A Porsche 964 is a specific generation of the Porsche 911. It’s the kind of car enthusiasts like because it’s classic, but it also has more modern engineering than older 911s. Here, it’s the car that the channel’s “27” story starts with.
Four-wheel drive means the car sends power to all four wheels. The speaker is saying they didn’t like how that felt on their Porsche, and they wanted the driving character of a car that only powers two wheels.
Two-wheel drive means only two wheels get power. The speaker liked the driving feel better with two-wheel drive, so they changed their car to match that.
The atomic number is a basic chemistry number that tells you which element you’re talking about. In this story, the speaker connects cobalt’s atomic number to the number 27 for the channel’s branding.
The Ferrari 308 is an older Ferrari with the engine mounted in the middle of the car. It’s a famous enthusiast car, and in this story it’s the one he bought that helped kick off his channel.
The Peugeot 205 is a small, older Peugeot hatchback that many car fans like. In this story, it’s the car he was looking for at an auction before he ended up buying a Ferrari instead.
Due diligence just means doing the smart checks before you buy something. He’s saying he didn’t do the usual careful checks before purchasing the Ferrari 308.
In the UK, cars have to pass an inspection called an MOT. “MOT history” means the past results of those inspections, and he’s saying he didn’t check that before buying the car.
The Lotus Elise S1 is a small, lightweight sports car from Lotus. Here it matters because the example discussed had serious chassis damage that was classified as Cat C, which changes what you’re allowed to do with it.
“Cat C” is a UK insurance label for cars that were badly damaged. It usually means the car’s history is more complicated than a normal accident, and it can affect insurance and resale.
“Aluminium bonded aluminium” refers to structural construction that uses adhesive bonding between aluminum panels/sections rather than (or in addition to) traditional welding. For damaged chassis areas, that matters because repairs can be more complex and may not be considered acceptable or safe compared with conventional metal repairs.
Car
Citroën BX16 valve
The Citroën BX16 valve is an older Citroën model. In this story, it’s mentioned as one of the cars the host worked on while learning, which took more time and effort than expected.
The Renault 4 is an older French car that people love for being practical and characterful. Even if it isn’t fast, it can still be a great story and a fun drive.
The Renault 5 Turbo is a famous, turbocharged version of the Renault 5 that became a cult favorite. The host mentions it because it’s the kind of car people saw in movies and then wanted to own or drive.
The Alfa Romeo Alfetta is an older Alfa Romeo model from the 1970s. People like it because it’s a rear-wheel-drive car with a sporty, characterful feel.
Car
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV is a very well-known old French car. The host remembers it for having a strange gear-shifting setup that felt different from most cars.
This is a small Fiat hatchback called the Uno Eleganza 45. The host is describing what it was like to drive—especially that it felt underpowered and had a not-great gear feel.
“All aluminium” means the car is made mostly from aluminum, which is lighter than steel. A lighter car can accelerate and handle more easily, often using less power to feel quick.
A flappy paddle gearbox is when you shift gears using paddles on the steering wheel instead of a stick. It can feel different at first, but you can get used to it.
The Alfa Romeo 159 is a family-sized Alfa model that’s supposed to feel fun to drive. The host is talking about a 159 wagon with a 1.8 turbo engine, and they say this version is the best choice because it’s lighter and uses an Alfa engine compared with other versions.
Term
1.8 TBI
“1.8 TBI” describes a 1.8-liter engine with a turbo. The host is saying this specific engine choice makes the car feel more like an Alfa should, compared with heavier versions.
“GM engines” means the engine came from General Motors instead of Alfa Romeo. The host is saying that some 159 versions used GM parts, and this 1.8 turbo version is supposed to be more “Alfa” because it uses an Alfa engine.
Alfa Romeo Giulia is a modern performance-focused sedan that the host considers as an upgrade option. They mention it in the context of spending more money and depreciation, implying the Giulia would cost more to own than the older Alfa Romeo 159 they’re discussing.
The De Tomaso Pantera is a classic Italian sports car from the 1970s. The host says theirs has a big 5.7-liter V8 and that it’s surprisingly quiet and easygoing for something that looks so special.
The 1973 De Tomaso Pantera is a sports car built in the early 1970s. It has its engine mounted in the middle of the car and, in this context, a 5.7-liter V8 for strong acceleration. People talk about it because it’s a straightforward, classic performance car.
