Garage space and classic-car costs take center stage as Max and Matt debate “tiny” classics, from the BMW Isetta microcar to a 1950s Series 1 Land Rover and even the kooky Messerschmitt KR200. They also compare how small cars fit real life—storage prices, speed limits, and safety around modern traffic. The show then pivots to NEC Classic Resto auction highlights, including a rare Morris Minor Million and bargain finds. Later, they tackle Australian classic pricing and wrap with listener guilty pleasures and reviews.
Would getting a smaller classic save you money - or would you end up looking like the local village weirdo? Why do we go to classic car shows for parts and then buy random stuff? And what's the correct response to a fellow classic car driver who doesn't wave back? All that plus the pick of the auctions in the UK and a snoop through the classifieds in Australia. And we hear from you - as you confess your classic car guilty pleasures. It's all in the latest 40 minutes of classic car chat, opinions and disagreements. Hit play and come along for the ride.
"[189.1s] Well, they're not very fast.
[190.4s] They've got a 300-seat single cylinder producing a massive 12 horsepower.
[195.0s] But I reckon I could fit that in the garage."
Horsepower is how much power the engine can make. “12 horsepower” means the Isetta’s engine is extremely low-powered, so it won’t accelerate or go fast like a normal car. It’s basically built for slow, local driving.
Horsepower is a measure of an engine’s power output, and “12 horsepower” highlights how little power the Isetta makes. In a microcar, low horsepower is often paired with very light weight, but it still limits acceleration and top speed. It’s a key reason the speaker says it’s “not very fast.”
"you can fold the windscreen down, and you can take the canvas tilt off, and it means that the dimensions of it are quite neat."
The windscreen is the front glass. In this car, it can fold down, which helps make the vehicle more compact and more open to the air.
A folding windscreen is a design feature that lets the front glass tilt down, reducing overall height and improving open-air access. In this segment, it’s part of the Series 1’s removable/convertible setup that makes the vehicle easier to store.
"[434.6s] This is three metres long, the Mini Cooper.
[438.3s] So, this is a 1968 one on your screen now.
[441.1s] It's white with a black roof and the slightly wider wheels."
They’re giving the car’s length in meters. A car’s length affects whether it fits in your garage and how easy it is to park.
They’re quoting the Mini Cooper’s overall length to make the size comparison concrete. Overall length is one of the biggest factors in whether a car will fit in a garage and how much space it takes to maneuver.
"I mean, I love a Mini Cooper, and that would drive really nicely, and you just have a lot of fun with that."
The Mini Cooper is a classic small car from Mini (originally British Leyland-era). In enthusiast circles, it’s known for go-kart-like handling and fun driving dynamics, especially in earlier models.
"I mean, they're valuable, because they didn't make a huge amount, and this one's got the right bullet mirrors."
“Bullet mirrors” are a specific classic mirror style used on some Minis. Saying it has the “right” ones implies correct period appearance, which can matter a lot for authenticity and collector value.
"And on your screen now is a 1961 Meshesmith KR200 microcar stroke bubble car. Now, the thing I love about this, it's virtually a plane with three wheels."
This is a tiny “bubble car” from 1961 made by Meshesmith. It’s basically a very small vehicle with a quirky, airplane-inspired look, and it’s designed to be easy to drive in tight spaces.
The Meshesmith KR200 is a 1961 microcar—an ultra-compact car built for very small urban use. It’s notable for its “bubble car” styling and its unusual, plane-like design cues that reflect the company’s post-war shift from aircraft-related work to cars.
"Now, the thing I love about this, it's virtually a plane with three wheels. "
This car uses three wheels instead of four. That can make it lighter and simpler, but it also means it drives and feels different than a normal car.
Three-wheeled vehicles are often used in microcars because they can reduce weight and complexity versus a four-wheeled layout. They also change handling characteristics—stability and cornering feel can be very different from a conventional car.
"[631.9s] Yeah, they're just a little bit smarter than everybody else's.
[634.3s] This is a problem with this as well.
[635.7s] It's only got three wheels.
[636.7s] So one of those wheels goes on the pot hole."
This is a car with only three wheels instead of four. Because it has fewer wheels touching the road, potholes can affect it more, and it can be easier for the car to get stuck or feel unstable.
A three-wheeled vehicle has a different stability and traction behavior than a conventional four-wheeler. With fewer contact patches, hitting a pothole can more easily upset balance and cause the vehicle to get stuck or lose control.
"[635.7s] It's only got three wheels.
[636.7s] So one of those wheels goes on the pot hole.
[638.5s] You're a goner, aren't you?
[639.5s] The whole car would just go down the pot hole,"
A pothole is a hole or broken spot in the road. When a wheel hits it, the car can suddenly lose grip and sometimes the wheel can get stuck in the damage.
A pothole is a damaged section of road that can abruptly change wheel load and suspension travel. For small or three-wheeled vehicles, a pothole can cause a wheel to drop into the hole, leading to loss of traction and the car getting stuck.
"Here's my sum up of this because looking at these, they're not cheap, these cars. We started this by saying that storage is expensive."
This is a cost-of-ownership concept: if you have a collectible or seasonal vehicle, you may need paid storage (garage space, secure units, etc.). The speaker argues that storage costs should be included when comparing the total expense of keeping unusual cars.
"...while you were talking that you used to be at a rent-a-garage cheap, didn't you? ... You try in your local town, go to the council and ask them if you rent a garage."
