BMW V12 M70 Engine & Drivetrain Removal - E31 850i - Project Marseille: Part 5

The complete restoration begins! This 1991 BMW E31 850i finished in Calypso red has spent the last 10 years sitting in a garden in France. In this episode, we remove the mighty M70B50 V12 engine along with the 6-speed manual transmission. The plan is to restore the 8 series mechanically with OEM+ theme in mind and up the power of the engine.
Ed, E31 fuel pumps - e31v12throttle...
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[@v12throttle66]

Thank you for the shout out on the new E31 fuel pumps Sreten! It was a long and expensive journey to bring these back to the market and support the E31 community long term!

[@chrisp.2544]

I take my internet hat off to you. That is one magnificently engineered piece of work.

[@TheRubiNaish]

My utmost respect for re-engineering that thing!

[@uvuvwevwevweossaswithglasses]

King

[@Casshern_Sin]

People like you keep the world spinning. Hats off.

[@maxboya]

You should make one for the E32 750!

[@macupgrader]

That new reproduction fuel pump assembly is a thing of magnificence. $900 is extremely reasonable considering what a huge cost it would have been to design, engineer and manufacture. I can't imagine how expensive the moulds must've been.

[@niclebowski9214]

or this could be the evidence that those parts are very overpriced 🤔 either way that guy is a legend, engineering something on your own is to say the least epic.

[@v12throttle66]

Thank you, it was a 2 year journey to design and produce these.... and yes very very expensive, I am still in the process of recouping my investment and will be for quite a while I think. However this will help E31 community in the long run as BMW will never produce these pumps again.

[@brarautorepairs]

@@v12throttle66 that's amazing you took a risk and at $900 a pop, well worth it seeing without our efforts there would be no other options new. And seeing how rare and old this car is now, used wouldn't be an option.

[@oleksii.r]

@@v12throttle66 what a brave man and I think you were in a desperate when decided to do this project

[@houseofno]

$900 is absolutely a fair price! Obviously you don't have BMW's deep pockets to design and engineer a million of these at your own expense, and as there were only around 30,630 E31's manufactured in all worldwide, that's a pretty tiny potential market (30,600 x900) isn't going to make you a millionaire overnight, but again, as BMW is no longer producing these, I'm thankful you are producing these for an obvious need.

[@mateusznowicki9638]

I don't know why but it somehow makes me proud that you so often use services from Poland. Good to hear that our guys are so renown "even" in Germany. Pozdrawiam!

[@Nigel999]

There is something endlessly compelling watching you disassemble these projects - all the time thinking how on earth can you put it all back together without missing something. The 850i is a timeless classic in design and I’m really looking forward to following you on the journey to restore this beautiful beast. 😊

[@vekyzzr]

that is "simple" he have a "sistem" like card bord, leaving bolts and nuts,end every thing he diasemblee he have on video also.

[@traviswalker8933]

He labels the parts, puts them in order and also takes photos of how the components were before he disassembled.

[@Matt_from_Florida]

@@vekyzzr *SYSTEM:* Throw everything into a 55-gallon barrel!

[@tomekl119]

1. pack and label, take pictures 2. BMW TIS has schematics for everything, although sometimes they are oversimplified

[@comeberza]

That Alpina rebuild provided you with amazing engine refurbishing skills and the videos have gotten 10 times better. Manual 850i with close to 400hp is extremely close to what my dream car looks like

[@0Turbox]

Worked at a BMW dealer in the early 90' and drove those many times. It was a superb Autobahn cruiser and I loved especially the interior. Heaps of torque for the time.

[@superuggero]

As an IT technician and amateour car guy i absolutely love the way you make this kind of works very human, sometimes having problems with external shops (again, like the true world is) but staying always focused on what you want to archive. Continue doing this works beacuse not only you're inspiring me to making my hands dirty but also inspiring new people that may be afraid to spend money on cars that will no longer exists in few years. Gretings from Italy.

