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For those interested in "Modern Classic" Cars


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10 minutes ago, alastairq said:

It was the MG 2 litre....I believe the rear axles were borrowed off VW Golfs? Certainly the specialists I got it off used to use VW Golf axle parts...[they used them as rally machines & stuff]

 

This might explain it:

 

"with a conventional MacPherson strut system at the front and a Volkswagen Golf-style torsion beam at the rear being used instead - but with long travel rising rate springs.[4] While easier to build, this suspension did compromise load space. Prototypes were even tested with actual Golf suspension components. This may have led to the early cars being prone to front wheel bearing issues. The Maestro was larger and heavier than the first VW Golf."

 

From the Wikki page. Similar set up so someone may have modified one.

 

Shame about the car, given a decent looking body it would have competed very well against the Golf/Astra/Escort...

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13 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

So a bit cheeky of BL to put up adverts on the Tube (and elsewhere) comparing the performance of the MG with a VW Golf GTi. The MG was one second quicker to 60mph.

 

Why? That's advertising! When they did the Turbo they compared it with other even more exotic cars!

 

poster.jpg

 

From here:

 

http://rustyoldrubbish.blogspot.com/2018/10/unsung-heroes-mg-maestro-turbo.html

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The two litre injection is an outstanding car I still have one which is currently SORNed 

All the two litre cars has Honda gearboxes if it's a gold label built in Japan white in the UK

The others had a VW box from the golf which wasn't very good, change was awful.  

The 1.6 montego got the Honda box but for some reason the maestro didn't 

The general arrangement of the suspension is the same as the golf but not the same although some bushes do. 

The general arrangement of the new MG3 is also the same.

 

What colour blue is that one in the picture?  Doesn't look like an Austin rover colour 

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45 minutes ago, russ p said:

There was moonraker which was dark and Azure which was a light blue bother were metallic and unlike the blue on that car

 

The owner did say it was a respray, originally a white car, he mentioned a BL blue colour that he is going to respray it into but it wasn’t moonraker or azure, polar maybe, or that could have been the white

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14 minutes ago, big jim said:

 

The owner did say it was a respray, originally a white car, he mentioned a BL blue colour that he is going to respray it into but it wasn’t moonraker or azure, polar maybe, or that could have been the white

 

Rover did a pearlescent colour called 'Caribbean Blue', it wasn't that was it ?

 

(there's a Rover Metro GTI MPI in my garage that's in that colour!)

 

Cheers,

Phil.

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Don't think its Caribbean blue.

On a D plate it would be white diamond,  earlier ones were a creamy white called Arum white which looks absolutely fantastic on metro turbos with the almost black lower halves

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Gah! Rather galling, I found a superb British Motor fansite that expanded on much of the boardroom/shopfloor politics of what could have been world beating car designs some time ago.

Multiple phone changes seem to have lost the link, but If anyone fancies a trawl of the Internet, I think the search began with looking up the Lucas/Reliant hybrid car and following links.

 

I hope I've the Web page saved proper on the desktop iMac at home, a fascinating read.

 

C6T. 

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Some pictures of a MG maestro I had in a non standard colours,  it started  by having the lower half painted cinnabar red which was a colour never used on the metro but common on metros

I then fitted a turbo body kit and had it painted red hot a colour used on the special edition red hot mini but not on the red hot metro which used flame red.

I later fitted a 16v twincam engine which initially thought was a prototype  R800 engine  but later found out was a prototype for a range of cars that were to use the TR7 floorpan but cancelled when it was decided to concentrate on the FWD maestro and montego! 

To be honest the engine was a bit of a disaster for me , although it was fast and supposedly 150bhp I didn't have the correct ECUs for it and it suffered detonation while being road tested for fast car magazine this was all back in 1992

IMG-20180417-WA0008.jpeg

IMG-20180417-WA0025.jpeg

IMG-20180417-WA0033.jpeg

Edited by russ p
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I have to admit Russ, much as I fancied an MG Maestro Turbo in my youth (f@ck Ford) that first picture don't do it any favours. The Rover 200/400/600 family perhaps had better chances of getting homologation and racing success? 

 

Rover 800 Vitesse anyone, yeah it's a Honda but... 