A rent-a-garage is basically renting a place to park your car when you don’t have driveway space. The point here is that those options have become harder to get in the UK.
A “rent-a-garage” is a rented storage space (often on a council or managed site) where owners can park a car they can’t fit at home. The discussion highlights how availability has changed—either garages were repurposed, sold off, or filled—making it harder to find affordable off-street parking.
"And the show that we went to, the Practical Classic show, is a little bit more about welders and spanners and stuff."
Spanners are hand tools for turning bolts and nuts. They’re a basic part of doing real work on cars.
Spanners (wrenches) are hand tools used for tightening and loosening fasteners during maintenance and restoration. Their mention signals the show’s emphasis on practical mechanical work rather than only visual judging.
"You've got a kneeling pad... No, it's because I was on my knees with the car... So I bought one of those."
A kneeling pad is just a cushion you put on the ground so you can work on the car without hurting your knees. It’s a simple comfort/safety item for DIY repairs.
A kneeling pad is protective padding you use when working on the ground. In car work, it helps you stay comfortable and reduces strain when inspecting components under the dash, in the engine bay, or around the front end.
"Now it's a barn find. And you know how people fall for barn finds. I mean, this was a 50,000 mile car."
A “barn find” is a car that’s been sitting unused for a long time and then gets found again. They can be cool, but they often need a lot of work because sitting can cause problems.
A “barn find” is a vehicle that’s been stored away for a long time—often in a barn or garage—and is rediscovered later. Barn finds can be exciting, but they also commonly hide issues like rust, stuck brakes, degraded rubber hoses, and electrical problems from long storage.
"Now that was guided for 8,000 to 12,000. And that sold for 25,875 pounds."
The auction guide price is the expected price range for the car. It’s just an estimate, and the real sale price can end up being different.
An auction “guide price” (or estimate) is the range the auction house expects the car to sell for. It’s not a guarantee—final prices can be higher or lower depending on bidding intensity and how rare or desirable the car is.
"This is a 1961 Morris Minor Million. So this was made to celebrate, guess what, the millionth Morris Minor made."
This is a special Morris Minor made in 1961. It was built to celebrate a big production milestone, so it’s a collectible piece of British car history.
The Morris Minor is a classic British compact car, and the “Minor Million” is a special 1961 celebration edition. It was made to mark the millionth Morris Minor produced, so it’s more about heritage and rarity than modern performance.
"Oh, the thing on the back, the one in the six noughts, I thought that was it's nought to 60 time. It's still going, yeah."
“0 to 60 time” is how fast a car gets from standing still to 60 mph. In this case, the numbers on the car aren’t about acceleration—they’re tied to the special edition’s milestone story.
“Nought to 60 time” is a performance metric measuring how many seconds it takes to accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph. The speaker initially misreads the “one and six noughts” as a performance figure, but it’s actually part of the commemorative numbering/badging.
"The Series 3 Espreys are quite quick.
[1216.8s] Now, this was guided for 30 to 40,000
[1220.9s] and it got 27,500, 63,000."
At auctions, they often give a “price guide” before bidding starts. It’s basically an estimate of what the car should sell for. Then they compare that estimate to what it actually ended up costing.
Auction “guides” are the expected price range set by the auction house before bidding. It helps buyers understand whether a car is likely to sell at a premium, at market, or below expectations. In this segment, they compare the guide to the actual sale results.
"And this one was guided at 35 to 40,000. And this went for 42,000."
That phrase means the auction house expected the car to sell somewhere around that price range. It’s not the final price—just a prediction to guide buyers.
“Guided at 35 to 40,000” describes an auction estimate range (a forecast of what the vehicle is expected to sell for). Auction guidance helps set expectations for bidders before the final hammer price.
"And this one was guided at 35 to 40,000. And this went for 42,000. So for a Series 1, that's quite a lot of money,"
That’s the final price it sold for at auction. If it’s higher than the estimate, it usually means more people wanted it.
“Went for 42,000” refers to the final auction sale price (the hammer price). Comparing the guidance range to the final result is a quick way to gauge market demand for that specific vehicle/variant.
"You can see there's lots of filler on it. I mean, it was covered in filler. So it's a project, basically, and it was a very big project."
Filler is a putty used to cover dents or uneven spots before painting. If there’s a lot of it, it can mean the car had damage that was covered up.
“Filler” usually refers to body filler (like fiberglass or polyester putty) used to smooth dents and imperfections before painting. Heavy filler can be a red flag because it may hide prior damage or poor repairs.
"So it's a project, basically, and it was a very big project. But I think these Vauxhall Lotus Carltons, they're really interesting cars."
A “project car” is a vehicle that needs significant work—often cosmetic restoration, mechanical repairs, or both—before it can be enjoyed or driven reliably. In this segment, the speaker frames the car as a major restoration candidate due to its severe condition.
"It was guided for 12,000 to 15,000 pounds and somebody was very lucky to snap that up for 10,688."
An auction “guide” range is an estimate of what the seller expects the car to fetch. It’s not a guarantee, but it helps buyers gauge whether a lot is likely to sell at a premium or bargain relative to expectations.
"who are a yellow frog-eye sprite, yellow Corvette, [1555.5s] yellow Ferrari 308 GT4 and a yellow Dino."