A “part-finished restoration” means someone started restoring the car, but it’s not fully completed. The host ends up doing major work to finish it properly.
Sometimes car paint can go bad later if it wasn’t applied or cured correctly. The host says the paint job from years earlier ended up reacting over time, and that contributed to needing a repaint.
Concept
front date
“Front dating” means making a car look older than it really is, usually by changing visual details. The host says some people did this to Panteras in the 1990s to make them seem more valuable.
An engine rebuild means taking the engine apart and replacing or fixing the worn parts inside. The host says his Pantera needed a full rebuild as part of finishing the restoration.
A repaint is when you strip and redo the car’s paint so it looks fresh again. The host did a full repaint and ended up choosing black instead of the original silver.
“Shaking it down” means taking the car out for a short test period after something changed, to make sure everything is working right. It’s basically an early check before you drive it like normal.
They talk about how they choose which cars to review based on what their viewers like. They also compare how different types of videos tend to get different numbers of views.
Term
saddled with these chains around your ankle
He’s using a metaphor to say that buying a broken car can trap you in constant problems and extra spending. It turns into a stressful project you don’t have time for.
The Nissan R32 refers to the R32-generation Skyline, a famous Japanese performance platform. Jack Pegoraro says he had one “for a while” and was “blown away,” especially by the engine, highlighting why this chassis earned a strong reputation among enthusiasts.
Term
ragged on the edge
He means the car feels like it’s right at the limit of what it can do. You have to drive it aggressively for it to feel “right,” otherwise it feels rough or not as exciting.
The RB26 is a specific Nissan engine used in the Skyline GT-R. Car people talk about it because it’s a legendary performance motor that responds well to tuning.
The Lotus Esprit is a sports car with the engine mounted near the middle. “Turbo” means it uses a turbocharger to add extra power, so it usually feels quicker and more exciting.
The Lancia Fulvia is an older Italian car that many car fans associate with classic rally history. It’s also a smaller car, so it can be easier to store than bigger exotics.
Adrian Flux is an insurance company in the UK. They sponsor the podcast and offer insurance quotes tailored to different kinds of vehicles and homes.
LIVE
It's grown much faster than I hoped, doing much better than I hoped and I constantly have to pinch myself.
Doing 100 cars a year more or less it works out because it's two a week.
It's becoming a bit harder. It's honestly a bit embarrassing but I love it.
I'm doing the cars that I have an interest in and generally they'll go from sort of
mid 50s not all of them but some mid 50s up to early 2000s.
Modern cars I have almost zero interest in.
Hello and welcome to Fueling Around. I'm Vicki Butler Henderson.
And I'm Dave Vitti bringing you the very best in motor attainment every single week.
Fueling Around is brought to you by Adrien Flux as the UK's largest specialist insurance broker.
Adrien Flux will tailor a quote to exact needs and help save you money on your car, your bike or even
your home insurance. Please press subscribe on YouTube so that you never miss an episode or
press the follow button on Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from.
So then to this week's special guest he is a man who is living the dream.
He has turned his passion for cars into a full-time job.
He has a YouTube channel called Number 27.
He has got almost a quarter of a million subscribers, had more than 83 million views.
He is Mr Jack Pegoraro. Hello.
Thank you so much for a lovely introduction.
Oh no, listen how was the pronunciation because we just learnt before we started recording
that Vicki did Italian GCC was it or Italian A level?
Just GCC, barely.
Was it, was it, how was it?
Yeah, no, no, it really shows. She got it back on.
Pegoraro, Pegoraro.
It's supposed to be Pegoraro in Italian and that's something that always comes
foul when I'm trying to pronounce Italian names as well on YouTube for you know Italian car
makes and so on because I have pretty much a flawless British accent so people expect that.
So when I say that kind of stuff they sort of seem to find that I'm being maybe a bit
pretentious and so on and so I sort of fluctuate between one and the other but anyway no that was
great. Good, good, good, good. Strong start. Thank you so much for joining us.
Big, big fans of the channel. I have to say you know the first thing I need to sort of
talk to you about is the fact that I hold you almost entirely responsible for the fact that my
procrastination habit is spiralling out of control because I can spend literally hours on
your channel getting lost on the different videos which is a backhanded compliment.
