BLOG: race/rally MG Maestro 1600 - "Pink Panther"

[John C]

http://www.projectmobilityuk.org.uk/ have let me down and bitten off more than they can chew so they want to return this car (and also an Argo 8x8) to me to make space in their workshop.

As such, this car is probably going to come over to Colchester, unless anyone has any other ideas for it this year?

[g200mss #146]

Sell it to me.?

[John C]

How much would you offer me for it?

[g200mss #146]

I would be interested in buying it. But what spares come with it? I remember there was a lorry load or two.. And I know What it went for on ebay so Im just trying to gauge what its worth/ what Id be getting

[John C]

Yeah, there's tons of wheels & tyres, 3-4 bumpers, a spare engine, spares set of suspension etc.

FYI, Nick didn't sell it to the highest bidder on eBay; he came back to me after the auction had ended and we agreed a price which was significantly different.

[John C]

This car's in dry storage near me now. It just needs a recommissioning service and an MoT...

[John C]

West Suffolk College http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/ asked to have the car in their Motor Vehicle workshop as a project for the students, which is great news.

3 members of staff came down on Friday and towed the car back to Bury St Edmunds, so hopefully it will be fully running again in the next month or 2.

[accidentally uploaded same pic twice -but no way of deleting 1 of them now!]

[John C]

The car on its way north...

[John C]

