McLaren, Supercars

Man rebuilding a crashed $532,000 McLaren learns why so many mechanics avoid these cars

  • A British YouTuber is rebuilding a McLaren 650S with Temu parts
  • Fitting the coolant system threw up some major problems
  • Each problem revealed why mechanics avoid McLaren supercars

Published on May 02, 2025 at 8:51 AM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall

Last updated on May 02, 2025 at 12:22 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Emma Matthews

A British YouTuber rebuilding a crashed McLaren 650S is beginning to learn why so many mechanics avoid the supercars.

YouTuber Chris Slix is rebuilding this McLaren, which was badly battered in various accidents, with many parts coming from Temu.

While the engine is rebuilt and new body panels have recently arrived, the car still needs a lot of work before it can be road-legal again.

Cue some interesting problems with the 650S that Chris believes are why many garages and mechanics tend to avoid McLarens.

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What issues arose with the McLaren 650S

Despite so much progress being made, Chris and his team have now entered the most complex stage of the project.

Part of this process involved getting coolant into the supercar’s rebuilt engine.

And that threw up many complications, one of them being the fitting of a new coolant header.

It needed a lot of pipework connected up to it.

Man rebuilding a crashed $532,000 McLaren 650S learns why so many mechanics avoid these supercars
Chris Slix

Pumping air into the header revealed a couple of leaks, one of which was coming out of the car’s radiator.

The rad was clearly broken, meaning Chris needed to spend more money on a replacement for the McLaren.

Incredibly, this wasn’t the end of their problems.

The supercar proved very problematic

When Chris and his team filled the McLaren up with coolant, they quickly discovered a leak underneath the 650S.

It wasn’t coming from the second-hand radiator they’d bought, though, but a split in one of the pipes.

That meant a new pipe was required.

Yet another attempt to fill the car with coolant revealed another leak, a big one.

A failed O-ring looked to be the cause, and thankfully, the team had plenty of replacements.

At that point looked like things were rectified.

But firing up the McLaren revealed a pin-hole leak in the replacement radiator.

The issues were deeply frustrating for the YouTuber and his team.

All of them revealed why mechanics tend to keep away from messing with or repairing the supercars.

The problems were incredibly irritating for Chris.

He and his team want the coolant issues sorted so they can crack on with the rest of the project.

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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.