SimonR
6th October 2003, 08:21
Oh dear, I've just done something I said I'd never do...
I saw the advert on the classifieds for a 47k zircon blue 1983 VP Maestro about two months ago and emailed the owner, saying not to scrap it and that I'd take it off their hands if they couldn't sell it.
Well, last week I received an email saying that if I wanted to collect it, it was mine, so that's just what I did on Saturday - 290 miles round trip to Ramsgate and back.
I now own two Maestros Vanden Plas.
Pictures are sure to follow, right now she's at the garage having her rear brakes serviced to pass the MOT. The first thing I've got to do is work out why she runs so very badly when cold - all sorts of mis-fires coughing, smoking, spluttering and general cutting out. I'm going to start with setting the timing and servicing/setting up the carb correctly - that should do it. I was most embarrassed yesterday when I was moving her off the road and she cut out half way into my drive. I had to wait for an hour and a half until I could get someone to help me push her in. That can't happen again!
Looks like I now have no excuse not to learn how to weld - there's a little 'Maestro-arch' in evidence at the back, as well as the odd little bits of corrosion all over the place. Mrs Thatcher also keeps warning me about 'high engine temperature' even though everything's hunkydory, and then there's the driver's electric window, the slight seepage from the headgasket and the radio which seems to know exactly what I want to listen to on Radio 4 and then cuts out at the appropriate time.
Needless to say I'm going to be kept busy :)
As I heard a bloke saying at Nene Park this summer: The only problem with Austin Rover products is that they take up so much space!
I saw the advert on the classifieds for a 47k zircon blue 1983 VP Maestro about two months ago and emailed the owner, saying not to scrap it and that I'd take it off their hands if they couldn't sell it.
Well, last week I received an email saying that if I wanted to collect it, it was mine, so that's just what I did on Saturday - 290 miles round trip to Ramsgate and back.
I now own two Maestros Vanden Plas.
Pictures are sure to follow, right now she's at the garage having her rear brakes serviced to pass the MOT. The first thing I've got to do is work out why she runs so very badly when cold - all sorts of mis-fires coughing, smoking, spluttering and general cutting out. I'm going to start with setting the timing and servicing/setting up the carb correctly - that should do it. I was most embarrassed yesterday when I was moving her off the road and she cut out half way into my drive. I had to wait for an hour and a half until I could get someone to help me push her in. That can't happen again!
Looks like I now have no excuse not to learn how to weld - there's a little 'Maestro-arch' in evidence at the back, as well as the odd little bits of corrosion all over the place. Mrs Thatcher also keeps warning me about 'high engine temperature' even though everything's hunkydory, and then there's the driver's electric window, the slight seepage from the headgasket and the radio which seems to know exactly what I want to listen to on Radio 4 and then cuts out at the appropriate time.
Needless to say I'm going to be kept busy :)
As I heard a bloke saying at Nene Park this summer: The only problem with Austin Rover products is that they take up so much space!