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Hi,I'mSam,theoldcarlady,andthisweekontheWheelsandDealsPodcast,I'mdivingintothewonderfulworldofthesmallbutmightyMGMetro,acarthatstillholdsitspositionasoneofthetop10Britain'sbest-sellingcarsofalltime.
Ifyouwerearoundinthe80sand90s,you'lllikelyhaveeitherhadone,knownsomeonethathadone,learnttodriveinone,orpassyourtestingone.
SoIwenttoseefellowdealerfriendandMGMetroenthusiastTimAshworth,whoverykindlyshowedmearoundjustafewofhispersonalcollection,includingtworareturbos.
Fromatimewhenitwasobligatorytoputabigstickerdownthesideofanycarwithaturbocharger.
WegobacktothehumblebeginningsofthecarthatwastotakeoverfromtheMiniandlookatwhytheMinieventuallytookoverfromit.
Welookatthingstolookoutforwhenyou'rebuyingandrunningthem,pitfallsandquirks,andwhyweallloveametro.
SopleasedostaytotheendwhenI'lltellyouhowyoucanwinaoneownerRover416for50pwithproceedstotheDogsTrust.
AndwatchthisspaceforanotherepisodewhereTimandIwillbetakingoneofhismetrosoutforaspin.
Solet'scrackon.
Iknowyou'vegotmorethanthesethree.
Ihave.
ButIthoughtwe'dstart.
ThestoryoftheMGMetroisfascinating.
It'soneofthetop10sellingBritishcarsofalltime.
Andatonepointitwasnumberthreeforthemostcarssoldinayear.
WestartedwiththeAustinMetro.
Yes.
Umdesignedoriginallytotakeoverfromtheminute.
Theinitialdesignsweretheearly70s.
Andtheinterestingthingwasthatthedesigningwasaverylatechangebasedonsomeconsumer.
Itwasquiteflat-sided.
Itwasquiteflat-sidedandquiteflatatthebackaswell.
Okay.
Andatthelastminute,intermsoftheoveralldevelopmentprocess,theychangedtherearend.
Oxy,listeningtothecustomers.
Absolutely.
Iknow.
Andittheymadeitlookfarmoreattractiveinmyeyes.
Ithangstogetherwell.
It'sanicelyproportionedandnicelystyledcar.
WhichIthinkhasagedokay,actually.
SothedevelopmentsfromtheMiniessentiallywastheywantedsomethingwithahatchback,soitwasmoreusableforeverydayfamilylife,morespaceinside,abitmorewithmoderntraffic.
TheAustinMetros,yes,um,undertheBLbanner,launchedinOctober1980.
Yep.
Sofrommemory,therewerefivevariants.
Therewasthebase,theL,theHLE.
NotHLEnotinitially,HLE,whichistheeconomyversion,theS,andthenthetopoftherangeHLS.
Okay.
SothosefivewerelaunchedinOctober1980.
In1980,forSuperMini,youhaduhtheFiesta.
IthinktheFiesta.
Renault,RenoTem.
UhthePolo.
AndthePolo,sotough,youknow.
Reallytoughcompetition.
Yeah,yeah.
Yeah,stiffcompetition.
Yeah.
Anditdidincrediblywell.
Itdidamazinglywell.
Why?
Um,Ithinktherewasacertaindegreeofpatriotisminitially.
Yeah.
IIthinkthepublicwantedtoseeBLsucceed.
Well,theydidmarketitverycleverlyastheworldbeater.
SomeofyoumayhavenoticedthatforthepastfewyearsBritainhasbeeninvadedbytheItalians,theGermans,theJapanese,andtheFrench.
NowwehavethemeanstofightbackthenewAustinMetro.
Don'tgospirits.
Butgreat.
Andthere'sthere'sthere'sabigfeelingthattheMetrorescuedBLEfinancially.
Yeah,no,financially.
Imean,theyweretheywereverysuccessful.
Theydidn'tmakeahugeamountofmoneypercar.
Butwhatitdiddo,itjustreinforcedandandhelpedBLestablishthemselvesinthatmarketplace.
SoitwasoverandabovetheMini.
TheMinihaditsowncustomerbase.
Andwhathappenedwaspeopleworefromaminiintoametro,andthenmaybeduecourseontoaMaestroorontoaMontego.
Soyouhadayouhadarangeofcarstherethathungtogetherreallywell.
IthinkthattheMetro,uhtheMaestroandtheMontegowereadisappointmenttothemintermsofsales.
IthinktheythoughtthattheyweregoingtogoonfromtheMetrotogreatersuccesswiththeMaestroandtheMontego.
