The TRUTH Behind the MORRIS MARINA Controversy - British Leyland's Worst Failure?

[@Orkneyudh8hggbvhh]

I Remember my dad buying a brand new White Marina VAN in 1973 Reg number EAY843L from Shipsides BL dealer on the Coneries in Loughborough 2 doors away from our tv shop, I remember dad saying had to pay extra for the passenger seat and the Heater ! It came with them but both was a cost option I use to drive it when I was 16/17 those were the days no dpf, no cat converter, no ad blue, no power steering no electric windows no air con no cruise no cam belts or chains or wet belts etc etc nothing to go wrong ! compared to my transit custom today !

[@johntilsley9111]

Worked on a civil engineering job in the 70s and used hired Marina vans extensively. Much better than the Escorts because they only seemed to have the 1100 versions. 1300cc Marinas were constantly thrashed and if you hulked the bent nail throttle pedal over a bit, heal and toe gear changes became much easier.

[@Upperroad4480]

BMW never had these problems.

[@Upperroad4480]

Ford were always going to be ahead

[@johntilsley9111]

​@Upperroad4480 but BMW didn't do basic vans.

[@russcattell955i]

@@johntilsley9111 True, no vans at all.

[@paddycoleman1472]

I remember as a wee Lad, my Dad coming home with his brand new Morris Marina Coupe TC. As a child I was impressed! 😉

[@edsmith4821]

I was gutted we got the basic model

[@paddycoleman1472]

@ To be fair, in the 1970s there was not a huge difference between the top and bottom of the range. Typically a better engine and some fancier seat material. Power steering, electric windows, AC etc. were nowhere to be seen unless you had a Jaaaaaag. 😀

[@neilgent1595]

My dream car even now. As Mony Python would say you lucky, lucky.....person.

[@paddycoleman1472]

@@neilgent1595 I seem to recall (although recollections can vary) that my Dad swapped his blue 4 door Marina saloon for the 2 door Coupe TC which was red. Let’s just say Mum seemed less impressed than me! 😉

[@robertsmith9810]

@@neilgent1595 my ital pick up fell and rusted away engine went ok the final straw came when the police pulled her with a woman the wife and 3 lids in the cab she would not take out anymore

[@bundsgaard9380]

I had a 1973 Marina 1.8 TC saloon in the early eighties. It wasn't a bad car, it was reliable, comfortable and quite fast.

[@tasmaniandevil6674]

I had a 1.3 two-door and 1.8 four-door in the mid to late eighties and being cheap wheels nobody really wanted I think they were good value for a student stretching pennies. Reliable and reasonably cheap to drive and maintain. Heater was inadequate, noisy, all that but it didn't matter. Undervalued car but to my advantage.

[@alanrobertson9790]

Same here, and my first car, it was fast in a straight line but you had to slow down for corners. Was an M reg so same year as yours. Don't know why it so fashionable to slag it off. PS Mine was a 1.8 litre saloon but not TC.

[@andrewking5274]

I loved the coupe 1.8 tc, but I am 59

[@terryhoath1983]

My Dad bought one new and I bought it off of him when he bought a new Cortina Estate. He wished he hadn't bought a Cortina Estate. Apart from other problems, a headlight went and the Ford dealer said that it would be over a month to get a replacement as it would have to be sourced from Belgium. My Dad pointed out that they were being fitted to new cars in Dagenham ... "Are Yes Sir, but you don't understand, Sir. They are all allocated, Sir". In the end, one was sourced from a third party. My Dad never bought another Ford neither have I and I still wouldn't. In my view, most people buy Fords because their Dads did and they don't know any better. The problem for British Motor Corporation was two-fold, 1 Red Robo, a Soviet agent, who should have met his end in a dark alley, and 2. the change of name to British Leyland. People didn't want to buy a car from a bus and lorry company. It tarnished the image. Would you rather buy a Jaguar or a Triumph or an Austin or a Morris or Rover..... or would you rather buy a car from Leyland ... a less than attractive town in dank and drizzly Lancashire ? It was an image thing. You could have a Jaguar or a Triumph but the smell of Leyland was always hanging around.. All was lost when that South African idiot changed the name to "BL" You can do the letters thing if the letters are right such as AC, the AC Cobra but not wiv "Bee-yer-auwll".

[@alanrobertson9790]

@@terryhoath1983 Yes its shocking listening to KZbin car and bus videos how British workers in the 1960s and 70s conspired to destroy their own jobs. I bought a Sierra and two Mondeos 2nd hand and was well satisfied with them. I also know a guy who bought a brand new Fiesta and had continual problems with the electrics and said he would never buy another Ford. Also had a Cavalier and Insignia but after a life of fast hatches have gone for a Dacia Duster. Does not overtake like the others but good ground clearance.

[@mnbalfour1985]

The Marina was introduced to the Australian market in April 1972 as the Morris Marina and then, following a change in marketing policy, sold there from 1973 under the Leyland Marina name. From that time a restyled grille was used on all models. The Australian Marina, which was sold in sedan and coupé forms only, used the OHC E-Series four-cylinder motor in 1500 cc, 1750 cc and 1750 cc twin carburettor form. Additionally, in an attempt to compete with the Holden Torana and Ford Cortina 6-cylinder models, the Marina was also offered from November 1973 with a 121 hp (90 kW) 2600 cc E-series six-cylinder engine. This indigenous Marina variant was capable of 0-60 mph in under nine seconds. The Australian Marinas were built from CKD kits sent from Cowley in England, but used high levels of local content, including different running gear, axle, interiors, seals, seats, uprated dampers and mounts, uprated wheels and a higher grade of fit and finish. The Marina Six used a separate front sub-frame to support the weight of the Big Red engine and different front torsion bars as well as a pair of rear radius arms in an attempt to improve handling. Base model featured a 3-speed manual gearbox - sourced locally from Borg-Warner - to meet local content requirements. The Borg-Warner automatic was, however, the variation most popular in the local market. Surprisingly, the three-speed manual gearbox, was mechanically a four-speed box with first gear blanked off. This was done due to the perceived high torque of the engine, so that first gear was deemed unnecessary. Leyland Australia were known for their own development and a version of the Rover V8 was converted into a V6 and test fitted to a Marina saloon. Production of the Marina in Australia ended in 1975, when Leyland Australia's Victoria Park, Zetland factory (home of the Leyland P76) closed. A replacement model, the P82, was under development in 1974, but did not reach production. Over 30,000 Marinas were produced in Australia.

[@willevans429]

no wonder the republic movement formed lolololol

[@biglongcadillac]

Excellent information thanks

[@brycechessum4684]

Yeah I drove a Aussie Marina coupe a few times uninspiring performance and atrocious handling it was gutless with the 1750 engine.

[@Boababa-fn3mr]

My parents had a 1750 OHC in the early 80s until the front suspension failed and a wheel came off.