[@vasyapetrei1527]

Hello.I live in Germany since 2018.I have recently discovered your channel and I really really really love what you do.I can say for sure that you are the only person in the world from who I would buy a BMW.Thank you for the content an God bless you 👍👏

[@FatNFurious]

Yet another fantastic video, I love how you turn these out. We are all now going to be checking daily for updates on this project, I have long thought that Project Dubai was the pinnacle of restoration on an old BMW (not to take anything away from any of the others) but I feel this could be THE series. Simply cannot wait to watch this project. Thank you as always for the effort that you put in to these videos and the content.

[@foadrightnow5725]

Love the channel name!

[@VaBraAnton]

This is good, but I still feel like there was something special with project Dubai

[@borkiborz2891]

just turn on the notifications; you don't have to check daily

[@shades360]

One of the few BMW’s I like. Obviously going to be a massive effort to get it back up to scratch . I hope this is your forever car

[@luisrpa123]

I've met a blue 850CSi with Alpina wheels. The most beautiful BMW I have ever seen. I hope this project ends up looking as good as that one! All my support!

[@M539Restorations]

Trying to find 17" Alpina wheels for this E31!

[@Versys1]

@@M539Restorations Arent they bit to small for such big car,18inch looks better,style 37 maybe,those are perfect for 8 series, just my opinion.Otherwise best KZbinr.Keep up with good work.Poz iz SLO.

[@Alex.P.Carter]

@@M539Restorations they came with 18s from alpina, but these rims are golddust. Maybe have a look at maxilite, or go for the good old style 5 :) Since i got my e31 in may i'm looking forward for you to start working on marseille. Even though mine is a v8, i hope to learn a lot :D Keep up the good work! Greetings from Munich!

[@M539Restorations]

​ @muamerbecirovic2108 It's very much a personal taste, but I think 18" is too big for E31 and doesn't match the car. I looooove Style 37, but I'm not too crazy about them on E31 and it's a very common choice. 17" CSi Style 21 are also beautiful, but they kinda look out of place without the CSi body kit. I saw E31 850i with Alpina 17" wheels in person and they won me over. We'll see what I can find in the end though :) @@Alex.P.Carter I tried Maxilite once, wasn't happy with the quality and sent them back. Thank you!

[@M.Winter789]

@@M539Restorations have you heard of MK-Motorsport MK1 rims yet? Available in 18 Inch and 20 Inch for the e31

[@birdhater7563]

A craftsman at work. I also like the sound effects of you straining and grunting.

[@SalvaBarbus]

Hell, yeah, Project Marseille is back!! As much as I enjoyed the techno-wizardry of the X5, this E31 just clicks with me somehow. It will be a little sad to see the old block go, survivor as it is, with the stripped spark plug threads and whatnot, but I can only imagine the beast that this car will turn into.

[@redtill1]

Of all the BMW’s you’ve bought back to life this e31 is gonna be the best so far.Really looking forward to the series.

[@joatmon7621]

Happy new year Sreten! Greatly enjoyed spending 2022 with you and your broken bmws! Keep up the great work❤

[@miguelnascimento4647]

You are the best... And that M5, is, probably one of the best 4door ever produced..!

[@defalt45]

I'm going through a tough time currently and this is just what I needed. Thanks again for your amazing content

[@M539Restorations]

Hang in there, man! 🤛

[@biggierat6246]

Hope you have a better 2023.

[@mantaskizeliauskas9567]

We all gonna get through this

[@TheRubiNaish]

I feel you and I’m with you, even if I don’t know you 🤜🏼

[@Fredrikbjerk]

This channel started my interest for being self sufficient and got my first car which is an E60 523i. This channel sparked it for me ! Thanks!

[@eugenealymov2723]

What a great car! From the time BMWs really stood out from the crowd. Everything is made of metal, solid, just beautiful. What a great episode. Can't wait for the next one, this will be epic.

[@Barriemac1974]

Back to the stuff I missed. M's and Alpinas are cool but the cars that are a little under the radar like these and E38 deserve love too.