AndIthinkthatwhattheymissedwasthefactthattheMetrowasjustsuchaattherighthalfthatpointintime.
Yes.
Ijustthinkitwasjustaperfectstall.
Iftheyhaddesignedanddevelopedthematanormalpace,notaBritishLeylandpaceoraBMCpace.
Yes.
Theyprobablywouldhavelaunchedfiveyearsearlier.
Yeah.
Butasusual,ittookacash.
Ittookforeverandaday.
Yeah,there'sjusttoomuch,toomuchmonthattheendofthemoneyinBritishLeyland.
MovingonfromtheAustins,whathappenednext?
UhtheMarkoneswerebetweenOctober1980andkindofmid-84and82.
YougotthelaunchoftheMG,andthistookoverfromtheS,basically.
Okay.
Althoughinterestingly,youhavegotanSwhichisactuallyonawireedge,whichisaverylateS.
TheMGtookoverfromtheS.
TheSactuallywas,despitethefactofthename,therewasnothingdifferentfromtheSpanish.
Nothing'ssporty.
Lookaboutitafterthat.
Exceptforarathernicestripedownthesideandsomereallynattystrobeseatsinside.
Soitwastrimlevelratherthanengineering.
WhereasthisisafundamentallydifferentcarfromtheS.
1275.
Butbecauseit'sanMG,it'sgotthebiggerheadonit,andyou'vegotabigcarbonthere,soit'sgotaHIF,whattheycallaHIF45.
Bitmoregrunt.
Bitmoregrunt.
72brakehorsepowerwhenyou,asopposedtolow60sforastandard1275.
You'vegotaDidtheydidtheymanagetosqueezethefive-speedgearboxbythesamething?
Theydidn't,unfortunately,no.
Although,youknow,Imeantherewerepeoplesqueezingfive-speedgearboxesintominisinthe70s.
Yeah.
UmbutBLdidn'tquitemanageit,unfortunately.
Itdid,itdid.
There'stwomainissueswhenI'mbuyingandsellingmetros.
Yeah.
Oneisthehydrogasspheresituation.
Sotheyhaveahydrogassuspensionsystem.
Theystartedoffwiththemseparatecornersandthentheyeventuallymanagedtojointhemfrontbackforitforanevenbetterride.
Buttheysobasicallytheyareaspherefullofgas.
Fluidandgas.
It'samixtureoffluidandgas.
Sowhathappensovertimeisthegasescapes,whichmeansthatyouthenneedtotopitup.
Orpeopledon'ttopitupwithgas,theytopitupwithfluid.
Soyouendupwithacanisterfulloffluid,whichthenmakesthemrockhard.
Itdestroystheinnitsofthehydrogassphereandsoon.
Soit'salwaysworthlookingforwhenyou'rebuyingorsellingoneofthesetomakesurethatthespheresareingoodshape.
They'veeitherbeenregassedortheydon'tneedregassed.
You'llknow.
You'llknowifthesuspensionisnargued.
It'slikebecauseitthere'snosuspension.
Ridingonwoodenwheels.
There'snojustnotravelatall.
Youwillfeeleverybumpandyourheadwillfitthat.
We'llhittheceilingofthecar.
Andwheels.
Sothewheelswhentheyfirstcameout12-inch.
12-inchsteelsandbyuhminitires.
Uhsocarsominithelaterminishave12-inchwheels.
Okay.
Umsoyeah,soNankang,uhokay,notthebestmake,butuhCamaxdothem.
IthinkIthinkthisone'sridingNankangsactually.
Theydothejob.
Isupgrade.
Umsoyoumightwellseeauhametrothatwasrunningonmetricsoriginally,whichisnowrunningon12or13inchalways.
Modandsafedevice.
Youmightwellseeaametricmetrooriginallyridingonpepperpots,youmightwellseethemridingoncrossspokes.
Asensibleupgrade,becauseitjustmeansyoucangetfreshablebonesonthosecaronthose.
Yeah,andandandessentiallyMOTthemandmakesurethey'resafeonthenet.
Yeah,absolutely.
UmsowegofromtheAplusenginetothemightyturbo.
SothisisaNatchasrated.
Yeah,andthenwe'vegotthis,whichisalsoa1983.
SotheMetroTurboswerelaunchedeitheralongsideorperhapsjustaftertheMG.
Thisisaturbo.
MetroPocketRocket.
PocketRocket93brakehorsepowerwhen75.
Thatone's72,thisone's93,0to60,10.9,
0to69.9.
Honestly,Idon'tIdon't.
Doyoufeelthedifference?
Youdon't.