 

C6T. 

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8 hours ago, alastairq said:

I , too, once had one...a couple of decades ago now....very strong engine....VW back axle, honda(?) gearbox....doors full of water....

Well it was the successor to the Marina...

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There's a member on here that used to own one of the special edition Maestro Turbo's with the Tickford bodykit, it looked the nuts !!

I'll ask if he's got any pics of it.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of my little Blue Metro !

 

Cheers,

Phil.

Scan_20150103.jpg

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2 hours ago, russ p said:

Some pictures of a MG maestro I had in a non standard colours,  it started  by having the lower half painted cinnabar red which was a colour never used on the metro but common on metros

I then fitted a turbo body kit and had it painted red hot a colour used on the special edition red hot mini but not on the red hot metro which used flame red.

I later fitted a 16v twincam engine which initially thought was a prototype  R800 engine  but later found out was a prototype for a range of cars that were to use the TR7 floorpan but cancelled when it was decided to concentrate on the FWD maestro and montego! 

To be honest the engine was a bit of a disaster for me , although it was fast and supposedly 150bhp I didn't have the correct ECUs for it and it suffered detonation while being road tested for fast car magazine this was all back in 1992

IMG-20180417-WA0008.jpeg

IMG-20180417-WA0025.jpeg

IMG-20180417-WA0033.jpeg

 

Looks a bit out of place in sleepy Saltburn...

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colleague at Rochdale had a  1600 mg meastro that was  a pig to start when hot especially on hot days he was ready to bin it when i advised him to get rid of the shock airfilter and box and fit a ppg foam airfilter . this was due to good old BL fitting the metal airbox and twin  carbs right over red hot exhaust manifold with resultant heatsoak issues .fitting the foam filter transformed the car for hot starts and brought out a nice throaty induction roar which he loved so happy all around .

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All the maestro turbos had the tickford bodykit there were only 505 of them

That metro MPi looks fantastic but a little high on the hydragas 

SRi looks mint except my pet hate post 01 font on the number plate,  so easy to get dealer plates off Ebay 

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6 minutes ago, Worsdell forever said:

Had one of these, mid 90s (but a year newer), wish I still had it although I think all the rust holes would have linked up by now.

 

Vauxhall_Cavalier_SRi_(1985)_-_183214566

 

The other lad that was an apprentice at the same time as me had a Red Cavalier with the same bumpers, grille, etc to that one, but his was a 2 door cabriolet.

Don't think I've ever seen another one on the road, ever !!

 

Cheers,

Phil.

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2 minutes ago, peanuts said:

colleague at Rochdale had a  1600 mg meastro that was  a pig to start when hot especially on hot days he was ready to bin it when i advised him to get rid of the shock airfilter and box and fit a ppg foam airfilter . this was due to good old BL fitting the metal airbox and twin  carbs right over red hot exhaust manifold with resultant heatsoak issues .fitting the foam filter transformed the car for hot starts and brought out a nice throaty induction roar which he loved so happy all around .

 

 

Aye absolutely spot on the 1600s used to boil their fuel the later S series ones which are extremely rare had carb cooling fans.

Strange thing is my metro gets the turbo glowing red under the carb but very rarely has vapour lock

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I really liked my Montego Advantage in pearlescent red because it looked snazzy. There weren't many made so if there are any left I can see it might be a classic - loved the white alloys which were part of the original spec.  Sunroof and rear spoiler as well so it all felt pretty good at the time.

car09.jpg

Edited by Chris M
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10 minutes ago, Chris M said:

I really liked my Montego Advantage in pearlescent red because it looked snazzy. There weren't many made so if there are any left I can see it might be a classic - loved the white alloys which were part of the original spec.  Sunroof and rear spoiler as well so it all felt pretty good at the time.

 

 

That certainly looks posher than the one my Dad had back in the day.....

 

Cheers,

Phil.

Scan_20190617.jpg

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55 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

 

Aye absolutely spot on the 1600s used to boil their fuel the later S series ones which are extremely rare had carb cooling fans.

Strange thing is my metro gets the turbo glowing red under the carb but very rarely has vapour lock

single hif6 as against  twin webbers can remember if they were dcds or dcnfs on the meastro ? 

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