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This is by no means a For Sale post, but, owing to my current situation, the Maestro (and others) are currently sitting on SORN since yesterday and I'm not sure for how long... So I was just thinking that if anyone here missed the opportunity to buy the car last time around and is eagerly after a Maestro I would be willing to forward it onto a new home to carry on the duty of care rather than it be sat not being enjoyed for an unknown period of time. I would let it go for the same amount as I purchased it which includes a new shiny gear linkage rod installed! (main linkage still in a bag waiting to be fitted). One hopes to be enjoying it again on the road sooner especially as I have put almost everything else up for sale officially (here and other places) keeping just this and the 3 door Samara back for myself, but in the spirit of keeping things alive, this is just a "would consider it" post..! If not I will look forward to getting going with it again in the hopefully near future!

I was looking for a linkage which I did manage to track down in the box of parts of all places! Thanks for remembering though!

Oh gosh I haven't started making videos with it yet, better get a move on 😆 (I'll have a watch in a bit!)

I have been avidly following and liking this (well all your posts but this one is just so cool) on facebook and instagram, and I do agree with @High Jetter that I prefer the steel wheels BUT why not create it's own character and while Lotus has worked on more cars than I will ever find out about, I reckon this might be a first for a Maestro van

Considering it came with custom made fluffy dice from @vulgalour I think I'm just missing the name stickers above the windscreen ! (I'm really not though!) It's a shame you didn't bring all the stock with you, today you'd make a fortune to owners trying to keep their cars going 😅

You guys are terrible enablers 😆 I'm now watching and potentially the second bidder! On the top of previous enabled purchases, what are everyone's thoughts on a quick mock-up for colour choices. I've included the Samara purely as a reference but doesn't mean it has to match with black... Here's original unpainted (or silver for argument's sake, the colour of the existing grill on the car), black and red...

I guess when it's done we will see what "it" is

Well here's a temporary fitment of the new grille, I think it will grow on me but my immediate feelings were that the spotlights are much bigger than those on the Samara! How it was before (and at the moment)

Really are going for lookalikies with the Samara with the spot lamps as well! I mean... why not..!

Without sounding daft... What do I connect to the new lamps? Do I need to get my degree in electrical wiring to hook up the beam lamps? 😁

Done! Matches the grille on the Samara. Grille Lamp Buddies? Too tacky 😆

Excellent thank you! I don't know why I didn't think to raid the parts boxes, that would have been the logical and normal thing to do - clearly beyond me 😄 Perhaps I should try to replace the whole gear change you sent with the car but I'm not sure my limited mechanical capabilities are up to that just yet, was hoping to get a bit more practice in before tackling that - but sometimes being thrown in the deep end is the most effective way of learning..! 🫣 I guess we could throw in a sneaky Samara shot from the other morning! Our (2008) Qashqai seems to have suffered something similar, funny you mentioned that as I hadn't connected the dots - it's made it to 181,000 miles without an issue so didn't even think it might be that simple 😑 I fear I'm going to be using this term a lot more for this car than my others... "character" 😅

Well that's delightfully helpful for finding the right 4 speed linkage 😅 I bought one that the seller says is from his old 4-speed years ago but never fitted, the size is the same but it has no adjuster in the middle so I don't know if it will do the job or not but it was cheap so had to try! Will see when it comes and I can try it..! I did wonder about cable ties or similar but was concerned that the movement may be too much for it and would lead to them being pushed beyond their tolerances and breaking off, but it's good to know thank you, I will definitely try this if the above doesn't fix it (not got too high hopes..!)

Who would have thought something so small and spindly could cause so much trouble. As mentioned last week the gear linkage popped off and it was a 20 second fix, ran all week no issues and then on Thursday it popped off again, and again, and again, and again, and... well you get the idea, 2.3 miles took me just under 2 hours to nurse the car back stopping every few metres it seemed to either collect it from the road behind the car or prop it back up from the one side that still held onto it (always gearbox side) - oh and it was dark by the time I was back so that added to the "fun" factor every time I stopped to pop it back on 😅 I have been trying to find a new replacement which seems rather thin on the ground for the long one (short ones are all over the place, I guess they don't go as often) so for the time being it is parked up with the others and the Lada 111 has taken over weekend duties despite needing a bit of work to it, at least it's still driveable 😄 When I got the car from @vulgalour there was a whole setup to replace the existing ageing (loose, spongey, vague) gear selection but I'm hopeful to try find a new linkage in the mean time so it's not left parked up for long! At least the heater is up to Siberian standards on this thing, no AC but demists in moments 🙂

So far so good..! I've been learning it's character which is quite different than my other cars, slowly compiling a list of what I need to be doing with it

As you will know, I'm not much for posting lots here and I am very happy to keep you all updated on the life the car here if wanted, but if any of you have an instagram profile you are welcome to follow my new account I have just created as it seems an easy way to upload photos of any of the cars as and when I feel like it and I may even build up the courage to do a video one of these days... not sure how best to post the profile here but it's http://www.instagram.com/tomsworldoftat/ It's in no danger of becoming the next trending hit but there will be cars there that I have not yet posted here I can still post this Maestro here and @vulgalour has kindly offered me to carry on using this thread since you all know it already and the car, which does ultimately make some sense... In car news, the gear linkage popped off in traffic on Friday evening but fortunately it's a quick repair once I was told what the issue was likely to be and I have it moving again so let's see what comes next nothing more to report yet!

It's settled into it's new home and is spending the night next to the brown Samara, most likely market rivals back then and now "bunk buddies"! No such thing as too much car talk, it was lovely to just talk and talk some more about cars and thank you so much for your amazing hospitality, we all had the most wonderful time after what had until arriving been the very description of a terrible day (and night before that)! I suspect it will be put straight into use tomorrow, it was still a bit smokey today clouding the air all around it but hopefully as we said it will stop as more oil leaks out the bottom 😅 I also now see what you mean about the noise on cold start, it does sound rather unhealthy but luckily I know it gets better with more warmth! It was a pleasure to meet you and it even wasn't painful giving up the money for a change! Hopefully there will be another time to meet in the future, and I look forward to more updates here I've toned down my posting and taken to lurking in the shadows, I get less grief 😄