1976 Morris Marina L from UK and Ireland - Comments

Rust

Burned as much oil as petrol

More rust

Fuse-box fire

More rust

Left oil puddles after 20 minutes standing

More rust.

A dire car from an era which marked the beginning of the end of the British car industry.

Bodywork rotted to nothing, engine burned and leaked oil like an old boiler and a wire fell out of the back of the fuse-box and caused a moderate electrical fire which filled the inside of the car up with thick acrid smoke. Unfortunately it went out by itself.

Yes it was an old, cheap first car, but friends who wisely bought old Escorts and Vauxhalls never had anything like the same grief with their cars.

A shameful relic which should be buried forever.

My first English car, bought to drive around Europe in 1995 and so reliable. Left England in 1995 and had it's first trouble in Poland with no clutch fluid left...why. Replaced on that side of the road in Warsaw and it never leaked for the rest of the journey. Drove through Hungary, czech republic, Italy and to France (the roads destroyed a tyre in france) and then Spain and Portugal, back to UK where it was destroyed by a driver in Bristol who did not know what a handbrake did or how to use one on a hill. I wanted to import this car to Australia as it was much more reliable than any prehistoric holden or unfashionable ford ever was in Aussie land. I cannot find this car anymore so I bought a ford orion when I came back to this quiet green land, I still miss my morris ital estate 1.3. Please note we spell tire tyre in Australia so your spelling checker needs to be corrected to reflect this.

Had a few Marina 1.3 saloons back in the early eighties. Cheap and fairly reliable sheds to drive around in. Shoddily made, but hey they were Leylands. Really comfy cars to drive though.

Drove one to Glastonbury Rock Festival. It dropped a piston just outside Shepton Mallet. It didn't have much life left in it anyway so I took the reg. plates off it and left it there by the road. The scrapyards were always full of Marinas I recall and getting spares was easy.

My step-dad had a Morris Ital... a more 'modern' boxier shaped Marina with rectangular headlights. It was an utter nail and to quote step-pappy...the worst car on the road.

It was a classic 'friday afternoon' car. After that he never bought British again. Last seen driving a vehicle from Nippon.

I'm really glad that Leyland/Austin Rover is no more... these cars were an embarassment to Britain. My own personal worst car was a Rover 214 as well.

My Dad bought 5 Marinas in the seventies, and in the early eighties, thoughtful chap that he is, bought me an old 1300 as a first car.

Pretty much anything that could go wrong with that car, a 4 yr old 4 door with only moderate mileage, did.

The brakes gave trouble, it was thirsty, used up oil, the wheels were badly pressed and forever in need of balancing, the stupid little pin at the bottom of the gearstick snapped, the hydraulic clutch was unsortable, the steering wheel wouldn't stay straight etc etc. I could go on.

Leyland had no right to put cars on the market this poor. It's management should have been a lot less complacent. And its workers a lot more cooperative.

But for all that, I don't think `good riddance too bad rubbish.' The current lack of a Brit. contender in the world market place saddens me. When Leyland went under, it took a good deal of our cultural heritage with it and left us economically bereft. It's a great shame. The Italians and the French wouldn't - and didn't - allow it to happen to them.

The New South Wales police did a survey of all their stolen car reports a few years ago and they only found one car that had been sold in Australia that had never been reported stolen. Kind of a badge of honour for the Marina when you think of it.

I used to own 2 Morris Marina's 1.3 and 1.8, and for all the troubles I had, they were probably the most decent car's I have ever owned. I've had 2 Montegos which were utter rubbish, I've had a Rover 213 which had a great engine, pity about the poor bodywork. I then purchased a Peugeot 106 what an absolute nail! I would never buy one again. I now have a Daewoo Nexia which is just a money pit. Every car I have had has been absolute rubbish apart from my Morris's, so I will defend this classic little car. My mate and his wife have 3 of them and he has never had a major problem with any of them. My Marina's took me all over England, Scotland and Wales and never once let me down, I only have to go up the road in my Nexia and that's it for the day she ain't going any further! What the hell, going to buy a Corsa next, there's got to be a decent car out their for me somewhere. I do miss my Marina's though.

Regarding the stolen Marinas in Australia.

Some were stolen, but the owners didn't report it because they didn't want them back.

My former boss announced he was buying a new car. We had to guess what he was buying.

I asked him what his old car was. He Said, "A Marina"

I laughed and laughed out loud. Almost fell off my chair.

I said, "Well whatever you get, Alan, it's going to be a lot better than a Marina, isn't it?"

His face fell. Then he admitted he was getting another Marina.

So I emigrated to Canada. And my new boss in Ontario had a Marina, too.

Ahhh, the Morris Marina. My first car, bought in 2000. 'Doris' was a cream-coloured, automatic, SUPER, 5 door sedan dating back to 1975 (or 1976, this is in hot debate). I have mostly great memories about this car. I write this review with love, and a little regret, having driven many other cars in my time since. It should be noted that immediately before acquiring the Marina for the princely sum of NZD$750 in Auckland, New Zealand, I learnt to drive on a 1972/3 Hillman Avenger which had virtually none of its original parts (including the front seats), and the next car I drove, some 5 years post-Marina, was a 1973/6 Hillman Hunter. I now drive a 1998 Toyota Carib, and am seeking my next Toyota.

The marina was, for the most part, a pleasure to own. Once I topped up the oil, filled the tyres to the correct psi, had it properly tuned, and learned how to parallel park, I had no troubles with stalling, drifting off centre, or anything, really.

I drove it up and down the North Island more than once without incident - once cruising on what really must have been the mere odour of petrol still lining the sides of the petrol tank, for a good 30-40kms on the open road (at speeds of up to 140km/hr). It was comfortable, and not that loud for a vehicle of its vintage. The cat slept in his box on the floor in the front footwell when I drove from Auckland to Dunedin in it.

One of its more interesting features was the two small round 'air conditioning' vents on the front of the dash. The idea was that they would go 'pop' and open up (with the air pressure presumably) when you hit about 30km/hr, and let the air through. More often, though, to the tireless amusement of both myself and my best friend, they would go "BANG!!!", often just as you hit 100km/hr, and make you just about fill your pants in fright.

Doris the Morris and I eventually parted ways in 2001 in Dunedin (in NZ's South Island). After a stellar and virtually trouble-free 6 months of continuous service, Doris succumbed to a blown gasket of some sort and some very perished rubber hoses (causing her to emit tons of black smoke if and when she would start). This was courtesy of our first Dunedin winter, average temperature approximately 2 degrees Celsius. She was eventually given away to a complete stranger, in return for a piece of chipboard with a poster on it, an old, dead typewriter, and two pairs of socks. She had 40,000kms on the clock at that time, which was absolutely remarkable - almost unbelievable, really.

I have just seen her for sale online and still here in Dunedin, for NZD$1200, unregistered and unwarranted, rather rusty, with 200,000kms on the clock, many parts replaced, and accompanied by an assortment of spare parts. Hilarious. I view on Saturday.