You're not wierd Ed, You just aren't a sheep, it's good to appreciate the wider and sometimes wilder colours we used to get, I miss them too. My mate has a 180 merc black on black full interior and exterior, with those big window pillars and poor visibility it is like stepping into a cave, even the headliner is black. You aren't alone, technology has allowed us to see more people appreciate and miss the colour schemes and feel the same way, but there will always be those, who rather than go for something different will choose what other people tell them is cool. Nice to hear honest opinions without being worried of being mocked for it, I'm with you on this.
Friend of mine had a 2000 MY XJR in silver with black interior with black maple wood we always used tease him by saying it was like getting into a coffin. My father bought new in 1977 a Marina 1800 special which had the same blue interior as the HL in the brochure. I never saw a lot wrong with the Marina although maybe not as developed mechanically as the Cortina I always thought the BL interiors were so much better than the Fords, Hillmans and Vauxhalls of the day.
My Dad was a representative in the Radio TV and Records industry. His employers decided that because they had shares in BL, all their vehicles should come from BL. Dad and his colleagues were allocated Morris Marina 2's 1.3DL as company cars, and to collect from HQ the same day. Dad's one came from the factory with odd shock absorbers, which he discovered while tracing a thump and rattle. Another colleague's car had Dark Blue paintwork from the front, which turned Black to the rear. A third on the drive home turned on their windscreen wipers only to see them fly off to the side never to be seen again - he also got soaked as the drivers door seal let the rain in. A fourth discovered later that his example had an export engine installed, which answered why there were continuous, frequent clutch problems. A fifth colleague's car did not start the next day and was returned to the dealer. Hardly impressive.
Sounds utter BS to me! What is an export engine and why would the clutch be any different to a British one? Why would one have odd shock absorbers when it is all the same cars with same shock absorbers going down the same line and thy only had shock absorbers at the back anyway which were all the same. How can blue paint turn black towards the back when the car was being painted the same blue paint and how could that be missed on the line when the car was being checked for faults. Never heard of anyone getting soaked because of a leaking door seal as the water usually slowly leaks in and the wipers would have flown off in the factory during the quality test and would have been noticed and fixed then - not as if that would have been a flaw that was hard to notice. And who would have remembered such a load of tripe all of this time anyway. Funny how the Marina I owned and the one my brother owned NEVER had any of these things happen to ours and I am sure no one else who has commented about their Marina on here ever did either.
I love how it’s gone from ‘beauty & brains’ to the more desperate ‘great value’! I remember poring over brochures as a child in the 70s - used to fill out the coupons in magazines & get them sent or nip into dealerships with my mate and hope we wouldn’t get shooed out. Had all the BL stuff, including this one. Sold most of it on ebay a while ago. Pure profit!
@MrTrull1 I remember we always used to go the BMC Car Shows (I think that's what they were called - it was early eighties and my memory isn't that good 😂) I would come home with loads of brochures from nearly every manufacturers stand...I think I used to drive them mad - really wish I'd have kept hold of them all
Hey Ed thanks for featuring my marina brochures ...well they are yours now! Hope you are coping ok during the lockdown...you are the guilty pleasure of many during this strange time and did you know..watching your vids is actually good for our mental health ...especially now! 💪🏻🌈😀
Thanks Alan! You’re the one that makes these possible. It’s wonderful seeing how generous and supportive everybody is, and if I can entertain and inform even one person, then I judge it a success ☺️
Nice one! My Dad had the 1.8 est in maroon lovely color Not! in about 1980, i had 2 when i was a youngster of about 20-23 mid to late 80S both 1.3 deluxe models one in Astrel blu the other white. Loved them very reliable and never let us down.
I used to own a 1979 Morris Marina panel-van back in 2000. it was originally a 1.3 but had the 1.8 B series fitted and more comfortable Toyota seats added by the time I got it. I added the TC intake manifold and carbs... thing had real faded orange paint.. it looked like a real turd but boy it was a fun car.. went real good and served me well for ages.. rust got it in the end and i wasn't smart enough to deal with it in time.. I miss that car
Hey Twin-Cam hope you're doing good....loved these 2 videos on the Marina. My Auntie had a purple Marina Coupé back in the early eighties and I've loved them ever since....don't like the saloon though, only the coupé. I'd love one now....or an Allegro 😁
There was a Marina 3 with chunky bumpers and alas no coupé, made from 1978 until 1980. When I was on holiday with my brother in the Isle of Wight in 1980, I wanted to get off the bus to have a look at the new Ital. My brother had to restrain me. Am I as weird as you I wonder. Keep on making these overview videos of car brochures, their great!
I remember my great uncle telling me about his Marina it was 1979 1.7 saloon L model with a 3 digit number plate which is quite rare over here in Northern Ireland
As mentioned in your previous video, i owned a 1976 super 1.8 but having seen the brochure it seems as though mine had the GT grill fitted, something I was unaware of until today
Brilliant video my brother had a Marina 2 coupe in gold with a brown vinyl roof and a big sliding vinyl sunroof. I’m guessing it might have been a special edition 🤔. Although as it was second hand I couldn’t be sure. Keep up the great content as it’s keeping us all sane in these weird and trying times 😳👍🏻👍🏻😁
1976 1.3 deluxe coupe in flamenco red. Nice to drive, best ever gear box. If only I could buy a new one. It did rust a bit and the engine failed but apart from that it was great.
