BLOG MY RIDE: Rally MG Maestro 1600 - Car B

[John C]

The RACE RETRO show went really well!
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=16564

The Class Racing guys tried replacing the steering rack with a remanufactured one I got off eBay. However it didn't quite fit (one prong was slightly out) despite it definitely being quoted as for my variant of Maestro. However, they robbed some parts from it and fitted them to old rack and not its all back together (but now with no slack in the system).

Latest thoughts on the Maestro having had a 5 min drive in it the other day:

a) The guys have also sorted out the appalling gear change when they refitted the gear lever (after doing the steering rack). It is now a nice tight change (and you no longer accidentally get reverse when changing from 2nd to 1st -the gate protecting reverse is now fixed). However, it can be difficult to engage reverse -the lever needs a good firm shove forward or the gears just grate when you lift the clutch)

b) The brakes are not very good. 1st port of call must be to see if the servo is working properly.

[John C]

Some of the smaller jobs e.g. unbolt and then bolt up component changes on the MG were fine for the Class Racing pupils to do themselves.

The whole back axle has been removed and refitted with new bushes.
All the bushes at the back of the car have been done.

Got a problem with the front lower arm bushes, though:
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/sho...973#post145973

[John C]

This is a MASSIVE result! here's the gen on this prestigious historic motorsport show:
http://www.raceretro.com/

If anyone's interested in helping man the Maestro stand, I might be able to get you in for free. We aren't required to have someone on the stand all the time, so there will be plenty of breaks where you can see the rest of the show & the Group B rally cars on the demo stage outside.

I'm liaising with Philip and the show organisers to see if we can also get the Africa Maestro alongside, which would be excellent (2 cars spanning 29 years of Maestro's competing in motorsport!)

[John C]

Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 08:44:32 +0000

Hello John

Thanks for sending again, this must have passed me by last time.

A very interesting car and yes I’m sure we can find a suitable display place for it in the rally hall. We would require the car delivered on Thursday 23 Feb between 09.00hrs and 21.00hrs and it can be removed after 18.00hrs on Sunday 26 Feb. Sorry we can’t offer any expenses but we will provide you with two complimentary tickets per day for the show and an exhibitors on site parking permit. If you’re interested to go ahead on that basis please let me know and I’ll be in touch nearer the show.

Thanks and best regards, David

[John C]

Dear Sir or Madam,

As discussed recently, please can you confirm if you would be interested in having this car at Race Retro 2012?

I've attached some details on it, FYI.

PHOTOS
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=b2bd7...!327&sc=photos

Regards,
John Clayton
ClaytonMotorsport.co.uk
ChristiansInMotorsport.org.uk

[John C]

I remember thinking that the car's steering was very light -it felt like it had power steering, but I don't believe that this variant of the Maestro did.

It certainly needed light steering, given the amount of 'arm twirling' that was going on to keep the car on the track! It was (to quote the highly experienced rally driver Nick Stafford who shared driving the car with me on the day) 'VERY lively', especially on the straights where you had to work away on the wheel to keep the car going straight as it leaped around at the back. We checked the Tyre Pressures (assuming they would be way too hard) but they were fine (34psi) and the shocks were replaced recently. It might be that the springs have gone soft with age/use? Alternatively, the soft and/or worn suspension bushes (which have play in them) might be allowing some flex that is creating an oversteery back end (e.g. rear wheel 'toe out')?

[John C]

Nick describes the gearchange as 'awful' and believes that it's down to a ropey linkage under the gear lever. It doesn't appear to have any gate protecting Reverse (causing some grinding when you're going between 1st and 2nd on the course!).

Also, the bonnet stay needs re-affixing as it often pops out at the mo (causing the bonnet to womp shut).

Interestingly, we never had a single problem with 'hot-starting' all day despite the bad rep this model had for it. The only time we had a problem starting it was when it was cold

[John C]

I've started another thread:
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/sho...956#post144956
to explore this question: Where can u buy suspension bushes (inc. Poly Bushes)?

[John C]

We spotted that the sump guard is touching the bottom of the exhaust manifold -it just needs some rubber (or polybush?) spacers between the guard and the chassis to make it sit a bit lower.

The vehicle used approx 20 litres of fuel during the course of the day.

Normal ear plugs were NOT adequate with the very noisy induction roar. However, the car sounds like a MkII Escort (probably because they also typically run on Twin Weber 40 carbs), and sounds pretty awesome to be honest, impressing the onlookers, and the rasp could be heard reverberating round the forest even when the car was a fair distance away.

