G901 GOJ - Maestro 1.3L Project

[Austin-Rover]

As advertised in the for sale section recently, this car was delivered on Sunday. It seemed likely that the car would have ended up at the scrapyard as there wasn't much interest in anyone giving it a home. Anyway, being not too far from home and having negotiated a reasonable price, it's now outside with a view to it heading back to the road.

After a clean up and a stock take, the good parts are;

Good panels largely free from serious rust - an afternoon with the Kurust should do them a lot of good.
No rot in any seams or the sunroof area - rather unusual on an unloved Maestro of this age.
Low mileage engine and box having done 25,000 miles. Recent thermostat and water pump, too.
Two new tyres.
Most rust scabs already rubbed down and just require finishing.

Bad bits are;

O/S/R wheelarch well past its best. Repair by previous owner with filler - will see how this one pans out...
Front of N/S sill needs proper welded repair...not the filler currently there.
Spongy brakes.
Tobacco stained and ripped headlining
Broken headrest to passenger seat
Cig burns to drivers seat
Interior needs a deep clean

Hopefully, with a bit of work at home, and some welding prior to the MoT it should go back on the road with minimal fuss. With only 25,000 miles I reckon it's got plenty of useful life left in it. It probably won't be the prettiest Maestro ever, but should be tidy enough.

[maestro dave]

As advertised in the for sale section recently, this car was delivered on Sunday. It seemed likely that the car would have ended up at the scrapyard as there wasn't much interest in anyone giving it a home. Anyway, being not too far from home and having negotiated a reasonable price, it's now outside with a view to it heading back to the road.

After a clean up and a stock take, the good parts are;

Good panels largely free from serious rust - an afternoon with the Kurust should do them a lot of good.
No rot in any seams or the sunroof area - rather unusual on an unloved Maestro of this age.
Low mileage engine and box having done 25,000 miles. Recent thermostat and water pump, too.
Two new tyres.
Most rust scabs already rubbed down and just require finishing.

Bad bits are;

O/S/R wheelarch well past its best. Repair by previous owner with filler - will see how this one pans out...
Front of N/S sill needs proper welded repair...not the filler currently there.
Spongy brakes.
Tobacco stained and ripped headlining
Broken headrest to passenger seat
Cig burns to drivers seat
Interior needs a deep clean

Hopefully, with a bit of work at home, and some welding prior to the MoT it should go back on the road with minimal fuss. With only 25,000 miles I reckon it's got plenty of useful life left in it. It probably won't be the prettiest Maestro ever, but should be tidy enough.

Well done and good luck

[H48HPE]

Well done Rich, It looks like a nice project to tidy up... Pleasing to see it rescued from the brink of destruction!!!

The good thing is you know this cars going back on the road; not like some others that get bought with big ideas and then necer finished.

Andy

[cybernaughthippo]

Actually looks quite smart in the pics, like the contrast between the white body and the black steel wheels!

[G51 NAV]

Other than that dodgy sill it looks great. Nice one RD.
So other than duotone paint, plastic bumpers and rubbing-strips, what did that buy you over a Special?

[Austin-Rover]

So other than duotone paint, plastic bumpers and rubbing-strips, what did that buy you over a Special?

Box velour upholstery, tilt and slide glass sunroof, better stereo with four speakers and 5 speed gearbox.

[G51 NAV]

pretty good deal then

[Austin-Rover]

The car had a date with the wire brush attachment on the angle grinder today, and the results were...not encouraging.

There's a good 4 inch length of the inner and outer sill completely missing from the rear offside. Coupled with the 'we can rebuild it from filler' wheel arch in the same place would mean an intensive rebuilding in this area. There's also a hole at the front of the same sill. The nearside sill already had the 'filler' repair I knew about.

Behind the rear bumper, there's a similar story. The vertical rear panel where it meets the boot floor is peppered with holes. The outer skin is pretty much non existent.

Considering I'd not planned on keeping this car long term and had hoped to got it MoT'd for minimal expense, I think I might call it quits, strip the best bits and weigh the rest in. I can't really justify spending so much on welding and a new wheel arch.

[G51 NAV]

No agreed when you can't do the repairs yourself it quickly becomes very expensive on a car which isn't worth much to start with. Is it worth offering-up the remains as a donor for say it's weigh-in price?

[Austin-Rover]

Pictures one and two show the same area, the rear of the offside sill. This massive hole, that appeared at first to be sound has been the killer blow, I think. The problem is made worse by the fact that the bottom of the arch directly next to it is made of filler, which - of course - you can't weld on to. This means the whole wheel arch would have to be done, too...which would take care of the holes on the inner arch.

Costs quickly start mounting when you can add three extra areas of welding to the one you knew about before...

I've made provisionally a list of items I'd save for myself, anything else is for pickings.

[maestro dave]

Pictures one and two show the same area, the rear of the offside sill. This massive hole, that appeared at first to be sound has been the killer blow, I think. The problem is made worse by the fact that the bottom of the arch directly next to it is made of filler, which - of course - you can't weld on to. This means the whole wheel arch would have to be done, too...which would take care of the holes on the inner arch.

Costs quickly start mounting when you can add three extra areas of welding to the one you knew about before...

I've made provisionally a list of items I'd save for myself, anything else is for pickings.

Its a shame , but as you say costs do start mounting up fast

[G51 NAV]

By the looks if it, it's already suffered the ignominy of an MOT-standard weld-up in that area, instead of a proper job, hence why it's rotted out again. Probably also explains the P38 wheelarch.

[H48HPE]

it looks just like my Maestro did before i started working on it.

I cant resist pestering you to buy a MIG like I did - but you would also need a pit or a lifter to go with it - and a load of time - considering its not a rare model; I suppose common sense will prevail....

Certainly not worth payin a load for a garage to do it.

bad luck...

[Jeff Turbo]

That's a shame Rich, looks quite a good car other than that

[edders1690]

Hi Rich

will you be keeping the dash as I need a good one for my efi!

Ray