Two questions for me to kick off with. Firstly, where does the number 27 come from
and what indeed were you doing before you became a global YouTube sensation?
Okay well look, number 27 it's a bit of a disappointing story so I'll keep it brief
but essentially a lot of people think it's down to Vilner because that's the number he had when
he was world champion. Unfortunately, I should pretend that but when I started off the channel
I had a Porsche 964 which I did a lot of work to. It was a C4. They were very cheap at the time.
Nobody wanted them unlike now and the C4s, the four-wheel drive ones, they weren't very good.
You wanted a two-wheel drive for the nice crisp feel all the rest of it so I even converted it
from four to two-wheel drive. I lightened it considerably and I wanted to get a name for it
because it was kind of like to be honest with you like a marketing thing. I wanted people to know
that I'd done all this work on this car so I wanted to come up with a name and I was thinking you
know what can I call it what can I call it and it was cobalt blue and this just sounds so terrible
and the atomic number of cobalt is 27. I told you I should have asked it. Yeah and so I thought
also the nice thing well I thought at the time this was 12 years ago was that obviously
I could have the atomic sign so the little thing with you know the atom sign with 27 and it would
look nice as a logo and it all started because of that car and as I started doing videos on that car
I had no background, I wasn't a photographer, nothing. I really enjoyed it because I have a
creative side and most of my jobs which will go into I guess didn't involve that and so learning
to film going through the end result editing and seeing it on you know the first ones were dreadful
but still I got so satisfied by looking at it and I thought you know that's really kind of started
bringing me in. Was marketing then quite key to your previous job?
You know I had a day a week that I was supposed to be working from home
and I guess they'll know about it now if they don't at the time but anyway and that's your
YouTube day. Some of that day, some of that day I did my YouTube because around the same time
I did a really crazy thing just before lockdown and bought this whole Ferrari 308.
Well yeah I need to pinpoint you down on this one because when I was growing up I couldn't
work out whether I needed Tom Selick as Magnum PI in my garage or a Ferrari 308. You opted for the
308 and that all of a sudden catapulted your channel so just tell us sort of what steps
you took to make a living then out of these shenanigans. We had Covid and just literally a
few days before the lockdown I was looking for Peugeot 205 on Silverstone auctions. There was
one there and I was going through that first day looking at the cars 205 then
casually I saw this 308 and it looked like a dog and I thought oh I wonder what idiot's gonna end
up buying that and then the next day because I'd been saving up to get a house and I thought well
with Covid I'd be crazy to buy a house because prices will plummet right. So I thought well I
have this money for a deposit I'm not gonna buy a house for a couple of years now so could you
do something with it and as I was going through an hour before the auction I thought
do you know what I could get that 308 and it will be great because I can just keep it for a year
fiddle with it and do use it for YouTube get the Ferrari thing out the window I didn't have family
or dependents so I don't need to worry about that too much get that out the window and it's all done
and so I hadn't even done the normal due diligence you would do which is look at MOT history all
that stuff I literally on it you know a whim oh yeah I went in buying a Ferrari on a whim and I was
shocked when I won the auction and that's how it happened and then that was great so the channel
went in a few months up from 12,000 subscribers up to 60,000 so a bit more you know a bit more
solid footing and I had lots of it was the perfect time because first of all you know a lot of people
were living vicariously through me guys my age generally they have responsibilities so they can
take that risk there's an a little rented house on a new builder's estate with a single garage I
worked on a driveway and I think people like that because you're not anybody special yeah I made loads
of mistakes because I'm not a mechanic I thought do you know what I could probably just about scrape
a living off YouTube just about and I had some savings as well I'm going to give it a go and a
cloud lifted a cloud lifted and I just started doing it and to begin with I did project cars
because I thought that's what people want me to do because that's what was so successful was the
Ferrari and over time I saw I had an Elise S1 which had a big it was twice a Cat C so it had a tear
in the chassis and you're not supposed to fix those apparently because they're you know aluminium
bonded aluminium and so on but I did I did a Citroën BX16 valve I did a few other cars but
I found that it was a lot of work because they're all cars you hadn't worked on before so it's a
big learning curve you have to pay for parts and I wasn't going to be able to do it long term but I
noticed I'd still do the odd review and I noticed that the reviews would do sometimes they do less
views so at the time the project stuff would get between 30 and 50 thousand or 30 and 40 thousand
but the you know the car reviews would get maybe sometimes 20 or 15 but sometimes 50 or 60 or 70