[@gregmorgan8350]

The Kimberley/Tasman seemed a better car. The P76 was a mighty thing

[@johnbaldwin9126]

I worked for Austin Morris at Longbridge and my father bought 2 x 1.3 Marinas over the years using my staff discount. He was a REME trained mechanic and loved the Marina...never let him down once

[@highpath4776]

found the gearbox/gear change at bit suspect -was it still minor based ? - I didnt have experience with the Triumph 1300 gearbox which was a car I might have liked had it not rusted badly

[@davidlove1944]

my dad had 3 triumphs the 1500 tc. went like a rocket didnt have to much rust on it as i bent the front end on it lol loved my marina 1800tc when got a bit older​@highpath4776

[@cedriclynch]

The gearbox of the Morris Marina is not the same as the one in the Morris Minor. The Marina has synchromesh on all forward gears, and the Minor has it on second, third and fourth only. ​@@highpath4776

[@paulTR65124]

My father was a mechanic in the 60s and 70s and I remember him making the point that BL took the two worst things from the good old Morris Minor, the weak gearbox and inadequate front suspension and put them both in the Marina

[@PaulCopp]

Yep, torsion bar combined with lower joints that just broke if not changed regularly.

[@JamesSmith-tv3pz]

Agree totally with this. In the 1980's I was forever replacing the lower trunnions on Marina's that had seized solid, making turning of the steering almost impossible (due to lack of regular greasing). The front torsion bar suspension was also hideous with little or no 'springing' . The gearbox also self destructed with synchro failure, reverse idler shredding etc. The irony here is I would still love to own a 1.8 TC coupe !!.....

[@edwinmorris1635]

Very fast cars, intended to be simplistic design with a robust engine.

[@johnquilter7620]

Actually the Marina used the single rail Triumph gearbox that had its own problems and was particularly undersized for the 1800cc engine. We had major warranty issues with them in the USA. Bean counters should have stood down and let the MGB gearbox be used.

[@koitorob]

My 1.3 coupe was my first car and i had no issues with either the gearbox or the front suspension. It waa a rear spring that i broke racing around Elan dam. We 'got air' over and upon landing ther was a loud BANG. I got a load of shit from my mom for, and i heard this many times while i owned this car(and a few afterwards), "YOU DON'T RESPECT THE WHEELS UNDERNEATH YOU!" I remember trying to hit 100mph while driving from the Midlands down to Swansea. Never quite managed it...

[@normanmcleod7169]

I had a 1750cc Coupe bought at an auction and found it comfortable, reliable and nippy. Later I had a SA spec Mk3 in South Africa and it never let me down. What I disliked about them were the weak lever arm shock absorbers at a time when a conversion to telescopic was just too expensive for me.

[@philipcrossley1279]

The Thatcher government was determined to destroy all the unions, and in my opinion the regular strikes at Leyland were deliberately provoked in order to render it worthless and easy to sell into private hands. BMW wouldn't have taken over if they hadn't seen some real potential. Thatcher succeeded in not only selling off British Leyland, they also decimated or destroyed most heavy industries including shipbuilding and mining, and substantially weakened the unions in the process. The days of the UK being a global manufacturing power are gone forever. Any remaining major carmakers and heavy industry are owned by foreign investors, funnelling any profits out of the industries and out of the country until they eventually fail, or they are moved abroad entirely. And then the "B-word" came along and nailed the coffin lid shut.

[@gwheregwhizz]

In the 70s, the British taxpayer subsidised British built, British cars. Then, from the 80s, the British taxpayer subsidised British built, Japanese cars. Now Ford want the British taxpayer to subsidise incentives for foreign built, foreign cars.

[@francomartini4328]

Only if they're electric. Planet saving doesn't come cheap. It comes to the sound of state subsidies.

[@johnmiller5018]

That’s why they want Ukraine- for the lithium

[@francomartini4328]

@@johnmiller5018 that's a very expensive way to get what is quite a common mineral, though strangely enough for a very natural resource-rich country, Russia doesn't have any. The UK on the other hand, does. There are three lithium deposits in Great Britain located at Glebuchat (Aberdeenshire), United Downs (Cornwall), and St. Austell (Cornwall) as opposed to only one in Ukraine at Polokhovskoe. The largest lithium deposit in Europe is at Alijo in Portugal but Europe as a whole is dwarfed by what is mined in Australia, the world's number one source. Other major lithium providers are Brazil and, funnily enough, China. This last fact is very convenient given that China is also where all the main lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities are located (because China's safety legislation is very flexible.) NB: Ukraine also has oil but that is irrelevant in the context of Russia's war of aggression because it is not a resource war, it is an imperialist war.

[@Boni-i1l]

@@francomartini4328 Sure not cheap. But for sure it won't save the planet either. Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@cwfqayin]

​@@francomartini4328 Why are you so sure that BEV will save the planet. As a man from a third world country that have a high rate of corruptions and chemical and physical accidents frequently, and our main power source is coal, I don't believe it.

[@andysllt155]

I had 17 marinas and a ital years back but still regret selling my GT .I loved them so easy to work on and I restored quite a few but sadly they were always slagged off but they sold well now all but history great video tom

[@newblackdog7827]

That’s a type of masochism the Marquis de Sade would be proud of! 🤣

[@FredScuttle456]

I covered 60,000 miles in my 1300 Coupe during the 1980s. I always called it "The World's Most Ordinary Car". Front engine, RWD, four speed gearbox, water cooled. Everything under the bonnet was accessible and easy to replace.

[@CrusaderSports250]

​@@FredScuttle456only 60,000 miles, my first car and my first Marina did 100,000 miles in five years, on top of the already 100,000 it had on when I bought it, all on the original engine with no rebuild, it is true to say that at the end it burnt a bit of oil with exuberant driving but at that milage you go with it, within its first year I fitted a tow bar and it became wedded to a variety of trailers both large and small, but always well loaded, It went to Denmark, the Outer Hebrides, south to Kent (from Scotland), plus regular 360 mile round trips up north, all done with the A series 1300 engine that never failed to start and gave 33 to 35 MPG consistently, a truly brilliant motor.

[@Martindyna]

@@CrusaderSports250 That's quite a mileage ! Do you remember what brand / spec. lubricating oil you used ?

[@FredScuttle456]

@@CrusaderSports250 And no pianos ever fell on it.

[@CookleyLightRailway]

As a young married couple we bought a brand new Marina 1.3 Coupe in Midnight Blue and were very pleased with it. An early problem was dealt with - crankshaft bearing failure within 12 months replaced under warranty. When I came to do my first service on it I was puzzled by the one sealed swivel joint and the 3 others with grease nipples! Also a rear differential with hardly any oil. However the car settled down and we had kids and the Marina had such a large boot space that we would go on a two week self-catering holiday with everything, including pram and nappy bucket, safely in the boot and nothing cluttering the seats. It eventually became our second car and was still running well when I sold it 14 years later - with a few holes in the floor! Over the years it was reliable and easy to maintain with one 1/2" AF spanner - which is more than I can say about more recent cars I've owned!

[@70mmbobbyj]

Owned two in the early 80's, never had any problems

[@Rapscallion2009]

The problem here was businessmen trying to cut their way to profitability. Cutting only works if the problem is waste. If the problem is poor quality, it'll only make things worse. A lot worse.

