1998 Ledbury Maestro "Steve"

[vulgalour]

As you all know, I bought another shite car recently. Not content with a regular Maestro, I went and got myself a Ledbury example (Google it, I'm bored of repeating what it is). The car was in Birmingham at £450 with 11 months MoT and 6 months tax and I bought it primarily because I needed something reliable, tough and cheap to insure in a very short time frame. This car came along at the right time for the right price.

 

Why Steve? The guy I bought it from (top bloke, btw) is called Steve, and so is everyone he knows. Sam and I jokingly said the car should be called Steve and it's stuck.

 

Initially, I went down to view the car with Sam (Captain Slow of this parish) because what he doesn't know about Maestros simply isn't worth knowing and because it seemed like a good idea for a jolly jape to the land of Brummies. Fairly uneventful trip down in the Montego of much comfort and waftiness to arrive at the lock-up and meet Steve. I think Steve is a man with a problem, because he showed us some of his impressive collection of shite included in which (but which I have no pictures of as Sam had his camera and did the honours) were 2 Allegros (1 estate, 1 saloon), 2 Marinas (TC saloon and a regular coupé), several jags, a Scimitar, a couple of 2CVs, a low mileage Maxi, a Saab 96 (V4 engined) estate, some Humber Sceptres, some Sunbeam Rapiers, some Range Rovers, an SD1 shell, an Opel Monza, an ex-military Land Rover, a Rover 100 cabriolet... the list goes on. We were like kids in a sweet shop and Steve was a very accommodating host.

 

After a while of drooling over cars that only we would get excited about, it was test drive time. The Ledbury is an odd car and drives with a solid, no-nonsense way that I expect a van drives with (I've never actually driven a van), probably due to the 14" wheels, diesel van suspension and general sturdy feeling of the car as a whole. I was very happy with the car, mechanically it felt tight, it behaved predictably and while the 'box is a bit of an oddity, it's not too unusual as it's not that far removed from the 4 speed item in my Polo. I gave Steve a deposit, more nattering was to be had about chod, and eventually I set off home again.

 

The following week I went down with my Dad in the Bradford Taxi to pick up the car and pay the balance. I didn't bother haggling as the car was priced very fairly, faults pointed out (what little there are!) and Steve even went to the effort of putting a proper passenger mirror on and a better steering wheel for me. I paid the balance, we oggled the cars some more, did I mention he also has a Mk1 Princess converted to be hand or feet controls? No? Well he does and it's awesome, but again, no pictures for I am Fail Man.

 

Got in the Ledbury and headed off following Dad. There's an Asda we went to for petrol which is THE WORST car park and petrol station arrangement I've ever experienced and I have no wish to return to it. Drive back was uneventful too, apart from my passenger headlight deciding to stop working properly, and we stopped off at a service station for drinks and a break. I remembered to take some pictures, finally.

 

 

 

 

When we had our coffees and headed back to the cars, we did so to the sound of a new-ish Land Rover thing pulling in and making a horrible screechy noise. We provided a torch so he could see that it had eaten a belt with its fan. He wasn't happy, and we couldn't help further, so we left him to the mercy of his breakdown provider. Got home with nary a problem, barely used any petrol if the guage was to be believed and I waited until the following day to have a tinker.

 

Only trouble with mechanic-owned cars is they have a habit of smelling like the inside of a toolkit. Steve the Maestro is no exception to this.

 

In the next installment: Things you already know, but that I'm going to tell you anyway.

[vulgalour]

Episode TWO

 

 

Following day, because it was dark when I got home, I was up all early to have a proper look at the car. No matter how much I prodded and poked I knew there'd be more to see in daylight when I got my broggling tools out. I already know the engine has a minor oil leak (it's an A+ 1275, it's to be expected) and I already know the bottom corner of the driver's door outer skin is rotten. I also know the rear arches need some love but aren't terrible. Overall, the car looks battered and tatty and that's because it is having been used and abused for a number of years by a number of people. That's why there's bits like this on it.