My dad gave me his lime green mk2 Marina 1.8 in 1989 when I was 18. It was still going strong in 1992 when sadly, rust finally killed it. Never let us down in 15 + years of ownership..Loved that car.😭😭
Yeah I agree great cars. I will never understand how people say they were unrealable. I had two of them. My second was a 1700. It only ever didn't start twice in over 5 years. One was a flat battery not the cars fault the battery had just had its day. The other was a small wire on the starter motor came loose and just needed reconnecting and I was on my way.
There was also the 1700cc O series engined models I had an earlier 1.8 and a late model 1.7 with auto. Both were very reliable. Tne later one handled better but the wheels and tyres were a bit skinny for decent cornering performance especially considering my current Skoda Fabia is on 214/45×17's and is a smaller segment car. Oh how things have changed in 40 years Another excellent review, by the way.
Great vlog! When you look at MM Estate and look at the Ford Cortina mk.2 they are twins from the same designer! Keep up the good work! Greetings from Norway! Btw my uncle had a Cortina mk.1 4d White 1966. His sister had a MM, I am not sure if it was a Mk 1 or Mk 2 but it was a hatch back. She had that in late 70s I think. I think I am wrong, wrong, wrong. It looks like she had an Austin Allegro. I am getting comfused! Lol!
I used to own one of these: R registration, 4 doors, automatic transmission and in the blue colour the same as the picture of the car at the beginning of this video. Unfortunately very prone to rusting.
Ah, the Marina. Happy childhood memories of these - my uncle owned an orange 1.3 Coupe for years, so it must've been reliable. Well, it started out orange, and ended up with a red bootlid and a yellow passenger's side door off of scrappers following various incidents... I thought my mind was playing tricks on me about that until family photos surfaced of a three-tone Marina! The car was BL's answer to the Escort, and I rather like them. Weird? Who cares!
After 45 years, the design of the Marina is growing on me, as compared with designs like the Viva HB, the Cortina mk2 and the Avenger. Makes me wonder what these cars would have to look like to meet modern safety requirements, and I should imagine their engines would also have to be very different to meet present environmental requirements. But in, say, a decade from now, body shells in good condition of such classic cars may well fetch a premium price as candidates for electric conversion.
There did seem to be slight variations of these. My mother had a Super 1.8 Coupe which didn't have the two extra lights at the front. The wiring was dreadful and constantly needed repairs.
I had a 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC and my brother had a Mk1 and we never had any problems with these cars - then again we checked out the cars before we bought them and looked after and maintained them ourselves as too many people never looked after their cars or got them serviced etc in cowboy garages etc.
@@williamwoods8022 Geez, with that strong union work force in place i would have taken them to be the best built cars on the planet. I wonder just what one of those union stooges on the assembly line could have done to make electrical gremlins crop up over the life of the car?
does the marina 1800 use the same gearbox as the mgb? was it also available with Overdrive? i have been driving volvo and chevy all my life but has fallen in love with bmc/bl and now have an mgb and considering a marina 1800 as a more practical car. love your videoes. greetings fom across the north sea(norway)
In 1985 my dad bought a marina 1.8 special coupe, in light metallic? blue. It lasted him a year before buying a Fiat 131. I always remember walking with my dad to collect his car, not long after passing his driving test. Not many of these survive now, I imagine
Hang on. Am I missing something? I had two Marinas .My first was a P reg Marina supposedly 1976 yet it had the old style dash. My second Marina was a 1700 nice car. The dash was then same as the mark 2. I have to say I never had a problem with the radio position and the dash really gave the passenger a lot of room.
Was there a third generation? . Revised rear lights replacing the original wrap round ones and I think the coupe was dropped. It had the colour and look of an Ital but with the older details of a Marina.
@@TwinCam I remember them as my Dad had three Marinas between 1977 and 1990. His last one was a '76 special and he disliked the newer cars rear lights because he could still see the pressings on the rear wings to accommodate the original wrap round units. That last car was 14 years old when rust finally got the better of it.
A green 1.3 Marina De Luxe..... I mean thats just drool.......I had an Avenger and a Dolomite of similar vintage - easy to drive easy to self maintain - I want that Marina !! BTW - the Marina and Allegro estates were the most stylish of their time
Those guys who say you are a weirdo will back around and tell you "sorry, you are totally right" once they sit on those black vinyl seats after being in the Portuguese sun, in August for more than 30min....
It was never actually a problem with owners as most people had their radio set to a particular station all of the time or like me never listened to the radio anyway - I had a stereo system fitted into mine and listened to my own music and never used the radio. Plus it wasn't angled that much away compared to the radios that used to be in the old dashboard anyway as I fitted my own radio cassette in the same place with graphic equaliser etc under the glove compartment and never had any problems using it.
Even the brochure couldn't even make the Marina look good!...and love the way the car is parked outside a country house, when in reality the people in it would have a Jag or Volvo!
The Marina was a good looking car designed by the same guy who designed the Cortina and other Fords. If it had been a Ford then numpties who wank off to them including the SQUARE agricultural Mk2 Escort would have been saying it was a great car.
