Morris Marina owners response to THAT burning.

[Balmoral Green]

They should have used an Ital, then nobody, but nobody, would have cared at all.

Edited by Balmoral Green on Tuesday 9th December 12:34

[paulshears]

i set fire to my uncle's Marina..... twice

when i was about 8 or 9 my grandad was teaching me to weld.... partly due to him been sick of welding it up

1st time was when i was welding the rear arch with the back door open, i did'nt take the rear seat out an sparks from the welding set fire to it

2nd time i was welding in the boot, the underseal underneath caught light..... this is were it gets silly

we used to have a "Duck oil" spray can that we'd empty & fill with water & use for putting out small flames

you can guess the rest

anywho..... a month or so after all the welding the bonnet popped open at speed & wrecked the A pillers & roof

he got an Ital after that...... i did'nt get to set that on fire though

[VladD]

My first two cars were Marinas, so I too have a bit of a soft spot for them. My first one was a 1.8 SDL saloon. It was bright orange and got me the nickname "The Orange Flash" when I was a student due to the enthusiastic manner in which I drove it. Unfortunately I had a Marina/Hedge interface incident in it on a bit of country road that a friend and I used to try and set stage times on. In my defence it was wet and I hit a puddle on a right hand bend. I nearly saved it, but sadly not quite. The first and only car I've ever crashed.

I then bought a 1.8 Special saloon that was metalic blue. It had a full webasto sliding sunroof and I loved it. I blew the engine up within 36 hours of buying it, but fortunately still had the crashed one so got the engine transplanted. That one finally bit the dust due to head gasket failure and a knackered engine.

Though dreadful cars (rust, poor electrics etc), I'm glad I had the chance to learn to drive in a RWD car with poor handling, so that I could learn everything at relatively low speeds. What choice to the kids of today have?

[austin]

austin said:

Saw this on ebay, (strangely only has photos of the engine / boot at the moment???)

3600 miles from new!

Now has a proper photo.

ebay said:

Morris Marina 1.3HL 4 Door Saloon

Genuine 3600 miles from new

I have owned this vehicle for a little over two years now and within that time I might have driven maybe 150 miles

Strikes me as one of those situations that goes "it can't be that bad, I'll give it a go". They then realise it really is that bad and in shock lock it away gain and forget about it for a few months

[Number 5]

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

[Number 5]

Ginge R said:

Sorry, but thats nice. No bloated bulges, no blandness.. just the result of a bloke and a pen.

It's st and to add to insult someone has sprayed it blue and could'nt be bothered to spray the harvest gold metalwork on the inside..... an absolute pile of dog muck!

Edited by Number 5 on Tuesday 9th December 14:26

[colonel c]

Balmoral Green said:

They should have used an Ital, then nobody, but nobody, would have cared at all.

Edited by Balmoral Green on Tuesday 9th December 12:34

I had an Ital once.




It was crap...






Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get that off my chest

[Nolar Dog]

KingHerald said:

My only question is.....









.....WHY?????


Why would you spend years rebuilding an Allegro???? There are a thousand better cars to choose, why an Allegro?

Says he.



It takes all sorts.

Edited by Nolar Dog on Tuesday 9th December 15:35

[heebeegeetee]

Number 5 said:

It's st and to add to insult someone has sprayed it blue and could'nt be bothered to spray the harvest gold metalwork on the inside..... an absolute pile of dog muck!

I need to clarify though: that's its original colour, only the bumper has been painted. That's trim you can see inside.

[Yugguy]

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

[Number 5]

heebeegeetee said:

Number 5 said:

It's st and to add to insult someone has sprayed it blue and could'nt be bothered to spray the harvest gold metalwork on the inside..... an absolute pile of dog muck!

I need to clarify though: that's its original colour, only the bumper has been painted. That's trim you can see inside.

I apologise, I wasn't aware that Leyland covered the inside of the b posts in trim, but I will stick to my guns all Marinas are dog muck, sorry if that offends you but that's what I think.

