Classic Thrills For Winter Chills

Do you want to practice the intro or do you know you're just going to wing it? Um, have we ever practiced before? I'm not sure it's worth it, is it? Good point. This is The Tire Kickers, Classic Car Chat with Max and Matt. Yes, it's the awards nominated unmissable podcast for Classic Car Fans. I'm Matt, he's Max, and we are The Tire Kickers. We talk about classic cars to save you the bother. This episode

is starting to get cold and dark, so what winter warmers can we pick to keep us driving? We'll search out classic cars that still give us thrills even when we've got the chills. This is The Tire Kickers. Also, auction action will be at the recent historic sale, kicking the tires and checking the prices. But, was there one car that got away? Plus, we take a long, hard gaze at MGA's. They're probably as cheap as they'll ever be, so time to back one, or are they just 250's for sale?

All that plus your thoughts, comments, and corrections. So let's grab an umbrella and some damp start as we try to turn over episode 41 of The Tire Kickers.

Yes, Max, without a doubt the summer feels like it's over. It's definitely getting colder here in the UK and the night are definitely drawing in.

We had a bit of sun here and there, but today, I mean, look at the window, it's so dark. I had to put the lights on to find something, and that was at 11 in the morning.

That's just your eyesight though, that goes with age. Just my age.

You can't see a thing. We're definitely heading into autumn, which means those shiny summer classics are now spending more time under a roof than on the road.

So would you use the stag, even if it was dry, but just on a grey day?

It's not the same, is it? I mean, I prefer not to, the enjoyment goes. I mean, especially convertibles, they're rubbish when the sun goes.

I just feel like they're just a bit pointless with the roof up, rattling around for nothing.

I actually have a reminder, I do need to tighten that thing up on my roof.

It's a shadow car, every bolt on the car you need to.

When the sun's out and the roof's down and the sun is peeing off the paintwork, you haven't got to carry on the world really until you hear that rattle.

But after that, I just find the enjoyment goes. Summer, I think, for convertibles is in the review now.

I do like getting the hood down on a really crisp day, but it's got to be sunny.

It's got to be sunny. What's the reason for going to the garage and pulling it out and getting the hood down and getting the cover off?

It just doesn't feel the same, does it? Sunny days, yes, cold days, yes, grey days, no, not really.

For me, the experience goes in the autumn, so I think we need to start thinking about other cars potentially we could use.

Yes, here's the question. What can we do to keep enjoying old cars even when the weather is rubbish?

Are there wheels out there that will keep us rolling through the winter?

Yeah, or just through the grey. I think I'd like something a bit more solid, maybe sort of a bit more luxurious.

Something I know that would start, so to ask, would be warm.

The heat of it becomes much more of a crucial thing, doesn't it, in the autumn, this time of the year, autumn and winter?

And something also wouldn't care too much about getting dirty.

Our cars, we are a little bit fussy about them, they do go straight into the garage, they don't go in the rain, try and keep them clean.

I'm thinking maybe this time of year, it's time to get a classic that you don't really care about quite so much.

You can still enjoy, but if you get a bit dirty, a bit grubby, a bit mud up a bit rusty, doesn't really matter so much.

Yeah, that does open up a few more options. We will have to change our way of thinking though,

because you don't really think about getting things dirty and leaving them dirty and leaving them out.

We kind of look after our classic cars quite well, so shall we find something that's the winter workhorse?

Yeah, okay, go on then, why don't we pick three each or something and we'll argue them out because yours will be rubbish.

I'm thinking we'll probably say, well, what will happen is, I'll tell you what will happen.

We'll come at it at a different angle, because I think I've got a view on this about what sort of car I want,

and you'll just go stato specky and what's under the engine and that sort of thing.

Let's pick three, and then why don't we rate them on a few things out of five?

So what could we rate them on suitability for the wet and cold?

Okay, wet cold floods mud, yeah.

Yeah, crap, we're the capable.

Reliability obviously becomes a thing, because we're going to need this to start.

Potentially, it's going to sit outside, potentially, because it'll have to run for it.

So it needs to start when the weather's bad, so yeah, or classic cars.

It's got to be like a cool factor to it of some sort, isn't it?

Would you want to be seen in it?

Or would you not?

So we'll can rate those, so those three things.

So suitability, reliability and a cool factor.

Let's rate them out of five for each other's cars.

And how we'll do it is, I think I'll score yours and you score mine.

Because obviously, if I'm scoring mine, it's triple five.

And you can score mine and ask.

Okay, yeah, all right.

Okay, that makes sense.

Yeah, go ahead.

Now, I'm thinking more of classics that are cheap, so you won't have to worry about driving them through the winter.

I think I live in the countryside.

They've got to be four-wheel drive to manage that slippery supermarket car park.

And they've got to be stylish.

So exhibit A, I think this shuts it down immediately.

There's a growing appreciation for these cars.

It's a Land Rover tick, but it's not a series or a defender.

But it is a discovery, series one, the original two-door discovery one.

Now, I think these are great looking cars.

These come out in 1989.

This is a 1989 version up on your screen.

Now, it's blue 135,000 miles.

Series one, two-door disco.

It's got the 200 TDI engine.

You did ask for engine specs.

So I'll give them to you.

And also, it's got the Terrence Conrad designed interior.

So this is a really stylish car right from the outset.

Launch the discoverers that's now a discovery five.

And I think disco is really cool.

Plus, it does that amazing winter or weatherability.

Well, this is a bit of a lame choice, isn't it?

Because you're going to go pick up.

Why is it lame?

Well, because you're going to pick a winter car.

Land Rover is an easy one to pick, isn't it?

That's not lame.

That's a lame.

Listening to the criteria.

No brainer car, isn't it?

No reserve.

Perfect. Yeah, tick.

Well, yeah, the disco.

It's a bit boring, isn't it?

Disco.

Disco, I'd like to go to.

Nor have you ever been to a disco for a while.

Not with your hips.

Yeah, you could say that about a four or five-door disco,

but the three-door disco, the original.

So many of these have rusted away.

There's not that many left.

And this one's been fully restored.

Plus, it's only £15,000.

Now, for a four-wheel drive, without 200 TDI engine,

which is great.

And also a complete restoration of the chassis and bodywork.

That's really cheap.

It looks absolutely caulking.

I love these discos.

I'm just using my friend ChatGPT to ask her how reliable

and 1980.

The only friend you've got.

Anyway, it's telling me how reliable

and 1989 Land Rover Discovery Series are.

Very.

Whether it's reliable, it says,

depends heavily on condition maintenance and expectations.

And this is in great condition.

Okay.

Well, do these suffer from the electric problems?

Probably.

You've gone quiet.

Probably.

But if you don't need electric, for example,

the engine's really good.

And this one has had a full respray.

The chassis has been acid dipped and cleaned.

It's probably nothing left after that, to be honest.

And it's being galvanized and painted black.

So it's perfect.

It's absolutely perfect.

There's no point continuing this segment,

because I've just won.

I don't think you have.

Because I think we've got to get the style,

because it's blue inside.

So it's blue outside, light blue, and then blue inside.

Look, great.

It looks pretty.

Right.

Let's do our scoring then for this.

Okay.

What are you going to score on the disco then?

Suitability for kind of like the wet weather.

So out of five.

You know, it is a Land Rover.

It is a disco.

Yeah.

But hmm.

Suitability.

Reluctantly, I've got to say five.

Correct.

Because, you know, it is suitable for the wet and cold.

Next reliability.

So let's just skip past that onto cool.

Let's go straight.

Reliability.

I'm going to say,

probably three out of five.

I might have even said two out of five for this.

Well, I heard you say three.

So actually 60%.

That's quite good for a Land Rover, isn't it?

Okay.

I'm going to be generous at the start.

I might get the less generous as we go on.

Cool factor.

One out of five.

What?

Because I've won.

Yeah.

I don't think this is cool in any.

This is cool if you're a pensioner.

It's not cool any other way.

I think if I,

I wouldn't,

if you offered me a lift in this,

I'd, I'd thank you for that.

And I'd want to get out pretty quick.

Don't worry.

I won't be offering you a lift because you've just been

moaning about the interior.

It's a bit blue, isn't it?

Yeah.

The light blue,

gee, red, disco one.

I think it's not,

it's not cool.

Definitely not cool.

So I've got,

you've done quite well there because it is, you know,

so five, six,

something like nine, nine out of 15 for that.

Okay.

Right.

Let's move you on to something a bit better.

Yeah.

I'm thinking this is going to,

this is going to win in style stakes.

I'm,

I'm sort of looking at something that I would like to be in.

Because you talked about being in the countryside

and needing a four-by-four.

I don't,

I don't need a four-by-four.

I live in the south of England where ultimate winter

is going to be.

And it's all a case of the rain stays the same.

It just changes temperature.

