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It’s 25 years since I last drove a Metro, but I do remember how much I loved my MG Metro, it was enormous fun and it never let me down. And yes, who can forget those red seatbelts !

I had an 89 GTa in white and loved it very much! Not fast with the old A series engine but put a big grin on my face every time I drove it! 😁👍

Am 50 years of age. So nice to see a youngster knowing his stuff. If only we could get you doing a real top gear like they did back on the day.

I had forgotten how smart the facelifted Metro was, in both basic trim and sports trim :)

Somebody sign up twin cam for top gear this young man has a great future in automotive media ! 🤓👍🏻

@johnthedude1000

4 жыл бұрын

no he dont , monotone boring english ., need i say more

@robk3596

4 жыл бұрын

Wow, semi-illiterate & ill informed with a sprinkling of arrogance! Great qualities 'dude'! Carry on the good work young man, as many of us value your input, passion & knowledge!

@kevingraham2733

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnthedude1000 No don't say anything more

@andrewstones2921

4 жыл бұрын

I agree he has a great future, he talks with enthusiasm and a real love of cars, and that's something you cannot learn.

@robk3596

4 жыл бұрын

@@andrewstones2921 - I certainly hope so. He's already learnt a lot & that coupled with insight & understanding will take him a long way!

This video took me back to my "hot hatch" days (though it was a 2-door fastback coupé rather than a hatch). Here's a wee story about it. *Pocket rocket* - a story with a moral to it It’s a common story: young chap, in my case twenty-one (OK, this was 50 years ago), gets his first small, red, fast car - and writes it off. The car, a Mazda R100 Wankel rotary-engined pocket rocket, was far from my first, but it was the first I’d had that could do more than pull the skin off a cold custard. (Its immediate predecessor was a 1960 Morris Oxford estate.) Bodily and suspension-wise it was a Mazda 1200 coupé, with few concessions to the considerable power increase over the 1200’s pedestrian performance; it did, though, have front disc brakes. The R100 developed a hundred horsepower; the 1200 produced seventy-three. This little red rocket supposedly had a top speed of 112 mph (close to 180 km/h), and weighed only eight hundred and fifty kilograms. I’d had it for four weeks when, visiting a mate, Terry - who was still a year too young to get his licence - persuaded me to take him for a ‘burn’. He’d read all about the R100 in motor magazines but had never seen one, let alone ridden in one. He was hot to trot! As we sat in the car with the engine idling, Terry asked, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” - to which my response was: “As soon as you buckle up”. “Huh? Never worn a seatbelt before.” (They'd been only recently mandated in AU then.) “Well you’re going to wear one now, or else no ride.” Grumbling at my insistence on the seatbelt, Terry buckled up. We launched! The road we were headed down was five kilometres long, and dead straight; it was not, however, level. It climbed and descended hills like massive waves. As we crested the last hill in third gear, the tachometer needle showed 7,000 revs - a tad past the redline - and I changed up to fourth. I wasn’t watching the speedo, just the tach. I later calculated that the car had been travelling at 96 mph (155 km/h). Unfortunately, immediately over that final crest the road took a sharp righthand bend - about sixty degrees - that ended at a T-intersection with the main road. Shit! I knew not to use the brakes in such circumstances, so I changed back to third gear - but still lost control. The Mazda started to spin, and on each of the four circuits the passenger side scraped against the wall of the road cutting. On the fourth time round, the car launched off the other edge of the road, over a steep drop. We flew through the air with the greatest of ease! The car landed on its nose some thirty metres from the road, then rolled arse over tit three or four times until it came to a tree. The momentum was enough to ignore the tree’s order to halt, and we started to roll sideways. After three rolls the car came to a stop - upside down. The roof was so badly crushed that we had difficulty finding an exit point, but eventually crawled out through the remains of the large rear window. We started the climb back to the road, then I realised that the ignition was still on. “Better prevent a fire,” I thought, so I returned to the wreck and managed to find the ignition key. And that was when the music stopped! I’d installed an eight-track cartridge player, and when I lost control of the car the tape in the music machine was the soundtrack of 'Hair'; it was halfway through the song: ‘Masturbation can be fun … ’. Fire risk eliminated - or reduced - we resumed our climb back to the road. When we arrived at our earlier departure point there was a bus drawing to a halt. The driver alighted, ashen faced, and enquired if there was "anyone alive down there?", pointing at the wreck. “No,” was our answer. It took a few more questions and answers before the bus driver realised that we had been the occupants of that car. He had witnessed the drama as he drove toward it down the main road, and had difficulty believing anyone had survived. He asked his four passengers would they mind if he turned the bus around and took us back to my village. They were halfway through their forty-kilometre journey, but all agreed that we should be taken home, so we were. Once home, Terry went into shock. At the nearby hospital he was assessed as being mildly concussed, but otherwise unhurt; he would be kept under observation for a few hours. I next arranged for a tow-truck to retrieve the mangled Mazda and bring it back to my shed. The following day I assessed the damage. There wasn’t one panel of the car recognisable - it was all mangled red metal. The only identifiable parts were the four large, round taillights. Three nights later while on night shift at work, I collapsed without warning - from delayed shock. Next morning I was back to normal (or as normal as I get - LOL). * *Postscript* A few weeks after the Mazda smash, I heard noises coming from my shed where the wreck was stored. On peering out of my window, I observed one of the village hoons with his head under the forward-opening bonnet, which conveniently hid my approach. “That bastard’s filching bits,” I realised. I grabbed a small CO2 fire-extinguisher, then still legal, and sneaked up on the thief. He was bent over with his head deep in the engine bay; his shorts hung rather low, exposing his ‘letterbox’ cleavage. A blast of cold CO2 down that cleavage had remarkable results! The malefactor stood up rapidly, sounding like a crow, *“Faaarrck!”.* In the process he banged his head on the bonnet hard enough to almost knock himself out. He got a serious dose of the dizzies, fell over, picked himself up, dusted himself off, cursed me colourfully, and fled - empty handed. He even left behind the tools of his nefarious trade. That loser never bothered to visit me again. LOL *NB:* Names changed to protect the innocent and others.

