PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Recognise the orange one, Marina forum? Lovely looking thing, nice to see one so well looked after. Bit younger than mine IIRC. gbs100, can't see a pic this end.
Hoping the rims will turn up tomorrow, I'm working late this week so they won't find their way onto the car 'till tomorrow. Lowering blocks turned up today though, wahoo- now to work out how they fit (they are wedge shaped, not sure which way up/ round they are supposed to go!) and source the U bolts, no luck on that front yet.
|
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Slots have appeared, need a damn good clean and polish but for old wheels they are pretty damn good, only one has any kerbing and they've all got slight nicks but hey, the car's a shed anyway. Gen-yew-wine Wolfrace too, not replicas. 4x 185/60 R13 Goodyears with loads of tread too. £85 posted from eBay, chuffed with that. Tyres are about the same diameter as the ones on the Spitfire rims but a damn sight wider- didn't want to go any smaller, with just "four on the floor" she's low geared enough as it is.
Hopefully get some pictures on the car this weekend.
Think I've also managed to find some longer Marina U bolts, hoping they are long enough though, on order off the internetz so will have to wait and see. Blocks are about 1 3/4" so should be a good compromise between looks and practicality. Really needs some stiffer shocks on the front though- on the lookout for a telescopic damper conversion but I suspect it'll be a fabrication job, one for "grunty" Alan methinks... after payday.
Some new rear shocks for the rear is a priority though, they were an advisory on the MOT because they were weeping. They are now no longer doing so... Waiting for my local car parts emporium to get back to me, karparts in Stroud are awesome so I'm sure they will come up trumps.
|
|
Last Edit: Nov 3, 2011 18:40:29 GMT by PHUQ
|
|
|
|
|
;D ;D ;DHey thats my old estate.Bought it from a local scrapyard just before it met its maker about 8 or 9 years ago.Cost me £50.I did the bulk of the welding including wings,sills,inner sills,rear valance and replaced one of the rear quarter panels,plus a lot more besides. I had a gallon of tundra green left over from an old project which is why its not teal blue any longer.That was a good old workhorse for me for 5 or 6 years. Sorry to see it go really but i had about 5 other projects on the go at the time and had to leave my lock up.Look after the old girl and if you ever consider flogging it give us a pm. ;D ;D
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Awesome! Actually I found your post on my for sale thread on the Marina forum from back at the start of the year and meant to PM you. Nice to know more of her history! She's still very solid, had a couple of patches for the last MOT, jacking points mainly.
Assume you are down in Cornwall? Get the impression she spent most of her life down there. Will have to bring her down to visit next year ;D
Having sold her once and then jumped at the chance of buying her back, I'm not in a huge hurry to get rid I'm afraid. Will let you know if that changes though! She's a good old bus.
On the lowering front... had a call to say the longer Marina U bolts are no longer available and I've been refunded. Harumph.
|
|
Last Edit: Nov 4, 2011 19:12:52 GMT by PHUQ
|
|
|
|
|
Hi,from memory it was owned by a couple in Truro from almost new and the chap that owned it was told by his son to get rid of it because a newer car would be easier to drive. When i got it the original plates had been removed and kept by the previous owner so thats why its got non transferable plates now. It was a really good workhorse for me.I ended up doing a load of welding to the old tub including replacing the front wings,headlamp panels etc. It was never gonna be a minter just a solid workhorse,but sadly the old bus had to go along with 5 of my other projects.I still have some estate number plate light units somewhere if your interested,just pm me. Good to see your keeping the old girl going ;D ;D ;D ;D
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Not much progress on the Marina, got all the bits to lower her but waiting for the weather to get warmer/drier before I can be bothered to get on with it. Have acquired a pair of gas shocks from the good Gentleman above too so they'll go on when the lowering blocks do. Have got her running nicely again now (note to self, don't change HT leads in a rush, it's very difficult to time a car up when they are in reverse order- swapped them round and she fired straight up, having finally traced and replaced the wire that was shorting out somewhere and causing the lack of go in the first place). In other news, the Land Rover has gone but has been "replaced" with £950's worth of Jag XJ40 which is rather lovely... 80's/ 90's Jags are reet bargains methinks. And it makes a nice contrast with the Marina. A few minor niggles (and the tradition XJ40 footwell paddling pools) but nowt serious (so far) and it drives bootifully.
|
|
|
|
speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,276
Club RR Member Number: 118
|
|
Jan 18, 2012 23:38:16 GMT
|
Hey, liked seeing your marina the other weekend. Fantastic colour
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 14:36:03 GMT
|
Nice to see you, and your Marina, last weekend.
