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Newby on the forum - restoring a Maestro 500 L van - advice please and panels wanted

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  • Newby on the forum - restoring a Maestro 500 L van - advice please and panels wanted

    Hi all,
    Introducing myself here as a newby. I've recently bought a 1989 1.3L Maestro van 500 L from another forum member. Until today I've only been perusing the Facebook group, this is my first step into the forum proper.
    Is there anyone else on here who has restored a van? Any tips to share?
    My van is mechanically sound, but it is going to need extensive welding to sills and rear wheel arches, and I gather these aren't available. Is that true?
    Also I read that metal bumper Maestro front wings can be adapted to make repair sections for van rear wings. Does anyone have experience of doing this?
    And does anyone have decent metal bumper Maestro front wings available?

    Thanks in advance,
    Lee

  • #2
    Hi Lee and welcome.
    where are you based Lee? Might help with parts/panels ect.

    Comment


    • #3
      I'm in Hagley, West Midlands. Where are you Mr Bump?

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      • #4
        This might be useful information (depending on how much of thē sill you need) https://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/...repair-section

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        • #5
          Thanks for the link DoctorDiesel - now I'll begin the hunt for Metro sills!

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Lee Fowkes View Post
            Thanks for the link DoctorDiesel - now I'll begin the hunt for Metro sills!
            Worth looking for both, Maestro ones do sometimes come up on ebay

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Lee Fowkes View Post
              I'm in Hagley, West Midlands. Where are you Mr Bump?
              Up the M42 in Nottingham, I visit friends in Tipton so not a complete stranger to brum.
              if I can help in any way with bits, let me know mate.

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Br Bump, I work in Brierley Hill, just 10 mins drive from Tipton. I definitely need sills and front wings for rear wing repairs if you have any available.
                The van goes to the garage this week for a pre-MOT, so I'll soon know the full state of repairs required.

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                • #9
                  Rear arches are a nuisance to repair. You can use metal bumper or plastic bumper front wings for most of the profile you need, just use the opposite front corner to the rear you're doing. I've been doing the rear arches on my metal bumper Maestro recently and while I could get the plastic bumper repair panels, I couldn't get enough to do the inner arch as well. Splicing a couple of front wings together and using some Rover 200/400 (wedge or R8 shape rather than later bubble or earlier Hyacinth Bucket shape) I could rebuild the inner arch to a close enough approximation of the panel shape required. Here's one I made earlier.
                  Attached Files

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                  • #10
                    Thanks Vulgalour - that picture really is worth a thousand words. I'm still on the lookout for a decent set of front wings to repair the rear wings on my van.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hi folks,
                      My Maestro van is now MOT'd and roadworthy and is featured in the club 2022 calendar.

                      I've booked it in my local restoration bodyshop for stage 2 in February. This will include rear wing replacement (using the font wing workaround described above by Vulgalour) I've sourced 1 NOS front O/S wing and 1 good used front N/S wing from Mr bump.
                      I'm planning on extending Maestro or Montegeo sills with Metros sills as described by Doctordiesel77. Or paying my restorer to fold his own.
                      Thanks all for your advice and parts!

                      The doors are shabbier than I thought, and it'll take a lot to repair them. I'm assuming that car and van doors are the same metalwork, please shout if I'm wrong.

                      I'm still looking for outer Maestro or Montegeo sills. eBay alerts aren't finding anything suitable.
                      I'm thinking of replacing rather than repairing both front doors if I can find good ones.

                      Does anyone have anything I can buy?
                      Thanks,
                      Lee
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by Lee Fowkes; 15th December 2021, 17:39.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Lee, if you click on the link (below) you'll get both a surprise and a shock. I'll let you decide which is which....

                        https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275050585...UAAOSwRMdhbbIn
                        Last edited by zephyr; 10th December 2021, 16:14.
                        _____________________________________________
                        Current Fleet

                        1993 Rover Montego estate 2.0 LXi

                        1987 Austin Montego 1.6L Auto + pas
                        1990 Rover Montego estate 1.6LX Auto
                        1993 Rover Montego 2.0 SLXi Auto

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by zephyr View Post
                          Hi Lee, if you click on the link (below) you'll get both a surprise and a shock. I'll let you decide which is which....

                          https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275050585...UAAOSwRMdhbbIn
                          Wow! That's making a metal folding machine and some panel beating gear look like a good buy! I'm sure the 'made to order' ones were cheaper than that & probably thicker material..

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Lee Fowkes View Post
                            Hi folks,
                            My Maestro van is now MOT'd and roadworthy and will be featured in the club 2022 calendar.

                            I've booked it in my local restoration bodyshop for stage in February. This will include rear wing replacement (using the font wing workaround described above by Vulgalour) I've source 1 NOS front O/S wing and 1 good used front N/S wing from Mr bump.
                            I'm planning on extending Maestro or Montegeo sills with Metros sills as described by Doctordiesel77.
                            Thanks all for your advice and parts!

                            The doors are shabbier than I thought, and it'll take a lot to repair them. I'm assuming that car and van doors are the same metalwork, please shout if I'm wrong.

                            I'm still looking for outer Maestro or Montego sills. eBay alerts aren't finding anything suitable.
                            I'm thinking of replacing rather than repairing both front doors if I can find good ones.

                            Does anyone have anything I can buy?
                            Thanks,
                            Lee
                            Good news is that all of the front doors are pretty much the same, only slight difference is that Montego ones have a row of studs sticking up fot the outer door trim under thē window, easier to grind off when fitting Montego door to Maestro than they are to stick on when going the other way Bad news is that Montego sills have a different profile, I'll see if I've got any pictures showing the difference..they will still fit tho', there is at least one Maestro car with modified Montego sills fitted...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thanks zephyr.
                              I had seen the Montego sill on ebay and realised it was the wrong shape for my van, and way out of my price range!
                              My restorer has a device to make his own sills at a lower price, so I'll let him make a new pair.
                              Doctordiesel77 - I'm still looking for some good doors or door skins. I'll post a duplicate request on the Facebook Group to see if that yields any results.
                              Cheers all,
                              Lee

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