@freddieparrydrums

Жыл бұрын

What a fantastic story!!

Love these. Had one as when I was 19. Really was a nippy thing. It’s been sat in a shed at my family’s house now for about 16 years. Should find the time to sort it out.

Even the 1.4mpi Metros were impossible for the Police to catch around our estate in their T5s. Incredible acceleration out of sharp turns.

@recall2880

Жыл бұрын

Yep my 1.4 could out accelerate anything on the road at the time from the lights. Insanely quick

Well done Ed!.. you never fail to impress with your videos.. always so well presented and easy to watch. I bet that little blue sleeper has left some embarrassed hot hatch owners at the lights :-) The VVC technology allows for such a flat torque curve that power delivery is always more than expected for the displacement. Congrats to the owner for a well-conceived and well-executed project. And congrats to you for finding it and sharing it with us - Thanks again.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Lotus and Caterham both used this engine not only because of its relatively high output per litre, but also because the K-Series is a very light engine. A 2.0 Honda S2000 engine, for example, makes 1.5 bhp/kg, while a VHPD 1.8 K-Series makes 1.91 bhp/kg. This statistic makes the K-Series perfect for lightweight cars such as an Elise or Caterham. Additionally, the K-Series has much better torque characteristics than an equivalent Honda or Toyota engine, as they tend to have very short strokes.

Please please do a longer video of you driving this beauty. Back in the day I thought the Metro looked good, now days I think they look awesome.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

I'd love to have done, but due to my age I can't afford the insurance to drive any car. In the mean time, I have done a driving impressions video on my own Metro, which you can find here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/dGmGuKaan9yqYcY.html Hope you enjoy!

