Pub Chat! - Bonus Episode

This is the Tire Kickers, classic car chat with Max and Matt.

Hello, this is a special edition of the Tire Kickers with Max and Matt.

This is a bonus episode called Pub Chat.

It's quite unusual, one, because we're in a pub, we're out of the studio, two, it's a

sunny day, it's a beautifully sunny day, we are at the scene of the crime where we first

thought this podcast idea up two and a half years ago, the pheasant inn near Hungerford

in Berkshire, we've come back to get our heads together, talk about the show, but also

more importantly, ask some burning questions.

Well, actually the real reason is Max said he was getting the beers in.

So let's get into the questions.

Cheers!

Well, welcome to another special bonus episode of the Tire Kickers and we are on location,

Max, we are sat in a pub, beer garden, aren't we?

We don't always do these podcasts face to face, we're normally doing it down the internet,

but now we're actually face to face, we're seeing each other, the full horror of sitting

opposite each other, but we do have a beer as compensation and also we've driven to

this pub in our classic cars.

Yeah, and we've returned to the scene of the crime because it was this pub near Hungerford

in Berkshire, the pheasant inn where we first hatched the idea up for the Tire Kickers.

Here we are still talking about it, so we've come back, we've returned to the scene, one,

because you said you were buying a beer, which doesn't happen very often, so I thought

I'd need to be here for that.

Two, it was a beautiful sunny day, I mean there is not really a cloud in the sky, we're

sat in the direct sunshine, we buy a road and you'll hear some cars going past, but

we're going to answer some quick fire questions, aren't we, just for a bit of fun.

So it's called pub chat, and that's for a reason, because we're going to chat in a

pub.

Right, we've got a load of questions, we're just going to what, how are we going to do

this, are we going to go back and forth?

Well, the clue's in the title.

It's a chat in a pub.

No, we'll just chat about it.

OK, so quick fire, five good things and five bad things about your Mercedes SL.

Good question, OK, good things, well I like the looks of it, it looks great, I like the

chrome on it, I like the gauges on it, I like the fact it never goes wrong, and what else?

One more.

I like the fact it's just got that kind of interior that just works, everything works

and nothing breaks.

Interestingly, one of the five bad things is one of the five good things, because everything

works, and that's a bit of a problem.

So we're on the bad things now, so five bad things now.

One of them is that everything works, so I don't have anything to fix or fiddle with.

I think that's a problem, yeah, go on.

Gearbox is pretty rubbish, it's very slow.

It's like a bus, you said.

Yeah, the steering wheel's massive, and what's the fifth thing I don't really like about

it?

I think that's probably it, I've only got four things I just like.

Yeah, I think not being able to fix stuff, I think is a little bit of a problem.

I was thinking driving here with my stag and, you know, watching the temperature gauge,

you don't really have a lot of peril with that car, do you?

No, no peril.

I've been using it interestingly for a month as my daily car.

I've done 700 miles in it, and it just starts and stops, it's amazing.

It's not really, it's 40 years old nearly, but it's not really a classic car, it just

works.

So that's interestingly, this is human nature.

That's a good thing, I'm both a bad thing.

What about you, five good things and five bad things about the stag?

Five good things, one, it fits in the garage.

You know, my garage isn't the biggest in the world, but it goes in, I can get around it.

Second, it's great to drive.

You know, the power steering and the auto just make it effortless.

You know, I drove an hour and a quarter to get here today and it wasn't any stress.

I drive in a normal car really, but more fun.

I like the paint job.

I think the metallic paint really looks good in the sun.

Looks good in the sun.

The engine sounds great.

And so far it's been trouble free.

There's a five good thing.

OK, five bad things about it.

It's heavy on fuel, which at the moment is a problem.

And I filled it up today, it was a quarter tank, I filled it up.

I mean, that was 85 quid and it's going to drink through that pretty fast.

So it's well over 100 quid to fill it up from empty air.

And it does about 18 to the gallon, if you're lucky.

Brown isn't the color I wanted, but I'm learning to live with it.

It's not the factory color either.

It's not. No, it's better than the factory color.

Build quality is poor.

OK. Don't look too closely, because stuff does come off in your hand.

Right.

I don't like the roof.

You know, we did in a previous episode, we did Stag vs. L road test.

Go back and listen to that if you've never heard that one.

Where we had a challenge, didn't we, to put the roof up?

Yeah, I'm still waiting for you to finish it.