[Number 5]

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

[richardthestag]

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

My dad owned two Marinas in the early 70s, both teal blue 4 door saloon 1.3s the first was manual and the second an Auto. It was in the auto that I experienced that "holy mother fk and the orphans! somebody has disconnected the steering from the front wheels" type moment on a mildly damp road well within the 30mph limit. I crashed it pretty badly 2 weeks later and just 17 days after passing my driving test.

the car held up pretty well on the crumple zones and dad even drove it home. The car was a goner though. It was replaced with a dayglo orange Allegro estate. Come back stty Marina all is forgiven.

Top gear was a hoot, two bits in the russian thing had me rolling on the floor;

1. the dog vs car race
2. the brazier - which symbolised just about everything that was wrong with BL in the 70's "what only 2 rich tea biscuits for our t break ever 22 minutes? EVERYBODY OUT"

I wonder whether the fast marina guys are going to tar and feather me and Number 5 for reducing the number of Marina's on the road?

re Number 5s post above I echo Yugguy's sentiment

[Twincam16]

Number 5 said:

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

So you would rather destroy your own form of mobility, rather than put up with it, for a simple reason of pride? How spoilt. I hope the insurance company whacked up your premiums beyond your reach.

Incidentally, my Dad was watching this episode and said the ordinary Marina was a godawful wreck but that his TC, with its revised suspension and an engine that didn't come out of a Morris Minor, was a good car - he reckons no better or worse than a comparable Cortina or Avenger. In fact, if a good TC went up against the 1600E on the test, it would have held its own. Surely the Avenger was worse - they certainly had poorer rust protection.

Something borne out in the classic car price guides - the average Marina is all of a few hundred quid, but a Marina TC in good or restored condition will set you back two grand.

[Yugguy]

Number 5 said:

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

It probably needed more skill to drive than you posessed at the time.

[Number 5]

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

It probably needed more skill to drive than you posessed at the time.

Yes probably.

[Number 5]

Twincam16 said:

Number 5 said:

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

So you would rather destroy your own form of mobility, rather than put up with it, for a simple reason of pride? How spoilt. I hope the insurance company whacked up your premiums beyond your reach.

It was'nt a insurance claim, so you will be disapointed to know the insurance company did not "whack" my premiums up. Never mind.

[anonymous-user]

SystemParanoia said:

reminded me of this





http://www.ladaparts.ru/hotrods.php

Holy mother of god that looks good!

[Ginge R]

Number 5 said:

Ginge R said:

Sorry, but thats nice. No bloated bulges, no blandness.. just the result of a bloke and a pen.

It's st and to add to insult someone has sprayed it blue and could'nt be bothered to spray the harvest gold metalwork on the inside..... an absolute pile of dog muck!

Horses for courses?

I'm not suggesting its an esoteric delight, but it was never intended to be in the first place. Yeah, its a crap car, but as a crap car which slogged working class families around, 35 years ago, it has a certain charm. I suppose its the difference between understanding the price of something, and its value.

Incidentally, I spent 2 years at Greenham (and have fond memories of racing USAFE Chevy Blazers over those GAMA bunkers). We had a Marina that we used to smuggle one or two of our favourite smellies onto camp, so that they could grab a hot shower in winter. Caning that Marina around the peri-track in winter was a blast.

[ettore]

Number 5 said:

Twincam16 said:

Number 5 said:

Yugguy said:

Number 5 said:

I bought a Marina estate once in harvest gold, i paid 50 quid for it, i got bored after half a day, i wound all four windows down about a quarter of the way, lit some fire lighters, threw them on the seats and watched it burn, it really was a st car and that was the best thing for it!

How extraordinarily ish.

I was 18 at the time and it seemed like the best thing for it, in fact it was the best thing for it! One less st box on the road!

So you would rather destroy your own form of mobility, rather than put up with it, for a simple reason of pride? How spoilt. I hope the insurance company whacked up your premiums beyond your reach.

It was'nt a insurance claim, so you will be disapointed to know the insurance company did not "whack" my premiums up. Never mind.

Don't worry, I don' blame you, I'd have done the same at that age.

I think it probably would be a shame if a good survivor were now smashed up but we musn't forget that, for the vast majority of their lives, these truly were execrable stboxes.