I liked it even before watching the video, you deserve it, I hope the channel grows a lot. Good job as always.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Just having a binge watch of your vids..... Really enjoyed that 👍

Absolutely brilliant vid 👍🏻 well done and thanks for taking the time to get these up brings back lots of fun memories didn’t know all the K series engine would fit in the metro

@TwinCam

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Danny They’re all the same engine. Just different internally!

Another great video Ed!

You're right - it looks mint in the blue. Another top video. I hope you subs are going up - they deserve to

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great vid, I’m a huge fan of the super-mini class. So much more fun to drive than bigger cars. Just watch out for pervs, that man was stroking Melvin’s tyres... 😱😂

Yet again another fantastic example of the much loved Metro totally agree the Poseidon Blue really shows her off at her best. Thanks for sharing your find all the best.

i had a rover metro 1.1 93 plate i think it was as my first car 20 years ago. i purchased it off someone i worked with who made it look like a GTI rep from the outside. car only lasted 6 months due to issues, but was a lot of fun. i added a peco back box to it that sounded really nice and sporty. i am almost 39, but would happily own another metro for nostalgia purposes, but this time round i would probably get the GTI or GTA if i can find one.

Excellent. This is a more up to date version of tuning which directly links back to the way the original Mini was handled. Take a basic car and stuff a bigger engine in it without doing daft things to the looks. Exactly my sort of car. Very cool.

Back in the early 2000's a friend of mine built one into his metro gti, when it had a terminal melt down of its original engine, at the time I had a tomcat turbo and he'd leave me for dead. Great times, cheers for the reminder 👍

What a cool little car really enjoying your reviews nice little channel

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great one mate ! I love Metros I’ve had 3 a 1.0 l, 1.0 HLE and aRover 1.4 SI Auto which succumbed to the dreaded Rover Head Gasket issues

Looks a nice motor 👍 the same MGF engine i slapped in a mini a while back is a whole lot of fun !

165 hp in such a tiny car is not a lot... it's terrifying.

Always a great experience to visit these models that didn't cross the Atlantic.

I may be wrong, but I'm fairly sure that last of the 1.1s l reg on had the color coded bumpers, red seat belts and fuel injection. The earlier ones looked very run of the mill... Black seatbelts and carbs... Always wanted one of the last 1.1s in red as that was one of the first cars I fell in love with as a kid

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

They did a kind of sports pack on the later ones.

When I was a young serviceman stationed in England, I had a E-reg, 1.0 Metro City. Mine was a maroon 2 door with a manual choke and no headrests. Even more base spec than your white one.

Fab little car, and I agree with you on the colour choice 🙂

Quite a popular conversion now and very quick.

Great vid, nice project car. Just love late '70's early' 80's British cars. To be honest I personally prefer your stock Metro. But it must be a great fun car with the 1.8 engine fitted. Credits to the owner. Most Metro and Rover 100series are gone over here. Kindest Regards from the Netherlands.

Beautiful! it happens to be the colour of my Saxo. Very rare to see any Metros now :(

My Dad owned A77 MVR, a Manchester registered silver Metro Turbo. Fantastic fun!

Everything except that tow ball is perfect

I thought that blue was from a rover 1.8 turbo, never would've guessed a Citroen colour. It looks spot on 👌🏼

Love the colour !!

I drive an MGTF160 most days- lovely engine.

Another enjoyable video My twin brother had a metro turbo many years ago a fun car to drive but the engine mounts struggled with the power when speed increased on twisting roads he broke them a few times

My wife had a Metro after passing her test, and I loved driving it.

'Nothing, nothing, nothing, everything---ditch'! Love it! 😀 Through my job at an Austin Rover garage, many years ago,I had the chance to drive a Metro GTi 16v. It was an absolute hoot to drive. It may not have been as accomplished as the 205 GTi, but it was every bit as much fun to drive. And because they were rare, most folk weren't aware of how nippy it was. Like you say, you just chucked it at the corners, and it got through. Did you get a chance to carry out a drive video?

A cb radio antenna on that car too...ultra cool 💯

What a sleeper car. I imagine a few modern cars would get a surprise away from the lights.

