The Rally Maestro project

[E_T_V]

More pics as above.

Photos courtesy of Gerard Brown

http://www.gerardbrown.co.uk/

[mgdavid]

Had a little drive round a couple of lanes Philip knows.... felt like an under-age hooligan! Bit slower than a 2.0 Efi (well it would be) and it stands tall so rolls a bit (only to be expected) otherwise it felt strong. Job's a good'un.

[E_T_V]

Jane Edgington (the blonde one) is a veteran of over 300 rallies

Navigator Gill Cotton (brunette) won the World Cup Rally to Athens in 2002.

The distinguished gent is Tony Fowkes, who has prepared the car.

My only comments would be to ditch the original fuel pump as they are unreliable, possibly replace it with an electronic unit such as the one you have pictures of in one of the pics, and also I'd try to fashion some headlamp protectors out of clear plastic or at least coat the lenses in sticky backed plastic to hold them together if they crack as they pick up stone chips on road cars so if you are following anyone off road they will take a pounding.

I can't see where the strut brace goes to, but if it doesn't go between the struts then i'd add this in as they do tend to flex. (I've a feeling that the brace may run inside the scuttle panel but I can't see to be sure!)

I'd also cut the exhaust off as a slash cut rather than a down pointing affair just for aesthetics really.

Looks impeccably turned out and definatly a credit to Tony and anyone else who has had input.

Photos courtesy of Gerard Brown

http://www.gerardbrown.co.uk/

[John C]

Extremely impressive build; it don't get no better!

I bought one of these (the FAST ROAD variant):
http://www.jjcraceandrally.com/Race_...el_Pump/82/735

for my MG Maestro 1600 rally car

[Guest]

E.T.V, & John C: We have one of those facet pumps, (I thought they were unreliabe!) it runs together with the standard one, (I think). The car is now on its way back to Park Royal for Tony and his team to continue fettling. If E.T.V looks through the pictures we linked to him he might spot it.

Thanks to MG David for coming over to hack it round the lanes, good to natter, and very nice of him to donate a set of Ferodo racing pads, which will firm up the pedal a bit for sure.

Corbeau GTB seats are too soft and the steel frame is poking through a bit of sponge but they have agreed to change it. Sump guard and a few other jobs still stacking up for the workshop, so the final weeks are going to be manic. We have not changed the wheelbearings yet, and not found a non-return valve gizmo for the advance-retard pipe from the carb to the black-box.

Exhaust has a downward turn on the end, yes, its a curved section from the Jetex Exhausts catalogue, only there to try to quieten it down! Its a tad noisy and not sure this makes the slightest difference (yes, two boxes, one is a cherry bomb type and the other the medium size straight through box all from Jetex, and all with two-inch piping).

[E_T_V]

Yes I posted up the fuel pump pic above I thought it was just for transfer of fuel between the two fuel tanks. I'd also fit one under the bonnet instead of the engine mounted pump (or at least fit it in readiness for when/incase the engine pump fails) unless the pictured pump is already supplying the enginebay with fuel.

It isn't a non return valve for the ECU vaccum line it is simply a fuel trap to stop fuel/oil getting into the ECU. There is no valve inside it.

There was one linked up on e-bay on this thread, but you could make one up easily enough with a bit of vertical pipe stuffed with wire wool and some metal gauze tacked on each end. The volume of the pipe/trap needs to be fairly small to give a good throttle response to the ECU sensor.

[Guest]

The car is back at Tony Fowkes Autos now if anyone is passing (five minutes from the Ace Cafe on the south side of the North Circular Road, look for Corby Road, Park Royal). The lads are putting sheets of 15 per cent tint into the windows at the mo, the sump guard has been a struggle - thought Hen might have finally come up trumps but we are now using a second hand dural one, with a steel one that MG Mal provided being mulled over - easier to repair but will it be stout enough. Ho hum. Plate going over the underside to protect the gear-lever, and a host of little jobs keep coming up. Tight agenda between now and Jan lst.

