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  • My Clubman Blog

    My Maestro History
    This is my latest Maestro

    [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]
    [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]


    Where to start? Well the beginning I suppose, as a mechanic back in the day I remember the first early Maestros coming into the workshop. To be fair they did not compare well with other similar cars, build quality really letting what I thought was a good looking car down. In those days some of our customers would only buy from the same garage that they always had done, Austin Rover, Vauxhall or Ford etc. I am sure they simply went into the showroom and asked the salesman to sell them a car…………….After 12 months they would be back with the latest purchase for servicing etc having again been disillusioned with the dealer experience.
    Roll on a few years and we ended up with a Maestro van that we got cheap needing a replacement engine due to being seized (1300 run without oil…………..) This engine was rebuilt to MG Metro spec to give it a bit more grunt for towing with. At this time I was road rallying with a mini which was proving to be quick but too small both my navigator and myself were big lads.
    The Maestro van handled very well and we had so far managed not to destroy it so the thought occurred “I wonder what sort of rally car one of those would make?” So the project started.
    I bought a stolen recovered F registered Special and borrowed a 2.0 carb Montego estate from my friendly local scrap yard. I spent one weekend and ended up with a 2.0 carb Maestro and the scrap yard got back a very rare (running!) 1300 estate. The rally car being developed along with my lack of talent over the next few years.
    The Rally Car in action on its last ever rally in 2004

    [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

    [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

    Thanks for reading
    Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:20.
    My Car Story

    http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

  • #2
    Over the next few years the rally car was developed with a lot of self fabricated mods, the engine and gearbox were raised in the engine bay by about an inch to enable a flat sump guard to be fitted, the brakes were 4 pot callipers from a Volvo with some bigger Rover discs that fitted behind standard 15 inch wheels with a 10mm spacer. The engine tuning never seemed a high priority 20 zillion bhp on a steep down hill and slippery white road is of very little use, so the single SU stayed but did benefit from a filed needle and a K & N to let a bit more fuel and air in.
    At this time loads of the interesting Maestros and Montegos from the C to G years were staring to be scrapped in large numbers so my mate at the scrap yard always told me of anything interesting which came into the yard, I generally got first dibs on any car. If only I had filled a barn then……………
    What I did do was decide to build a super Maestro as it became known, G121XNO where are you now? It started life as a 1600 L I think but was rebuilt with an M16 engine the loom from an MG altered to use an 820 ECU, electric front and rear windows, remote central locking and an electric sun roof that came from a Montego VP. See how many other non standard features you can see!

    [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG] [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image002.gif[/IMG]

    The suspension was at that time standard MG and the wheels 14 inch steels for the sleeper look, I do not recall ever loosing a traffic light drag race mainly because by the time the opponent realised it was way quicker than it looked we were long gone ……. Whilst torquey I don’t suppose it was really that fast. The suspension did need more work even with new springs and dampers, at very high speed the front end felt very floaty although that may have been the power steering maybe the pump on the Rover engine gave too much power.
    That car died when the engine emptied its oil on the motorway after the sump was holed buy a house brick, it would not have hurt the rally car, but killed the grey one. Unfortunately at that time I did not have the time or space to repair it or store it so someone got one hell of a shock when they bought it at the auction. It was still a 1600 on the log book. They must have repaired it because they got caught speeding before they changed the log book over lol,

    Thanks for looking
    Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:26. Reason: Replacement photographs
    My Car Story

    http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

    Comment


    • #3
      So back to the rally car which I sold to a very good friend of mine, Simon, who has much more talent than me and who drove the car a lot better than I ever did. He used to regularly annoy drivers of cars that cost £1000s more than the Maestro when he was seeded in front of them they would come up to him and tell him he had better pull over when they caught him up, he very rarely had to do so!!!! One irate driver of a very well sorted and quick RS2000 insisted that we show him under the bonnet after having been out dragged and then embarrassed on a competitive section. He spent ages looking for a turbo………..
      The car was by this time getting very tatty having had a very hard life over the last 5 or 6 years after one event we had to portapower the inner wings back out after the strut tops moved about 4 inches towards each other, a tube welded between the strut tops stopped that happening again, just before another event the bonnet flew up and damaged the roof the car just about being allowed to start. The hunt was on for a fresh shell which really had to be a white steel bumper model.

