Morris Marina - was it really that bad?
Discussion
Touring442 said:
LuS1fer said:
No, they were all rubbish. My girlfriend's father had a Mk III Cortina with a rust hole in the door you could get your arm in and it wasn't that old. I had a 6 year old Viva HC with most of the inner wheel arch rusted away. There again, they were cheap and BMW gave you bri-nylon seats and no radio. You'll note they still all rusted away though, just took a bit longer.
E21's weren't MOT failures at 5 years old, nor were they requiring remedial resprays at a year old. In 1988 when I had my first BMW - a 1976 R registration 320i - there were still loads of early E21's about. Tatty, worn out but not suffering from the sort of rot where the car was literally falling apart. They were not rubbish. A 1976 Ford was a death trap. From my time MOT'ing cars in the 1980's, the one car I can't recall failing for rot was the Allegro. The Princess was pretty good as were Saabs and Volvo 240's. Marinas were never Ford levels of bad, normally just the easily repaired outer sills.
Fords were terrible as were Minis (they failed on everything though), early Golfs, Alfas, Fiats etc. Jap cars were grim as well. One S plate Escort estate tested in 1987 was so bad we refused to allow it to be driven away because the passenger inner wing had rusted away from the bulkhead. The whole front end creaked and flexed.
You didn’t see that many rusty Granada’s or Capris.
LuS1fer said:
M4cruiser said:
^ ^ but Alpines weren't British, they were French cars, re-badged Simcas.
Styled in the UK, by Roy Axe, built at Ryton.Similarly the Talbot Horizon was the old Simca 1100 underneath.
Interesting comments on the Viva , my grandad had one and it was awful , never started well as the carb had issues I guess many were replaced with Webber’s . It constantly let him down and I recall the HG went as well .
He had a 1100cc mk1 Escort for years after the Viva and eventually replaced it with a Ital in the early 80’s and that lasted until he stopped driving in the mid 90’s largely trouble free over that time
He had a 1100cc mk1 Escort for years after the Viva and eventually replaced it with a Ital in the early 80’s and that lasted until he stopped driving in the mid 90’s largely trouble free over that time
lowdrag said:
I don't think anyone has mentioned the Chrysler Alpine yet. The fact that it won COTY in 1975 (?) shows just how bad the rest of the cars for sale were, and that includes the Marina. Spongy suspension, seats the same, a gear change that worked - sometimes. I won't go on, but I shudder when I think of the time I borrowed one.
I was about 8 yrs old when a friend of my dad's had one of these, a 78 GLS in green I recall. It was quite plush inside with velour seats and - wow! - electric windows in front. But the engine was clattery and ancient-sounding even when new. Worse than a transit van.Most everyday cars had rattly pushed engines in those days. Ford even managed to make the pinto sound a bit like a pushrod lump even though it was OHC.
I remember how amazingly smooth, quiet and willing the 900cc OHC four in my Mum's first VW Polo was. After wheezy A Series Mini it was a big step up in refinement, if not actual.performance;)
Then my Dad got a 320i E30 BMW, whose 2 litre six really did seem turbine smooth as they always used to say in the car mags - nothing to touch it at the time.
Rob 131 Sport said:
Interesting comments from a former MOT Tester. I always thought that 70’s and early 80’s Fords were pretty rust resistant.
You didn’t see that many rusty Granada’s or Capris.
I remember spending quite a bit of time sanding down my BiL's Capri to get rid of lots of rust, this was surface stuff not deep hole forming rust.You didn’t see that many rusty Granada’s or Capris.
A few years later a friend had a red Capri which was pretty rotten round the wheel arches, he didn't have it long, there were issues with the brakes the one time I drove it.
M4cruiser said:
Touring442 said:
I was talking to a guy the other day in his 80's. His last British car was a 1976 Alpine that needed a full repaint at a year old due to rust. He had to threaten them with legal action. As soon as the festering turd came back post paint job, he traded it for a BMW 316 and has had about 13 BMW's since.
Folk don't realise how dire British cars were for quality but Chrysler/Talbot were the absolute nadir. Absolute rubbish.
^ ^ but Alpines weren't British, they were French cars, re-badged Simcas.Folk don't realise how dire British cars were for quality but Chrysler/Talbot were the absolute nadir. Absolute rubbish.
Rob 131 Sport said:
Interesting comments from a former MOT Tester. I always thought that 70’s and early 80’s Fords were pretty rust resistant.
You didn’t see that many rusty Granada’s or Capris.
??????????You didn’t see that many rusty Granada’s or Capris.
Err, yes you did.
You must have lived in a posh area where people changed their cars more often
Most 70s run of the mill cars were rubbish. But saying that, the Marina was no worse. My sister had a 1.3 Marina which was neglected and abused. It never really gave any problems but was quite rusty. It was followed by an Ital then a mk1 Escort. The Marina drove quite badly but the A series engine was willing and trouble free. The Escort had terrifying brakes.
I had a Chevette 2 door saloon. The only way it really bettered the Marina was the suspension. Still live axle but with coils, torque tube and Panhard rod so it was quite nicely balanced. A series engine better than viva engine.
Replaced by an MG Metro, which was a revelation!
I had a Chevette 2 door saloon. The only way it really bettered the Marina was the suspension. Still live axle but with coils, torque tube and Panhard rod so it was quite nicely balanced. A series engine better than viva engine.
Replaced by an MG Metro, which was a revelation!
Watcher of the skies said:
Replaced by an MG Metro, which was a revelation!
“A” series engine and four speed box with huge transmission whine was a revelation in at least 1983?Your earlier cars must have been hideous!
