Craig Cheetham
A Maestro pick-up has surfaced at a scrapyard in Bonnybrigg, Scotland, but is it a rare survivor of a known conversion, or simply a home-converted 700 van?
The truck, which is in very poor condition, is located at AllParts Auto Salvage in the Falkirk town and has already had several parts removed.
There was never an official Maestro pick-up, but there was a known conversion produced from 1985 by Austin-Rover Main Dealer BMG (Bletchley Motor Group), based on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Using a Maestro van as a base, BMG cut away the roof and blanked off the rear bulkhead with double diaphragm steel and a strengthening rib, leaving a 17.5-inch deep load bay based around the original van floor.
The tailgate was the same as that used by the Ital pick-up, modified to fit the Maestro Van door aperture – called the Maestro Camion, BMG offered the truck as a £450 conversion, complete with 12-month warranty. The story was covered in April 1985 by Commercial Motor magazine, and can be viewed in full here.
There was at least one Maestro pick-up known to exist in Scotland, as it was spotted by a reader on the maestro.org.uk forum in 2009, complete with Central Garage, Aberdeen livery.
It’s impossible to tell from the pictures, though, if this is a genuine Camion, or a home conversion.
While the pick-up is probably way beyond salavation (unless you’re really, really brave), you can view the sales link here…
- News : Sponsor a CityRover restoration in aid of CALM - 8 July 2020
- Unsung Heroes : Rover Streetwise 2003-2005 - 27 September 2019
- News : ‘As-new’ Metro Vanden Plas 500 unearthed - 30 July 2015
They’re different – the scrapyard one has a black load liner, but the 2009 Camion does not!
Just in case anyone is going to view this it is in Bonnybridge near Falkirk. Easily confused with Bonnyrigg which is near Edinburgh.
The Maestro pickup is known as the Camion. I think there was also a Metro pickup, either A+ or K=series, also known as the Camion, can anyone else recall or show light on this?
Yes I was involved in the conversion of 3 Maestro van pick ups at long bridge.
These never went into production .they were used solely for running around the long bridge plant.
Eddie, would be fascinated to have a chat about the Maestro pickups from Longbridge if you’re willing?
I worked for HM Forestry Commission in the mid 1980s and we had at least one, possibly more, Maestro pick up. It was used by the foreman of the estates dept a Santon Downham, Norfolk. It has an Edinburgh registration number as did all our vehicles at the time.
Hi Matthew don’t suppose you have any photos of it/them?
Sorry I don’t. This was in the days of 35mm film and we were not allowed to photograph our vehicles, official secrets dontcha know? 😐