It just gets colder.

So I need something that's warm

and has wipers that work.

That's the tooth.

It might,

that's what two criteria is.

Now in summer,

I sort of put up with basic

for roof-down style.

So I,

I don't mind basic because you're,

you're listening to the engine and you're enjoying the sun

on your face and all that stuff.

To get through the autumn of winter,

I want something that's a bit more luxury.

So that disco is,

it doesn't,

doesn't fit at all.

I want something less plywood,

a more burr walnut.

So I offer you exhibit B,

which is a 1985 series three,

Jag XJ6 4.2.

Guck, guck.

What do you mean we laugh at that?

This is graph XJ6.

Did you,

you know that bit that we just read out at the beginning

when we talked about the winter

and you're offering an XJ6,

which is what's going to look too low

to get through even a puddle,

too unbelievably unreliable.

And three,

that would just slide around on it

on a, even a slightly down road.

Right, shut your face.

Graphite gray on silver steel wheels,

eight years of ownership.

It's only on its second owner.

It's got an MOT to August of 2026.

It's tax exempt from December 7495.

Now, the only things I can't see

if it's got heated seats,

but that's not a deal, Brett.

No, I wonder if heated seats

unless they're aftermarket.

I can see this.

I'm not going through puddles.

I'm just going to the petrol station down the pub.

I can see this lit up at night

with both those tailpipe smoking,

warm inside, you know,

smooth engine gearbox,

cut off from the outside world

with a heater on.

I think this would do.

This would do me to honest.

No, no nonsense.

Okay, I'm going to take you.

I've just seen this for the first time.

And I've done some quick scrolling

and I've got to page 17,

pictures 17.

If you have a quick look at picture 17,

you will see that the rear wheel arches

are covered with rot.

This is rusting away already.

Doesn't matter.

And you haven't even driven it through the winter.

Doesn't matter.

It's what we said.

We're going to be less precious about this.

I think for like,

some of our friends.

Yeah, precious.

I want it to pass an MOT.

Longs it starts.

We passed an MOT.

It's got an MOT until 2026.

So that's fine.

So again, this is a classic car.

We're not going to sort of get

pretty and, you know, uptight about.

We're just going to run it.

Use it.

I mean, what granted?

I will be going to a lot of petrol stations.

If you want to be getting there,

because even in the smallest of bad weather,

you'll be stuck at home.

You won't even be able to get off the drive well.

It's rear-wheel drive.

It's got those big fat ties.

It won't do anything in a nice snow,

or even in a tiny bit of slush.

You'll just be stuck spinning a wheel,

looking at your rust.

Look at those leather seats, though.

They're nice, aren't they?

I mean, it's a nice, I like XJ6s,

but it's just the wrong pick.

It's just wrong, wrong, wrong for the kind of winter criteria.

It's not winter criteria.

It's autumn or winter,

and I'll just explain to you if you were listening.

In the south, in the south of England,

we don't get snow very often.

You know, if it does snow in,

I'm not bothered.

I don't want, you know, bread and milk.

I'll just, I'll leave the jag on the drive and a walk.

But, you know, it's the rest of the time,

and it's just slushy gray and luh.

This would be perfect.

You're warming up automatic gearbox, leather seats,

nice and warm and toasty.

You know, there's twin tailbugs going,

all lit up in sort of, you know,

well, maybe not lit up with the Lucas Electronics.

But, you know, within that sort of dull glow,

I think that'd be classy.

I'd love to smoke around with that,

and for the next six months.

I mean, it won't start,

but, you know,

let's just say you get somebody to give you a portion

it manages to start.

For suitability for the wet,

I'm going to give you zero,

because it's...

What do you mean for the wet?

Precisely the wrong car for what we've been talking about.

Well, it's not.

Reliability.

No, no, no, no.

You can't give me...

Too late, I've done it.

I've just written zero down.

No, no, no, no.

Because you're saying that I wouldn't be able to use it then.

At any point in time,

I'll be able to use this for the next six months.

No problem.

Maybe not what is snowy.

What?

I'll upgrade you to one.

I might downgrade you on the last one.

Reliability.

Okay.

That's not good, is it?

Well, you gave the Disco 3 and essentially, you know,

they use some similar parts.

So I'll get a powerfully engine.

They use the...

Oh, I'm going to give you three as well.

Yeah.

I mean, I don't think the XJ6 is a cool car.

I don't think you'll find it very cool

when you are on the hard shoulder, for example, in a bit frost.

I'll be frosting.

So you gave me one for the Disco.

I'll give you two for cool.

What?

It's more than two.

That is more cool than two.

I could have gone like two.

Arthur daily is not cool.

And Arthur daily in the winter is even less cool.

You know, you're wrong.

I might have to downright.

You've waged your next one then.

So you're going to give me two out of five for that.

Four, five, six out of fifteen.

Yep.

Right.

Okay.

Gloves are off.

What rubbish have you got next?

This is perfect.

Now what happens when it snows and you're not near a petrol station

because you'll need to be only ever within five miles of one.

You've got to be a bit more realistic.

How about a tiny four by four

with a great European pedigree?

Now you'll see these all over European ski resorts.

It's the humble but unstoppable fit panda four by four.

And this is a 1981 fit panda four by four.

This is great.

On a reliability zero out of five.

No, no, no, but yeah, but these are great.

These are fine because they're so simple as nothing to go wrong.

This is a 1981.

So this is the series one.

It's got the original ball bars on it.

So the ball bars both at the front and the back

will weigh more than the car.

These fit pandas.

You always see them in like Swiss ski shallets,

gently rusting through the summer.

And in the winter they get them going and they're great.

Yeah, because they're not moot.

You saw them in the adverts by ski shallets in the winter

but you didn't see.

Where'd you ever see a panda four by four?

It's not like one of those cars that's revered for years

and people keep it for ages.

They are in kind of like Europe.

You know, they're tucked away in Europe for the winter

because they're great winter cars.

Yeah.

I had a Fiat Uno and I wouldn't put that down as reliable

if this has got any of the same underpinnings or engine.

I wouldn't do that.

Yes, it's a four by four.

Is this coming from the XJ6?

You were arguing reliability.

Having just picked an XJ6.

It's just going to be very, very basic, isn't it?

Yeah, but that's what you want, isn't it?

It'll get you there.

Oh.

That's what I said I don't want.

You will be sat on the hard shoulder in comfy leather chairs

and I will be at my destination in a fit panda

with the added inclinometer.

Look at picture 10.

It's got the inclinometer on the dash

because it's the four by four.

I don't know.

I'm more inclined to say no to this one.

Whatever angle it's at.

Go on, you score the panda.

Score the panda.

Suitability.

Well, I'm going to have to give you.

I would give you five because it is a four by four.

But it's a Fiat, so I'll give you four.

And then I'll give you three because you'll be

underscored me last time.

Suitability three out of five.

Three.

But it's perfect for the winter.

Well, so you say reliability.

I'm giving you one out of five because it's a Fiat

and it will go wrong.

It's dead simple.

Lots of parts of the panda.

Yeah, they'll be dead when you try and start it up.

And cool.

Zero out of five.

Because it's not cool in any way, shape or form.

It never has been.

So there's four out of fifteen.

You cut there.

Right, so this is how it works now.

Yeah, well, you start today.

You know, I can't, I'm not shivering in that.

You know, you could get bread and milk potentially

when you're snowed in.

But I'd rather eat stuff from tins ago in that.

I want a bit of style.

I'm perfectly some heated seats.

And it's got to start.

Now, on that point, what country makes cars

that are famous for starting in the Colts?

Well, I kind of like Northern,

rather Northern hemisphere country.

So, you know, Sweden.

Sweden.

Sweden, exactly.

You can go travel.

No, no, no.

Let's go.

Let's go south for this one.

I found a video of one on YouTube,

which I'll play while we're talking.

And this has been started at minus 23 Celsius.

Now, the guy is walking up to it here in the dark.

He pops the bonnet.

And then he's got a temperature probe in his hand.

And he's pointed at the block now.

And it says minus 22.

So, that's pretty cold.

Will it start?

Well, I don't think that fit pand is going to start.

But he's now inside the car.

He's got the key in ignition.

Temperature gauge inside says minus 23.

So, this is a real cold star.

Let's see if he can turn it over.

And, well, there you go.

On the first turn now.

That's something you want when you're cold,

because you don't be messing about.

Do you?

You want something to start?

So, I went looking for a sub.

Now, these...

A lot of these subs are a little bit modern for me,

but you're going to have to let me get it under the wire

in terms of a classic.

But that's starting the button thing is what I want

in the winter.

So, I might have to suck that up a bit.

So, have a look at the early two-stroke subs.

Is this what you're thinking?

No, I've...

I've chickened away from that.

I was looking at 93095.