[@timgriggs8592]

Well, that's true up to a point. You have to be able to measure where you are too - BMC didn't have standard costing until the mid-60s so the difference between waste and value to customers was never understood. As for "quality", they only started to "get" that when Honda arrived in 1980. The Marina was a pretty fair effort given the dire state of the post-merger BL.

[@timgriggs8592]

PS George Turnbull took a few Marinas with him when he went to help Hyundai start up in the 70s. Now look at the Pony - spot the similarities 😂

[@adrianvanheems8041]

I had a Morris Marina 1.7 Estate Car in 1976. It is the only car I've ever had that was no trouble whatsoever. It was very comfortable, quite quick, and did 40mpg. I did 66000 miles in it, and then it was sold, as it was a company car. I was sorry to see it go.

[@Jack-it6qt]

That was well worth watching just to see Madeline Smith.

[@tomdrives]

She worked there.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

​@@tomdrives And all the other well-known actors who were in the promo film ?

[@musiknymph]

A bit concerning seeing Arthur (from On the Busses ) ...probably his fault the Marina failed 😆

[@Nooziterp1]

@@Kevin-mx1vi Yeah but Madeline Smith was better looking.

[@johncummins3860]

Was that Denzil on the shop floor ?

[@malc.s.5373]

My first job, involved driving a Marina van. I loved it. I also hitch hiked in those days, Marina drivers often gave me lifts, I really liked the car.

[@2DogsVlogs]

My brother had a 1974 sedan as his first car. He seemed to enjoy it and kept it for 4 years till the engine was done. His had the 2.3 six and auto trans. It had so much power it could drag off competitors. He did bottom it out and damaged the gearbox so had it rebuilt and worked. It would spin the wheels going from first to second. He ended up selling it to the guy over the road by putting a tin of grease in the engine to stop the amount of smoke out the exhaust. It wasn't a well built car but it did the job.

[@EVISEH]

The Australian 6 cylinder Marinas were not good sellers and had poor handling due the heavy 6 cylinder motor. Added to that they lacked the interior space of their Holden Ford and Valiant rivals. I remember borrowing a Marina 6 and was immediately frighted by the its inclination to understeer. I was white knuckled when it came time to return the car

[@davidhartwell4826]

I think he should have sold it to someone living much furhter away than over the road!

[@kevincraven4038]

I had a 1977 1.3DL in the mid eighties, bought it off my mum. Shortly after buying it, the gearbox broke - a circlip on the lay shaft broke, so I lost 3rd gear... New Marina gearbox (4 speed) £135, new Ital gearbox (5 speed) £185 - no contest - 4 speed on the lever - 5 in the box! I also beat a 3 litre Mk1 Granada in a drag race on Southport Beach - so light the Marina skipped along while the Ford dug itself two big holes! 🤣 It was sandstone beige (Puss) with chocolate brown vinyl roof! 😝

[@simonhill2820]

I think your alarm clock went off after this. Ital was 4 speed only.

[@kevincraven4038]

@@simonhill2820 No, big selling point was better economy from 5-speed...

[@simonhill2820]

@@kevincraven4038 Your off your head. Ital was just a facelift . 2.0 litre was auto because it struggled with the torque (twisting Power) of the engine everything else was 4 speed man Marina and Ital.

[@anemone104]

I did the same with an 1100 escort van bought for £50, but I did slip in a 1300 motor at the same time. On the van suspension it handled like a go-cart. And yes, the Ital was available in a 5-speed manual.

[@simonhill2820]

It wasn’t. I’m not arguing anymore you’re getting confused.

[@roybatty2030]

My dad had a 1.8 as a company car and used to drive around uk at 80mph with no issues at all. Quite a nice car, as I recall. During the fuel crisis, when the speed limit was 50mph, it was fantastically economic.

[@pilskadden]

I think the Marina was the right car for the time. The ultra conservative British fleet market was dominated by the utterly conventional models from Ford and you can't blame BL for wanting a share of that market. The Marina was probably meant to compete with the Cortina, but they targeted the MK2 Cortina and didn't anticipate that the MK3 would grow in size. The coupe version was a joke, though. Originally thought to be a stylish model similar to a Capri, BL gave up half way and fitted the coupe with the much too short doors from the saloon making it look really awkward.

[@trickyx12000]

Roy Haynes was the designer of both the Cortina mk2 and the morris marina !!!

[@YBM2007]

Gotta admit I like the design of the Marina but the Allegro never sat right with me.

[@loveisall5520]

I am old enough to remember, in the US, when the marina was being roasted. However, here in the US, blame for the failure of the car was laid squarely at the feet of the British unions who sabotaged the British manufacturers. How do former Union members look on this era? Do they accept any responsibility yet?

[@newblackdog7827]

No is the short answer!

[@anemone104]

I'm old enough to remember when the Marina was being launched in the UK. Unfortunately the blame for its shortcomings cannot be laid solely at the feet of the unions and to think so is to subscribe to a pro-industry bias in the US media at the time. Any open-minded assessment would conclude that management had to bear a significant portion of the blame with a long track record of short sighted, short term decision-making, lack of maintenance of facilities and infrastructure, class-ridden attitudes to managing their workforce and excessive profit-taking. The bit in the vid about the Minor production lines being worn out and management (wrongly) assuming that elements could continue to be used in Marina production is telling of a consistent picture of lack of investment by a management out-of-touch with what was going on with their own machinery - same story with British bike manufacturers. The British car (and bike) industry seemed to cope with falling profits by acquisitions and mergers combined with cost saving and asset-stripping rather than investment and development of new models or rolling improvements in existing ones. That's not a 'union' thing. How do former middle and higher management look on this era? Do they accept any responsibility yet? Or did they retire with golden handshakes and knighthoods like Sir Michael Edwardes, former chairman of BL?

[@sultanoftippoo3857]

@@anemone104 Can’t say I agree with you. I lived through that era (my Dad owned a Marina) and I’m sure it wasn’t Michael Edward’s who scratched his name in the boot. It was a rubbish car built by a workforce who couldn’t care less about what they produced when they weren’t on strike (which wasn’t very often). You are right though in that the management were also totally inept.

[@k.kristianjonsson1537]

@@anemone104 So when the Unions recognized this bad management, they saw this as an opportunity to make it even worse with strikes at the worst possibly moment. The union people was safe, the workers not so.

[@anemone104]

@@k.kristianjonsson1537 That's a bit simplistic. People being people, my bet is that there was a bit of 'empire building' by individual union reps, but basically to be a union rep, you had to be elected by the members. The members needed their jobs and didn't join unions to go on strike for strike pay (paid out of their subs) at far lower rates than their pay packets, piss off the management and get fired (laid off). They struck to try to make conditions and pay better. Sh!t management who were manifestly arrogant and incompetent and who couldn't/wouldn't negotiate and who often went back on agreements precipitated strikes just as much as union 'militancy'.