Exactly that. Well, that's the problem.

It's 18 months.

The roof, the roof's rubbish.

It's pretty rubbish.

And the other, the fifth thing I don't like is I can't get the seat any lower.

There's room for it to go lower.

But for me, at six foot three, I still feel like I'm sitting on the car

rather than in it. OK.

I'd like to be a bit lower.

Right. Next question. Yes.

If you had to replace your classic car tomorrow, what would you buy, Matthew?

This is quite a difficult one, because we, you know, we talk about this

on the show all the time, all the cars that we'd have and want.

But then the reality kicks in.

It's got to fit in your garage.

It's got to be what you want.

It's this point in time that you want to buy it.

This is a quick fire question.

So here's a quick fire answer.

Probably a Mercedes 114 or 123 coupé.

Oh, right. OK.

So something not so sunshine dependent, I would say.

So I think the problem with the convertible, the great,

the good thing about convertible, days like today, beautiful, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely fantastic. Can't be beaten.

Can't be beaten. And every look she can go, oh, you're so lucky.

And you think, well, you don't see all the other 360 days I drive around

with the roof up.

But something not so sunshine dependent, I think I'd probably that's my next step.

So an auto, something that's going to turn out where I could use

probably a bit more of the year, go on longer runs with it.

That's what I'd get. What about you?

I think for me, the Mercedes SL is fitting the bill perfectly.

I think the only thing I would like is a electric roof,

because if you pop to the shops, if you pop to the gym,

if you pop to the pub with the roof down,

I either have to park it with a roof down or you have to put the roof up,

which is a fiddle. What a tarp.

What a tarp. Lazy.

But that's the only thing you've got to do on that car.

That is you're right.

But it's just I just can't park it with the roof down.

I worry about it. First world problems going on.

Probably the Mercedes SL, the R129 with the electric roof.

I thought you were going to say when you when you paused after the word

electric, I thought you were going to say an electric SL.

You must be joking.

Or maybe a Porsche 930 Turbo.

Next question. What was the first classic you remember seeing as a kid

or noticing as a kid?

My dad came home from work, he was a car salesman,

and he brought a Series 3 E type fixed head in Primrose.

And I was five and he took me to school in it.

And I think that was the moment tucked down because I couldn't see out.

I was so small, I was in the passenger seat. I couldn't see out.

All I could feel is this E type 12 cylinder engine just throbbing away.

And I think that's the moment I first thought this is something special.

What about you?

My parents had some friends who were kind of older than their years.

Their house was a bit 40s-esque.

So this we're talking about in the 80s here, but they were always

sort of a bit weird. The kids were the same age as us,

but we used to go around there as a point of story.

So they're waiting.

It was quick fire questions.

I knew that wouldn't work.

They were quite old.

They were older than years.

The house was a bit dated and they had it in their garage.

Some sort of 1940s black car.

Right.

And I remember looking at it and I saw the first time I'd seen a car

that was kind of different to everything else that I've seen.

So that became in my in that era, that was a classic car.

OK.

Probably the real answer to that question is the stag.

You know, I was 87 or eight.

My parents had friends.

I remember we were around the house and, you know, can I sit in the car?

Yeah, you can sit in the car and I sat in that stag in the garage.

And that's why I've now have one.

And I think also the sound of the stag.

I remember stags in the 70s.

And it's just when they drove past and you're a kid,

if you're with a group of your mates at school, don't you?

No. I remember the sound.

No, I don't.

Definitely remember the sound.

Right. Next question.

What classic car is overrated and what classic car is underrated?

Very expensive, nothing but restorations, you know, like Mercedes Pagoda's at 400 grand.

Yeah, because I just think you're not going to use it.

Beautiful, but not going to use it.

I'd rather have one that was, you know, 200 or under or 100 or whatever and use it.

I've always thought MG midgets are overrated.

I don't see why people like MG midgets.

They drive badly.

You can't fit in them and they're really bad quality.

Interesting. You don't see that many around anymore.

You see lots of MG bees at car meets.

I can't remember the last time I saw it.

Nobody could fit in a midget.

Well, that's true. Perhaps they fell apart.

What about underrated?

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint, because I think if that had a forward badge on it,

it's the Ford Escort RS2000 rival.

And I think they're really underrated as a great sports car.

Can I say at this point I'm feeling I'm getting a bit sunburnt.

It's out here.

But anyway, crack on.

Underrated for me, his one, his left field one, 70s Peugeot's.

