Morris Marina - was it really that bad?
Discussion
Johnspex said:
bristolracer said:
Funny, I was looking at that and thinking "why is it so bland? Couldn't they get a decent designer"?
CDP said:
Johnspex said:
bristolracer said:
Funny, I was looking at that and thinking "why is it so bland? Couldn't they get a decent designer"?
The MGB engine was way more than the car could cope with!
Even if , ISTR the Rover V8 was actually lighter than the B Series.. The Marina was safe enough until you ran out of steering lock anyway . I know of what I speak , having been a rear seat passenger in a 1.8TC which understeered into and felled a large concrete lamp post . I remember, shamefully , lying to the bobbies about who was driving due to the actual driver being banned . Happy days
coppice said:
Even if , ISTR the Rover V8 was actually lighter than the B Series..
Well, it was done once.There was one built for a private entry in the '74 London-Sydney Marathon Rally, with the engine and gearbox from a MGB GTV8 (a modern replica of that car has also been built for historic rallying) but ironically the rear axle they used was the only non-BL sourced part, and that was what failed during the event putting them put of the rally.
Understandably they looked outside of BL for a suitable axle, as there probably wasn't one within BL that would have worked?
BL Special Tuning made some effective suspension upgrade kits for the Marina that worked quite well, but with the demise of the works comp department in 1970, there was very little exposure of ST until the return of the works comp department with the TR7 rally program in the late 70's.
coppice said:
Even if , ISTR the Rover V8 was actually lighter than the B Series.. The Marina was safe enough until you ran out of steering lock anyway . I know of what I speak , having been a rear seat passenger in a 1.8TC which understeered into and felled a large concrete lamp post . I remember, shamefully , lying to the bobbies about who was driving due to the actual driver being banned . Happy days
The factory dabbled with various projects through the ST rally days. Don't forget the 1300 was a pretty successful rally beast.Various Marina transplants were tried including a Dolomite Sprint engine & the RV8. Then the Sprint was played with, including I believe an RV8 version & then the TR7 V8 came along which sorted it out & was the ideal weapo until the whole Motorsport division was binned.
Johnspex said:
bristolracer said:
Funny, I was looking at that and thinking "why is it so bland? Couldn't they get a decent designer"?swisstoni said:
For its time the Marina wasn’t a bad looking thing.
I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
I think it's the thing to bash the Marina, as you say, forgetting how bad other cars were in the 70s. The Marina had dated mechanicals, for sure, but being based on a Minor, something which was cheap to run, reliable and went on and on appealed to a sector of the market. More dads than PHers though. And if you had to pay for your own servicing, non UK parts were more expensive to a greater degree than now, if at all. I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
Iirc the interior of the Marina was better than the equivalent mk2 Escort (@ 78/T) and had a more solid feel to it.
Sticks. said:
swisstoni said:
For its time the Marina wasn’t a bad looking thing.
I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
I think it's the thing to bash the Marina, as you say, forgetting how bad other cars were in the 70s. The Marina had dated mechanicals, for sure, but being based on a Minor, something which was cheap to run, reliable and went on and on appealed to a sector of the market. More dads than PHers though. And if you had to pay for your own servicing, non UK parts were more expensive to a greater degree than now, if at all. I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
Iirc the interior of the Marina was better than the equivalent mk2 Escort (@ 78/T) and had a more solid feel to it.
Sticks. said:
swisstoni said:
For its time the Marina wasn’t a bad looking thing.
I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
I think it's the thing to bash the Marina, as you say, forgetting how bad other cars were in the 70s. The Marina had dated mechanicals, for sure, but being based on a Minor, something which was cheap to run, reliable and went on and on appealed to a sector of the market. More dads than PHers though. And if you had to pay for your own servicing, non UK parts were more expensive to a greater degree than now, if at all. I think some would be literally shocked at what people put up with in those days car-wise and were happy to do it.
The alternative was the bus or walking.
Iirc the interior of the Marina was better than the equivalent mk2 Escort (@ 78/T) and had a more solid feel to it.
The Marina had a terrible interior, and was much worse than the same year Cortina 2.0GT I had before, and it was far from a solid feel. Comparing with an Escort is unfair as the Marina was supposed to be in the same class as the Cortina, not the Escort, which was Allegro class.
Having said that, the Escorts I had still had a better interior than the Marina, and my Marina was a TC, so top of the range ffs.
aeropilot said:
You must be joking.
The Marina had a terrible interior, and was much worse than the same year Cortina 2.0GT I had before, and it was far from a solid feel. Comparing with an Escort is unfair as the Marina was supposed to be in the same class as the Cortina, not the Escort, which was Allegro class.
Having said that, the Escorts I had still had a better interior than the Marina, and my Marina was a TC, so top of the range ffs.