I'm totally with you on interior colours. I'm a BMW driver (have two) but utterly hate black leather and the ubiquitous anthracite headling that you get on sport models. Things have got worse in recent years with fewer non black choices.
@@TwinCam absolutely! I'm lucky enough to have found a decently specced 125d with red seats and wood trim but my 11 year old convertible is black inside, very claustrophobic. Won't make that mistake again. Sadly the nice engine choices, sport seats and suspension always come with this default dark interior headlining (whether MSport at BMW or S line trim at Audi), and the only way to lift the gloom is find one with light colour leather...or buy a more basic model.
You have forgotten the Mk3 Marina as well in between the Mk2 and Ital. I had a 1978 Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC the same as the one on the cover and inside with that blue interior and it was an excellent reliable and fast car for its day - CDS 443S an ex-company car I bought with 71,000 miles on the clock and it never let me down and nothing wrong with the build quality of that car either and I looked after and serviced that car myself and kept it rustproofed and was planning on keeping that car for good until in 1986 a woman drove out from a junction in a van without stopping writing my Marina off. In my opinion these Mk2 HL Marinas with all of the chrome etc and that interior were the best looking of them all. Replaced that with a 1980 Allegro 1750 TC Equipe that was also an excellent reliable and quick car for its time and also a far better car all round that the Marina was but then again the Marina was designed as a cheap car for the fleet market and the Allegro as a family car.
I do like your videos you narrate fluently and I admire your lust for these leyland cars all though I don't share your taste for the brand, to be fair I think your quite fair with your comments to leyland and also to the other brands.the Layland brand is quite familiar to me as they were around as I was growing up and are stuck in my memory, good memories too. my dad was keen on the dolomites had a couple 1850 hl. do wish he'd bought to sprint though first 16valve production car I believe.i was more a ford man back in the day rs2000 etc.....now im afraid its all German for me now but Ford leyland whatever your favourite, at least they all had character and you could spend you Sundays servicing and no doubt a little body work.
Thank you Dean ☺️ I try and be fair rather than apologetic. While I never try and hide my enthusiasm I’m never going to try and pretend it was the best thing in the world because it wasn’t.
My second ever car when I was 18 was a 1983 Maestro 1.6 HLS. Interesting that the "HLx" spec was supposed to be a luxury spec yet I can honestly say it didnt feel that luxury, even for a 1983 car. Still have fond memories of that car even though it was a total bag of nails and had more rattles than mothercare. Have you done any early Montego/Maestro reviews ?
Had a '77 GT, a pretty enough car but the "handling" Was truly awful but I did learn a lot about opposite lock with it. The unfortunate thing about it was the car was a bitsa, front suspension from the minor a weak Triumph gearbox and an even weaker back axle, with shocks leaning over to around 45 degrees, and the bigger tyres 155 SR 13's the easiest upgrade was 175/70 SR 13 Pirelli P4's. I watched mine dissolve in front of me as I welded in new panels and patches, rebuilt the engine and gearbox, and eventually sent it off to the car park in the sky. Don't get me wrong as awful as it was I did love it, I am a bit weird, because of how I came by it, a gift from my godfather.
Great review Ed. I had a coupe- sorry 2 door... just like the deluxe featured. Yet another old banger I should have kept..... By the way, I have an Ital brochure if you want it?
Only thing that was wrong about the Mk2 Marina was the decision to put the radio on the far left of the dash, sloping towards the passenger. What were they thinking lol
It just boils down to BL at the time were making too many incompatible car models of the same class all at once, the Marina was effectively being made in competition with the Marina etc, the sales Reps from Austin were as much in competition with Morris as they were with Vauxhall, Ford etc. A recurring theme was “if only they were allowed to continue development for 6 more months”. :(
I hate black interiors in cars. VaG group along with all eu brands have market black interiors because they are cheap to mass produce. We in the uk easily full for marketing hype. Your refusal of black interior shows your not easily swayed by marketing so the company try to discredit you. Two tone beige interiors are more expensive to produce As are different colour interiors. So your not weird. You have a strong individual taste. I live blue and grey red burgundy black and beige If people are given the choice they drop black interiors. Black is boring, Brown high end
Wow the Morris Ital, I remember that growing up in Birmingham! I was frankly stunned to see that there are Marina's still on the road when I happened upon a classic car show in Deal a few years back pixhost.to/show/95/147602198_tumblr_inline_p9fppdcujr1r2nnxe_500.jpg
@@TwinCam I suppose so … but they weren't very well made. My Dad's second hand Cortina was also a build quality nightmare - leaky floor and exploding engine. Not what you expect from a car under 5 years old! He went on to new cars including a Chrysler Sunbeam, Talbot Horizon and my favourite the Peugeot 205. If you can find a Triumph Acclaim or a Talbot Tagora, I will be visibly shaken!
@@Drdee1 We had two Marinas in the family - my brothers Mk1 and then my 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC the same as the one on the front cover of the brochure Twin Cam is showing in this video but in Tahiti Blue with that blue interior of the HL inside and there was nothing wrong with the build quality of them. They were no different to most manufacturers back then - yes you would have got some Friday or Monday cars like the other manufacturers but like them that would have been the minority of cars and the surviving cars wouldn't have lasted this long if they had been that bad and they were not.
