My Ledbury Has Arrived :)

[Andy]

Got dropped off yesterday after passing mot with no advisory's. Really is a pleasure to drive, at a leisurely pace, keep going for 5th even though its not there lol. Cant quite believe the condition of the bodywork, its like new. shame to use it through winter but its getting used. Only two faults I can find are although it drives straight as a die the steering wheel is off center when driving. Don't no whether to take it in for tracking or just try put the wheel on straight. And the smashed plastic as pictured. Has anyone got a sparse? I will put up another thread if I don't get a response here. First time I have bought the same type of car twice. Definitely got the maestro bug lol. What kind of mpg do owners of the 1.3's achieve then?

http://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/g...edbury-on-ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/rover-maes...EAAOSw2xRYUEo5

[Doctordiesel77]

The off centre steering wheel is probably down to setting the tracking after a track rod end has been changed, there is a surprising amount of variation in dimensions of rod ends, to set tracking quickly the fitter will just adjust the new end until tracking is correct...to do it properly the other side would be to move as well, so that steering wheel will be centred. This ensures that the steering rack is centred when wheels are pointing straight, not too important on manual rack, but not too hard to check if this is what has happened. Put wheel in its current straight ahead position, jack front of car up so both wheels are off the ground (and put axle stands/chocks in so it can't fall off jack, safety first etc etc), then measure the exact number of turns from straight on to full lock in each direction....if it is exactly the same number, then rack and wheels are "in sync" and you just need to remove the steering wheel and refit it so that it is also pointing straight. If not, then set steering wheel such that it is an equal distance from lock to lock...if wheel is now central, then both track rods need adjusting...not too difficult to do yourself, if the last person put grease or copperslip on the threads.... if...the biggest word in the English language If you are very careful, you can correct this without altering the tracking. If the steering wheel is pointing slightly to the left when you are going straight, then left hand track rod needs to be screwed further INTO its track rod end and right hand track rod needs to be screwed OUT of its track rod end by EXACTLY the same distance. And Vice Versa if pointing right... Mark the rod before trying to loosen the locknut, as it may wind the rod out a bit. I used to work at a local garage, so have been able to use the expensive alignment gear there, but it is a 6 mile drive, so I got one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gunson-G40...-/130891991808 to get it somewhere near before setting off...it seems pretty accurate tho' so now I often rely on it... If you don't fancy fiddling with the cars undercarriage, then any decent garage should be able to sort it out, probably cheaper than kwik fit etc and more likely to do as you ask & put it right for you, especially if they know that you know how to check their work ....If it is only a small discrepancy then probably no harm in moving steering wheel, but you will end up with a better lock one way than the other, car looks nice enough to be worth doing the job properly anyway Hope this actually makes sense.... i
good luck
John

[Jeff Turbo]

looks good that

[Andy]

Cheers for the information John. Think I might just take it to the local tyre and auto center for piece of mind. Its only £25 and its the lazer aligned system they use. Cheers for the comment Jeff. Yes it seems to be attracting just as much attention as my turbo.

[E_T_V]

Looks nice, but ledburys do have a 5 speed box usually.

[Andy]

Thanks. I thought that from what I have read. But this one definitely has the four speed vw box and its very low geared. Evan has the 4 speed knob. Doubt its been changed with the millage. Were any built with the 4 speed rom new?

[E_T_V]

All that I've seen (including my van) have been 5 speed. Its possible that the last ones (g registered) had to use used gearboxes when they started running out of bits!

[Doctordiesel77]

Gearbox serial number might give the game away...

[Andy]

This one was a T registration. Strange, wonder what the story behind this is. Would the five speed just bolt straight on then? Should image one could be picked up for next to nothing. Could do with the extra gear. Was there ever a pg1 fitted to the a series? The pg1 on my turbo is a beautiful box, no different to any modern car with the short shift on. But to be honest this vw box is a dog ha.

[Doctordiesel77]

5 speed vw should bolt straight on, but don't think pg1 ever went on an A series, don't think the change should be too horrible on the vw box, unless linkage is worn/needs oil...I'm sure that someone on here will know for sure which box went where...I trawled through various manuals once as I wanted to alter gearing...vast choice of ratios on pg1..in the end I think I changed tyre sizes tho' 'cos I couldn't find the box I wanted

[E_T_V]

T reg one should have had a 5 speed box on it. My S reg van does/did. And Tonys 51 plate one also did too. Someone has probably changed it for some reason and that may also be the reason for a dodgy gearchange if someone has fitted a 4 speed box with 5 speed linkages. (They are different I think).

[Andy]

Ok, thanks for the information. Something I will look into changing further down the line. Could definitely do with the 5th gear. Keep an eye out for one. They use to appear quite regular for £30-£35. Other than a few very small trim parts and the headliner there is now nothing else to do to it. Maestros must have come from Cowley with more faults than this one lol.

[BIGDAVE]

some of the plastic trip items do become a bit britel in the sun.i had a seat belt catch just break up on useing it

[Andy]

I have noticed ha. This one seems to be fine on that front though. Just need the little plastic handle that slots over the smaller handle to adjust the manual mirrors and a grab handle that are missing. Ail post a wanted up at some point. I have replaced that cracked rear trim along with both deteriorated rear speakers.