Have a look at this.

Sub 95 is state.

It's a 2009 T-turbo petrol.

What?

Hang on, you know this is a classic car podcast.

Yeah, but it's a modern classic.

Yeah, but you don't like modern classics.

Well, no, I don't.

That's why I'm caveat to it.

It's a 2009 gray leather MOT heated seats.

Have a look at this, man.

It's a box full of extra.

It's a vector platform.

29,000 miles.

Shatchy face.

Manual.

No.

Have you had...

Did you own this car?

It says last...

12 years was elderly.

Is that you?

You'd have to be elderly.

This is the Day Medina facelift,

where they got the chrome bits around the headlights.

This is awful.

I mean, the 950s were okay.

That was cool.

But they were just outclassed by everything.

They're not four-wheel drive.

They're quite big, I suppose.

That's the only thing I can say about it.

It's definitely not a classic car.

And it might get you through the winter,

but it might not, because the ECU's are really dodgy.

And also, they talk-steered really badly these 950s.

When you just went straight ahead,

whatever you did with the steering wheel.

I think this is a terrible choice for the winter.

Two-wheel drive,

SAR breakdown, no parts,

and talk-steered.

So no, sorry.

No, no.

It's big.

I can get in all the equipment I need to tow you out of the...

But it's big.

You won't be telling me anywhere in a disco.

It's too heavy.

That's true.

I was thinking more of the Fiat Panda.

This is a bit late for me.

I would have gone earlier.

I'd have gone sort of early 90s.

But you know it's going to start as demonstrated.

It's not.

There's 950s, not that reliable.

Well, we'll go for a 930, then.

Yeah, they're infectious as well.

No.

I think, actually, the 930s,

that was the basis of the Chevy Malibu as well.

The only downside.

The other downside of these is parts,

are a little bit sort of difficult to get.

Non-existent.

Well, yeah.

Non-existent.

That's a danger of buying a car

from a car company who's gone bust, isn't it?

You'll be driving to the scrapyard,

trying to pull bits off in like January temperatures.

So, you know your car might start at minus 23,

but will you be able to pull a starter motor off a wreck at minus 23?

Probably not.

It's a good point.

I could look on eBay from the comfort of my house.

Good night.

Right.

Suitability for the winter.

And it's far from your drive.

If you put some winter tyres on, I'll give you two.

Two.

Yeah.

Reliability.

I'm going to give you two.

Cool.

Cool factor.

It doesn't look normal.

It's got that night button on the panel, isn't it?

So, you can turn the instruments off.

Whether it's a vector or not, those wagons do look quite cool.

I drive on those for the autumn and winter.

Everybody would just ask you, is that a vector made at the petrol station?

No, I'll give you two.

So, I'll give you six and total the...

Six out of 15.

All right.

Okay.

Go on.

Have you got one more?

Well, I have.

You're not going to like it.

I've not liked any of them.

They're so far.

You're wrong.

Just a little bit less.

Now, if you've got this far, first of all, well done.

Secondly, you're probably thinking there's a blindingly obvious choice

for super stylish winter classic.

Something with 80s cool, a bit more sprung dirt.

Technic and four-wheel drive.

The Audi Quattro, I hear you shout at the back.

I say no.

Too easy.

Well done.

I've been bet the best choice ever.

How about another rally icon?

Usually driven flat out on blind corners.

This car had a huge following with people who drove really, really badly.

Hence the nickname, the Imprazza.

I give you the Subaru Imprazza WRX STIPPP.

Now, here's one in full Imprazza spec.

It's got gold wheels.

It's got lots of different coloured hoses under the bonnet.

It's got a massive rear wing and a huge tin can exhaust.

What a winter weapon.

This is even better than the disco, I think.

Yuck.

Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck.

Imprazza.

Great.

The picture, too, of the engine.

It's got red hoses.

It's just great.

It's had every single add-on that you can buy from Halford.

It's fantastic.

Yes, certainly.

Oh, these are terrible.

Great cars.

Absolutely great cars.

They are fantastic in the wet.

They start all the time because it's Japanese.

They hold the road fantastically because it's four-wheel drive.

It's a bit lary.

I'm just looking at it.

It's in blue with the gold alloys with a Subaru whale tail thing on the back.

It's ugly from every angle, isn't it?

Yeah, they are ugly.

But they're an ugly car.

But you just get past the uglyness because you'll be getting to a destination.

Well, I wouldn't be getting into my destination.

I'd rather walk, to be honest, than go in that.

I know there is sort of an iconic car.

I could see this as a little model car on you.

If you're into rallying and stuff like that.

But this does it.

You say it looks like it's been magnetized and driven through Halford's.

It's covered.

That is stylish because you will get that.

Cool.

So if you like rallying, this is Uber style.

I'll give you what it's got on it.

It's got our performance engine rebuild, RTS Clutch, flywheel skim.

PFR7V plugs.

It's got KYB ultra rear shocks.

It's got everything.

Everything you could ever need in the Subaru Impretzer package.

This is the WRX STI, which is the top of the range.

Then you've got the PPP, the Pro Drive Performance Pack.

And that was an extra, which made it the top of the top of the range.

So you can't get any better than this.

2003 Impretzer, Impretzer, whatever you want to call it.

I think it's great.

For the scoring, are we doing it from the eyes of a 15-year-old?

In which case I'll give you five out of five.

I'll take that one.

Five.

Five, five.

No, we're doing it.

We're doing it.

It's got to be practical.

This is ultimately a very practical winter car.

It's going to work or winter.

You're not going to skid anywhere and you're going to get there first.

Because I will be able to outhandle your Jag XJ in a flash.

Suitability.

I think this is turning up in a shell suit for a job interview.

It's not a good look.

Suitability.

But it's a round start.

It's a round start.

I've got it.

I'm fortunate to give you four out of five for that.

Four great.

Reliable.

What is Japanese?

So it's going to be again four out of five.

No old cars can put you reliable.

Cool.

In my eyes, I'm scoring it one out of five.

I have five.

I mean, that's nine.

That's not bad.

That's on a par with the disc.

I can't leave you on that, though.

So I'm going to throw another one quickly.

Another sweet.

I wouldn't get normally excited about old volvos.

But for the brief, I think we've got to talk about them.

Have a look at this.

It is a Volvo.

It's a Volvo.

Yeah.

It's a mistakenly evolved.

Give me a sec.

With auto optics on, I think a Volvo does become a bit more interesting.

Normally, I'd say like two forty two sixty or seven forty.

Something like that.

Maybe in a state we've done in the state.

Let's just go for this one, though.

Chuck it up on your screen because it's got a bit of,

you accuse me of not having a classic car kind of eye with the,

with the SARB.

So how about this?

Volvo two four four DL.

So it's a two-litre four door saloon.

1975 on an in plate.

Orange.

A bit punchy price-wise at 10K.

But at least it's got a bit of style.

Have a look at inside.

Yeah.

It has got style.

It looks like somebody has nicked some material off a deck chair on a beach

and shoved it into a Volvo.

I mean, yeah.

You know, I love these Volvo's as you well know.

I'm just looking at the pictures.

This hasn't got an ounce of rot on it at all.

It's an orange and orange inside.

So it's, you know, it's an acquired taste.

But if it's going to be a Volvo, you might as well stand out.

Otherwise, you just look like a dad turning up an Volvo.

Yeah.

It's got to be, it's got to be a little bit more sort of a gearish, isn't it?

To have that sort of classic feel about it.

I think a Volvo.

It's a 36.

Yes, pitch 36.

Hold on, I've got there.

It's got a cloth underneath where it is mopping up some damp, I think.

Don't worry about that.

And you say it hasn't got any rot.

You've clearly not got to the engine bay.

Yeah.

It's quite a little rust there.

But look at the inside.

It is quite cool.

This is, these, these Volvo's, if you...

I'm just in the engine bay, yeah.

It's the 70s Volvo that looks like it's got a bit of...

Is it underbite or overbite at the front?

It looks like somebody's face with the lower jaws here.

Oh, I know.

That's overbite, isn't it?

That's overbite.

Yeah.

So it looks a bit like that.

But as Max says inside, it's got this deck chair, very 70s interior.

Bright orange velour with black stripes down there.

Which is quite cool.

I'm not...

I think if you sat in it too long, you probably want to get out and give you a headache.

And you wouldn't want to drive this car when you're a bit tired because it's quite loud inside

in terms of the colour.

But I think that's quite fun.

I think it's a bit punch on the money, as I say.

But these Volvo's are racking up in price.

But there was certainly, on a grey day, that's right orange car.

Right orange.

Inside and outside, so you can't escape it.

I mean, I really do like these Volvo's.

In fact, I love them, particularly the saloons.

I think it's a very stylish car.

I think, I mean, reliability, it's quite old, isn't it?