The Ferrari 308 GT4 is a classic Ferrari sports car with a V8 engine. It’s known for its cool design and for being a bit more usable than some other Ferraris.
The Ferrari 308 GT4 is a mid-engine grand tourer from Ferrari’s 308 family, notable for being a more practical (for a Ferrari) 2+2 compared with many of its peers. It’s also a popular “classic Ferrari” because of its distinctive styling and V8 character.
"I bought my drive-it date rally plate last night, [1568.3s] you know, that's coming up on the 26th of April, [1570.2s] drive-it day, it's a fundraiser thing,"
A “rally plate” here is a special plate you buy so you can take part in the event. It’s part of how the organizers track participation and raise money.
A “rally plate” in this context is a special plate you purchase to participate in the drive-it day rally events. It functions like an entry/participation token and is tied to fundraising proceeds.
"you know, that's coming up on the 26th of April, [1570.2s] drive-it day, it's a fundraiser thing, [1572.2s] it's a sort of kick-off to the start of the season really."
“Drive-it day” sounds like a charity event where people drive their cars to help raise money. You get involved by buying a special plate and joining the scheduled meet-ups.
“Drive-it day” is described here as a fundraiser and a kickoff event for the driving season. The key concept is that participants buy a rally plate and then take part in organized events around the country.
"Yeah, Mark LaBelle on Instagram jumped in on this,
he said an Austin A35, preferably one in a teapot colour."
The Austin A35 is a small British car from Austin, best known as a post-war-era compact that became popular with enthusiasts. It’s often discussed today as a “guilty pleasure” because it’s charming and characterful, even if it’s not what most people would consider a performance or luxury choice.
"Yeah, the really nice A35s, they used to rust along the sills terribly, so I think they used to collapse in the middle"
Sills are the lower metal sections along the sides of the car. If they rust badly, the car can get weak and unsafe, not just ugly.
Rust along the sills refers to corrosion in the rocker panels/lower side structure of the car. Because sills are part of the car’s body structure, heavy rust there can lead to loss of rigidity and, in severe cases, structural collapse.
"Now Christopher Stevens 892 says, his guilty pleasure would be a 1968 Austin 3L, now he reckons they're very underrated, reliable, comfortable, roomy, self-leveling suspension... let's have a quick look at one here, Austin 3L, I mean they weren't that successful in period"
The Austin 3L is an older Austin car that some people love as a “guilty pleasure.” The point here is that it can be comfortable and roomy, even if it wasn’t a huge hit when it was new.
The Austin 3L is a mid/late-1960s Austin saloon that’s often discussed as a quirky, underappreciated “guilty pleasure” classic. In this segment, the host focuses on why some owners like it—comfort, space, and ride features—despite its reputation for being less successful in period.
"Lee Hussain said, he's always held the Renault Fuego as a guilty pleasure. He says he always wanted one back in the day."
The Renault Fuego is a Renault coupe that was designed to look sporty and stylish. People sometimes love it more for the character and design than for being a fast car.
The Renault Fuego is a sporty-looking coupe from Renault, known for its distinctive 1970s/early-1980s styling. In this segment, it’s discussed as a “guilty pleasure” and compared to the Porsche 944 in terms of vibe and design rather than outright performance.
"I think they rusted and fell apart, actually, didn't they, most of the time? Well, they fell apart anyway, because it was French in the 1980s, Renaults."
The speaker is saying the car’s metal likely corroded over time and the car deteriorated. That kind of rust can make an old car much harder (and more expensive) to keep on the road.
“Rusted and fell apart” points to body corrosion and general durability problems that can plague older cars, especially if they weren’t well-protected from moisture and road salt. In enthusiast discussions, this often affects whether a car is worth restoring versus finding a cleaner example.
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Right, here we go.
What's the best diminu...
No, what's the best diminu...
Got to spit it out.
No, I'm just going to change it.
The Tire Kickers classic car chat with Max and Matt.
Hello there, it's episode 52 of The Tire Kickers and this time we're talking tiny.
We're thinking small, we're discussing classic car shrink flation.
Better known as small cars.
What's the best little classic to drive if you've got limited space?
The Tire Kickers.
Also, like a divorced couple, we were both at the practical
classics resto show at the NEC recently, but on different days.
Birmingham ain't big enough for the two of us.
We'll also talk about the best cars for sale down under.
Loads of you listen in Australia, but what do you drive and what do you buy?
And after we fessed up about ours, you confess your classic car guilty pleasures.
It's all in this latest episode of The Tire Kickers, the podcast
where we trade dirty oily secrets.
Driving and arguing since 2024.
This is The Tire Kickers.
Right, I have had to move both of my cars out of storage, Matthew.
Why? Because for some reason, war in the Middle East has made a double garage in
Sarancester a lot more expensive.
Now, this may seem a lot, but for a double garage on an industrial estate,
to store my Mercedes SL and a 991.2 Porsche Carrera T,
I used to pay 420 quid a month, including VAT.
Yeah, I mean, that is a lot.
I mean, storage is expensive and it's got more expensive.
Around here, it's gone from about 200 quid a month for decent storage to near a 300.
I don't think that's profiteering, though, on their part.
I think it's just the usual reasons that we all know by now, you know,
energy cost, staff cost, taxes, yadda yadda yadda.
Yeah, but 420 quid was the old price.
Apparently, due to what's happening abroad,
my rent had to go up to over 600 quid a month for a double garage, which is crazy.
