Overbore

Facelifts aren't always successful. When done well, they can extend the life of a car by giving a clever visual update; when done badly, though, they can turn a silk purse into a sow's ear. So which are the ones that work - and which don't? Kitch and Scrof talk through some prime examples, and reveal the one we both think is the most successful facelift ever. Don't forget to send i...

This week, Kitch tells Scrof all about his hot male and female tools. No, we haven't gone 18-plus -- it's all completely legit and above board. Seriously. Kitch also regales Scrof with the story of his local chippy Chinese which also sold poppadoms. He also explains why the Buick V6 in the TVR he's been working on is unbalanced, also known as an oddfire engine, and therefore sounds ver...

Tales from the coal face of the car sales world, in this episode, as Kitch recounts the story of his brief stint trying to sell Rovers to old people, which culminated in him getting fired. (He did sell one car, at least...) Our podcast studio this week is a Citroen Xantia Activa, and that leads us to talk about the 90s. Cool Britannia, Three Lions, Britpop - we mention literally none of these thin...

We're back after a two-week break, and this week we're in an Omoda 5, one of a glut of new Chinese cars that are now starting to arrive on Britain's shores. They're temptingly cheap - but should you take the plunge? Scrof and Kitch discuss. Closer to home, A sad fate has befallen Kitch's Ford S-Max while we've been away, so he's has been out test-driving a replacement. Meanwhile, he's sold another...

This week, we’re in Scrof’s new long-term test car, which Kitch wants to love but… well, you can guess the rest. It’s a Volkswagen ID.Buzz, and it gives us the perfect reason to ask: what’s happened to VW? Or more specifically, why have the company’s current cars lost the sense of quality and usability that used to be such a hallmark - and will they get it back again? As part of this discussion we...

Kitch is back! Hooray! And this week, he's telling Scrof about the cars he's owned, but never really loved. Which, it turns out, is most of them. One he did love, though, is a legendary estate he got for free from a bloke in Sheffield, and which turned out to be virtually unkillable. No prizes for guessing which French marque it came from. We're also sitting in a small car this week, to talk about...

Scrof's flying solo this week, and from his podcast studio (well, his immobile hunk of old Citroen - you have to have one to be on Overbore) he's answering some reader questions. For example, can we run press cars on the dyno? Do EV batteries really fit in saloon cars? And why does anyone buy a new car these days? Scrof will also be talking about how to become a motoring journalist (and in...

On Overbore this week, Kitch tells Scrof about the super-rare car he's been working on this week (it's not what you're expecting it to be - or maybe it is...), and explains why the Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L is the perfect car for a trip to Newcastle. Scrof tells Kitch why he preferred the Lotus Carlton to the Ford Escort Cosworth, and tells the story of his short, mildly terrifying drive in a Jaguar...

This week, Overbore comes to you from inside a Genesis. A what? A Genesis. It's... sort of a Korean Lexus. Scrof explains all and, inevitably, he and Kitch try to fit as many song titles from a certain prog/pop-rock band into the conversation as they can. (Spoiler alert: they're not very good at this.) Scrof explains why he thinks saloon cars like the Genesis may be about to make a comebac...

Scrof and Kitch get themselves comfy in the back seat of a brand-new BMW 530e Touring for this week's episode. Kitch explains to Scrof why he's bought an old Citroen with no engine in it when he already has an old Citroen with no engine in it, and tells us why early TVR Chimaeras are the very best ones. There's a brief sojourn into vampire lore, before Kitch tells Scrof what he likes a...

In the second episode of Overbore, Scrof and Kitch take to a Peugeot 106 affectionately known as 'Dumpit'. After a brief discourse on the subject of small Peugeots, Kitch gives a potted history of Noble, a British sports car manufacturer that was, for a time, well known, and discusses his attempts to get one of the firm's earliest cars to fit back together. Scrof, meanwhile, explains why he wasn't...

Scrof and Kitch kick off their podcast in an old Citroën, even though it's most definitely not a podcast about old Citroëns. Via a brief discussion about knobs and the vagaries of Ford Fiesta nomenclature, they eventually get to the point, which is to talk about starter classics (because they're just starting off - see what they did there?) They also discuss the new Renault 5 Turbo 3E, which hasn'...