I think the saloons and the convertibles, you always see them in France.

And there's a couple I see a meet and I think there's just something about them.

They look chic. They look cool.

Even the saloons are five of course and stuff like that.

You know, with yellow headlights, you know, I just you don't see that many about.

And there's a convertible, the 304 convertible.

Really cute car. Yeah, nearly bought one.

I nearly went to look one by one.

So I think those are those are they're cheap as well.

They're not that expensive.

Getting parts is a bit.

But, you know, I think a 304 convertible or something.

Yeah, good point.

Next one was British Leyland unfairly judged or did it deserve a bad reputation?

And just before you answer that, I'd like to say if you're listening to this,

we will be moving on from this very shortly.

25 minutes later, I think, as you know, I've got an opinion about British Leyland.

No. And I think that British Leyland was unfairly judged

because most car companies in the 60s, 70s and 80s were having a hard time.

So British Leyland was not immune to that.

And also the way it was formed meant that effectively its doom was written early on.

And also you've got to remember that they did produce some good cars.

The Jaguar XJ6, the Range Rover Classic.

I mean, those are two very good cars.

The Rover SD1 was a good car, let down slightly by how they were made.

But the designs were great.

And even the rubbish designs like the Metro and the Maestro,

they still kept us moving in the 80s.

So I think really unfairly treated British Leyland.

My take, it was a forced marriage.

On their own, they're actually good companies, a lot of these, weren't they?

Triumph. Yeah, brilliant.

You know, with the great Rover was a good company,

but they were ruined by politics, industrial relations, state control.

It was of the time their cars, but that alliance didn't really.

You know, they say that the whole is great in the sum of its parts,

and it wasn't the British Leyland.

I think they were even better just left alone, but it was a forced marriage.

Also, it's not the only industry that failed in that period.

Is it look at coal and steel, for example, and lots of industries in that time

that went through radical change and failed.

So I don't think it could be picked out and blamed so much as it is.

OK, next. OK, what's the best classic car engine ever made?

I don't know.

It's a wrong person.

Is it your stag V8?

I think that's a curio, but I can't say that because it's going to get boring, isn't it?

Try and try and straight six potentially.

Yeah, but I think probably the Alpha Twin Cam.

OK, because it just rasps and sounds great, doesn't it?

Yes. And it was a very advanced engine.

I would always say I can't pin myself down to one.

I would probably say the Porsche flat six, the boxer engine

and also the Buick V8 that went in so many BL cars,

like the Range Rover and the P6 and should have gone in the stag.

What's the next big classic car investment?

I've been watching Fords go for a fortune at Orchins now for a while.

I can't see that continuing.

I think everybody who wants to pay a quarter of a million quid for a Ford escort

has probably got one.

Yeah. But again, you know, it's not a particular type of car.

It's the quality of car.

If it's had a fresh, good restoration, it seems to hold its value.

Barn finds mysteriously people seem to quite like that.

That's a novelty, though.

The stuff in between, it's, you know, unless it's the best or the worst,

I think that stuff is going to take a bit of a dip.

I would say for mere mortals, that it's not an investment anymore.

The, you know, that I wouldn't say to anybody buy a car to make money on it.

I would say if you can buy a car, enjoy it, run it and get your money back off it,

you've done well.

Have you ever had sellers regret?

What do you regret selling in terms of classic cars?

No, because I think all the cars that I've had have got to a point

where I was ready for the next thing.

OK. I mean, I still see pictures of the Alpine that I took from 75%

to pretty much 100% in terms of the finish of it.

And I look at that and I got some great pictures that I took on a

gold now shots of it before I sold it and it just looks super, super nice.

But it was time to move on and try something else.

So no, do you?

Yeah, pretty much everything.

I mean, I wouldn't if I didn't have had to, I wouldn't have sold anything.

I really regret selling a 2012 Defender.

I had that black Defender, which is just great, a great car.

Never broke down unlike the new one.

Series two E-Tub had in red.

You remember that? Yeah, yeah.

Really regret selling that.

I think I paid 6000 pounds for that.

And also, when I was a student, I had to jag your XJ6 4.2.

That the power steering pump was gone and it would only turn left

with assistance and right without assistance.

So you had to choose a route which had lots of left turns.

So I regret that because it's just the XJ6 is just such a pretty car.

But also, those cars that you had were good when you had them.

And if you'd have kept those going over the years,

chances are that have fallen to bits or given you problems, whatever.

