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

[John C]

some more pics...

[John C]

-more pics (the montage of photos is from MandH Photography)...

[John C]

It was a steep learning curve for me and my novice co-driver. The navigation was nails and we got lost for a moment several times. I also didn’t go the right way (or didn’t listen to his directions in all the excitement!) several times. I also overshot one corner on gravel, and ran wide (bouncing right over big piles of gravel) on another corner. The ‘360 handbrake turn’ below was a result of me realising that we were going too fast to make a hairpin, so I had to wazz it round the other way in the overshoot area.

Here's Steve Newland’s side of the story (my co-driver) who had his first experience of club motorsport (apart from schoolboy karting & a day at a rally school) on this event (rather fitting, given that it was part of National Motorsport Week to introduce newcomers to the sport!):

Co-driving for John was a phenomenal experience combining the thrill of being hurtled around a track by a precision driver with the pressure and responsibility of being the navigator. The exhilaration of a high speed 360 degree handbreak turn is fully matched by the sense of achievement that comes with finally navigating a flawless section. (Although no sensation will compare to being driven, full pelt and sideways, into a barn... nothing I'll survive anyway.)

Out of the car in the paddock is equally enjoyable and time was spent on car maintenance and reviewing pace notes which reinforces that you're a participant - not an observer. The event was professionally run and everyone I came across was friendly and welcoming, happy to share their tips for the track or talk about their cars. This was a privileged insight into the world of Targa Rally, the adrenalin rush of which is only just subsiding.

[John C]

Thanks to Leon Wilde & Nick Fuller for the gen on the car, recently.

I've postponed the rolling road session today (again) because the exhaust is blowing (where the manifold joins the downpipe). The car was great on the TARGA RALLY yesterday -a joy to drive -and a good strong car for the hammering of the rough venue. Full report to follow...

[John C]

Just spoken to Leon to ask if the spark plugs were cleaned & gapped (he is 90% sure they were, from memory), and what the engine tuning involved (balancing the carbs).

He is going to put the word out to staff and students to see if any of them are coming down this way at any point (to drop off the manuals & spare wheel).

We did the De Lado Rally Sprint on 7 Jul, complete with Papa Gardner making his competition debut (double-driving the car). The day started badly when we pulled into the venue to be told by a motorcyclist who had been following us that the trailer had lost a wheel en route!
car went really well and was a joy to drive, although it did start losing power and then have total electrical failure on me. I suspected it might be a loose battery lead, and so it was. The car was quickly back out again, but I could only count as a DNF in the results, having failed to complete that particular stage.
We drove back home via the same route but couldnt spot the wheel on the verge anywhere. Kerry drove the land rover (towing the trailer) and dozily reverse-turned it (not noticing that she had jack-knifed it) and crunched the back of the land rover (and caused substantial damage to the trailer).

West Suffolk College

Hi John,

Sorry for the late reply, work has been manic as its that time of the year.
Work carried out:
Oil and filter change.
Adjusted rear barakes.
Cleaned and regreased front brakes.
Replaced OSF wheel bearing.
Tuned engine.
topped up with fuel.
MOT.
Cleaned and got rear lamps to work.
Refixed front bumper.
Refixed bonnet pins.
Tightened NSF suspension as loose.
Moved rear brake pipe as rubbing on exhaust and secured.
Changed all four tyres.
Spare wheel is here, feel free to pop in and collect.
Never saw service book?
You just need to call HR at West Suffolk College for any left over money.

Kind Regards

Leon

[John C]

Got some more v useful info from Nick in Oz, where he also mentions:
"great to hear you enjoyed using the car, I luv the way it revs so easily, and twin Webber’s are difficult to beat for the noise. The other thing is that it’s so simple, a distributor and carbs."

and I also tracked down the owner prior to Nick (Chris Stratton) and I've just received some pics from John Stratton (his father "Co-Driver and major sponsor!"): "2 photos were both taken at RAF Colerne during the Bath MC Azimghur Rally. The first one on a very wet day in 1998 and the other one the following year, 1999."

[John C]

The only photos that I've seen from when the car was at the college are the ones posted above by one of the students, but hopefully Leon Wilde will post some info on here soon and maybe there will be some more pics then.

They didn't do any bodywork on the car, but generally it is pretty good (a few rust spots, but nothing serious for a rally car. Ideally, we could do with finding a college that teaches bodywork and then they can take the car on as a project and do a bit of tidying up.

Just had some v useful info from Nick in Oz and one of the things he mentioned was:
"the brake pedal was always long when I drove it, but never faded. Normally on Maestro’s the rear adjusters don’t self-adjust and as they wear the pedal goes long, maybe worth another check."

We had a blast in the car yesterday at a Rally Sprint -here's Kerry's account of it:

"My first thought on The Pink Panther is that it's well, VERY pink. I also thought it was decidedly lacking in Pink Panther decals so I rooted out my childhood Pink Panther cuddly toy which my parents kindly returned to me a few years ago (read 'garage and loft clearout/dump stuff back on kids'). We didn't have time to mount this until a little way into the day but Yani and I got a ratchet strap later in the day and tied PP to the back of the co-driver's seat. He looked very happy if a little scared by my driving.

