How I restored a classic Range Rover and saved it from the junkyard // SOUP Classic Motoring

Comments · 8.7K

• SO

  @soupclassicmotoring · 7 years ago (edited) · pinned

  To everyone here - THANK YOU! Just FYI on a couple of the questions and observations; The car was bought new by my uncle in 1991 and yes it lived by the sea, travelled on ferries often and made regular family ski trips to the Alps. It is much loved but worked hard and has 210k+ miles under it&apos;s belt. My uncle is a conscientious man and I got the car with a bulging box file of history that begins with the brochure and options list. It details every bit of maintenance, and shows that the car missed only two scheduled maintenance intervals. One by 40 miles, the other by 500. All others were carried out early. Over £48k was spent on money no object maintenance in 25 years of ownership before I took over. The car was just under £38k new with many options. The fact the engine has that mileage without major rebuild is testament to how well it was looked after. The trouble was the people contracted to upkeep the bodywork weren&apos;t doing a proper job, unbeknownst to my uncle. Regarding brakes, suspension and general mechanics; the calipers and discs were new just months before I started, they just look tarnished after three years lying up, the car brakes like a modern. The shocks and springs too look a little scruffy but again weren&apos;t on the car long. In short it drives tight and even the steering box is almost free of play for a Land Rover. Later in the video I cut out floor sections, and pull back welds that I had already repaired, this was to rectify poor welding that I identified having gained experience. Yes I used a €99 gasless welder from the supermarket. That&apos;s all I had, and no money. I didn&apos;t do a frame off resto because it took me completely by surprise, it was supposed to be a two month turn around for a quick fix, but the deeper I dug, the worse it was. There were many times I thought &apos;this is nuts, scrap it&apos; but I wanted to prove what can be done with a determination and passion. Plus there&apos;s a Lotus Esprit on the channel that I want to restore to perfection, so I treated the Range Rover as a skills building jigsaw. Practice. I&apos;d recommend that mindset to anyone who has always wanted to do their own car resto. If you want it bad enough you can make it happen! I worked on this full time, and it&apos;s just me. The video production work in the project was like a day job, soaking up hours and getting in the way. This Range Rover is dear to me and the family, but no one is under any illusions, the job I did is far from perfect, it wasn&apos;t financially viable [but I wouldn&apos;t have farmed out the work if I&apos;d had the funds]. What I learned is as rewarding and enjoyable as being able to drive the car. I fully expect to do a body off restoration on it later. But not before I enjoy it for a few years first ;) &nbsp;Thanks again! The other episodes explain the process and the average guy with no budget ethos of the build, and if you&apos;re into more, sub and catch up on the Lotus Esprit project. That&apos;s shaping up to be special. This project was funded by patron support only, you&apos;d be surprised by how little it cost overall once you are determined to do the work yourself and make anything you can rather than buying. Any support you can give for the channel, whether it&apos;s a like/share/sub/turning on notifications/buying a tshirt, or direct financial support, will make a big difference and can be lent here: <a href="http://www.georgekarellas.com/">www.georgekarellas.com</a>

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• PA

  @PapieroweStraty · 7 years ago

  He said: Honey, I&apos;m going to the garage. <br>And he haven&apos;t been seen for five years.

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• AM

  @ametistihiomo · 7 years ago

  A ridiculous amount of work went into filming this ridiculous amount of work.

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• SU

  @superchargedpetrolhead · 5 years ago

  Came for the range rover, stayed for the the cinematography.

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• VI

  @victor58010 · 5 years ago

  What ?!! No loud mouthed presenters with big budget sponsors?<br>No shitty rock music blasting over the music of machinery?<br>Just one man , with a vision , a welder , and crazy mad video editing skills.<br>This is surely entertainment of the highest level .<br>Your dedication , patience , and skill are just what YouTube needs.<br>May the wind always blow at your back.

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• NW

  @nw8000 · 7 years ago (edited)

  Restoring a Range Rover is one thing but doing it whilst fliming in Morph-a-Scope is something else dude!!!

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• DA

  @dangozo8167 · 7 years ago

  I am just staggered at the whole video. Not only have you performed major, major intricate brain surgery on a very poorly Range Rover but you have also created an epic pain staking video in the process. You my man have the patience of a saint and the skills to match. I have never seen anything like it before you are a restoration God, and I thank you for making me realise nothing is beyond repair!!!

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• JO

  @JoeFroShow · 7 years ago

  Man, I wish my car was one of these self welding cars...

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• JI

  @jimdoerr7483 · 2 years ago

  I&apos;m not sure what I was more impressed by: the amount of hidden rust, the incredible effort put into saving this classic, or the extremely cool footage. &nbsp;Amazing job and video!

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• BI

  @BigMkombe · 7 years ago

  I don&apos;t know what you&apos;ve done to upset the YouTube overlords, but Im pretty sure you should have a couple extra zeros on the end of your subscribe button. .<br>The amount of work you&apos;ve put into this is awe inspiring. I&apos;ve had a 2 door sitting outside the kitchen window, for the last 3 years I stared at it every time I washed the dishes, I entered that weird trance you go into washing dishes and finally snapped out of it and dragged it into the drive. Im now 50% through the restoration thanks to you. Keep up the amazing work, you&apos;re an inspiration to thousands and thousands of people

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• EL

  @elispencer6511 · 6 years ago

  &quot;take plenty of photo&apos;s when you&apos;re working on a project so you know how to put everything back together&quot; <b>SOUP:</b> &quot;ok&quot;

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• MA

  @Mariano-ARES · 7 years ago

  There is no way he did this with stop motion. The only reasonable explanation is he is invisible.

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