[@stevesbmwbarn]

Great work, i've read how relatively straight forward it is to drop the M70 from an E31, it's great to see a video of it actually happen. Now I know how to not drop it on my head.

[@GTOFERN]

watching you work in 4K is amazing!

[@brittoschristozachariah7280]

15:31 Love to see that the alpina is back. Expecting episodes on alpina soon!

[@jonasKleby]

Saw that also 😊

[@foxumall6542]

Brilliant video as always but please do a longer video it's brilliant to watch 👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍

[@Jeromemas]

Words can't describe how hyped I am to finally see the next video about the mighty V12 from the 850i ! Thanks for this video, Sreten! :)

[@romankalyniuk2596]

Your comprehensive attention to detail stuns me. No compromises, and you evade the factory's parts discontinuation with aplomb. Does BMW appreciate you or hate you?

[@Chris-ig8tc]

There's barely anything I'm looking forward as much than seeing this E31 live another beautiful life. Thanks again for the amazing content and all the effort, you are amazing!

[@ciepularys]

I came to a place in my life that seeing a new M539 vid when I open YT is my absolute top moment. Watching new episode is literally the only thing I can do for an hour straight without being distracted by anything else. Anyone?

[@briancorkery4083]

I love this channel. The before and afters. But holy moley Stratten, you’re also excellent at organizing the parts. Nice work

[@cnesloc8575]

True legend

[@NoManele]

It's Sreten :)

[@matmul4850]

First off I absolutely love this channel, probably my favourite on KZbin, the only criticism I could give is that we never really see much of the finished cars. Maybe a short clip of you driving one of them down a country road or something at the beginning of the video, say 10 maybe 20 seconds and then cutting straight back to you in the shop. Just an idea 👍

[@johnkelly7264]

Your videos are the only ones that I never skip. Such an easy to listen to presentation style. Thank you!

[@stefanders7462]

I can barely change my wheels and take care of the fluids and oil level but watching this is like therapy.

[@pauldacunha]

This guy needs to reach 1 Mil subscribers, it’s informative and interesting to watch, we should share and recommend to all our petrol-head friends and help wherever possible!🙂👏👏

[@tonyb5884]

As much as I agree I think it will only happen if he introduces other brands...he has already hinted at alfa romeo...which would be far more interesting than say Mercedes. ..half a million with a couple more projects completed I reckon...

[@krispykruzer]

The gold standard of automotive restoration

[@StraightSixGarage]

The studs on the headers didn‘t snap off? Impossible! Great start - happy new year, Sreten!

[@scottkempton6085]

In the early '90s, I had a car detailing business. One of my customers had an 850 identical to this one except that it had an automatic transmission. It was the first car I had ever seen with side windows that lowered themselves when you opened the doors, and a passenger side mirror than aimed itself downward so you could see the curb as you backed up. I worked on that car for two days, but it was beautiful when it was finished. Sreten this appears to be your most ambitious project yet. I can't imagine the "off camera" hours it's going to require researching and sourcing the many parts that need replacement or refurbishment. As I commented about your E70 X5 project, I admire your knowledge, work ethic, your patience and tenacity. Your cars are always gorgeous when you're finished. Keep it up!

[@MLC...]

So glad to see you working on the classics again! Thank you.

[@geek9642]

Just discovered this channel, I'll be following this restoration 👍

[@vovicande]

I’ve discovered this channel with another E31 - project Malaga and since then enjoyed all of your restorations, Sreten. This is definitely going to be another great project to watch! Thanks!

[@brianellis6845]

It’s amazing. When he started this channel he had never removed and rebuilt an engine/transmission assembly. Now, he looks like a pro. Love this guy!

[@magnifico0186]

Profesionalizam i predanost poslu. Zadovoljstvo je gledati te. Svaka cast ! Srecna nova 2023 !

[@FootToPedal]

Really great to see an E31 back on the channel Sreten - such a beautiful car, a real iconic piece of design. I know once you're done with this it's going to be an incredible example, can't wait to hear that tuned up M73!