You'd have fallen out of love with them.

No, I wouldn't. I never fall out of love with cars.

I just fall out of money.

That's like problem.

OK, next question. Resto mod or original?

Right, well, you know my answer on that.

I mean, I don't like resto mods one bit.

Not even always got to be original for me.

No, no, that's very narrow thinking.

It is. Well, hello. Welcome to my room.

True. Yeah.

Anybody's been listening for two years.

I don't mind a resto mod.

I think I just think we're too uptight about originality.

When you say we mean the British.

OK, I think we're too uptight about original

because you do get those people, you know, a bit like yourself.

Carshows get only the original and it's like, well, does it matter if it is?

As long as it's done sympathetically.

But I think you can improve a car.

I'm thinking about a sunbeam that somebody's resto modded and put

a small block V 18 and, you know, sprayed it metallic green.

It's really dark, metallic green.

Beautiful car. Absolutely beautiful.

And it turns heads at shows.

It's absolutely beautiful.

I think you could be sympathetic.

You could put a better engine in something that's got a rubbish engine in something.

I think as long as you do it, as long as you do it with taste,

I think it's like your house.

Who's going to define the taste?

Don't stoneclad your car.

I would define the taste and I would say a different engine in a car is wrong.

Unless it's the factory engine and a replacement.

No, I would rather have a smart looking resto mod than a scruffy original car.

And I see a lot.

Fantastically wrong.

I see a lot scruffy original cars.

You've redefined the word wrong.

I think, you know, for example, for an alpha spider,

having some alpha hollocks upgrades, you know, great, I love all that.

But it's got to keep the essence of the alpha spider.

And I think the rest of mods ruining it and also rest of mods

have ruined Porsche 911s because they've taken so many.

And I don't think you need to improve an alpha spider

because it's got a great twin cam engine in it.

You can make it.

One of the best engines ever made.

You can make it handle better.

But that's under the skin. That's fine.

We're talking about the stuff that you don't like is people

re spraying it in a different color or putting different wheels on it or,

you know, changing the interior or, you know, doing that sort of stuff.

All the things you've done to your stack.

Well, no, because none of one I draw the line.

I wouldn't put MGF seats in it, for example.

So I don't think that's that's right.

But it's not.

It's not. But I wouldn't be averse to put in a wooden steering wheel on it.

If it looks look nice.

It's taste, isn't it? It's taste.

And you haven't got any.

I'm steering was a 70s car.

Just doesn't work.

Right. OK.

Would you convert your classic car to an EV?

Yes. No.

Yes and no.

Can I say yes and no?

I like the idea of having one and having a go on.

I think I get bored of it after a while.

What do you like about the idea of an EV?

Because you just unplug it and then you reverse it out

and it doesn't drip oil over your drive.

But then that's part of the fun of it.

With your stack, you'd miss that V8, wouldn't you?

You would do. But I wouldn't miss, you know, having to drive it lumpily

up the road with a choke out and all that sort of stuff.

But then that's part of the fun.

That's what's different.

That's why classic cars are interesting, because you have to,

you know, you have to pay attention, don't you?

Just like flying a plane or whatever.

You know, you have to do this.

Things on that car, you can't just get in, twist it and go.

Can you? Yeah, which is exactly the EV problem.

Yes, it is boring.

It's boring. It's a bit like your Mercedes SEL.

It's boring. It's nothing to do.

So I like the idea of it. I want to go.

Can we have a go in one?

No. Yes.

You can. I'm not coming with you.

Your question is next. What have you got?

OK, which car would you bring back into production exactly as it was?

I would argue that the Mercedes W123 could come back into production tomorrow

and people would still buy it because there was an estate version instead of an SUV.

There was a Coupe version, if you like to look cool,

and you know how many kind of like BMWs, there are around and the saloon.

Now, virtually every decent EV is a saloon.

So the saloon shape has made a comeback.

And I think we live in a country with third world roads.

So why don't we get a car that works well in the third world?

Very true. And the Mercedes W123, if that was produced tomorrow

and that was in a Mercedes showroom, I would go and buy one just as it is.

Would they bring it back as a fat crossover, though?

Oh, probably.

If they just actually just reinvented the W123 and brought it back as it was

as it came out of production, I think that would work in today's market.

And also with EVs, actually a lot of saloon cars have come back into fashion,

and people drive saloon cars now.

So yeah, maybe bring it back in.