Nice car! I had a white GTI 16v in Italy back ...20 years ago😱.... And I adored her so much! At that time I wondered about 1,8 vvc but mgF cars and Rover 200vi where new cars so no engine available....please do a video driving around the car thanks

Great to see this, though you need to know the four Hydragas suspension units have both liquid and gas spheres, the 'spring' in the suspemsion is provided by gas spheres, the hydrauic liquid cannot be compressed and moves front to rear to aid levelling

Natural car presenting there bud.

freakin fantastic there...probably given some shock at traffic lights drags

@chucky2316

4 жыл бұрын

I used to love hanging off the back of scoobies and beemers in mine 😂

@Mark-ms5pn

4 жыл бұрын

Really?

@chucky2316

4 жыл бұрын

@@Mark-ms5pn yeah all the time Mark 👍. So much fun with this engine can do the conversion in less than a day, metro mpi alloys, and individualised cans. I can't remember how much you shave off the metal rods inside now. But with those done and the wide small alloys the car can take corners 😂.

I miss mine I built it in less than a day lol. But looking back hooning around at speed in a metro or rover 100 is a metal coffin.

@briforks7681

4 жыл бұрын

I had a metro clubman till my wife drove it down a bank and wrote it off.The car was bent like a banana but she walked away unhurt except for a friction burn from the seatbelt.Not bad pre NCAP though it was 5 years old dont know how a rusty one would cope.

Absolutely smashed it with this review ❤️🔥🥳

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate! Wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for you though.

One of my favourite cars I've owned ever, out of 50ish cars the metro was good MPG, reliable (never broke down ever) and fast enough for what it was (a city car) plenty of room, cheap to insure and tax, what more do you want from a car, moonraker metallic blue 1.2L two doors with cassette storage under the dash ! It replaced a MK1 fiesta and was better

I like the colour of that Metro, I think it suits it

Great video on a the metro it’s great to see the change to a supper car version but I would have liked to hear the engine soundings 👍

I have a swift sport with around 135hp, and I have plenty of fun in that! So I imagine 160hp in that is a riot!

Had a couple of the GTi Spi models and a GTi-SE (1 of 500) with a 1.8 VVC on solid cams way back in the late 90's/early 2000's. Had the weight trimmed down to 825kg too. Went like shit off a shovel

Love the Towbar 👌🏻😎

very nice 😎

I had a black metro turbo. First the gearbox went then the turbo went followed by the gearbox again. An exciting cat to drive, pity it spent most of its time under my ownership in a garage..

Brilliant, it's got to be worth another video?

could we get a test drive through country roads? this is what metros are made for 😉

I’ve never spotted either car in the area. I know the main video was shot at the Hare and Hounds at Mill Brow in Marple and the fact that the video at the end is in Woodley. I also have a Metro VVC, albeit a 160 VVC, DVA head, billet flywheel, Janspeed ZR160 manifold, nitrous etc.

Looks great in possi blue , almost factory. 👍

A mate had a 1.8VVC converted Metro, performance was pretty insane. Being an old boy though you look at the flimsy shell and ask if you should be going that fast...,

My mate went through 2 Vanden Plas Metros when we were at school. The first bit the dust after a handbrake turn “accident”...

Which version of 1.8 VVC is that mate? They did a few all the way up to a 160ps or 158 hp version? If you have that version remapped that's gonna go like shit of a shovel as my dad used to say

What breaks you running ?

Yep, it's all about power-to-weight ratio.

Nice little car. How about a report on the 220 Turbo Coupe?

Looks great, love the blue. Would have been nice to see more driving

The car is a credit to it's owner.

The head gasket issue isn't such an issue as it's made out to be. 3 main types of gaskets and they all fail in different ways but main causes can be being ragged when cold, allowed to overheat, wrong coolant etc. Multi layer steels are the worst in my opinion. If wet liner heights are not perfectly even then an mls gasket won't work for long, hence why I will always swap for an elastomer. Great video though this car looks like a true piece of work, running on mems 3 (the later ecu) aswell shall be subscribing to see more from you 👌🏻

What gearbox did this car use? The PG1 from the MGF or the original box. If PG1 then would have been possible to fit Torsen diff as I did to my Trophy 160. This would help a lot with traction.