No,okay.
Whatthethingthatyou'dgetwiththisisyoucanheartheturbospooling.
Okay.
Whichisgreat.
Soyoufeellikeyou'regoingfaster,butyoufeellikeyou'refeelasthoughyou'regoingfasterthanametroanyway,sobecausethey'resocompleteloose.
IIImakenosecretofmydeeploveofcarsthatfeelhilariousat50milesanhour.
Onit.
Well,sheCC'sinthistheninthe1275,same,sameAplus.
Sotheywerestretchingtheengineeringofa1275,youknow,uhengine.
UhAplusumuhsodium-filledexhaust.
Sowhatdoesthatmean?
Um,youknowwhat,that'sareallygoodquestion.
IthinkIthinkI'mgoingtofindout,andI'mgonnaputatthetopwhatthatmeans.
Ithinktheyputsodiumintheexhaustvalvesjusttohelpwiththeflowofthedisplay.
Itsoundsimpressive,doesn'tit?
SlightlydifferenttrimfromtheMG.
You'vegottheblacked-outbottomquartershere,differentstylealloys,butthemainthingisyougettheturbobuttons.
Inthe80s,anycarwithturbowrittendownthesidewassupersexy.
Andeverycarthathadaturboenginealwayshaditwrittendowntheside,didn'tit?
Absolutely.
Sothatthisisaturbo.
Fortheavoidanceofdoubtofthetrafficlights,youareinaturbo.
TheinteriorisprettymuchthesameasanMGMetro.
Yougetthesametrim.
Okay.
Umit'safour-speedbox,andthatwasthewhydidtheydothat?
Itwasthedownfalltosomeextent.
ItwastheweakpointoftheBecauseyou'reputting20morebrakehorsepowerthroughthegearboxthanyouwerewithastandardgear.
Wearescreamingupthemakingfourdenoids.
Soyouknow,thatthatgearboxwasputunder,especiallywhenyou'reonfullboots.
Soit'sexactlythesamegearbox.
Uhno,theydidchangeapartofthegearboxtohelpwiththepower.
Okay.
Butnotwithstandingthat,thegearboxesdidblowuponthese.
Yes.
Andthataccountedformany,manyMGMetroturbos,apartfromthefactthatalotoftheseenginesgotputintominis.
Sowelostahugeamountofmetrosumovertheyears.
Yes.
Thescrappageschemedidn'thelpwhentheywereworth$2.06
upintheballoon.
Yeah.
Thegearboxesdidblowup,particularlyontheturbos.
Umtheywereusedasdonorcars.
Yeah.
AndtheytheycameupwiththiswonderfulumuhsystemforuhinitiallyIthinkitwasdesignedtoeasevibrationwheretheyputsortoffoaminbetweenthepanelsonthewings,suckedallthewaterup,andhelditthere.
Sotheytheydidrotaway.
Theydidrot.
Yeah.
BecauseitumthisisanotheranotherdifferencefromtheMG.
Uhtherearefoursetsofventsontheturbobonnetasopposedtotwo.
Soyouseeonthismodtwohere,you'vegotthefourthefourventstheretohelpwithcalling.
Thisone,nowIhaveactuallygotanewoldstopbonnetforthis.
Okay.
SoasandwhenIdothepaintwork,itwillbeaddressedthere.
Soaswithalotofcarsthatwereumbuiltinhighnumbers,verypopular,incrediblyordinaryinperiod.
Yes.
Anduhwerepronetorot.
Yes.
Theironynowisthatthey'resuperraretoday.
Yeah.
Tofindonethat'sveryrare.
Ontheroad,usable,infairlygoodcondition,sensiblemileage,goodhistoryfile.
Yeah.
Thesearenowararebeast.
Theyareararebeast.
Metroturbosarefetchingincrediblemoney.
Theyareworthsaving,definitely.
IfyoufindanMGMetroturbo,itisworthsaving.
Notsayingit'sgoingtobeaneasyjobtosaveit,becausesomeofthemarecanceling.
Orafinanciallyrewardingone.
Theystillaren'tfetchinghugemoney.
They'renot.
They'renot.
Imean,somehavedoneintheeights.
ButIthinkfordecentMGMetro,youyou'reprobablytalkingsix,seventhousandpoundsshouldgetyouadecentexample.
Markones,probablyalittlebitmore,MarkIIs,slightlyless.
Theturbos,youcanprobablyaddanothertwoorthreethousandpoundsontop.
Sowehaven'tlookedinside.
I'mlookinginside.
Umsoeightisyou'vegota130mileanhourclockthereinsteadof110intheMG.
