Gentil’s Garage

20/11/2024

Some viewers of the recent E12 vs W123 video on ​⁠Classics World YT channel‬ were surprised as to why there was no seatbelt on the passenger side on my E12. The reason was due to the bolts that came in the kit were too long to be installed and I only had enough of short ones for the driver's side. It's now been sorted and my E12 now has inertia seatbelts on both front seats.
Rear seat belts will take longer, but not a priority as I don't intend to carry passengers in the back for the time being.

17/11/2024

In good company today at the BMW Surrey region meet. I particularly loved this 1968 Mk2 Mini 1000 deluxe with original Dunlop wheels. Family owned from new and never restored!

10/11/2024

My E12 goes up against Joe Miller's W123 on this head to head 70's executive comparison on ​⁠​⁠Classics World‬ video.
Thank you very much for having my car!

In this exciting twin test, we take a deep dive into two iconic German classics: the BMW E12 and the Mercedes W123. Both of these legends helped define the l...

09/11/2024

9 years ago, I had this '99 523i SE Sport in Oxford green with tan leather. Personally. It's the best E39 colour combo although I also love Oriental Blue and Topaz, or even a Black Sapphire with Champagne interior, but there's something about Oxford Green that really stands out. This was the very car I drove to Paris and proposed to my wife in February 2016.
I would definitely have one again and my wife said it was the most comfortable car I had, as well as the 528i SE I had a couple of years before.

07/11/2024

Hi everyone,
I had a deep dive into my channel's video statistics and I concluded that the BMW E12 videos have performed terribly since July 2022. Very disappointing, especially the carburettor refurb video (mostly filmed in 2023) which took a lot of time to make and edit and it got less than 200 views since it was published 3 weeks ago. I still have the brake, suspension and other BMW E12 repair videos but editing everything will take a few hours and, since previous repair videos have perform badly, I decided not to edit and publish them anymore. Maybe I'll just do a quick video summary of the work done.
I didn't get the E12 for Youtube (in fact I don't buy cars for Youtube) but for myself due to the story involved with it, so sharing it on YT is an additional bonus. However, putting a massive effort into filming and editing repair work for very little in return doesn't make any sense, so I rather do update posts here on the community page and on social media as the engagement is far greater. There will be summarized repair videos occasionally, but nothing big or detailed like before.
I hope you understand.

24/10/2024

Who would like to help me achieve 5000 subscribers by the end of 2024?
This is my goal for this year but it appears that I will be falling short by a couple hundred.
I understand that in the summer I fell short of making videos due to various circumstances, but I now have a plan to do two videos a month at least, meaning that a new video will be posted every two weeks.
Your continuing support is greatly appreciated and all the constructive feedback and video suggestions are welcomed too!
All the best,
Gentil

21/10/2024

My latest video is now out!
I bought a cheap Astra as my daily driver for £950 and i give my appraisal in this video, but was it a good deal?

After I sold the Renault scenic, I needed to get a new daily driver that was cheap, practical, nice to drive... and that I could really enjoy! I got out of m...

15/10/2024

Hi everybody,
This is my first Vauxhall that I picked up yesterday.
2007 Astra 1.8 Design, FSH, very good condition and all for just £950!
Found the ad Sunday lunch (it had only been put in the morning) and it was only 25 minutes away.
Family owned for 10 years and all services and repairs documented. Drives very well and I'm genuinely impressed to the point that I think it's better than the Focus in some areas.
Once driven, forever smitten? Let's see in a few month's time.

10/10/2024

Rustival news report was published in this week's edition of Classic Car Buyer.

06/10/2024

Hi everyone.
I've had this car for 5 months now, being my first Renault and first MPv too. I've done a video about my personal experience with it:

I bought this Renault Scenic 3 1.5dci a few months ago, but is it a good car and is this the right car for me?

03/10/2024

Hi everyone, I will be taking my 1974 E12 to the German car festival at Goodwood this Saturday the 5th of October.
It should be a great day!

29/09/2024

Getting the top prize from the judges yesterday was absolute peak moment for me after all the work done on my 1974 BMW E12. Still lots of work to do, but there is no better sense of achievement than being appreciated.
But there were so many other cars at Rustival yesterday whose owners deserve praise for their effort in preserving their car that otherwise would have been forgotten or even scrapped.
Also, thank you once again for Rustival's organisation top prize selection, made of great goodies that will be put to use soon.

23/09/2024

First drive in nearly two months. After the refurbished servos were installed, I bled the brakes and the car brakes better now, but pedal still travels a fair bit so I think another bleeding session is needed. Also, gearbox flush has improved drivability and the car is quicker off the mark and doesn't feel as sluggish as before... but 3500rpm at 70mph doesn't do for me even though that's a normal thing for these. Roll on Saturday!

19/09/2024

Here I am, bleeding the brakes at night. Servos in place after I sourced a rare banjo bolt at last minute. Just bled the remote servos and on Sunday I'll proceed with the cylinders and calipers. Then road test and this car will be ready for 2!

07/09/2024

Hi everyone. In three weeks' time, Saturday 28th September, I will be participating with my 1974 BMW 520 E12 in the second edition of Rustival at the in Gaydon , Warwickshire. It is hosted by some of my favourite YouTubers, , and it will have the participation of many other YouTubers too.
The first edition held earlier in March was a fantastic event and I'm sure the second edition will be a great success too.
Please come over, say hello and see see the E12 in person.

19/08/2024

Hello everyone.
Here is the late French cinema icon, Alain Delon, ripping through the streets of Paris and auto-routes of France with a BMW 3.0S E3 saloon. The movie is L'Homme Pressé from 1977. Saw this movie a few years ago and gave me a full impression of how Paris was at the time when my parents were living in there.

05/08/2024

I'm pleased with the performance of my recent BMW E12 video which has had a good amount of views for my channel. It performed better in the last week compared to all other videos. 2.4K views might be not much for most channels, but it's a good boost for future videos, since almost all other E12 videos didn't perform well.
Thank you very much!