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Classic?
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2150
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:05 am    Post subject: Classic? Reply with quote

This is my new car. Now to me it is definately a classic, but then I am strange and like most vehicles from Veteran cars to things like this (although no exotica). It is simple to work on, and when was the last time you saw one? This car is low mileage (29,000), one owner and it probably would have been chopped up for parts for an MG Maestro if I hadn't bought it. It will replace my '86 2CV which was sadly written off last week when a girl in a KA ran into the back of me in traffic. Needs a small amount of work for the MOT after sitting in a garage since 1999.

I just wondered what you guys on OCC thought?

If it's not welcome here, it won't be posted again Laughing








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AustinAnnie



Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 41

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Out of the 15,000 + cars that have driven into our yard for tyres in the last four years, none of them was a Maestro, so I'll certainly say that it's unusual!

When I learned to drive in the late 90's I had a '74 Imp, and remember that causing some contention with people who considered to be an old, everyday banger rather than a classic (probably some still do. It was a shed).

Your Maestro must be just about celebrating its 25th birthday now - I think it probably deserves a slice of cake for getting this far (hee hee!) Wink

I like the term "classic and cherished" as you can pretty much include anything in that. I used to live next to a bloke who showed his modern Fiat Coupe at several local rallies, it used to get as much if not more interest that some of the more traditional classics on show.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22777
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry to hear about the 2CV! Sad

I still see Maestros about from time to time, but yes they are quite thin on the ground. A classic? I guess it's all down to individual tastes and interests. If I'm honest it isn't my "thing", but equally plenty of people have no interest in old foot pumps or ancient trailers, so who's to say really what is and isn't a classic or collectable!?

I think a lot comes down to what cars you remember growing up with, and your thoughts of them at the time. If I'd grown up in the 1960s, surrounded by Austin Cambridges and crusty Ford Pops, I might well have no interest in them now. But as they pre-date me somewhat, I'd call them classics.

Keep posting updates Smile

R
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Riley Blue



Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 1751
Location: Derbyshire

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not my cup of tea - a bit too new and too beige - but each to their own, I don't have an issue with it appearing here.
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2150
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AustinAnnie wrote:
Out of the 15,000 + cars that have driven into our yard for tyres in the last four years, none of them was a Maestro, so I'll certainly say that it's unusual!

When I learned to drive in the late 90's I had a '74 Imp, and remember that causing some contention with people who considered to be an old, everyday banger rather than a classic (probably some still do. It was a shed).

Your Maestro must be just about celebrating its 25th birthday now - I think it probably deserves a slice of cake for getting this far (hee hee!) Wink

I like the term "classic and cherished" as you can pretty much include anything in that. I used to live next to a bloke who showed his modern Fiat Coupe at several local rallies, it used to get as much if not more interest that some of the more traditional classics on show.


It has just celebrated its 25th birthday on the 14/5! Tax exempt now...or not. Glad you like it. Interesting about the Imp - any Imp is a definate classic now, and they really are incredibly rare. There was a "Husky" Imp based estate around here, in hand painted lilac, but I haven't seen it for a couple of years Sad

As far as I know there is only one other Maestro in regular use around here, a later blue one that has been converted into a van by a plumber.


Rick wrote:
Sorry to hear about the 2CV! Sad

I still see Maestros about from time to time, but yes they are quite thin on the ground. A classic? I guess it's all down to individual tastes and interests. If I'm honest it isn't my "thing", but equally plenty of people have no interest in old foot pumps or ancient trailers, so who's to say really what is and isn't a classic or collectable!?

I think a lot comes down to what cars you remember growing up with, and your thoughts of them at the time. If I'd grown up in the 1960s, surrounded by Austin Cambridges and crusty Ford Pops, I might well have no interest in them now. But as they pre-date me somewhat, I'd call them classics.

Keep posting updates Smile

R


It was sad about the 2CV. But I got a decent payout from the insurance (the other driver admitted liability) and the accident showed just how poor structurally it was, the chassis actually sheared off through rust and the back panel was revealed to be full of filler and completely rotton as well. It is a shame as it was very good mechanically. I'll be putting it on Ebay soon, spares or repairs.

Exactly. It's all down to personal taste. At a classic car show last year about 1/4 of the cars there were under 10 years old, there were even brand new Aston Martins there! Shocked But the Maestro is 25 years old, it is a rare early base spec model in original condition and has been well looked after. And they are very quickly disappearing. I was brought home from the hospital when I was born in 1991 in an almost identical B reg Maestro (although that was a gold 1.3 L), so it is nice for that reason as well.


riley541 wrote:
Not my cup of tea - a bit too new and too beige - but each to their own, I don't have an issue with it appearing here.


It's not beige, it's "Champagne" Wink Yup no problems R541 Smile
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Keith D



Joined: 16 Oct 2008
Posts: 1164
Location: Upper Swan, Western Australia

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You've depressed me Richard! You were born in 1991! That seems like only yesterday to me! I'd already had my A40 for nearly twenty years then!

(Ancient) Keith
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AustinAnnie



Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 41

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is a funny ground, isn't it - what is classic and what isn't, and something that I'm sure has been debated many, many times before on this forum.