Haveyoueverdone130init?
No.
Haveyoueverdone110init?
Haveyoudoneoneinit?
Ithinkthefastestofbeinginitis80,andthatwasquiteenough.
Thatwasquiteenough,yeah.
Whiteknuckleride.
Umyou'vegotadifferent,you'vegotadigitalclockinthecentrethere,asopposedtotheMG,whichisonthedash.
Yeah.
Butwhatyouhavegotontheontheturbo,whichofcoursetheturbogauge,therequisiteredcarpets,redseatbelts,asymmetricrearsplitontherearseat,whichwasintroducedinthe1980smetro.
Sothat'swhereyougetaone-seatandatwo-seat,twoseat.
Yeah.
Soyoucanstillgetapassengerinthebackandhaveadoorinthere.
Andyou'vegotnospeaker-shapedholesbecauseofyourrearparcelshelf,soyou'vegotamassivesmileonmyface.
AndIthinkit'sbecausebackinperiodtoseeanythingwithturbowrittendownthesidewasjustreallyexciting.
AndthenwejumpedintheMarkIIturbo.
WaskindofaMarkoneandahalfmetro,whichisaveryearlyMarkII.
Soyou'vegotthefrontendoftheMarkII,butyou'vegotthenon-body-colouredbodykit.
Okay.
Okay.
Umnowthosehadanoverheadturbogauge.
Ohwow.
Okay.
Veryfancy.
VeryearlyMarkIIswillhaveanoverheadturbogauge,andthat'showyouknowit'saproperturboandit'sanearlyone.
Okay.
Withtheboostgaugeuphere.
Okay.
Nowthat'dhavebeenanissue.
Becausewhathappenedwaspeopleusedtowanttoseetheturbolightgoup.
Wheretheywouldwhereweretheylooking?
Theyweren'tlookingattheroad.
Ofcoursetheywere.
Astheywerecareeringdowntheroadatavastrateofknots.
Theywerelookingattheturbogaugeuphere.
At130.
At130.
Soasaconsequence,therewereoneortwoaccidents.
Sothatresultedintheturbolightuphere.
Youwouldhavethoughttheymovedittothedash.
Butactually,Ihaven'tgotaturbogaugeinthiscaranymore.
Sotheyjusttookitoutoftheroom.
Sowhat'sthedifferenceinagebetweentheonewiththeturbogauge?
Sothatwasan83andthisone'san87.
Well,okay,soit'squiteashortspaceoftimethattheyproducethemwiththemintheDAFplace.
Here,thiswasthatwasBreg,so84.
84.
Andconsequently,ifyoucanfindaturbogaugecentreuhclockuphere,overheadclock,you'regoingtopayhandsomelyforthat.
That'sprobablyabout150quid'sworthofstuffthere.
Whereasyou'dprobablypay30quidforastandardclock.
They'reallintheditch,aren'tthey?
They'reprobablyallintheditch.
Absolutely.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
Haveyoueverputoneinaditch?
No.
Ihaven'tputanycarsinaditch.
Haveyounot?
You'veneverbeenspinningonyourroofinafield.
I'vedoneafewspins.
IthinktheyputoneonceforescortMarkIIintoaditch,butthatwasbecauseitwasrear-wheeldriveonanicyroad.
Yeah.
That'stheonewiththe1.6
litreCapriengineinit.
Oh.
Doyourememberthatone?
Yeah.
That'swhatyoudowithyourkids,isn'tit,whentheyblowacarup.
Yougivethemabiggerengine.
Givethemabiggerengine.
SothisisalittlebitmorecivilisedbeingaMarkIIthanaMarkI.
Stillfull-speedgearbox.
You'vegotthetapedeckdownhere.
You'vegotyourtapeplayerhere.
Tapestorage.
Tapestorage.
Again,whatshouldyounotbedoingwhenyou'redriving?
Lookingdown,gettingatape.
Reachingdowntogetyourtapes.
Absolutely.
Ithasn'treallygotmanymorecons,certainlynoelectricwindow.
Thisonehasgotcentrallockingaswell,whichisquiteyou'vegotthenicelittleglassonroof.
Ormanualtape,obviously.
You'vegotamanualtapethere,ofcourse.
Yeah.
Cigarlight.
Itiscompletelycharmy,butwhatwehavegottorememberisthatthiswasactuallydesignedtoreplacethemini.
Yes.
Andthisisquiteadeparturefromaminiofitofitsday.
Youknow,thismusthaveifyouweregoingintoyourAustingarageandthishadjustbeenpresentedtoyouasthebrandnewcar,itwouldhavebeenexciting,Ithink.