I mean, it's secure, there's a cafe on site, there's a loo, there's some Wi-Fi.
I think that's crazy, though.
So, what I've done is I've moved both my cars to a nearby classic car storage company,
which is less than 400 quid a month.
Have you come on just to rant and moan about the price of a lock up?
I mean...
Yeah, you've heard this podcast before of you.
Ranting and moaning is what we do.
That's that's a little subtitle.
What's next, price of petrol?
Wow, I saw your photograph.
Do not get me started on that.
That was cheap.
I'm here to provide a solution.
Instead of full-size cars, I could just clear out my garage,
get rid of the lawn mowers, the bikes, the old winter wheels and firewood,
and instead buy a tiny classic, a really small car.
But which one?
For example, my mate has one of these.
It's a BMW Isetta 300.
Now, have a look at this on your screen now.
You can't really get much smaller than these kind of microcars.
This is the really successful BMW microcar,
which had the front door hinge out and the steering wheel hinged as well.
And then two people sit inside.
They're not very...
Well, they're not very fast.
They've got a 300-seat single cylinder producing a massive 12 horsepower.
But I reckon I could fit that in the garage.
What do you think of those?
I think Isetta's a cute, but I've never been in my mate Ian's.
So I will rectify that and I'll take the recorder along to see what it's like.
So to paint a picture, it looks like a little Tykes kids car with the big...
It's the one with the big door at the front that you open the door and get inside.
It's the two wheels at the front, one wheel at the back.
Imagine a camper van, a VW type 2 camper van,
shrunken down and then you saw the back off and you just put one wheel on it.
That's pretty much what this looks like.
Okay, it's small.
You're going to get it in your tiny garage, but you're not going to drive that max.
Yeah, I think they're quite good fun.
I think they'd be really good fun to drive.
I mean, you can't go very far in them.
I don't think they go much more than 50 miles an hour.
You can go to A&E.
These are the crucial figures.
It's 2.3 meters by 1.4 meters.
It could fit in your pocket.
It's 350 kilograms.
It's really, really small.
I think it's not just small to put in your garage.
It also does 60 to 70 miles to the gallon.
So with the current petrol prices, that is both an economical classic
and a tiny classic as well.
As you say, 300 cc.
I thought you were getting the lawn mowers out of the garage, not putting them in there.
I mean, to be honest, if you chuck some blades on the back,
it would probably do your lawn as well.
I mean, it's tiny.
It's just a little sewing machine, isn't it?
You know, what are you going to do with it?
Well, just cruise around.
It's quite cute, isn't it?
Do you not like that?
I think that's quite cute if you saw it coming.
You'd probably bully it.
You could bully it into submission on the road.
But I think that's a really cute fun car.
On the way to the pub, for example, you'd have a riot.
Well, you're on your own because you know, can you get two up in it?
You can get two very well.
If you know each other quite well, you could get in there.
Two little things, I think.
One is the price of this one, 16 grand.
It's kind of expensive.
And that's just an auction guide.
And also, I think if you come anywhere near a juggernaut
or a Kia Sportage, you're going to be flattened.
Yeah, it would be quite frightening.
So that's one option for your tiny garage.
What else have you got?
Well, I'm thinking, I mean, this is, I think, quite a sensible option.
If you go to, and you know how much I love Landrovers,
if you look at a 1950 Series 1 Landrover,
which is on your screen now, this is for sale for 1950,
which is quite reasonable for a Series 1, to be honest.
It's not our headlights behind the grille,
but it is kind of like a 1950 one.
These are quite small because if you look at the pictures,
you can take the tops off the doors,
you can fold the windscreen down,
and you can take the canvas tilt off,
which means that the dimensions of it are quite neat.
It's two metres long, 1.5 metres wide,
and the height with the screen flat and the roof down is 1.2 metres.
So that's actually a really tiny car, the Series 1.
When you look at the pictures, you can see it's virtually nothing,
but you still get that kind of full-size Landrover feel to it.
And actually, for 1950, this one's absolutely mint.
That's not bad money.
It's quite cute.
I'd be struggling to see how you would get that in your garage.
I think you'd probably just about get it in there,
and then you wouldn't be able to open the door.
Well, you wouldn't have just climbed out the top, wouldn't you?
You could take the doors off, to be honest, can you?
You could probably fall off, to be fair.
And then, where are you going in that?
The pub very slowly.
It's just going to the pub again, isn't it?
But it does mean I think that could fit in my garage,
and also I could put the lawnmower and the bikes in the back.
When I don't need it.
So, it's doubling as storage.
It's double value.
Actually, that's true, actually.
Yeah, and it'll be nice and cheap.
Oh, no, it's not. It's 20 grand for that.
That's not bad for a Series 1.
Well, it's a series of panels, isn't it?
It's essentially very badly fitting panels.
If you take the doors off, the panel fit gets a lot better,
because you don't see the caps.
If you take everything off, it looks much better.
I think that's cute.
I'm feeling that a bit more than the bubble car beforehand.
But I still think space is the problem.
This is the point we're saying here.
And I think looking at your garage, it is very small.
I think we need to maybe go smaller
and go for the probably the obvious choice.
What, the Mini Cooper?
Yeah.
They're actually quite big, though, Minis.
This is three metres long, the Mini Cooper.
So, this is a 1968 one on your screen now.
It's white with a black roof and the slightly wider wheels.