      An early possibility for the reshell which we were given ( the rally car is in the fore ground looking quite tidy) and they say the camera never lies.

      [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

      Another view of the two together

      [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

      Ultimately for a variety of reasons at the time a suitable replacement shell failed to materialise and so the rally car was parked up. Also at that time it was decided that Simon would take a break from competing so the whole project was shelved.

      Thanks for looking
      Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:29. Reason: Replacement photographs
      My Car Story

      http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

      Comment


      • #4
        The “replacement “shell came via Ebay in about 2005 and is the Clubman shown below, 26000 miles virtually one owner car that most likely had rarely seen any rain. Down sides are a sun roof and the damaged front end. Anyway both cars were stored for only “a few months” which rapidly became years, fortunately the storage was very dry. The rally car was broken and everything but the rotted shell was kept for the project.

        Look at that front cross member all original paint!

        [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

        Roll forward to this year and storage became a problem with the project having to be moved to another storage area but this time at much greater monthly cost. It started to look likely that the project would end up back on Ebay due to a continuing lack of time. I thought long and hard before taking the project back over, I need another car project like I need a hole in my head, but I do still have a Maestro sized itch that one day I will have to scratch, and at that point will I find a car as solid as this? I did not think so and so I have taken the project over. The car has always been earmarked for conversion and had time allowed nearly 10 years ago it would have been converted to a rally car and with it no doubt now being in very poor condition after what would probably have been a hard second life. The time has maybe passed for a rallying career, for us a potential rally car has to be current enough for body parts to be easily available from a scrap yard at little cost to keep our budget as small as possible.
        So short term the car will be have the front accident damage repaired properly and whilst still nice and dry will be waxoiled in all the cavities and Maestro rust spots. The car will be a summer use classic for a couple of years whilst we reassess our plans. It almost certainly will not remain standard however, we have all the rally car bits and a homage to the old rally car is a possibility along with some of the planned mods we had 10 years ago but never got around to. Time will tell and no doubt the plans will not turn out as we plan them……………….

        Thanks for looking and any comments are welcome.
        Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:32. Reason: Replacement Photographs
        My Car Story

        http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

        Comment


        • #5
          A very interesting read! I'd be glad to read more.

          Welcome to the Forum, by the way!

          Comment


          • #6
            Thank You
            My Car Story

            http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi All


              [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

              And so to the latest progress, the front end was pushed back over to the right by about 50mm and the front wings that have been in stock for 7 years are fitted, and better news is that my body guy can straighten the original wings so I still have 2 spare wings. New parts fitted are both wings and the slam panel plus a new front bumper. The front panel was able to be straightened out Ok. New end caps are also ready to go back on when the car is painted. I think though that I will get it MOTed before painting. That way with tax and insurance it’s a runner and another one back on the road. I could do with finding a new off side headlamp and flasher lamp both the ones fitted are ex rally car ones and a bit rough. Do these still come up on ebay ?

              [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

              Perhaps before paint I will give the rest a good polish so it will look perfect when painted.

              I Have decided that the first change will be 14inch steel wheels and some bland looking wheel trims as fitted to XNO

              [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

              Thanks for looking as ever any comments welcome
              Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:36. Reason: Replacement photographs
              My Car Story

              http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

              Comment


              • #8
                Interesting read, everything being bolt on maestro easy to repair if damaged lightly
                MG Maestro turbo 437
                367 Bhp

                Comment


                • #9
                  I have always found Maestros easy to work on.................except perhaps the heater motors back in the day, I seem to remember those being a job to avoid. Oh and rear shocker bushes could be shocking.....................
                  My Car Story

                  http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I thought I would bump this up again, I am still working on the car, we tried to paint the front end with rattle cans to get the car "water tight" and maybe useable for the end of summer. For rattle cans the finish is very good, certainly much better that I thought possible, the bad news however is that despite supplying a wing to match the paint as well as the paint code the paint supplier sent what seems to be fridge white...................... The panels were painted at my mates house so we only realised after spending a day wasting our time.