and the car review I didn't have to pay for any parts yeah it was recorded at that point it took
me a lot longer I say in four hours and then the editing would at that point again would probably
take me a couple of days which is a lot less than a week's work and so I pivoted to doing
exclusively car reviews which some people didn't like because obviously you build up an audience
and they expect a certain thing but it just wasn't viable for me some people Matt Armstrong yep what
a monster yeah yeah yeah they can make it work and you know he's younger he's energetic he's amazing
fantastic I couldn't make that work so I decided I'd keep doing the odd project but I'd centre on
that and that's been the story and it's been great you know it's grown much faster than I hoped
doing much better than I hoped and I constantly have to pinch myself yeah so that was going
to be my thing because I sort of imagined that project cars were the original road map if you
like excuse the pun for the for the channel and then you get into a situation where you're doing
reviews and obviously the reviews are going well talk us through how does that process work because
you're reviewing other people's cars aren't you so so how does that two-way street come about
and do you have to say yes and yeah you have to say no thank you are the two lists
there are so essentially I have an inch I'm doing what I'm interested in I'm really selfish but
I'm doing the cars that I have an interest in and generally they'll go from sort of
mid 50s not all of them but some mid 50s up to early 2000s modern cars I have almost zero
interest in and so there's that sort of range of cars they don't have to be fancy they don't have
to be fast if they're interesting you know I did a Renault 4 recently the old Renault 4
brilliant fantastic car slow as anything amazing incredible story I'll do it so generally speaking
I will now I'll tell people yes that's great I'd love to do it also I'm booked quite far ahead
because I book about three or four months ahead so usually you know if it's something that's not a
priority I can sort of put it off or you know sort of move it along to some other point and then
we can talk again but you know I do get offered modern stuff and I very rarely take it up I do
sometimes but but not not that much and of course doing a hundred cars a year more or less it works
out because it's two a week it's becoming a bit harder yeah to keep to keep going so I think
occasionally now I'm skipping I used to do two a week now I do sometimes one a week
also just not because I can't do it but because I'm kind of want to leave something in reserve
for later so I don't want to do everything you know all at once and then be stuck without
anything to do having to force yourself into a modern car yeah yeah exactly I mean that's the
beauty of the channel though isn't it I think and sort of going back to what you said before about
being that guy that works on the drive you know you're not in some kind of sort of flash
garage setup with all the tools I think that's all part of the appeal certainly for me is that
you know I would I would hazard a guess that we're all of a certain age and therefore the
sort of the cars that you pick which are important to you and and those that really spark something
in your childhood I think that's the appeal isn't it because we look at it kind of go
I used to have one of them or indeed I wanted to have one of them yeah the amount of cars that
literally you know when I was young I might see in the corner of my eye or that you'd see somewhere
like the Renault 5 turbo the you know the first series which was in the Bond film you know the
mid-engine little monster and that you dream you'd never have dreamt about driving them
and I've pretty much the heroes I have to say I've almost driven them all you know those cars that
you know they're from a wide range of times but I've almost driven them all and it just I have to
pinch myself it's just you know it's just amazing and generally I think you asked before and I
didn't answer the the way it works is that in the videos I say you know there's a little
script I used to say it now there's a little bit that comes up saying you know if you want me to
review your car please get in touch so 99.9% of the cars that I review are just people getting
in touch with me and I have a location that I film at because I'm a one-man band and I have
filmed and I used to do a lot more you know in the earlier days filming in unknown locations
and it doesn't work and it's massively stressful so I don't know where I'm going and I'm thinking
about the cameras and I'm thinking about what I'm supposed to say and we're trying to find a
location where I can do an introduction which is quiet and not ugly and it just doesn't work
and most people seem happy to sort of come to me I've had people coming to me from Germany
from Belgium from France yeah I mean it's amazing oh you know they're just incredible you know what
people are happy to do it really it makes me feel humbled to think someone's going to come
yeah or I mean obviously they'll do a bit of a touristy thing but they're main principally
coming to have their car filmed but it's lovely because everyone shares the passion because we
all love those cars and they're as excited to see it see their car on screen as you are to drive it
I totally get it it's lovely and the beautiful thing about this is that I generally a couple of
times a week just get to meet up with people who I invariably really like because they're exactly