Nice looking car, but three metres long,
1.4 metres wide, 1.3 metres high.
I mean, the wheelbase is the same as that Series 1 landing,
interestingly, but three metres long,
that's almost a bit too big.
I'm not sure I could squeeze that in the garage,
along with all the other rubbish,
but it would be the best driving car there.
I mean, I love a Mini Cooper,
and that would drive really nicely,
and you just have a lot of fun with that.
One of the things I thought, if you go smaller in cars,
the price would go down,
but the price seems to be just going up.
I mean, this one's up for 29,000, this 1968 one.
I think original Coopers, they're still quite sought after.
This has only got 50,000 miles on it,
and they've done a bit of work to it.
They've done brake servos, new looms.
They've put Yokohama tyres on it,
which means it'll grip really nicely.
Um, yeah, it is nice.
I mean, they're valuable,
because they didn't make a huge amount,
and this one's got the right bullet mirrors.
It's got the wider wheels.
It's that perfect kind of...
It's like old English white that they used to do in the 60s.
So, nice, but expensive,
and I think it's too big to be honest.
I still think that is too big.
OK, so what's your last effort on this, then?
Is it going to be something that I'm going to like?
No, of course it will.
You don't like anything I like.
Oh, my God, I've just seen it.
I have just put it on.
There's a story behind this.
Hold on a minute.
That looks like it's just crawled out the sea.
What the hell is that?
Well, do you remember meshesmiths?
They used to be quite good at making aeroplanes,
but they were on the losing side of the war.
So after the war, they were banned from making planes.
So instead, they made cars,
but basically they made their cars look like planes
just without the wings.
And on your screen now is a 1961 Meshesmith KR200
microcar stroke bubble car.
Now, the thing I love about this,
it's virtually a plane with three wheels.
It's like a light aircraft.
It's got a kind of a yoke steering wheel thing.
It's got a bubble canopy that just hinges off either side.
It's almost like you could mount a machine
going to shoot out the back.
And then it's just got these weird froggy looks
with wide arches over the front wheels
and two little frog-like headlights.
So it's a really interesting car, to be honest.
I'd love to go on one of those.
I mean, again, you might be a bit hot
because it's like a greenhouse on the top,
but what an interesting car to drive that would be.
It's very kooky to describe it.
It's in like a baby blue kind of color.
My first thought when I first saw it is,
you know, when they do the documentaries on the ocean
and they go right to the depths
and they show you the fish that live on the bottom
and they're sort of too ugly to live on the top.
It looks like one of those,
but just somebody's resprayed it in kind of carnival blue.
I mean, it's really, I've got...
Max says it's got kind of froggy eyes
and then two wing mirrors on top, which is going to make it...
Look, it's got sort of bulbous fish mouth kind of face.
And then this odd clear perspex kind of glass arrangement on the top.
You're sitting it on your own.
There's no room for your mates.
It's the car for the local village weirdo.
Oh, hello.
Put this one down, Max.
Perfect for you.
Where can I buy?
Where can I sign?
If somebody in your village in the posh worlds,
you know, if somebody came down the road in that...
It's called the Potswolds now because the roads are so bad.
Fun as everywhere.
You've got special ones of you.
Yeah, they're just a little bit smarter than everybody else's.
This is a problem with this as well.
It's only got three wheels.
So one of those wheels goes on the pot hole.
You're a goner, aren't you?
The whole car would just go down the pot hole,
wouldn't it?
The whole thing, not just the wheel.
It's stuck.
The wheel is just lodging.
If that back single wheel went in a pot hole,
we'd just get stuck there.
And the front wheels would be up in the air.
So you'd be pointing right in the air, wouldn't you?
So if it came trundling down the street though,
you wouldn't think, oh, wow, that's cool.
You'd just think, oh, there's that weird bloke
again in that weird kind of fish car.
Yeah, but they think that.
And it's just a Mercedes SL, isn't it?
I'll give you the figures about this one.
I'll give you the figures because this is the important bit.
2.8 meters long, 1.2 meters wide.
It's tiny.
1.2 meters high.
200 cc cylinder two-stroke.
So it'd be lovely and quiet in that bubble canopy, wouldn't it?
A massive 10 horsepower.
It's chain driven, so it's going to be so noisy in there.
And 55 to 60 miles an hour if you are brave enough.
The best thing I think I like about this though
is that if you used to read all those kind of like comics,
those Second World War comics, and you saw those Messerschmitt,
I think with a BF109s, basically you cut the front of that off
and you cut the rear fuselage off.
You've got this Messerschmitt bubble car
because it's got the bubble canopy.
It's got the funny looks.
It is basically a kind of an aircraft fighter
in car three-wheel car form, tandem seating,
and that little yoke.
It would feel like you're flying a kind of Second World War plane.
I'm not sure I've learned much from this sequence,
apart from there's some weird cars out there.
What are your takeaways from this?
Well, when was the last time you came away from this podcast,
learning anything?
Well, it's a good point, well made.
Here's my sum up of this because looking at these,
they're not cheap, these cars.
We started this by saying that storage is expensive.
Well, why don't you just factor that into the cost
and rather spend 24,000 pounds,
which is what this Messerschmitt is up for.
Why don't you just factor in four grand of that
for your storage for the next couple of years?
I don't bring logic and sense to this argument.
Otherwise, we'd just finish, wouldn't we?
