[For Sale] What is it worth?

[Beaker]

We have a brand new headlining for a non sunroof Maestro. What do your think it is worth?

[Guest]

A brand new boxed sunroof one sold for (IIRC) 150.00 last year,

So a none sunroof one being far rarer? ....

[matthewsemple]

Do non-sunroof headings sag? I always thought it was the leaky sunroofs that caused sagging.

[BIGDAVE]

what is it that makes headlinnings sag in maestros/montegos
is it the glue used or the quality of the material used that splits from the
foam backing.ive had rover 200 and 45s that dont have this problem

[matthewsemple]

Maestro and Montegos have a shaped panel (usually referred to as the biscuit) and a thin piece of material glued to it. They also tend to have sunroofs that leak and allow moisture to separate the material from the biscuit.

On later cars air conditioning replaced the sunroof on most models so that illuminated one problem. The design of the headlining also changed. We have an MG ZT which has a shaped felt panel that appears to be one-piece rather than a biscuit covered in material.

[Guest]

I don't know about non sunroof cars not getting "saggy headliners" Matthew.

Both the B plate 1.6 I had, and the resident 1.6 HL Auto Estate are both non sunroof cars and the headliner material sagged on both quite a lot.

As for the cause, the sunroof's can be an issue for them if they leek or the cassette is holed by rust allowing water to come into contact with it.

But the main reason is deterioration of the foam backing, which in time loses it's adhesion to the material..

[Beaker]

This one is still bagged up.

[Guest]

It is likely that the foam/glue combo has still degraded over time whilst in storage (due to off-gassing from the packaging - my other half is a conservator, I do listen occasionally )

[David3500]

I never had a leaking sunroof on my MG Maestro although this did not stop the headlining from sagging so badly that rear seat passengers thought they were being suffocated (wishful thinking on my part, as the driver!).

The backing of the material is actually foam and it does degrade over time, possibly due to its composition or exposure to UV light over time. This will of course affect any adhesion to the main backing base. Interestingly, if you look at the seat foams for the front seats, particularly at the base of the rear back rests, you will find there is often degradation over time which can lead to a powdery residue appearing in the rear footwells.

Sadly Austin Rover Group. Rover Cars and Land Rover models from that era used the same headlining design and ultimately suffered from the same problem. Nationwide Trim have provided an alternative replacement for owners of first generation Range Rovers although not for other vehicles.

[Simon]

I always thought it was a combination of age and UV that leached-out the plasticiser in the foam backing, making it brittle and causing it to break up and nothing to do with the adhesive as such.

[E_T_V]

Agreed. The headlining droops due to heat/UV and it is the foam backing that degrades to a powder. The problem affects lots of cars not just maestros. R8's are no different either. I need to re-do ours

[H48HPE]

back to the original question - I guess its just how much 2 people want to bid on ebay... Personally I wouldnt spend a lot on a NOS one as I guess the foam would be on the brink of breaking up due to the age - leaving you with the same issue. I'd rather recover one using the new material you get from woolies. but others I imagine would bid over £100 for one, I remember pricing one up at a rover dealer in about 2002 - and they were around the £100 mark there.

When my dad had a maestro in the 90s I remember the headling being fine, then where anyone had been touching it it'd started to separate. it was just because the foam appeared fine till it was disturbed which lead to it degrading and falling away - that was happening when the car was about 6 years old...



Andy

[matthewsemple]

Agreed. The headlining droops due to heat/UV and it is the foam backing that degrades to a powder. The problem affects lots of cars not just maestros. R8's are no different either. I need to re-do ours

I'd agree with the bit about R8s as our new (to us) 416 has the same issue but that car has a sunroof too. The 220 Coupe was better as the headlining was a different design as is the ZT.

Good news for the seller if it's the design rather than the sunroof that is the problem. Not sure why they didn't still with the vinyl headlining on the non-sunroof cars like my MG1600. Easier to clean and more hard-wearing and they don't sag.

[BIGDAVE]

my 2 ledbury maestros had a sagging headlinning after about 14years old and both without sunroofs.
so have to agree your right about the foam spitting from the fabric and turning to powder

[E_T_V]

The R8 headlinings usually sag in the back corner first (far away from the sunroof).

To be fair the headlinings outlast the design-life of the car so we shouldn't complain too much.