project Maestro, please.

[grogee]

7 hours ago, JMotor said:

I'd also give the arms a check. They look to be quite thick steel, quick wire brush and paint might see them right?

This. Mine are "rusty" but also made out of chunky pressed and welded 1/4" thick steel. I suspect the MoT tester has caught the paranoia big which makes them call out "rusty springs" which are absolutely fine. 

[vulgalour]

Another Maestro vid for you all.  Slightly longer than usual this time out of necessity, just one of those sorts of jobs.

 

I cover retrimming the headlining and the sun visors in this one and even find a product that sticks mirrors back on to windscreens successfully.

[grogee]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Another Maestro vid for you all.  Slightly longer than usual this time out of necessity, just one of those sorts of jobs.

 

I cover retrimming the headlining and the sun visors in this one and even find a product that sticks mirrors back on to windscreens successfully.

Where was this video when I needed it? Seriously though, good work and hats off for committing it to film thereby making the job even longer/harder.

A couple of fascinating* observations:

1) mine doesn't have those right-angled round doofers over the sun visor... Although it does have a sunroof so maybe that's why it's different. 

2) on camera the painted treatment looked OK! Actually not a terrible idea in my view, matt grey would be fine I reckon. 

3) I thought I'd get away with leaving the A-pillar trim attached but it cracked the biscuit as I pulled the headliner out from the rear. I glued it back together with something, maybe Gorilla glue. 

4) I still need to do my sun visors. @Cluffy' s better half is a seamstress so I'm hoping I can subcontract the sewing bit to her.

5) mine was starting to rust inside the roof, above rear seat. Possibly due to previously leaking sunroof. I wire wheel and painted it. 

6) agreed, pretty sure the base is made from expanded polystyrene. I can't decide if that's good or bad. 

7) yours looks better than mine which ended up with quite a few creases

[vulgalour]

I imagine you don't need those clips when you've got the sunroof because the sunroof hole will hold it all up instead.  I'm actually really glad I didn't have a sunroof to work around on this because the headlinings are always more fragile due to that big hole leaving some pretty narrow strips of board.

The paint I think was household emulsion, it looked reasonable enough and was a perfectly valid solution, especially if it was done when headlining materials weren't so easy to get hold of.  Definitely a good solution if you've got a decent board and don't want to faff with fabric and glue.

I imagine when you needed this video it was still sat in my editing queue, which happily is a lot shorter these days than it was.

[grogee]

RARE PARTS ALERT: Pair of front wings, a bit dinged but solid. For metal bumperinos. In Haverfordwest, I don't know where that is. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134846155078

[grogee]

Another rare part alert, a nearside front wing for plazzy bumper model. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176113490297

If you search ebay there's also a couple of NOS heater matrixes (matrices) available. £80, mind. 

[vulgalour]

If you're not enjoying the winter then let me take you back to the unbearable summer of last year when I decided to sort out the rear doors on the Maestro.

 

[bezzabsa]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:12, grogee said:

RARE PARTS ALERT: Pair of front wings, a bit dinged but solid. For metal bumperinos. In Haverfordwest, I don't know where that is. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134846155078

Head for Tenby - and keep going till you see BIG Irish floaty things

[vinyljunky]

17 hours ago, grogee said:

Another rare part alert, a nearside front wing for plazzy bumper model. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176113490297

If you search ebay there's also a couple of NOS heater matrixes (matrices) available. £80, mind. 

Incredible how different they are to the steel bumper version - touch of the Roger Eberts if you lost the plastic bumper

[grogee]

Cool addition to an MG Maestro or terrible aftermarket giffer trinket? 

[vulgalour]

@2110 NEEDS that!  It's exactly the sort of nonsense I was hoping to find.

[grogee]

13 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

@2110 NEEDS that!  It's exactly the sort of nonsense I was hoping to find.

I'm idly contemplating it for my MG but it would be non-OEM... 

[vulgalour]

You should get it anyway, just in case.  It's not like they come up for sale very often and they're easy to swap in and out.

[2110]

22 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

@2110 NEEDS that!  It's exactly the sort of nonsense I was hoping to find.

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

[vulgalour]

There's no such thing as too tacky, and I should know.

[2110]

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? 😁

[grogee]

I'd recommend a relay. Use the live feed to your main beam as the switching signal. Then battery to relay wire, relay to lights wires, and earths. 

Then the driving lights will come on with main beam but not over stress the existing wiring. 

[vulgalour]

You can probably piggyback the spotlights that are in the spares off that too for the full look.  No need to be period correct with scotchlock and fourteen feet of only red wires running to and from the battery and a switch hacked into the dashboard that way.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Cool addition to an MG Maestro or terrible aftermarket giffer trinket? 

IIRC Unipart did one, not sure why they didn't use it on the MG.

[Remspoor]

22 hours ago, grogee said:

I'm idly contemplating it for my MG but it would be non-OEM... 

I never knew that. When I had my early 1600  I also had a brochure. I thought those were some of the list of factory options.  Just like the awful dots sticker that would emphasised the body sculpture.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

22 hours ago, grogee said:

I'm idly contemplating it for my MG but it would be non-OEM... 

Don't do it. It would be the equivalent of Chris Goffey having lip fillers - it would look daft. 

[ETCHY]

Dunno if it's of interest but there's now a book out about the development & production history etc of the Maestro & Montego.

It's on Amazon.

[2110]

On 30/12/2023 at 16:21, vulgalour said:

You can probably piggyback the spotlights that are in the spares off that too for the full look.  No need to be period correct with scotchlock and fourteen feet of only red wires running to and from the battery and a switch hacked into the dashboard that way.

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

[vulgalour]

More is more!

Right then, Maestro vids is getting closer to real time which is why it's already time for another MoT video.  This is the one it got just before @2110 bought it so he'll get to have a proper look at what I did to get it through.  Much easier to show than tell.

 

[2110]

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)

[High Jetter]

I just knew I was going to like them...but now I'm not so sure.

[grogee]

Yeah they're terrible. I'll take them off your hands... Half price sound OK? 

[vulgalour]

That's excellent, I envy you the opportunity for getting that on there.  It might look more 'right' if the grille were red instead of silver so it leans more 90s than 80s on the styling, the original grille for the car was red.  Or take the lead from the Samara and do it satin black.  Spotlights under the bumper would definitely look like you meant it, whatever it is in this instance.

[2110]

On 04/01/2024 at 21:46, vulgalour said:

That's excellent, I envy you the opportunity for getting that on there.  It might look more 'right' if the grille were red instead of silver so it leans more 90s than 80s on the styling, the original grille for the car was red.  Or take the lead from the Samara and do it satin black.  Spotlights under the bumper would definitely look like you meant it, whatever it is in this instance.

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

[Noel Tidybeard]

fog lights below the bumper look the bogs dollox on a maestro