 

But all that aside, it's my car so I have to have it CLEAN. Even if it is covered in ice.

 

Rinsed off, wheel trims frisbee'd (not really, I still have them 'just in case') and it's already looking a bit smarter.

 

The dark blue is great at hiding most of the dirt you get on a car, but not as good as a dirt-coloured car would be.

 

I actually got the clay bar out on this one, probably a bit excessive, but I wanted to know exactly how bad the paint was and what needed doing and a deep clean was the only way to find this out.

 

Also tried out some Skoda caps, but I'm not going to be using them. I'm actually after either some aluminium wheel nut and hub centre covers, or some plastic Austin-Rover centre caps to finish off the steels properly.

 

I got as far as polishing the bonnet and wing tops before the inclement weather defeated me (well, it is winter). The paint isn't terrible, but could do with either a lot of touch-ups or a respray, I'll probably do the former.

 

Oh, and I repainted the silver grille to be satin black which goes better with my plans.

 

Chapter Three in another couple of moments...

[Morgan84]

How good was the anti-corrosion treatment on those Ledbury Maestro's ? A very sensible mode of transport;will you keep it standard,or add some 'upgrades' such as Austin Maestro body colour plastic bumpers or a Vanden Plas interior ?

 

I hope you enjoy ' Steve '

[Morgan84]

BTW - Those hubcaps are correct Maestro ones,or if not - to the 'style' of the original ones commonly seen on Clubman spec

[vulgalour]

Here we are, the third episode, which brings us nicely up to date with what I've been doing today. The voms have almost entirely gone so I've been taking it easy, but I'm not one to sit idle.

 

Since I had 2 dustcaps across 4 wheels, neither of which matched, I threw £2 at eBay and got these. They look very tidy on the car.

 

Then it was time to do the interior. Much of the vinyl in the car had a brownish look to it. It's fairly common for Maestro plastics to fade from grey to brown, so that's what I thought it was.

 

 

In the back, it's fairly clean apart from dog hairs and wood shavings.

 

We have the usual Bedouin Tent headlining. Easily remedied and it'll allow me to find where the pipe for the rear washer has broken when I remove the headlining to fix this.

 

A bucket of brown water later, and the vinyl is actually very not-faded and grey, all the brown was dirt. I still have to shampoo the seats and the carpets in a couple of localised areas, but overall the interior is quite good and now I've cleaned the gearknob and radio and steering wheel and anything else the driver touches it smells clean and not at all toolkit-y

 

 

Last job was the bumpers. The metal centre sections are a bit rough looking and the black paint/coating is tired and going grey. Likewise, the plastic end caps are very grey and wouldn't go black again, so drastic measures were in order. Popped the back bumper off. I took all the electrical tape off the rear number plate lights to find out there were damaged, but not broken enough to warrant the tape. I also found that one is a Mk1 and the other a Mk2 item so they're different sizes. I'm going to get a chunkier unit to bolt onto the bumper instead, just not yet.

 

Steve did tell me that one of the people he sold the car too (he's bought it back twice now) reversed into a lamp post, and while effort was made to straighten it out, it's a bit lumpen and I'll have to work my magic on this bit to make it how it ought to be.

 

This bumper hole is pushed in, I had to knock it back out by about a quarter of an inch.

 

With the bumper in bits and the rear panel a bit straighter, I could get to work keying the plastics for paint and the metal sections. The plastics I did with a bit of wet-and-dry in my hand while the bumpers had to be done with the flap wheel. I'm going to get the metal parts refurbished eventually and completely de-rusted, for now I just wanted to tart things up.

 

 

Finally, got them all back on the car. A before, and two afters for comparison.

 

 

 

Due to my shift pattern, I'm off work tomorrow so I hope to get the polishing finished as I still haven't been able to do that.