Mine would be the Alfa Spider Series 2, the Cam Tail.

I think that is just everything you want a classic car to be.

It's fun to drive.

It looks beautiful.

The engine's sweet.

The interior is lovely.

And the Cam Tail, I like Cam Tail.

I just think that's just I can't think how you improve that car

other than not make it rust.

Yes, I think that's a very good.

You know, I think that car and I think just sports cars in general,

if you brought back to the market a simple sports car with a revvy engine

that would fly off the shelves.

Where are all the sports car EVs?

All the EVs are so fast anyway.

Why make it?

Where all the converts was, there's only one.

I think MG made one called the Cyberstar, which is ridiculously expensive.

Cost you about 800 pounds a month, the rent or something.

It's not it's cheap and it's not perfect.

Where all the fun cars?

All the EVs are really boring.

They're crossovers and saloons.

And also in an EV sports car, you put the roof down to listen to nothing.

You know, what you listen out for.

Well, Porsche have that fake noise that comes out of the back.

Oh, no, you can't say that.

That's just too awful for words.

Right, moving on then swiftly.

Go on. Does originality matter more than usability?

Here we go.

How long is it going for?

I wonder who did I have in mind at that time when I wrote that question.

OK.

My answer is no, originality doesn't matter more because cars need to be used.

But I think hide stuff that looks out of place.

So if you want to USB, everybody, you know, we want phone holders and USB chargers.

Hide them. Find a way of hiding them.

In my son, be malpine, I had a secret

phone holder that swung down from behind the dashboard.

OK. And then I put my phone onto it.

And then when I took my phone out, I was able to hide it again.

If you need a USB socket, which a lot of us do now,

put it somewhere you can't see it.

Don't put it in the car because I think that ruins the sort of vibe of the car.

But I don't think things move on.

We've got to use these cars and all you can use classics,

more you can adapt them to use them to it.

You see, I think if it's going to make you use the car more,

for example, if you want better brakes or if you want electronic ignition,

what makes me cringe is when I see cars when they've got, you know,

there's a 1970s car with a Halford stereo.

It's just like just hide it or put something else in or put a blank in

and listen to something else.

It doesn't it just ruins the feel of the car.

Definitely. Is it my question or your question?

It's your question.

Hang on. Let me just have a sip of my Corona Zero.

What's your I'm on? I'm on cider, actually.

You're you're you're on Corona Zero.

The hard stuff.

It doesn't really taste of anything.

Yeah, it's a beautiful sunny day.

We're nearly done on these, but we've got a few more.

We need to we need to put the words of rights in a pub.

Why not? Right, Max, your penultimate penultimate question.

What classic car design feature would you bring back?

What into modern cars?

I would just bring back to remember switches.

I mean, switches and levers for heating and volume knobs.

What bin the screens?

Yeah, all that old fashioned stuff.

Now, you and I both drive Tesla's as company cars.

Try exactly.

Try getting to listen to radio four at five to one

or trying to adjust the temperature on the passenger side.

You need a degree and also it takes ages

and you're not looking at the road.

Well, that's right.

You get six points for picking your phone up,

but everybody's tapping it.

The screen's trying to turn the heating up and down.

And I think your physical buttons are really good.

My other car that I drive

is is a few years older and it's got buttons for everything,

which is great.

And I think, yeah, buttons need to come back.

It's certainly you need them for the heating and the air.

I just think they're so much safer

and also where you are with the button, you know,

you can either turn the fan up or you can turn the fan down.

Those sliders, you never really know where you are.

No, they're rubbish.

Yeah, the classic car design feature, I'd bring back a terrible brakes.

And the reason for this is people might look ahead

down the road a bit more because I think everybody,

modern drivers now drive on their brakes, but jab the brakes

and they stop and they know they're going to work.

Whereas, you know, if you drive a classic car,

you allow a bit more, don't you?

You know, depending on what car you've got.

Well, you're looking ahead down the road.

And I think if people had terrible brakes, you know,

they'd soon learn to give a bit more room to the car in front

and also come off cruise control, which I think is radar cruise

is really terrible.

It's because everybody's just sat at 70.

Right, here is a final question,

which is going to either kill or cure a 30 year friendship.

Here we go.

What is the car that sums up your personality?

So I'm going to go for you first.

OK. And I would say Range Rover classic.

It's kind of built for comfort, not speed.

It's kind of home counters, isn't it?

It works both in the countryside and town,

and it was successful with that kind of aspiring,

fashionable, middle class set.

