GR8 4 Collecting Pension.

[lisbon_road]

This is fantastic work.  Maestros weren't bad cars I think.  Staggering how much work a 29K mile car has needed though.

 

Hats of to the original scrappy who didn't just weigh it in too, without that there'd be no story.

[Lankytim]

Yes, that was me, well remembered! It looked so good initially but on closer inspection was fooked. The sills and arches will find their way onto my maestro van trailer eventually.

 

My pal is still trying to sell his D reg 1.6 HLS with a diesel conversion. The body on that really is mintola. Think he only wants 200 quid or so.

[Angrydicky]

I remember that silver diesel as well. Good to know it's still around, that really was very clean. In retrospect this one would have been better off broken for spares as I could have bought a much better one for a fraction of what this has cost me so far, but where's the fun in that?

 

Update: Insurance sorted, and the MoT is booked for tomorrow at 3pm. Wish me luck!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Is that JonCedric who's flogging the diesel Maestro?

[Lankytim]

Yep, its in danger of bring scrapped if nobody buys it, its surplus to requirements and in the way.

[Angrydicky]

I'm pleased to report a FIRST TIME PASS! 

 

 

Another year's happy beige motoring ahead

[beko1987]

Well done!

[phil_lihp]

Winner!

[garycox]

Yay!! All of the likes.

 

So, you can now come to Shitefest?

 

[Angrydicky]

Wish I could! Unfortunately it's right in the middle of my exam period, so I can't make it this year.

[phil_lihp]

I believe Autoshite gatherings are one of the few approved 'Extenuating Circumstances' for most exams.

[trigger]

Nice one Richard! I bet your well chuffed with that result!

[vulgalour]

An advisory for rear seat belts not being fitted seems strange, as does an entirely clean sheet for a Maestro.  Sterling work, your efforts are worth the reward.

[KruJoe]

Super work all the way through, good effort. Nice pics and writing too.

About the troublesome seatbelt reels... if you've ever taken good ones from a car and had a play with them, you'll know just how sensitive they are to the angle you hold them. If they're anything but vertical, they just won't unreel. Could it be that these were not mounted at exactly the right angle?

[RichardMoss]

Yep, its in danger of bring scrapped if nobody buys it, its surplus to requirements and in the way.

Whereabouts is it and are any piccies available?  Was it fitted with a Prima engine or some other lump?

[scooters]

Colossal boner!

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Angrydicky]

Well the Maestro is just about finished now. I've been driving it around for a couple of days and love it. Seems very economical, and having synchromesh on 1st gear is something I just cannot get used to!

 

After the top coat went on, lots of cutting back and polishing followed, plus reassembly of course. Did the bumpers, wing mirrors and window frames with satin black. The front wings were particularly problematic, getting them to fit properly was difficult and consumed a lot of time. However, I don't think they look bad. I also had a new windscreen fitted as the original got damaged, and fitted another new headlining. This time I used the glue recommended by someone in the club who had done several so hopefully it will last this time.

 

Some pictures taken today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New headlining.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yup, not bad that.

[HillmanImp]

100% Autoshite gold. It looks amazing. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Wonderful ! What happened to the furry seat covers ?

[HMC]

Fantastic! All that effort really paid off AD!

 

looks superb, bet it turns a lot of heads. Is it a keeper in the fleet?

[cms206]

Bugger me that is glorious. Don't suppose you fancy spraying my Montego... ?


Didn't think so

[ProgRocker]

Ruddy hell Dicky that looks superb.

[dollywobbler]

Looking forward to perving over this on Sunday. It looks reet grand.

[Jim Bell]

I dont normally swear, but that looks amazing.

 

 

 

Fuck.

[michael t]

Wow, absolutely stunning, excellent work

[Angrydicky]

Thank you for the kind comments chaps!

 

Today I decided to take the Maestro back to its home town of Maldon. Pretty sad I know, but I'd located the site of the original dealership and the first owner's house on Streetview, so I thought I could take some nice pictures.

 

Outside the workshops of the selling dealership, D. Houlding and Son in Heybridge, Maldon. The site has since been converted into several different businesses but I think the large, asbestos roofed building on the right was the main workshop building.

 

 

Over the road, these new flats now stand on the site of the Houldings BL/AR/Rover showroom. The main garage and showroom was demolished about five years ago.

 

 

Outside the first owner's house in Great Totham, near Maldon. The Rover on the driveway was presumably the replacement for the Maestro, as it was parked in the same spot in 2009 on streetview, when she still had the Maestro in the garage. I did think about knocking on the door, but decided against it as I wasn't sure of the response I'd get.

 

 

 

A closer picture of the Rover, it's a 416GSI and looked immaculate. Presumably low mileage, it still carried its Houldings of Maldon dealer plates and sticker.

