Generation Cyb

The digital dash with it’s voice was the Maestros Claim to Fame in the early 1980s, so why should CHO be denied it?As you can see from the above picture I’ve been having some trouble with CHO’s battery. The source of the problem isn’t entirely certain, but the fact the car is not very often run must be a factor, possibly combined with overcharging (which buckles the plates inside a battery). Not knowing the history of this particular battery I came to the conclusion that a new replacement was going to be the only option, as having to charge the battery for hours before attempting to start the car or finding the windows won’t close because there isn’t power has become a little tedious. A trip to Halfords later and the problem was sorted. Whilst changing the battery I also re-painted the battery tray, as this had become very rusty in some areas and needed protecting.

One of the things that captured my interest in the Maestro was it’s digital instrumentation and ability to talk. I’m all in favour of car manufacturers being brave and introducing such novel technology into cars and it’s perhaps a little dissapointing that the idea wasn’t developed further and used in later cars. It was dropped from the Maestro by late 1984 (except as an option for a limited period only) but having heard rumours it could be done I thought I’d see for myself whether the digital instruments can be fitted into a later car with a ‘Montego style’ dash such as CHO.

I was fortunate in acquiring the instrument pack and computer from a contact who had previously broken an MG1600. The process of instalation isn’t really anything like as difficult as you might expect, and this can be seen in the picture sequence, although it does help to be able to interpret the wiring diagrams given in the Haynes manual (even if they do look like a mass of spaghetti).

There are still a few things I didn’t attempt to fit, though. The fuel flow sensor for example (giving fuel readings to the computer) as finding one is difficult and the readings probably won’t be all that accurate, and I’ve yet to get the speedo in a functional state as this requires a digital signal and there are still a few parts I need to source for this. Getting the dimmer to work would be nice too, otherwise I’m going to have a very green face whilst driving at night!