Now, I didn't, I wasn't even rude then.

No, I was quite surprising. OK.

I mean, I quite like him.

I do like a Range Rover classic, actually.

I don't, I wouldn't buy one, but I'd like it.

But no, it's not whether I buy one, it's what.

Yeah. It represents me.

Right, OK. I asked my wife this,

because I said, dangerous.

I said, what's he going to say?

She said, why don't he's going to say?

What did she say?

She said nicer things.

She said dependable statesmen like, but a bit racy,

which she described me,

which I thought she was talking about somebody else.

Then she said a Mercedes.

She said that Mercedes you went and looked at.

That's a bit of you.

The one on four, the Saloon.

Oh, right. OK, yeah.

German and boring.

So yeah, I wouldn't.

No, I think that's too slow.

OK. She said the stack's quite you.

I think the stack is quite you, actually.

Yeah, just needs to be bigger.

But here's your car.

OK.

Because that's what it's about.

You've got a wicked smile on.

What car sit you?

What is it going to be?

I think it's a Land Rover Series 1.

Because, a bit whiny,

high maintenance.

And as they get older, they get a bit drippy.

Yes, I mean, correct.

I like that. I like the Series 1.

I don't think that is as rude as possible.

You were going to be.

I'd like to know what you're really thinking,

rather than actually what you said.

Oh, no, like I said.

Yeah, I think the Series 1 is about right.

I think the Range Rover Classic is quite good for you,

to be honest, because that is a kind of,

it's an aspirational car.

It created a whole new genre of cars, the SUVs.

Yeah.

And it is that dependable look.

Because, you know, they didn't make them that well

and bits fell off.

And maybe that's relevant now.

But I do think that's the kind of,

that's when I think of a car,

that's what I think about for you.

It also suits me.

You know, I'm six foot three.

I'm not small, you know, so that I could live with that car.

And I think it's got that classic car feel to it.

I hate Range Rovers now.

I think they look awful.

Yeah, too big.

They're too blingy and horrible.

And they don't fit parking spaces.

No, and you see people who drive them as well.

They just, it's a tight time.

Yeah, there was all of that.

Whereas I think the Classic one's good.

So I'll take that. That's good.

OK.

And I think a Land Rover Series 1 probably is a bit of you.

I think you like that.

See, this car you've got now is the antithesis

of probably what you enjoy.

You like fighting a car, don't you?

You like not fighting it when you drive it.

I mean, you like putting your foot down

and going through the gears and all that sort of stuff.

You don't want to do it too long.

No.

And the bonus of your car now is you can just go miles.

But I think Land Rover Series 1, you love Land Rovers.

Yes.

You would like a pretty, pretty one of those, I'm sure.

I'd love one.

Patinated Series 1.

You live in the Cotswolds.

Yeah.

So it's all, it's on point for you, really.

Yeah.

But the differential is very whiny in that, isn't it?

The gearbox is very whiny.

Yeah, it wanders.

And you're quite whiny.

It wanders.

It's quite slow.

Yeah.

Yeah, it kind of ticks the boxes.

I think that's actually quite a good fit.

I was thinking maybe Citroen DS, you know,

slightly awkward, but cutting edge in some ways and...

I think probably a British Leyland kind of car.

Maybe like a Jag or something, maybe, for you.

Yeah.

And I think another car for you.

I think your stag is about right, actually.

You've ended up in the right car, haven't you?

When you sit behind the wheel, that's very you.

What else would be you?

I don't think it is very me, actually, the stag.

No.

I think it's too small for me.

It is quite a small car.

And it's British Leyland.

I would probably an alpha for me would be a bit more.

I think I think about an alpha.

It's a bit racy.

I don't think you're that kind of racy person.

Do you know, I do think a Mercedes SL, my SL suits you quite well.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Again, I can't get in it.

I can't, it's due because of the dynamics of it.

But a Mercedes something, probably a 1, 2, 3, actually.

Yes.

It's probably a bit more...

But, you know, it's not that exciting.

I've been called worse.

And it's quite high maintenance now.

No, it's not.

They're very low maintenance, you'll find.

Makes people smile.

So, from all those questions, have we learned anything from our half an hour in a beard?

I think, you know what, I think we normally say now we've learned nothing.

But I think we have.

I think that there's been a good...

Because this is the sort of stuff you and I would talk about over a pint.

And it's exactly what we've done.

So we've literally just recorded that.

