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

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'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'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'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's all I had, and no money. I didn'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 'this is nuts, scrap it' but I wanted to prove what can be done with a determination and passion. Plus there'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'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'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't financially viable [but I wouldn't have farmed out the work if I'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 ;) Thanks again! The other episodes explain the process and the average guy with no budget ethos of the build, and if you're into more, sub and catch up on the Lotus Esprit project. That's shaping up to be special. This project was funded by patron support only, you'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'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: www.georgekarellas.com

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

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

I'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. Amazing job and video!

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

He said: Honey, I'm going to the garage. And he haven't been seen for five years.

I cant be sure that everyone watching this can appreciate just how much work has gone into the stop motion side of filming this. The guy has literally created over an hour of stop motion video while restoring the vehicle at the same time. The restoration is a massive project on its own but to combine it with one of the most time consuming filming techniques known to man is quite simply god like. How anyone can down rate this is beyond my comprehension of how people function . Not only do you have to set the camera into position but you have to set your shot up, compose it, make sure the dust has settled in-between shots, make sure the lighting is right and then edit the whole thing. Thank you for uploading this !

This was honestly incredible and *INFURIATING* to watch. Rust. Every layer of the car just made of holes and aggravation, and I am so impressed that you worked for three years to bring this family car back from the brink. To use the meme; you are a man of focus, commitment and sheer fucking will.

I'm one minute in, and this is brilliant! I'm about to rebuild a RRC myself!

I don't know what you've done to upset the RU-vid overlords, but Im pretty sure you should have a couple extra zeros on the end of your subscribe button. . The amount of work you've put into this is awe inspiring. I'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're an inspiration to thousands and thousands of people

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

I don't know how many times i've watched this but i love it every time. the way you have put the video together and the time you have taken is inspiring. Andy

This is THE BEST VT i have ever seen on so many levels for someone who can not read manuals and cant stand pointless narration, epic edit skills too.

I've been on the internet since 1982 (it wasn't called that then of course). You won it. If you don't get the Oscar for this then I'm never watching that show again.

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!!!

Maaaaate, you have earned the title of “DOCTOR “ because of your PATIENTS in this resto and the filming, should enter it in CAIRNS film festival, standing ovation. You made my day, thank you, from the land down under, where the red earth meets the blue sea.

I’ve had this flagged in my watch later list for a while now. Wish I watched it sooner. What an absolute masterpiece.

This is the only hour and a half long RU-vid video I've watched from start to end with no skipping. Great job, man!

This is the best video on RU-vid. Period. Excellent production and great subject, well done Sir.

I just finished a 1 year resto on my RRC and this series was a great inspiration and source for information. Some cars a person will never sell....this is one.

As someone who has done some fabrication and a good chunk of video editing. This level of fabrication is already an insane amount of work. To film and edit it like this is totally beyond even my comprehension. I don't think people realise just how much time and effort has gone into this video. I salute you!

That Sir was a Masterclass in sheet metal working. And the camera work is beyond words ... Total respect ...

I don't even understand how this is possible... My brain has melted. Epic, just epic. Absolutely amazing!!

This is one of the most serious restoration work I´ve ever seen. Besides the camera work, of course. The detail and the effort is definitely unique. Not one single point of comparison with "restorers" all over the internet. Standing ovation, dude.

This movie must be the best stop motion car restoration movie ever created! It is the second time I am watching it. Not only is it mesmerizing , it is also a work of art! A must see.

*Other RU-vidrs should learn from this guy. We don't need to listen to their constant bleating or even see any of their body parts.*

That car is 30% Range Rover and 70% George Mobile. You Sir, deserve more credit. Great resto!!!

I am currently restoring a Disco 1 and until I saw your video. I thought that I was on the cutting edge. I take a knee and bow to your superior effort. Hell, I'm impresssed.

Imagine how long it would take you to complete this project if you had to stop working every 1/2 turn you made on every nut and bolt to take a picture. And trying to weld one spot at a time so you could stop and take a picture. The way the welds looked without being able to do them in one continuous motion is completely mind boggling. This is like cleaning your whole house by picking up one piece of dust at a time, then taking a picture, then putting them all together in a film, which I imagine would be TENS of Thousands, then uploading them on here. Whoever did this deserves to be a millionaire several times over because this is by far the the absolute greatest piece of art I’ve ever seen.

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

This might well be the greatest RU-vid video ever produced.