MASTER JOBS LIST

++++++++++++Jobs done to date

1. Get car pass
2. Find MSA log book
3. Fit a battery (used the one from the white Maestro)
4. Thorough inspection throughout car
5. Full service to 'recommission' the vehicle + MoT
6. Remove dampers & springs + 'free off' the ride height adjustment collars & adjustment knobs (if necessary)
7. Road test
8. Track test
9. Take up slack in throttle cable & clutch cable
10. Clean interior + wheels
11. Washed & polished the whole car's exterior and cleaned/polished inside and out of all glass/perspex. Rust-treated any obvious corrosion with Alpha Rust Remover
12. Put on 2 Pink Panther decals on windows and 1 massive one on the roof!
13. Tried to get the exhaust manifold off as it has broken a stud -it eventually loosened but wouldn't come off.
14. Cleaned up parts of the engine bay & cleaned the spark plugs with a brass brush (they are 4 electrode plugs that are factory-gapped for life).
15. Made a spacer to stop the battery bouncing beneath the lid of its box, and screwed the lid down better.
16. Changed the Ignition cut off lead (after oiling all the way down the cable sleeve to prevent it rusting solid), although we couldn't quite get the nut under the handle done up tight as it was so inaccessible).
17. Modified the handheld fire extinguisher's bracket to make it more secure
18. Cleaned rust off the spare cylinder head gasket
19. K&N filters oiled and re-installed
20. Examine why brake pedal is still so soft (despite being bled twice by WSC and also briefly by Tom/Yani). Brake system reworked (using additional lengths of piping) to split it. Now the system has a Front circuit and a Rear circuit (so if there is a leak somewhere you will still have 2 wheels with working brakes!).
21. Brakes bled with Comma DOT 5.1 synthetic brake fluid (top of the range) -pedal appears to be somewhat firmer (but need to road test it now to confirm)
22. Relocate the copper brake pipe by the rear nearside wheel in case it gets knocked
23. 12V socket rewired so that it is always live (even with Master Kill switch thrown) so that a solar battery charger can be used (or the alarm powered) while the car is parked up.
24. Bonnet stay (from a Discovery) fitted
25. Cockpit labelling finished
26. Change transmission oil
27. Removed manifold, drilled out broken studs, skimmed mating face of manifold
28. Degreased Engine block/head, rust-treated it keyed the surface with wire wool & painted the engine block & head with Halfords High Temperature Engine Enamel Paint Red 250ml
29. clean the inlet manifold with brake cleaner and a small cleaning wheel on a dremel multi
30. Cleaned the rocker cover the same way as the inlet manifold
31. wrapped the exhaust manifold with heat lag
32. Touched up the paint on the engine block as it must of got damaged when the carburettors were taken off.
33. Fit FIA seats (they don't have to be in date). See if Baz has any seats for sale after selling them all to the Forest Experience rally school, or get Forest Sierra's seats up from Class Racing & source brackets to fit them to MG. The brackets had to be turned the other way round to cope with the differing widths of the seats.
34. Springs fitted to keep boot closed
35. 2 Harness bolts fitted under each seat (to enable 6 pt harnesses to be used)
36. Painted the carbs with aluminium heat resisting paint
37. Refitted them, adding in the fibre-board heatshield (that I also painted with the same stuff
38. Fitted a new gasket between the manifold and the downpipes (with some paste to stop a slight blow that was noted at the 1st attempt today)
39. Skim the blowing exhaust manifold, repaint with Halfords Very High Temperature Paint Red/Metallic Red, Re-lag the exhaust, refit with new gaskets (including new gasket between manifold and down pipes)
40. Consider raising the cross bar that goes between the rear wheels in case it gets caught on bumps -Mark thinks the exhaust etc. is lower and so will ground out before this bar does
41. Rewire cigarette lighter socket so that it is permanently on
42. Replace boot pin with boot springs
43. Remove cable ties on rear spoiler
44. Replace throttle cable
45. Sort out better wheel spacers (currently using 2x 2.8m SP11 spacers -borrowed from the Sierra -on the front nearside to help stop/reduce the inside of the tyre rubbing on the rear of the wheel arch when turning left)
46. Source more Pink Panther decals (for sides of car + rear?)
47. Mount the Pink Panther in rear window
48. Fit FIA in-date Harnesses & adjust
49. Road test -the brakes are now great (the 'soft pedal' issue is now gone)
50. Replace sheared bolt in driver's seat mounting (with a high-tensile bolt) & fitted 8 new hi-ten bolts in all the side mount holes for both front seats'
51. changed over the n.s.front wheel so that all tyres were matching to allow for the wheel alignment.
52. the near side front suspension leg was loose, so adjusted and tightened to bring in the camber of the wheel.
53. Once the steering wheel was put to centre, it showed the the n.s. front wheel was toeing out by about an inch. I traced up accordingly/adjusted the wheel alignment.
54. Nightstick alarm -charge 9v batteries & connect 12v lead to cigar lighter
55. Tighten up bolts in front strut brace
56. Add a bit more lagging to the exhaust manifold where there are 2 large gaps (on the upper side, where the pipes join together)
57. Replace exhaust Silencer & check noise level (consider an additional baffle).
58. Check if engine has points or breakerless ignition (fit the latter if not). Then do a Rolling road check run (car runs on after turn ignition off, and also backfires after stopping the engine occasionally)
59. Bolt down properly the lid for the battery box to make its lid (and the box itself) strongly enough attached to be 'roll proof'. This involved replacing the self-tapping screws with beefy bolts (and big washers) after drilling out the holes. We put in a metal '2 bolt' battery strap and joined the 2 bolts up underneath the box's floor (with a cable tie or 2) to add extra strength against the J-Bolts straightening out/pulling through in a roll (I have had this happen going round a bumpy field rallying a Mini once!).
60. Rust treated and then painted:
    a) The bolt holes and edges of the floor where it had been cut through (red Hammerite)
    b) the top of the cross beam that will be obscured by the box when it's refitted (Screwfix Galvanising spray paint and then Wickes silver metallic metal spray paint)
61. Cleaned out the spare wheel well
62. Fitted a foot press button for the co-driver's horn.
63. Co-drivers horn -foot button missing?
64. Lubricate all linkages in gear lever system -changing gear feels like stirring treacle at present!
65. New Cherry Bomb DIVER silencer fitted. However, the exhaust had been bodged on the day before with an ARC welder (and so it had to come off to be put back on properly (without leaks, knocking on body and pointing straight).
66. Fitted interior lights