[vulgalour]

@Morgan84: Mostly, it'll be staying standard. I'll get the paint spruced up but keep it midnight blue and I'll be tidying up all the satin black bits to make them look good again and not so tired. I want to get the squiggles on the rear quarters redone (silver and hot pink) and carry that on through the car so there'll be some hot pink coachstripe down the side and the grille under the front bumper will be done to match, but nothing more than that in the hot pink. I'm also planning to fit bullbars and light guards, spotlights up front and generally give it the look of a prototype Streetwise. The wheel trims are the originals, but they're vile and I couldn't live with them.

[Morgan84]

I wonder how many Ledbury's were used to reshell MG models. Not really knowledgeable on these motors,but would I be right in thinking a Ledbury is more or less the runout Clubman trim level when produced by Rover ?

[vulgalour]

Sort of. Essentially it's the base-spec body shell which means the front wings and rear valance are different to accommodate the bumpers, with the 1.3 A+ engine up front. They then used van suspension and bigger wheels coupled with a 5 speed VW 'box to make them pretty bulletproof things.

 

I would expect it would be a lot of work to use one of these shells to reshell an MG and I'm not sure people would bother since it would be easier to use a regular Maestro shell instead.

[Morgan84]

The idea of a Vanden Plas Ledbury is a plesant thought which just went through my mind.I am pretty sure in China,or somewhere not too far from there that the Maestro still lives on,but with a Montego styled front

[Shep Shepherd]

That has the potential to be a very distinctive and individualistic mode of transport. No doubt it will become so in your hands

 

I've always liked the Maestro, as its styling appeals to me in an industrial design sort of way. Make mine an MG1600 in Opaline Green, Zircon Blue or Silver Leaf

[wuvvum]

For some reason I always thought the Ledbury Maestros had LHD wipers. Obviously I was mistaken.

[vulgalour]

Some of them do, I got lucky*.

[Captain Slow]

I shan't be posting pics Angyl, but thanks for the reminder I need to email them you. The lack of posting isn't for any reason other than that Steve requested we took pics for ourselves only.

 

This car is as tight as a drum - I've driven FAR FAR worse examples which should have been far better by rights. You've bought well. And the 'solid, no-nonsense' feeling is common to all good Maestros, especially the 1300s.

 

 

I also love your nickname for my car.

[RichardMoss]

They then used van suspension and bigger wheels coupled with a 5 speed VW 'box to make them pretty bulletproof things.

The van hubs mean that the wheels from a Rover 800 or 600 will fit (as will those from equivalent Honda models) plus, if I recall correctly, many oddities such as the Reliant Scimitar and the like. A set of Scimitar Wolfrace alloys would look fab!

[vulgalour]

I'd been working on the assumption that these were standard Maestro hubs, which means 4 x 98.25 but if they're Rover 800/600 equivalent that means 4 x 114.3 which is the same as the Princess... and Lotus. Easy way to find out is to try and put the Princess steels on the Maestro since they're also 14".

 

Wolfrace alloys would be frikken A.

[garethj]

You're tarting up a car that normal people wouldn't piss on if it were on fire. You're living the Autoshite dream* right there

[holbeck]

I'm 99% sure the wheels on the van at least, were standardised with Rover 800 items late on in the production run.

[kinkersaab]

Va Wrote " I'm going to get a chunkier unit to bolt onto the bumper instead, just not yet."

 

 

I have, if it is of any interest to you. two of these, new old stock by the looks of it, might look quite good with the triumph bit removed?

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Stag- ... 51a3189709

[vulgalour]

I do believe it would, Mr K. Saab, but hopefully for a bit less than £150! Especially since I'll be spraying it satin black.

[kinkersaab]

oh no, not expecting anything like that, £25 or os iguess, if you are going to be spraying it, might be best buying a scabby one.

[HereHareHere]

I would have killed a horse with a spade for your soon-to-be-binned trimz for my Ledbury, which was cursed with a horrible Rover 200 set (I think). SEE: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10744

 

A top motah which I swapped for a Rover Sterling koop plus modest cash adjustment. (I've finally offloaded the koop, for £600 to a Mancunian with three other Rover 800s and two MG ZTs. I AM THE LORD OF THE SHITE SAID HE.)