@@TwinCam Oh, I have to agree with you there. But what about the Triumph TR7? It's very well engineered but incredibly ugly. All the design-cues are American, but American cars just don't work at that scale: 4m length, 1015 kg on the scales. The contemporary Buick Regal "compact" is a full metre longer and over half a tonne heavier. If the TR7 is on your list, you've beaten me.
I’ve never understood why anyone says the TR7 (or XJS for that matter) is ugly. Everyone my age at least thinks they’re both brilliant pieces of 70s style.
The Marina was when you look at it a smart looking car. It's sad to reflect on the shortcomings of British Leyland but where they much different to their counterparts? My parents bought a brand new Vauxhall Viva in about 1970 and it was full of faults. This was the 70s when engineering was simplistic. It was also an era when cars had more personality and soul unlike the roboticaly built hard to distinguish models of today. Like ABBA. Considered boring in the day but very much in demand today. The Marina is a fascinating car.
Great video, my parents had a few, they were awful. My mates parents had them aswell and they were all truly awful. Love reading and watching vids about them, a real curio of the British motor industry and probably played a big part in its failure. A truly shit car but worth a few being saved
Being honest, the Marina played no part in the decline of the British motor industry. The problems were much deeper than a car that wasn’t awful, just very mediocre.
benzinapaul Utter BS! Marinas were designed as simple cars for the fleet market who loved them as did people like me who bought them as well. They were actually excellent and very reliable cars and the 1.8s especially the TCs were fast cars for their day as well including the 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC I owned back then and I used to drive that car fast and hard all the time back then and it took it no problem reliably as well unlike my mates Escorts, Capris and Cortinas etc that went through engines and gearboxes etc as if they were wear and tear items just like the company ones the company I used to work for back then did as well the reason that I never bought Fords when later I bought my own cars and haven't to this day. I always looked after and serviced my own cars as well and I have always found that the people who say that these or any BL cars were awful were people who bought other peoples unlooked after heaps of crap or never looked after their own cars and then blamed the cars/manufacturer.
You’re not pissing anyone off, Steve. In fact, driving an older car is the best form of recycling. It makes many environmentalists very happy indeed! ☺️
I had a morris marina 1800 tc coupé souped it up awsome fast it Was faster than the cortina gt, i Even raced with a Honda Magna motor cycles My car Was faster ha
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You're not wierd Ed, You just aren't a sheep, it's good to appreciate the wider and sometimes wilder colours we used to get, I miss them too.
My mate has a 180 merc black on black full interior and exterior, with those big window pillars and poor visibility it is like stepping into a cave, even the headliner is black.
You aren't alone, technology has allowed us to see more people appreciate and miss the colour schemes and feel the same way, but there will always be those, who rather than go for something different will choose what other people tell them is cool. Nice to hear honest opinions without being worried of being mocked for it, I'm with you on this.
Love for the colourful!
He says while owning a white car with grey interior 😂
I do have a mad 90s pattern though so that’s something 😂
Friend of mine had a 2000 MY XJR in silver with black interior with black maple wood we always used tease him by saying it was like getting into a coffin. My father bought new in 1977 a Marina 1800 special which had the same blue interior as the HL in the brochure. I never saw a lot wrong with the Marina although maybe not as developed mechanically as the Cortina I always thought the BL interiors were so much better than the Fords, Hillmans and Vauxhalls of the day.
Your videos are tempting me to a buy a morris marina or metro, its a pity you were not around in the 70's they would have sold alot more!
I always thought the dashboard was much nicer than the Allegro one , thank you for making the lockdown more bearable with your video's 👍🏼
Thanks Nicky ☺️
Don't ever apologize for having for having your own opinion! As it happens I agree with you, I like all the "weird" and " rubbish"" cars (and bikes)
My Dad was a representative in the Radio TV and Records industry. His employers decided that because they had shares in BL, all their vehicles should come from BL. Dad and his colleagues were allocated Morris Marina 2's 1.3DL as company cars, and to collect from HQ the same day.
Dad's one came from the factory with odd shock absorbers, which he discovered while tracing a thump and rattle.
Another colleague's car had Dark Blue paintwork from the front, which turned Black to the rear.
A third on the drive home turned on their windscreen wipers only to see them fly off to the side never to be seen again - he also got soaked as the drivers door seal let the rain in.
A fourth discovered later that his example had an export engine installed, which answered why there were continuous, frequent clutch problems.
A fifth colleague's car did not start the next day and was returned to the dealer.
Hardly impressive.
Sounds utter BS to me! What is an export engine and why would the clutch be any different to a British one? Why would one have odd shock absorbers when it is all the same cars with same shock absorbers going down the same line and thy only had shock absorbers at the back anyway which were all the same. How can blue paint turn black towards the back when the car was being painted the same blue paint and how could that be missed on the line when the car was being checked for faults. Never heard of anyone getting soaked because of a leaking door seal as the water usually slowly leaks in and the wipers would have flown off in the factory during the quality test and would have been noticed and fixed then - not as if that would have been a flaw that was hard to notice. And who would have remembered such a load of tripe all of this time anyway. Funny how the Marina I owned and the one my brother owned NEVER had any of these things happen to ours and I am sure no one else who has commented about their Marina on here ever did either.