All go around driving modern electric cars
and Renault Fives that drove themselves.
The problem we do have in the UK is we just don't know
where to put our cars, have we?
And it's got worse, actually.
I think I was thinking about this actually
while you were talking that you used to be
at a rent-a-garage cheap, didn't you?
And that's really difficult now, isn't it?
You try in your local town, go to the council
and ask them if you rent a garage.
I did it a couple of years ago,
and they just shrugged at me
because I think they've either sort of filled them up,
flogged them off or whatever,
but you used to better rent those for like 10 or a week
or something, didn't you, those?
Yeah, those were the good old days,
and you could ram any old kind of rubbish in there.
I kind of think maybe these aren't a great idea,
apart from maybe, I suppose the Series 1 Land Rover.
You get the most fun out of that
because you could put people in the back,
but you couldn't put people in the back of the Messerschmitt
because they'd have to be the rear gummer.
Okay, so it's episode 52 of the Tyke.
It's good to have you along.
Now, Max and I were both at the NEC Classic Resto show.
Did you go?
Well, we went, but we went on different days.
You went on Thursday to do the Iconics auction preview video.
Max didn't you, and that's on YouTube,
if you want to watch that.
And I was there on Sunday,
so we were sort of safely apart by three days
and a couple of hundred miles.
Those are the exact terms of the court order
that you wanted, though.
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, cease and desist.
I don't know how much you had a chance to look around,
but I felt it was a bit of a quieter show this year,
and I'm talking to some of the people in the stands,
the club stands, and that sort of stuff.
And they said, well, it was a little bit quiet.
There were not many people as they thought there would be.
I mean, because the November show is rammed, wasn't it?
I think they're quite different shows, though, aren't they?
Because the November show is about looking at shiny metal.
And the show that we went to, the Practical Classic show,
is a little bit more about welders and spanners and stuff.
So I think there's just a narrow market of people
who go to it, to be honest.
And it wasn't as big as the kind of November show.
And I did notice there didn't seem to be as many storeholders.
But if you need that kind of bit or grommet or welder and stuff,
that is a really good show to go to,
because you can virtually get anything.
Yeah, that's a good point, actually.
I wonder if the November show appeals to people
who want a classic car, as well as people who own classic cars.
And this one is appeals to people more who just have a classic car.
Because I went and I had a shopping list of things
I wanted to get in terms of parts.
I did.
Did you get anything?
I got most random stuff.
So I went looking for a mirror from a stag,
a rear view mirror, a relay and a couple of other like bits.
I came away with two flat caps and some hose accessories
for the garden hose.
A kneeling pad.
I thought you said hosary then.
It's for hosary.
A kneeling pad and a couple of books.
So it was a little bit random.
You've got a kneeling pad.
You've got a kneeling pad.
You used to take the mick out of me with my kneeler
that I used in the garden.
You know you've got a kneeling pad.
No, it's because I was on my knees with the car.
I'd like to point out.
I was on my knees with the car a couple of days earlier
and I thought, God, this hurts.
So I was sort of hunkered down trying to look at this indicator
relay thing that I've broken.
And I just thought I've come to that point
where I do need a kneeling pad.
So I bought one of those.
The tyre kickers.
Yeah, so you got a chance to have a look at the cars
before anybody else.
So what did you pick?
I did.
Well, here's a few picks.
I mean, first of all, here is a Renault 5 GT Turbo Radar,
which was the Renault 5 turbos.
This was guided at 8,000 to 12,000.
Now it's a barn find.
And you know how people fall for barn finds.
I mean, this was a 50,000 mile car.
It had been pushed into storage in 2010.
The owner had very sadly died.
So the family's pulled it out of storage
and put it up for auction.
Now it's complete.
It did run when it was put into storage.
It's looking a bit tired.
It's got some barn find genuine dust on it.
But it's nice and it's super rare.
Now that was guided for 8,000 to 12,000.
And that sold for 25,875 pounds.
Yeah, that's a lot of money.
Obviously, people wanted it.
I like as well that you're selfless.
What did you say?
Similar to the word I wanted to say.
Now, you're selfless.
You're all about the audience.
And even a car that you're not really that excited about,
you're prepared to pick as one of your favourites.
1961 Morris Minor Million.
I never thought I'd see you next to a Morris Minor going.
That looks interesting.
Well, you know, I'm not really the greatest Morris Minor fan.
I think they're a bit slow and wheezy.
However, this is quite an interesting one.
And I didn't even know that these existed.
This is a 1961 Morris Minor Million.
So this was made to celebrate,
guess what, the millionth Morris Minor made.
I think they made 1.6 million of them in total.
So this was actually quite an interesting car.
It's lilac, better known as pink.
And it's got white leather interior.
This is out of the factory.
This is how it came.
And what's really interesting about this car
is it's got Morris Minor Million badges on it.
So if you look closely at picture three,
you can see the number one and six zeros on the back
and on the side.
So it's got a really interesting kind of production history story to it.
This, I think the first one of these was given to the designer.
And then they made 300 of them.
So there's not that many around.
But actually just an interesting kind of 1960s British automotive piece of history.
Oh, the thing on the back, the one in the six noughts,
I thought that was it's nought to 60 time.
It's still going, yeah.
Now, I think these are cool.
If you're going to own a Morris Minor, I like Morris Minor.
As we've talked about them in previous shows,
I'm a fan of Morris Miners.