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MG Maestro 1600 - "Pink Panther"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++JOBS STILL TO DO Dated: 20140710

++++++++++++HIGH PRIORITY

1. Mount seats so that the orginal OR the FIA in-date seats can be swapped as required. This needs a cross-brace of not more than 40mm width (and just under 17" length) per seat. The walls can be in 2.5, 3 or 5mm thickness. We also need to source some high tensile bolts (length 2" to 3") to affix the side mounts to the metal bars.
2. Make the Detente work on Reverse gear (the gate doesn't stop you accidentally selecting reverse instead of 1st at present!). TK may have the necessary pin (broken?)
3. Set up suspension (angles/tracking/camber/castor etc.). The car feels 'wriggly' at even 50-55mph on the dual carriageway. It was also squirming around on the rolling road and the engineer put a squiggle all the way up the power curve (rather than a smooth line) and also a higher than expected 'transmission Bhp loss' figure down to the 'out of alignment' front wheels.
4. Test the Nightstick alarm (FAO: JC only)
5. Clunk from drivetrain as come on/off power gently (noticeable during slow speed road driving) -probably due to a lower ball joint U/S (but need to jack it up and inspect, really
6. Check that Exhaust mounting rubbers are not split (and are adequately beefed up with cable ties) and that exhaust isn't knocking on chassis any more
7. Consider swapping front tyres to rear- the current ones are too worn out/mis-shapen for the tracking to be set). N.B. for Targa Rally scrutineering on 10 Nov 13 it needs road legal tread depth at the start of the event. Then get tracking done. Hopefully this will also result in the steering wheel being straight when wheels are straight (at present, moving it round to the next set of holes will make it even worse, so probably can only move the white '12 oclock' tape round!). See if this cures it pulling to one side (previously assumed to be because the tyres were at the time different sizes across the front axle, but the problem has remained since sorting this).
8. Sump guard -source & fit
9. Check compression of each cylinder
10. Confirm that it doesn't have an LSD in it (and change LSD oil?)
    Put a dehumidifiier bag +towel on dashboard to mop up condensation
    
    

1. ++++++++++++MEDIUM PRIORITY
2. Dodgy power connection to cigar lighter socket.
3. Source & fit a boot stay (gas piston to make boot lid stay up)
   Rover Maestro 84-93 Hatchback Tailgate Boot Struts Gas Springs Lifters PAIR X2
   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-Maes...item20ce23f87c
4. Check manifold nuts for tightness (they had copper grease rather than threadlock put on them)
5. Sliding windows for front doors -source & install. N.B. Check if plastic windows are thick enough before cutting them for window sliders
6. Send dampers & springs (+any spare dampers/springs) to LEDA to get them tested (dampers on their Dyno, springs tested for their poundage i.e. spring rate)
7. Replace cracked Windscreen
8. Fit more storage pockets for mobile phone, water etc.
9. Remove the front bumper for rust-treating and painting the bodywork underneath)
10. Seal the perspex windows properly (use silicone to stop the windows rattling in their frames & replace rivets with 'machine screws'/dome head nuts/bolts)
11. Consider removing the boot's perspex window to clean under the edges of the perspex (refit it after putting clear silicone sealant underneath the edges to stop dirt/mould accumulating there. After refitting the rear window, apply more silicone over the join between the perspex and the pink bodywork (to smooth it off, use a wet spatula/finger in a washing up glove)
12. Put red mudflaps onto white MG and make mudflaps (in any colour other than red!) for the Pink Panther
13. Make door handles easier to open (and label the PULL direction) e.g. by putting a PULL cable on each handle
14. Familiarise with cabin Heating controls (read handbook).
15. Check Dip beam switch works OK
16. Need to reduce sharp edges on doors (cut my hand several times!) -possibly use rubber door sealing strips over the edges?
17. Sort the sharp ends of wire on the battery cut off handle's cable
18. Strap down the wheel wrench
19. Slow punc on front o/s wheel
20. Purchase spare wheel nuts (2 removed from white MG)
21. Tighten the handbrake lever's pivot bolt & try fitting a split pin in handbrake button (so that hbrake lever ratchet is disengaged during rally use)
    