But it is a Volvo and all the parts are available.

Or take that optimism and reflect that in your scores.

So suitability.

Well, it's still not four-wheel drive.

That's five.

It's still not four-wheel drive, is it?

Four.

Mine have been four-wheel drive, so you'd have to put winter tyres on it.

So I think that's three.

Suitability is three.

It's a Volvo, though.

It is a Volvo, yes, a reliability.

I will give you, I'll give you three for reliability

because it is quite old.

What year is it?

75.

That was 75, yeah.

It's quite old, isn't it?

Cool, cool.

It's quite cool, isn't it?

Yeah, it's quite cool.

It's quite cool.

But it's still a dad's Volvo, isn't it?

So I probably give you three.

No, four.

You've got to go four.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

If it's been in a state, I think that's probably cooler.

No, no, no, no.

There's a point called, but not as cool as the...

If you open that door up and saw that interior on a grey date,

that's quite cool.

Yeah.

Go on four.

People would laugh at you.

No, it's three.

It's still a three, I'm afraid.

Six out of 50.

Okay, looking at our scores, then.

No, hang on, that's nine.

Three, three.

Oh, yeah, sorry, yeah.

Not 15.

Should we get the calculator?

Welcome to the maths GCSE Maths podcast.

Right.

So looking at our scores, then, we've got three tied on nine out of 15.

We've got the Volvo.

Yeah.

We've got your thing.

Disco.

Superoo thing.

And the disc.

Yeah.

So two out of three are mine.

So I think our 66%, I think I might be the winner here.

I would say the brief was to find a classic car that you could use in the winter.

And the disco is not a classic car, I don't think.

I don't think anybody says the man with the Sab nine five.

Well, that's from 2010.

That's out of the equation.

Your disc goes about to be out of the equation because nobody.

If you pulled that up a classic car meat, people would say, no, sorry,

the other parking is real on the corner, mate.

No, but a classic Land Rover meat.

And you wouldn't.

They wouldn't.

They'd laugh at you.

No, no, no, no, no.

People really like disco ones at the moment.

No, wouldn't.

If you turn up in an old series one or something, maybe.

So no scrub that's not.

That doesn't fall classic.

So it's downstairs.

It's neck and neck between the Subaru and the Volvo.

And I've got to say, I'm thinking about the classic car meat.

I have gone to this morning if it wasn't raining.

Which car would they beckon me and which car would they say?

It was raining so you didn't go.

No, because that's it.

Because I didn't have my Volvo.

The 1975 orange Volvo.

If I had that, I'd be rocking up there.

And I've got to say, if I turn up in a Subaru, they'd probably go,

mm, mm, mm.

Yeah, I kind of get where you're coming with the Subaru

because it's quite modern.

What I'm going to do is reintroduce the disco.

Because I think the disco is a genuine classic in Land Rover circles.

And the Volvo is a genuine classic.

So it's a tie between the disco and the Volvo.

But I think I'm editing this.

So it's the disco, which is the winner.

Goodbye.

So episode 41 of the tie kickers.

And shortly we'll be getting hammered at the recent Historic's auction.

And asking ourselves, was there a car there that we should have bought?

We'll also have a good look at the MGA.

And ask if now is the time to get one.

But first, let's hear from you.

In the last episode, we talked about acceptable kick cars,

namely the Cobra kits from people like Hawk and Dax.

Steve, clicky clouds been on to say,

how about Westfields as an alternative?

They stand up as kick cars in their own rights.

While Keith Gran Turismo gave us a more model answer,

saying the best Cobra kit car is the Lego 427SC.

Set number 10357 to be exact.

Well, that's the show stopper.

But that's fun at parties.

Time now to sound the correction clacks and max.

Oh, there it is.

D-Team at Murtree.

And notice that when we were talking about 60s Mustangs,

we referred, well, you referred Max

to the non V8 version as a V6.

But luckily he knows more than you

and pointed out that it's actually a straight six.

He's exactly right.

It was the later Mustang that had the V6.

Now, lots of people mentioned our AI Instagram post

about crushing the Princess.

Sadly, it looked a bit like a scoda.

Apologies on behalf of AI.

Custom skills says AI wants to save the Princess

as it's crushing another car, a Renault Audi Princess.

Rat Roller said the photo was a pastiche, a Ford Avenger.

Couple of comments from our Spotify page.

Now, if you've posted on there, sorry,

we've only just really found out recently

that you've been there.

So we've not been ignoring you.

Chua UK 1961 says, don't diss the Princess.

It's the first car I drove after passing my test.

His dad had an 1800 HL in.

Is it Carmine Red?

Carmine Red, yeah.

And it was faultlessly reliable.

Also, the back would dip at clutch biting points.

So for new drivers, it was great.

Well, you could see where it was biting in your review.

No, but I meant because if you had the handbrake on

on a Princess and you let the clutch out,

the actual back was so likely suspended.

It would dip down.

So it would give you that great kind of bounce feeling.

So you can actually dance them on a locked-off handbrake.

I'll take it all back.

Stop the crusher because apparently the back goes up and down.

He agreed with you though.

You were banging on about the ambassador,

which came afterwards as being terrible.

Terrible.

Terrible. He said that was a huge step back.

Well, great.

There's ever to hear all your comments and corrections.

Do keep them coming.

And if you want to know how to tell us what you think,

here's how you do it.

You can find us at the Tiger Kickers UK on Instagram

and the Tiger Kickers on Facebook.

So we've been moaning about the seasons turning into winter

but there have been a few sunny warm days since we last spoke.

So I'm guessing you've had the stag out a bit.

Yeah, we have done it.

We've been raining all day today.

But we have had a few sort of warm days.

There was one day of warmth in September in the last couple of weeks.

Which was quite good.

So I ran it down to Sussex on a 70-mile round trip.

Now, it's proof that this stag is, if nothing else, usable,

it did it without any fuss.

I sat even sat in traffic on the way back,

wrote some road words, which was like, oh, here we go.

And it didn't overheat.

The temperature gauge went up just a bit.

It stayed at half.

Now, full disclosure, I did put the heater on to help it.

But you did that in any old car, wouldn't you?

You know, I just didn't want to just do more.

Maybe, if you, unless you had a great history of overheating,

I believe the stags in it.

I do that in any old car.

I used to do that in my spider.

I didn't.

I don't do that because that's a way of just getting a bit of heat

at the engine, isn't it?

But, you know, I didn't want to tempt fate.

But it was pretty good.

And it's given me confidence to go a bit further.

I went and met my mate, Chris, at a pub.

And he brought his baby blue sunbeam tiger,

which he's been restoring.

Oh, my God.

You know, you've got those friends who've got just the pristine cars.

You sort of think.

Unless I throw a serious amount of money at any car,

and it's not going to be like that.

He does it all himself.

And these results are really, really good.

So it was lovely to see that.

Although it was running on six cylinders rather than eight.

And it did have a smell of oil when I drove it.

That's a park it back in the car park.

Maybe next time.

Was that a little smirk in your voice when you talked about that?

Well, maybe not so perfect after all, Chris.

Actually, and Chris, he will admit this.

I gave him a driver the stag.

He had a driver of it.

And he went, this is really nice to drive.

I'm quite surprised.

So the stag is having an effect.

Everybody who's getting in it and having a driver of it

is really, really liking it.

Have a look at the photos on Instagram.

We took them for a play date.

You can see the photos of the two cars there.

But it's given me confidence max to run it a bit further,

which I'm quite surprised at.

I'll pleasantly surprise that.

Took on a road test.

You didn't road testing anything?

I have a friend of mine called Frederick.

He lives in my village.

Has bought a Citroen SM.

Now, I have lusted after these for years.

I've never actually driven one.

And he let me have a drive.

Now, his is amazing.

It's a left-hand drive.

It's a manual.

And then when you actually get to sit in this Citroen SM,

you really start to appreciate just how weird this car is.

Because it's a beautiful blue one.

It's got a kind of our engine theory.

And not dissimilar to that Volvo we were looking at.

And it's just so comfortable.

And it's just such a strange drive.

Because it's got the self-centering steering, which is a bit weird.

So on a roundabout, you're kind of fighting it.

It's got all the normal Citroen suspension,

which just feels like it's going to tip over and then doesn't quite.

So it actually handles strangely well.

And it's got those kind of brakes there on and off.

You've not mentioned the most important thing about the Citroen SM.

It's got a Maserati engine, isn't it?

Yeah, I'm getting to that.

Well, that's the first thing you say, isn't it?

No, no, no.

Because there's a reason I'm getting to that.

So I'm getting to the good bits first.

Good bits first, drives really nicely.

Quite kind of an acquired taste.

But once you get into it, it's great.

But there's the engine.

Now the problem is I didn't drive it for a long,

because the big red stop light came on.

Because it was low pressure in the hydraulics.

