the bearing case back
together and then fit the con rods.

Right, I've got a brand new
IMS bearing that I've fitted in here.

Now it's standard practice to replace
those anyway on a Porsche engine rebuild

but when you've had an engine
with bore score like we've got

you've seen the amount
of damage that's created

as the pistons scrape
up and down the inside of

the cylinders scraping
off particles of metal.

Those bits of metal find
their way into the oil ways

and if they find their way inside that
bearing it can cause a catastrophic failure.

The new IMS bearing should
prevent that from happening

and it's another way that
we're future-proofing our engine.

The final part of the
reassembly is a two-man job.

Well, it's been a huge amount of work,

quite a lot of money and I've still got
to run that one by Mike when I get back

but what we've ended up with is a
brilliant strong engine for our 997.

which should keep it on the
road for an awful lot longer

providing that this one works
when I get it back in the car.

See you later boys.

Back at the workshop,
the epic job of rebuilding

the mammoth flat-six
engine continues.

I've cleaned and refitted
the original manifolds,

injectors and gearbox
along with all the ancillaries.

I've also replaced any of the hoses and
pipes that were starting to show their age

which amounts to a small
outlay compared to the

work that we've just
carried out on the cylinders.

I spent about £3,500 on getting this engine
rebuilt because I did most of it myself.

If you had to take this to Hautech
and have the same sort of thing done

it would probably cost upwards of
£10,000 which is a huge amount of money

but the point is even by spending
£10,000 on rebuilding an engine like this

you can still turn a
car like this, a great

car but with a serious
problem, into a profit.

It doesn't have to end
up on the scrap heap.

Brewer. What seat do you want?

Nice.

Hello mate, how you doing?

Yeah good mate, those pictures look great.

How's the engine getting on?

Mate, I'm sitting over it right
now, it's coming back to life.

Wow, that is wicked, it's
so good to hear you happy.

I'm out fitting an engine,
see I need you to be excited.

Hey listen, what do you
think about the styling?

I mean those pictures you sent
are amazing, proper cool retro styling.

but obviously those pictures
are orange car, this is a black car.

What do you think about accenting
the black sort of retro gold wheels

and maybe the Carrera
graphic in gold to match?

Oh Elvis, I think that's a fantastic
idea, together with that ducktail spoiler

that's exactly the right backdated
market we need to be approaching.

Great, I'll get this engine in.

Alright buddy, well
done mate, see you later.

Catch up with you soon.

This really is going to
be a good car you know.

With the final bolts in place
I'm happy to say that our

997's giant flat 6 engine
is finally back in one piece.

It's a big old lump isn't it?

It's finally going back in the car.

Well mate, it definitely
looks like you were

suitably inspired when
you went round to see Neil.

That's fantastic, I drew inspiration from
so many cars that he had round there.

Got the ducktail spoiler, it's on like an
early RS car, colour matched it to the car.

Bought that online,
I also bought these

wheels online, they're
replica Fuchsia alloys.

Well I've done the gold
inserts and I've got a gold

decal kit, it's really going
to make this car pop.

Yeah they look great, honestly I love
this car as it is but this is a nice car.

The aftermarket parts I bought
cost me a couple of grand

but I know that's small change compared
to what Elvis has spent on the engine.

I'm praying it's been worth it.

Mate I'm going to level with you,
I have had a few sleepless nights,

not only over the money
we've got invested in this car.

but also the money invested
in the bore score issue.

So is it now fixed?

It is mate, I've had my
own sleepless nights

but look at that, it's
fixed and back in.

And I'll tell you what, we have
spent a huge amount of money

but that is now one of the strongest
Porsche engines you will find anywhere.

I have remachined the
entire block to take new

liners that will not
only fix the bore score

but hopefully prevent it
happening for thousands

and thousands of
miles into the future.

I've done the IMS bearing
and the crankshaft bearings

which, as you know,
weak points on this thing.

Mate that is fantastic.

I've got quite a few low speed
miles to do just to bed it in

but then I'm really looking
forward to sticking my

right foot down and seeing
what this thing can do.

But you know what, you
can stick your right foot down.

because there is a Porsche
event coming up at one of

your old stomping grounds,
Silversum Race Circuit.

Yeah?

Yeah.

I mean, good to take it there.

It would be fantastic to take it there.

Not only that, if I put
it out on the Porsche

Bulletins that we're
bringing this car along.

hopefully that might mean
a potential buyer could

turn up at the same time
and we can get it sold.

Well mate, that sounds like a plan.

I'll get these retro
styling bits on and these

fancy wheels and we'll
get it out on the road.

Lovely, top work.

So whilst Mike gets on with the
tough job of finding us a new buyer

I get the fun job of
retro modding our 997

starting with this
classic ducktail spoiler.

