Idle at the Lights

Car culture, restoration and the people behind it

Saeed Al Mazrouei2 episodes2 min of audio51 playsEpisodic

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S1 · E2Oct 8, 20261:0916 plays Preview

The W123 That Refuses to Die

Saeed visits Thomas Varghese, a Kerala-born mechanic in Dubai who has kept a 1982 Mercedes W123 running for 30 years on patience, spare parts from Kochi and a refusal to give up.

S1 · E1Jul 24, 20261:1035 plays Members

Twelve Years and a Land Cruiser

Saeed opens with his own project: the 1983 FJ60 he bought at 26, the parts that took years to find, the money he refuses to add up, and why it is nearly done.

About the show

Idle at the Lights is a fortnightly show about cars as a hobby rather than a status symbol, recorded in a shared garage in Sharjah. Saeed Al Mazrouei has spent twelve years restoring a 1983 Land Cruiser that is still not finished, and each 45 minute episode visits someone else's long project: a Mercedes W123 kept alive by a Kerala mechanic in Dubai, a Nissan Patrol passed down three generations, a Volkswagen camper rebuilt by a retired teacher in Abu Dhabi, and a motorcycle collection in a Fujairah village. The conversations cover parts hunting, the economics of restoration, the clubs and meets that form around particular models, and why people keep an old car going when a new one would be cheaper. Saeed also answers listener questions about buying a first project car. The show is for people who like the smell of a workshop and the sound of a cold engine finally starting.

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