If it was a TC you're talking about the earlier model. I was comparing 1.3 T reg Escort and Marina. Allegro was Fiesta size wasn't it? The Marina had a terrible interior, and was much worse than the same year Cortina 2.0GT I had before, and it was far from a solid feel. Comparing with an Escort is unfair as the Marina was supposed to be in the same class as the Cortina, not the Escort, which was Allegro class.
Having said that, the Escorts I had still had a better interior than the Marina, and my Marina was a TC, so top of the range ffs.
Rob 131 Sport said:
They were bad. Try comparing a Mid Range 78 Marina to a Fiat 131 Supermirafiori 1.6 TC and you’ll see the difference.
I wouldn't. That wasn't my point. The Fiat was more up to date, more exciting, of course. But at the time, running costs, reliability and rust would've been issues. Sticks. said:
aeropilot said:
You must be joking.
The Marina had a terrible interior, and was much worse than the same year Cortina 2.0GT I had before, and it was far from a solid feel. Comparing with an Escort is unfair as the Marina was supposed to be in the same class as the Cortina, not the Escort, which was Allegro class.
Having said that, the Escorts I had still had a better interior than the Marina, and my Marina was a TC, so top of the range ffs.
If it was a TC you're talking about the earlier model. I was comparing 1.3 T reg Escort and Marina. Allegro was Fiesta size wasn't it? The Marina had a terrible interior, and was much worse than the same year Cortina 2.0GT I had before, and it was far from a solid feel. Comparing with an Escort is unfair as the Marina was supposed to be in the same class as the Cortina, not the Escort, which was Allegro class.
Having said that, the Escorts I had still had a better interior than the Marina, and my Marina was a TC, so top of the range ffs.
And no, the Allegro wasn't Fiesta size, Allegro was Escort size.
Being around at the time, it isn't just that it's easy to ridicule an old car from a modern perspective . The Marina was pretty awful in period too, and it was regarded by some of the press as a cheapskate and inadequate stopgap . Cortinas and the unloved Corsair were far nicer to drive ,and usually better equipped - Ford's heating and ventilation were much better , in an era where one didn't take it for granted , the gearchange was much nicer and so was the ride. The TC in particular was diabolical over bad bumps .
I think I said this many pages ago, but I will say again that the lower the spec a Marina was the better it was to drive - so the1.3 was mediocre , but not bad , the 1.8 was sort of bearable and the TC bloody awful . But compared to a period Fiat 1500/125 , Renault 16 or (even ) Vauxhall Victor , the Marina was a simply dreadful anachronism
I think I said this many pages ago, but I will say again that the lower the spec a Marina was the better it was to drive - so the1.3 was mediocre , but not bad , the 1.8 was sort of bearable and the TC bloody awful . But compared to a period Fiat 1500/125 , Renault 16 or (even ) Vauxhall Victor , the Marina was a simply dreadful anachronism
Sticks. said:
I think it's the thing to bash the Marina, as you say, forgetting how bad other cars were in the 70s.
A decade newer than the MGB and yet people rave about the MGB as a classic. It's most odd.People similarly revile the TR7 although it was a decent car in its day.
Mind you, I never understood why people were so rude about the Vectra. It was just one of those Clarkson stupidities.
Panamax said:
Sticks. said:
I think it's the thing to bash the Marina, as you say, forgetting how bad other cars were in the 70s.
A decade newer than the MGB and yet people rave about the MGB as a classic. It's most odd.People similarly revile the TR7 although it was a decent car in its day.
The problem with the TR7 was yet again, BL doing it on the cheap and replacing a hairy chested fuel-injected straight 6 sport car, with a limp wristed, almost hairdressers car. Triumph were still making the Spitfire to cover that base, and it had the Stag further up the marketplace, but the TR7 was just too tame. It should have had the 16v Sprint engine in it from the beginning at least. I think that would have quashed a lot of the stigma that never left the TR7, even when they brought out the TR8, which by then was too late, and NA market only anyway.
The Marina was originally designed to compete with the Escort before being redirected at the Cortina. The idea was a better profit margin that soon eroded and while BL took aim at the Cortina Mk II, Ford launched the bigger, brasher, glitzier Mk III.
The Marina still sold far better than it had any right to.
The Marina still sold far better than it had any right to.
LuS1fer said:
The Marina was originally designed to compete with the Escort before being redirected at the Cortina.
It was supposedly pitched between the two, as BL couldn't afford to develop a new competitor to the Escort and the Cortina, so sized it between the two....which seems really strange given the ADO16 was really Anglia/Escort sized and that was replaced by the Allegro.The Maxi was out just before the Marina, which was Cortina sized, so why on earth did they even think they needed the Marina?
Size wise, the Marina was really only a competitor to the Hillman Avenger, which was also between the Escort and Cortina in size.
The Avenger was dynamically a much better car than the Marina in everyway.
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