And actually, you know, this is
much more than just a spoiler.

because this one piece fibreglass
unit actually replaces the entire boot lid

and it's much easier, less time
consuming and costs about the same money

as it would have been to just put a
new spoiler on our existing metal boot lid.

It also means, of course,
that when we sell the

car we can include the
original one with the sale

so that if a future owner doesn't like
the mods that we've done for the styling

and why wouldn't they,
they can change it back.

Swapping these two boot lids just
requires a couple of key components

to be swapped over from
one of these to the other.

Oh, that's a lot lighter as well.

It's going to save us
some good weight, that.

I'm a racer and a light car's a fast car.

First to come off is the cooling fan
which draws hot air out of the engine bay.

Everything fits to the
aftermarket boot lid in exactly

the same position then
it's time to get it on the car.

Now, our classic retro spoiler
also comes with its own brake light

so that needs plugging in too.

Down there.

There it is.

There we go.

And there we have it.

Look at that.

Stage one of our homage
to the classic Carrera 2.7 RS.

Complete.

Stage two is Mike's replica Fuchsia alloys.

Spraying them in gold should
offset the black body work perfectly.

The finishing touch
is a nod to Porsche's

racing pedigree and its
celebrated Carrera name.

Right, here we go.

Mike found these vinyl
decals online for £200.

You only get one chance to position them

so I'd better make sure
I get them on straight.

There we go.

Look at that.

I'm really pleased with that.

It looks great.

It sets off the gold wheels
beautifully against the black paintwork.

I think Mike's going to like it too.

These old-school
add-ons really are our ticket

into this retro-modding craze that's
completely swept the Porsche world.

I think they look great.

We know this car looks amazing

but I've completely rebuilt this engine

and so far it hasn't gone
anywhere under its own steam.

I just hope it works.

We took a huge gamble
on a cut-price Porsche 997.

with an engine on life support.

Who did?

Yeah, that sounds
expensive, doesn't it, Elvis?

Doesn't it just?

Elvis had to use his F1 engine
savvy to diagnose its problems.

There it is. I can see it.

Score marks up and down the cylinder wall.
Ball score.

And then to perform some
mechanical heart surgery.

It looks like such a brutal process,

just tearing away material
from this precision engine.

Whilst I tapped into
Porsche's storied racing history.

I want to capitalise the market

and I think doing it this
way is going to really work.

And picked out some retro styling mods

to give this naughtiest
car a bit of seventies gall.

I'm really pleased with that.
It looks great.

It's been a long road to recovery and
resuscitating our 997 hasn't been cheap.

We paid £15,000 for the car.

I spent a total of £3,500
on the new cylinders,

bearings and recoated
pistons for the engine.

Whilst Mike paid £745
for the Ducktail spoiler.

The replica Fuchs wheels cost £1,360.

And the graphics were £200.

Giving us a grand total of £20,805.

It's a lot of money
but it'll all be worth it

to see our Porsche back on
the racetrack where it belongs.

I'm at Silverstone, the
home of the British Grand Prix

where today Porsche Club
GB are hosting a track day.

The paddock is packed with
classic Porsches and their owners.

Hello Mike, how are you doing?

I've spent the morning checking
out some unbelievable motors

and now I'm anxiously
waiting for Elvis to arrive

so I can see how our
backdated 997 measures up.

Oh mate, that looks absolutely epic.

Oh wow, look at the styling, that's crazy.

We've absolutely nailed it.

Doesn't it look wonderful?

We have nailed that backdating
look absolutely perfectly.

And didn't it sound good?

Oh the engine, it sounds so
mighty, it sounds so strong.

I know, I feel like it's going to be strong
but so far all I've done is run it in.

It's like I've had an
egg under the throttle

pedal just gently
touching it, so frustrating.

I cannot wait to get it out of there.

Well listen, anybody
who's wanting to buy this car

they're going to want to know
that we've done the right thing

and we've run it in
properly, changed the oil,

the scheduled services
and done all those right

things because it's
the correct thing to do.

But yeah, as you say,
out there on the circuit

we can open the taps up
now and we can really enjoy it.

Have you had any interest yet?

Well funny enough there's a lot of people
up and down this paddock looking at cars

so yeah, I reckon this car is
going to turn a lot of heads.

Let's face it, it's the smartest
car in the paddock isn't it?

It looks very good, well
before we even think about

selling it to somebody
we should get it out there.

Yeah, definitely.

Get it out there on the race track.

I cannot wait.

Sweet you, you've been
opening the door for me.

You're so good.

What are you doing?

Let's get it out there.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang
on a minute, what are you doing?

Just get in the car.

Are you actually kidding me?

Oh, listen to that.

Are you having a laugh?

Now this engine is absolutely mighty.

Wow, the power we've got coming out
of that 3.6 flat six hanging out behind us.

It's incredible and it sounds awesome and
even from here, although I'm a little bit

jealous of you sat there,
it feels amazing as well.

