This new YouTube video from The Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida, features an incredible look under the hood of an original Bugatti Type 35 as it gets stripped to the rails and then completely reassembled. Like many collections and museums during the pandemic, including the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, The Brumos Collection has closed its doors to the public—and pivoted towards a series of videos titled "Inside the 59" that offer perhaps even more of an opportunity for fans of classic cars to get gritty with some of the most incredible vehicles ever made. And with Bugatti in the news a ton these days following the Chiron's 300-mile-per-hour run last year, the miniature Bugatti Baby II electric car unveil earlier this year, the forthcoming Bolide track star, and the SSC Tuatara's questionable record-breaking top speed, now couldn't be a better time to offer a glimpse back at the history of the famed French automaker.
Period-Raced Just Once
This specific Bugatti Type 35 was built as a racer but ended up seeing competition only once, having been originally owned by Manhattan socialite and heir to the Standard Oil fortune Wallis Bird. By the time The Brumos Collection acquired it (two owners later), the 2.0-liter straight-eight under the hood was in desperate need of help.
Getting Down And Dirty
As shown by period photos of the car, its engine bay certainly looked like a mess back then—but restoring the car, as The Brumos Collection's Executive Director Brandon Starks envisioned, would eventually require stripping the car down to nuts and bolts. Much of the work is captured in a time-lapse in the video above, as the powerplant needed to be slipped out of the chassis backward.
Putting It All Back Together
The Brumos Collection's Assistant Manager, Aaron Israel, can be seen in the footage doing the lion's share of the work after somewhat nonchalantly declaring, "This was actually the first time I've torn a Bugatti Type 35," as if most mechanics undertake such a process monthly, if not daily.
Back To Old Fashion
The goal of getting the Type 35 back to its original condition included plenty of mechanical work, from resealing the engine to removing rust and re-machining parts to fit perfectly. But part of the extensive, 11-month process was dedicated to a paint job in what The Brumos Collection believes would have been the car's original color, as well.
Sources: youtube.com and thebrumoscollection.com.