And the day before, Fredrick had taken it down

that section of the M4,

that you and I talked about before,

where there's no hard shoulder.

Oh.

And guess what the SM did?

It spewed its fluid at high pressure all over the windscreen.

Stop light came on.

They're in the slow lane of the M4, no hard shoulder.

Left hand drive.

So obviously you opening your door onto the arm cove.

If you can get out,

luckily there was enough fluid to get it into one

of those kind of emergency refuges.

And then call the emergency services and got them towed.

But that SM, beautiful,

but flawed,

because it does have that really complicated system.

And even when I drove it,

after it filled it up and changed the hoses,

that red light still came on.

So great car.

When we opened the bonnet,

I just looked at the engine

and went, what on earth is going on here?

The gearbox is closest to you.

The engine's kind of mid-engine.

There's fluid hoses.

There's clicking motors.

It's just the complexity of it.

Just made me think,

oh my god, who dreamt this up?

How do you make a French car more complex?

Put a Maserati engine in it.

It is notorious for being a bit of a head scratcher

in terms of how to fix it.

I haven't got a budget for an SM.

But if I did,

I'd probably be a bit scared away

by the complexity of it.

Because when it goes wrong,

and imagine those bills are quite big, aren't they?

Yeah, and on this one as well,

because they had air conditioning,

the air conditioning had been taken off

to make it slightly less complex.

But even so,

you know, a really complex car.

So before the engine warning light came on,

go describe it the driving thing again?

Just beautiful.

I mean, it's quite quick,

surprisingly quick.

It rolls from side to side,

but does grip eventually.

I did a couple of roundabouts,

and it kind of initially you think,

oh my goodness,

this is rolling everywhere.

But then it does bite and grip.

And the self-centered steering just weird,

because it's fighting you in the wrong direction.

Particularly, it's a left-hand drive.

So it's a very weird car to drive.

But once you get used to it,

wow, what a car.

And also, it just looks incredible.

You would forgive anything on that car,

apart from breaking down on the M4,

because of the way it looks.

Hello.

This is the tire kicker's episode 41.

We are outside.

We have left the studio.

Matt and I are doing a little road trip

to historic sorctions in Ascot.

Now, last episode,

we picked six lots that we thought were quite interesting.

So we've decided to come and have a look at them,

and then after this bit,

we'll be back to the studio,

and we can see what prices they achieved.

First of all,

hang on, Matt's just wandered off.

He's got a catalogue,

and he's drifted off looking at the car.

Matt!

Oh, hang on.

I've just got to go over and see him.

Princess Matthew won't come to the microphone.

I have to go with the microphone to him.

Yeah, what?

Hello.

Are you the valley parking?

Just get out of here.

Come and have a look at this car.

This is one of the picks that we made

in the last episode, remember.

It's a Ford Mustang.

Oh, okay.

I've got to look at that first.

I was looking at this one first.

Yeah, we'll go back to that in a minute.

So this is a Ford Mustang.

It's the coupé.

It's the V6.

So it's all the things that are slightly unloved

by the enthusiasts.

But I quite like them.

The coupé is quite a pretty car.

The only problem is,

as I'm getting slightly closer to it,

the shut lines aren't as good as I hoped.

No, first impressions,

you do that thing don't you walk up to a car.

It's open the door here.

Yeah, the shut lines,

as you say, the door here,

if I come to the passenger door.

Yeah, it's not even shutting

and then the shut lines in that

are not really very good.

It's not, yeah,

it's a bit,

so so, isn't it?

Again, from a distance,

I thought this was nicer

than it looks close up.

It hasn't got an aerial in the wing,

so it's just got an aerial hole.

What I do like about it is the steel wheels.

It looks quite sort of tough.

But bearing in mind,

it is the 2.8 V6 and the automatic.

Not quite the car,

maybe I thought it would be.

Yeah, this is the thing.

It's already got compromises

before you look at it,

because it's not got the V8 in it.

So you're looking for a like a wow car,

aren't you to make up for that?

I don't like the wheels.

The wheels are very plain.

They're just plain steel,

cheaper wheels.

The one thing that this has gotten its favourite

is its guided quite cheaply.

So this is going to be a cheap car.

If you could get it,

I don't know,

10, 9.

Yeah, yeah, maybe.

You could pretty it up.

You could put some nicer wheels on it.

They don't need to be like blingy,

but these leaves look cheap and rusty.

So get changed to wheels up.

Sort a bit of the bodywork.

Sort the shut lines out.

Give it a good clean.

And then I think that's quite a nice usable car.

It's a left hooker, obviously.

It's automatic.

So it's not actually as we talked about in the show,

it's not actually that big.

It's probably about the size of a large

kind of a Sadie's coupe.

So it's not too bad.

You could park it in your garage.

You could use it.

You could run it out.

You can get four up in it.

I think it's usable if you can get it at the right price.

This was one of my picks.

And I'm not quite as impressed with it as I was

when I looked at it on the internet.

So let's move on quickly to this

another of my picks,

which I'm really, really keen on.

This is a 1985, is it?

Mercedes 230 CE coupe and gold.

Absolute cork of this.

We both just had a quick look around this

and really, really like it.

The CE is the two doors.

They're quite a distinctive shape

of the W123.

Yeah.

Now walking up on this car,

totally different scenario because you walk up

and it's like,

oh, it's had a paint job by the looks of it.

It just sits really nicely.

And it's the coupe,

which doesn't look that amazing in pictures,

but when you look up at it in the flesh,

it's really, really nice.

But the real treat of this car, Max, is coming here.

Opening the driver's door.

Just have a look inside there.

Oh, I'm getting whiff of 1980s muck.

Well, the thing we talked about on the last show

was that this car is up for sort of 10-12,

10-12, I think, on the estimate,

which is quite on the topi for this,

but I said it would come down to condition.

And look at that condition inside.

It's absolutely beautiful.

It's almost showroom fresh inside.

Have a sit in there and see what you think.

This says 76,000 miles on the clock.

And I reckon, you know, this could be genuine.

It just feels untouched.

The steering wheel isn't worn at all.

The sun visors are lovely.

Oh, it's got a factory sunroof.

The headlining is really nice.

Hmm, this is really nice.

This is a lot better than I thought it would be.

There's a couple of bits that let it down.

If you come around to the back at the boot,

there's a little bit of grip.

We spotted this on when we looked at the pictures.

That could be tidied up.

Yeah, but with a boot up,

look underneath that carpet, factory toolkit.

Let's pop the bonnet up.

Right, Matt's going inside to pull the lever

and the little lever is popping out through the grille.

Now, look at that.

Beautiful.

Now, when you lift the bonnet,

it's a little bit rusty, but it is only surface rust.

That four cylinders slightly lost inside this engine bay, isn't it?

You know, give that to a painter.

You could tidy that up in a day or two, to be honest.

The battery's a bit after-market-y,

but I mean, that's not a bad sign.

The hoses look good.

The Jubilee clips look fairly clean.

They're Mercedes Jubilee clips.

And actually, if you look at all the shut lines,

they're all pretty accurate, aren't they?

The bolts that are holding the wings in, that's quite nice.

It's really clean.

I think you'd have a lot of fun driving about in this in the summer.

You know, you should say,

you get that factory sunroof open,

you drop all the windows down to a pillarless coupe,

the paintwork and it's this kind of goldy color

that looks absolute fantastic.

And all the chrome on the doors and everything.

Oh, want this car?

You're going to have to fight me for it.

This is a cool car.

I don't want to shut the door and say goodbye to it.

Come on, turn around.

More lots to do.

Okay, this is a 1967 Alfa Romeo duetto.

So this is a round tail, the 1600 in white.

Interestingly, the shut lines on this are quite good,

which is always what you pick up on Alphas.

Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit distracted by the Grace Jones in the background.

Try and ignore that.

It's pulling up to the bumper on this.

The chrome bumper is actually quite nice.

But yeah, it's in white.

We talked about this in the last show.

It's in white.

It's not the chosen Alfa colour.

But if you come closer to the car,

it's actually all right, isn't it?

It's, you know,

the doors sound good.

I mean, obviously it's Italian car.

The interior looks quite fresh, actually.

There's a few little bits you can tidy up.

But it's a lot better in the flesh than it looked in the book, actually.

And I think it's interesting, and the value is

the estimate is a lot, lot lower than we've seen for duetters.

The paint's a little bit off if you look down the side

and it's got some terrible kind of modern car radio aerial

tacked into the back.

But actually, again, the shut lines of the boot are quite nice.

Hoods are a bit tired.

Wheels are about right.

Interior seats are nice.

I think these are still quite valuable cars.

And this one's not too expensive.

Because really, there's not that many right-hand drive duetters around.

I don't, I'm not that fussed about the boat.

So when you look at it in the flesh, it's not all that.