@TwinCam

2 жыл бұрын

I believe it still had the R65 - but I'm not sure. It was quite a while ago. Only thing I do know is that Quaife do an LSD for the R65!

Would that engine also fit in an ordinary classic Mini?

Gives me the idea of taking a Rover 100 Knightsbridge with its leather interior and greater options and doing something like this to it, if its possible.

very nice 😎 sir great video love 😍 it mine puts a big smile on me face to

I do miss the red Seat belts of my old 114 Gta.

Your a star....what more can i say. #thecarsthestar

I bought an Austin Metro about 10 years ago, the wife called it "Margaret" I can't remember what reg it was but I've ACTUAL PAPER photos what'll have the reg on. It was cream with a brown interior 👌🏼 I've had a montego too, that was A234 UYU. Gold with beige interior, beautifully disgusting 🤢😂 I've a Clio 2 now, 04 reg 1.5 td, 65 hp 121 lb ft and weighs 970 kg and it's quite nippy. I bet your Metro flies. On with the vid ...

Miss my metros, not the repair bills .rust or emissions tests. I put a +5kW stereo in and towbar .

Good video but was expecting a driving experience and how it goes on the road? However I’m going stay with my focus 🙂

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

I’d love to, but due to my age it’s not viable for me to insure the cars I video. If I could, I’d be more than happy to do road tests on all these cars.

Use to love my vvc metro back in the day use to blow the doors of most the hot hatch’s back then mine was a poverty spec rover metro 1.8 vvc mem’s 3 rover gta steel wheels r888 all round talon sports car inter visualised suspension handling was good paid £700 for it kicked its head for a year then sold it with the crank shaft seal gone

that’s a decent amount of power for the engine, considering my Ford Sierra Estate 2.9 V6 makes only 150 hp.😃

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Lotus and Caterham both used this engine not only because of its relatively high output per litre, but also because the K-Series is a very light engine. A 2.0 Honda S2000 engine, for example, makes 1.5 bhp/kg, while a VHPD 1.8 K-Series makes 1.91 bhp/kg. This statistic makes the K-Series perfect for lightweight cars such as an Elise or Caterham. Additionally, the K-Series has much better torque characteristics than an equivalent Honda or Toyota engine, as they tend to have very short strokes.

What a great idea for having fun and such a simple upgrade. If it's a sleeper, why did you put an EBC brakes and K&N filter sticker on the windows as it is inconsistent with your Q car theme?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

This Isn’t my car, but the sleeper thing isn’t really what the owner is going for, as a true sleeper wouldn’t have the ‘sports’ trim. Although it’s a good way to pitch the video! 😂

1.6 was made by increasing bore to 80mm (from 75mm) while retaining the same stroke as 1.4 (they use same crank / conrods) - 79mm. Rover in fact increased stroke to 89mm to make 1.8 while using 80mm bore. This engine is not from MGF, just by ECU numbers (just me being a K-Series nerd). It's from MG ZR160 or MG TF160. Not really possible with stock VVC + just ECU remap to make that power/torque figures at the wheels. K-Series needs massive mods or displacement increase to break 200Nm+ barier at the crank. Those my friend are crank, not wheel figures.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

The engine isn’t stock. I don’t know the exact spec of the mods, but it had different pistons and at least one different cam. This engine doesn’t exist anymore as the owner is building a turbo engine.

@tomaszdabrowski8021

4 жыл бұрын

@@TwinCam Not possible with those mods either. Pistons would have to be for very high CR + race gas. Piper exhaust cam doesn't change much, but it is some improvement over stock. Turbo is a way to go for big power, I've built custom harness for one which now makes 230bhp/320Nm. Unfortunately it does lose that K n/a spirit...