Yeah.
Andontheonthelaterenginesaswell,theyextendedtheservicetimewasit12,000services?
12,000allegedly.
Ithink6,000isisismoreprudent,definitely.
Okay.
WhenyouconsiderthatanA-seriesenginethat'sinoilthey'reusedforthegearboxandtheengine.
Soitusesallthetime.
Theydidmarketthemthough,didn'tthey?
Theydidn't.
They'duptoittoevery12,000milesbeforeyouneededtostart.
WhenIthinkanybody'slookingatbuyingametro,Iknowthey'regoingtobeprobablylightning,becauseI'mnotsureyou'dreallyknowI'vejustdonethis.
It'ssuchacardpersonthing.
I'vejustseenthesteamcomingoutofyourumcondenseratyourhouse,andI'velookedatbehindme,andallIcanseeissmokecomingout.
It'snotevenrubbing.
Ohnoaboutthefire.
It'slakingalready.
No,yeah.
Sorryaboutthat.
We'veblownthegearbox.
No,no,notyet.
Itstartsonthebutton.
Soit'sOh,theyneverdowhenyousaythat.
Intermsofpartsandaccessibility,umifyoudidbuyonethatneededwork,canyougetholdofeverything?
Yeah,generallyspeaking,youcan.
It'snowgettothestagewherebysaymodelspecificbitsoftrickarevirtuallyunattainable.
Okay,sothingslikeyeah,overheadturbosandtheoverheadturboisveryrare,occasionallydopopupwithpanels.
WellMort1s,Mort2s,RoverMetros,RoverHundreds,it'sinterchangeable.
Interchangeable.
Imeanthebodykitsaremodelspecific.
SoaMort1umbodykitisforaturbo,it'sslightlydifferentfromalog.
Okay.
SoMort1stuffisasyouwouldexpect,becausethat'stheolderversionofthemetro.
There'smoredifficultthingstofindonthatnow.
Butifyou'regonnabuyametro,jointhemethod.
It'sjustbecausethere'slotsandlotsofpeoplewhoknowanawfullotmorethanIdoaboutmetros.
Theyhavecontacts,theyhavesparepartstuckedaway.
There'sareallyvibrantscene,isn'tthere,forallthemintermsofshowsandmeetsandforumsandgroups.
Absolutely.
Sothere'slotsonlygoingonthroughoutthespring,summer,andautumn.
Metro-relatedclassiccarship.
Andthey'realwaysverywelcomewhereveryougo.
Evenifyou'redoingthepubmeetsthatIgothrough,andyouknow,butahugesmileoneveryone'sfacewhenametropullsup.
Youknow,youcan't,especiallyifyou'reofacertainagewhereyourememberthem.
Correct.
You'vealwaysknewsomebodythathadthem.
Yeah.
Umyoulearnedtodriveinthemoryoupassyourfacetestingthem.
Abitlikeamini.
Youknow,youalwaysknowsomebodywho'shadamini,ormaybeyourmumhadaminioryourdadintheday.
Well,wespokeaboutthis.
Wespokeaboutthisonthepodcast,didn'twe?
There'scertaincarsthatarejustingrainedinyoubecausetheywerearoundinsuchhighnumbersthatyouknowyoudidn'tregisterthematthetime,butnowyoulookbackonthemwithreallyfondmemories.
Soit'snostalgia.
Ithinkit'sanostalgiathing.
Youforgetabouttheorleaks,youforgetabouttherocks,youforgetaboutthings.
SoifIhadaquicklookunderthesethree,wouldanythingdroppinganything?
Ohyeah.
Ohyeah.
Yeah.
Well,ifyou'reexcited,itmeansthey'vegotsomeend.
Wellthethingis,thethingisthattheywereprobablydrippingoil,notfromnew.
Well,notfarfrommaybewhentheywentnew,theyweredrippingoil.
Yeah.
TheA-Seriesisrenownedfordrippingoil.
Yeah.
TherearethereareA-Seriesandwhichdon'tdrip.
Iliketocallitself-undersealing.
Self-undersealing.
Self-undersealing.
Sothereyougo.
Absolutely.
Soyouneverseeaminiwitharottenfrontsubframe.
Becausethey'reself-underseals.
Anddowntothenishygrishy.
Yes.
Whatwouldsomethinglikethissetyouback?
Ithinkifyouwantadecentturbo,MarkIIturbo,you'vegottobebudgetedaroundTegna,Iwouldsay,foradecentonewithabitofhistory.
Okay.
Maybeabitmore,maybeabitless.