 

[EssDeeWon]

Great British giffer-bungalow picture, shame that poxy ugly eye-go was parked there.

[trigger]

Excellent although I would have had to knock after making the effort to go there, they might have been over joyed to see it again.

 

Or they might have looked at you like some kind of fruit cake, nice to know either way though.

[dollywobbler]

I had the same dilemma when I owned the Green Tiger. That car had lived in the same village for over a decade before I got my hands on it, also living in the same village. Was very hard to judge whether he'd be impressed with the car's exploits trekking all around France, or horrified that I'd covered his pride and joy with stupid stickers. I never did knock on the door...

[Angrydicky]

Well, had this back on the road about seven months now so just thought I'd report on how it's shaping up!

 

Well, in short, I love it. Done around 2500 miles so far without a single breakdown, which I'm chuffed with but then I suppose it is a fair bit newer than everything else on the fleet. Took it to the Gaydon BMC day, where I had it on the Maestro and Montego club stand along with Dollywobbler's Maestro van he had at the time. Unfortunately, the trip threw up a couple of issues. Firstly the throttle kept sticking down (it did that on the M25 at 70, that was scary). Secondly the crappy aftermarket exhaust was blowing badly and knocking over bumps. Managed to get a NOS QH throttle cable on Ebay for a tenner, that  was a bit fiddly to fit, but transformed the feel of it! And no more sticking. The exhaust was a bit more involved and I just thought "Fuck it" and welded the downpipe to the centre section of the exhaust, in a position where it no longer knocks. That was awkward, but turned out a success as I now have a completely knock and blow free exhaust which is excellent. I then used it infrequently for a while, before lending it to my dad as he needed a car to take to Norfolk for a few days. He was full of praise for it when he got back home. Then I moved back down to Kent and took the Maestro with me. 

Then, on a complete whim I decided to display my Somerset on the Young Guns Classics stand at Manchester. Had everything planned, then the newly fitted electronic ignition decided to fail, leaving the Somerset stranded with a bad misfire and no way I could attempt the journey in that.

So, it was down to the Maestro. I got it out of the lockup, where it had been languishing for a while, topped up the oil and had it valeted at the local East-European hand car wash. It was a really hot day and I had to ask the car washers if I could stand outside the car while it was being washed as I'd roast inside with the windows up and no air con! All the modern car owners were just sitting in their cars in air conditioned comfort while they were being washed. Incidentally, the Maestro looked really quite strange in the queue to be washed; there was a new 5 series BMW, newish Civic, Maestro, Qashqui and XC90!

The next day I bombed oop north to Manchester, which took seven hours. I can honestly say I never envisaged the amount of interest the Maestro would get on the stand. We had cars spanning four decades, much more desirable cars that were ignored as people made a beeline for the Maestro. I didn't take any pictures of it on the stand as I'm useless, but I found these on Flickr:

 

Austin Maestro by adam.delaney1, on Flickr

 

Austin Maestro by adam.delaney1, on Flickr

 

I managed to get out of the show after it finished at 5pm on Sunday. Filled up at Trafford Park Asda before heading back down south. Finally arrived back to my digs in Canterbury at midnight. Much of the journey back was completed at 70mph. Had it up to 85 at one point and it could have gone quicker, but I didn't want to push it too hard. Even at 70, I was able to overtake a lot of dawdlers and spent a surprising amount of time in the outside lanes of the M6 and M1.

 

Jobs still to do? The heater is still bypassed after the heater pipes split when Gary had it. Found a secondhand heater matrix and pipes on Ebay, but there was clearly some shill bidding going on, so I left it. If anyone sees one let me know! Also, despite my best efforts rust is coming back through the NSR door, so that needs replacing. I had hoped to get one in Champagne Beige, to minimise the prep needed, however, I've not been able to track one down. Oh and I still need a pair of front indicators as both mine are cracked. And the clutch is quite high, but isn't slipping, so I think I'll just put up with it until I've got a load of spare cash then get it changed.

 

Oh yes, the eagle eyed among you may have noticed the mudflaps in the Manchester show pictures. The original mudflaps simply said "Maestro" and were really work hardened/perished after 30 years. Besides which, the fixing bolts were really corroded and two flaps has actually dropped off the original rotten wings - ugh. I'd been on the lookout for a NOS set of Maestro mudflaps, without luck. Then, I just happened to be browsing the dusty shelves in a long-established Canterbury motor factors and I stumbled across these beauties. NOS, in the original packets and £20 for the set. I was very fortunate to get the last four, I reckon they'd been on the shelf since at least 1988-89 as that's when they dropped the Austin-Rover name.