I love how it’s gone from ‘beauty & brains’ to the more desperate ‘great value’! I remember poring over brochures as a child in the 70s - used to fill out the coupons in magazines & get them sent or nip into dealerships with my mate and hope we wouldn’t get shooed out. Had all the BL stuff, including this one. Sold most of it on ebay a while ago. Pure profit!
@MrTrull1 I remember we always used to go the BMC Car Shows (I think that's what they were called - it was early eighties and my memory isn't that good 😂) I would come home with loads of brochures from nearly every manufacturers stand...I think I used to drive them mad - really wish I'd have kept hold of them all
Hey Ed thanks for featuring my marina brochures ...well they are yours now! Hope you are coping ok during the lockdown...you are the guilty pleasure of many during this strange time and did you know..watching your vids is actually good for our mental health ...especially now! 💪🏻🌈😀
Thanks Alan! You’re the one that makes these possible. It’s wonderful seeing how generous and supportive everybody is, and if I can entertain and inform even one person, then I judge it a success ☺️
British cars are unknown for the world. Your channel make the world see them.
G'day from Australia Young Fella - your videos are great and it's interesting to see the British point of view on these gems. Keep up the great work 👍
Some people may think you’re wired. I think you’re brilliant Twin Cam. Pete UK
Nice one! My Dad had the 1.8 est in maroon lovely color Not! in about 1980, i had 2 when i was a youngster of about 20-23 mid to late 80S both 1.3 deluxe models one in Astrel blu the other white. Loved them very reliable and never let us down.
You aren’t weird at all, and your videos are always interesting
I used to own a 1979 Morris Marina panel-van back in 2000. it was originally a 1.3 but had the 1.8 B series fitted and more comfortable Toyota seats added by the time I got it. I added the TC intake manifold and carbs... thing had real faded orange paint.. it looked like a real turd but boy it was a fun car.. went real good and served me well for ages.. rust got it in the end and i wasn't smart enough to deal with it in time.. I miss that car
Hey Twin-Cam hope you're doing good....loved these 2 videos on the Marina. My Auntie had a purple Marina Coupé back in the early eighties and I've loved them ever since....don't like the saloon though, only the coupé. I'd love one now....or an Allegro 😁
There was a Marina 3 with chunky bumpers and alas no coupé, made from 1978 until 1980. When I was on holiday with my brother in the Isle of Wight in 1980, I wanted to get off the bus to have a look at the new Ital. My brother had to restrain me. Am I as weird as you I wonder. Keep on making these overview videos of car brochures, their great!
Thanks Nigel ☺️
I like the black front spoiler on the last Marinas for some weird reason.
My mum has this as a base coupe in bright yellow. We loved it 🥰
Always love your reviews Ed, a pleasure.
Thanks mate ☺️
I really want a Marina, they're just so rare now! And I definitely want a colourful interior, they are the BEST!
Great video and great car, i love the marina's, such a good looking car ..
I remember my great uncle telling me about his Marina it was 1979 1.7 saloon L model with a 3 digit number plate which is quite rare over here in Northern Ireland
As mentioned in your previous video, i owned a 1976 super 1.8 but having seen the brochure it seems as though mine had the GT grill fitted, something I was unaware of until today
Brilliant video my brother had a Marina 2 coupe in gold with a brown vinyl roof and a big sliding vinyl sunroof. I’m guessing it might have been a special edition 🤔. Although as it was second hand I couldn’t be sure. Keep up the great content as it’s keeping us all sane in these weird and trying times 😳👍🏻👍🏻😁
Thanks!
I think that might have been an aftermarket one but I’m not sure.
Weird is good, it's not dull and boring! I think the estate is the best looking of the lot.
What's up weirdos! Says Chrome at VancityVanlife! Thanks Ed. Nerdy and wonderful presentations.
TWX861L. Glacier white...... where are you? Fond memories of our first car.... happy days
Great memories of my Dad’s 1978, 1.8HL Marina Estate in denim blue with gold pin stripes.
MKF 97R . Unforgettable, never let us down though.
you need a ital brochure in ur life ed!
Very good effort young man. Jeremy Clarkson eat your heart out!
Thank you Tony ☺️
That marina estate car the pictures was taken outside hornchurch queen's theatre Essex
1976 1.3 deluxe coupe in flamenco red. Nice to drive, best ever gear box. If only I could buy a new one. It did rust a bit and the engine failed but apart from that it was great.
Aw. I was hoping the Ital would be next. I do have the brochure though as well some other Marina brochures besides what you have profiled.
My dad gave me his lime green mk2 Marina 1.8 in 1989 when I was 18. It was still going strong in 1992 when sadly, rust finally killed it. Never let us down in 15 + years of ownership..Loved that car.😭😭
Yeah I agree great cars. I will never understand how people say they were unrealable. I had two of them. My second was a 1700. It only ever didn't start twice in over 5 years. One was a flat battery not the cars fault the battery had just had its day. The other was a small wire on the starter motor came loose and just needed reconnecting and I was on my way.
There was also the 1700cc O series engined models
I had an earlier 1.8 and a late model 1.7 with auto.
Both were very reliable.