The car itself felt very solid and nicely powerful. It seems more 'together' and robust than the Pond Maestro, as evidenced by it getting through a whole day of double driving with no problems (well, until John's little accident on the last stage....). The brakes are a little soft and need to be sorted out. I'll be happier going into corners full speed when this is fixed. I got a little handbrake action in on the stage (and a bit too much when John started interfering with my handbrake - promptly told off as he nearly spun us - I think he was trying to sabotage my stage times). All in all I'm looking forward to driving the PP again and seeing it develop over the season as we continue to give it a good shake down. Thanks to everyone for their hard work on it so far!"

I'll add the following on the event:
Tom and Elaine had to drop out at the last minute (on the morning of the event) unfortunately as Tom was ill, so we were lacking the head mechanic (and all the tools in his truck). However, we fumbled through with a leatherman and not much else (borrowing stuff from around the paddock where necessary). I thought the car's LED dash was outstanding -it looks like a modern era car e.g. a Toyota and so -given that it was unpopular in its day -I reckon it was a design that was 30 years ahead of its time! The car boiled after it stopped after the last stage and it turned out that the fan belt had come off. I think my last banzai run might have had something to do with it -in the rain I lost it on the wet grass (I blame the road tyres!) and walloped several cones as I got quite out of shape -with no sump guard, one of them dislodged the belt. We got it back on easily enough and the car then did another 25 mins of testing with Yani driving (before we nearly ran out of fuel and had to stop). It is certainly less rattly than the White Maestro -and is great to drive all round.

[normanmg2000]

mg 1600

hi john, has any bodywork been done? are you pleased with the result? will you be posting any pictures, have they taken any, at the college of the project.

[John C]

In the fullness of time we need to wrap up the following with WSC:

Swap the tyres back. No longer required -JC can keep the tyres
Track down the spare wheel (it is visible in photos of the car on the day that the college collected it) JC collected this on 20150206
Get the manuals (and any other parts) back from in the workshop Unsure never saw them. Will keep looking for them. Update: Leon gave them to JC in Feb 17 in Easton
Get a definitive list of all the work that was done on the car You have had this.
Summary of money spent on the car -and return any leftover funds The remaining funds can stay as they will be needed for the kitcar project
Share photos of the car on the day it was handed back You have my memory stick.
Confirm if the college has any students who would be interested in doing a 'marketing project' looking at how the car can be used for a firm (or the college) to gain publicity, and thereby gain sponsorship from other businesses I will look into this.

[John C]

A huge thank you to the staff and students of West Suffolk College http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/ for doing a great job with the MG! The car came back today with Andy and Leon (the latter has project managed it), and the car is in great shape. I test drove it and the fully working digital dash (including rev counter) is a great novelty. It is rorty but not as raucous as the white ex-works car. The brake pedal feels soft but the brakes work well. At times I noticed what appeared to be torque steer (a pull to the left) when accelerating hard in first gear (which is quite tall -possibly a close ratio box), but it may have been occurring as I came off the power to change gear. The car is v low and needs its suspension raising (and preferably a sump guard). It also needs a battery (we'll try the one that's currently in the Sierra first). We also need to refuel both the MG and the Service van. I'm hoping to have a big sesh on it tomorrow because we are competing in it on Sunday!

[John C]

Possible events coming up for this car to display at or compete in (shows/motorsport events, respectively):

8-9 Jun 13 nr Colchester. Essex
Aldham Old Tyme rally (25 year old cars)
http://www.neetec.co.uk/rally

9 Jun 13 nr Colchester. Essex
Mersea Motor Madness
http://www.actonhotrod.com/#/our-mersea-show/4533192031


16 Jun 13
Burnham on Crouch, Essex
Rally Sprint
De Lado Motor Club

[John C]

See page 13 of 18 in this "Suffolk Childrens Trust Partnership" newsletter for an article on the college's work with the car:

http://www.transformingsuffolk.co.uk...pring_2013.pdf

If the above link doesn't work try:
http://www.transformingsuffolk.co.uk/
Partnerships
Children's Trust
e-CYPress
Spring 2013 Edition

[John C]

She only had one offical outing which was around 2005 in the north west stages at three sisters. She was totally outclassed, but for my first real rally - amazing.

There's no Maestro on the Entry List for the 2005 NW Stages, but there is a Maestro 1600 in the 2004 event. However, it was crewed by Brad Mason/Rod Brereton so must have been a different car:
http://www.rallies.info/nwstages/200...ion=Entry+List

The 2006 event also had a Maestro but it was a 2.0Efi:
75 M. Yale/ Derek Lewin MG Maestro 1998 C Pendle
http://www.rallies.info/res.php?e=38...e&n=999999&i=0

There were no Maestros in the 2007 event.

Nick -can you remember any more details of the event (and the name of your co-driver), to help me track it down, plse?

[John C]

Thanks Nick -excellent to hear from you! Your knowledge on this car (and what you did to/with it) is invaluable and will be a huge help with this project (especially as people with experience of engineering/running Maestros in motorsport are rare nowadays).

I've just spoken to Leon and he mentioned that the college's local Auto Factor had sent them a 1piece bearing but it needs a two-piece bearing, so I would suggest reading this thread:

Wheel bearing & hub wear issues
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=17188
[and do also read the 'thread hyperlink' embedded within the above thread]