MG David says he is going to Brooklands for Scrutineering. Now here is a thought: About 2,000 people will be there on New Years Day, as Brooklands regularly hosts an open day on Jan lst. Car Clubs are invited to put on displays. How about someone organising a Maestro-Montego display of a few cars?

Perhaps one of the movers-and-shakers in the Club could talk to Dona Hopton, Events Manager at Brooklands - a most helpful and super efficient fixer. If you cant see the cars at the Houses of Parliament in the evening, a day out to Brooklands might be a breath of fresh air if you are suffering Cabin Fever from Christmas.

[G Force]

not found a non-return valve gizmo for the advance-retard pipe from the carb to the black-box.

.

Hi, from a landrover but performs the same function if you are worried about running the rally wthout one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover...item53e59912ec

[H48HPE]

Perhaps one of the movers-and-shakers in the Club could talk to Dona Hopton, Events Manager at Brooklands - a most helpful and super efficient fixer. If you cant see the cars at the Houses of Parliament in the evening, a day out to Brooklands might be a breath of fresh air if you are suffering Cabin Fever from Christmas.

Breath of fresh airs one way of putting it!! I'm not sure how many people will be legal to drive and/or mind it being freeeeeezing!

Andy

[E_T_V]

A bit about the car on Keiths site for those that haven't seen it yet

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2011...across-africa/

And of course I'll include a link to the girls website where you'll be able to follow their progress

http://www.girlsacrossafrica.com/

[Guest]

Oh dear. All that extra welding (the sills are doubled up, and a lot of extra metal has gone into the shell here and there), means when we weighed it we were shocked - its 1040 kgs. Extra tank (Mini Van), double skinning around suspension area, plating this and that, all adds up.

Someone has struck fear into the workshop - saying the diff is either bolted, or, riveted, which is it - we dont know and it means another strip down to find out, does anyone know the answer (Jan 1986 1.6 Maestro). If its rivets shouldnt it be bolted.

Thanks to this forum, full set of wheel-nuts have arrived, with an MG Turbo fan unit that blows cold air to the back of the engine bay around the carb area, Ive yet to get down to see the car in the workshop lately so have never seen this gizmo, but its sounds just the ticket. Thanks for that. Nice that this project has a few friends thanks to this forum and we are not quite so alone...

[G Force]

Someone has struck fear into the workshop - saying the diff is either bolted, or, riveted, which is it - we dont know and it means another strip down to find out, does anyone know the answer (Jan 1986 1.6 Maestro). If its rivets shouldnt it be bolted.
...

The differential assembly is fixed to the crown wheel by rivets on the VW type box on the 86MY Maestro, in addition the crown wheel is shrunk fit onto the carrier. To remove the rivet heads you drill a 12mm pilot hole just to the depth of the rivet head, then chisel off the head and drift out the rivets. The new diff assembly is fixed to the crown wheel with special stud bolts & nuts with locking tabs. These bolts and nuts are supplied in a special kit.

What is wrong with diff??


Regards Gary

[Guest]

Interesting! There is nothing wrong with the diff.

...However, we are advised to change from rivets to bolts. Whats the view of others? ok, this is an ultra-low mileage one-little-old-lady owner with 15,000 miles on the clock and a mint car to start with, but, people are getting nervous and looking for areas that are weak points that might fail with the terrible shake up on rough roads...

I dont suppose the racers have any experience of diff failures using the VW box because they didnt use the VW box??

[Chris Y]

Never heard of any failures in that area.

[G Force]

...However, we are advised to change from rivets to bolts. Whats the view of others? ok, but, people are getting nervous and looking for areas that are weak points that might fail with the terrible shake up on rough roads...

I think the fears of the rivets failing are unfounded. These rivets are pretty bomb proof really, once the heads are drilled off they still require substantial force to drift out of the carrier to remove them. After that the crown wheel needs pulling off the carrier with a large puller as it is shrunk onto the carrier.

In ten years at working in a Rover dealership in the 80's 90's I never saw a failure in that area. The only reason I had to renew any crown wheels was when renewing the output shaft as they are fitted as matched pairs. Most of the gearbox failures I saw were due to running with low or no oil.

Personally speaking I would not be at all concerned.

regards Gary