Maestro 700L Van Parts Compatibiliy info Required

[eloteq]

Hi everyone, I'm new here to this so bear with me. :violin:

Today I am the proud owner :woohoo: of a 1994 Maestro 700 L Van but want to smarten it up and repair fault. Do you guys know -

1). what parts are interchangable from other models with this van?

2). Any good mods or items I can add to improve basic van look.

3). The van has heavy steering so I would like to add PAS. I searched the forum and found others seemed to have added this. What model of car can I get it from and is it a straight swap?

4). Handbrake is sticking (or rear brakes). Will an handbrake cable from other models fit this van.

5). Lastly, my diesel is leaking from the Fuel tank. Is the tank specific to the van only or will another maestro/montego diesel fuel tank fit?

Many Thanks

Matt

[tony]

1994 Maestro 700 L Van, very nice, will go forever
:)
all part from differnt vans will fit
:cool:
99% of parts thats fitted to the maestro cars will also fit your van , one thing that wont is the wheels tho.
:banana:
pas , as your aware is fittable , you need the pump,brackets,pipes, and rack from a diesel maestro car
:driver:
handbrake, i am not sure about that , but sombody will know.
:hide:
diesel tank, i am sure can only come from a diesel van tho , :suspect: .as its a different shape from the car
:)
and wellcome to maestro and montego on-line
:beer:

[E_T_V]

Hi everyone, I'm new here to this so bear with me. :violin:

Today I am the proud owner :woohoo: of a 1994 Maestro 700 L Van but want to smarten it up and repair fault. Do you guys know -

1). what parts are interchangable from other models with this van?

2). Any good mods or items I can add to improve basic van look.

3). The van has heavy steering so I would like to add PAS. I searched the forum and found others seemed to have added this. What model of car can I get it from and is it a straight swap?

4). Handbrake is sticking (or rear brakes). Will an handbrake cable from other models fit this van.

5). Lastly, my diesel is leaking from the Fuel tank. Is the tank specific to the van only or will another maestro/montego diesel fuel tank fit?

Many Thanks

Matt

1. As said pretty much everything is interchangable from other vans and most bit are interchangable from other maestros too (forward of the drivers seat)

2. You can fit plastic bumpers rather than the metal ones which some people prefer the look of (but that is all personal preference). Alloy wheels can also be made to fit and you can lower the van if you so choose aswell.

3. PAS from a turbo (or infact non turbo) diesel maestro or montego will fit. You need to replace the rack, and add a PAS pump and brackets belts pipes etc but it isn't too bad a job. I've got it on mine and I wouldn't be without it now.

4. I think the handbrake cables are van specific however I'm betting motorfactors will still hacve them or if not you can get them at ledbury. Usually though it is the reat brake shoes that stick. Take the drums off and give them a good clean and lubricate inside (not the friction surfaces obviously!), and then reassemble and see if that helps. Lots of brake dust seems to promote the shoes sticking to the drum especially when left fora couple of days - this happens in the car also.

5. Yes the tank is specific to the van I'm afraid and the petrol vans have a different tank to the diesel ones (apart from 2.0 EFI petrol vans but these are exceedingly rare). I think Mick at ledbury may still have one diesel tank for sale however he is collection only and it depends on where you live on how convenient it will be. (Near Gloucester - well Ledbury to be precise!) If you do a forum search on ledbury you'll find out what I'm on about. Basically they handbuilt a load of them from R to 51 reg and still have a fair number of parts left over.

Lastly welcome to the forum and welcome to maestro van ownership! If there is anything you need to know, just ask.

[Beaker]

or if not you can get them at ledbury.

And just to add to that see the FAQ about the history of Ledbury, and the sticky in the Reccommended Links and Traders section for contact details if you ever need any parts from them.

Also welcome to the forums :welcome:

[eloteq]

Thanks for the welcome and helpful replies to my query.

I will certainly look up ledbury.

I'm going to drop the tank off tonight and see what the damage is. Also take drums off and check/fix brakes.

Then hopefully MOT ASAP as it's Tax & MOT have run out.

Once this is done I shall attend to the rust spots and paint work. I like the white van but may add a bit of colour to it to smarten it up. Not a total respray, maybe 50:50 colour band or someting.

