Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE

[grogee]

Knew the NSR arch was gone but wasn't sure about rear sill area, well I got my answer. Pretty sure those plastic wheel spats are a water trap.

So that's roof, NSR arch, NSR sill that needs professional treatment so far. Other side being tackled tomorrow, weather depending. 

[High Jetter]

Have found Unipart catalogues, mostly dated August 1983, if you (or others) need any numbers. Covers all sorts of sections, including batteries, steering, exhausts etc. Also have other AR group and Jag/Rover/Triumph parts catalogues too.

[grogee]

6 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Have found Unipart catalogues, mostly dated August 1983, if you (or others) need any numbers. Covers all sorts of sections, including batteries, steering, exhausts etc. Also have other AR group and Jag/Rover/Triumph parts catalogues too.

That's kind, thanks. I don't think 2.0 EFI parts will be in there but is there a number for an O-series valve cover gasket?

[grogee]

More underside grot removal today. No pics as it was boring as shit. Same problem at rear of os sill, but I think a patch will be ok rather than all new sills.

Parts are now scarce and there's a set of sills for £300 on the bay, I suppose I'd try the same if I had some. 

Should there be a timing belt cover here? Probably not critical* to O-series health. 

Had a look at the supplied exhaust (second hand). I'm sure he said it was a stainless system but the pipes are attracted to magnet, however the silencer cans aren't. Is that normal?

[Mally]

Some stainless is magnetic, some is not.

[High Jetter]

29 minutes ago, grogee said:

That's kind, thanks. I don't think 2.0 EFI parts will be in there but is there a number for an O-series valve cover gasket?

Sorry, no gasket catalogue in the folder. Maybe there's another folder in the lockup, will try to look tomorrow.

[Dave_Q]

Ferritic and martensitic stainless are magnetic but austenitic not, the internet tells me.

Generally exhaust pipes and boxes are made from 409 or similar which will be ferritic/magnetic. It could be that the boxes are made of 304, 316 etc which are austenitic so might not be magnetic.

Sounds fairly legit.

[grogee]

I bought a door. Pricey, but it is in the "right" colour which saves a bit of faff. I don't know what the going rate is but I have to compare to wrong colour + £spraying.

Unfortunately it's in Lincs. My stepmum is nearby but we're not due to see her for a few months. Luckily the seller will hang onto it until then. 

Got a load more bits coming, I think I'll pull headliner out now. The hole in the roof is now sealed with bathroom sealant + duct tape, which as we all know are the most waterproof substances known to man. 

Underside much improved as well; two coats of zinc primer after the wire wheel and rust converter.

[grogee]

17 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Sorry, no gasket catalogue in the folder. Maybe there's another folder in the lockup, will try to look tomorrow.

Do you have numbers for f&r shocks & springs please?

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

Do you have numbers for f&r shocks & springs please?

I don't think Unipart did road springs, at that time anyway. They'd be in the Maestro catalogue. I do have a Unipart Sterling suspension catalogue but no listings for Maestros. Have been through one tea-chest of catalogues this morning, the other boxes are more of a challenge to get to but I intend to list them all to help where I can. Bear with...

[grogee]

2 hours ago, High Jetter said:

I don't think Unipart did road springs, at that time anyway. They'd be in the Maestro catalogue. I do have a Unipart Sterling suspension catalogue but no listings for Maestros. Have been through one tea-chest of catalogues this morning, the other boxes are more of a challenge to get to but I intend to list them all to help where I can. Bear with...

No worries. Not urgent. I appreciate your sterling library archive work...

Someone on the Maestro/Montego forum referred to an EPC on a CD ROM that only works with Win XP. I do actually have a shit old computer with XP, so I might see if any copies are available.

[High Jetter]

I have actually catalogued my catalogues this afternoon. Sadly nothing Maestro related, guess we must have moved on to Microfiches by then. Will post a list of what I have when I can transribe it from a grubby piece of A4.