And I think it is interesting.

We do have opposite opinions to things.

Yes.

But that's good, I think.

It'd be a very boring podcast otherwise, wouldn't it?

Well, I wouldn't agree with you on principle about anything.

So, yeah, I think some of the answers came out.

That's quite interesting, isn't it, about the things we talked about.

I mean, you've always been quite into rest-o-modding, which I just hate.

I just couldn't bear anything that wasn't real.

And I've always been quite into slightly boring, quirky cars,

usually, if they're made by British Leyland.

Yeah, I think you...

We approach it from a different direction.

You're very into originality and story and what's under the bonnet.

And that's your thing.

And also growing up around, you know, a dealership and all that sort of stuff.

That's sort of ingrained in you, really.

Whereas I come from a different direction.

I kind of... It's more a design thing for me.

And it's more about something being pretty and complete.

So, I hate a classic car, whether I can see...

Stuff catches my eye.

You know, when I open the door and I can see stuff that's tatty or whatever,

that really bugs me.

I don't know perfection. I just wanted to look beautiful.

Like, it's good enough to put in a museum.

OK.

You know, I don't know that sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it?

I don't mean it like that.

No, but that is always one thing we talk about,

is that if you really, really love classic cars,

what you can also do, aside from driving them,

is put them on a plinth in a glassware garage

and look at them with a glass of whiskey.

Yes. I don't want... I'm not.

I don't like concourse events and I think that's too pretentious.

But I get a real pleasure out of making an old car look the best it can be.

It's worth polishing in a little bit of effort into your cars

because you get something out of it, I think.

But for me, I don't want to part that in the field and be judged at show.

I'm not interested in that.

I just want the pleasure of taking it out and starting the conversation.

You know, I was nearly late today

because somebody came and started chatting to me on the drive about it.

And also, we're only custodians of these things, aren't we, really?

We're only looking after them for a certain period of time.

So if we can make them better

and give them a little bit of a sympathetic facelift

and pass them on to the next person, we've done our little bit, haven't we?

Well, here's one final question then.

Would you keep a classic car forever?

Is there one particular car that you would say,

I'm going to keep this until I shuffle off?

No.

No, I'm always sort of suspecting people,

oh, this is our forever home.

So how can you say that?

How can you say that? You don't know what's around the corner.

And around the corner are a load of cars on car and classic that I want to buy.

That's the truth.

So no, I don't think I don't get sentimental.

I mean, I've kind of, we've ended up giving this car a nickname

called it Bruno the Brown Stag.

But I don't give cars names.

I don't get sentimental about them.

I just think I just enjoy them until I get bored of them

and then I want to go and get something else

because there's so much out there to experience.

There is. I think though, if I had the chance,

if I had the opportunity of a large barn,

I would be one of those car holders that would never sell a car,

would just buy something else and stick it in a barn

and buy something else.

Yeah, you want to, like one of those people you see in the documentary

that's actually barricaded themselves in the house.

Yeah, exactly.

All the junk.

Turning the council to clear off.

Well, yeah, you just have loads of like old 70s copies of auto car piled up.

Oh, it's my dream.

And in the middle of it, you'd just be there, sat there to,

yeah, tell the council to go away.

I don't, would you keep a car forever?

Oh.

Why?

I'd like to, but it wouldn't stop me buying other stuff.

So I think I would.

You know, my Merc, for example, I thought about this a few times recently.

What, this one?

Yes, I think I would find that difficult to sell.

That's not, that doesn't mean that I don't want something else.

Really?

But I just don't want to get rid of this

because it kind of works so well.

So the next car I've got to get is going to compliment this

by being a classic car, but just do something differently.

So I wouldn't buy that convertible, for example.

But I would like to buy something that's a different shape

and a different genre of car.

But do you not sit there thinking,

well, maybe if I got the V8, or maybe I did that one,

or maybe if I got the Coupe, or maybe if I got the Saloon,

or maybe if I did that.

Then I'd just get another one and keep that.

I'll get another one and keep that.

The only good thing that stops you hoarding

is that you take so bloody long to make your mind up about buying something.

So, you know, we're at least two years away from you getting something new.

I'll be well dead by the time you get to a car collection.

Yeah, did he have a collection?

No, no, because he only lived to 100.

He didn't get around to doing it.

He was still reading the books.

Do you think, here's a quickfire question.

Do you think you gen up too much about buying a car?

I don't think it's possible to know too much, is it?

