were they really that bad?

[stuffedpike20]

Morris Marinas that is.
Do they really deserve their bad reputation?
Disc brakes (eventually), mechanical fuel pump, torsion bars that didn't pull the threads out of the lower trunnion. Strong engine and gearbox.
Surely they were a Minor with the bad bits improved?
Not pretty, but they sold in good numbers didn't they?
What do you think?

[philthehill]

I had a 1800cc Morris Marina estate and a 1.7 Ital estate. The 1.8 was bullet proof whilst the 1.7 was eclectic mix of old and new with an engine that sometimes would not pull the skin off a rice pudding.
I have used a lot of Marina/Ital parts on my Minor as upgrades i.e. engine block, disc brakes, suspension parts etc.
The Marina/Ital did sell reasonably well up to a point and was sold in various countries around the world not always as a Marina/Ital though and with various engine and suspension upgrades.

[rocco]

I suppose it depends what you are comparing them to at the time. To me, pretty much all the BL cars in the 70s were hideous monstrosities of randomly cobbled-together parts masquerading as motor vehicles. They do have a certain charm today because of that ugliness.

I was only a boy in the 70s but I seem to remember that a Ford Cortina or Vauxhall Victor were also popular and generally better-made (and better looking) cars compared to Marinas.

I think Ford and Vauxhall had already started using front discs brakes and McPherson Suspension by the 70s, correct me if I'm wrong.

I suspect BL cars sold well because they were cheaper.

[svenedin]

I was a boy in the 1970's and I hated the Marina. I thought it looked so ugly and I haven't changed my opinion at all. My mother's friend had one and one of the wheels fell off going round a bend on Croydon flyover. That nearly ended up with the Marina plummeting off the flyover. As a child of the 70's the Marina is the perfect example of the sick state of the UK at the time (along with strikes, power cuts, dreary dull beige food, overcooked vegetables etc etc). You may gather that I do not look back on the 1970's with nostalgia!

Stephen

[moggiethouable]

I had the misfortune to shunt my mk IV Cortina in the late 70s.
It was my first company vehicle and I loved it.
The company I worked for had a pool car, A Marina, anyone that had an accident or a car that required repairs was given the Marina as a fill in.
The difference was marked.
The Cortina felt solid, nippy and braked thanks to discs.
The Marina wandered, had at best, "progressive brakes" but was as nippy as the Cortina.
Once fitted with discs there was a marked improvement.
The Ital, its replacement was a better build again.
But the Marina felt fragile, thin plated, this was down to insulation and a careless regard for "feel" when first built.
But the biggest problem was the British press of the day.
If a foreign manufacturer used parts from other of their models, door handles for instance, this was a clever use of mass produced readily available parts.
When Leyland used parts from other cars they were quoted as being from the old "parts bin"
We were in my opinion, our own worst enemies.
The whole debacle and I speak as an ex employee of a major Japanese manufacturer, was down in the end to who subsidised new developments the most.
Japan now has a debt per capita ratio that is twice ours, the nation we consider most successful.
That debt is largely down to the subsidies given to Japanese exporters in the 1980s.
I speak from experience having spent as I said 6 years with them.
So, the car as the Ital I believe was good, but we simply did not have the resources given to others to make it really good.

[myoldjalopy]

I was a boy in the 1970's and I hated the Marina. I thought it looked so ugly and I haven't changed my opinion at all. My mother's friend had one and one of the wheels fell off going round a bend on Croydon flyover. That nearly ended up with the Marina plummeting off the flyover. As a child of the 70's the Marina is the perfect example of the sick state of the UK at the time (along with strikes, power cuts, dreary dull beige food, overcooked vegetables etc etc). You may gather that I do not look back on the 1970's with nostalgia!

Stephen

Look on the bright side, Stephen.....think of how many Morris Minors were still on the road back then!
And I don't think present-day Britain is better than it was in the 70's at all.

[stuffedpike20]

I was a boy in the 1970's and I hated the Marina. I thought it looked so ugly and I haven't changed my opinion at all. My mother's friend had one and one of the wheels fell off going round a bend on Croydon flyover. That nearly ended up with the Marina plummeting off the flyover. As a child of the 70's the Marina is the perfect example of the sick state of the UK at the time (along with strikes, power cuts, dreary dull beige food, overcooked vegetables etc etc). You may gather that I do not look back on the 1970's with nostalgia!

Stephen

I would go back to the 70s in a heartbeat!

My mum had a 1.3 Marina in some horrible green colour. I used to drive it to school.

[Chief]

Kryten: Well, if I could go anywhere, absolutely anywhere at all in time, I think I'd probably choose to go back to a week last Tuesday.
Lister: Why?!
Kryten: Don't you remember? I did all the laundry, and then we watched TV. Wow, we won't see the like of THOSE sorts of days again!

I couldn't help but remember the above from Red Dwarf when seeing the differing views as to travelling back to live in the 70's.

[morris van]

A friend had a Marina as company car and when it was six months old it started rusting on the bottom of the doors and edges of the wings so he got in touch with the Morris dealership where the car came from and they said bring and we will have a look at it but on the way there he was going along the motorway and without warning the engine fell out. Morris bought back all the Marinas the company had as they were all starting to rust.

[les]

They made up for the Marina though. Stylish or what ——- don’t be frightened to admit it !

[rocco]

Look more like an Allagro.

[les]

Yes, that’s what those who don’t know, say !

[michael4]

The Marina made the Vauxhall Viva and Firenza look very stylish...

[rocco]

Yes, that’s what those who don’t know, say !

I don't get it. Those that don't know what? That image is of an Allegro estate.

[Myrtles Man]

"Allagro", is what you wrote.

[les]

Maybe rocco just spelt it wrong then ? I didn’t understand why he said —- “look more like an Allegro/Allagro”——-because it was meant to look like one, and is. Crossed wires think !!!! Never mind.

[rocco]

I thought everyone referred to them as "All Agro"

[les]

A lot of people do, unjustifiably, because the Allegro was a great car.

[Chief]

Allegro

So.... which leg did it make grow?