[Cheggers]

Do you know if this is the Ledbury Tim Moore used for the book "You Are Awful (But I Like You): Travels in Unloved Britain"?? - I recall something about the authors Ledbury ending up with a BL nut called Steve. Great book, BTW

[vulgalour]

@hereharehere: I've not binned them yet. I'm a chronic hoarder.

 

@Cheggers: sounds worryingly plausible. My only claim to fame with this one is that it's one digit different the the Vicki Butler-whatserface Top Gear car.

 

@Tayne: Hmm... unmarked Maestro fuzz, sounds implausible. Perhaps I could go for being the Speshul Divishun?

 

Today, went to the local Autosupplies on the off chance I needed something and got myself a new cork top gasket to hopefully cure the leak, I'll reset the tappets while I'm doing that job as they're a bit noisy when the engine is cold. Had to bump up the value of my sale with something extra as they have a £5 minimum card spend and I was out of change having just done my shopping so I asked if they had any vinyl coach stripe. They did, and produced some silver fat-and-thin for me that's just the ticket, sadly no hot pink version, they only had basic colours. Also found out they can do me a tin of touch-up paint for all the little stone chips and the keying down the rear passenger quarter from before I owned the car for less than Halfrauds would charge me so that's on the shopping list too.

 

Some confusion over the PCD, I thought this was standard Maestro 4x98.25 but I've been told it's on van hubs which are 4x114.3, the same as the Princess and many other cars. I will investigate with some wheel swappage on the weekend, I think.

[Captain Slow]

I'd been working on the assumption that these were standard Maestro hubs,

 

Correct. They are standard car hubs.

 

which means 4 x 98.25

 

*Family Fortunes wah-wah buzzer* - 4x95.25 - or 4x3.75". Same as MGFs, ROVER (but not Austin) Metros, and the small Triumph range.

 

but if they're Rover 800/600 equivalent that means 4 x 114.3 which is the same as the Princess... and Lotus. Easy way to find out is to try and put the Princess steels on the Maestro since they're also 14".

 

Correct - but as above, it's not gonna work. Diesel suspension means car hubs - whilst the fronts are changeable the backs need far more work than is practical. The only van-spec bit on a Ledbury is the 'box.

 

 

 

 

To all intents and purposes, a Ledbury is a Clubman D with the engine and gearbox from a 1.3 500 5 speed van. When considered in those terms, what came from what becomes a lot easier to understand!

[Lord Sterling]

...The car was in Birmingham...

 

Hmmm, when I first saw this car I knew I'd seen it before but dismissed it as having seen it on AROnline, but today having seen it again adn saw that it was purchased here in Brum, I was pretty sure I had actually seen it in the metal.....

 

 

And I have.

 

I didnt know who owned it at the time, I just happend to see it whilst walking around Cradley Heath and papped a pic as you do.

[vulgalour]

The other day I turned the key in the hope that Steve would start like he usually does; sluggish when cold, but reliably turning over eventually. NnyingnnyingnnyingNO. Clickclick. Nothing. Bumhats.

 

Dug out the battery charger thinking I was going to be super late while I waited for the completely dead battery to charge when I remembered the similarly sized battery in the Polo. Couldn't really check if the Polo battery was any good and it hadn't been used for a few months, but I stuck it on Steve and gave it a whirl. Joy of joys, the car sprang into life much more willingly than it had been this past week or so and I ended up only being half an hour late for work, which was something of an achievement I think.

 

Stuck the old battery on charge. After 2 days it still hadn't charged above 3/4 power so I reckon that's completely fubarred. Also, I can't remember when I last saw a white car battery, I thought they were all black now, so it's probably an OLD old battery.

 

Problems are appearing, probably because I'm making the car work 170 miles at least per week. Still plodding along, obviously, but things to resolve that I know of are:

- Tappets need adjusting.

- Strange minimal wobble/thrum/vibration in the steering wheel that has only appeared after getting all four wheels balanced to remove the wobble I did have. Car goes and stops straight and doesn't pull left or right, so I'm thinking it might be wheel bearing related? I don't know, it's an odd one.