[@neilsharpe7086]

Did over 95,000 miles in a 1974 1.3 coupe when I was on the road for Fox's Biscuits. . Went like a rocket, with a bonus of near on 35mpg. Loved it - especially the cavernous boot for loading boxes of biccies! They replaced it with a Vauxhall Chevette, which was very pedestrian by comparison.

[@tomdrives]

Sounds amazing, a company car I assume? It's a shame we don't have a "70s rep snapshot" type of video.

[@TS-bn7zt]

A guy living just down the road from me has a Marina, he drives it everyday! It’s in good condition, racing green in colour. I pass by it quite regularly. It’s quite amazing it’s still on the road and looking that good.

[@MartinBaldock]

I owned one for 2yrs, and the only reason I moved it on was that it was uncomfortable on long journeys. I was using it for local journeys for most of the time in that period. Nothing broke, no breakdowns in that time. I replaced it with a VW Jetta which stayed in the family for over a decade.

[@Chris-f7s2y]

As I recall the N reg 1.8 saloon I had in 1977 did have a 2 piece prop shaft, you said in your talk that this was dropped. It’s also worth noting that the Marina platform had no parts whatsoever in common with the minor, apart perhaps from the A series engine. The torsion bar IFS was similar but I’m certain shared no parts with the minor.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

The famous front trunnions that collapsed if you didn’t grease them every 3000 miles !

[@FredPilcher]

The 1100 with its "hydrolastic" suspension was, like the Mini, brilliant. The Marina, by comparison, was a primitive throwback by comparison. It readily deserved to fail and to take the horror that was BL with them. BL destroyed everything they touched.

[@grahamreeve5209]

My father was failing the 1100 on rust at their first MOT.

[@k.kristianjonsson1537]

The "primitive throwback " was not a problem for Ford Cortina.

[@6581punk]

The problem was the Labour government who nationalised the company. No business can thrive if taken over by the government. Sir Clive Sinclair got his Sinclair Radionics company invested in by the NEB and he had to then spin up a small side company to work on the computers he was planning to launch.

[@Milominderbender586]

@@grahamreeve5209A friend of mine bought a Morris 1100, when he tried to Jack it up the rear subframe stayed still as the body rose. I think the Marina was a better car.

[@Bunce1949]

A brilliantly put together video. I had a Marina van as a Company vehicle in 1979. It was brand new, but the build quality was appalling and it was plagued with faults. It was actually quite nice to drive, but one day whilst travelling on the A14 the head gasket went. Bear in mind it was now only 18 months old! They had decided the van didn't need a water temperature guage, so I was unaware I was overheating until the engine started to pink badly. I pulled in to a layby, to be enveloped in a cloud of steam. Calling the AA the engineer found it had melted all the plug leads and partly destroyed the engine. I returned home on a breakdown truck and never saw the van again. Shortly afterwards I left the company, so have no idea if it was ever made roadworthy again.

[@manjsingh5073]

Such a sad story....bean counters and strikes killed the wonderful British car industry...

[@TX200AA]

I had a 1.8 Coupe, bought new in 1972. It was quick but the suspension was dangerous, despite what was claimed about revised geometry. I think that only the twin carb 1.8 actually had the better front setup. At over 80 mph all steering control was lost. It happened to me on the A64 driving towards York when I found the car just drifting towards the centre reservation with no steering control. Slowing gently did get control back, but I never tried to get it over 80mph again. When he car was new BMC build quality issues showed themselves, Firstly the clutch hydraulics failed on the first long drive and the master cylinder was replaced. The new engine was burning oil and had to have all four pistons replaced with correctly fitting ones. B series pistons were a selective fit and the ideal was that a piston without rings should just slide slowly down the bore under its own weight. The replacement (under warranty) made the engine much better, and my car was probably faster than most.

[@johngarner713]

I had an 1800 tc model. Seemed quick at the time. Twice I brole one of the rear cart springs pulling away too quickly.

[@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE]

Looks like they still had money for actors in their adverts. Madeline Smith, Michael Robbins, George A Cooper and Paul Barber.

[@tomdrives]

They worked there, it's definitely not an internal video about quality that was an absolutely unnecessary overspend 😂

[@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE]

They worked there and just happened to be filmed together? ​3 of the most well-known 70's actors worked at BL whilst at the same time as making top movies and TV shows? MS was making films - usually scantily clad. GAC Citizen Smith and films. MR On The Buses. Barber was slightly later as Denzil.

[@DrRock2009]

@@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGEdon’t forget GAC was in Grange Hill

[@jon-ie4li]

Barber was in Porridge in the 70s long before Only Fools. @@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE

[@paulphillips9228]

Even features Philip Jackson, holding the clipboard and logging the complaints.

[@seriksson9721]

I installed a Marina 1.3 short block with Cooper s 1275 head, rally cam, and Weber 45 in my 1954 Morris Minor. Everything fit easily and the car ran great.

[@video99couk]

I cannot believe that anyone test drove a Marina and an Avenger then bought the Marina. It just defies any logic. The only explanation is that people just bought what they were used to. The Avenger was a superior car in essentially every important aspect, but most especially in road handling where it set the standard to beat in the early 1970s. Whereas the Marina handled like a pudding.

[@williamwoods8022]

The only Avenger I liked was the Tiger - The Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC that I bought 2nd hand in 1984 was an excellent reliable and fast car - faster than any Avenger part from the Tiger - and also better looking than any Avenger as well. These Mk2 HLs were the best looking of all of the Marinas with chrome everything and plush interiors. They also had beefed up anti-roll bars and yes you still had to watch the back end in the rain but that was the same for many rear wheel drive cars back then and I drove that car fast and hard around the twisty lanes around Paisley Scotland no problem back then beating my mates 2.0 S Capri that was worst for handling. The Avenger rotted worst than the Marina did as well although that was not a problem with my Marina as I always rustproofed and serviced my own cars.

[@Howie57]

So if the avenger was so much better, why didn't it outsell the marina.....it didn't because it wasn't

[@Zeem4]

@@Howie57 I've owned and driven both and I'd have to say that the Avenger is a much, much better car to drive. I like the Marina/Ital and I'd gladly own another one, but I'd still be well aware of its woolly steering, mega-long-throw gear lever, wandering at speed, awful crosswind stability, lurching all over the road when hitting a bump in mid-bend, and so on.

[@bryansmith1920]

But why buy a Cortina when you could have a Hunter,

[@rogerrussell5155]

I drove a marina ,an avenger and the mk 3 cortina....the avenger had a ridiculously high rear window which made parking difficult, the marina was a better car but the cortina outclassed both of them

[@johncouriermeh]

In my life I owned 3 Morris Marinas. My first one I bout in 1973 and was a 1.3 coupe in aqua. The car never let me down unlike it's replacement an Austin Allegro, a 1.5 super that was a problem from the moment I purchased it. My second Marina was a 1.8 coupe and again never let me down and that was replaced by a Marina 1.8TC coupe and again never broke down. The worst car I ever bought was a Yugo Sana 1.4 that was problematic from new, from clutch cable to rust, electrical failure to breakage of interior plastics. The cost new was a mere £5999 but due to the collapse of Romania parts became difficult and the price drop was insane and I sold it after 18 months for only £800.

