How do you eat yours...?

[Ricky]

Which Maestro would you rather have?

1) An '84 MG1600 in Silver Leaf with a replacement (100,000 mile) engine showing 133,000 with MOT till February

or

2) A '92 MG 2.0i in Black with 100,000 on the clock and no MOT.

I currently own the 1600 but my mum and her boyfriend are trying to make me think that one of the O series MG's would be a better car, not least due to it being more economical and potentially less rusty (!), and they've picked this one out of the paper for the paltry sum of £150. I'm not sure though, I can understand about the economy but after studying the figures I'm hoping it will come down to how it is driven, and I think mum's boyfriend is trying to get access to something interesting to drive since he bought his escort td estate, which is a bit of a step from a nissan 200sx!!

Thanks for any opinions, please someone tell me I'm doing the right thing by keeping the 1600!

[malcsmaesty]

keep the '84 MG1600,it looks great!
you could always buy the'92 2.0Efi as a little hobby!

[tony]

i think i would have them both, most members have 3 or 4 ,but i like the 1600 more ,and it looks very nice:cool:

[e692wtt]

Having 'burnt my fingers' (OK, very lightly singed) on a £50 '87 Vanden Plas Montego to replace my Monty ('87 1.6L saloon) I would say "It's better the devil you know", which I guess is what you want to hear... I've owned my Monty for nearly 7 years now and the, errm, confusion with the VDP happened last summer. I'm back in Monty and the VDP, minus a lot of spares, has gone the way of all flesh...

If the MG1600 is reliable and cheap to run, it's definitely a case of "better the devil you know". If it costs £100 a month in spares and bills, then mebbe go for the new(er) one? From the tone of your post, stick with the MG1600.

This 'get a "better, younger car" stuff' is a game that parents play in a string of last-ditch attempts to retain control of their adult young - or is this too cynical? Read Eric Byrne's "Games people play"... definitely off thread but there are ulterior motives here (and not just mine!:laugh: ), but they've accepted you're sticking with Maestros which is good news...:)

If in doubt, throw it wide open...:confused:

[Ricky]

3 or 4??? I wish I had the space for that, I really do! The mind boggles........
I have to admit that picture is a tad optimistic, I don't know when it was taken, but that was the picture used to sell me the car on ebay back in the distant past (last october!). It certainly doesnt look like that now, but I use that picture to remind me how good it could look if I spend enough time and money on it.....
Besides, wold a 1600 technically be cheaper to insure than a 2.0, simply due to its rarity and slightly lower insurance grouping????
Thanks fr the encouragement though, it helps me think I'm still sane for doing all this work to it!!

[malcsmaesty]

as far as insurance goes i suppose its all down to your age,area, etc,etc as to wether the insurance is cheaper or not. i once had an '87 mg monty efi that was cheaper to insure than both my '85 1.3L and present day ('94) 2.0 TD maestys:confused:

[e692wtt]

I dream of a house with a double garage to accomodate a fleet of Maestros and Montegos! I could probably fit 5 on me mum's drive (and relations would break down were I to fill her drive...) , but me old house had a single Triumph Herald-sized garage (Monty would fit in then I had to exit via the sunroof) and me current abode is back-to-back Housing Association with a tiny back yard and fronts onto the pavement. So... pay an extra £17 for the car insurance (for parking on the road as opposed to a drive) and refuse offers of cars, should there be any.

Still dream of a house in the country with a double garage and good-sized driveway though...

I'd say stick with the MG1600 (as above).

[Ricky]

Well it is in the country, so I got that bit right, but we picked the old school council estate with communal car park set up, thats where we went wrong! I'm just a bit worried as I haven't "bedded in" to the maestro yet, even though ive had it nearly a year, and after crashing my poor old Peugeot 309 into a faceless VAG car (I mean SEAT Leon!), my insurance is going to be very important....!
I can feel the "personality" of the maestro though, something i'm missing in my current mk4 escort. Thats what makes me think that it would be a good idea to keep it, and just grin and bear it when the £1200 insurance quotes come in, which they will.....
Do people really mean it whan they say "oh what it would be to be 21 again......"!

Glad you like the MG though, i'll be sure to pass the comments on in one of our "heart-to-hearts"!!!!