Ithinkthekeytoitismakesurethatnumberoneitisaturbo.
Andyoucheck.
Soarepeoplestickeringthemup?
UmYes,becauseit'sveryeasytodo.
It'sveryeasytodo.
Andhowwouldyouactuallytell?
Ifyouweregoingtogoandlookatwhatyouthought,isthereanycanyoupopthebonnetandimmediatelyidentifyUhtherearesometelltalesoundsunderneaththebonnet.
Willyoushowmeinabit?
Yeah,yeah.
Ofcourse.
Ofcourse.
OfcourseyougotYeah.
Imeanotherthantheactualturbo.
Otherthantheactualturbo,absolutely.
Okay.
Umsoyeah.
IthinkIthinkgenerallyspeaking,Ithinkifyousawaturbo,itisprobablygoingtobeaturbo,butyoujustneedtojustventure.
SodoyourdoyourHPIcheck.
Okay.
Andifyouwantedtoforexample,thethelovely1300overthere,the1275,whatwouldyoupayforsomethinglikethat?
IthinkaMarkI,Ilikewesaidbefore,youshouldbeabletogetausableMGMetro,eitherMarkIorMarkII,forsixorseventhousandpounds.
Ithinkaniceone,youmightbetalkingeights,maybeno.
TheAustinMG,MarkOnesandMarkIIs.
Yeah.
Okay.
Theyweresupersededinthe90ssoeightyeightytoninety.
SotheystartedatAustininitially.
Yeah,itwasanOstinMetro,originally,thenthatthentheMGwasintroducedineightytwo.
WhatyeardidthebadgeswitchfromAustintoOhno,therewerealwaysbuttherewerealwaysAustin'sthroughouttheeighties.
Okay,yeah.
AlwaysAustin's.
SowhendidtheyswitchtoMG?
Well,MGmetrosranalongsideAustin'swithaFETfrom1982.
Okay.
Okay.
AnduhI'mnotdoingaverygoodjobatexplaining.
Sotheymademetros,theymadeAustinMetrosandMGmetrosatthesametime.
Why?
Uhbadgeengineering.
It'ssomethingthatBritishLaylahaddoneforyearsandyearsandyears.
Andweretheythesameprice?
DidyoupaymoreforaOhno,no.
Okay.
Umalthough,havingsaidthat,atthetimetheyalsointroducedabandonedplasma.
Ofcoursetheydid.
SowhentheyintroducedtheMGMetro,theoriginalMammaSparatedone,theyalsointroducedanabandonedplasma.
ThatwastheNMG.
Samecar,differentbadge.
Yeah.
Okay.
SowhywouldyoubuyanMGOratherthanaMetro?
IthinkIthinkMGMetroisabitmorepowerfulthanastandardmetro.
Okay.
Yougettheextratrim.
ItjustIthinkitjusthangstobetter,itlooksabettercar,abitmoreattractive.
Well,therearspoiler.
Yeah,yougetthepepperpot.
YoulookatthatMark1overthere,andIthinkthat'sareallysmartthought.
Butwearewearegoingbacktothedayswherebadgesmattered.
Yeah.
Speclevelmattered,trimlevelmattered.
Doyouthinkitjustliterallycamedowntothebadgevalue?
Atthelate70s,it'stheoldMGs,GPGTs,andmidgets,reductionstop.
Therewasawho'sgoingtobeinthemarketplaceforasportingBritishcode.
AndalotofloveforanMG.
AndalotofloveforMG.
SothatistheMGMetrowasabadgeengineeredattempttotryandharnesssomeofthatdemandthatperhapswouldhaveboughtanMGBoranMGBGtape.
Andtheydiditforthemaestro,andtheydiditfortheMontegoaswell.
Soyoucanseeinthesensor,andtheysoldincrediblywell.
Youknow,IthinkforeverytenMGMetros,theyprobablysoldoneortwoturbos.
IthinkIthinkformemorymaybeathousandMGMax.
Andabouttwentyoddthousandturbos.
Howmanyareleftnow?
Very,veryfew.
IthinkifyoucanfindamoreoneMGMax,it'dbedecent.
Ithinkit'sprettyspecialcar.
It'saspecialcar,it'sararecar.
Turboisevenrare.
Sowhahowdidtheyruntheautismelectrodessidebysideuntiltheendofproduction?
Untiltheendofnineteenninety.
Differentfrontends,um,differentinteriors,ostensiblystillthesamecar.
AndthewouldyoudoyouthinktheK-Seriesengineisamorerobustunit?
Ithinkit'samoreit'sdefinitelymoreusable,it'sprobablymorereliable.