Oh, no, it's much pretty.

We've seen a Camtel outside, and this is a much prettier car.

But actually, the car in the flesh looks pretty good.

If we come through to the interior,

I think the interior looks quite fresh.

It looks okay.

It's a little bit tidying up.

You do around the dashboard.

The doors sound all right.

Whoops.

Because doors normally sag on these,

because they're not structurally the most solid car.

Well, it's a monococ, but it's okay.

It's a monococ body, so it does sag in the middle if it's not right.

But I think it looks all right, actually.

I think I still like the Camtels,

but if this is the right sort of money,

and the estimates are a lot lower on this than we've seen in previous years.

So definitely want to watch, I think.

Right-hand drive duetters, they're quite rare.

This is a 1600.

It's guided between 22 and 28.

I think it's going to go about 26.

Okay, well, we'll keep an eye on it.

Next up is what was a really nice Citroen DS

that's been chopped up into a kind of convertible special.

Not really much of a fan of this.

It's quite intense, isn't it?

Oh no, well no, it's not intense.

We're going in a tent, because this is the car that looks like

it's got a tent on the top of it.

Yeah, this is not a great look, to be honest.

The original decouper tablet, is it?

I can't remember how you pronounce it.

It's a decouper tablet.

The original was really pretty.

This is just, it's a kit, it's a little bit awkward.

It's the Citroen DS, but it's had the top decapitated.

And then they've put this roof on, and with the roof up,

it doesn't look good.

It looks, what Max said in the last show,

it looks like go outdoors, tents being stuck on the top of it.

With it down, it's okay, but it just doesn't feel

very showbiz this car, does it?

Let's sit inside it, because I think it's a real shame

that there's an original car here that's been butchered.

Ooh, nice comfy seats.

I've got that great DS interior, I've just sunk into this sofa.

That's fantastic.

It's quite, it's quite founcy in here though,

it's a bit damp smelling, isn't it?

Yeah, that's because, guess what, the roof doesn't fit.

The roof leaks, that's why.

They're lovely to drive, but it just seems a bit strange

with this roof, and I'm guessing because it's an

aftermarket conversion, it'll wobble.

What's this guided for?

This is guided between 30 and 40,000.

Oh, big money.

Yeah, I don't, it doesn't feel special enough for me, I've got to say.

I've seen one of the proper ones of these,

and in the flesh they look fantastic.

This just doesn't, it feels a bit sad.

Right, up next, one of your picks and one of mine.

Let's start with one of yours.

Yeah, you accused me of becoming a Triumph fanboy in the last show.

What do you want?

This is a bright red.

Exhibit A.

Bright red 1972, good year.

Triumph TR6.

Paint work is really nice.

It could do with a bit of a modern polish,

but in the flesh it's really good.

It's got, if we come forward, it's got MX5 seats in it,

which I'll probably make it more comfortable and usable.

Yeah.

I think I've got speakers in the headrabs.

Which is a bit of slight detraction, it's slightly, however,

I think the interior is pretty good.

It's got the aftermarket walnut dashboard, I don't like that.

Yeah, I like that because the standard Triumph phone was a bit rubbish.

Yeah, look, let's look at the wing mirrors, the text wing mirrors.

Oh, they're not wobbly, which is unusual for a Triumph.

Overall, it sort of sits quite well.

It looks like a car that's obviously being used for touring,

which is why they put the decent or more comfortable seats in it.

If it goes like it looks, it should be all right.

What's it estimated for?

Let's have a look.

18 to 22.

Also, this has got the upgraded fuel pump, isn't it?

It's got the Bosch fuel pump, which is much better than the Lucas original.

Yeah, it's quite nice, actually.

You could go do some miles and this has got many light wheels.

It's in nice, red, good condition.

I quite like TR6s, but they do shake a bit.

It's shake, rattle and roll on the corners.

Yeah, I mean, you're buying the engine with the TR6.

That's straight sixes, lovely.

The chrome is really good on it.

I mean, there's definitely, we're looking at chrome on classics these days

because getting re-cromed is a nightmare.

And then, otherwise, you're looking to stay in the steel bumpers.

But it's pretty good.

For a 1972, this is the same age as me,

and which looks, but don't answer, don't answer.

Well, we know the answer to that, and it's the TR6.

Right, coming up next, next to it is my pick.

It's an Austin Healy 100.

Now, I prefer the Healy 100s to the Healy 3000s.

I think it's a much purer look.

If you look at the front grille, it's just less goppin'.

It's in a lovely color.

There's some kind of metallic blue guided from 38 to 45,000.

Now, I actually can just about get in this.

I don't think you'll be able to.

But Healy 100s, what a great car.

Yeah, it is.

I'm going to take a mic from you, actually, because you're going to get in it.

Let's see, he's getting in the door now.

You've got to reach inside for the door handle.

That's the cable door handle and squeeze in.

Now, I'm six foot and sveled.

Yeah, and you're quite live.

I think there's a nice way of saying that.

And you had trouble getting in there, didn't you?

Yeah, it's a bit of a squeeze.

And also, the steering wheel's right up against my chest.

And the pedals.

Oh, my legs are pretty much bent at 45 degrees to get in here.

So, it looks good from the outside.

I'm not sure how far I could drive in.

It's probably about 10 minutes, 15.

That's the thing about these old Healy's.

They're quite big cars, but actually for the driver, there's not much room.

I mean, Max is sat there.

His head is above the windscreen.

He's right up against the dashboard.

I've driven one of these.

And it's very, very scutly.

And this is the one with the weird gears in it as well.

Beautiful to look at though.

If you stand back from this, it does look nice.

It's on wire wheels.

It's in that nice blue.

No, no, no.

Unfortunately, just get Max out of the car.

It looks much better with you out of the car.

OK, this is the start of the show for me.

It's a great 1951 XK120 with a kind of like a dark red leather interior.

I think I described this in the last episode as the chef's kiss car.

I think this is absolutely perfect on wire wheels.

It's been freshly restored.

Small steering wheels.

You might even be able to get in it.

I love this XK120.

It's just class, class, class.

Gunmetal grey.

It's only macular wire wheels.

The red leather cockpit interior.

It's not just a red leather receipts.

It's trimmed around it, around the edge in this sort of claret-ox,

bloody kind of leather.

It's just gorgeous.

Every angle of it looks fantastic, doesn't it?

The history on this car is really interesting because it was a knock-down kit

that was actually made in Ireland to avoid some tax.

It blew up its engine.

It's been to New Zealand.

And that is a key point.

It did blow up its engine.

And it's not on matching numbers.

Engine and car.

But to be honest, I don't care.

Blah, blah, blah, blah.

You reckon I could get in this?

So I'm going to give it a go.

Right, so I know you won't be able to get this.

Reach inside and you pull up this leather-bound sort of drawstring inside the door.

Oh, it is small, doesn't it?

I've already had a go at getting in this and it was a squeeze.

You can slide in, yeah, you have legs haven't gotten in yet.

Get your right leg in.

Right leg is in.

Steering wheel is basically in a crutch.

Shut the door.

Oh, I can't.

Shut it on his leg.

That's the best I've ever had.

So let me describe the driving position.

So I'm six foot three.

My knees are up.

They're literally up.

Well, imagine that you were sort of in a bobslay.

I would say that's probably the best description.

I couldn't turn the steering wheel because it's rubbing against my leg.

My size 12 feet can't really press the clutch down.

It's not, it's pretty tight in here, isn't it?

But it does look beautiful.

I'm such a shame though, because it's such a beautiful car.

I mean, is there any room?

There's no room for the seatbelt.

No, you run out.

There's no space, is there?

I thought that.

Can you actually change it so the seat moves back?

But there's literally no space for it to go.

So you either fit in these or you don't, which is a crying shame,

because neither of us do.

Such a shame.

But what a beautiful looking car.

I just buy it, park it and look at it.

Okay, Matt and I have made our picks.

I've picked three.

Matt's picked three.

Matthew's here from Historic's Auction.

Matthew, you've seen our choices.

What do you think of them?

You say eclectic.

I'd say you're quite safe a little bit there.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, it's called a safe before that.

Yeah, an XK120.

And Alfa Duetto.

I mean, they're pretty standard TR6.

The 140's lovely.

It is absolutely beautiful that car.

And it's what we're saying in Lidler,

it's had an awful lot of money spent in the right ways.

And then not been used greatly since.

So whoever purchases that is in for a pleasant surprise.

The 230 CE, I think, is the nicer eclectic one there.

Which I quite agree is stunning.

And where people chase down those fabulous particular models.

And these are forgotten about.

That's a real sort of gem in the rough, I guess.

Do you know with the market as it is?

Do you still get that gut feeling about what cars are going to do well?

Or is it just come down to the day and two people wanting it?

