Latest rides: Maestro VP & Maestro HLE

[G51NAV]

Been away a while...my stats say the last time I posted on this forum before today was September 2005

Here's what I've been buying...

'83 Austin Maestro Vanden Plas, 40,100 miles:





(the woman at the wheel didn't come with it, I married her long before I bought it).
Of course it has the digital talking dash (no Mk1 VP Maestro is complete without...) :



'84 Austin Maestro HLE, 49,000 miles:





Yes, I know it's beige, but I know deep down you all wanna pay homage to the legendary "3+E" gearknob ;D :



Of course, I still have my 'baby' :

'89 MG Maestro Turbo, 30,000 miles:

[street]

Welcome back to the fold
Absolutely love the beige HLE, perfect colour and perfect condition too by the looks of it

Talking dash is on my want list, awesome!

[G51NAV]

Cheers, HLE is a bit tatty round the edges and ideally needs paint, but as a £200 bargain I couldn't say no

[trg1984]

beige ooooooooof!!!!!

[G51NAV]

edited to add an extra pic

[dollywobbler]

Hi - have seen you on other forums. The words gorgeous and Maestro don't often marry well but it is impossible to deny that these three are very gorgeous indeed!

Oooftastic.

[slater]

curse word awsome! E gear ftw!

[SteveP]

I'd normally not like a Maestro, but it is great to see such rare and smart examples for a change. They all look great ;D

[Odin]

Digital dash! I love the blueish glow of 80s car gadgetry.

*wibble*

[Tarka]

Marvelous. I love the VP, its absolutely gleaming.

[jizzy gillespie]

that vp is stunning, great colour too. fantastic dashboard let down by worlds gashest steering wheel ;D ;D. i always wondered why bl never put a nicer to use swheel in the top of the line models

[G51NAV]

You're right the steering wheel is poor, and the actual dash itself had a mixed reception upon lauch (the style did not appeal to many). The later models got a tan-leather wheel, similar in style to the ones in the MG Maestros (which were grey), along with tan-leather seats and doorcards. I tolerate it though because it's so original.

[anthonyg]

Excellent pair of purchases.

It's good to see non-MG examples being saved and obviously in the hands of a caring owner.

Remember the original ad line on launch -' The Miracle Maestro'!

[G51NAV]

Oh yes I'm old enough to remember its talking dash appearing on "Tomorrow's World"

[vicsmith]

You realise how unusual and interesting the styling is when you see unspoilt examples like these the likes of which have not been seen on the road for over 10 years. I remember now that when they came out they looked quite good, I was only just at primary school at the time and Maestros were just as much of a novelty as Sierras and Novas.
You`ve got to love the chamfered corners of the body, the car would actually be octagonal from above, so the MG badge is pretty apt.

[King Maz]

I had a VP like that, but much scabbier of course.
I loved mine even though it had done 238,000!

Is it one with the Maxi engine and Jetta gearbox?

[G51NAV]

Yes, the engine was called "R series". It is basically a chain-driven Maxi 1598cc engine with a few electronic gizmos controlled by a (now primitive) ECU, such as autochoke, electronic ignition, fuel cut-out on deceleration and electrical load sensor: clever stuff in its day. I know the Austin, VP and MG1600 Maestros had various VW gearboxes, but not sure which ones. The one on the HLE I think is from the Polo Formel E. Later MG EFi/Turbo cars had Honda boxes.

[Kris]

They both look factory fresh (but I don't know if that's a good thing )

What engine is in the VDP?

[dollywobbler]

See post above Minion. The R series was replaced by the S series after not very long.

[G51NAV]

Correct, in July 1984, three months after it made its debut in the 1.6 Montego. This engine was belt-driven and from what I can gather was more refined, though having been in an S-series VP I find it difficult to tell the difference...perhaps I have one of the good ones In-cabin boom at speed is a bit louder on the S-series as well, because the engine was turned round with its exhaust-manifolds near the bulkhead, where on the A-series and R-seres they were at the front.