Went from a Mini Metro to an Astra - engine and refinement were a revelation, handing not so much!
edit to add that I had a ‘76 Marina coupe in 1984. It was horrendous and had completely failed MOT due to rust.
blueg33 said:
Touring442 said:
LuS1fer said:
No, they were all rubbish. My girlfriend's father had a Mk III Cortina with a rust hole in the door you could get your arm in and it wasn't that old. I had a 6 year old Viva HC with most of the inner wheel arch rusted away. There again, they were cheap and BMW gave you bri-nylon seats and no radio. You'll note they still all rusted away though, just took a bit longer.
E21's weren't MOT failures at 5 years old, nor were they requiring remedial resprays at a year old. In 1988 when I had my first BMW - a 1976 R registration 320i - there were still loads of early E21's about. Tatty, worn out but not suffering from the sort of rot where the car was literally falling apart. They were not rubbish. A 1976 Ford was a death trap. From my time MOT'ing cars in the 1980's, the one car I can't recall failing for rot was the Allegro. The Princess was pretty good as were Saabs and Volvo 240's. Marinas were never Ford levels of bad, normally just the easily repaired outer sills.
Fords were terrible as were Minis (they failed on everything though), early Golfs, Alfas, Fiats etc. Jap cars were grim as well. One S plate Escort estate tested in 1987 was so bad we refused to allow it to be driven away because the passenger inner wing had rusted away from the bulkhead. The whole front end creaked and flexed.
My dad spotted visible rust on two he had on the day he picked them up, brand new, from Parkside motors in Coventry.
Oh, and they had this double bulkhead between engine and passenger compartment, with foam rubber in the gap.. Good for sound deadening and formed part of a early safety cell concept, but as soon as damp got into it...
Great car to drive (although starting it when cold and damp was a performance), but just as bad as anything else for rot.
Stuart70 said:
Watcher of the skies said:
Replaced by an MG Metro, which was a revelation!
“A” series engine and four speed box with huge transmission whine was a revelation in at least 1983?Your earlier cars must have been hideous!
Went from a Mini Metro to an Astra - engine and refinement were a revelation, handing not so much!
edit to add that I had a ‘76 Marina coupe in 1984. It was horrendous and had completely failed MOT due to rust.
Gary C said:
Must have been a bent and really knackered Astra then as the Astra (at least the Mk1) handled far better than any Metro.
Totally agree, I had a Astra Mk1 GTE and it handled brilliantly and in my view was better than many other sporty hatchbacks @ the time?The Marina however, was just 'rubbish'. I really cannot recall ONE redeeming feature in its favour?
Shezbo said:
Gary C said:
Must have been a bent and really knackered Astra then as the Astra (at least the Mk1) handled far better than any Metro.
Totally agree, I had a Astra Mk1 GTE and it handled brilliantly and in my view was better than many other sporty hatchbacks @ the time?The Marina however, was just 'rubbish'. I really cannot recall ONE redeeming feature in its favour?
https://www.evo.co.uk/vauxhall/astra/18646/vauxhal...
Then again it’s just a motoring journo’s opinion and often people discount them unless it’s a car they too like
With the nightmare of my two company Marinas now 47 years behind me, I got to thinking of when I last drove a British car as my daily transport. It was 1979 it turns out, a Maxi I bought for the family because it was so spacious but hated it from day 2 to sale. The gear change was utterly appalling. It was then I found German engineering and bought a Golf S 1500, a car that completely changed my thinking, and since then it has only been VW, Opel, BMW and Mercedes all the way, except for one Accord I bought during the time when a stereo stayed in the car for two days and the BMW badges less. Three VW's, three Beemers, one Opel and six Mercedes. For the last 28 years I have had but four Mercedes and at my age am unlikely to need a fifth I fear. What a criticism of British engineering. But I still have the E-type after nearly forty years and that will stay with me having passed 125,000 in my tenure. And it has been extremely reliable too.
lowdrag said:
With the nightmare of my two company Marinas now 47 years behind me, I got to thinking of when I last drove a British car as my daily transport. It was 1979 it turns out, a Maxi I bought for the family because it was so spacious but hated it from day 2 to sale. The gear change was utterly appalling. It was then I found German engineering and bought a Golf S 1500, a car that completely changed my thinking, and since then it has only been VW, Opel, BMW and Mercedes all the way, except for one Accord I bought during the time when a stereo stayed in the car for two days and the BMW badges less. Three VW's, three Beemers, one Opel and six Mercedes. For the last 28 years I have had but four Mercedes and at my age am unlikely to need a fifth I fear. What a criticism of British engineering. But I still have the E-type after nearly forty years and that will stay with me having passed 125,000 in my tenure. And it has been extremely reliable too.
It's a bit harsh to judge what's produced today against the worst of what was produced over 40 years ago.There's certainly been a fairly recent period when the worst cars for rot were Mercs by quite a long way. I gather they've done something about it.
I've had British, Japanses and German cars; some excellent, some awful. The most unreliable by a country mile were Toyota and VW....
Gary C said:
Stuart70 said:
Went from a Mini Metro to an Astra - engine and refinement were a revelation, handing not so much!
.
Must have been a bent and really knackered Astra then as the Astra (at least the Mk1) handled far better than any Metro..
The rest of it was a tremendous step forward.
Memories are from cars that are from 35 years ago, so my full driving god recollections may be flawed but I dd c25k miles in each so it was not for the want of driving.
Anyway, the off topic, the Marina was horrible - was weighed in and the cash bought me a pair of blue suede brothel creepers, which were still a more comfortable (and socially acceptable?!) way to travel !
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