[Beaker]

I dream of a house with a double garage to accomodate a fleet of Maestros and Montegos!

We have a double garage, still no room tho' :( Not for four cars.

[Maria]

MG1600s are infinitely rarer than 2.0s, so stick with the 1600 :)

[Alan the Vanner]

Is the 1600 with an R series engine or an S series? I have the original engine for my van (S series) in my other garage with MG induction that I bolted onto it. Boy was my van quick then?!:D

[Jonathan]

MG Maestro 1600 wins hands down from an enthusiasts point of view, it's still my favourite Maestro varient and I'm still going to have my own when circumstances allow.

The 2.0i is probably a more sensible everyday car, quicker and a bit less fragile perhaps, but you can't get rid of the 1600.

Most had R series engines (to Oct 1984) but the last couple of thousand had S series.

[G51 NAV]

My short answer is: Stick with the MG1600...but it's not quite so simple.

I'm actually trying to buy one that was advertised on the MGM Group's Classified pages, but amazingly the vendors are showing absolutely no enthusiasm to sell :banghead:, but that's a different story.

My advice is:

1) How much is the EFi? To get a good EFi will cost you £500+. Much less than this will buy you a car that will almost certainly want some money spending on it in the next twelve months, be it cosmetic bodywork, welding, or mechanical repairs. Is it really better than the car you already have?

2) Don't entertain it without an MoT unless it really is in excellent condition. If you're really interested in it, ask the seller if he'll take it for an MoT and offer to pay half the price (expect to need to find £15-20) to be refunded by him if it fails. If he won't accept and insists you buy it 'as seen', why? Is there something he knows but is not telling you? Walk away!

3) Assuming he agrees to take it, and it passes, you're then in a better position to decide if you want to spend the asking-price of the car on either restoring your own car, or on the EFi. Only you can make that decision.

4) If it fails, add up the price of buying the car to the price of fixing it, and see how that compares to the price of restoring your 1600 to acceptible if not showroom condition. That will put things into perspective for you.

Hope that helps...:)

[Ricky]

It is perhaps unsurprisingly an R series, and I have to admit "fragile" is not a word I had thought about applying to the car in general, but the engine is definitely summed up very well by this one word! As for the speed, i'm not particularly a speed demon, but I have forgotten how it feels to drive a car that is capable of more than 70mph comfortably, my 133000 mile 4 speed mark 4 Escort 1300 just cannot do it without a) shaking to bits and b) making the road behind disappear in a rather dense "fog"! Still, if economy was that important to me, I shouldn't really look at a petrol car at all!
Still, I'm glad the 1600 seems to be well recieved, it almost makes me want to attempt to do the crankcase oil seal I should have done when I had the gearbox off and the engine out of the car, but as usual I will do things "cack-handedly" as my dad would say! :banghead: Ah well, back to the drawing board.....

[hornmeister2000]

Difficult decision, as I hate getting rid of cars! I have a 2.0i H-reg Maestro which is fabulous to drive, but if the one you've seen's got no MOT and yours has, then you have to keep the one you've got. Also, never driven a 1.6 so can't really compare. Also, the thing about the newer one having less rust is not true. I've had mine 5 years. It looked rust free when I bought it. I've since had:

4 2nd hand doors
3 new door skins
1 new boot
2 new wheel arches
3 patched-up sills.

It needs:

3 patched-up sills
1 wheel arch
Rust on tailgate
Rust on boot surround
Rust on rear panel
Rust around windscreen

Hopefully this will all be done soon. Ever get the impression the Maestro wasn't such a good investment?!! However, it's great fun to drive!

[hornmeister2000]

Incidentally, I noticed 2 2.0is on eBay yesterday...

[zeolite1]

I have been looking for an MG maestro 2.0 but I can't find one anywhere near me. I even found one that was stripped and caged and ready to go for £200 but it was in Portsmouth! (I am in central Scotland)

[MaestroMatt]

MG1600 without a doubt. Rare, beautiful and fast (for a 1.6!). The R series engine is great - much growlier and raw (primitive?) than the S series with loads of torque. Whacking great twin carbs as well, what more could you ask for in an engine?