[@jmfitzpatrick1731]

Thanks Tom for another of your excellent, well researched, objective and engaging presentations. One thing about the Marina and George Turnbull which seems to be little acknowledged is that Turnbull requested two Marinas as a parting gift from BL, then took them with him to Korea, where he established Hyundai as a car manufacturer. Sadly, for a significant time, BMC management had a policy of not competing with Cortina, which led to them being in an increasingly difficult position in the marketplace. The fact that the Marina emerged at all is actually quite remarkable. We can only speculate what the car would have been like if its creators were able to design and build what they really wanted!

[@enwins]

Well documented and accurate. A very sad combination of events

[@tomdrives]

Thank you

[@poolfarm2]

Believe it or not, there was a convertible option available back in the day (Mumford)

[@willevans429]

Really ? lololol that for sure was to just save money on steel

[@gordonhack5212]

My first car was a Marina Coupe. In Australia we had the 2.6 litre E Series 6 cylinder engine. It went like stink! Loved that car😊

[@MrOlgrumpy]

The "Led six",remember the add,slagging the Japanese pronunciation,soon to be seen off by Nissan's L series OHC blue six.

[@koitorob]

2600cc in a Marina???????? Bloody hell! The back end of my coupe was light enough with a 1.3. I hate to imagine how much easier it would be for it to swap ends with even more power than the 1.8TC in it!

[@PaKaHae]

Some say it has the finest owner's club and it will rain piano if you take it for a ride... All we know is it's called the Marina

[@cefnonn]

0 seconds ago As a town dweller, I love the narrower, quieter, tyres that cars had in those days. Why can't modern cars have quiet tyres? Car noise pollution is terrible let alone CO2 and particulate emissions. Thanks for a great video. I liked the Marina Coupé especially.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Because cars are MUCH heavier, it was common for cars to weigh 750KG, now its common for them to weigh up to 3,000kg.

[@biglongcadillac]

Because as compared to tall skinny but quiet bias ply tires, modern steel belted radial tires are much.....safer?

[@cefnonn]

Don't ask me. I'm only asking the question. ​@@biglongcadillac

[@biglongcadillac]

@@cefnonn I answered your question.

[@willevans429]

@@biglongcadillac with a question mark;

[@GrandadTinkerer]

I only travelled in a Marina once. The short journey was in my best mate's dad's brand new 1.8 in about 1972. My only memories of the occasion was a terrible squeaking from the brakes, and various assorted rattles.

[@NJPurling]

Had to inner wheel arches. Anything coming off the front wheels got flung behind the headlights or against the firewall. Cars of that era rusted like crazy. The Marina excelled in that respect due to all the aforementioned crud behind the headlights. My father had a 1.8 in which 'Bondo' - body filler was a significant part of the structure holding the headlights in. The colour I can only describe as 'dog s__t brown'. The vinyl seats almost guaranteed to fry bare skin if the car had been left in the sun. The front running gear became a popular upgrade to the Moggie Minor. We had also had the competing Ford Cortina Mk3. With the 1300 engine. The body would take the Ford 'Essex' V6 also used in the Granada so the 1300 engine looked minute.

[@49commander]

Just like today, the bean counters want the comfort of high margin cars which are low volume sellers. However, without a high volume seller every bolt and nut for the high margin cars cost more and more since the companies volume purchasing power disappears! They should had focused on the all new Marina and got it out the door in the 1970's. Having one good car selling well improves the whole company and most importantly the public image!!! Again, automotive companies seem to get some of the worst managers in the whole industry! You need strong product focused managers that are willing to step in and add cost to make the first production models have the best quality possible, then do cost reduction when it can properly be accomplished without having serious quality consequences!

[@TassieLorenzo]

"They should had focused on the all new Marina and got it out the door in the 1970's. " Wasn't the Maxi the priority of the Leyland group? It had front drive, a hatchback, excellent packaging etc?

[@nickb5391]

@5.47, isn't that Denzil??

[@tomdrives]

He worked at BL ;)

[@koitorob]

I got my driving licence in 1983 one week before my 18th birthday and my first car was JNX352N, a green (Tundra) 1.3 Morris Marina 2 door coupe. Loved it! I owned it for about five years before getting my first of several Minis. I remember about ten years later coming across it in a scrap yard while looking for parts for my then current car.

[@ianrichards4907]

i worked for a company that bought a fleet to use as taxis , i don't have enough time to list all the problems they gave us as mechanics !

[@apg381]

I owned an X reg (1982) Morris Ital, it was my first car and it was a gift from my Grandad - after the storms of 1987 blew the next door neighbours roof off and it landed on the car. It was a rust bucket, I had to fill the sills with foam, had fibreglass repairs on nearly every panel, the bonnet detached from the car when I was doing 60 mph down an A road, the odometer stopped working for over a year, the speedo wasn't much better, the accelerator cable snapped which I replaced in a B&Q carpark. It was truly terrible, but I kept it on the road for 4 years and still sold it for £250.

[@victorgrasscourt3382]

I had a Marina 4 door Jubilee model which was Citron Yellow with a dark blue vinyl roof. It had the 1.8 twin carb MGB engine. I had the lever arm front suspension converted to shock absorbers with a Spax kit. The car was comfortable and fast. In 1978 I bought a new 1.8GT Marina coupe. Again, comfortable and fast. However the car really needed a five speed gearbox.

[@chrisperyagh]

A mate of mine had the coupe one in the early '90s (his dad had an Ital) and on the A27 between Emsworth and Chichester in the wee small hours with a full car load, there was a loud bang and the windscreen turned completely black. The bonnet flipped up at 70 and good job it was hinged a fair bit away from the windscreen as it hit the leading edge of the roof and dented it instead of breaking the windscreen. I was sat in the back seat by the nearside window so I could see the verge and guide him into the layby that was just ahead of where it all kicked off. The bonnet had torn through where the hinges were mounted to it because of the force. The only other cars I've seen since where the bonnet flipped up on motorways were Renault Clios.

[@junkmangeorge6363]

They landed these cars in Canada at $1000 more than a Toyota Corolla. Can you guess what happened?

[@renegaudes3076]

My dad bought a second hand one and drove it for years. All five of us going on holliday in it. After my father, my sister drove it a few years. Then I bought it from my sister for 90 Pound. It was my first car. Loved it. Sad ending after I launched it over a speed bump. Flew 2 foot off the ground. After landing it was rustfree😂 The exhaust broke off at the engine block. Had some real memories with that car. Was sad to see it go.

[@billycan8852]

What I remember about driving the Marina was the gear box . It was like trying to stir a bucket of bolts with a straw .