    
    ++++++++++++LOWER PRIORITY
22. Fit Power Steering http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20049
23. Remount the pink panther on rear glass
24. Fit a better boot light
25. Replace the missing button on rhs of cockpit dials
26. Fix the aftermarket Rev counter (above dash) -the needle sticks above or below approx 2300 rpm
27. Get dashboard Trip computer working fully
28. Consider putting a 2nd coat of paint on the carbs & then clear engine lacquer on top
29. Replace the rear offside quarter light (plastic window above fuel filler cap) -it is stress cracked from Targa rally. Source a plastic sheet (min 4mm for MSA regs) from B&Q?
30. Use metal polish on alloy rocker cover and then clear engine lacquer
31. Refurbish alloy wheels as required (the ones fitted to it now may be fine but others in storage would benefit from a repaint)
32. Tackle any areas of bodywork corrosion
33. Consider respraying any necessary areas of the car so that it is in the same shade of pink all over
34. Rustproof the body metal around the holes drilled for the 2 Harness bolts fitted under each seat
35. Replace the boot's old eyebolt (broken) so that a padlock can be put through the eye to lock the boot lid closed
36. Fit better Door pulls i.e. cables (and stop the metal arm falling out of the socket in the plastic door handle mechanism)
    
    
    +++++STAGE RALLY SCRUTINEERING REQUIREMENTS
37. Fit 'in date' FIA seats & harnesses
38. Check if plastic windows are thick enough i.e. 4mm thick (before cutting them for window sliders). If keeping the existing rear windows, then consider making a removable cover over the rear windows' ventilation holes (or Sellotape 'All Weather' on both sides of the perspex so that dust doesn't stick to it?). Check if it is a requirement that either (or both) front windows can open (as intimated by the scrutineer at Woodbridge in Nov 13)
39. Tripmeter?
    
    +++++ROAD RALLY REQUIREMENTS
    
40. Extra spotlights needed?
41. Check that the co-driver's stalk lights work
42. Tripmeter?
43. Consider fitting carpet and rear seats into it+ removing decals, if you want to do Road Rallies (is this a requirement for The Preston rally?). N.B. carpet/rear seats is NOT a requirement for '12-car' road rallies.

[normanmg2000]

maestro 1600

that's good news john, just one to go now? any news on that?

[John C]

Hi Norman,

I've got 3 others on the go actually!

BLOG MY RIDE: ex 'Austin Rover Rally Sprint' MG Maestro 1600 -CAR A
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=16358

BLOG MY RIDE: MG Maestro 1600 rally car
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15649

BLOG MY RIDE: ex 'Austin Rover Rally Sprint' MG Maestro 1600 -CAR C
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=16359

but we're getting there...

[John C]

Update from the College's Press Officer:

This story is now on the website and has gone to the EADT
http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/...ing-the-season

[John C]

BTW, not only are there other pink rally cars:

Clio
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...6PROCARE08.jpg

Saxo
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...E:B:SS:GB:1120



but there is another pink MG Maestro currently competing!:
Martin Cockerill's 2.0 Turbo rally car http://www.ianhardy.net/gallery/main..._2010_1335.jpg

and there were several in the past too!:
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cambs.mgoc/...goc99-0914.jpg

http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=14520

[Guest]

Hi guys, I'm a student at west suffolk college doing level 2 motor mechanics and this mg maestro is in our workshop at present and I spent today working on it don't know if you still own it or not?

[Oli]

Interesting that it should end up there, i would imagine its been bought or donated to the college?