I think, Richard, that you're in a very good position to judge what is deemed "classic" in today's terms - you are a driver and car owner, but youthful enough that most 70's and a lot of 80's cars weren't common on the roads when you were a boy. I'd never knowingly seen an Imp before when I got my first one - it was (if you can believe this) exotic to me and my friends! Totally retro and unusual!

I remember a good 12 years ago, the lady owner of a spankingly good MK3 Cortina being made to cry at a mixed-marque car-club meeting when she was told her car wasn't welcome as it was too new (and, it was inferred by some of the more stuck-up members, "too common"). Surely that is not the sort of behaviour that any hobby/group would like to encourage? Anyway, I would've given my right arm for that motor.
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2150
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AustinAnnie wrote:
I remember a good 12 years ago, the lady owner of a spankingly good MK3 Cortina being made to cry at a mixed-marque car-club meeting when she was told her car wasn't welcome as it was too new (and, it was inferred by some of the more stuck-up members, "too common"). Surely that is not the sort of behaviour that any hobby/group would like to encourage? Anyway, I would've given my right arm for that motor.


That doesn't surprise me at all. Thankfully I think this sort of behaviour is much less common than it used to be.

And she would have had the last laugh anyway, the way MK3 Cortinas have increased in price since Ashes to Ashes! No matter what you drive, if you think it's a classic, it's a classic Smile It doesn't matter what other people think, and I would suggest this "car club" was full of MGB's, Stags and TR6's, things of the sort that are a LOT more common than MK3 Cortinas.
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1728
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

keep posting rich, i remember thinking that they were a nice car when new. In Malta they were quite a common site but nowadays you rarely see one, a friend had an Mg one with a 2.0 na, lowered, alloys, nice interior and it really was quick.
I personally wouldnt mind that for a daily.
cover it in waxoil and it should serve you well
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2150
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bob2 wrote:
keep posting rich, i remember thinking that they were a nice car when new. In Malta they were quite a common site but nowadays you rarely see one, a friend had an Mg one with a 2.0 na, lowered, alloys, nice interior and it really was quick.
I personally wouldnt mind that for a daily.
cover it in waxoil and it should serve you well


Thanks Bob, it will certainly be getting a very good rustproofing as I have seen first hand the rust these old BL/AR Group cars can have! This one needs a couple of patches by the rear suspension mounts and a bit on the end of the passenger sill, but apart from that it is very solid. The MG variants do fetch a lot of money these days in good condition - I wouldn't mind a very early one with the talking dashboard Wink
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7211
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Richard,

It does look in lovely condition, especially the interior. I have no idea what the first vehicle I travelled in was but you are definitely the right custodian for this car. Old unrestored cars in good shape are lovely.

Peter
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PAUL BEAUMONT



Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 1281
Location: Barnsley S. Yorks

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice looking motor! I had 3 of them as daily drivers and they were reliable and functional with great boot space that was well accessible. They marked a significant change of direction for BL and they were radically styled so they deserve a place in the preservation scene. Well done for rescuing it.
I personally do not have a great deal of time for folk who turn their noses up at what they want to call or not call classic. The motor industry is evolving all of the time and it is our hobby's job to keep that chain alive. Enjoy the Maestro with the comforting thought that running and repairing it with have a green footprint about one millionth the size of the manufacturing of a new, modern day equivalent!
BTW I may still have a spare wheel somewhere!!! Laughing
Paul
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buzzy bee



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 3382
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi

If some of the vehicles I like, were around when I was growing up I would be over 100! hehe Then again, I would have been like Richard, remembering cars from the early 90's but that period of car in general doesn't excite me, nothing to say it isn't worthy of being on the forum though in my oppinion. (I was born 1985 (but sometimes wonder if it was actually 1895! hehe)).

Cheers

Dave
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Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2150
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

buzzy bee wrote:
Hi

If some of the vehicles I like, were around when I was growing up I would be over 100! hehe Then again, I would have been like Richard, remembering cars from the early 90's but that period of car in general doesn't excite me, nothing to say it isn't worthy of being on the forum though in my oppinion. (I was born 1985 (but sometimes wonder if it was actually 1895! hehe)).

Cheers

Dave


Hi Dave, well I like a very wide range of vehicles, but really the cutoff date for me is mid to late 80's, and even then it's pretty select cars, mainly BL, that I am interested in. I'm not really sure why I like the Maestro, perhaps because they are so unloved by nearly everyone, and the standard reaction to telling someone you've just bought a beige Austin Maestro is "UGH!" Wink
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poodge



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 687

PostPosted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Richard,I think you're doing the right thing,preserving what must already be a very rare car,certainly one with such a low mileage.
The term "classic"is in the eye of the beholder,I think.There are several clubs here in New Zealand that cater for early Japanese cars.Although they wouldn't appear in my "dream Garage",I'm sure their owners love their cars as much as any other hobbyist.
Btw,the Maestro model was never sold here,only the late MG estate version,and then only in very low numbers,because it was pitched against the likes of BMW,etc.I haven't seen one for years.
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