Idon'tthinkitshipsasmuchoilasanACMEeither.
Doesn'tself-undersailquiteaswell.
UhbutwiththeK-Series,ofcourse,you'vegotallthisnoiseaboutheadgasketfails.
Well,headgasketswillfailifyoujustkeepontopofthemaintenanceandmakesurethere'swaterinthesystem.
Anditmightyoucheckiteveryweek.
UmDoyourememberwhenyouusedtodothat?
Istilldocheckyourownlevels.
Checkyourlevels.
Imean,somecarsthesedaysalldipstick,doyou?
Youhavegotadipstickonthemetro.
SothemthetherovermetrossotheytheythendroptheMGsthen.
IntermsoftheGuhtheMGs,yougotGTI.
SoyougettheMetroGTI.
That'sfancy.
Idonotdoyeah.
Veryfancy.
Thatwasfancy.
Yeah,andthatwaskindofXR2,XR2Rterritory.
Didtheydoyouthinktheydevelopedthatcarspecificallytocompetewiththehothatches?
IthinktheyhadtoIthinktheyhadtodosomethingbecauseattheendoftheproductionoftheMGStrokeAustinMetroin1990,thatwasquitearchaicbythattime.
Thereputationatthetimewas,dareIsay,alittlebitfoody-duddybythatpoint.
IthinkIthinkitwaskindofNana'scarofchoice,wasn'tit?
Umsotototryanddevelopthatintoacompetitivehothatwaswasaprettybravemove.
Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah.
AndIIthinkthetheGTIMetro,RoverMetroGiImeanI'vehadaRoverMetroGTI,they'rethey'rereallycapablelittlecars.
They'reperhapsnotasquickastheyshouldbe.
Youknow,Iwouldhavejustlikedabitmoreextrapowerful.
DidyougetafifthgearinaGetUp?
You'vegotafifthgearout.
Soyou'vegotafitfifthgearatlastandthey'refarmorerefined.
Theyfeellikedrivingamodcollar,aKCitiesmetro,asopposedtoanA-series,whichjustwasagenerationbefore.
IjustIthinktheIItheonlywayIcandescribedrivingametroisit'slikebeinginago-kart.
It'sjustsomuchfun.
Yeah.
Andyoudohavetobeawarethat,particularlyinmoderntraffic,thatyouknow,thecarinfrontofyoucanperhapsstopalittlebitquickerandmoveoffalittlebitquickerandyouneedtoleaveabitmoreroomattheroundaboutsandthatsortofthing.
ButIthinkthethingisthatyouaregoingprobablyhalfasfastasyouthinkyou'regoing.
Soyoudo50inoneofthese,youthinkyou'redoing100.
Youknow,yourhair'sonfireat45milesanhour,isn'tit?
Andandthere'salottobesaidforthat.
AndandIthinkforthatreasonalone,forthevolumesthey'reatatthemoment,theymakealotofsenseasapracticalclassic.
Ithinkso.
Umandalsoforyoungstersaswell.
IthinkIImeanI'vesoldarovermetrothismorningtoa17-year-oldladwhohasn'tevenpassedhistestyet.
Andthatcanbehisfirstcar,isn'tit?
Ahobbycar,it'shisactualstageriver.
He'sgotamotorbikeandhewantsacartorunaroundin.
Okay.
Ithinkarovermetrooraroverahundred.
Orevenifyouinasamethingmetro.
Yeah.
Ifyoucangetintoanearlymetro,thereallyeasyorthereallypractical,youcangetthesparepartsforthereasonabletorun,reasonablecosttorun,thereasonablecosttoinsure.
Yeah.
Andthedifferenyouknow,ifyouwerea17-year-oldladandyourockupatatatthepuboruhwherever,you'renotgoingtoseeanothermetro.
SothethingIdohavetoaddressit'slikeelephantintheroom.
Um,anditdiditdiddothemagreatdealofdamageatthetime.
WhatN-CAPsafetyratingdidtheyget,Tim?
Canyouremember?
Itwassomewherebetweenoneandfive.
Itwasone.
Icantellyouit'sone.
Icheckedthismorning.
UmsoIthinknowatthetimeThatwastheRover100.
ThatwastheRover100.
Atthetime,theNCAPsafetyratingswerefairlynew,weren'tthey?
Yeah.
AndIthinktherewassomeumuhsomequestionmarkoverhowseriouslythey'dbetakenandhowmuchcredencepeoplewouldpaythem.
AndIthinkititdidthemetroagreatdealofhard.
AftertheRoverMetro,94,95intheRover100,whichwasthelastTerrarintheMetro.