                    Anyway I did not get the car on the road this summer, I said earlier I did not need another project and have struggled to make time for the car.I have managed to fit a trigger wheel to the crank pulley and at the moment the car is running on Ford EDIS ignition prior to the full megasuirt system being fitted ready for the replacement engine. The car is going to be Efi but not just a 2.0 .

                    One up side is that the previous owner had decided to paint all the interior grey plastic black, and whilst looking better than it sounds nothing was masked so the door cards, windows and door edges are full of over spray, with comedy outlines for the window winder handles. So another part of the project is another MG efi breaker. I had to drip feed the number of cars involved to my better half telling her about 3 cars all at once would have been at least 2 steps too far. This MG has donated door cards so far. It would have donated seats as well but the seat fabric is rotten and falling apart so the seats are stored along with the body kit in my garage. The MG is a Monstro with a Montego front end on it which is up for grabs if it of any use to anyone, its in black and the wings do not look too bad. If it of no interest to anyone I will weigh it in with the remains after I have stripped everything of use to me. The 1300 engine and 4 speed box from the Clubman will be up for grabs soon as well if anyone is interested.

                    Thanks for reading

                    David
                    My Car Story

                    http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      maestro

                      Excellent read ,keep up the good work, if desperate for bits anytime give me a shout ,may have something ,and don't live too far away from you.
                      Beware of strange Japanese waitress bearing fortune cookies

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I'm sorry i haven't posted sooner, a great read indeed!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thank you both for your welcome. I did join the club during the summer, this seems a really friendly forum and club. I would love to meet up with you sometime Norman,even though there are no parts that I need urgently at the moment.

                          David
                          My Car Story

                          http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Hi All

                            I am now on with the installation of my Megaquirt installation, this involved fitting either an MG EFI loom or an add on custom sub loom……………..I chose the latter option. The fuse box is from a Ford Focus, I had a good look around my pre tested parts suppliers yard and although a little on the large side the Focus one was chosen because of its modular design, it had fuses and relays, a good fitting lid and it was cheap. I took as much of the loom with it that I could reach, then most of the wiring is available when changing the wires around inside. There are a few Youtube videos about fuse box alterations.

                            [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

                            A general under bonnet view, the wiring is of course in progress, the fuse box is in its second position and the Edis unit its third location.

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                            A close up of the ford coil pack and mounting, the original coil is a fall back in case of problems until I am further down the line.



                            The trigger wheel and VR sensor, again Ford but this time Fiesta. The trigger wheel fitting is a bit of a lash up but the engine will be changed in due course.

                            [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

                            A close up of the Edis unit, I will almost certainly use a better mounting than the wire and bracket used at the moment. The Megasquirt lead will come through the LHD servo mount plate.

                            [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

                            A close up of the fuse box, the label will be customised once the fuse locations are resolved.

                            Thanks for looking.
                            Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:42.
                            My Car Story

                            http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hi All

                              I thought that I had better update this before it fell off the bottom of the page.
                              I am happiest when I am wielding spanners, and least happy when working on electrics, so this phase of my alterations has taken a lot of time.
                              The good news is that the other night I got the engine running with the ignition controlled by the megasuirt control unit that I built, however the control unit would only communicate with my laptop for about 90 seconds before it "lost communication", anyway I went away and thought outside my box and today I had the car running on megasuirt with the control unit communicating with my laptop for 1/2 an hour with no issues and I even had a play about with the ignition timing.



                              A picture of the "dead" gauges after I lost comms whilst taking the picture ..........Not often you see an A Series Maestro coupled to a laptop is it?



                              A second picture taken after a re boot before I lost comms a second time ........ sorry about the picture lighting its a bit dark in my cave.

                              So these past few weeks I have spent working through the wiring and tidying everything up a bit. I now know that when I change the engine I can run its ignition from the megasuirt easily and rig a carb to get everything running easily whilst I sort the injection out.



                              Compare this view from a few weeks ago with the one below from tonight.

                              [IMG]file:///C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]

                              So now the next step is the engine change, more powarrrrr!!!

                              Thanks for looking

                              David
                              Last edited by toonarf; 21st May 2018, 06:46. Reason: Replacement photgraphs
                              My Car Story

                              http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20252

                              Comment

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