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Turbo 248 resurrection from the dead.........

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  • Turbo 248 resurrection from the dead.........

    Hello and a happy new year to everyone on the forum

    I am new to Maestros but have admired the turbo for years and secretly wanted one for a while, i am mainly into Fords but fancied a change and i thought another needed to be saved from crumbling into dust.

    So mine is rather rough and has lots of holes....its also the wrong colour which at present is what i believe to be tahiti blue (worst paint job ever) so it will be going back to green, i've not attempted to start it as its been left so long. I dont see the point in changing the cam belt and oil just to run it up and potentially cause any damage so the engine is going up north to a mate who knows his stuff for a full strip and rebuild.

    I have purchased a Clubman which sadly will be coming to bits to supply many parts to repair 248 (yes it really is that bad) although im taking what would be seen to be a perfectly serviceable car off the road im fast learning that parts are extremely scarce for these things.

    So, theres going to be bits from the clubman which will probably be of no use to me such as seats,carpet,door cards,glass ect.... which i will offer to club members and theres going to be a few bits and bobs i need which i will put up in the "Wanted" section.

    Its going to be quite a project due to the sheer amount of rust! so any info/help/advise along the way would be appreciated.

    Regards

    Gary

  • #2
    Welcome Gary! My god you know how to jump in feet first in to world of Austin Rover!
    I'm currently rebuilding mine but it's in no way the state that your sounds like. I've been too busy with the likes of children etc, but have a deadline now as need the garage emptied before we get an extension.
    This forum isn't as well attended as it used to be but the archive of knowledge is great. Where are you based? There's generally a good spread location wise of members who can offer assistance.

    Anyway, good luck, you'll need it ;-)

    Ian D
    Ian Drew
    MG Maestro Turbo '400'
    MG ZT V8
    Rover 75 V6 Estate

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Ian

      Yes I like to go in feet first, I’m based in Loughborough in the east midlands.

      Turbos seem to be increasingly difficult to get, nobody seems to want to part with them when they’re in good working order and the value of them has sky rocketed.
      I knew when I bought it that It was going to be a real turd so kind of expected nothing positive.

      I have only just begun to start stripping the car as I’ve too many jobs round the house to finish before I get stuck in!

      But it needs:

      Roof front is rotten(clubman has a good one)

      Sun roof knackered (clubmans is like new)

      front doors already changed but rotten (donor fronts will repair, shipping two door original skins from Spain)

      rear doors already changed but rotten (donors are mint)

      front foot well welding (chop out donor)

      scuttle panel welding (chop out donor)

      sills (need to find but worse case can repair from donor)
      tail gate corner repair

      rear arches rotten (got some new front wings and think I can cut up graft them into rear arches)

      Dash really badly split (donor is mint)

      need tinted glass for passenger rear door

      i expect the fuel tank is shot


      so hopefully yours is starting to look like a weekend tidy up project


      cheers

      gary

      Comment


      • #4
        Hello Gary,
        Good luck with the project. I am in south Leics so not to far away and I think there is someone in Loughborough with an MG1600. Don't cut up your wings just yet, the rear arches do appear from time to time, there is one on eBay now for the nearside on this link. Given the parts situation I can fully understand that you are going to consume an otherwise roadworthy car in this project and I am sure you won't be the last to do so. What it gives up to you and potentially others will make it all worthwhile.

        Nick
        AUSTIN MAESTRO NEW NEARSIDE LEFT HAND REAR WHEEL ARCH PANEL. | eBay!

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Nick

          Dont worry I’m probably going to start at the front and work back through the rot, the wings will only get chopped up as a last resort, the donor wings are the steel bumper type and full of clag so can’t even use them to play with! The donor arches are externally a bit scabby but I think the inner tubs are ok so there’s plenty of metal to use up. Annoyingly it would be much easier to put all the turbo bits on the donor shell and fix that but then it loses its originality unless your into doing dodgy things with VIN numbers.

          like you say the majority of people will agree that dismembering the clubman is the right thing to do as it’s helping something rarer and ultimately of more value come back to life.

