1983 Austin Maestro 1.3 L Former Press Demonstrator Walkaround

[@maestromontegometroappreci7287]

Thank you for filming pokey am glad people find it interesting 👍I have now find out what the running issue is and it’s not the auto choke it has a air leak on the inlet manifold

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Excellent work, sir! Glad it is sorted.

[@stevieboyNI]

Excellent that this car survives today, a nice piece of Austin Rover history. I do have a soft spot for a Maestro sir, my Dad had an early HLE in Eclipse Blue back in the day.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

We do prefer the higher specification cars, sir, but seeing an actual press car was an absolute delight, even if it needs some work!

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Mr Lloyd, what a fantastic video. I really enjoyed this and the whole background of the car.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I can't believe Patrick now has two Y registration Maestros, sir!

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

@lloydvehicleconsulting It's incredible, Mr Lloyd, practically impossible and unheard of, he's been amazingly lucky to find them.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

He has been after one for some time, and then he found two, sir!

[@frazzleface753]

Sir, despite being the same age, you are clearly in better shape than the car. This was a treat, thank you Joseph.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Don't know about that, sir, but thank you very much indeed all the same!

[@russellwilcox1180]

Love this and the fact that the former keeper/s resisted the temptation to remove the 'Fleet Demonstrator' sticker from the windscreen.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It's crazy to think that sticker has lasted over 40 years!

[@zebedep]

What a remarkable survivor! Great video, thanks.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

No problem at all, sir, glad you enjoyed the video!

[@GrandThriftAuto]

Lovely to see that survivor. My father bought a very similar ‘83 1.3L in Oporto from new; it was…ok. It was replaced in 85 by a Golf that felt in a different league for construction quality.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, a Mark II Golf would have felt quite different (apart from the gearbox, which is identical). We much prefer the Vanden Plas, don't we? I drove one of those with the talking dashboard in 2020...

[@Lot76CARS]

Fantastic to see a car with a bit of backstory, as you mentioned, it’s a super early car. I’d be fascinated to see if it appears in some of the period press articles of the day!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I think Patrick has some pictures, but I am not sure, sir. We have a video on the white car coming up as well, as that actually is roadworthy. Great to hear from you again, sir!

[@hoffwell]

I'm not sure we had FM radio in the early 80s. Great video as always. Many thanks 👍

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

The white Maestro doesn't even have a radio at all in it! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@davidrumming4734]

Think it depended on how the car was and whether you upgraded the radio yourself (very common back then). My folks had a 1st generation facelift Astra, poverty spec, and the radio was AM (MW/LW) only.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, I drove a Mark I Astra three years ago.

[@badbooks476]

Fantastic video Sir & an amazing early survivor, hopefully it will be back on the road very soon. 2 relatives upgraded their Marina’s to brand new Y reg Maestro HLE’s, like space ships in comparison

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, very much more modern feeling, very spacious and actually not too bad to drive, either. The quality was a bit patchy, though, of course, but never mind!

[@DarrenVelSatis]

Oporto is typically a VP colour and not normally seen on lower spec Maestros, that's not surprising with a pre production example.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, the first Vanden Plas I drove in 2020 was also this colour. Thank you very much indeed for watching and commenting, sir!

[@martynrussell7568]

Like the way you were comparing the Mk3 Escort and Maestro on inside space, on the back seat a bag with a Mk3 Escort picture on it!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I drove a 1985 Escort Mark III 1.3L in 2020, and the owner owned a 1985 Maestro 1.6 Vanden Plas at the time (with the talking dashboard), so I find it quite easy to compare the two.

[@elvetwilliams9013]

My late mum had an Oporto red 1.6 Maestro Mayfair auto which the first owner had specced with PAS ..D491LEP bought used to replace a stolen mk3 escort Ghia auto She also had a standard early dash (blue and blue steering wheel ) 1.6 auto in silver leaf ex management C981HDA … the later Mayfair was a superb car drove well apart from the VW gearbox being just 3 speed making motorway cruising noisy The earlier car had rust everywhere even at less than year old when bought all 4 roof seams , rear wing round fuel flap bonnet edge all of which had be sorted before purchase !

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, absolutely right! Back in the mists of time, I drove three Maestros on the channel between October 2020 and July 2021. Two of them also belonged the owner of this particular car. The first one was a 1985 Oporto Red Vanden Plas with the talking dashboard. The second was very similar to your mother's first Maestro, a 1986 1.6 HLS on a C plate, one of the final cars with the old dashboard in it, same blue steering wheel, etc. The steering in both was unassisted and unbelievably heavy. I then drove a green 1990 Maestro 1.6 Advantage, which is basically a bit like an MG, but much lower specification. The Advantage had the later dashboard in it, and heavy steering again. By 1986/7 when your mother's second Maestro was new, power steering became standard on the Maestro Vanden Plas and optional on the Mayfair. I drove a 1988 Mayfair (again belonging to the same owner as the HLS, the Advantage and the press car) later in 2021. This car didn't have power steering, but it was the 1.3, so it was much lighter than a 1.6. Power steering makes them so much better!

