RE: Austin Maestro van: Would You Really Want To
Discussion
There are many things I love about the ‘80s. This is not one of them.
On the subject of old Leyland vans:
In about 2001 I was living in Welwyn Garden City. The council decided to demolish a block of old garages. One of them contained an ‘S’ reg (1977) Sherpa Van, in mint condition. I can’t imagine why someone though it was worth preserving. I don’t know what happened to it after that.
On the subject of old Leyland vans:
In about 2001 I was living in Welwyn Garden City. The council decided to demolish a block of old garages. One of them contained an ‘S’ reg (1977) Sherpa Van, in mint condition. I can’t imagine why someone though it was worth preserving. I don’t know what happened to it after that.
SpudLink said:
There are many things I love about the ‘80s. This is not one of them.
On the subject of old Leyland vans:
In about 2001 I was living in Welwyn Garden City. The council decided to demolish a block of old garages. One of them contained an ‘S’ reg (1977) Sherpa Van, in mint condition. I can’t imagine why someone though it was worth preserving. I don’t know what happened to it after that.
On a similar note, I heard of a Peugeot dealer who had held the franchise for Simca and Talbot before it all morphed in Peugeot. Anyway, they decided to extend their premises which involved demolishing a couple of sheds, one of which contained a new, unregistered Simca 1100 Pick Up complete with pre-delivery wax and protective seat covers still on.On the subject of old Leyland vans:
In about 2001 I was living in Welwyn Garden City. The council decided to demolish a block of old garages. One of them contained an ‘S’ reg (1977) Sherpa Van, in mint condition. I can’t imagine why someone though it was worth preserving. I don’t know what happened to it after that.
sgtBerbatov said:
My uncle had two of these, he brought one over to Ireland with him and it was his work horse for many years.
Personally I'd have one. But then again I find the styles of the cars from the late 80's/90's to be the pinnacle of car design. They were all uniquely different to a fault. Whereas today, you'd be mistaken for thinking that Vauxhall Astra that just passed you was actually a Renault Megane.
Whilst you may find the 80s/90s the pinnacle of car design, I cannot believe anyone would think anything like this is anything like the pinnacle of design....!?Personally I'd have one. But then again I find the styles of the cars from the late 80's/90's to be the pinnacle of car design. They were all uniquely different to a fault. Whereas today, you'd be mistaken for thinking that Vauxhall Astra that just passed you was actually a Renault Megane.
I don't have any experience of the Maestro van but at the end of the 1970's I spent a summer working for Sunblest (Allied Bakeries) which involved spending a fair bit of time behind the wheel of several Marina and Escort (Mk 1) vans - yes, in those bright, full-blown Sunblest liveries of old.
As a rally fan back then I obviously preferred the looks of the Escort because the 1970's had been the rally era of the Boreham works RS Escorts but, truth be told, the Marina was actually the better drive of the two from a fun point of view. When empty, the Marina was sooooo light at the rear that all you had to do on a wet road was drop down into second gear at around 40 MPH and the rear axle would instantly lock up. I used to love doing that in the run-up to a junction or a set of traffic lights just to see how far it would slide. Mind you, I was only 22 at the time.
You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
As a rally fan back then I obviously preferred the looks of the Escort because the 1970's had been the rally era of the Boreham works RS Escorts but, truth be told, the Marina was actually the better drive of the two from a fun point of view. When empty, the Marina was sooooo light at the rear that all you had to do on a wet road was drop down into second gear at around 40 MPH and the rear axle would instantly lock up. I used to love doing that in the run-up to a junction or a set of traffic lights just to see how far it would slide. Mind you, I was only 22 at the time.
You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
Maestro and Maestro vans were exported as CKD for assembly in the Middle-East/Eastern Europe amongst other places, consequently their simplicity was a virtue to someone. At the end of the production I seem to recall a significant number of the kits couldn't be exported due to sanctions (I recall) and languished in storage.
They were bought en-mass by a dealer (Parkway Motors) and for many years assembled in a roadside garage outside Ledbury and sold on as "new" vehicles. This was years after new sales in the UK dried up … so wouldn't be surprised if some of these pop-up now and again in surprisingly good condition given they were more recent and much better assembled than normal.
They were bought en-mass by a dealer (Parkway Motors) and for many years assembled in a roadside garage outside Ledbury and sold on as "new" vehicles. This was years after new sales in the UK dried up … so wouldn't be surprised if some of these pop-up now and again in surprisingly good condition given they were more recent and much better assembled than normal.
t!firebird350 said:
.....but, truth be told, the Marina was actually the better drive of the two from a fun point of view. When empty, the Marina was sooooo light at the rear that all you had to do on a wet road was drop down into second gear at around 40 MPH and the rear axle would instantly lock up. I used to love doing that in the run-up to a junction or a set of traffic lights just to see how far it would slide. Mind you, I was only 22 at the time.
You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
Brilliant. Thanks for sharing and will keep the conversation going with a friend at local who is Ford Escort mad. Marina beats Escort. Who would have thought it?You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
I can barely believe that it even exists. My dad had a Maestro as a company car from brand new and it started falling to pieces scarcely over a month after he got it. By definition this thing has to be in much, much better condition now than when it left the factory but to be honest I cannot comprehend any sane person handing over more than bangernomic money for it...
firebird350 said:
I don't have any experience of the Maestro van but at the end of the 1970's I spent a summer working for Sunblest (Allied Bakeries) which involved spending a fair bit of time behind the wheel of several Marina and Escort (Mk 1) vans - yes, in those bright, full-blown Sunblest liveries of old.
As a rally fan back then I obviously preferred the looks of the Escort because the 1970's had been the rally era of the Boreham works RS Escorts but, truth be told, the Marina was actually the better drive of the two from a fun point of view. When empty, the Marina was sooooo light at the rear that all you had to do on a wet road was drop down into second gear at around 40 MPH and the rear axle would instantly lock up. I used to love doing that in the run-up to a junction or a set of traffic lights just to see how far it would slide. Mind you, I was only 22 at the time.
You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
As a rally fan back then I obviously preferred the looks of the Escort because the 1970's had been the rally era of the Boreham works RS Escorts but, truth be told, the Marina was actually the better drive of the two from a fun point of view. When empty, the Marina was sooooo light at the rear that all you had to do on a wet road was drop down into second gear at around 40 MPH and the rear axle would instantly lock up. I used to love doing that in the run-up to a junction or a set of traffic lights just to see how far it would slide. Mind you, I was only 22 at the time.
You could also change up and down through the gearbox without ever resorting to the clutch once you'd used it to get off the start line. Don't know why that impressed me so much but it did! I had some great drives that summer.
Also, the 1.3 litre Marina's engine revved far higher and more eagerly than the Escort's 1.1 litre lump which always felt strangled by comparison. With that cavernous load deck to amplify the noise (when empty), rubber floor mats and no sound deadening you could really kid yourself you were in a top-end screamer in the Marina because it made quite a decent sound actually and, when empty, it weighed next to nothing and didn't go badly at all. Great car to hone a few driving skills in.
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Maestro van basically just a Marina van with a Maestro front end (and fwd)?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff