Morris Marina - was it really that bad?
Discussion
LuS1fer said:
A Minor was luxury compared to a Mini. I had a 1979 Mini 1000 and drove it from West Wales to Cardiff.
I don't think my hearing came back for a few days.
In contrast, my first car, an Austin A40 Farina was reasonable and I covered 30000 miles in 2 years. Rust aside, the only issues I had on that, my first car, was a bad earth on the fuel pump and leaking slave cylinders on the drum brakes.
I also did Cardiff to Chester in a Mk I Cortina 1200 and that was fine too.
Funny you should say that: my dear old Mum replaced a 1970 Mini with a new 900 Polo in 1977. The VW's refinement and noise suppression was astonishing. How BL sold any Minis after around 1976 is a miracle. I don't think my hearing came back for a few days.
In contrast, my first car, an Austin A40 Farina was reasonable and I covered 30000 miles in 2 years. Rust aside, the only issues I had on that, my first car, was a bad earth on the fuel pump and leaking slave cylinders on the drum brakes.
I also did Cardiff to Chester in a Mk I Cortina 1200 and that was fine too.
coppice said:
Sahjahd said:
My TC Marina wasn't the most stable, or rust free car that I have owned, but it was cheap, never let me down, and could outpace my colleague's, BMW 2002 ti, in a straight line.
Did the BMW have a loose plug lead ? The TC Marina was brisk but 60 was in 12 ish , at least 2 seconds slower than the BMW. The Marina was a ghastly car , and the more power it had , the worse it was to drive . The little 1.3 coupeI was far nicer to drive than the noisy, chronically understeering , appalling riding TC
Touring442 said:
Absolutely right. In fact, acording to Motor magazine, the base BMW 1602S hit 60 in 11.9 (Tii 8.2) whereas the fastest time for a Marina 1.8 (ironically an estate) was 11.9 (Saloon 12.2).The Alfasud 1200Ti did it in 12.9 (though it always seemed faster as tghe thing revved its head off).
It was faster than the Cortina 1600 (15.0) but slower than the Cortina 2000 (11.4) while the Magnum 2300 did it in11.2, the cooking Dolomite 11.3, the Ascona SR did it in 10.5
However, in perspective, in 1975, the prices were (using 2 door versions for parity):
Marina TC 2 door £1953 (Standard 1.8SDL only 1722)
Cortina 1600XL 4 door - 1972
Cortina 2000GT - 2121
BMW 1602S - 2244 (for what is essentially a smaller car)
Alfasud Ti - 1769
Magnum 1800 - 1913 (2300 was 2066)
Dolomite - 2265 (4 door only)
Ascona SR - 2227 (4 door)
You could have an Escort 1600 Sport for £1860 which would hit 60 in 11.1
You could also have a Renault 17TL for 2182 which would do it in 10.9
As a comparator, for the nouveau poor, on here my parents bought a 3 bed semi, 10 miles outside Chester for £6300 in 1972.
aeropilot said:
2xChevrons said:
aeropilot said:
2xChevrons said:
The 1.8s had bespoke ratios and an enlarged-diamter input shaft with more splines to try and take the torque.
Which clearly failed miserably.......or mine had the wrong gearbox(es) 
Touring442 said:
Oh, i definitely agree with you - just wondered if he meant the ti as it would have been a very rare car over hereEither way, they would have been very poorly for a Marina TC to drive away from them
matchmaker said:
However, the 2 litre Vitesse and GT6 also used an evolution of the same gearbox. Neither had a reputation for eating gearboxes.
Hmmm... plenty of Triumph owners would contend that 
Whether or not they were better or worse than other 'boxes of the time I couldn't say, but I would say I've had more trouble with transmissions than any other Triumph component. I gave up with the TR6 and put in a W58.
LuS1fer said:
Touring442 said:
Absolutely right. In fact, acording to Motor magazine, the base BMW 1602S hit 60 in 11.9 (Tii 8.2) whereas the fastest time for a Marina 1.8 (ironically an estate) was 11.9 (Saloon 12.2).The Alfasud 1200Ti did it in 12.9 (though it always seemed faster as tghe thing revved its head off).
It was faster than the Cortina 1600 (15.0) but slower than the Cortina 2000 (11.4) while the Magnum 2300 did it in11.2, the cooking Dolomite 11.3, the Ascona SR did it in 10.5
However, in perspective, in 1975, the prices were (using 2 door versions for parity):
Marina TC 2 door £1953 (Standard 1.8SDL only 1722)
Cortina 1600XL 4 door - 1972
Cortina 2000GT - 2121
BMW 1602S - 2244 (for what is essentially a smaller car)
Alfasud Ti - 1769
Magnum 1800 - 1913 (2300 was 2066)
Dolomite - 2265 (4 door only)
Ascona SR - 2227 (4 door)
You could have an Escort 1600 Sport for £1860 which would hit 60 in 11.1
You could also have a Renault 17TL for 2182 which would do it in 10.9
As a comparator, for the nouveau poor, on here my parents bought a 3 bed semi, 10 miles outside Chester for £6300 in 1972.
I'm in!
(and I was.....)
Yertis said:
matchmaker said:
However, the 2 litre Vitesse and GT6 also used an evolution of the same gearbox. Neither had a reputation for eating gearboxes.
Hmmm... plenty of Triumph owners would contend that Whether or not they were better or worse than other 'boxes of the time I couldn't say, but I would say I've had more trouble with transmissions than any other Triumph component. I gave up with the TR6 and put in a W58.
LuS1fer said:
Touring442 said:
Absolutely right. In fact, acording to Motor magazine, the base BMW 1602S hit 60 in 11.9 (Tii 8.2) whereas the fastest time for a Marina 1.8 (ironically an estate) was 11.9 (Saloon 12.2).The Alfasud 1200Ti did it in 12.9 (though it always seemed faster as tghe thing revved its head off).
It was faster than the Cortina 1600 (15.0) but slower than the Cortina 2000 (11.4) while the Magnum 2300 did it in11.2, the cooking Dolomite 11.3, the Ascona SR did it in 10.5
However, in perspective, in 1975, the prices were (using 2 door versions for parity):
Marina TC 2 door £1953 (Standard 1.8SDL only 1722)
Cortina 1600XL 4 door - 1972
Cortina 2000GT - 2121
BMW 1602S - 2244 (for what is essentially a smaller car)
Alfasud Ti - 1769
Magnum 1800 - 1913 (2300 was 2066)
Dolomite - 2265 (4 door only)
Ascona SR - 2227 (4 door)
You could have an Escort 1600 Sport for £1860 which would hit 60 in 11.1
You could also have a Renault 17TL for 2182 which would do it in 10.9
As a comparator, for the nouveau poor, on here my parents bought a 3 bed semi, 10 miles outside Chester for £6300 in 1972.
I can remember Liverpool Police getting a load of 1.8TC's and getting rid of them after 6 months as they were considered too dangerous to drive 'at speed' - I think due to the back end letting go.
Mate of mine had just joined the police at the time and he said many of them were much slower than they were supposed to be.
Mate of mine had just joined the police at the time and he said many of them were much slower than they were supposed to be.
Touring442 said:
Out of those, the 1602 was probably the best value really. After 5 years and 60k it would still be as tight as a drum, unrusty and with a decent resale. If you Ziebarted and religiously maintained the Sud, that would be my choice. The Opel was worthy enough, the rest of them you can keep.
Useful to see the price comparisons, thanks. My dad had a couple of Marinas (L then T reg) and the thing that would've put him off the BMW as well as the retail price would've been parts and servicing costs. Remember then BMW was something special, not the ubiquitous symbol of (perceived) status it is now. He 'wasn't made of money' as he may have told me many times, so the Marinas represented straightforward low cost motoring. And I don't remember him having any problems with them. But the design and parts were dated when they came out in 1970, so by the time production ended in 80, the World had moved on, a lot - the Senator started prod in 78.