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Nice to see a survivor Sir, hopefully you will be able to get a drive once Patrick fixes it up as this car has a story to tell.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I can't believe it still has the original fleet demonstrator sticker in the windscreen, sir. I drove the white one behind it, which is quite similar, so that will be up on the channel in a little while. Thank you again for watching, Mr Watters!

[@andyallen632]

Good luck to whoever is going to repair this one Joseph and change to a manual choke which is easy to do best regards Andy Allen

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It was running really, really poorly, sir. That autochoke needs to go straight in the bin!

[@Eric_L456]

Loved that colour: my TR7 convertible and Mum’s SD1 were both Oporto. Maestro was a great car , let down by poor bodywork. Had a 1.6L which was great but headlining eventually sagged .

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, unfortunately, the sagging headlining is a really common problem on Maestros. As you saw, they do have some common rust spots too. Oporto Red is most certainly a lovely early Austin Rover colour.

[@pizzalover3]

A rather nice and very rare sight indeed, sir.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, I thought you might like it, sir, but the two Vanden Plas Maestros Patrick also owns (one of which I drove two years ago) are much more to my taste, and they have the talking dashboard!

[@mattw8332]

Much nicer spec this one. The dashboard in my late parents' MG1600 used to creak a lot. The Montego style dashboard didn't iirc.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It's quite odd, but the cars Patrick have (which is about eight to ten Maestros) tend to have more problems with the later dashboard than the earlier dashboard, although the earlier ones were notorious for creaks, exactly as you.

[@davidrumming4734]

Yea I had forgotten how tight the rear leg room used to be on the Escort MK3 Less than a Maestro. My ex dept boss had a MK3 Escort, with Auto choke….and like with that Maestro it caused many problems. He eventually got that swapped out for a manual choke conversion. As for those 4 speed manual Maestros….like with the Metro, did they do a HLE 4 speed with the top gear tweaked for better economy on fast roads? Would also reduce noise levels too, but also slightly slower.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, they did make an HLE, which did have a higher ratio for top gear, I can't remember now if was with a four speed or a five speed or both... They had slightly less power than the standard 1.3. The rear legroom on a Mark III Escort isn't the best, having actually driven one four years ago. This autochoke was absolutely terrible, and needs removing....

[@JamieCameron-Mackintosh-z7c]

In 1982/3 a passenger side mirror wasn't a legal requirement in the UK, so for a lower spec vehicle like this early Maestro L the passenger side mirror was likely to be optional, and with this being a press fleet vehicle, presumably in bog standard spec apart from the metallic red paint to make it pop in colour pics, it was ordered without the mirror. It used to be an easy way to spot higher trim level cars was to look for the factory passenger side mirror as it tended to only be higher range models that got the passenger mirror as standard and a lot of the people buying lower range vehicles weren't prepared to pay the extra for the passenger mirror. The requirement for the passenger mirror on new cars and car-derived vans didn't come in until August 1986 for the D-prefix plate.

[@clivet3252]

I'm sure there were cars later than that without a passenger mirror.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

The Ls did originally come with a passenger mirror, the base cars (like the white one) did not. The Vanden Plas and MG versions look very, very different from both of them, and are much nicer, although the 1.6 has even heavier steering. The Oporto Red colour is very nice, and was on the first Maestro I drove in 2020 (a 1.6 Vanden Plas with the talking dashboard). Rear seat belts were not a requirement at the time either, and so the 1985 Escort 1.3 L I drove in 2020 didn't have have them, which is insane.

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

Ah I saw this on the channel that is aiming to restore POKY

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, it needs a bit of work, sir, but it shall be done. The white one in the video is actually roadworthy, so I had a go in this instead.

[@Maureen-on5ov]

Very nice 😍

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Thank you very much indeed for watching and commenting!

[@mickles1975]

What was the car next to the Allegro?

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Ford Consul Mark II, sir. It's not an Allegro, it's a Vanden Plas...

[@TomBartram-b1c]

They were ok for the first 3 or 4 years then nasty after that. Suspension, steering, oil leaks, sagging headlining, rust every where, vibrating fascia, wheel bearings, dodgy autochokes ... I had one then my Volvo 360 GLS which I owned afterwards, felt like a Rolls Royce. The Essie mark 3 was crap too. Crude and harsh but less rust prone.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes, drove a Mark III Escort 1.3 L in 2020. The owner had a Maestro Vanden Plas (with a talking dashboard) at the time as well, so I had a go in that too. The Escort really wasn't very nice to drive, the Maestros are actually better in terms of the lower specification cars anyway. Both went really rusty really early, of course... A Volvo 360 would be in a different league. A well sorted late Maestro or Montego Vanden Plas with power steering is a delightful thing, although there are not many of those left.