[@brianbowers-x9q]

You must have been driving a different car to what I had and I had two.the 1100 gearbox wasn't the best but those cars would always start first time in the morning no matter what the weather and mine were reliable

[@PeterReed-g1l]

I was a Fork truck Service Field Service Engineer for over 10 years, had 2 Ford Escort vans, great kit, never let me down once. Bean counters took over the company and next van was a Marina. They drove it off the delivery trailer and parked it up in one of our parking bays. I was given the keys and went to load all my tools and parts into it. Put it in reverse to come out of the bay and it wouldn't come out of reverse. Had to park it up and call the local BL dealer to recover it back to their works. Had a new gearbox fitted - 10miles on the clock.... Awful van.

[@edwinmorris1635]

I had a few Marinas Initially new and then later in my life when short of money. Never ever had any problems with the gearbox, were fine. Two cars were rammed and written off. Only mechanical failure was a wheel bearing failure in London which l changed in a service road, off the North circular. Brought parts and hired tools from a local DIY shop.😢

[@lundsweden]

My sister had an orange Marina sedan in 1986, here in Australia. I remember her showing it to me, I said "What on earth is THAT", she replied "I don't know, my boyfriend got it for me for $500". These Marinas were built in Australia, but we're never popular here. I remember thinking the build quality was obviously poor, really cheap and nasty interior, under bonnet electricals that looked like an amateur had maniacally connected everything in a careless frenzy.

[@simonochana3189]

I drove a Marina once as a favour for a friend back in 1989. Back the. After driving it for about 1/2 mile I could see that they were badly put together and could have been so much more. That was despite owning a rusty Mini Clubman at the time.

[@edwardlloyd1516]

I've no idea how they sold over a million of them. The Cortina was so much better and got updated regularly. The Marina was built to compete with the Mk2 Cortina but ended up going against the drop-dead gorgeous MK3 Cortina. Then later that became the MK4 and 5 which were also beautiful, The poor old Ital even had to compete against the Sierra. It wasn't even on the same planet! I did have a Marina back in the day but only because it was free and I couldn't afford a Cortina.

[@area51isreal71]

The Marina was built in Australia too and was not well received by either the public or media. When it was released it seemed like it was already ten years older than the other cars on offer. That coupled to pretty bad builds quality spelled out it's doom. Making things worse was Leyland Australia's decision to stuff a six cylinder engine into it to try and compete in the newly formed light six market.

[@TheCyberSalvager]

My Dad bought a Marina from a neighbour who worked at the Cowley plant where they were built. (Up until then he had owned several Allegros but had bought a caravan and needed something a bit more substantail with which to tow it!) It was a 1.8litre 4-door saloon and was 20 years old at the time. I don't think it was nearly as bad as a lot of others made it out to be. I agree that it was a victim of circumstance as it was mainly down to bad management and workers industrial actions. I guess that was commonplace back in the 70s across the whole industry.

[@CrowPal]

Any car that makes it past twenty years' use is a good car.

[@peterriggall8409]

I wonder what poor unsuspecting customers bought those ‘demo’ cars that has been driving around in the sea. 😳

[@CrowPal]

Yes, I cringed at that too. It's not as if the Marina had a solid reputation for corrosion resistance.

[@alanmcdonald7390]

With any of the 70s and 80s cars I had experience of, none of them new, rust was easily the biggest talking point. A solid marina beat a rusted escort. A rusted Hillman trumps a rusting marina, but both needed endless work. And so on.

[@TassieLorenzo]

"rust was easily the biggest talking point" It was! Why didn't British Leyland start dip galvanising cars of their own initiative, as a unique selling point of superior quality against the competition? Alarmingly, to the contrary of that, internal BL training films tend to suggest that most if not all BL manufacturing equipment was -- far from state-of-the-art -- run down and out of date! Severely lacking investment in state-of-the-art technology to produce the world's highest quality cars. :(

[@bigal3055]

An era when BL even managed to fit rust prone tyres.

[@ScreamingLordStokes]

I've driven over 100k miles in Marinas, a 1.3 Deluxe coupe and a 1.8 Super Deluxe saloon and found them to be excellent family cars. They were cheap to buy, reliable and easy to maintain. The 1.8 in particular had loads of low down torque and sounded beautiful when accelerating, particularly at 2000rpm where there was a real sweet spot in the sound. I found the handling fine too, no worse than many other 70s cars.

[@nothingtoseehere999]

My friend had one I remember it reaching 100 K miles as well I've even got a photo of the odometer 😂😂

[@thevauxhallman7157]

I worked on the marina as it came out just as I started my apprenticeship. The Morris minor suspension wasn't up to the job and there had to be several modifications in the first 2 years to try and address these concerns. The clutch was a weak point and I could change them in my sleep. Water leaks were very common as they weren't sealed properly around the screens and doors. I could list hundreds of other things that had to be changed but there isn't space here.

[@buffplums]

hey mate what was the film that you used at 8:17 this point ?

[@rrshadow2]

I owned several US spec Austin Marinas, they were generally terrible, most Americans had no idea they existed, I liked them because they were dirt cheap because nobody wanted them yet they had a bit of charm if you didn't take it seriously and didn't mind the electrical issues. I other odd quirk and maybe this was a B series 1800 quirk, 3 of my Marinas had oil pressure issues, to the point one of them, even full of oil the engine seized

[@williamwoods8022]

Funny I never had any electrical issues with my 1978 Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC and never had any oil pressure issues and neither did my brother with his 1974 Mk 1 1.8 Super. They were actually excellent and very reliable cars and my HL was a very quick car in its day because it was a TC. The electrical system on these cars was very simple so their should have been no issues with them - then again lots of people used cheap parts on their cars instead of using the manufacturers parts such as Unipart or Lucas which I used on mine. Then they blamed the car/manufacturer or Lucas for the problems/breakdowns. You also had the problem of "Clem" down at your auto repair shop being clueless about foreign cars as Jay Leno has said many times on his KZbin videos so how many problems did they cause.

[@willevans429]

didnt take it seriously hahahhahahahah thats the best comment ive seen

[@BerlietGBC]

Dreadful thing, I worked on plenty in my youth, simple enough in that respect, I ran a 1.7 HL I bought for £100 it did everything I needed but it was awful the O series was the best part of it , replaced a couple of gearboxes in it and of course both front trunnions as they had never been greased handling was like a commode on castors , it was simple but regular maintenance that kept it going so long for me Thank you Tom for another excellent presentation. Forget to add a old friend was selling BMC/Leyland cars in the early 70’s , when new cars arrived he said first job was to lift the carpets and sweep out all the nut bolts screws and rivets left under them lol , he also said you never parked anything with Hydroelastic or Hydrogas close together that had come from the factory as you could get two cars leaning against each other when they leaked

[@maverlk7]

I enjoyed this video Tom! I have to relay my own Marina experience though. I had a 1974 1.3 marina coupe in 1982. It was truly and by a huge margin, the worst car I have ever owned or driven. Handling was dangerous, the gearbox crunched badly in every gear and a replacement box sourced from a scrapyard was just as awful. The heater motor failed and a replacement lasted 8 months. The wiper motor failed, a headlamp literally fell out dangling on its wires because the mountings had rusted to dust. The fuel tank top had rusted through meaning anything more than half a tank caused spills on bends and even without spills the stench of petrol permeated the car. There is so much more wrong it would take forever to list and I was actually glad when a big end seized and caused a snapped conrod to pierce the side of the engine finally killing off this monstrosity. I replaced it with a 4 year I older Hillman Imp and despite its own problems, the Imp was vastly superior to the Marina. These were my experiences and I am far from alone in hating this turd in the punchbowl of motoring. It won the worst car in the world reputation fairly and squarely.