- Occasional clonk from the driver's front suspension, can't reliably recreate the conditions for the clonk.

- lazy indicators when car is cold, normal when it warms up.

- Burning a bit of oil when accelerator is depressed. Most likely worn valve stem seals.

- Minor oil leak from top gasket.

- Bottom trailing corner of driver's door is dissolving and needs cleaning up and repairing.

- Rear driver's arch suffering from dissolving too, possibly aided by me picking at the loose vinyl spat and pulling a bit of rusty arch off with it.

- Coolant is dark brown. This is not as it should be. Thankfully, not consuming any coolant.

- Exhaust related rattle at cold idle. Exhaust blow has sealed itself somehow, but I've gained a rattle to replace it.

- Steering rack gaiter split. Got a replacement ready to fit.

- Rear washer pipe split above headlining so when used, it makes the headlining wet which in turn has probably helped the headlining fabric to come unglued.

- You have to be confident about selecting 2nd gear, if you get it just wrong it jumps out into neutral. This is frustrating in traffic.

- Current top speed with foot on floor, in 5th, going down hill, is an indicated 88mph. 1st gear acceleration is glacial.

 

In happier news, I've managed to locate a black bonnet and tailgate in better condition than my existing ones, though the bonnet does have a bonnet scoop which I think I shall be keeping for the lols. I don't have any substantial amount of time off over the next two months so putting Steve in the garage for some TLC is going to have to wait and I just have to rely on that A+ unit being a tough old lump as reputation suggests it ought to be. In an ideal world, the Princess would be road legal and I could use her to get to work and back while I spent a few evenings sorting out the Maestro's niggles, but this is not to be right now.

[Morgan84]

A oil and filter change with a oil stop leak added to the clean oil might help the valve stem seals

[KruJoe]

FWIW I quite like those wheel trims.

 

I would flush the cooling system with a hose pipe fairly soon, rad too, until it runs clean, then refil with a pretty coloured anti-freeze.

As a nipper, I set off to town in my Maestro 1.3 with frozen coolant. The water pump was frozen solid, so I soon shredded the belt, but I made it there without frying it. Picked up a new belt (and anti-freeze) and she was happy as Larry.

I couldn't kill that car however hard I tried. It still ran great when I drove it to the bridge. I still miss it.

[Micrashed]

I can't remember when I last saw a white car battery,

I can, about 10.30am this morning when I popped the bonnet to check on the levels and fill up the washer bottle on the Micra.

Still the original 1999 Nissan fit battery.

[vulgalour]

I've been umming and ahhing about this car and whether or not he's a keeper. At present, I'm in no position to move him on and I think I was suffering from that age old car enthusiast malaise of having a car that was reliable, sturdy and not wanting for much which as we all know is terribly boring. Another problem I was facing was the state of the car having been unable to find the time to wash or vacuum him for at least a month, so today I set about fixing that. Polishes up pretty well, considering how knackered the paint is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a start on the engine bay, but didn't get very far. It's quite respectable under the bonnet and very easy to clean, but today I just wasn't feeling the engine bay cleaning vibe, so I'll do it another day.

 

While I was under the bonnet, I wanted to find out where the engine codes were so I could work out whether or not I had the good 1275 unit in there. I'm told that the red topped 1275 is the one to have and is the tunable lump, but the numbers would let me know more definitely I think. Are these the numbers I'm looking for?

 

 

I've decided that Steve can stay for now. I have to remember that there isn't anything inherently wrong in having a reliable, practical, cheap to run car and that tinkering constantly with a car is not normal these days. Instead, I've been putting my energies into how to improve the car and researching expenses for things like repairing the rear arches (about £50-60 for the panels), refurbishing the wheels (around £150 for powdercoating, much less for paint) and replacement panels (bonnet and tailgate sourced, interior plastics likewise). So we'll stick with him and put my plans to get an A40 Farina on hold for the forseeable. See me use my sensible head!