Edd China is back, and he’s not alone! The automotive world’s favorite mechanic is starting anew, leaving the small screen for YouTube. The London-born presenter will debut Edd China’s Garage Revival on May 1st, 2018, with the pilot promo featuring Norwegian car enthusiast Stian Jorgensen and his Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The former Wheeler Dealers mechanic appears to help Stian with his Mk1 GTI, as in getting the engine up and running. Except this is not the original 1.6-liter engine, nor the 1.8-liter. It’s a 2.0-liter, 16-valve four-cylinder, complete with Weber carburetors that contrast beautifully with the black cylinder head.
In addition to the engine swap, Edd does a lot more to the car. From the headliner of the Golf GTI to the braking system, windshield to the underbody, you’re looking at a serious overhaul.
The 46-year-old China claims in the pilot promo’s description on YouTube that he’s “back with what we hope will be a new program series.” The show’s objective is different from Wheeler Dealers, as in “Edd will work with car owners, whose restoration projects have got the better of them, to get their plans back on track.”
Say what you will about Mike Brewer and the direction of Wheeler Dealers after Edd’s departure, but Garage Revival has the makings of a more enjoyable show. After all, close-ups of the nitty-gritty and the owner’s satisfied smile are better than a sweet-talking, profit-focused car dealer and a mechanic on a shoestring budget.
There’s no denying a television network will pick up Garage Revival at some point in the future, though that depends on how many users will watch the show on YouTube. At the time of writing, the preview for the first episode in the series has more than 60,000 views, and the channel has 7,000-plus subscribers, yours truly included. Edd China’s personal YouTube channel, on the other hand, has more than 293,500 subscribers.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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