I think they're really cute.
I think if you're going to own a cute Morris Minor,
this is a really good one to get
because it's got that extra bit of cachet of being the millionth,
part of the millionth sort of run out of these.
It's a unique color.
This one's a good condition.
How did it do on the day?
It did all right, actually.
I mean, it was guided for 15 to 18, but actually made 12,600,
which is quite strong money for a two door 948 cc 1961 Morris Minor.
But it's special.
The only thing is you could just be seen
as you're driving around in a pink Morris Minor.
But I think it's got a really interesting story behind it.
You know, it's important that we sent you on your own to do this
because you actually do the facts and figures.
And you also do the cars that have a sort of a bit of story to it.
I would have walked past this one, to be honest.
2001 BMW M5 E39 shrug, so what?
Yeah, E39 BMW M5.
This is going to be one of the big collectors cars of the future,
trust me, because they didn't make that many.
Lots of them have been written off because they go really quickly
and go sideways.
People have shoved them into bushes and into roundabouts.
And actually, this car was a really nice one.
It was a BMW Park Lane car,
still with a Park Lane sticker on the back, which is nice.
It was in black.
Some of the interiors on these E39 M5s are a bit gaudy.
They're a bit kind of duo tone and odd colors in them.
This is a black on black with a lovely sterling silver wheels.
I think it was 89,000 miles and stuff.
Absolute beauty this one.
It was guided for...
I'm just going to click back on what the screen says.
Guided for...
Just checking his notes here.
20 to 25,000 and sold for or 23,000.
So right in the middle.
But, you know, BMW M5s, the E39s, they drive amazingly.
I would say they're the best saloon sports car ever.
Last episode, we talked about pop-up headlight heroes,
and this next car was one that was featured on that.
Lotus Desprey S3, Series 3 Turbo.
This was 1985, 39,000 miles,
knocking on the door of 40,000 miles.
In blue, you rated this one.
Why and what did it go for?
Series 3 Turbos because they're quick
and they've still got that kind of a spree look.
I don't know if you managed to stand next to this car,
but it barely comes up to your kind of like stomach.
I mean, it's such a low car.
And it's quite an exciting car when you get to look at it
because it just kind of screams speed.
And this was a nice color.
Had a blue with a kind of cream interior.
So it's a really nice car.
The Series 3 Espreys are quite quick.
Now, this was guided for 30 to 40,000
and it got 27,500, 63,000.
So actually quite cheap for a Series 3 Esprey.
And this was a one-on-one.
There's no other car in this color scheme
with those 15-inch BBS alloys.
You mentioned about crawling into it.
I've got a series one and I got into that.
And it reminded me the comfort level
was about the same as when I had an MRI scan.
So you sort of crawl in these things,
then lie backwards while it makes a lot of noise, doesn't it?
But I think that makes the sensation of speed a lot better
because you're kind of virtually lying flat
like you're on a bed.
And actually the Series 3 Turbo, they're quite quick cars.
Yeah, they're 0-60.
Oh, bang, what's that?
Oh, it goes to the garage.
But yeah, it's a beautiful looking car.
And for a lot of people, this is a pin-up car.
It's the four-uris-only car, obviously, is the later one.
But it is that wedgy thing that Max likes.
It's got the pop-up headlights.
It's got the... It is a cool-looking car.
You've got to take a deep breath for the Lotus.
But that's good money for a Lotus.
They were going for a lot more, weren't they?
Yeah, absolutely.
Now, the next one, this really did do very good money.
It's a 1948 Land Rover Series 180-inch.
Now, it's an early 80-inch, so it was one of the kind of like...
Not the pre-production ones, but not the kind of main production ones.
They made 1500, which was slightly different.
And this was really nice.
It was a UK car chassis number 338, I think.
It was a very, very early one, 1948.
And this 388, sorry, not 338.
And this one was guided at 35 to 40,000.
And this went for 42,000.
So for a Series 1, that's quite a lot of money,
but it was a really interesting early one.
Had a great history and just looked absolutely mint.
It was perfect.
Yeah, it's got Willys written on the side of it.
So 80-inch Willys, what caught your eye there?
I don't know what that is, actually.
And lots of people used to paint their business name
on the side of Series 1s, but it's a really lovely one.
Crawled all over this car, and it's beautiful.
Lights behind the grille.
I just had all those early touches.
You can actually tell the early Series 1 Land Rovers,
the 1500 after the pre-production ones,
by the size of the riveting on the seat box.
Oh, God, we have to go there.
Willys' Jeeps were the ones, the American Jeeps in the war,
weren't they, the American?
Yeah, that's right.
So I think that was spelt slightly differently, wasn't it?
So this is just Willys' car.
Yeah, oh, I see what you mean.
Right, it's got Postrophe S. Yeah, there we go.
Lotus Carlton was one of your next picks.
Why did you pick this?
You remember these back in the day,
when the Daily Mail tried to ban them because they were so fast.
And so I remember some robbers.
There's a great story.
It was in classic and sports car a few years ago.
There's some robbers who necked a Lotus Carlton
with a registration number 40RA,
and they drove all around the West Midlands doing crimes,
and the police couldn't catch up with them
because it was the fastest car around,
and the police had nothing that quick.
So these Lotus Carltons were really quite rare cars,
but this one had been bought by the Sultan of Brunei.
It had been taken over by him to his house.