          I knew new parts were scarce for these cars but I didn’t quite realise how scarse!

          so top priority is finding some sills!

          cheers

          Gary

          Comment


          • #6
            Sounds a lot of work there, as you say they're getting a bit rare now so any you can find should be bought. Best of luck with the resto but it looks like you know what you're doing. Start a thread in the members car page and post up pics and updates. Most interesting
            1958 Ford Consul Convertible. I love this car
            1965 Ford Zodiac Executive. Fab cruiser being restored
            1997 Jaguar Xk8 Convertible. Such a fab car
            2004 MGZT cdti. Great workhorse
            2004 MGZT V8. I love this car

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi Jeff

              Thanks for posting a message, having read quite a bit of the previous forum posts Im glad youve got in touch as you seem to be a wealth of knowledge! I know your a Montego man but I know they share quite a bit. Im particularly keen to talk to you about my seats which have a broken stripe and the embossed MG logo is not so good now so when I get round to pulling the interior out I will post some pics.

              However the wife has forbidden me from touching the car until the decorating is done!

              ive certainly set myself a task and it’s not going to be easy but I think the end result will be worth it, certainly was with my fiesta xr2, so much so that I can’t part with it.

              cheers

              Gary

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Gary
                Yeah no worries, the seats come apart quite easily. I had the MG logo and turbo embroidered on a set of seats and had the red stripe replaced. Any good embroidery company should be able to do that for you. Don't forget the red stripe was velvet. There is a thread on how to strip the seats down somewhere
                1958 Ford Consul Convertible. I love this car
                1965 Ford Zodiac Executive. Fab cruiser being restored
                1997 Jaguar Xk8 Convertible. Such a fab car
                2004 MGZT cdti. Great workhorse
                2004 MGZT V8. I love this car

                Comment


                • #9
                  The rear http://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/g...rip-rear-seats
                  1958 Ford Consul Convertible. I love this car
                  1965 Ford Zodiac Executive. Fab cruiser being restored
                  1997 Jaguar Xk8 Convertible. Such a fab car
                  2004 MGZT cdti. Great workhorse
                  2004 MGZT V8. I love this car

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi Gary.
                    Loughborough, I know it well, I was at university there 20 years ago and still check out the pubs on an annual basis.
                    Yes, your project makes mine look more like a bulb change and polish!
                    Good luck with it, looking forward to seeing the progress.

                    Ian, now in St Albans.
                    Ian Drew
                    MG Maestro Turbo '400'
                    MG ZT V8
                    Rover 75 V6 Estate

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Welcome to the forum. Going by your description and the lack of turbos coming up for sale I take it this is the car you have purchased? Quite a project, definitely would be easier to re-shell but I am glad you are doing it right.

                      https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mg-Maestr...rdt=true&rt=nc

                      I had half a broken red stripe on mine. To keep my seats original as possible I waited patiently for quite a while and eventually someone was selling a mostly knackered set of mg metro seats on eBay quite cheap. As I only wanted the red stripes I paid nearly what he was asking and got him to cut the material round the stripes and post them to me. Pealed the closeness patina to the rest of the stripes in my mg and glued on. Looks original and correct.

                      I always save searches for any parts I want on eBay to be emailed to me as soon as they are listed. Saves manually searching all the time and you don't miss anything.

                      Good look with the restoration, Are you going to document it on this forum with pictures?
                      MG Maestro Turbo #500
                      BMW 335I M Sport Convertible
                      Subaru Impreza Hawkeye Wagon
                      Rover 218vvc Coupe

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Andy

                        Yes that certainly is the car in question, I paid much more than I wanted to but they dont come up unless theyre done up really, it wasnt even a drunken purchase either LOL, i had intended to go the week before the listing ended and inspect it but i was wrestling with my conscience as it had kind of gone over the price i was comfortable with.....then i bought the bloody thing.

                        As you say would be much easier to reshell but...... first you've got to find a grot free one, even ledburys are getting old now and the few I've seen have been starting to go, plus the rear quarters are for metal bumpers so that ruled that out. Then say i found a nice car with a mint shell i think id be paying a reasonable amount for the car which in turn you say to yourself it must be too good to break, although I'm only into the turbo model I'm sure many enthusiasts would not be happy with me tearing apart a perfectly good VP or EFI.

                        Although many people think I'm probably nuts i think its important to try and preserve what i can of the original car by repairing the shell, at least i know that it then still retains the original identity the factory gave it, anything i change in structural areas will be unpicked at the factory spot welds and put back as it was intended. The welding doesn't scare me, I've done something probably just as bad before and athough I'm no expert in anyway whatsoever I've got the backup of a few good people behind me and I'm now also talking with all you good people on the forum so i think its going to be a bumpy ride but hopefully in a few years i will be joining you all at the shows with it.

                        I will document it on the forum once i get my house straight in the next few months, thats priority to keep her indoors happy.

                        Cheers

                        Gary

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