like me and they have the same interests the same sort of outlook they're just really nice
lovely people and I really enjoy that part of it it's just meeting the owners and while I filmed
some of it anyway we can sort of chat and find out more and then usually if I have time I'll take
them for lunch afterwards and it's just brilliant it's a celebration isn't it you know ultimately
again you know sort of a cliche the stars the car cars a star even I knew
it didn't sound right the cars a star in your videos and it is a pure celebration of that so
listen let's go back to the very beginning then what are the earliest motoring memories what first
stirred something inside you when it comes to cars because obviously you are you know you're
a you're a died in the world petrolhead and you're living the dream so finally enough you know people
often say oh my dad was real petrolhead my parents or my mom can I just say yeah no that's what I
said parents yeah no neither of them had the slightest interest in cars I mean nothing and
I just remember though he had good jobs and one of the company cars he had at the time I think was
a five they did a 516 I think in the first five series oh 518 I think wasn't it maybe 518
anyway we lived in a high rise in Milan and I remember looking down when he first arrived
with it and I saw it in the parking lot and then we went out and had a look at it and it just
looked great I think it was one of those sort of pea green colors of the 70s super cool so that was
one of my first memories but also just remember we used to go on holiday back we were in the north
but we used to go on holiday to the south of Italy which is beautiful a mouthy coast and so on and
then volcanic islands off Sicily so always long drives in the summer and at one stage I think he
had an alfetta something along those lines and I used to sit in the back and in the evening at
nighttime I could see reflected in my window two little lights that were just I don't know there was
I don't know what they were for but there was always at nighttime in the dash there was a
red and green light on the side and that would reflect in that window I used to sit there looking
out seeing whatever I could and seeing those two little lights and I don't know why I mean it doesn't
make sense but that just stuck with me and it you know takes me back in time and it brings me back
to these older cars and there's lots of you know bizarre little memories like that my mum had a
two cv so you know I remember that I always remember the quirky push gear yeah push and twist gear
stick it couldn't have been more french could it no no exactly um what was your first car jack
after all your alpha stories it's got to be in italian yes um my first car was the absolutely
awesome Fiat Uno eleganza 45 which was a dealer only model in the UK so it was a light metallic
metallic blue and it had um such incredible luxuries as painted bumpers so it was one you know it was
one color and then it had some absolutely hideous sort of plastic wheel covers um but that was it
that was the first car passed my test in it that's what I had and what I drove and it was a bit rubbish
I mean you know the Uno was all right the 45 was really gutless and it also had a very rubbery
gear change so I have fond memories of it but um it wasn't you know I've been very spoiled since
then but maybe we can go into that later but that was my first my first car and we were all car mad
at the time um you know everybody was car mad I think it's a bit different now you know for us it
was just a part of who you were almost well I think now you've got you know so many taxis and
ubers and better bus routes and stuff like that just I do yeah I wonder you know in terms of the
next generation you know and we've got kids of a similar age is that whether they will actually
have that same passion for cars that we had because of exactly what you said because transport
almost becomes a thing on an app as opposed to being you know the the only thing I wanted to
do when I was a kid was pass my driving test I wasn't interested in GCSEs or A-levels or any
any of that stuff I just wanted to get that qualification and almost from the age of about
two or three that's all I really aspired to do genuinely it's so sweet it's true though you know
and ultimately that's why we're here yeah how old were you when you passed your test I was I think
I was 18 but I'll be honest here I think I definitely failed at once actually hold on I had a bike
test as well okay I found my bike test twice so that wasn't good and my car test do you know I
can't remember if I passed it first time round on arm but I was 18 I think then you didn't pass
first time I think you remember those of us who did pass first time haven't don't let anyone ever
forget about it Dave first time yeah but literally but I've been I've been waiting for approximately
15 years to to to achieve that you know when there was a big day it's the age of two yeah absolutely
no it's very very true so listen in terms of the the here and now yeah or rather the recent history
what's in the current fleet Jack what do you have at the time of recording um and what have you
perhaps got your eye on so having said all that I do have two modern cars um but bear with me
one of them is a really obvious reason why I have it but it's an alpine and the reason why I have it
is because it's the only modern car that has a gives a nod to the oldest yeah so I love the the