[@capn_shawn]

Been in love with them since E31 net blasted a CSi down the Autobahn at 300 kph back in 2001

[@ThePrintzofSweden]

A joy to see - the knowledge, the craftman ship, the sense for details and the making of theses videos. Cheers!

[@ivostk1]

11:44 🤣🤣🤣🤣. That kind of sense of humor gets me every time. You are such a cool dude Sreten

[@jimtaylor431]

Almost bordering on a money no object restoration of the car.. amazing.. I'm sure E31 owners all over are excited to see where this project goes, what tricks you uncover and so forth. As always, thanks for this just tremendous content. I always watch your videos end to end, without fail as they're just so engrossing. Thank-you!

[@LuisAugustusFGomes]

It´s a great day when M539 shows a new video.

[@suchti8648]

Kao uvjek odlican video. Znanje oko BMW-a koje si skupio sa godinama je nevjerovatno. Svaki dan gledam i iscekujem kada ce novi dio. Respekt.

[@alotofnoting]

Strašan lik. Odlična videa.

[@cristianoandriolo7017]

I love E31. I love this colour, love the interior and i have to say that with yellow headlights this car looks good. I can't wait for the next episode. Nice job man!

[@michaelduffy8128]

Sreten you sir are a inspiration for anyone that enjoys work on or restoring older vehicles. Why you don't have close to a million subscribers still amazes me. Keep up the grind, and by the end of 2024 you will have it.

[@ewadge]

All I know is that I am really happy that you can make a living from KZbin so that you can devote your time to creating this magnificent content. So I am writing a comment for the sake of the algorithm. I am an EV die hard through and through but I am really happy that these classics are being given a new lease of life. Again, really enjoy your content.

[@speedytech7]

Thank you Sreten for the ever enjoyable content. Going through a rough patch right now and being able to just sit down and watch one of your videos is an immense help.

[@Deftones445]

I’m so happy to see project marseille again. The e31 is my absolute favorite chassis and it brings a smile to my face seeing the time and care put into these old Bmw’s

[@McMaster1500]

I was glued to every minute of your work . Looking forward to the upcoming videos of this project. The pleasure of owning a classic BMW is worth the pain . Keep up the awesome work!

[@chrisedmondson8321]

Sreten, the new camera adds immeasurably to the overall picture quality. This is startlingly clear now. A fantastic project! Well done…

[@user-sd5vg6fc4q]

YES! What a wonderful new years present! Love this channel so much, always looking forward for a new episode. Thank you, sreten

[@garryhoniball4102]

Really noticed the improved video quality in this episode. Clarity is amazing.

[@johneichenberger578]

Wow, this will be one special E31! I love the fact that you stay current with your Milwaukee impacts. Each new wrench is far superior to the previous generation. I rotate mine and sell the old ones on CL. Keep up the great work. I enjoy each and every episode.

[@Salty_Legionnaire]

Except for the latest iteration on the high torque inpact. That one had a design flaw with the gearbox hammer assembly. The torque test channel made a video on that. But i believe Milwaukee is recalling those.

[@sdavifcom]

THIS is the car I was waiting for !!! For me, the 850 is the most beautiful beamer there ever was. The way the hood sloppes down to the small kidney grill. It is just a piece of art. Thank you.

[@titanroads6010]

I'm so happy to see this project in the works again, cant wait for the next videos to come out, big plans ahead!

[@mattkrazit6414]

I realized on a deeper level during this video how much effort and memory is required to produce Sreten's episodes. Every time he walks away to grab the right tool, then do it again for the correct tool, then a bit of struggle to loosen what was factory tight for 30 yrs...then those frames being edited to tell the story of the episode...not everyone can do this well. You continue to do great and aspirational work here. Given how OEM fanatical each restoration has been, having this one venture towards OEM+ w/ certain aftermarket flair has me excited, too. 😀👍

[@schrodingerscat1863]

The 850i is such an iconic car, I am so glad you are planning to get it back to mint condition. As it's you we know everything will be done absolutely correctly to a phenomenally high standard so It's going to be a fantastic car when it's done and I am so looking forward to following this project.

