DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

His video's are top drawer, and this concluding video of a £100K restoration is worth the watch imho.

https://youtu.be/kdsnk3Bwk30

And this is how his car started, when he first purchased it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Bw9_QPCZ8

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I'm not a great fan of the Zagato version - but it did turn out rather nice (which it should be after spending ~£90k on it !!) ... but why ruin the look by fitting a horrible out of character modern Nardi wheel ?

A few inaccuracies in his summing up too - the increased top speed of the Zagato version is not just as a result of the more aerodynamic bodywork - it has a higher final rive ratio as well ...

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I thought you would find it interesting Andy.

£18.5K for parts, less than the cost to rebuild just a 911 engine, and £47K + vat labour.
I have never been a fan of these cars, but he loves it!

Ventilating tail gate interesting...

chucking 100k at this is ridiculous, I like his videos but he lives in another world a lot of the time, totally out of touch with reality. You can tell he pays for everything to get done on all his cars and does nothing himself, sometimes he asks people really stupid questions about how stuff works that makes you wonder quite how he is where he is... that said, he can present well and I assume write a good article which I suppose is more what the job is versus knowing how it all works.

As for the zag, I always thought they looked good but appear under powered and super front heavy. Id assume they drive like shite but thats 100% an assumption.

I've followed this from the beginning. It's the classic story - buy a cheap classic expecting to do a bit of tidying up and then get deeper and deeper into it. There's an early video from this saga where he squirts a bit of rustproofing wax on the underneath - totally unaware of the inch thick filler that is covering large areas of the bodywork. Harry did the right thing and paid the professionals to do it - the result is impressive. Great car, bit expensive though...

knapmann wrote:chucking 100k at this is ridiculous, I like his videos but he lives in another world a lot of the time, totally out of touch with reality. You can tell he pays for everything to get done on all his cars and does nothing himself, sometimes he asks people really stupid questions about how stuff works that makes you wonder quite how he is where he is... that said, he can present well and I assume write a good article which I suppose is more what the job is versus knowing how it all works.

As for the zag, I always thought they looked good but appear under powered and super front heavy. Id assume they drive like shite but thats 100% an assumption.

To be fair to Harry, he has never pretended to be a mechanic or someone who gets his hands dirty. He is a guy with an interesting history going from a grain trader to be farmer and then helping to set up invest in Evo magazine ( using money he borrowed to build a barn ) etc and then made a lot when Evo was sold. He was always a car enthusiast and it was due to a Maserati he owned that he lent to some journalists that the Evo thing came about.

I love his content as it’s all ‘real’ and he tells it as it is . His road-trips are always a good watch.

He’s said before that he made a chunk on property along the way & has rental cottages. The farm doesn’t pay for his hobby. The you tube channel won’t make much cash but will get him access to press cars & various events.

The Z was the car that got him interested in cars, so it is a sentimental purchase & resto.

It has been interesting seeing the comments on this, especially regarding the cost. From my perspective the fact that they essentially remade a Zagato body shell to me seems pretty fair given that it is better than the original.
I find it odd that if this was a '57 zagato 356, no one would raise an eyebrow over it the cost and what you are driving down the road this is going to be as slow as a hot 356 in real life.
My Aston Martin buddies are looking at this and telling me its a bargain given that you are paying 3 blokes.

I look at Harry Metcalf in the same way as the Keith Floyd was for food. By that I mean he makes me think "Yeah I should do a drive to Italy this weekend for a cheese and wine run and this is the hotel I should stay at" type of inspiration to me.
I think Michelin are missing an opportunity with Harry as he is the right ambassador for a Michelin Guide because he is not a chef or foodie, he represents a doorway into a market that most automotive journalists lack and that is he is using the car as a medium to experience things. Keith Floyd broke the 4th wall by talking to Clive the cameraman, Harry has his wife with him. Most car journalists only work alone and the focus is driving by yourself. All the shots of a car or youtube reviews would make their girlfriend or Mrs car sick because driving dab of oppo is very Chris Harris, but its why Chris is very apathetic about life and in many ways the cars he reviews.
This Lancia Zagato is hard to rationalise as we weren't 14 in the mid 70s seeing this Orange car in a village in Britain as Harry was. But I can understand how he man mathed this project.

I think Harry's story line on this car is very appropriate to many of us, it is a passion for a car (bike/boat etc) and the thinking is not exactly rational but understandable.
Not everything has to be pulled down to costs v market value.
There seems to me plenty of people willing to take a rough car to an expert (you trust) for the full works and happy to pay the price and live the project/experience.
Good for the classic car industry.

Re Lancia handling. I had a 1600 HF and used it on Classic Retro rallies. In Ireland there was always a full bore, old style night navigation rally as part of the main event. The handling is superb, unlike a lot of aged FWD cars, zero power understeer and lots of traction. The suspension works well and the engines can really rev. Not the torque of a 911 but down a typical country back road it there is little from in period that could touch it.

Oh and PS, it also made a BHC Top 12 Run Off, but that’s another story

Hi

I went to Harrys Garage a bit ago to sort some tyres out for his Coutache, and while i was there i took the opportunity to make a quick film about the Pirelli P7 tyres that are also so important to classic Porsche.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blx17QhdrVQ&t=7s

It is a pretty ace garage, and Harry is a fine chap.