IMO it sounds ok for a B series - they're all a bit rattly. I'm not sure about the mains grumbling, but I think the gearbox input bearing might be complaining a little: there was a definite rumble that stopped when you put the clutch down.
Looking forward to seeing this one progress.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 16:00:33 GMT
|
Echoing what Mark and James have said, it was great to see this at the weekend and also really nice to meet you too ;D I also thought the engine sounded fine, certainly for a B-series and I wouldn't have any qualms about it as a good engine (based on what I saw/heard) As Mark says, fantastic colour, especially against the interior but my fave part is that bootlid. Such a great bit of stupid design. Only BL could make something so odd, yet so 'right'. Can't wait to see more of the car both in this thread and in the flesh too.
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Just spotted the new posts from the A52 mob- cheers for the compilments guys, and I'm glad you aren't as paranoid about the mechanics as I am. I too love that bootlid; it's certainly a talking point. A great bit of stupid design sums it up very nicely, ta Bruce! She'll certainly be back down to the unit, hopefully many more times. Needs to earn it's stripes, or at least it's Area 52 stencil (possibly with the addition of "official bin wagon" ). Might bring the Jaaaag next time though, it's warmer and I'm a wimp ;D
|
|
Last Edit: Feb 4, 2012 20:40:32 GMT by PHUQ
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Got lowz. Finally got around to lowering the back, 2" ish I think. Didn't do the obligatory "before and after" shots. Got some interesting stance on the go at the moment as I didnt get as far as playing with the front, but it's currently got bigger wheels (14" MGF spares with fairly tall tyres) on the back than the front (13" Spitfire) which doesn't help. Massive arch gap at the front, very little at the back but the sills aren't that far off parallel. She usually sits quite nose down.
Went to jack it up and the jacking point crushed. A strip off of the old underseal, a visit to Alan for some Grunty Lovin' and a full repaint/ underseal of the underside beckons, plus getting some rust killer and fresh paint on the worst bits of the body. The driver's door has always been grotty but since winter it's properly gone to pot.
On the upside, she's gained a new friend- a mate has just sold his 2000ish Passat and replaced it with a very very lovely 1850HL Dolomite. I had the pleasure of driving it home from East Sussex yesterday, has inspired me to crack on with the Marina.
Have an obscure problem where the starter sometimes jams on, even if you turn the ignition off. I had the starter reconditioned as it was a bit lazy, but it still does it. Ignition timing keeps slipping and it's burning a lot of oil. Some investigation needed... Hope to keep this motor plodding on for another year or so and I'll look to swap it out for a slightly hotter, less mullered lump.
Since I last posted here the Landy has moved on and I've gained a Jag XJ40. It's incredibly lovely, gorgeous long distance cruiser but it's not very "me", it's too nice! It's also a bit of a cash sponge, meaning less to spend on the Marina. Sounds silly but I've no emotional attatchment to the Jag- I'd be gutted if anything happened to the Marina though...
Edit, just seen a load of posts from earlier this year mentioning said Jag, ho hum...
|
|
Last Edit: May 6, 2012 21:41:51 GMT by PHUQ
|
|
|
|
|
Pictures of 'lowz' please!
|
|
1950 Ferguson TE A20 1971 VW Beetle 1300 1972 VW Beetle 1302S 1977 Leyland Mini 850 1983 Austin Metro 1.0 HLE 1984 Honda Acty TN 550 1989 Rover Mini 30 1990 Rover Mini City E 1990 Mazda MX5
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Will do when I've got the front down, need to get four equal sized wheels on to get judging it easier! Having dug out the nuts for the slotmags they are horrible aluminium things, now I'm sure they are original to the wheels (so nearly as old as the car) and they are defintely the correct shape for the slots, but they don't fill me with confidence.