What is it?

There's always more knowledge around the corner.

Every day is a school day.

Well, no, no, no.

But do you think you gen up?

I think you gen up too much before you buy it.

Do you think it paralyzes me?

I think it paralyzes me.

Should I get them up 2.5 instead of 3?

Yeah, you get analysis paralysis.

But then you've got not a lot to learn when you get the car.

Whereas I'm sort of the other direction.

I kind of go, oh, that's nice.

Yeah, how much you want for it?

And then go and read the book.

No, but you're like a shiny kind of magpire ejector.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I do like to know my research.

And then I like to find out the individual car's history.

So no, I don't think it's possible to know too much.

I think the risk is you buy something

that you don't really understand

and you fall out of love with it quite quickly.

Next question. I know we've run out of questions,

but can you fall in love with a classic car

like you can with a house?

Do you know?

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely.

I've seen several models of various things and not like them.

And ended up on one particular car

and completely fallen in love with it,

even though it's the same model as the other six I've seen before.

Yeah.

And I am talking about Rolls Royce's hit.

I was surprised.

But yeah, definitely you get a kind of tingle

when you see the right car, I think.

And that tingle for me lasts, you know,

I still get a tingle going out to see the the murk in a sunny pub car park

because I think that's the right car.

You know, it's not the 420, 500 SL, blah, blah, blah.

But that individual car for me is exactly right.

And I think it's a kind of it's a relationship with the car.

Cars have soul and I think you connect to them in that sense.

I think you know, like a house.

I knew I knew it with this one and I didn't.

I looked at this quite fast, actually,

because I literally phoned the guy on the day

because I was out near his house looking at another one.

And I went and looked at it very quickly.

And I knew that I had to make a quick decision

about whether I looked at it more.

And I knew within probably five minutes of being in it

and going down the road that I kind of wanted it.

And you'd seen quite a few.

Yeah, I'd seen a few.

Yeah, I don't know if it's about 54 or five or something.

The one before on paper was great.

And it came with great recommendation for the mechanic and all sort of stuff.

And I didn't get the feels with it.

With this one, I did straight away.

I got the feel, wow, this is this is cool car.

Tight, feels together, sounds great.

Oh, it's been resprayed.

Yes, I'll go for it.

And I think, you know, when you they say when you walk in a house, you know,

yeah, I think it's similar with the car as well.

So I kind of probably to my fault,

I go with that feeling a bit more than going through studiously the paper.

I try and do that.

OK, I try and do that.

By the time you look at the paperwork, you're lost on it.

You kind of bought it.

Yeah, I mean, I look at it.

I speed read the paperwork.

When's it last service?

Where's the service history?

Kind of someone looked after it.

Somebody spent money on it.

You know, have they put it in?

We've talked about it.

Have they put it that they organize the paperwork?

Yeah, in the folder alphabetically or by.

Yeah, and have they done stuff?

You know, I think if somebody comes to buy my car, I can tell them I've

refurbished the interior.

You know, I've made things work better.

I've fixed things that weren't working.

I've redone the alloy wheels.

I've put better tyres on it.

I've done all this.

It's not an advert, mate.

All right.

You're not selling it.

Well, yeah, do you want the price?

Call now.

Should we get another beer and leave people to it?

I think we should.

I think the conclusion of this is quite interesting, is that if we're

sitting in a pub garden, you're talking about cars.

I think what comes across from us is just how much we love them.

Yeah, you know, we talk about these all the time, both on the podcast

and outside of the podcast, because it is a life's passion, isn't it?

And we're quite lucky to have a passion this intense that keeps you going

because I've loved cars all my life since I was five sitting in that E-Type,

which is, you know, 25 years ago now.

Dog ears.

Quick, let's go get another beer.

Right. So that is enough chat time to get another drink.

Yeah, if you're opening your wallet, I'm not going to hang around.

No one knows you're around.

Oh, that's a problem.

Thank you for listening. Check out our other bonus episodes.

Scroll back, you'll find more stuff.

Hopefully we'll do more of this in the future as well.

But until next time, when we're either out on the road or back in the studio,

it's bye from me. Goodbye.

You can get in touch with Max and Matt via our socials.

We're at the Tire Kickers UK on Instagram and the Tire Kickers on Facebook.

911 Porsche 930

Land Rover Range Rover

Jaguar XJ6

SD1 Rover Sd1

Porsche 911

Jaguar Etype

Original notes