[Noel Tidybeard]

12 hours ago, grogee said:

 

 

please note a montego door (pictured) is everso slightly different to an maestro door

• speaker size
• door moulding below window is held on with pips which are part of door pressing and not present on an maestro

rear doors have 3 different window profiles

• montego loon
• montego estate
• maestro

plus the above moulding shenanigans

[High Jetter]

29 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

please note a montego door (pictured) is everso slightly different to an maestro door

• speaker size
• door moulding below window is held on with pips which are part of door pressing and not present on an maestro

rear doors have 3 different window profiles

• montego loon
• montego estate
• maestro

plus the above moulding shenanigans

Anarok! Moar detail needed.

[grogee]

9 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

please note a montego door (pictured) is everso slightly different to an maestro door

• speaker size
• door moulding below window is held on with pips which are part of door pressing and not present on an maestro

rear doors have 3 different window profiles

• montego loon
• montego estate
• maestro

plus the above moulding shenanigans

Right you are. She be reet. I'll bodge out the speaker hole on passenger door to accommodate a pair of matching speakers as my OCD can't deal with an unmatched pair. The door moulding shouldn't matter if they look the same externally. 

I also want more anorak detail including the names of the fitters on the Cowley line and what they ate in the canteen.

[Noel Tidybeard]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Right you are. She be reet. I'll bodge out the speaker hole on passenger door to accommodate a pair of matching speakers as my OCD can't deal with an unmatched pair. The door moulding shouldn't matter if they look the same externally. 

I also want more anorak detail including the names of the fitters on the Cowley line and what they ate in the canteen.

the maestro doesn't have the door moulding just a simple widow rubber

maestro had 10cm speakers

montego 13cm

Derek, Bill, Dave & Colin and it was egg & chips cos it was Thursday! 🤪🤣

[grogee]

6 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

the maestro doesn't have the door moulding just a simple widow rubber

maestro had 10cm speakers

montego 13cm

Derek, Bill, Dave & Colin and it was egg & chips cos it was Thursday! 🤪🤣

Right so can I remove the simple window rubber from the existing Maestro door, and replace the Montego moulding with it???

[FakeConcern]

Kind of off topic, but hey! Back in the mid/late 80s a mate of mine got a job that included a company car and he couldn’t drive (he was very good with the BS) so he took one of those crash (!) driving courses and passed really quickly. Anyway he started work with a new Austin Maestro 1.3 in red (Emberglow?) and in the first week he got speeding ticket from a camera on Streatham Hill and when reverse parking in a multi story car park, his girlfriend opened the passenger door to guide him and the window frame hit a pillar bending it into a weird trapezoid shape so the door wouldn’t shut, luckily the window had been rolled down! He took it to a local body shop who bent it back enough to work and he never told his boss!

[Noel Tidybeard]

if you take this bit off

you will find metal "pips" along here

but the maestro rubber should fit

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Back in the mid/late 80s a mate of mine got a job that included a company car and he couldn’t drive (he was very good with the BS) so he took one of those crash (!) driving courses and passed really quickly.

That was a thing! God knows how profficient he/they were.

[mercedade]

21 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

 just a simple widow rubber

My nickname down the Red Lion

#LADZ

[grogee]

More Maestro. Scrubbed off some more rust from the door frames, I'm hoping my efforts will delay the inevitable by a few years. It looks a mess with grey primer on it but it'll slow down the rot.

Also bled some brake fluid out, god knows how long it's been in there. The good news is I managed to get all four bleed nipples undone without snapping, but the OSR did not liberate any fluid at all. Not sure what's going on, because the pedal is firm enough, but even after I'd connected the pressure bleeder then tried to suck fluid out I couldn't get anything to come out. 

I do need to get in the drums to change the handbrake cable, so I'll investigate further when I'm in there. 

I've got some new old stock cylinders if I discover one or both need changing, assuming I got the right ones. 

This does feel like a massive project but I've really got to think about it in stages:

1) bodywork estimate by A Professional

2) remove interior, carpet, bumpers and petrol tank

3) bodywork work by A Professional. I'm mentally bracing myself for a £2k bill, maybe more

4) get headlining done while the car is away

5) get it back once we've moved house then do cam belt and clutch

6) cosmetic and finishing touches before MoT and driving

I've got a rough 'deadline' of July 2023 because there's a charity car rally which my stepmum is involved in, and I'd like to take her around in that.