Hypnotic and amazing. What a wonderful film

Those who understand, first-hand, how difficult and time intensive this is are *damn few*. Saying "well done" doesn't even begin to cover it. 👏

I just spent 90 minutes mesmerized by this video, and I wouldn’t ask for a second of it back. This was pure joy, through and through. Generations from now, when we have machines to assemble and repair everything we want from atoms, this video will occupy an honored position next to the Mona Lisa as an example of timeless art. When I first saw the stop motion, I considered it a gimmick; a clever and entertaining one, but an indulgence nonetheless. But as I watched further, I realized it was also an extremely efficient and high-bandwidth way to visualize a tedious and time-consuming volume of work in perhaps the best way possible. It solves the perennial problem of filming in tight and constrained spaces - no extraneous human to block the view and the light. Seeing a whole row of nuts unscrew themselves was so immeasurably satisfying - much more than watching a pair of hands endlessly twisting a ratchet. So with the rest of the video - nary a buttcrack in sight. This was a masterwork. It deserves an Emmy and an Oscar; and if RU-vid even thinks of demonetizing it we should all converge on their headquarters, lift it on our shoulders, and deposit it in the Pacific Ocean.

I am CNC brake press operator and I have to admit that your folding using only hammer and piece of wood is brilliant. Keep up on good work.

It's even better when you play it in slow motion. You see even greater detail. It's more than just educational in how to restore a vehicle. It's art.

What a labour of love! Wonderful !!! I slowed it down to .25 speed so I could really see what's happening. Thanks very much for the great vid. I think I could do it myself now!

I don't know how you kept from going crazy. As the video went on, I was beginning to get more and more frustrated every time you found more rust, and more rust, and more rust. The video is truly amazing. I mean if they had annual awards for best videos, this would have to be included.

This is beyond restoring. Superb work. Not onyl with the car, but also with the camera. Respect.

My favorite portion of this film is your “will” (the car cover) starts off a little torn and as the weeks roll on, your “will” gets beaten to the point of barely able to hang on, eventually your “will” just focuses on what it can possibly do to get to the next step, like consolidating all its final energy just to protect the engine. Excellent job. Subscribed and saved.

So good to see you using it for what it’s made for. So often I see people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on 4WD just to drive them on the road. I’m so glad it’s not sitting in a shed. Thank you for your effort, it’s been amazing hour and a half!

The amount of time and effort to make this video..... Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed watching!

I'll say it, this is a masterpiece. Literally a labor of love on both the restoration and video skills.

I've watched hundreds of resto/will it run? videos and after 15 minutes I'm thinking "There's 15 mins of my life I'll never get back", but this sucked me in and wouldn't let go. Great job! Cheers from Toronto!

This work looks exhausting. Not only did you put a lot of work into this vehicle, but someone had to stop motion film a good portion of it all. I’m blown away by what you’ve all done here.

When I opened it in RU-vid and saw 1 hour 28 minutes I thought to myself "OK- let's give it a few minutes to see if I can endure it." Spotting the Meath registration early intrigued (!) and then...BAM! What followed was masterful- the context setting with the 'layer after layer' of rust and decay; the painstaking disassembly; the way that cardboard cutouts were transmogrified into intricate metal shapes (I can only imagine the satisfaction when 'the piece fitted'); the spot welds and polishing; those 'tools magically walking across the workshop floor' to remind me of the kid buried somewhere within me! An astounding labour of love to save the vehicle. And the video- a highly professional work of art. Meticulously filmed, perfect lighting, the extremely well constructed 'morphing effects', artistically edited and topped off with a superbly suitable soundtrack.

So not only are you an incredibly skilled car restorer but also a brilliant videographer.

whom ever did NOT like this video 3.8K has no patience what so ever and does not realize the time and work that is put into this video. MUCH respect to the lost art of stop motion. and MAD respect to Soup Classic Motion for these vids.

So impressed! At the end it’s not a restored Rover. It’s the best Rover ever build.

Good job! The man who managed to exhaust the entire country of Ireland's supply of welding wire ;-)

If RU-vid have there version of the Oscar's you've won it hands down my friend

I wish I had a 10th of your skill and patience. If I was 30 years younger I'd beg to be your apprentice. Absolutely amazing video. Thanks for sharing. Can't understand why anyone would give it a thumbs down. Weirdos.

Man I had a LR Series of the 60's...I know what I am talking about. With all that rust I would have give up from the beginning. You are a hero! :)

its absolutely insane how much work you have put into both the rover and the video with the stop motion style. one of the best videoes i've ever watched

I can't decide what I appreciate more: the huge filming job or the job that was dedicated to restoration process. Great in both aspects, thank you!

Wow! You should have both an Oscar and a Nobel price. I am in a similar project with my Citroën DS Familiale, and had done some minor stuff on my Isuzu Trooper. What strikes me is that if my two cars had a child it would definetely be a Range Rover. Again, crazy good video. And for someone who have spent all those hours with the same kind of stuff, it was pure meditation to watch. Loved every second of it.

the sheer amount of work that went into making this video, to say nothing of the restoration itself, deserves more appreciation than can ever be expressed by a "like" and a comment.

I don't know what I am more in awe of: your skill as a car restorer or your skill as a film maker. Absolutely mesmerising.

This Video is a work of industrial art!! Bravo!!

I came to see the nostalgia of Range Rover, maybe à min of my time… I ended up fascinated and mind blown by the art and cinematography of this video. Hands down, the most talented, most mind blowing video I’ve seen in years! And mind you I watch RU-vid every day, thousands of videos… this has to be my top 3. Incredible

Stop motion car restoration; this is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen.

