On the road again but for how long?

[beetroot]

hello all,
today i awoke in a cold sweat, today was MOT day! (4th since ive had her) what i thought would be my last drive in her, to the MOT centre, was not to be, as at 3.30pm today the old girl passed! i was as surprised as the guy who had tested her as she is now getting rather tired! unfortunately he told me that the head gasket is starting to leak, (due to exhaust gases, overheating, etc) something which could spell the end of days for beetroot :( . i now dunno what to do. to continue driving till she goes (shes on 96600 miles and needs a little attention), wether its worth saving up for a head gasket/fresh engine for when the time comes (im a student!), or sell for parts/loving restoration to a maestro lover? the bodywork is in reasonable nick so does anyone have any suggestions for making the old girl last?
thanx

[D87 SMW]

If you like, you could bring the car here and I can have a good look round it, see what it would need...

[Mat_C]

I read somewhere (on these forums I think) that you can get whole A series (unleaded spec) for £100. Even with the labour charges for swapping the engine, long term it'll probably be cheaper.

It'll probably cost you 100 quid to get the gasket changed at some garages!

[SimonR]

today i awoke in a cold sweat, today was MOT day! (4th since ive had her) ... he told me that the head gasket is starting to leak, something which could spell the end of days for beetroot :( . ... the bodywork is in reasonable nick so does anyone have any suggestions for making the old girl last?
thanx

Emma, don't scrap your car - my first Maestro was a red/grey 1.3L just like yours and it was deemed too far gone so was scrapped a couple of years ago - something I've regretted ever since :( The more I think about it a 1.3L is the easiest of all Maestros to save, especially if the bodywork is good enough. Even a new engine is only going to cost around £100. Mick at Ledbury has new engines and gearboxes if the worst comes to the worst but a head gasket job on your current engine shouldn't be too difficult. I've done an S-Series engine and the A-Series can't be any more difficult than that!

Other than the engine, what else is making her tired? Let me guess (rust along the doors, rear arches, headlining, dashboard cracks...?!)

[F690OTF(RIP)]

Provided you don't do what I did and shear one of the cylinder head studs, changing the head gasket shouldn't be too difficult. The bit we found hardest was getting the head off - a little corrosion around the studs just above the lower surface of the head made things a bit tough, but we managed it eventually. The gasket itself cost about £13, if I remember rightly.

[E_T_V]

I've lost count of the number of head gaskets that have gone in george, the one in my avatar. It is a very simple job and can easily be done in a day by DIY. My gasket set for the whole job was under a tenner! It is the labour charges that a garage have that make it relatively expensive. As I've said elsewhere there are a couple of sources of new engines for around the hundred pound mark. If you fancy some DIY then go for it, the A series is probably one of the easiest engines ever to work on especially in the maestro where there is a lot of room (unlike the mini)

[beetroot]

thank you to all for your advice!
i did get quoted £250-£300 for a new head gasket but i know its the labour thats costs more than anything! my dad said that he could do the head gasket when he gets the time but it could be a while off til its done. i have thought about a fresh engine (as i remember the post about it) but it depends if i can persuade my dad to do it! the tired aspect of the car is the usual really, cracked dashboard, bits of rust on the doors, bad headlining, wonky steering column, and shes running a little rough. the arches are fine as i got those done not too long ago which makes the overall appearance of the car look ok. ive had so many people tell me i may as well buy a fresh car but i doubt i could be parted with beetroot as its still my first car! thanx again, i'll keep you all posted... ;)