Tne later one handled better but the wheels and tyres were a bit skinny for decent cornering performance especially considering my current Skoda Fabia is on 214/45×17's and is a smaller segment car. Oh how things have changed in 40 years
Another excellent review, by the way.
I’m not sure what year the O-Series came in, but I think it was 1978?
@@TwinCam According to the Haynes manual which I still have it ran 1978 to 1980
@@TwinCam The 1.7 was the Mk3 range in between the Mk2 and Ital and had the front spoiler etc. to differentiate them.
My dad had a red marina GT with the go faster stripes 😀
Great vlog! When you look at MM Estate and look at the Ford Cortina mk.2 they are twins from the same designer! Keep up the good work! Greetings from Norway! Btw my uncle had a Cortina mk.1 4d White 1966. His sister had a MM, I am not sure if it was a Mk 1 or Mk 2 but it was a hatch back. She had that in late 70s I think. I think I am wrong, wrong, wrong. It looks like she had an Austin Allegro. I am getting comfused! Lol!
What a great brochure review. I do have an Ital one (which I do cherish) and can email the brochure photos per page if you wish to use them.
i had an aussie assembled coupe with the straight 6 3.0.
if was quick, didnt stop well or corner well but quick for its day
The photo shoot for this brochure must have been done in my local area.
I recognise 2 at least 2 places near to me.
Nothing wrong with being a weirdo, better than being an Audi/BMW driver
I used to own one of these: R registration, 4 doors, automatic transmission and in the blue colour the same as the picture of the car at the beginning of this video. Unfortunately very prone to rusting.
I like the accent. Reminds me of family events here in Australia with my family from Chesterfield.
Hahahahaha thanks David :)
Ah, the Marina. Happy childhood memories of these - my uncle owned an orange 1.3 Coupe for years, so it must've been reliable. Well, it started out orange, and ended up with a red bootlid and a yellow passenger's side door off of scrappers following various incidents... I thought my mind was playing tricks on me about that until family photos surfaced of a three-tone Marina! The car was BL's answer to the Escort, and I rather like them. Weird? Who cares!
After 45 years, the design of the Marina is growing on me, as compared with designs like the Viva HB, the Cortina mk2 and the Avenger. Makes me wonder what these cars would have to look like to meet modern safety requirements, and I should imagine their engines would also have to be very different to meet present environmental requirements. But in, say, a decade from now, body shells in good condition of such classic cars may well fetch a premium price as candidates for electric conversion.
Love the GT
There did seem to be slight variations of these. My mother had a Super 1.8 Coupe which didn't have the two extra lights at the front. The wiring was dreadful and constantly needed repairs.
I had a 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC and my brother had a Mk1 and we never had any problems with these cars - then again we checked out the cars before we bought them and looked after and maintained them ourselves as too many people never looked after their cars or got them serviced etc in cowboy garages etc.
@@williamwoods8022 Geez, with that strong union work force in place i would have taken them to be the best built cars on the planet. I wonder just what one of those union stooges on the assembly line could have done to make electrical gremlins crop up over the life of the car?
does the marina 1800 use the same gearbox as the mgb? was it also available with Overdrive? i have been driving volvo and chevy all my life but has fallen in love with bmc/bl and now have an mgb and considering a marina 1800 as a more practical car. love your videoes. greetings fom across the north sea(norway)
In 1985 my dad bought a marina 1.8 special coupe, in light metallic? blue. It lasted him a year before buying a Fiat 131. I always remember walking with my dad to collect his car, not long after passing his driving test. Not many of these survive now, I imagine
Now although I quite like a Marina, I love a good FIAT 131!
@@TwinCam finding one to review would make my day, provided there’s a few that haven’t rusted back to nature!!
My first car was a 1979 Fiat 131,
Really liked it, had it for nearly 5 years
We had an 1800TC Estate, quite a quick car back in the day.
Didn't realise that option was available !
Hang on. Am I missing something? I had two Marinas .My first was a P reg Marina supposedly 1976 yet it had the old style dash.
My second Marina was a 1700 nice car.
The dash was then same as the mark 2.
I have to say I never had a problem with the radio position and the dash really gave the passenger a lot of room.
Another treat. Pity you don't have the Ital brochure!
Was there a third generation? . Revised rear lights replacing the original wrap round ones and I think the coupe was dropped. It had the colour and look of an Ital but with the older details of a Marina.
It wasn’t marketed as a Marina 3, just a facelift really. Think they came in late ‘78 or early ‘79.
@@TwinCam I remember them as my Dad had three Marinas between 1977 and 1990. His last one was a '76 special and he disliked the newer cars rear lights because he could still see the pressings on the rear wings to accommodate the original wrap round units. That last car was 14 years old when rust finally got the better of it.
A green 1.3 Marina De Luxe..... I mean thats just drool.......I had an Avenger and a Dolomite of similar vintage - easy to drive easy to self maintain - I want that Marina !!
BTW - the Marina and Allegro estates were the most stylish of their time
Those guys who say you are a weirdo will back around and tell you "sorry, you are totally right" once they sit on those black vinyl seats after being in the Portuguese sun, in August for more than 30min....
Putting the radio angled away from the driver- fantastic bit of design work!