[D87 SMW]

I voted MG Maestro 2.0i, as it is my all time favourite Maestro. :cool: But that's my opinion. :)

[Ricky]

I don't know, you young whippersnappers, not appreciating history and all!...... :rolleyes: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
My aunt used to have a 2.0Efi, I used to be in awe of that too back when I was your age(!)
I'm not that old, honest! ;)

[D87 SMW]

Originally posted by Ricky
I don't know, you young whippersnappers, not appreciating history and all!...... :rolleyes: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


Sorry? Not appreiciating history??? I have three Maestros! One of which is 3 years older than me! :eek: :p

[Ricky]

Ah, but is that through choice or by accident? And which one looks better?:laugh: :laugh: :p
If it was me and my Maestro, the maestro would win hands down! I'm rustier, I burn more oil, my bearings need replacing, my mileage is higher (!), and I break down far more often!! And as for big ends knocking, dont go there.........;) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[D87 SMW]

"Ah, but is that through choice or by accident?"

Well, who buys a car by accident? Well, I did. Twice. Hence F705 SRY and A615 NFV!

"And which one looks better?"

Do you really need to ask? ;) :laugh: :cool: :)

[tony]

steve did you get round to telling us what your pic was?

[D87 SMW]

Originally posted by tony
steve did you get round to telling us what your pic was?

If you mean my avatar, yes I did. It's the sports tail pipe trim from Halfrauds. Cost a bomb actually! :banghead: :rolleyes:

[G51 NAV]

Originally posted by tony
steve did you get round to telling us what your pic was?

Looks like the end of one of those friction-fit tail-pipe extensions you can buy from places like Halfrauds. The cavaties are supposed to make your exhaust-note sound a bit raspier.

Am I right?

[G51 NAV]

Aah - we posted at the same time ... I was right!:) :D

[tony]

i thought it was silver tubing on a red bobbin, ho well:eek:

[Ricky]

Originally posted by F170 GGT


Well, who buys a car by accident?

To be honest, all my best cars (and there have been a few!) have been accidental purchases! The only two I actually went out and tried to buy were both Peugoet 405's, and both between them were the biggest mistake I ever made!! I must have lost £500 on the two between them :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Still, can't condemn peugeot's really - my forst car, a 309, I bought for £150, sold it for £250 18 months later, got it given back to me for nothing and let my mate have it to learn to drive in! That's a cracking car!!!! And yes, it was an accidental purchase!

[D87 SMW]

Originally posted by tony
i thought it was silver tubing on a red bobbin, ho well:eek:

Bit more expensive than that, Tony.:eek:

[e692wtt]

Steve,

when you say the exhaust end cost 'a bomb' was that a 'cherry bomb'? Gives me age away...

I bought my Monty by accident 30.1.97 - £400 was, errm, totally over my planned budget of up to £100 at a Car Clearance Centre... appeared to be 'stolen-recovered' with no flywheel ring gear, slightly dented offside doors but no significant body corrosion and 9 years old with 6 weeks MoT. Got my mechanic on the case (bad back) and for £1050 I had a car with new tyres, totally reliable, cheap to run and a years MoT, including purchase price. Apart from Servicing and Mots, Petrol and Insurance, he costs me NOWT!

Needed a driveshaft (£90 fitted - didn't know *then* what I know *now*...) plus another one from the Club (£20 + fitting, mebbe £20?) and a Fuel Pump at £12.63, fitted by meself yesterday, in the last 6 months - it's been a bad, very expensive year!!!

Not bad for a fluke - Love at first sight, believe me!!! Saw him *gleaming* there in the yard after a full valet (which finished off the headlining...) almost as if Monty saw me...............:horror:



PS I had a ride in an MG Maestro 1600 in'84, aged 13, and was enthralled. I couldn't get my head round the rough-running (in comparison) 2.0i engine in my VDP Montego, after driving Monty (1.6 S-series) - I've fitted the VDP's bulkhead insulation (same as 2.0 Diesel Maestro/Montego?) to Monty and you can barely hear the engine's thrashings at 5,500 rpm, never mind day-to-day running... just a thought.

I'd go for the MG1600 anyday for its sheer 'pickup' and 'pull'. My Monty 1600 has an engaging personality - my VDP auto had no personality whatsoever...