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
|
Crikey... nearly a year with no progress, ouch. In my defence I've been helping out with a pretty extensive going over of the 1850HL Dolomite mentioned above. That needed a bit of Grunty lovin' to the boot floor, which somehow led to a complete strip of the "cadulac" underseal and a repaint/ reunderseal. By complete, I mean removing the engine/ box/ subframe/ axle/ fuel tank etc to do so, which has been gone over while it's been out, all new bushes and bearings and whatnot too. That's getting there now (engine, box and subframe out still, but not much work left to do) but I've been putting off getting stuck in to the Marina 'till it was more or less there. She's been out of test since September but I've decided to stick her in for an MOT and see what she fails on- if it's nothing too major there's a slight chance we'll make it to the beach. I'm hoping so... To my shame, I've still not wound the front torsion bars down. In other news, I moved the Jag on as it was a bit too nice for what I wanted- and a bit too costy for me to look after. After a too brief flirtation with a very orange Scimitar SE5a I now have £350's worth of Volvo 240GLT. It's endearingly sheddy... Intention is to do nothing with it, but if it goes through it's MOT in a few month's time it may get treated to some new springs. Shorter ones... Don't think there's a pic of Mud on the slotmags in this thread. These aren't very good, but they are also all I have! August last year, at the Gloucestershire Steam Extravaganza. I much prefer the yellow/ white and black plates over the black and silvers she used to have, made quite a difference to her appearance for not much outlay. Improving it further by getting rid of the rusty bits and primer will take a bit more work!
|
|
Last Edit: Mar 9, 2013 23:07:28 GMT by PHUQ
|
|
|
|
|
Must be a trend. I own a Marina coupe, but work for a Landrover garage that services the old Series & Defender vehicles.. How odd Nice to see an estate. Especially a Mk1
|
|
|
|
speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,276
Club RR Member Number: 118
|
|
|
Slotmags win!
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
Mar 12, 2013 15:47:37 GMT
|
She did make a nice pair with the Land Rover, and looked most peculiar parked by the Jaaaag.
MOT booked for a week tomorrow. Will she make the beach? No idea! Watch this space...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 12, 2013 19:00:41 GMT
|
Good luck with that MoT, Mud looks pretty good on those slots and I'm in full agreement with you about the number plates.
|
|
|
|
kilroy
Part of things
Suit you sir...
Posts: 251
|
|
|
Mate. Top marks for your choice and for saving another Marina from a less deserving owner. I like the slotmags - have never seen any over here, but Superlites can be fitted to good advantage.. The Marina Estate is an amazingly underrated vehicle, and I have had over 20 years use from 2 of them. I would suggest that the suspension used on the Mk3 versions provides a far superior handling car than either Mk1 or 2 variants. Easy replacement and does not detract from the original look at all. The Spitfire steels look great when widened a bit. These are 7". Keep it up Dude - you'll have a lot of fun with it.
|
|
Last Edit: Mar 13, 2013 7:56:03 GMT by kilroy
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
Mar 13, 2013 20:01:25 GMT
|
Cheers folks. Didn't realise you were over here too Kilroy- your fleet is an inspiration. I'd love a "Kilroy look" Mk3 at some point as they look quite different to the Mk1s, it was a fairly effective update in my eyes. Had a picture of your pale blue estate complete with canoe on the roof as my desktop background for aaaagggggeeeeesssss!
The set of Spitfire wheels is still floating around, propping up the Dolomite at the moment (or the end of it that still has something to bolt wheels to) while it's wheels are refurbished. At some point they will end up being widened, but it's hardly top priority. Handling is already dramatically improved with the slots on (more width and less depth!), I suspect winding the torsion bars down will help even more and fitting the telescopic shock conversion lurking in the garage a bit more again.
What tyre size are you running on the superlites and banded Spitfire rims out of interest? As a point of reference if I ever do get around to doing it...
|
|
|
|
|