It was never actually a problem with owners as most people had their radio set to a particular station all of the time or like me never listened to the radio anyway - I had a stereo system fitted into mine and listened to my own music and never used the radio. Plus it wasn't angled that much away compared to the radios that used to be in the old dashboard anyway as I fitted my own radio cassette in the same place with graphic equaliser etc under the glove compartment and never had any problems using it.
Even the brochure couldn't even make the Marina look good!...and love the way the car is parked outside a country house, when in reality the people in it would have a Jag or Volvo!
To be fair, that’s a tactic used by a heck of a lot of brochures 😂
The Marina was a good looking car designed by the same guy who designed the Cortina and other Fords. If it had been a Ford then numpties who wank off to them including the SQUARE agricultural Mk2 Escort would have been saying it was a great car.
I'm totally with you on interior colours. I'm a BMW driver (have two) but utterly hate black leather and the ubiquitous anthracite headling that you get on sport models.
Things have got worse in recent years with fewer non black choices.
Even a grey headlining is such an improvement on how the interior of a car feels.
@@TwinCam absolutely! I'm lucky enough to have found a decently specced 125d with red seats and wood trim but my 11 year old convertible is black inside, very claustrophobic. Won't make that mistake again.
Sadly the nice engine choices, sport seats and suspension always come with this default dark interior headlining (whether MSport at BMW or S line trim at Audi), and the only way to lift the gloom is find one with light colour leather...or buy a more basic model.
You have forgotten the Mk3 Marina as well in between the Mk2 and Ital. I had a 1978 Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC the same as the one on the cover and inside with that blue interior and it was an excellent reliable and fast car for its day - CDS 443S an ex-company car I bought with 71,000 miles on the clock and it never let me down and nothing wrong with the build quality of that car either and I looked after and serviced that car myself and kept it rustproofed and was planning on keeping that car for good until in 1986 a woman drove out from a junction in a van without stopping writing my Marina off. In my opinion these Mk2 HL Marinas with all of the chrome etc and that interior were the best looking of them all. Replaced that with a 1980 Allegro 1750 TC Equipe that was also an excellent reliable and quick car for its time and also a far better car all round that the Marina was but then again the Marina was designed as a cheap car for the fleet market and the Allegro as a family car.
I do like your videos you narrate fluently and I admire your lust for these leyland cars all though I don't share your taste for the brand, to be fair I think your quite fair with your comments to leyland and also to the other brands.the Layland brand is quite familiar to me as they were around as I was growing up and are stuck in my memory, good memories too. my dad was keen on the dolomites had a couple 1850 hl. do wish he'd bought to sprint though first 16valve production car I believe.i was more a ford man back in the day rs2000 etc.....now im afraid its all German for me now but Ford leyland whatever your favourite, at least they all had character and you could spend you Sundays servicing and no doubt a little body work.
Thank you Dean ☺️
I try and be fair rather than apologetic. While I never try and hide my enthusiasm I’m never going to try and pretend it was the best thing in the world because it wasn’t.
@@TwinCam keep the videos coming mate I always watch and like them, im a new sub
My second ever car when I was 18 was a 1983 Maestro 1.6 HLS. Interesting that the "HLx" spec was supposed to be a luxury spec yet I can honestly say it didnt feel that luxury, even for a 1983 car. Still have fond memories of that car even though it was a total bag of nails and had more rattles than mothercare. Have you done any early Montego/Maestro reviews ?
Do you have the Ital brochure to complete the series?
How about a brochure review on the Princes 1100/1300?
Had a '77 GT, a pretty enough car but the "handling" Was truly awful but I did learn a lot about opposite lock with it. The unfortunate thing about it was the car was a bitsa, front suspension from the minor a weak Triumph gearbox and an even weaker back axle, with shocks leaning over to around 45 degrees, and the bigger tyres 155 SR 13's the easiest upgrade was 175/70 SR 13 Pirelli P4's. I watched mine dissolve in front of me as I welded in new panels and patches, rebuilt the engine and gearbox, and eventually sent it off to the car park in the sky.
Don't get me wrong as awful as it was I did love it, I am a bit weird, because of how I came by it, a gift from my godfather.
Thanks.
Great review Ed. I had a coupe- sorry 2 door... just like the deluxe featured. Yet another old banger I should have kept..... By the way, I have an Ital brochure if you want it?
Thanks Robert ☺️
Is there any chance you could email me?
twincamcars@gmail.com
Only thing that was wrong about the Mk2 Marina was the decision to put the radio on the far left of the dash, sloping towards the passenger. What were they thinking lol
It’s not exactly the same picture @4:07. I had fun playing spot the difference.
Morris 👍
They did a mk3 marina, pretty ital would like to see that .
There’s a video on this channel of an Ital brochure review.
Oh look, (4:57) it's Godley and Creme of 10cc fame, they had left the group to go their own way. Nice yellow estate car.
Why did they have a 1930’s Tiger Moth in the picture with the GT at about 5.50? Same sporty wood and fabric maybe🙃
The coupé became the 2 door because insurance jumped 2 groups if the model name suggested anything sporty, & at the time coupé did.