[@Karl-by6ub]

Love at first sight when I saw the BMW 850i flying past me in 1990. Same color too 👍🏻 The driver was Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball player for Mariners baseball team ‼️ They are beasts on the road 👍🏻

[@DiegoooTech]

This V12 is really huge. Sweet. Great job as always. Both mechanic and video editing.

[@Andrew4181975]

Luv that you are getting back to this car. The Golden Era of BMW before the Modern Era where they are ruined.

[@jamesrobinson1579]

Yay! Absolutely delighted to watch a classic get an "OEM Plus" upgrade! Don't get me wrong... I do enjoy your rather strict "back to stock" videos but I have never been able to leave ANY of my own cars alone and allow myself to drive the same thing anyone else could buy off the lot LOL. (and I am in my 50s so there's been a lot of them)

[@Bigjohn0801]

Feeling ill from pain medication.............happy with a new video......made me happy again.....

[@Vincentiuz]

I enjoy watching your work of quality Streten, you’re excellent at planning and organizing your projects from start to finish and that is always a joy to watch.

[@roguewave1060]

Greetings from your home country, I'm in Novi Sad SRB. 😎

[@_Project46_]

awesome to see this gorgeous car being saved, keep it going!

[@nickstathes5711]

OMG I am so excited about this project! LOVE LOVE LOVE the E31. Gonna be a future project of mine as well. Amazing to see!

[@stubvids7403]

GREAT video! I have a 1997 850Ci and I absolutely love your E31 videos. They are FANTASTIC cars and are really fun to drive. Unfortunately, parts for them are really starting to get scarce.

[@famvankampen2487]

Been with you since you started an old 7 series in a parkinglot. And still, you are the best of youtube

[@str8edgepunker]

Merry new year, glad to see the 8 series getting some love. Beautiful car, hope the OEM+ refurb ends up looking and sounding amazing. Can't wait!

[@erissitone]

You remind me of when I was fifteen and took my MX bikes apart almost every day. You are a legend, I admire you a lot.

[@OK-Z4]

Love ur channel... can´t wait to see more of Project Marseille - keep up ur insane work

[@onogrirwin]

oh baby I'm pumped for this one. Not just any m70 video, but an 850.

[@nadaesperavel]

I've been waiting for this video all week! The E31 is for sure my favorite BMW ever! Hope you've been having an awesome new year, Sreten!

[@thomas316]

I like the way you stood under the rear of ghe car when releasing the support stand. You are braver than I would be!

[@ДмитрийЛебедев-и6я]

С Новым годом!!! Ждем продолжения оживления этого классического авто 🙌🏼 Удачи 👍

[@alatkinson1719]

Dude... I love it! I've been binge watching all your episodes in chronological order, whenever I get spare time. I don't know what I'll do when I have completed what's available, and I have to wait for new content! Over the last 8 years, I had a couple of E39 530i sport touring. I loved them so much but didn't know how, and didn't have the motivation, to look after them properly. I sold my last one over a year ago and miss it so much. You've inspired me to get another old BMW (when funds allow) and try and do some kind of justice to keeping it nice, running well and above all, true (where possible) to OEM! Congrats on a fantastic channel. Big love ❤

[@Lechus616]

Szczęśliwego nowego roku :) another amazing video! Fingers crossed that everything will go smooth. I can’t imagine how much time it takes for e31 parts research. Have a good one!

[@MElliottHolcman]

"Ed from California" is a good man. I have known him for years and can absolutely vouch for him.

[@sirremusrobinson1070]

Happy New Year Sreten! It's always a real good day to watch your work! I love the 850i. It was always a beautiful hot car.. Definitely would love to see how this car turns out with your surgery done on it. Have a blessed year!

[@julianbean7715]

I’ve been looking forward to this build ever since the 8 series came to the dojo. Keep up the great work.