Butitwasintermsofdesignandstylingandbodyshell,itwasametro.
It'sexactlyit'sjustanewagain,anotherbitofbudgetengineer.
Youshouldn'treallybesurprisedbecausebythattimethemetroitselfwasnearly20yearsold.
Yeah.
Soyou'reaskinga20-year-oldcartogothroughamodern-daycrashtest.
Ithadn'tbeendevelopedparticularly.
Cosmeticallyithad.
Obviously,ithadtheroadfrontend,you'dhavethebadging,slightlydifferentinterior,butthefundamentalarchitectureofthatcarhadbeendesignedinthe1970s.
Well,it'sliketakingacarnowthathadbeendesignedanddevelopedintheinthe90sandpitchingitagainsta2026carintermsofsafety.
Ofcourse,it'sgonnarateincrediblylowbycomparison.
Ofcourse.
Butatthepointoftimewhenitwasdeveloped,itwasperfectlyacceptable.
Itwasperfectlyacceptable.
Umsothatwas1998whenthathappened,andthatthebityouknow,IthinkBMWownedownedabusinessatthetime.
Uhandtheytooktheviewthatityoujustshutthedoors.
Butyouknowwhat?
18years,overtwomillionweresold.
Well,theywerederivations.
Theystill,IknowIsaidthisatthebeginning,theystillremaintheinthetoptenintermsofvolume,carssoldthathaveeverbeensoldintheUK.
AndandatonepointtheyweretopthreeandtheywereonlybehindFiesasandEscorts.
Okay.
Andsotheyhadareallygoodrun.
Youknow,theytheyhadtheyhadanincrediblygoodrun.
Thetheironyformeistheyweredevelopedinitiallytotakeoverfromthemini.
Andguesswhat'snowoneoftheUK'smostpopularcars?
Soit'sit'skindofoneofthosewhereit'sit'salmostlikethe9-11,928,9-11thing.
Yeah.
Theyweredevelopedasastheonethatwouldtakeover.
Yeah.
Butinactualfact,itwastheoriginalonethatendured.
Ohtheplanwastogoforaplayandit'sraining.
I'mnottoofussyaboutthat.
Imean,somepeopleare.
We'llwe'lltakeit'llbelikealittlestepbackintime.
Aswellasthesethreethatareontheroadrunninganddrivingperfectly.
You'vegotsomeprojectsonthegoaswell.
You'rekindofyou'reyou'rerescuingRehome,aren'tyou?
Uhyes.
Ametrosanctuary.
Ametrosanctuary.
Ididmakeitmykindofmyaim.
Owneverysingleversionofthemetro.
Oftheoriginalfive.
Well,yesandno,andafterwards.
Soeverysingleversionofthemetro,soIwantedabase,anL,anHLS.
Igaveuponthat.
Butalongtheway,I'vemanagedtoacquiresomeprettyspecialmetros.
Excepthowmanydoyouownatthemoment?
Six?
No,youknowwhat?
Youaskedmethatquestion,Ican'tactuallyansweritbecauseIcan'tremember.
Iwasgonnasaysexygreedytoaskhowit'sawful.
We'llgotoouroursecretstories.
Okay.
Sothesanctuary.
AndI'llshowyouoneelseI'vegot.
Sotheyarespecialmetros.
Theymaynotmeananawfullottopeoplewhoaren'tintothemetros.
Okay.
Buttheyare,inmymind,theyarespecialmetros.
Areareanyofthesethreeforsaleoraretheseyourpersonalcollection?
Uhthesearemypersonalcollection,butthisturbo,themoretwoturbo.
Atsomepointintime,IhavetoIhavetosellsomecarsbecauseI'vegotfartoomanycars.
Sothisonewillbewillbeavailableinduecourse.
Soturbo.
That'safavorable.
Itneeditdoesneedtoputthedecalsonit.
Itdoesseefinessinghereandthere.
ItwillcomewithMOTaswell.
66,000miles,itallstacksup,street.
Umit'sasuper,superexampleofaMarkIIturbo.
Yeah,rararrartofinalcomestomarket.
SoI'mguessingyou'regonnawantabout10forthisone,areyou?
Yeah,Ithinkso.
Maybeatouchmorebecauseofthemileageandthehistory.
We'llhavetowe'llhavetosee.
Yeah,10to12.
Well,yeah,washthisspace,likeyousay.
I'mnotatannerwiththecolour.
He'snotgonnasoundweakforone,too.
IreallyhopeyouenjoyedthatasmuchasIdid.
HugethankstoTimforsharinghiscarsandimmenseknowledgewithme.
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