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Body condition is everything here, the mechanicals are simple and rugged. And later on, the customizing choices for body and mechanicals are too many to count. But keep in mind the fact that this is a rebodied Morris Minor, the suspension is pitiful, brakes no more than adequate (not even that on early 1300s with drums on the front) and not much power from the 1275. I too had a Marina pickup back in the day, with MGB mechanicals and some suspension improvements, it was a lot of fun, especially on wet roundabouts! Not the best car I ever owned but not the worst by a country mile! And Compo, i've seen a few 2.0 Itals with manual boxes, only a few though! Mind you the 2.0 wasn't a common choice at best. Steve Oh okay that seems to be the story for most classic cars. How does this seem for 'body' condition? www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/detail/motors/classic-cars/morris/marina/181572 |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her  |
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Ive always loved the marina coupe shape, and when i announced to my dad years ago that i wanted to buy one he said 'you don't want one of those, its just a Morris Minor in a party frock'
It put me off, but in hindsight plenty of people love the morris minor, and often uprate them using marina bits. Id imagine that as standard they are quite uninspiring, but the potential is massive. I mean, look at the '34' black one.
DO IT.
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Ive always loved the marina coupe shape, and when i announced to my dad years ago that i wanted to buy one he said 'you don't want one of those, its just a Morris Minor in a party frock' It put me off, but in hindsight plenty of people love the morris minor, and often uprate them using marina bits. Id imagine that as standard they are quite uninspiring, but the potential is massive. I mean, look at the '34' black one. DO IT. HAhaha that's the spirit! I'll keep checking back, and I'll certainly post what my father says. He didn't sound too pleased on the phone when we last spoke so I really do hope he will be on board for this. |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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I had a three year old 1.8 TC estate back in the day, great to tow with, the engine was quick for the time, it was OK on fuel, took lots of gear in the back, but, it handled like two drunken heifers riding a tandem, the petrol tank on the estate collected mud/curse word on the top and rusted through, the drivers seat frame to the back was prone to cracking, the handbrake linkage was prone to freezing (Dales winters) and shattered if introduced to a hammer. The body can rust anywhere.
If the car you are looking at is not rusty, or burns oil, or has an interior that looks as though it has hosted a dog fight, you have a fair chance that it is a good/reasonable one having stood the test of time. 80k is minimal average yearly mileage. Don't expect it to handle/stop/ be economical as a modern car, but it will be easy and cheap to work on, different, and enjoyable.
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74 Mk1 Escort 1360, 1971 Vauxhall Victor SL2000 Estate.
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From the pics, not bad! Seems to be a dent in the n/s/f wing ahead of the wheel and matching that rear seat material will be tricky. The 1800 is a good old slogger but its weight will give you lots of understeer! It's firmly at the top end of the Marina market, i'd try and knock him down a bit!
Steve
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looks good with a piano on top.
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looks good with a piano on top. Must resist temptation to not comment in an adverse manner ... must resist temptation ...  |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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looks good with a piano on top. Must resist temptation to not comment in an adverse manner ... must resist temptation ... forgot the lol!!!!! |
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Practical Classics did a 5 page buyers guide in the recent spring issue. PM me and i'll sort you out with my copy for postage cost or some other method.
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Needs a bigger hammer mate.......
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820
South East
Posts: 793
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I have posted this before but as it is a Marina thread it can only help you get a feel for the cars. This is on board a 1.3 Coupe in 1992.
If you listen "carefully" you can hear the characteristic gearbox whine, clutch judder, and suspension clonk over bumps, despite that I got really attached my Marina as you do with cars with "character"
As most have already said they were a 70's car that had leaf springs, drum brakes, OHV engines and rust like almost everything else at the time except probably Lancia's, Alfa Romeo's and Fiats but they had some extra rust.
Be prepared to do some work on it though and be let down now and then, points, condensers, HT leads.
I would definitely have another one if I had space.
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Last Edit: May 7, 2016 19:06:07 GMT by 820
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Porsche
West Midlands
Kev from B'ham.
Posts: 4,725 
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Last Edit: May 9, 2016 20:39:10 GMT by Porsche
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It's not about making money; I swear! It's about getting into this elusive hobby that I really want with a car I would like. Thanks for the support guys!
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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As most have already said they were a 70's car that had leaf springs, drum brakes, OHV engines and rust like almost everything else at the time except probably Lancia's, Alfa Romeo's and Fiats but they had some extra rust. Be prepared to do some work on it though and be let down now and then, points, condensers, HT leads.I would definitely have another one if I had space. I'm not worried about ride comfort or handling at all really. All I care about is if the car will break with very light use; if it has a high chance of doing so, then I will have wasted literally all my savings and that worries me! |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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Hi, As has been suggested, I was around back in the day and although they were styled similarly to the competition.They were always viewed as the poor relation. They didn't rust any worse or better, they had their mechanical problems, trunnions as mentioned but they should be alright if kept lubricated. Their biggest failing was their Triumph based gearbox in the 1275. you could rarely get more than 30 odd thousand miles out of them and leaked all their oil (that maybe chicken and egg). We used to have a saying amongst us that went "BL make good second hand cars, but can't make a brand new car to save their life" Colin The one for sale has nearly 80,000 miles on the clock which is a lot more than 30,000 miles! *eek!* The guy says it drives fine so I assume nothing is wrong with it, but that's a somewhat scary thought. I really don't have the money or expertise to fix something if I went ahead to buy it because it's at the literal top end of my budget; my budget is limited by how much I have. I suppose from what you said it might not be a good idea to go for it, then? Hi, Ahh I see the one you're looking at is an 1800 which has the 'B' series engine and gearbox which will be a much better choice. The 1300 ones had the weak gearbox so don't panic. Colin |
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taurus
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,084
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We had a few of them back in the day and they weren't bad cars at all. Handling wasn't brilliant even then and they used to develop knocks on the suspension that needed fettling from time to time. We had 1800s and a 1700 Ital estate. The only major issue we had was the 1700 engine blew the HG twice. The 1800s were bombproof and they couldn't have pull.
The metal was thin in places - I remember one 1800 in red we got brand new and within a week the front o/s wing perforated.
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If you like them, go for it, not likely to be any more of a disaster than any other 70's family car within the same price range.
From a desirability perspective, they tend to be bottom of the tree and I have certainly never had any temptation to own one. So. If you like them, make the most of your unique taste and get a car at modest price because few others see the appeal.
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If you like them, go for it, not likely to be any more of a disaster than any other 70's family car within the same price range. From a desirability perspective, they tend to be bottom of the tree and I have certainly never had any temptation to own one. So. If you like them, make the most of your unique taste and get a car at modest price because few others see the appeal. Well I suppose I do indeed have an eccentric taste but anything else that I might have wanted it too pricy anyway. It won't go down in price anyway. ... Right? |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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The Marina was a competent car, but not exciting. It felt more dated than its rivals as it was re-using a lot of quite ancient mechanical components compared to Ford, Vauxhall and even Austin's Allegro. As said, that's hardly relevant now. Its called "character" now rather than a "fault" |
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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They have a reputation of being hit by random pianos falling from the sky...
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They have a reputation of being hit by random pianos falling from the sky... Careless airways! Well ... by all means; fall on the others but not mine for then it'd be an even better investment! |
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her |
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