I mean so much work has gone into that.

Now think about it, last time we drove this
together we were doing five miles an hour,

not knowing whether the car was
worth anything at all and look at it now.

It's unbelievable, look
what the car's doing.

It's just nuts.

Here we go then, you're going to come
out onto the straight here, just nail it

through here, click the apex of
that corner and nail the throttle.

Listen to that engine, we're pulling
7500 RPM out of this freshly built motor.

Mate, you've done such an
amazing job, you really have.

Not only that, I know that
this engine is fairly bulletproof

now because you've protected
it for future owners as well.

Listen to that sound.

It sounds amazing, doesn't it?

Do you know what, when the heads turn
in today, the way this car's performing,

look, driving past these
people, all staring in, I'm going to

sell this car so easy, I'm going
to get a good price for this car.

Well what do you reckon then, we bought
it for 15 grand and I've saved us a lot

of money by doing a lot
of the work ourselves, how

much profit do you reckon
we can ask for in this?

Well let's not be too
greedy but I think this car is

going to be 26 grand of
anyone's money, easily 26 grand.

I think so.

Whoever does buy
it, they're going to get

themselves a decent car,
this is such a lovely car.

Well done mate, I mean
seriously, well done.

That was incredible.

Well I tell you what, we've
proved that engine, that's for sure.

This car's had a proper road test,
hasn't it, now, well now reluctantly,

I'm going to say it
reluctantly, we've got to sell it.

Well I'm going to sit back then
and watch the master at work.

Don't worry son, I have this covered.

Alright mate, good luck.

There really is no better advert for
our car than seeing it tearing around

the iconic Silverstone
circuit like we just did.

There are hundreds of Porsche lovers here
today and I'm hoping I can get one of them

to stump up 26 grand
to take it off our hands.

Lovely innit, yeah, we've
done the old back-dated styling

with the Carrera graphics
and the wheels and the ducktail.

Hold out your hand.

26 grand, yeah 26, not bad huh?

Yeah, be interested.

It's been an hour and I've had a lot of
interest but nobody has made me an offer.

You alright, you working hard?

Well I can see you're working hard.

Yeah I've had a few sniffs around
the car but nobody quite there yet.

No one's stuck their hand out yet.

Nobody's stuck their hand out
but lots of people like the car.

Lots of compliments about the
styling, everyone loves the styling.

Good.

Which is a really good thing, it's lovely.

Look at all these cars.

It is amazing innit.

They are amazing aren't they?

I mean just standing here GT4 goes past.

Yeah what a special day, here
you go you've got another one.

Alright, look at that, looks serious.

Yeah, do your thing Mike, do your thing.

How you doing?

Not too bad yourself.

Mike.

Dan.

Dan, nice to see you.

You too.

I noticed you were looking at
the car, are you here racing today?

No, spectating.

Did you see this go by?

Yeah, seen it going
around the track all day.

It's really, really nice isn't it?

It's lovely, yeah we just finished it
actually, we put a lot of work into this car.

What do you think of the backdated styling?

Really good, I love the retro look.

You do?

That's what I've been looking for, yeah.

I've been looking for one for a while.

Have you?

Yeah.

Maybe you've found one.

Possibly.

Well, let me tell you,
it is an amazing car,

we've done a lot of
work to it, not only

the styling details, but we've
completely rebuilt the engine as well.

The engine did have
bore score when I bought

it, so we've done new
liners, new pistons,

new rings, and whilst we was in there,
we've also done preventative things for the

future, like the IMS
bearing, so this engine

will be good for another
100, 150,000 miles.

And out there on the track, it's mightily
strong, it's epically strong this engine.

And I think I'm going to sell
it quite easily today, because

I've had quite a few people
look at it, for 26 grand.

Bit more than I was budgeting
for, I was thinking more 25.

Really?

Yeah.

25 grand?

Yeah.

It's very tempting to take that, because
it's a good shout, it's a good offer, but

I think if I just wait it
out for a little bit longer,

with the amount of people
here, I will get 26 grand for it.

Unless you want to give 26 grand for it.

Well, it is the best one I've seen.

Yeah.

It goes around the track well.

It does.

Go for 26.

Yes.

Well done, you just bought
yourself a cracking 911.

There's only one word to say to
you, and that is congratulations.

You've got yourself an amazing car.

I always thought we'd sell this car,
but making over five grand in profit,

well, that's a big win.

Well, what about that?

26 grand.

What a result, and what a fabulous
car to have through the workshop.

It's fair to say that both me and Elvis
had a few sleepless nights over the engine

build on this car, but
we did the job correctly.

Plus, we nailed that
retro styling so much,

it attracted several people to the car
today, and it ended up with it getting sold.

Absolutely brilliant.

If you want to see
more iconic cars like this

fabulous Porsche being
turned around by me and Elvis,

then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Salah.