I have seen some old ads for Meteor on the web, but I don't know anything about them except that they were English. I can tell you that the bike has some nice parts on it--I mean, if you paid $40 for it, the bars alone are worth that much. If it was mine I would absolutely restore it. If I didn't have the time or skill to do so, I would sell it to someone who did. Based on what I can see in the photos, it looks to me like a midrange bike from the 60's.
__________________
1964 JRJ (Bob Jackson), 1973 Wes Mason, 1974 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1986 Schwinn High Sierra, 2000ish Colian (Colin Laing), 2011 Dick Chafe, 2013 Velo Orange Pass Hunter