Oh, and in the first of many parts cock ups, I bought the wrong fuel pump relay.

[Popsicle]

Liked for the forward planning and taking your stepmum - not the relay cock up 😃.

[grogee]

3 hours ago, grogee said:

More Maestro. Scrubbed off some more rust from the door frames, I'm hoping my efforts will delay the inevitable by a few years. It looks a mess with grey primer on it but it'll slow down the rot.

Also bled some brake fluid out, god knows how long it's been in there. The good news is I managed to get all four bleed nipples undone without snapping, but the OSR did not liberate any fluid at all. Not sure what's going on, because the pedal is firm enough, but even after I'd connected the pressure bleeder then tried to suck fluid out I couldn't get anything to come out. 

I do need to get in the drums to change the handbrake cable, so I'll investigate further when I'm in there. 

I've got some new old stock cylinders if I discover one or both need changing, assuming I got the right ones. 

This does feel like a massive project but I've really got to think about it in stages:

1) bodywork estimate by A Professional

2) remove interior, carpet, bumpers and petrol tank

3) bodywork work by A Professional. I'm mentally bracing myself for a £2k bill, maybe more

4) get headlining done while the car is away

5) get it back once we've moved house then do cam belt and clutch

6) cosmetic and finishing touches before MoT and driving

I've got a rough 'deadline' of July 2023 because there's a charity car rally which my stepmum is involved in, and I'd like to take her around in that.

Oh, and in the first of many parts cock ups, I bought the wrong fuel pump relay.

Update, wasnae my fault. Bastards supplied wrong one. (5 pin in the ebay item pic, 4 pin supplied)

[grogee]

Feck's sake. Decided to tackle the exhaust so had a go at the downpipe bolts. I half-heartedly sprayed some WD40 on the studs a few hours before, but kind of knew they would be recalcitrant because a) British and b) 35 years old.

It's only a 13mm nut so not much to grip onto. Firstly had to cut the downpipe to get decent access to the nuts, out came the grinder. Access is limited by the subframe and driveshaft, why did BL insist on stuffing all the important bits at the back of the engine?

Anyway soon rounded the other two nuts, and yes I was using a 6-point impact socket. 

Ground those off which did at least allow me to get the downpipe off. 

I tried using a blowtorch on the studs before using the stud remover (the type with three 'fingers' that tighten around the stud) but not a sausage. I'm not sure if my stud remover has failed, it didn't seem to be gripping in the way I'm used to. 

Also took battery tray off as it's rusted through. Of course replacements are NLA, so I've decided to tidy up the remains and put a slab of 3mm plastic plate above the tray, then bolt it through to give some more strength. 

[grogee]

Been to look at a place for house contents storage - a farm with shipping containers basically. But the guy also has a barn where he stores cars and I was pleased to see a fellow Puma licker has put his cat in a bubble. 

Anyway, am toying with the idea of putting the Maestro in here over winter, it's a bit cheaper than council garage. Not sure which is least damp - they're probably both as bad as each other. Barn is at least draughty. 

[Cookiesouwest]

6 hours ago, grogee said:

Been to look at a place for house contents storage - a farm with shipping containers basically. But the guy also has a barn where he stores cars and I was pleased to see a fellow Puma licker has put his cat in a bubble. 

Anyway, am toying with the idea of putting the Maestro in here over winter, it's a bit cheaper than council garage. Not sure which is least damp - they're probably both as bad as each other. Barn is at least draughty. 

As you say, both damp but draughty barn better

[FakeConcern]

Also when you collect it next spring, you can call it a BARN FIND...

[Noel Tidybeard]

get a honda civic battery tray- they're plastic and could sit on the holy mg one

[grogee]

8 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

get a honda civic battery tray- they're plastic and could sit on the holy mg one

Thanks, what vintage?

I've actually put a slab of plastic sheet in to spread the weight of the battery over the tray. 

I've also slathered the metal parts of the tray in cheap radiator paint in an approximation of Austin-Rover Diamond White. Unfortunately the tin was quite old and the paint was runny so it looks shit, but hey, it's rustproofed.