Powering up Elvis Presley’s iconic BMW 507 for first time in 30 years

These guys are trying to bring Elvis Presley’s BMW 507 back to life. 

Elvis first bought the car in 1958 but for the past 30 years, it has sat abandoned in a barn. 

The car’s story starts in Frankfurt, Germany, where Elvis was stationed as part of his military service. 

This is when he bought the used BMW 507.

But he quickly found a problem with it.

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The BMW was painted white, but Elvis was so famous that his fans would kiss it and leave it covered in lipstick marks. 

So, he thought the simplest way to solve this issue was to paint it red.

When he finished his military duty in 1960, he returned home in his now-red BMW 507. 

Elvis then sold the car for just $3,500. 

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Eventually, the 507 made its way to a Californian engineer called Jack Castor. 

Caster rarely used the car so he had it put into storage in 1974. 

And there the car sat for more than 30 years. 

In 2014 the car was found and BMW decided to rebuild it to its former glory. 

But it wasn’t exactly straight forward, as many of the parts they needed were no longer available.

Nevertheless, they were committed.

First, they disassembled the car and dipped it in an acid bath to remove all the rust that had built up over the years. 

The acid mostly worked, but many parts had to be replaced completely. 

For one, the engine had to be replaced, and it was impossible to find an original 507 engine, so they used a Chevrolet engine instead. 

Repairing the interior provided its own challenges too.

The dashboard and seats had to be manufactured to exact specifications. 

By the end, the leather of the seats even matched the grain of the original seating. 

All in all, it took two years to reconstruct the car.

Even the original chalk-white paint, as opposed to Elvis’s lipstick-proof red paint, was mixed back to the original specifications. 

But the work was well worth the effort when the King of Rock n Roll’s BMW made its comeback at Pebble Beach in 2016.

You can watch the full restoration process by The Wheel Network here!

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