It just boils down to BL at the time were making too many incompatible car models of the same class all at once, the Marina was effectively being made in competition with the Marina etc, the sales Reps from Austin were as much in competition with Morris as they were with Vauxhall, Ford etc. A recurring theme was “if only they were allowed to continue development for 6 more months”. :(
Pity you couldn't find a price list for the range. Would be interesting & round off an enjoyable article.
So many Marina lovers in one place. It takes all kinds
Hated it when Top gear dropped pianos on a few
What a waste of pianos!
Never knew there was an estate. Rear doors don't look wide enough for the length of the car. Reminds me of a Volvo 240 estate
It’s the same length as the saloon, just with more glass and a vertical tailgate.
@@TwinCam Yeah I think that's why it looks shorter
I hate black interiors in cars.
VaG group along with all eu brands have market black interiors because they are cheap to mass produce. We in the uk easily full for marketing hype. Your refusal of black interior shows your not easily swayed by marketing so the company try to discredit you.
Two tone beige interiors are more expensive to produce
As are different colour interiors.
So your not weird. You have a strong individual taste.
I live blue and grey red burgundy black and beige
If people are given the choice they drop black interiors.
Black is boring,
Brown high end
Wow the Morris Ital, I remember that growing up in Birmingham! I was frankly stunned to see that there are Marina's still on the road when I happened upon a classic car show in Deal a few years back pixhost.to/show/95/147602198_tumblr_inline_p9fppdcujr1r2nnxe_500.jpg
Well, they did sell a lot of them!
@@TwinCam I suppose so … but they weren't very well made. My Dad's second hand Cortina was also a build quality nightmare - leaky floor and exploding engine. Not what you expect from a car under 5 years old! He went on to new cars including a Chrysler Sunbeam, Talbot Horizon and my favourite the Peugeot 205. If you can find a Triumph Acclaim or a Talbot Tagora, I will be visibly shaken!
@@Drdee1 We had two Marinas in the family - my brothers Mk1 and then my 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC the same as the one on the front cover of the brochure Twin Cam is showing in this video but in Tahiti Blue with that blue interior of the HL inside and there was nothing wrong with the build quality of them. They were no different to most manufacturers back then - yes you would have got some Friday or Monday cars like the other manufacturers but like them that would have been the minority of cars and the surviving cars wouldn't have lasted this long if they had been that bad and they were not.
We can have a weirdness race if you like, I PREFER the Austin Allegro and the Austin Princess.
Well, the Princess is one of the best pieces of car design of all time.
@@TwinCam Oh, I have to agree with you there. But what about the Triumph TR7? It's very well engineered but incredibly ugly. All the design-cues are American, but American cars just don't work at that scale: 4m length, 1015 kg on the scales. The contemporary Buick Regal "compact" is a full metre longer and over half a tonne heavier. If the TR7 is on your list, you've beaten me.
I’ve never understood why anyone says the TR7 (or XJS for that matter) is ugly. Everyone my age at least thinks they’re both brilliant pieces of 70s style.
@@TwinCam Ok. That's weird.
The Marina was when you look at it a smart looking car. It's sad to reflect on the shortcomings of British Leyland but where they much different to their counterparts? My parents bought a brand new Vauxhall Viva in about 1970 and it was full of faults. This was the 70s when engineering was simplistic. It was also an era when cars had more personality and soul unlike the roboticaly built hard to distinguish models of today.
Like ABBA. Considered boring in the day but very much in demand today.
The Marina is a fascinating car.
Great video, my parents had a few, they were awful. My mates parents had them aswell and they were all truly awful. Love reading and watching vids about them, a real curio of the British motor industry and probably played a big part in its failure. A truly shit car but worth a few being saved
Being honest, the Marina played no part in the decline of the British motor industry. The problems were much deeper than a car that wasn’t awful, just very mediocre.
benzinapaul Utter BS! Marinas were designed as simple cars for the fleet market who loved them as did people like me who bought them as well. They were actually excellent and very reliable cars and the 1.8s especially the TCs were fast cars for their day as well including the 1978 Mk2 1.8 HL/TC I owned back then and I used to drive that car fast and hard all the time back then and it took it no problem reliably as well unlike my mates Escorts, Capris and Cortinas etc that went through engines and gearboxes etc as if they were wear and tear items just like the company ones the company I used to work for back then did as well the reason that I never bought Fords when later I bought my own cars and haven't to this day. I always looked after and serviced my own cars as well and I have always found that the people who say that these or any BL cars were awful were people who bought other peoples unlooked after heaps of crap or never looked after their own cars and then blamed the cars/manufacturer.
I much prefer the series 2 Marina to the original. I'm less keen on the Ital if I'm honest.
I’d love a good marina again just to p the tree huggers off .
You’re not pissing anyone off, Steve.
In fact, driving an older car is the best form of recycling. It makes many environmentalists very happy indeed! ☺️
Another car with great potential but wrecked by British Leyland
Helo
I had a morris marina 1800 tc coupé souped it up awsome fast it Was faster than the cortina gt, i Even raced with a Honda Magna motor cycles My car Was faster ha
PS you should have been My age and in morris marina 1800 tc coupé souped 150 hp back in 1975 "that was awsome
My mates Dad had the estate . Used to run us up to football and back. I thought it was a decent car . Horrible colour that awful green .
cars of today just look so bland and boring.