MG Maestro 1600 'Barn Find'.......HOW much????!

[digital efi]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224518052169

I am rather amazed at how well this seems to be doing: over £1300 with 8 days left to go. Yes, it has only done 45000 miles but it has plenty of rust and it would appear that mice have been living inside it..........

Are MG 1600s finally becoming sought after?

[Montegoman]

I am surprised that the driver's seat side bolster is as worn as it is, if it has only done 45k miles.

[digital efi]

In a last-minute frenzy of bidding, it ended at £2550!

[Mr bump]

I think 2550 was cheap considering there's less than 10 left and no one who owns an MG1600 wants to sell it. I've looked for years to find one, even a project and have been disappointed.
so yes, I think they are coming into the lime light, and it's about time.

[digital efi]

I must admit when I saw that there were three of you fighting it out for that MG approaching the £2k mark, I did consider putting mine on the market but I have to admit that I did rather enjoy driving it when it was last on the road (although the EFi is still my favourite) and would like to do that again when I get the time to dig it out and get it running: it has not turned a wheel for more than 10 years! It is one of the eleven (according to 'How many Left') 1983 cars on SORN.
The only interest out there in the past seemed to be from people who either wanted to race one or strip it for the twin Webers, so maybe the tide has finally turned.

[Mr bump]

There a great car, and rarer than any other hot hatch from the 80s. I've owned many XR3s, I've just finished a black RS1600Turbo, not the S1 or the RS1600i, this was a carburettor turbo that Ford introduced in 1981 for Ford dealers to fit to you 1.6 cvh escort.

But my heart lays with the underdog and always has.
There's fantastic scope to make the MG1600 better.
Interior wise, il be fitting Aircon, electric windows, mirrors and central locking, mgtf electric power steering and rack. It already has factory fitted central locking.

Under the bonnet wise, it will get a coolex Twin core all alloy radiator with alloy cooling pipes with a back up electric double fan, head skim, longer duration camshaft, Re-jetted and throated twin 40s for an extra 20 bhp, fit an LSD to the vw golf gearbox, soft polybushs all round, stainless exhaust, quickshift gear change kit, uprate front and rear ARBs, hidden rear strut bracing...ect ect, to make it an everyday user friendly car to rely on.
all the above il be doing while the shell is bare and being welded and painted.
all of the above don't alter the look of the car not one bit.

I know some owners/purists won't agree with the modifications, but itl make driving it that more special and comfy.

[Doctordiesel77]

There a great car, and rarer than any other hot hatch from the 80s. I've owned many XR3s, I've just finished a black RS1600Turbo, not the S1 or the RS1600i, this was a carburettor turbo that Ford introduced in 1981 for Ford dealers to fit to you 1.6 cvh escort.

But my heart lays with the underdog and always has.
There's fantastic scope to make the MG1600 better.
Interior wise, il be fitting Aircon, electric windows, mirrors and central locking, mgtf electric power steering and rack. It already has central locking on the front doors only! It's factory fitted aswell.

Under the bonnet wise, it will get a coolex Twin core all alloy radiator with alloy cooling pipes with a back up electric double fan, head skim, longer duration camshaft, Re-jetted and throated twin 40s for an extra 20 bhp, fit an LSD to the vw golf gearbox, soft polybushs all round, stainless exhaust, quickshift gear change kit, uprate front and rear ARBs, hidden rear strut bracing...ect ect, to make it an everyday user friendly car to rely on.
all the above il be doing while the shell is bare and being welded and painted.
all of the above don't alter the look of the car not one bit.

I know some owners/purists won't agree with the modifications, but itl make driving it that more special and comfy.

Do you already have a plan for the aircon? It will be a bit of a tight fit in there I guess.

[Mr bump]

There's independent units available from the USA that are made for the retro fit to 60s cars, but a rover 200 unit with a little tweak here and there is an ideal doner unit. Correct it's a tedious and time consuming job, but itl be worth it in the end. How can a maestro owner not like aircon?

[Doctordiesel77]

There's independent units available from the USA that are made for the retro fit to 60s cars, but a rover 200 unit with a little tweak here and there is an ideal doner unit. Correct it's a tedious and time consuming job, but itl be worth it in the end. How can a maestro owner not like aircon?

You asked the wrong man that question ha ha...I am not a fan of aircon, I can see that it would be handy in the winter for quicker demisting, but my usual response to aircon is to turn it off (seemed to confuse hotel staff in Singapore, they were addicted to it ). I know someone that worked in Thailand, he reckoned they had electrically powered independant aircon units in some cars, maybe the same as the US ones that you've seen(he was a fan of aircon, but never managed to get hold of one of these units). I guess the Rover 200 one will be the cheaper option anyway.

[Mr bump]

The prius has electric units, or the zoe, all electric cars like that. But the yanks have developed many a system that's fits into the existing heater box. Il find a link.