[@st3althyone]

Happy New Year to you, too, Sreten, and I wish you the best in the coming year. Wow! What a massive wrenching episode! It's fantastic seeing Project Marseille finally getting some much-deserved love. I can't wait to see the incredible work of Dawid and Artur on the paint job, as the one for the Alpina was outstanding. It's great seeing you provide work for hard-working individuals passionate about keeping these great machines running. You're starting the year with a bang bringing Project Marseille back to its former glory. I can't wait to see you finish up the rest of the BMW livery; it's going to be a banner year. I'm sure your new stripper podium will come in handy with all the work you have ahead of you. Take care of yourself, my friend, and we'll see you on the next wrenching episode.🥰🥰

[@marcelonegro]

E31 850i is my favourite BMW... ever. i remember the first time I saw one. It was only in the magazine's centrefold and I was in absolute awe. I was looking back at some of the past £31's you've done and comparing your garage back then to the one you have now. What a difference! Keep fixing this beautiful car, Streten. I can't wait to watch the entire journey and what it will look like in the end.

[@Bavarian_M]

Awesome stuff! and happy new year’s. Would be great to source some OEM CSI parts but thats almost impossible

[@Vycinas2]

90s nostalgia, what a car.... Watching these videos makes me want to come to Germany and join you in wrenching fiesta

[@dragineeztoo61]

Saw the Project Marseille car and thought it was an old video. Glad I dropped by and glad to see progress being made on this beautiful car.

[@GoosSlotegraaf]

Sreten, I'm very curious how you store all these parts. I see boxes in the background, but can you show us how you categorize the parts, what degree of detail, do you leave the bolts seperate or keep them in the bolt hole, how do you keep overview, and what about the order of (dis)assembly? What is your system? Questions, questions...

[@tollefreyerson6710]

Awesome!!! Episode!!! All the EDC struts front and back are available.

[@mward5296]

Superb Sreten To be honest, your work on 850s was the draw to your Channel and to you. I was lucky enough to drive a UK spec demo 850 in midnight blue in 1992 from a dealer. My uncle had 5 and 7 series from mid 80s until he sadly passed in 2014. However, we had a great weekend with the demo and he let a young 18yr old drive it! We were mesmerised by all the tech...windows dropping to open/close doors and steering column resetting to driver position once you were in the cockpit of the V12 beast 👍 A great memory and I've had a soft spot for them ever since - an absolute classic Looking forward to the next episode... Tschüss

[@porterfrance838]

Holly Molly!!! I love you!!! I own the same model, same colour, same engine, same year, different interior, different gear box and different wheels (I have the 18' Alpina ones). 10 years ago my first beautiful daughter arrived and I had to put in standby all my projects. I kept my beautiful E31 in a garage and she's just waiting the day to do exactly what are you doing right now!!! ....do you want to adopt me?? Hahaha. Many thanks for your videos!!! Ahora, una buena cerveza!! Cheers mate!!

[@robturner7945]

I often lament KZbin’s algorithms however I’m glad you’ve popped up. Not only are you humorous your editing is great and you’re fun to watch. You have my subscription 👍🏻

[@polaris6933]

I like that you're going to do something different with this project instead of going full OEM as usual; can't wait for the next parts!

[@davidcotriss8959]

My word have I been waiting for this build.

[@NikolaHetfield11]

I felt in love with this channel now almost two years ago. Watched, enjoyed, bought BMW, drove, bought tools, now maintenance by myself. Today I tried to do some more serious work and one bolt was pain in the ass, can't imagine what's gonna be next! 😄 On Sreten's videos everything looks so simple... 😄

[@gleneaton3852]

Everytime I jump onto KZbin, I am hopeful that one of your excellente videos has dropped. And when it does, I drop everything and watch in awe on your awesome projects! Love your work mate, all the way from Australia! Can't wait for the next one!

[@Ryawa_Shpoora]

This project is so enjoyable to watch. I think a Mullet would look great on you, because it suits the age of the 8 series. Go for it