He sold me the second one (rather then see me have a succession of money pits) which I kept for a couple of years or so, replacing exhaust tail pipe plus routine servicing. I remember he'd paid 1800 when it was 2 years old, would have have got 1300 trade in 3 years later, or a 300 discount for cash, so I paid him 1000. 2-3 years later, I sold it for 1100. It had had Ziebart and had been garage and maintained so fairly mint. I bought a later 1700 at auction and paid too much for it so 6 months later when I traded it in I got my money back but no more. Spent nothing on it.
At the time my gf* had a Chrysler Alpine, S reg. Her parents gave it to her. Not because they were well off, but its trade in value was literally zero but only one year older. A friend had a T reg Escort. More modern, better drive, but very lightweight metal, everything done to a price. All the paint faded.
TLDR: comparing cars a decade apart is of limited value, esp in the context of how people thought at the time. Other cars were s
t too, but most cars would last if you looked after them. Apart from Chrysler Alpines. - DYSWIDT? - Marina and girlfriend at the same time. No, really
matchmaker said:
I never broke a gearbox in a Vitesse. Diffs, however were a different matter!
My dad had two Vitesses and the gearboxes were awful - whiny , weird angled gate and synchro buggered on 2nd and 3rd after 18months. Overdrive on second car was sporadically present . His Dolomite was even worse - 5 gearboxes replaced under warranty in a year. He bought then switched to Hondas and never had a problem of any sort for the remaining 30 odd years of his life . BL ? Pah .... AC43 said:
So the Sud's not only the only car that can go, steer & stop properly it's by far the cheapest.
I'm in!
(and I was.....)
True but in a cubic capacity and size market, it's 1200 cc engine was seen more as an alternative to an Allegro. The shaped rear seats made it a four seater and additional weight slowed it considerably.I'm in!
(and I was.....)
It also dissolved faster than an Alka-Seltzer.
The 02 BMWs also rusted, like everything else in the 70s.
Touring442 said:
LuS1fer said:
A Minor was luxury compared to a Mini. I had a 1979 Mini 1000 and drove it from West Wales to Cardiff.
I don't think my hearing came back for a few days.
In contrast, my first car, an Austin A40 Farina was reasonable and I covered 30000 miles in 2 years. Rust aside, the only issues I had on that, my first car, was a bad earth on the fuel pump and leaking slave cylinders on the drum brakes.
I also did Cardiff to Chester in a Mk I Cortina 1200 and that was fine too.
Funny you should say that: my dear old Mum replaced a 1970 Mini with a new 900 Polo in 1977. The VW's refinement and noise suppression was astonishing. How BL sold any Minis after around 1976 is a miracle. I don't think my hearing came back for a few days.
In contrast, my first car, an Austin A40 Farina was reasonable and I covered 30000 miles in 2 years. Rust aside, the only issues I had on that, my first car, was a bad earth on the fuel pump and leaking slave cylinders on the drum brakes.
I also did Cardiff to Chester in a Mk I Cortina 1200 and that was fine too.
On Marinas, my best friend's dad had a 1300 coupe. Aubergine;) I remember it was quite spacious inside but pretty agricultural otherwise.
Touring442 said:
Out of those, the 1602 was probably the best value really. After 5 years and 60k it would still be as tight as a drum, unrusty and with a decent resale. If you Ziebarted and religiously maintained the Sud, that would be my choice. The Opel was worthy enough, the rest of them you can keep.
You are kidding aren't you. I nearly bought a s/h 2002 in around 76. On close inspection it was as rotten as a pear. Mechanically it looked & sounded OK. In those days German stuff rusted just as fast as anything else. Look at E9s from about the same period, they are often as not very rusty & restoration costs are eyewatering. I used to earn a decent second income late 70's, early 80's fixing cars & doing a bit of buying & selling. People would literally be knocking on the door if we bought a Maxi or Marina home. We used to buy decent but MOT'd failed ones, fix it up, sills generally, put a kosher MOT on it & sell it on. We became a specialist on Marina clutches doing quite a few.
Both the Marina & Maxi offered a biggish car, that drove well enough for the average family man but was very economical.
At around this time we bought a Renault 16 TX which was a lovely car, but we couldn't sell it. We broke it in the end & a guy with a Lotus Europa wanted the engine. We also looked at an earlish Golf, far too rusty to fix & sell & at the time no interest in spares.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff