mg maestro showroom condition restore

[paul762]

hi all, i owned an mg maestro a few years ago with the talking computer and lcd dash and im thinking seriously about purchasing an mg maestro turbo, however my last mg was more dark orange and brown in colour than it should have been i just wondered if it would be possible to put the lcd dash and talking computer into an mg turbo and also approx. how much would it cost to restore it to a showroom condition, but obviously with uprated suspension and brakes etc, and also if possible where could i take it to be done.
thanks.

[TurboMG]

You could fit the LCD dash to the turbo but its a lot of aggro, to restore one to showroom condition obviously depends on how bad aone you buy, the original bodykit is very hard to come buy, but most parts are still available, try and buy one thats in pretty good condition to start with this will cut down on the amont of work thats needed, trying to find somwhere to take you seriously will be a problem when you want bodywork done, most places just say "why its a maestro".

[paul762]

thanks for reply, is there any specialist places that work on mg cars only or perhaps even restore them?

[TurboMG]

You could try the MG owners club to see if they have any approved garages around your area, but most of them will only be interested if its an old ****box MGB or similar.

[G51 NAV]

Got to agree with the observations already raised: it's virtually impossible to turn up somewhere in a Maestro or Montego and get them to take you seriously when you start to ask about body-restoration. Turn up in something there's millions of, like an XR3i or Escort Turdo - sorry, Turbo - and they can't wait to get there sticky little mits on it.

Glad to say I've finally found a bodyshop near me that didn't laugh when I asked them to do some light restoration work on G51, but its been a long search. If you live within travelling distance of b/pool them by all means pm me and I'll pass on the details. I've also heard that GK Autoworks in Suffolk do a good job; in fact Gareth himself is a regular contributor to this BBS.

Don't waste your time going to specialist MG bodyshops; they're only interested in MGAs, MGBs and Midgets. If they don't laugh at you and give you a straight 'no' they'll either do a :censored: job or quote you a price that they hope will put you off.

All I can say is good luck trying. :(

[matthewsemple]

Originally posted by paul762
hi all, i owned an mg maestro a few years ago with the talking computer and lcd dash and im thinking seriously about purchasing an MG Maestro Turbo.

Good plan - I bought my MG Maestro Turbo over five years ago - fantastic fun. I love it so much I bought an MG Maestro 1600 as a runaround a couple of years ago. I still have both and they are great cars but so completely different to drive.

The 1600 handles superbly and you can chuck it into corners and really love it well. The Turbo is just wild with obscene acceleration that always suprises me no matter how many times I floor it!

Perhaps by buying a Turbo and speccing it out with a digi-dash and uprated suspension then you would have the best of both!

By the way I have never had any trouble with garages when I have wanted my Turbo tidying up. When I had my doors repaired beneath the rubbing strips, the owner of the garage was very enthusiastic about doing the work as he had once owned an MG Maestro.

I have recently had the car MOT'd at another garage. It failed on a couple of things and the guy at the garage was keen to do the work and fix it for a cheap price. "It's really worth doing", he said. I don't know if he thought I was one of those people who would scrap an old car because it fails the MOT because a bulb is blown!

Now the car has nearly 13 months MOT.

[G51 NAV]

Originally posted by matthewsemple
I have never had any trouble with garages ... the owner of the garage was very enthusiastic about doing the work as he had once owned an MG Maestro.
That was your good luck.

Most garages don't want to know you when you turn up in a Maestro. But turn up in a similar-aged XR3i or Escort Turdo and they'll "coo" over it like flies round s:censored:t.

[hornmeister2000]

Where do you live? I found an MG garage who are recommended by the MGOC in Bexleyheath who were prepared to do it but they were REALLY expensive and weren't going to do the rust as thoroughly as I wanted (refused to remove the screen). They also overcharged by somewhat on a hole in my Morris Minor. I've not found a guy in Gravesend who takes me seriously-ish. He thinks I'm mad but that doesn't stop him taking my money and doing a decent job on my very rust Morris Minor and my rusty MG Maestro. Cheap too. PM me if you want details...