It was a heap of crap even when launched, as were all cars built by Leyland. Don't get me wrong some of them were spot on but because they were built so badly they were utter rubbish
Had a 1972 Marina in the early 80's, gear box packed in gear by gear, starter motor occasionally needed a smack with a hammer to work, and finally the rear suspension broke away from the bodywork and ended up inside the boot. Apart from that, great little runabout :-)
Remember, the Australian version of the Marina had a 6 cylinder version of the E series engine (stroked to 2600cc) shoehorned under the bonnet. Nose heavy, unreliable and prone to understeer...
The best engineers in the world would not have been working at British Leyland. Then again, the workforce of BL didn't work much either. The Morris Marina was a hopeless piece of 'British Engineering' that was obselete the day it came out. BL used their customers as unofficial test drivers instead of making the car reliable BEFORE it came out.
The Morris Minor was an acceptable car in the 1940's. It lived too long in Marina guise. My father had one, a 1977 1.8 2 door. Now that thing was a total unreliable heap. I recall it was in the garage (again) getting the collapsed suspension fixed. He cot in the car over the pit and started, went for reverse and BANG the gearbox burst, it didn't even make it off the pit without something else serious going wrong.
I am the proud owner of a Hillman Avenger, in every EVERY way they were a real car!
I was lucky with the Marina 1700HL that I had some years ago in that it had had Ziebart rustproofing from new. So it didn't dissolve like most Marinas did, but that didn't stop it being very unreliable mechanically. All the stories about Marina mechanical problems are true.
@paulph12002 Nope, had one in 1992, was 22 years old then and i never had one bit of trouble with it, i had it for 6 years, was still going strong when i sold it.
If they were the "best engineers in the world", I'm intrigued about the logic of them using the Morris Minor's front suspension (dating back to the 40s), and resorting to engines from the 50s.
By contrast the Hillman Avenger, while conservative in design, was an all-new vehicle from the ground up...
As for people who I've known who have owned a Marina, half tended to swear by them, the other half tended to swear at them!
My father had a morris marina/ital . It was rubbish. The prop shaft broke after 5000 miles. It was scrapped after 68,000 miles. The only good thing , was the steel and paintwork. It never rusted.
Just dosen't look the same without a piano on top of it.
KrisandWill449 2 weeks ago
Once it had the leyland badge on you were guaranteed a terrible looking, heavy and unreliable car. Like their cruddy terrible Sherpa vans. Awful.
AlannTH 3 weeks ago
I had one, BEST CAR I HAVE EVER OWNED.
TheLathanual 1 month ago
where did it all go wrong?oh i remember,the day the first one rolled off the production line
TheVx490 1 month ago
My mum had one it was terrible.
They should have driven these examples into the sea when they had the chance.
lemonadeez 1 month ago
It was a heap of crap even when launched, as were all cars built by Leyland. Don't get me wrong some of them were spot on but because they were built so badly they were utter rubbish
Iluvcarsforever02 2 months ago
Hammer On The Starter Motor....I Remember It Well !
172rob 3 months ago
Had a 1972 Marina in the early 80's, gear box packed in gear by gear, starter motor occasionally needed a smack with a hammer to work, and finally the rear suspension broke away from the bodywork and ended up inside the boot. Apart from that, great little runabout :-)
exoman62 3 months ago
Remember, the Australian version of the Marina had a 6 cylinder version of the E series engine (stroked to 2600cc) shoehorned under the bonnet. Nose heavy, unreliable and prone to understeer...
smurftums 3 months ago
The best engineers in the world would not have been working at British Leyland. Then again, the workforce of BL didn't work much either. The Morris Marina was a hopeless piece of 'British Engineering' that was obselete the day it came out. BL used their customers as unofficial test drivers instead of making the car reliable BEFORE it came out.
djh29971 3 months ago
The Morris Minor was an acceptable car in the 1940's. It lived too long in Marina guise. My father had one, a 1977 1.8 2 door. Now that thing was a total unreliable heap. I recall it was in the garage (again) getting the collapsed suspension fixed. He cot in the car over the pit and started, went for reverse and BANG the gearbox burst, it didn't even make it off the pit without something else serious going wrong.
I am the proud owner of a Hillman Avenger, in every EVERY way they were a real car!
Paddy075 4 months ago
@Paddy075 My Dad had a Hillman Avenger in electric metallic blue with a vinyl roof and alloy wheels. 1600 twin carb.
moochincrawdad 3 months ago
I was lucky with the Marina 1700HL that I had some years ago in that it had had Ziebart rustproofing from new. So it didn't dissolve like most Marinas did, but that didn't stop it being very unreliable mechanically. All the stories about Marina mechanical problems are true.
paulph12002 5 months ago
@paulph12002 Nope, had one in 1992, was 22 years old then and i never had one bit of trouble with it, i had it for 6 years, was still going strong when i sold it.
TheLathanual 1 month ago
I but they rusted away in a few months after being exposed to that salty air. Mine had holes in the doors at two years old...
984francis 6 months ago
If they were the "best engineers in the world", I'm intrigued about the logic of them using the Morris Minor's front suspension (dating back to the 40s), and resorting to engines from the 50s.
By contrast the Hillman Avenger, while conservative in design, was an all-new vehicle from the ground up...
As for people who I've known who have owned a Marina, half tended to swear by them, the other half tended to swear at them!
joh2 10 months ago
My father had a morris marina/ital . It was rubbish. The prop shaft broke after 5000 miles. It was scrapped after 68,000 miles. The only good thing , was the steel and paintwork. It never rusted.
edwardszzz 11 months ago