[John C]

The lads put a switch on the dash for the electric fuel pump (UP for 'ON') and the pump is automatically turned off (regardless of the switch position) when the ignition is turned off.

The car was a 'mare to start and had to be cranked for ages (it was a close run thing before the batt went flat!).

Nick spotted an issue with the carb -further explored here:
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/sho...786#post144786

When it started up and had warmed up, Nick played around with the engine and ended up richening up the mixture slightly and also adjusted the timing which made it run a bit smoother.

After each 3-4minute rally stage we stopped it and raised the bonnet for 5-10 mins to allow it to cool down (none of the digital dash instruments work so its impossible to tell what temp & rpm you've got -although many of the warning lights DO appear to work as seen when you first turn on the ignition).

[John C]

The guys have welded up the hairline stress cracks at the inboard base of the rear wheel arches (and painted the repairs black). Chris pointed out to me (with the aid of a crowbar to lever each part) some play in numerous bushes (front and Also rear trailing arm mounts). The rubber has obviously had it.'anyone know who does polybushes for the maestro? I wud tend towards getting a softer grade of polybush for Rally use as race grade will be too hard?

[John C]

Thanks to Ross H & Ralph G for the offer of hubs; i got one from the former and its now sortd out, and the wheel bearing replaced (both on left).
I visited the Class Racing boyos on Thurs pm and they had done a great job getting the car fettled and ready. It has had a steel panel fabricated to covr over the spare wheel well to seal in the elec fuel pump (still needs rubber or silicone sealant to get a better fuel proof seal if poss

[RalphG]

The single piece bearing Meastro flanges are the same as the MGF/TF (hubs are obviously different) - the twin bearing flanges are different.

I have a used single piece bearing flange (or two, possibly) sitting in my garage. The face of the shoulder may be slightly worn, as it was fitted to a twin bearing hub.

[John C]

I've just had a call from Graham of Class Racing with the following update:

We have now done the engine's static & dynamic timing.
The car was running very, very rich after its carb rebuild but now adjusted on a Krypton tuning station. Couldn’t get the exhaust hydrocarbons in range –possibly caused by valve timing being slightly out (due to a very loose/worn/rattly timing chain) at tickover.

The Tickover's still slightly rough but it's running smoothly at mid and high range (the rough running problem is now ONLY noticeable at tickover). It sounds good and runs crisply at mid and high revs. This is probably as good as the engine can be got without rebuilding it, and it might go on like this for years.

Tried new wheel bearing on MG Maestro but the hub flange is too worn and so the wheel still wobbles.

We're really struggling to find anywhere that can sell a Maestro front hub flange.

The bearing appears to be the same part number as the MGTF bearing. We think that the Maestro has the same hub as the Metro or MGTF. We have an MGTF outside and so can take a wheel off it to have a look at it but we can’t take hub off to try it without destroying the bearing (it's an interference fit).
We could reassemble the Maestro with the old hub flange but the bearing won't last long.

[John C]

Chris & Rob report that:
Fuel pump is no longer leaking (PTFE tape sealed the threads)
Oil has been changed (now got competition stuff in)
Engine oil additive has been put in -didn't make much difference (but it's
Compression test repeated (the throttle was held wide open)

Cyl 1 2 3 4
Bar 8 8.5 4.5 6.0 [original oil]
Bar* 7 6.1 4.1 6.3 [motorsport oil & additive]
-13% -28% -8% +20% [% change ]

Psi 116 123 65 87 [original oil]
Psi 102 88 60 91 [motorsport oil & additive]

*For the first compression test engine was cold. Before the 2nd test was done the car was run for 15mins then stopped engine for 1 hr. The engine felt only slightly warm to the touch by the time that the 2nd compression test was done

-NSF wheel bearing has a lot of play in it so it will be changed tomorrow hopefully (has got the new wheel bearing ready to fit) -will see if this fixes the play.
-The OSF bearing had a bit of play in it so this might need changing some time soon.
-Can the bearings be tightened up with the castle nuts? -the older type could be because they had a split bearing? It looks like the driveshaft is meant to have a bearing on it.
[Can't chk the balljoints too accurately till the play in the wheels is sorted out]. Hopefully the above will stop the car veering to the left when you come sharply off the gas at high revs.
-Noticed that the plugs get wet quite quickly. This might be if the bores are worn and oil comes up from the sump onto the plugs. However, it might be because the engine isn't getting warm when it's just running for a few minutes at a time in the workshop.
-The Sump guard (currently in the back store) will be refitted in time for the car's next outing (Fri 20 Jan)
-More jobs will be done on it next week.