[@williamwoods8022]

So you bought an old heap of an unlooked after 1974 car in 1984 and then blamed the car for your stupidity - just like my uncle used to do and most people back then or who did not look after their cars and then blamed the car when it broke down or things went wrong. I bought a 1978 Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC - an ex-company car in 1984 and it was an excellent and very reliable car - then again I looked after, rustproofed and serviced my own cars. I drove that car fast and hard all the time and had NO problems with the handling of the car because I MAINTAINED it. I was keeping that car for good but a woman drove out without stopping from a junction at lights right in front of me when my side was green writing off my car. Very few of these Mk2 HLs have survived and none in the Tahiti Blue that my car was. It is only the dumb who sucked in the Top Gear or mate down the pub bore drivel that believe it or the Allegro was the worst car in the world - I replaced my Marina with a 1980 Allegro 1750 TC Equipe which was also and excellent and reliable car that was a far more advanced car than the Marina but then again it was designed to be and it was 10 times better car than the agricultural leaf sprung designed by a brick manufacturer Mk2 Escort. The only thing the Allegro was lacking was the hatchback that it was designed for that the dumb management decided it couldn't have in case it took sales away from the Maxi which was stupid as the Maxi was in the class above the Allegro.

[@jhonbee5434]

Why are you complaining, you got one of the better ones !

[@maverlk7]

@ 😆

[@petergrice1946]

With a world beating A-series engine! I suspect by the time you bought it at 8 years old, it had been badly neglected.

[@maverlk7]

@ this is potentially the case! Alas, I was a naive 19 year old with zero clue about cars at the time and it just looked more interesting than a mini or a Viva which were the other cars I was coming across at the time. Having been bitten though and witnessing first hand the truly appalling build quality of the Marina, my mind was made up. I did drive a marina van at work once and it did drive a lot better (horrendous whining howl from the diff aside)!

[@michaelkither2620]

Well researched and nicely presented...thanks

[@tomdrives]

Thank you :)

[@GP-pw5wb]

Remember my father coming home with his brand new lime green Marina. He spend the first few weeks of ownership of getting the production issues sorted. Build quality was terrible the dash instrument cluster fixings weren't even tight, areas of the rear quarters visible from the outside weren't even painted. But saying that it was an easy car to drive and never broke down on the road.

[@LeeEnfield308]

I had a Morris Marina, it was the last model before the Ital came out. I really liked my Marina, it was the 1.7 HL, and it was roomy, comfortable and quite nippy as well. I had it for just over a year, and i did just over 25,000 miles in it (I had quite a long daily commute to work, mostly on the motorway). I never really had any trouble with it apart from putting in a new clutch, which was down to fair wear and tear. I paid £150 for it (a bargain in my opinion), did over 25,000 miles it, then cleaned it and did a couple of little rattle can touch ups on it, and then sold it for £420. All in all, it was a very positive experience.

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

A chap in South Carolina has a '75 Austin Marina GT with nearly 200,000 miles on it. It was purchased new by his grandparents.

[@beardy951]

I had a 1300 and 1800 marina “in the day”. Have today I liked the 1800 best. I then had an ital…tbh worse than marina. I also had a Sherpa which I liked best, a real character. Coming home late one night, fully loaded, lost both head lamp bulbs due to severe vibration and brake fade stopping on a slip road off the m32. New shocks at each service, front doors filling up with water, second gear synchro failing and core plug falling out of the engine on the m5. Then a transit😄👏

[@willevans429]

Sherpas were great

[@kevinmoffatt]

Worked as a tech at BL main dealer from '73 to '78 and only failing on Marina was gearbox; the baulk rings cracked causing crash changes and the problem was that they fitted a modified Triumph 'box with a very long gear lever which over stressed the rings. in the five years working there I never witnessed any RWD Austin/Morris product with rear diff rebuild in marked contrast to the Ford dealership I went on to where diff rebuilds were almost a service item with Salisbury axles.

[@gerardburton3741]

I had an L reg 1.8 Marina. It rusted badly but never failed to start. It was even dug out of a snowdrift while I lived in the Peak District and started first time. But it was rust that killed it. The rear subframe rotted to nothing and collapsed. But it was 30 years old by then. Still I loved it.

[@stephencoles7070]

Good to reminisce. The audio description is good but I find most of the video a distraction - adverts and sections with well-known actors (from the day), repeated and often adding nothing to the real story. Insofar as the cars go, my dad (a motor mechanic) owned several Marinas over the years and always liked them. A good basic car that was easy to maintain. I owned a couple, too - a 1700 estate version and a saloon (an Ital, used by my wife). Spares were easy to source, and cheap. My only issue with them was corrosion - something all cars suffered from 30/40 years ago.

[@colinhooper6621]

The front wheel on my 1.8 TC Marina Coupe disengaged from the suspension. I’d just come off the motorway onto a bumpy road and as the car bounced upwards and the torsion bar pressed down as designed to support the weight of the car it parted . Mechanically the steering was enabled by a nut and bolt type of swivel,however it was worn enough to strip the thread, even though the car was only a few years old.

[@amazulu3401]

Dad bought a brand new white 1.8 saloon , XDG 962J, and on leaving the dealership the circular wheel trims flew off when going round a corner.

[@simonprodhan5050]

my dad had a Marina OSO 936L and it was a fine car as i recall, purple colour and i don't remember dad having any problems with it, great video with plenty of 60's/70's TV stars popping up!

[@harveyjvc7288]

From the USA. Not knowing anything about what was happening in the British car industry, I bought what was sold in the US as the Austin Marina. It was truly the worst car I've had the misfortune to own. In the first week, the gas tank leaked, the passenger side window crank broke in two (it was cheap plastic), and the automatic transmission wouldn't work in reverse. I would never buy another British made car. Come to think of it, I have had only Japanese and German cars since the seventies. Thanks for the memories anyway:)

[@willevans429]

lolol I know exactly what you are talking about

[@scruffscruffeton986]

Sold in Canada from '74 till '78. Like all British cars over here rust, snow, freezing temps, and reliability killed them off.

[@danieleregoli812]

I honestly always liked the styling of the Marina, and despite the simple and dated underpinnings I to this day maintain it was not worse than say a contemporary Viva or the Avenger. The Escorts and Cortinas were a bit ahead quality wise.

[@tomdrives]

I'm a big fan of its styling as well, handsome car.

[@willevans429]

deffo better than a viva

[@SquishyZoran]

Does anyone know where I could find the film that’s shon @2:55?