concept behind it which is all aluminium it's all about lightweight efficiency for me
and this won't register with my other car yeah but for me I love efficiency I love cars that work
well with the minimum you know so they go fast because they're light not because they have a
massive engine and so I loved everything about it I don't like the flappy paddle gearbox although
I've got used to it but I had a Lotus Elise S1 before that which was the one that was originally
bent and which I fixed and so on and I never used it because you used to have to take the car cover
off you used to have to take the roof off if it had rang you didn't know where to put the cover it
was a faff so I never used this I thought and it kept going wrong because they're really simple cars
but they they have an uncanny ability to go wrong so I was never using it so I thought right I want
something modern still sporty that I'll enjoy I like those YouTube had been going well so I sold
the Elise got the Alpine so that's car number one and I do really like it I think it is great
um car number two is my daily and it's an alpha 159 uh the black one that you the black one yeah
the station wagon yeah wagon it's 1.8 1.8 tbi now the 159's are notoriously
on alpha like right they're too heavy they don't drive like alphas the 1.8 tbi is supposed to
be the most alpha light because it has an alpha engine unlike the others that had gm engines it's
also the lightest engine so it's supposed to be the best to drive it's still pretty much a kin to
just an Audi for me it still doesn't draw you in it doesn't drive like an alpha it doesn't feel
about much like an alpha it looks beautiful it's got a lovely interior it's much more solid than
previous alphas um but that's my daily I was going to sell it then as part of the video where I said
I'm going to sell this car I did all the research into the history of it that's why I'm surprised
that you still got it because obviously that's that's what I decided not to sell it right because
I found that they'd spent 12 000 pounds on that car in the last four years and you bought it for
I bought it for six and a half which is probably what it's worth yeah yeah yeah um but it's more
just the fact that having had all that money spent on it it's a really good car yeah and I
wanted to get a Julia which is a modern car but again good fun but you have to spend a lot more
money it would depreciate and all why because the 159 dynamically isn't amazing but doesn't matter
that much I have an alpine and I have the third car oh geez yeah which makes a mockery of a lot of
what I've said so far sorry still one drive uh well I have a double garage okay which is why I
bought this house yeah it's the smallest house I could find with a double garage and so there's a
little drive outside the garage and then there's a drive outside the house so I potentially have room
for more and I did but I've gone down to a solid three car routine because it's just too much of a
hassle and what is number three so number three is a nice efficient light small car it's a 1973
Detamazo Pantera with a 5.7 liter just simple and understated and very very quiet quiet I mean
those were genuinely I don't think with the exception of going to car shows I don't think I've
ever seen one in real life on the street you know because you don't I've seen seen them at
like Silverstone Classic and whatnot but they were again for people of our age they were a poster
car weren't they I mean they really were they were the thing of Athena posters in the 90s yeah yeah
well so the thing is I had this Ferrari 308 known as the Influenzo and I did loads of work to it and
it would have bankrupted and killed a normal person I did all the work on it myself and it
worked because it blew up the channel but for a normal person it would have been terrible but
after two and a half years I was in a position to sell it and move it on in that time I'd done
loads of reviews of things and I did a review on two Panterras a late wide body and an earlier car
and there's just something about them I couldn't quite put my finger on that for me
it really drew me in the car that came before the Mangustas probably one of my all-time favorites
but they're half a million pounds so that was a no-go the Pantera something about it that I couldn't
resist and so sold the Ferrari and I'd already made contact by then with basically Mr. Pantera
in the US Mike Drew knows all about them and he was keeping an eye out and he found a project
car for me in Oklahoma and I flew over to see it and it was a part finished sort of restoration
and bought it all there's all videos about all this and going over there and buying it then
brought it back here and it was a lot more work than they always are aren't they I mean
there's a common thread here isn't there because you know that you live in the dream when you're
flying to Oklahoma to look for a project car it was amazing the influenza was only about I couldn't
make it at the time but it was only six hour drive away in Texas because it had just landed in Texas
but it hadn't cleared customs otherwise I could have popped over right but this car was unfortunately
the owner passed away before he finished restoring it so it was um Mike Drew Mr. Pantera
told sold it to me as do you want a car that you just have to reassemble because it's you know he's
done all the work already and all you have to do is put it together it's a brand new paint brand new
engine brand new everything yeah good sales pitch yeah went went to see it and Oklahoma was amazing