It had been sprayed silver.
They were all meant to be imperial green,
and as you can see from the pictures,
it got very, very tatty.
It had been left outside.
All the silver paint flaked.
It all came off.
You can see there's lots of filler on it.
I mean, it was covered in filler.
So it's a project, basically,
and it was a very big project.
But I think these Vauxhall Lotus Carltons,
they're really interesting cars.
They deserve to be saved.
It actually looks like somebody's twapped this car,
taken it and then burned it out.
This is essentially what it looks like.
So presumably looking like that, I mean, it does.
I mean, obviously, it's a real project, this thing.
I mean, it is a Lotus Carlton,
which you remember from back in the days.
It was a Carlton with a body kit
and the spoiler on the back and the double exhaust.
But this thing looks like it at the front
that somebody set fire to it,
but it's just all the paint peeled off.
So presumably in that condition,
even though it's a Lotus Carlton,
it probably didn't get very much, did it?
No, it did.
I mean, Lotus Carlton's, they're rare.
People love them.
It's got a story behind it.
It was guided.
Let's have a quick look at 50 to 60,000
and got 42,750 quid.
Well, that is a complete restoration project.
So you're paying a lot of money,
but it's a genuine Lotus Carlton
had the right kind of like chassis numbers on it
and it had most of the bits.
I think that's a great project.
Finally, we're back to the 70s with the Fiat.
Great car, this.
I think for me, this was the steal of the show
because it's a Fiat 124 Sport.
So you know, there's lots of Fiat 124 Spiders,
left-hand drive.
This was a Fiat 124 Sport,
right-hand drive, original right-hand drive.
It was in that lovely kind of silver,
had a blue velour interior.
Lots of restoration work done on this.
I mean, if you look at the pictures now,
it's like a mini kind of Fiat Dino.
It's a beautiful looking car.
Got that amazing twin cam engine
that won lots of rallies for Fiat Lance here.
Does that make it desirable if it's rare
and it's right-hand drive?
Well, yes, it course it does,
but there's not many of these.
Is there much demand for this?
What was I wonder what it sold for?
Well, I think that was a really good,
it's a really, really good buy.
It was guided for 12,000 to 15,000 pounds
and somebody was very lucky to snap that up for 10,688.
I mean, for 10 grand, a car that rare in that good condition,
that is a great, great buy.
That is cool.
I think that's probably the pick for me
of the stuff you did.
There is one very lucky owner out there
because for 10 grand, a car that rare is a great buy.
Episode 52, 5 and 2 is the tire kickers.
And Max, what have you been up to?
Well, on Sunday, it was a gorgeous day,
so I went to the classic Motorhub first
coffeeing classics of the year in library.
Now, I did notice, I've put a few pictures on Instagram,
there's lots of yellow cars around us
who are a yellow frog-eye sprite, yellow Corvette,
yellow Ferrari 308 GT4 and a yellow Dino.
I mean, I haven't seen many yellow cars,
but actually I think they look pretty good.
I think it was the sunshine.
Sunshine brings out the best in yellow.
What have you been up to?
I bought my drive-it date rally plate last night,
you know, that's coming up on the 26th of April,
drive-it day, it's a fundraiser thing,
it's a sort of kick-off to the start of the season really.
You buy a rally plate and there's events on,
there's one at Brooklyn, certainly in the south,
they'll be all over the country and have a look
at classic car weekly on the run-up to it,
normally says where all the meats are.
But it's £12.50, it's worth doing drive-itday.co.uk,
proceeds go to Childline.
Are you going to buy a rally plate and stick it on?
You've done it in the past, I've got three stacked up
in my garage on the wall, I'm going to go for a fourth.
Yes, I will do, you'd reminded me I'd forgotten,
but I will do it, yeah.
Well, I gave the stagger wash,
I've got a comment that I've not done it right,
but I gave it a clean and took it out for a run
and I saw a few out, one didn't wave at you,
MGB owner, so you've got two fingers in the rear view.
You wave back with two fingers.
Yeah, two fingers, happy Christmas.
The car's looking really good, Max,
I'm really pleased with it, it's driving really, really well,
it's got a little drippy bit of oil,
but we'll gloss over that.
Don't worry about that, as long as it's not much,
is it how much do you put in every time you drive it?
Is it a dipstick load or not?
Only about five litres, no, it's fine.
It's not too bad.
Now, when we're not sitting here yapping on about classic cars,
you'll find us posting stuff about classic cars,
both on Instagram and Facebook profiles,
we've got profiles on both of those,
so sign up to those if you're not already.
Lots of comments about the last show too,
we talked about classic car guilty pleasures last time
and asked, what is the car you like,
but you'd be too ashamed to own?
Yeah, Mark LaBelle on Instagram jumped in on this,
he said an Austin A35, preferably one in a teapot colour.
I couldn't imagine what these like,
so I looked it up, I'll throw it up on your screen now.
This was a bit sort of dumpy 50s car,
it was nicknamed the steel teddy bear,
this is one from 58, 803cc,
it could go with you once from earlier,
not to 16, about three days I think.
But that is a guilty pleasure,
I suppose it's a nostalgic guilty pleasure,
that one, isn't it?
Yeah, the really nice A35s,
they used to rust along the sills terribly,
so I think they used to collapse in the middle,
but there's not that many A35s around,
but they were the car of everybody,
they were the every man and every woman car of the 1950s.
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