Hi from Birmingham

[Pootz]

Hi folks.
I'm Pootz from Birmingham (real name is Andy but everyone calls me Pootz )
I owned a 1.6 MG Maestro back in 1991 & a 1.3 Austin Montego in 1995.

I have now got the urge to own another Maestro or Montego, either Austin o Rover (the earlier the better though )but preferably an automatic (although I'm open to manual as well as long as the gear change isn't too stiff as I have rheumatoid arthritis which affects my left hand quite badly.

I've been driving mk2 golfs for the past 8 years and at present I have a 1985 mk2 golf cl turbo diesel which I'm trying to sell to fund a maestro or montego (unless someone has one they want to swap )

Hopefully I'll find one soon but until then I'm afraid I'm driving around in a borrowed punto which I hate.

Well that's all for now. ... better get back to shopping for cars

[BIGDAVE]

i had a automatic and the only thing i had a moan about was they are only 3 speed and did not seem to go far on a gallon of petrol.some thing worth taking in consideration before you have one

[Pootz]

Cheers for the reply and the info.
I've had a few mk2 golf autos and they're the same (3 gears and higher than average fuel consumption) so I'm used to that.
With the golfs, the gear change is quite stiff which was making me lean towards an automatic car.
What's the gear change like on a 1.3 or 1.6 montego / maestro?
It's been that long since I owned one I can't remember.
If they're not too bad then I'll start looking around for a manual one.
the only thing is with the 1.3 is its 4 speed as opposed to 5 speed so are they any good for motorway driving (not that I do much )
Thanks

[BIGDAVE]

there are 5 speeds on some 1.3 maestros.the later ledburys have the van 5 speed gearbox fitted but not as good rev wise as the rover cars

[Pootz]

Cheers.
I'll keep searching

[ian drew]

I think you're safe from the VW Diesel scandal with a 1985 ;-)

Bear in mind that most (if not all?) of the 1.3 and 1.6 Maestros use the VW gearbox, that said, I never recall the change being that stiff, so I guess the linkages could be different.

Good luck

Ian

[Pootz]

Cheers.
Didn't realise they used the vw gearbox.
I'll have to look into it a but more now

[Simon]

1.3/1.6 with the VW gearbox can have a dodgy gearshift and don't forget the awkward VW style reverse selection. The gear shift is more vague and springy than stiff. However, the later Rover Montego 1.6 (from Oct 88F onwards) had a Honda PG1 5 speed gearbox with a nice positive Japanese style gear change and a reverse gear that is more logically placed.

[Pootz]

If by awkward reverse you mean having to push down and to the left hand side top corner I find that easier than having a reverse where I have to pull up due to knackered fingers on my left hand.

I think that going by the last couple of days I'm going to need an automatic though. I've borrowed a mates punto and I'm struggling with that so I think as the arthritis gets worse I'm going to be struggling with any manual gearbox

[Simon]

Oh, I see. No press down or pull up on the Honda box, you just knock it to the left to overcome the detent loading and straight back, but even that involves some force and sometimes their change quality can suffer due to a worn bush in the selector mechanism. You can get an auto box 1.6 Maestro in various trim levels from Clubman to Vanden Plas but never a 1.3 or the 2 litre. You could get an auto 1.6 Montego and also the 4 speed auto in the 2.0 litre Montegos, including the injection models (but not the MGs), so without having to bother with the gearchange you can really enjoy what these cars have to offer and we all recommend them after all and they are much better than a Punto! I do have a healthy respect for the VW Golf though - I have one as a daily driver

[Pootz]

Oh, I see. No press down or pull up on the Honda box, you just knock it to the left to overcome the detent loading and straight back, but even that involves some force and sometimes their change quality can suffer due to a worn bush in the selector mechanism. You can get an auto box 1.6 Maestro in various trim levels from Clubman to Vanden Plas but never a 1.3 or the 2 litre. You could get an auto 1.6 Montego and also the 4 speed auto in the 2.0 litre Montegos, including the injection models (but not the MGs), so without having to bother with the gearchange you can really enjoy what these cars have to offer and we all recommend them after all and they are much better than a Punto! I do have a healthy respect for the VW Golf though - I have one as a daily driver

Thanks for that
I've been looking around the Web but automatic cars seem to be scarce.
If I brought a manual one and found an automatic box at a later date would it take much to swap it over?
I understand I'd have to get a pedal box too and sort kickdown out

[Pootz]

I've seen a 1275 clubman maestro I quite fancy.
It got a couple of bits of rust but nothing major and nothing I can't get sorted (with the help of a mate) BUT is there anything I should be looking out for?
Cheers