I can't tell if this is insanity or genius, which means it's almost certainly GENIUS.

I have never seen a car restoration video filmed this way. Very enjoyable to watch. Great job!!

This is perhaps the most amazing, and exhaustive video on YT. This is incredible and deserves every single view it gets.

I can`t understand how people can give a thumb down to this and all other videos in this channel. Even if you probably do not agree with his way of restoring cars, this is high quality content, highly professional presented.

I finally sat down through the entire thing and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you for this it’s so refreshing and such an inspiration. This is what RU-vid needs. More quality content like this

Two tremendous jobs, one on the Classic and the other on the filming. Top effort. 👍👍😎😎

I started watching it since last night while on duty nd then came to room, now only i have finished watching it and i didnt miss a single minute and I m so much sleepy but still kept on watching till the End. Amazingly recorded the whole process. Its a super amazing video

You did an amazing job with that car and the stop-motion. I couldn't watch any more when you found even more rust at the 46min mark. Great job!

I rather watch this than any movie on Netflix. Awesome!!!

This video must have taken you an unbelievable amount of time to complete, I can't begin to comprehend the amount of effort that has been put into creating this video. You'll be a 1m+ youtuber in no time with content like this!

If only BL took this much care when building cars... Keep up the good work. Cheers

I’m willing to bet this is the only complete stop motion restoration film. Epic. Thank you for giving us this George,

Hands down 'THE BEST RESTORATION VIDEO', this is how every restoration video should be done. Thank you for such a treat.

I am so impressed with how so much was repaired and re-used, rather than being replaced. SUCH a lot of work, but major kudos, Man!

With splotchy welds like this, I couldn't go to sleep. Why are they like this? I have to say, your videos are amazing though. I love every second of them! They are calming and I learn so much about fabricating without anyone explaining what to do. It's awesome!

Simply incredible. The bodywork and the cinematography.

One of the few videos on RU-vid that are pure gold ❤️

"take plenty of photo's when you're working on a project so you know how to put everything back together" *SOUP:* "ok"

OMFG! I am completely blown away by your tenacity, this is absolutely extraordinary! Most people would not dream of taking on such a job because that Range Rover was in terrible condition. This is hands down the best restoration video I have ever seen - and the music, ooh, just beautiful! I was wondering how the video was made but when when I learned you actually stitched together individual still photographs I was even more in awe! Your work is amazing, I salute you dear friend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

There is rust, there is more rust, there ist massive rust and there is this car... man, you are a hero

10/10 one of the best videos on car rebuilding. The work itself and the footage/editing are just top notch. If I may make a suggestion - for a project like this the one and half hour video is too long for the work you've done so I suggest breaking it into 30-minute clips to increase the video views/likes/comments/shares. You deserve all that money.

Brilliant. I took about 5 hours of watching this, pausing it to work and eat...just awesome.

This Video was the reason I took the decision to buy an old range classic one year ago. Stripped it down completely. I will pick up the parts this week from the paintshop. This video reminded me of what was possible and that one should just always focus on the good stuff and not the hurdles. Thank you!

This must have been a pain doing it normally, but spending that extra time to make it stop motion as well? I give you mad props man.

YO Land Rover, send him a new car for free.

Wow, what a refreshing film. I cannot fathom the amount of work just the film work took.

I can't believe this video only has 20k views. The level of passion and craft throughout this video is some of the most I've ever seen on this site.

I absolutely love this! I’m not a car guy myself but dear lord... This is a piece of ART my friend. Be very proud of yourself

Probably the best video I've seen in my lifetime.

This is probably the GREATEST time-lapse restoration video ever made. Looking for you to top this with the Lotus.

The fact you’ve done all this wreck resurrection in stop motion is mind blowing. Wallace and Grommit eat your hearts out.

This is video is art. This would look absolutely at home in any gallery played on a loop. I've never seen anything like it. Mind blowing. Its actually really therapeutic watching it. The fact you did all the work and this crazy recording - stop motion thingybob is wild! Wild in all the right ways. Thank you so much!

The greatest restoration video - ever! Thank you for sharing all your hard work with us. Bless!

Dedication of his work is completely different level . Its just insane . Look at all the details . Its just blown me away . Its like built a new car . This is a BRAND NEW RANGE ROVER . or maybe this RR is better than a new RR . This freakin guy need some award .

Probably one of the best restoration videos I've ever watched. Well done!

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

Can't get over how much work you've put into this. Not just the vehicle - but to do the stop motion. Mind is blown. Utterly blown.

When I first watched this I thought, nearly one and a half hours, wow, will I see it through? I was mesmerised from start to finish and I will watch it again, just not today. Every petrolhead needs to see this, and you George deserve at the very least an award for the film making!

This film deserve to be played in theatres. Wish to see it on a big screen.