It's come down to the day more so.

If we, I always joke that if I knew the market that well,

you'd be speaking to me on my yacht.

Because I'd be buying the best and sticking them away.

But generally speaking, you get a feel for a car based on the quality of it.

But it's always chasing the price.

So if you find a car that's absolutely stunning,

but the customer is holding it to ransom.

They won't weigh too much money.

We know where we're at with that.

Everyone wants the car.

It's too much money.

You have this inbuilt fight with the bidding.

Sometimes you get very lucky, whereby someone's quite pragmatic.

Or it's just got to be sold for what it's sold for.

I just want to see what the rest it does.

If you get a very attractive estimate and a car such as that sea,

which is beautiful and collectible,

we know we've got that gut feeling.

It's going to do well.

So crystal ball then out of our picks,

which ones do you think are going to be the hottest?

I think the duetto, Aframayos always do well.

Alfa buyers are always very strong.

Fantastic. That's one of my picks, by the way.

It's in white though, isn't it?

Well white on Aframayos is not a bad color.

You know, you can go red.

It's a bit like a red Ferrari with that.

So there is, I think that will do well.

And it's got quite a sort of sensible reserve on that as well, isn't it?

Yeah. And that will do well.

Compared to what they were like years ago.

Exactly that.

So that will generate.

The right hand drives are still quite rare.

There's not many right hand drive duetos around.

I don't think it matters as much anymore,

because you're not going to be overtaking much in an Aframayos to wet over the show.

I'm good luck to you if you do.

The XK120, it's a buyer's market for a 120.

And I don't mean to down XK120.

I prefer an XK120 ever an E type for a 150,

because I prefer the look.

You're quite white.

You need very spindly legs,

or you need to adapt the steering wheel.

But it's a beautiful, beautiful car.

And it's really iconic.

But it is a buyer's market.

There's less buyers about,

so the sellers naturally have had to start attracting their values.

My pick out of a lot of them is still the Austin Healy there,

because I think just it's a hell of a lot of car for the money.

Can I just point out the Healy was one of my picks as well?

I don't know what it was.

But I thought the Healy was fantastic,

because it's just got that look of the early Healy.

It looks like it's going fast even when it's parked.

Yeah, they're really pretty cars.

I've always, when the E type really stratusfully drove on and pushed on,

which I've blamed Clarkson for when they did the anniversary stuff,

the Healy didn't really drop.

Just didn't go with it.

And to me, the Healy is,

I just think it's a cooler car.

It's the man's car.

It's a bit more the race car.

It was designed for hill climbs for all of these other aspects.

It had very little paraphernalia with it.

It was just about engine driver go.

Yes, it was rattly.

It was a little less refined.

But to me, that's what I want in a classic car.

What's your pick of this auction then?

What's your particular favourite?

What would you like to go home with?

And we're not talking value here.

We're just talking car enthusiasts.

Oh, so just one.

That's always tough,

because we're always surrounding by them.

Sadly, it has to be a bit sedate and mundane.

But it's that Bentley Brooklyn's over there.

The Coupe.

And because I just think they just are incredible to drive.

They're so relaxed.

The Polar opposite to us is just talking about the Austin Healy.

And I can't help myself,

but think about the values of those as well.

And I shouldn't.

But that would be a fantastic car to own.

From a driving perspective, however...

Potentially by the race cars.

But I still like a 930 turbo.

I suppose if I wanted to really own one and own a car on my driveway,

that probably would be an easy pick.

It's never going to go down in value 930s, are there?

Because they're so few made.

I think I would have to go home with an XK120

and just have an operation to shorten my legs.

Matt?

Now, I'm happy to do the operation, if you want.

Chainsaw.

I slid chameras thinking.

Any particular pick?

What would you go home with?

The XK120 is beautiful.

But I just think...

You know me, when I think about classic cars,

it's about what can I use, what can I drive down the pub?

And I'll be taking that government, say, these homes.

Just because I think it's just...

It looks like a time walk car.

It looks like it's driven out the showroom.

So yes, a nice little trip out to Ascot there.

Thank you for buying lunch, Max.

I was quite a dry sandwich, though.

Well, it was dry.

But yet still strangely expensive.

Exactly that.

But it was good to get out there.

It cost a lot.

It's good to have a look round.

If you get a chance to go and see one of those historic auctions

which are generally down in the south of England,

go and have a look when they come up.

I think the next ones are Brooklyn's.

But let's get into what stuff sold for.

And let's get straight into it.

Yeah, first of all, that Mustang coupé that I quite like

from a distance, 1965 coupé.

The straight six, not the V6.

Not the V6, no.

That went...

I thought if it was going to be under 10 grand,

there'd be quite good value.

That went for 11,440.

So it's quite a lot of work to do on that car.

Let's move on to the 1985 Mercedes 230 CE,

which I will confess that I was sat there waiting to bid on it.

Because I thought it might go super cheap.

If it's under 50 quid, I'm going to get it.

Exactly that.

So I watched that and I thought, right,

if it goes to five, I'm going to go for it or buy it.

And it shot over five pretty quickly.

And then it sort of stalled out and it went to seven and a half.

The internet feed dropped out and then it sold.

So I think it went for seven and a half.

So with a bit of maths, that's 8,625 with the fees or added on.

Still not too bad.

It might go...

I think anything under 10 is pretty good for a coupé.

I've got one I open looking at these.

So maybe in the next year,

I might keep my opensip in the else,

come through an auction.

Because I think it would be a very, very usable car.

I've just got the storage.

I need to find some storage for it.

What was next?

Oh, that 1967 Alfa Spider Juetto, the 1600 white one.

These used to be going for around 50 grand.

And I thought if you could get it for under 26,000,

that would be good value.

And it went for drum roll, 18,876.

So that is a super cheap, right hand drive, 67 Alfa Juetto.

Now talking to 67,

Citroen ID19 convertible that we talked about,

the one with the tent on the roof,

I saw that go.

I was watching the auction and the numbers went up

and that pretty quick, about 40 or 50 grand.

It's now listing as sold for an undisclosed fee,

which kind of means it's probably going to a dealer.

So yeah, that one did sell.

We're not quite sure for what, but it was certainly in the 40s.

Our next step was that 1972 red Triumph TR6.

Now we both had a good look around that.

We both liked TR6's.

It actually was unsolved.

The estimate was 18 to 22,000.

So unsolved.

Probably the wrong time of year for a TR6 to be sold,

to be honest, in September.

But I think that was quite a good one.

Talking of cars that had a bit of work to them.

The Austin Healey 104,

which, obviously had a lot of work done to it.

1954, we both liked that.

It was a bit tight to get in.

But that also was unsolved.

The estimate was 38 to 45,

which probably a little bit high.

It probably isn't.

It's really difficult with these old cars.

I'm surprised, to be honest,

because that had had a lot of restoration work.

That was absolutely on the button perfect.

And it had been restored by very good people

for a very good customer.

So I'm surprised that didn't sell,

because the quality shone through on that one.

You're talking of quality.

That Jaguar XK120,

that was kind of us could really get in.

I mean, it was beautiful.

Wasn't it 1951?

It was by the door when we walked in.

And both when I walked in and walked out,

I thought, oh, I've got to have that car.

But I couldn't because it's 64,000 it went for.

That feels like a low number for a car of that quality.

That would have been more a few years ago, wouldn't it?

Absolutely.

XK120 is well over 100,000,

and now it's in the 64s.

Partly because lots of people like us can't get in them.

And partly because it's that generational shift.

But it's still an iconic car.

Can you get a better car than that

on a classic British B-road?

Probably not.

Now, as you've just heard,

we both fell in love with the Jaguar XK120

that was for sale at Historic's.

Now, is there a nicer car living rent-free in your imagination

than that XK120?

Spooling along the coastal roads of the South of France.

Forever peak classic car.

Yeah, sorry to wake you up from your dreams.

I didn't even go get past the South of Croydon in that

before you have knee ache.

You didn't fit in it, neither did I,

and it was also 64 grand,

so it's all immaterial

because it's just not practical or affordable.

Yes, and yes, okay.

But what if you could afford a swoopy 1950s roadster

which shares some of the styling cues

and the period roads to feel?

Now, there's loads of these for sale.

It's easy to maintain with lots of parts and specialists.

Here's my car magazine cover headline,

the cut price XK120.

The MGA.

And I know a couple of people max within an MGA

and they're great.

I mean, I'll give a shout out to Tim

who comes to the meets around me.

That's a beautiful one in old English white,

totally restored and he keeps it pristine.

I mean, you lift the engine back.

I'm super, super clean.

He's cleaned everything with a toothbrush.

But these cars look perfect parked up at any show

and also on the move.

And I'd say if you want a classic classic car,

an MGA is a really good choice.

Now, prices like the weather have cooled.