[@penningtonlfc]

what was the film shown in the background called?

[@nigeltrigger4499]

I converted a 1.3 Delux Marina to a 1.8 TC and It was a fairly quick car. The ride was great and the seats were comfortable. It didn't go round corners too well though....

[@stevejones9290]

I remember going around Brands Hatch in my dad’s mates TC, when he was Clerk of the Course at a race meeting.

[@PeterMarlborough-gg6to]

I had a works Ital van, after a few months of driving it and a few near misses I refused to drive it until they changed the front drums to discs. It was a 10CWT Van and spacious but wouldn’t stop when even half loaded with tools and equipment.took three months to get the parts and the workshop to do the conversion.

[@Boababa-fn3mr]

The Marina was an austerity car, mostly using old technology but with a modernised body shape for the 1970s. Technologically, it was a step backwards from the front wheel drive vehicles already in production at the time, but it was cheap and relatively reliable. My family had a 1750 OHC version in Sydney Australia.

[@bodix006uk9]

If anybody is interested the girl is Maddie Smith ( a bond girl from the old days). Thanks for including the clip.

[@robertdarby6553]

Some of the footage shown was from a film called "The Quality Connection', which was created by BL for internal consumption in their effort to improve the way their vehicles were built.

[@musiknymph]

In 1988 i owned a 1.8 Marina, a pre-owned purchase with 73k on the clock, just had a recent service and one years MOT, it cost £200 and came with the caveat to not bother MOT it next year due to rust would be too expensive to fix by then. I happily drove around in it for a whole year clocking up about 8,000 miles and it drove very well, was comfortable, reliable, didn't let me down, and imo looked quite tidy for an old banger. When the year was up i drove it straight into the nearest breakers yard, got my bicycle out from over the rear seat and cycled home. It was a sad day, was sorry to see it go, but in all honesty the rust was getting a bit terminal underneath. To this day it remains the most cost effective best car buy i've ever had, and fond memories of it being pleasant to drive.

[@willevans429]

I did an extra year without an MOT, and tax :)

[@daviddunmore7076]

I had a 1.7 Ital s a hire car, very supportive seat, quite nippy, and much better than I was expecting. With a decent facelift (and a hatchback based on the Marina Coupe) there would have been sales to be had.

[@dumbledan4016]

Had been an Austin fan and previously drove a Sprite. Bought a Marina in ‘75. The Dunlap tires (tyres) were out of round causing vibration at speed. Took a while to figure out the problem. Fixed it. The mechanic available had problems getting parts. Moved and found a better mechanic but damage was done. Always felt the Marina was basically designed well but Toyota was better with service. Sadly, the last Austin car I drove.

[@timpedder6046]

I had a few Marinas, including an Ital and a Marina van. They were OK, didn't have a lot of trouble with them, the main issue being the poor handling.

[@bob-ye9fr]

My first car, back in 83, was a marina tc. Drove it for two years then it basically rotted to scrap. I remember trying to change a rear wheel. I jacked up the body and then had to borrow another Jack to raise the rear axle, which was still on the road.happy memories

[@billmmckelvie5188]

My friend had one, we went to Stafford in it from Shropshire. It was freezing fog and the heater didn't work, not fun. Plus the car she had was merrily rusting away with the sparse accessories when Datsun came along with all their bells and whistles, people started taking a serious look at Japanese cars. Sadly those too rusted as soon as you looked upon them!

[@JimSmith-d9t]

I learned to drive in one; my father had them as company cars for many years. Changing gear felt like stirring custard, but they used to drive from Plymouth to Aberdeen, all 630 miles, in one day with no problem. Try that today!

[@Intergalactic3000]

We have a Morris marina and a ford cortina mk3 gxl and the ford seemed like a Rolls Royce compared to the Morris. We used to call the Morris a shed on wheels.

[@williamwoods8022]

I had a 1978 Marina 1.8 HL/TC and my brother had a 1976 Ford Cortina 2.0 GXL and my Marina Mk2 had a more modern and much nicer interior than the Ford and was a far more reliable car as well. The Cortina was wider than the Marina but the Marina still had more space inside in the back especially. You could also open and start the Cortina like all Fords back then with any key hence why the Cortina got stolen and was written off and my brother was not sad to see the back of it - he replaced it with a 1978 Allegro 1500 LE which was a far more reliable car as well and had more interior space than the Cortina even though it was an Escort class car. Me and my fellow workmates never bought Fords as the company we worked for at the time used Escorts and Cortinas as company cars and they went through engines and gearboxes as if they were wear and tear items. We tried to get the company to change away from Ford but they would not because Ford just fixed them under warranty and because Ford sold the cars cheap to companies to keep up their sales so when we left that company and bought our own cars we avoided Ford like the plague.

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

Back in the day the firm I worked for had a Marina van. When you pressed the brake pedal the van would pull to left or right, at random. They got rid of it.

[@MervynPartin]

I had a Mk1, 1.8 Marina Estate. I loved it. It was easy running, very comfortable and had a great load carrying capacity. I eventually traded in for a Mk2 , 1.7 Marina Estate with the O-series engine. It was awful, with a very high oil consumption and a stupid dashboard layout which had the radio aimed towards the front passenger seat.

[@patricksmodels]

My grandfather had a K-reg Marina 1800, it served him well until 1982, when he sold it on. It took the family on several continental holidays to France and Italy towing a caravan. He was a perfectionist home mechanic and never had serious mishaps. In my opinion the final nail in the Marina's reputation is care of those three clowns that turned a serious motoring programme into tabloid press-style showbiz.

[@johnkeen2345]

What was saved in cost-cutting was made up by recalls and warranty work. Working from 1976-1982 at a BL garage in that time the list was endless. The gearbox was weak, gearstick would pop out or go around in a circle. Clutch judder, front lower trunnions would seize because no grease was used at the factory. A factory recall was to change a cigarette lighter to a Rover SD1 unit. The reason was on a van or 2 door version, the passenger seat if tipped forward and left, the top of the seat would push the lighter in and could cause a fire. The Ital was the best with less problems though.

[@steed5000]

Ooh them cars being driven in the sea😬! I wonder how long until the floors needed replacing. Brilliant video thanks

[@AmbroseStorer]

My boss in the 70s took his brand new car back to the dealership told them the gear box was broken. They said no that's just the sound it makes. The Marina work vans drove all the fleet had poor 2nd to 3rd changes up or down. Never drove a Ford with a bad gear box.

[@simonsutton5499]

1986 ; bought a R reg 1.8 Special (65k showing) for £325 ; colleague spent £700 on a S reg Mk4 Cortina 1.6GL (75k I think) Both had cloth seats, & Marina was metallic green, Cortina was powder blue with nicer steel wheels, Marina had hub caps. Marina had a better heater & embarrassed the cortina away from the lights every time, livelier throughout + better mpg most likely because of a manual choke. Had it 2 years (up to 88k & sold for £250) & 0nly had to repace an oil pressure switch ( 50p off a scrap Princess in a breakers yard on a Sunday morning) - those were the days !