Bet that metro fangs along.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

It does, especially now as it's had a turbocharger bolted on!

I thought a "sleeper car" was something you travel to Inverness in overnight? The term I'd use would be "Q-car" (which I definitely don't sleep in).

@gsd4me00

4 жыл бұрын

Depending on where you come from, both descriptions are acceptable.

Is that using a Honda gearbox insread of the Peugeot one? Also, has anyone tried to use the much later 1.8 litre Turbo units in this?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

This one has the standard Peugeot gearbox. If you mean the 1.8 Turbos from the MG 6 then I’m sure they have, but they’re still quite expensive because they’re still quite new. The older 1.8 Turbos in Rover 75s etc. is also a common swap, but it take a bit more to package all the Turbo gubbins in the Metro engine bay.

I have one just like that running a 1. 8 turbo

JLR should bring back Rover as a competitor to vw, ford, vauxhall etc

cool car ! - what is that antenna on the roof?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

It's for a CB radio.

@dillonvossen1144

4 жыл бұрын

@@TwinCam you guys still use that? cool - is is it that common though?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Very uncommon nowadays, but I believe the owner does use it.

Poseidon Blue..

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

That's it! The owner told me the colour, but I couldn't remember the name when I needed it.

It's got its radio controlled aerial on the roof..

Just curious, what's the fuel economy on it when just daily driving obeying speed limits etc?

@TwinCam

2 жыл бұрын

It'll be low 30s in town I'd imagine.

Nice presentation of facts and details but why only 23 seconds of the car running?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

Because due to my age I can’t insure the cars I video. One day, I’ll be able to do proper road tests.

batshit crazy lol. language ed haha

I wonder if anyone did a1.8 turbo conversion from a zt.

@TwinCam

2 жыл бұрын

Lots of people have done that swap! In fact, there's a friend of mine that finished his last year. Also, this very car has since had a turbocharger strapped to it.

Its wonder youve not had bug to fit GTi splitter and side skirts to your metro Ed. Or got another metro to GTi rep and also keep your one

@TwinCam

2 жыл бұрын

Fortunately not! I prefer Metros without the body kits to be fair.

@banksroadmodernimage7358

2 жыл бұрын

Ive had few standard ones which sell prity well now as price rises but do prefer the mk3 shape metro GTi look each to there own with metros and how look..@@TwinCam

I will keep mine completely original

Decent metro :sweet colour : I’ve had a few over the years First car was a gta N had 2 white gti 16v tc Ended up upside down in a ditch after running outa talent one cold Sunday night 👀 : faster than ppl gave them credit for 👍

With your love of cars from the 80s and 90s seems like as the song goes you were born too late, is it just cars from an older time you like or are you a bit of a nostalgia lover?

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

No, I love many modern cars as well. Classics are a little more interesting to me as they’re a piece of history and an artefact of society from history.

@cmpillred277

4 жыл бұрын

I used to drive a lot of the cars you are interested in, I had one of the first MG Maestro 1600s the one with the digital dash and ladies voice warning you if you were low on fuel or the engine was getting too hot, it's amazing to think that was 36 years ago it was way ahead of it's time, such a shame the British motor industry shot itself in the foot with all the constant industrial actions you would be amazed if you could sit in one I had never seen anything like it was like being in a spaceship will look out for some of your other vids.

Wonder if anyone has done this conversion to a mk2 metro

@TwinCam

2 жыл бұрын

I'm sure it has been done - but it's much harder. A-Series Metros have a shorter wheelbase, and as such, a K-Series is very tight in there, and needs just as much reengineering as any other engine swap. A bigger K fits in a later Metro just like a factory replacement.

We know how well Metros "GO", sills, wings, wheels arches, scuttle etc. You make interesting vids, but there are too few on the road reports.

@TwinCam

4 жыл бұрын

I’d love to, but due to my age it’s not viable for me to insure the cars I video. If you’d like to pay, I’d be more than happy to do road tests on all these cars.