So there's a few different ones.

Can you, can we just get ahead around them

because there were,

there was a 1500, wasn't there a twin cam?

A 1600, a 1600 m2

and then I think a deluxe as well.

So there's a few different ones.

And the twin cam I think goes for the top dollar.

But there are, you know,

it's a condition car.

They were built between 1955 and July 62

and there was about 100,000 made.

So with all that in mind,

which one would you go for?

Let's get some fantasy checkbooks out

and just pretend we can afford them

and get the very most expensive one we can find,

which is the twin cam.

Now the twin cam was actually really nice car

and relatively quick for the period.

Here is one up on your screen now.

It's a 1959 twin cam in red with black interior.

Got a fantastic history dating all the way back to

when it was born in 1959.

It's been fully restored

and also you get that twin cam driving experience.

Now, even if you're being positive,

MGA's have got quite an old drive to them,

particularly the 1500s, which is slow.

That BCR is engine is a slow car.

I think we're the 0-60 time

with something like 16 seconds

when the first came out.

It's not quick.

However, the twin cam is relatively quick

and it sounds nice.

Plus all the engine problems they had,

which were legendary,

have now been sorted out by now

because people have had plenty of time

to get them restored and done over.

What do you think of this twin cam?

I mean, classic MGA red,

I think that is perfect.

It's got the steel wheels,

it's got the knock-off spinners,

it's got the black interior.

That is just perfect MGA.

Yeah, it's beautiful,

but you've gone in right at the top there.

So the twin cam obviously,

if you get naval gazing with MGA owners,

they're going to ask what type you've got

and the twin cam is the V1.

I think it's nice.

I would like to go a little bit cheaper though,

because I think 35 grand

you've got a cough for this.

And you've gone for a prestigious dealer as well.

So, you know, it's going to be a nice one.

Look at the rocker covers.

They're polished.

Oh, they are.

It's perfect.

As we say with classic cars,

you could go cheaper and spend more,

but, you know, this one is probably spot on,

but it's a little bit,

I'm thinking there's a bit out of budget.

So, can we come down a little bit?

If you've gone a little bit?

If you must.

Let's come down a little bit then.

Let's look at what we like doing,

which is sorting the price lowest to highest.

The cheapest one on sale that we could find at the moment

is a 1961 1600, a fixed head.

Fixed head though,

not sure it's quite what I'm after.

I think also if you're slightly taller driver,

it's probably a little bit cramped.

I mean, I think for me,

this is definitely a convertible car.

I don't really want to be cramped

in a fixed head coupé.

However, it's 11,500.

It's red.

Even better.

This has had the upgraded either seal

1.85 bearing engine.

So, that's the MGB engine in it.

So, that's actually,

that's a lot better car

in terms of touring because you can go places in it,

because it's got a bit more torque.

I mean, 11.5 gram for that, that's cheap.

Okay, well, we like that.

That's a good start.

We're going to have to have a debate here

because what exactly is the best looking MGA?

Is it the fixed head?

We've just talked about, or is it the roadster?

I remember we talked a while ago

about front line moving their attention

to raster modding MGAs.

Can we just treat ourselves to another quick look

at the front line MGA?

Oh, that's nice, isn't it?

It's absolutely gorgeous.

I mean, they've just kind of smoothed all the things

that stick out of an MGA's body.

It's got the Martin one lights,

they're taking the indicators away from the front.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

This is a feature about affordable MGAs.

Yeah, but we're just going to go down

and cold us that here.

Just briefly to have a look at it.

It's so nice, it's just...

You showed us a 30.5 gram on the screen.

And then how much is this one?

This is about 100,000.

Doesn't matter.

We're just having a look.

We're just window shopping.

We're not buying.

We're just window shopping.

I just need to have a look at this car again.

Yeah, okay.

Well, let's look at the world one, two, three, back in the room.

Do we have to?

Yeah, let's look at something more in our price range.

A 1957, another fixed head,

MGA 1500, 17950, this one in black,

with steel wheels on it.

Again, I think probably for me the roadster is better,

but this one does look cool as well.

It's got lovely red interior, isn't it?

Well, it's funny, isn't it?

Because actually you'd expect all these cars

to be in kind of like old English, white, and reds

and look really good.

But it's one of those cars that's so good,

it still looks good in black, I think.

I think actually I've seen a couple of black ones on the market,

and they are really quite nice.

Interestingly, if we just have a little side by here,

we can go to original MGA factory colors,

which you can see on your screen now,

and here's a geek point.

The marked ones were orient red,

and the marked ones were chariot reds.

There's two different reds depending on if you've got the marked one or the marked two.

But if you look at the popular colors,

it's going to be the reds, the old English white.

I've seen a few in Dove Gray,

and the blues,

the glacier blue, the mineral blue, and the RS blue.

Yeah, I mean, they're nice, they are nice colors,

and I think they would look good in any of those,

as you say, they're certain ones.

I mean, that light blue, the RS blue though,

I'd quite fancy one in that,

something like a baby blue kind of thing.

Well, let's go for our best though,

a black 59 roadster.

This is a bit more on the money, 26950.

It's probably a car that would have been what,

North of 30, 3035,

you know, a couple of years ago,

but you're talking about it.

This is a fully restored car.

So the MGA is one of those classic cars,

that there's no way you could buy a cheap one at auction

and restore it for the price that they're going for now,

fully restored.

It's got an upgraded engine in large to 1.6

with 80 brake horsepower,

not 60 time off, 13 seconds.

So that'll keep up all right.

I think this is a really good one.

Now it is expensive.

26,000 for an MGA is quite a lot at the moment.

However, you could never do that

for anything less than 30,000 to do that one up.

And also the fit lines are perfect.

On MGA's, they're a body on frame chassis.

So there's a little bit of flexibility in it,

a bit like e-types and serious land drivers.

If you get the door lining up wrong,

particularly on the MGA's,

it just looks all wrong.

But these have got the doors lined up perfectly

and this is where to spot a really good restoration.

It's the join between the front wing and the door

because if that's right,

and those panel gaps are right,

the whole car has been done right.

And this one is perfect.

I think one thing we can say about MGA is

they're definitely definitely worth a look

even though they are technically smaller than that 120.

They're cheaper but actually can fit in these.

I mean, I can get in an MGA,

but it is drivable.

The thing with that 120, it wasn't drivable.

We always sat there and I was saying that, you know,

both my knees were up against,

you know, I was sort of in the sort of prone position.

But I couldn't, my feet couldn't change the gear.

I couldn't press the clutch.

It wasn't thinkable.

It was at least an MGA I could.

So I think they're definitely worth a look.

I think the values seem sort of all over the place.

But I would have a look at the auctions.

And as we've said with a lot of cars,

just sniff out the ones that have had a bit of work done

and watch them coming through the auctions,

especially this time of year,

because that's when these are going to be a great, great buy.

The thing about the MGA is as well,

is if you go on any of the kind of like online classic car sites,

you'll see a page of them.

There's loads of them around.

You can get everything to kind of like fit your budget.

You can get everything to fit your tastes.

You know, you can have a very slow one or a slow one.

You can have one with a roof and one without.

You can put five speed boxes in them.

You can upgrade them to MGB engines

to make them a bit quicker.

I don't think they're going to stay cheap for that long,

because it's getting to that point,

they're iconic, they're great cars.

And they're so cheap, people are going to start noticing them

and thinking that's a bargain.

So there goes another Tiger kicker's episode

in one year and out the other.

And that's just me with all the stuff that Matt said.

Listen and learn, it would do you well.

Thank you, though, for paying attention, even if he didn't.

And if you agree or disagree with anything we've said,

it's highly likely, drop us a line and let us know.

Don't forget, you can find us at the Tiger kicker's

you can find out about it,

and that's just me, with all the stuff that Matt said.

Listen and learn, it would do you well.

Thank you, though, for paying attention, even if he didn't.

So forget, you can find us at the Tiger kicker's

UK on Instagram and the Tiger kicker's on Facebook.

We'll be getting ready for our big night

at the Independent Podcast Awards.

So we'll be talking classic limos.

What's the most stylish stretch that would get us to the red carpet?

And just to be clear here, we're after something

that looks ostentatious, not ostentous.

Now there is an idea.

Don't forget to keep an eye on our socials for news

in between the shows and also some special bonus episodes

coming away very soon.

And if you enjoyed this, do tell a friend.

If you didn't know, we were never here.

Until next time, bye.

Bye.

Oh, Creek chair.

Is that your hip?

That's the replacement as well.

You can go for the ceramic, too expensive.

Now, what for aftermarket?

That's the replacement as well.

You can go for the ceramic, too expensive.

Now, what for aftermarket?

Classic Thrills For Winter Chills

About this episode

Citroën SM

Maserati SM

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from The Tyre Kickers - Classic Cars