and you know his shed was literally three times the size of my house and he had another one and
he'd done a lot of work to this car but the paint had reacted over time although he'd never used it
it had been done six years prior and it wasn't a great job so it reacted and and he had a vision
for this car which was you know a black car with lots of chrome um in the 90s Panteras they weren't
worth very much and people were trying to front date them and I think he had that vision in mind
which wasn't the same as mine so one thing and another by the time I got it back here it ended
up being a full engine rebuild a full repaint and because I was repainting it I looked at the original
color the original color was silver not my thing it was black which I would have kept if it was fine
yeah but because didn't want to do it silver wasn't black complete repaint I thought right
I'm gonna do a color that I love and I looked at what colors they came in and there's um a lime
green which is like the mirror color yeah yeah yeah which and I thought that's it and so I painted it
lime green uh so as well as being unbelievably loud I've literally driven it for the first time
in the last two or three weeks it's been I've done 50 miles in it shaking it down
it's that color so it it's honestly a bit embarrassing but I love it so how
when you're looking for something new and obviously has to fit in with the three car garage at any
at any point how much of it is what you want and how much of it is what you think the channel might
be hungry for because there must be a certain business decision at times because there are
certain cars that you know that you're going to get lots and lots of content out of so how
important is that in a percentage so in the past it used to be really important it used to be 90
percent right you know what will work on the channel which generally probably means I'd be
interested in it anyway yeah but that's when I was doing work on the cars as I've been doing reviews
of other cars luckily it no longer really matters because the project stuff that I do
is a tiny percentage so the Pantera videos the updates on my alpha the Alpine videos
is maybe 10% of the numbers that I get on the channel so luckily I've been freed from that
and I so when I buy something now like the Pantera I didn't think that was going to be a big
you know cash cow and it hasn't been so far at all it probably gets the lowest amount of views
you know videos get between the just update videos maybe 50 to 60 70 000 years whereas reviews
hover more around 100 000 so yeah at the moment thankfully it doesn't really yeah I get what I
want you know I always wanted a 159 I'd read they weren't that good and I was it was it's true they're
not that good but still you know it's all right and and and I've got to stop being so stupid
because you convince yourself that you have to get something specific from a car
and all it is is that when it's new you're interested in it and as you get used to it
you find more and more reasons to get another rush by selling it and buying another car
and often that doesn't actually make much sense you know you do kind of have to appreciate what
you have and I'm unbelievably lucky with what I have you know I have a car I can use every day
I have a car for fun which works all the time the Alpine and then I have another
outrageous thing which I just I just love you know and so one car that you still need to get
that's on the poster on the wall do you know what I'm not sure if there is there are cars
that I would really like to get but if you I'm trying to be a bit more sensible now
and in the past I sort of rushed out because it's quite easy to buy cars especially when they're
broken and cheap and then you get saddled with these chains around your ankle where you have
a project you don't have time for it's sucking up money and it becomes stressful and I did it
so many times that I think I've gradually learned to not do that so right now I'm fine the 159
at some point will go but you know I was going to sell it decided not to add lots of people
saying I'll buy it and I was like I'm really sorry I kind of decided maybe it doesn't make that much
sense um so you're happy for now yeah I'm really happy for now the Alpine will probably go at some
point I don't know if it's a forever keeper you know there are I like sort of 70s 80s things and
there are lots of them potentially I had an R32 for a while GTR never had an interest in Japanese
cars at the same time I had an intergrale yeah and the intergrale actually I found a bit of a
liver but it took me a while to find it you have to drive it so hard that it's always ragged on the
edge and you can't appreciate much other time and it also feels like it's going to fall apart every
minute the R32 I expected nothing from and was blown away absolutely by yeah but just how amazing
the engine was and they were the the other thing CRB26 engine isn't it yeah the other thing that
really shocked me is that was the same price as the intergrale at the time and it felt like
you know a lot of hate for this but it felt like twice the car you know it felt like a car a class
up and you know more sophisticated yeah better in in many ways um so you know I'd love to have
one of those again but they have their silly money a lot of stuff has really gone up when I first
started the channel I did a series which was 12 cars I was supposed to buy and sell 12 cars in 12
months that I'd always wanted and the budget was 15 000 pounds and I managed to get an R32 I managed