Any design ideas or clever ideas appreciated?

Thanks Again

Matt

[Maria]

50/50 split top/bottom looks good (or at least I think it works on mine! (http://maisie.accelerator.org/MGM2005/photos/photo28.html))

[cavmad]

Obviously depends on how the bad the leak is but could you not have it welded? As regards the power steering issue I would have thought that finding a cheap high specc`d MOT failure would be a good way of getting everything cheap. Hopefully you could find one that`s running to test everything out and if you find an HLS model (or posibly a better spec one) you could get the front seats from it and undoubtably a few other bits too. Someone on here will probably have a complete car that`s too far gone to save or at least know of one somewhere.

[E_T_V]

To make things a little nicer inside better carpets electric windows and electric mirrors are all eassily added too. Time to raid a scrap yard I think :D

[eloteq]

:thumbup:
Great Ideas - keep them coming (I like it)!

Tank not quite off yet - but when it is - if I can weld it I shall. Don't worry done this before. :nonono: Plenty of swilling out with very hot soapy water - and more hot water etc etc. Then maybe ok.

No really I'll see what it's like. Last time I welded a tank I lead loaded it after to seal the weld but someone suggested using Liqid Metal or JB Weld.

Another thing I've noticed is the headlamps are tiny and also the rear end is quite bouncy (though theres no wheight in it yet). So the shocks maybe gone?

Matt

[ben rawlings]

you can put maestro car headlamps on, and change the front bumper to a plastic one (colour coded) but this would mean changing the wings to plastc bumper car wings.

nice to see another van being lookd after and welcome to the club.

another excelent mod is waxoil. apply it inside the doors in the corners especially and it will slow the rot down and also in the rear doors.

white other zircon blue would look cool :toothy:

[E_T_V]

I'm not sure where you are in the country but if you want all the stuff to fit maestro headlights, plastic bumpers front wings, and a front plastic bumper then it is currently available near nottingham all in good nick for a very small donation.

[cavmad]

If it`s any help my van used to bounce round like buggery too! I always asumed it was actually designed to be like that a bit as with a load on it rides perfectly.
If/when I get it back on the road I`ll give it a test drive and see how bad it is. God how I miss it!

[eloteq]

Just to update you.

Today I Managed to do some work on the Van.

Firstlty I stripped the rear brakes down & cleaned the drum & linings etc. The shoes were ok but I had a swine of a job getting the o/s drum off, one rubber BFH persuasion and it came off. Both n/s & o/s axle handbrake cables were seized. With a bit of work and lubrication plus battery drill, I was able to free the cables and lubricate them. This will do for now until I get some (any ideas where?). I noticed that the rubbers were ready to fail on the wheel cylinders so I may need to locate a seal kit and change them both.

I then did all the zillion rust spot with a wire brush on the angle grinder, cure rusted them, and spot primed. Just a bit of welding/patching required on bottom of rear door and fine filling on rust spots. I thinks it ironic that many of the rust chips occur on the van sides due to people throwing tools & equipment in. Many traders as a matter of course line their van with ply (shal I shant I) dont know what to do. The van now looks like a spotty dalmation.

Finally I dropped the diesel tank off. I thought it wouldn't be too heavy as I only had a tenner of deisel in. Well, lying on your back - it seemed heavy supported by knees. Anyway, the leaks was dripping fom a small pin hole by the filler neck tube. It appears that mud has collected here and caused a 6 inch patch to go rusty. The rest of the tank looked perfect. After locating two buggets to pour deisel in, I closed all the tank holes with rags and tape and used the grinders wire wheel to clean the rust off back to steel. I degreased the tank and mixed loads of JB Auto weld up then plastered the whole area in it quite thick. There seems more stuck to my fingers and the stuff dont wash off.

I've just got to wait for the JB Weld to go off (24 Hrs) then it's back on for a try.

Matt

[dutch-van-driver]

I noticed that the rubbers were ready to fail on the wheel cylinders so I may need to locate a seal kit and change them both.


Well if I remeber correctly the rear cylinders are the same as an old ford escort. In holland the seal kit was as expensive as a new cylinder. Needless to say I went for the new cylinder.

HTH,

Marc

PS: Stil without a maestro :giveup: