CORROSION

[Adrian B]

Evening all or morning depending on when you get to this ..

so back in August one Maestro 700 diesel van ventured out for the annual err road worthiness inspection .. it was determined that it was no longer suitable to use on the road as corrosion had set in.. 'just a couple of patches i thought can't be that bad surely !!' well he said " look it up online as i'm not wasting the paper!"

so - 28 items failed (well on the sheet) yes some were tires wearing near the limit i was aware of this but not illegal...

so to the point of the post - having sat in the garage now for 3 months looking and deciding what to do i have this weekend just stripped it down to the shell -( keep reading this isn't a parts sale)

yep this will be a 'you must be mad' ground up resto all stops out dont think of the expense at the end of it i would like a van that will hopefully be good for 10+ years daily use ..

for this mine i need to un-do a lot of dubious welding plus make up some not available parts and hopefully weld a couple of captive nuts in the right place to get it to drive in a straight line..

this is where you could be the help i need .. i require some photos please ..

rear shock absorber mounting (it has some but as both sides are different i doubt these are correct)

photos of the rear inner sill section if original - i have to repairs one granted is good one that i think is about right - the other well silicone and under seal will be my enemy on this project

front sub-frame mounting- i think i may need more than photos here - both sides have had errr welding done to the rear wishbone mounts and this is where my driving problem lie's the wheels are different lengths front to rear each side- has anyone local to the York area got one of these stripped to the bone on the front end - and would you mind if i came armed with plates-bolts-lengths of steel and round bar- plus a welder to make a jig for this .. plus make some profile patterns for the reinforcement members that fan out onto the floor i could also take some profiles of the 'chassis' legs as these currently have chunks of 40x60 SHS welded in .. (found this gem out when i couldn't get the sub-frame to drop .. welded to the darn van!!)

sills - A pillars - flooring - rear valance - under floor reinforcement i have enough of to make panels from

this is the list for now !! although after getting the paint off i may be a while longer ..

if you can help would be appreciated

if you can't - please think of me in your prayers tonight

[Jeff Turbo]

Blimey 28 fails. I don't have a van so can't really assist in the metal work pictures but Mr Diesel has, and a few more on here do so I'm assuming they will be along soon

[Doctordiesel77]

Sounds as though the previous owner had been in a bit of a hurry! I should be able to get pictures of the rear shock mounts at the weekend, there were two types on the top, pin or eye, with an adaptor piece that bolts on. The front subframe and floorpan is the same on all models, which might make it a bit easier. I put a few pictures on here https://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/...i-resurrection which might help, there are likely to be more pictures of the same area on other posts. Is it the inner sill inside the van behind the seats that you need photos of, or the bit underneath the van?

[Adrian B]

Blimey 28 fails. I don't have a van so can't really assist in the metal work pictures but Mr Diesel has, and a few more on here do so I'm assuming they will be along soon

yes 28 items as per the system it is - fail - should fix it really - check it next time it comes in

[Adrian B]

Sounds as though the previous owner had been in a bit of a hurry! I should be able to get pictures of the rear shock mounts at the weekend, there were two types on the top, pin or eye, with an adaptor piece that bolts on. The front subframe and floorpan is the same on all models, which might make it a bit easier. I put a few pictures on here https://maestro.org.uk/forums/forum/...i-resurrection which might help, there are likely to be more pictures of the same area on other posts. Is it the inner sill inside the van behind the seats that you need photos of, or the bit underneath the van?

now then sir ..

i'm after the inner sill section under the van maybe a 8" panel between the rear arch and where it changes profile near the spring hangers .. .. i have one which is a tidy repair the seems to curve from the bottom lip on the sill up and towards the outer skin of the van the other side is --- well lets not go there i will probably be cutting that whole section out inner and outer sill with some panel to try establish what is supposed to be going on there

top mounting for the shocker is a through bolt affair onto a bracket that then bolts onto the rather delicate looking mounting 18G 20G steel (about 1-1.2mm) i konw the mountings are not genuine as there is evidence of fire inside on both sides (so they didn't learn from there mistake!! )
had a look at the link you sent - some good photos there for reference thank you - as a quick one off topic bushes' are these still readily available for the van ? just on with stripping everything to component for blasting and powder coating if possible just might save some time if its one less topic to look for

[Doctordiesel77]

All of the front bushes are available, apart from the anti roll bar drop link. Not sure about the back ones, but wouldn't be surprised if the spring eye bushes were the same as a Marina, or even an escort Mk 2. I'll see if I can find a decent one to photograph at the weekend.