to get a Lotus Esprit turbo I managed to get um uh I won't go into the list now but you know I did
lots of them but nowadays you know I'd love to have a mangusta you know prices are falling maybe at
some point he knows but they're better they are okay to drive they're not as bad as people think
but um to be honest the Pantera is better to drive and it's mainly the looks of the mangusta that
I really just do something to me you know it was a kill bill yes yeah and I saw it without knowing
what it was and thinking it was some sort of Maserati you saw the back of it and I've always
been intrigued and then when I found out it was that car it was like oh you know it does something
to me so uh yeah so that's I think that's it at the moment there are lots of cars I'd like a Lancia
Fulvia you always wanted one never had that's one of the cars I've always lots of them I've had
that's one I've never had for one reason or another which I'd quite like and that may happen at some
point actually because they're small and on that expense so it's doable it would fit in the garage
next to the Pantera so I could talk myself into it is it fair to say that you've never found your
true motoring love so far and the reason I say that is because normally people say there's one car
that they would never sell however so far it seems to me that there's never been that one car that
would never sell even the ones you've got now could be for sale at the right time
place is that a fair assessment has been up till now but in theory the Pantera is the keeper
so that is the car that for the first time ever I've really thought I think if I sell this all
I'm going to have left is a really cheap little daily when I'm in my 80s or something that's the
idea you can never say 100% but really I do think so but up till now it is true that I've got into
cars and then after a little while I've kind of some of them I like more than others but I've
eventually lost interest I do like to experience you know new things. Time for the final question
I'm afraid Jack if that's all right and it's going to be your dream drive so you need to transport us
there where are you going what are you listening to and most importantly what are you driving?
Okay so I have family and a lot of history in the lakes area in Italy so Lake Maggiore in particular
and next to it there's a small lake called Lake Arta and they're really picturesque amazing I have
incredible memories from when I was young you know my grandparents house was there all sorts of stuff
and obviously I want to go there in the Pantera there's nothing else Italian car American engine
but Italian car Italian spirit want to go in the Pantera and at some stage I know such a cliche
but I would want to listen to the Matt Monroe song that you know yeah from the film gotta be
I've forgotten what it's called do you remember it's called these days or something like that
it's at the beginning of the um the Michael Cain film um oh the um not the beginning of the
Italian job yes yes the Italian job where he's driving in the Mura but he's driving the Mura
that's the song Matt Monroe and it's days like this right I know I don't have a Mura whatever but
it's not yet you don't yeah I mean but it's that song and to me it's what it represents and I'll be
on the you know on the shore on these roads on the side of the lake and it'll be amazing and I'll
do a wider trip through Italy if I you know I can't do it now because it would just kill me financially
with the amount of fuel that thing uses it would have to wait till prices go back down a bit but
that that's my dream dream drive you know I knew it was going to be Italian yeah of course I knew
it was going to be Italian and I'm delighted that it that it was and is in fact because it keeps with
the whole whole theme and that's just about it for this week's edition of fueling around brought
to you by Adrian Flux as the UK's largest specialist insurance broker Adrian Flux will tailor
a quote to your exact needs helping save you money on your car your bike or even your home insurance
and if you haven't already checked out Jack's channel it is called number 27 on YouTube you
will get lost and spend hours there so thank you very much to our special guest this week
Jack Picoraro absolutely now it's been a real pleasure also don't forget to press the subscribe
button on YouTube so that you never miss one of our episodes or press the follow button on
Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcast from thank you so much for joining us until next time bye bye
About this episode
Jack Pegoraro joins Fuelling Around to talk about reviewing “about 100 cars a year,” and how his channel’s “Number 27” name traces back to a cobalt-blue Porsche 964 and the atomic number. The hosts compare how they source cars for filming—often from owners reaching out—and what they choose to review versus ignore. The conversation then shifts into dream drives and real ownership stories, including a Ferrari 308 project and a Pantera restoration that turned into a full engine rebuild and repaint.
YouTube star Jack Pegoraro is the latest guest on award-winning podcast Fuelling Around.
The online personality is best known for his YouTube channel Number 27, which is dedicated to telling the story of classic cars, and has amassed over 85 million views and nearly 250,000 subscribers.
He joined our co-hosts Vicki Butler-Henderson and Dave Vitty to discuss his love of older vehicles and why he dislikes modern cars.
