Now A Marina Owner...

[JoshWard]

After 15 years of dreaming I finally own a Marina!I went over to Martin Wallis' place earlier today and in exchange for £100 I have a 1975 MK1 1.8 SDL in Teal Blue with an Ochre interior
I have just been sorting through the paperwork and putting it into a folder in chronological order and a few weeks after it was delivered the previous (and only) owner noticed the following:
Courtesy light switches not fitted
Missing rubber buffer on N/S/F door
Missing rubber stop on O/S/F door handle
Steering wheel not centred
Mileometer jerky and clicks
O/S/F window mechanism stiff
Petrol guage faulty
Squeak front shock absorber
Brakes poor
Blanking plugs for door mirrors missing

Must have been a few strikes at BL that week! When she went in for repair most items where out of stock....

She has quite a bit of history including old service reports from Lex Motor Co in Chelmsford where she was ordered on 29/4/75 and delivered on 5/5/75. She also has some MoTs and the original registration document.

I'm hoping to book her in the local garage for some welding to the O/S/F jacking point and replacement of the clutch slave cylinder (I've heard they are a bugger to replace so I'm going to leave it to the professionals) and then she should be roadworthy!

[stuthegasman]

that's what I love about these old cars you can piece together their whole life just from the paperwork supplied it makes fascinating reading

[ado28]

Hi Josh, Congratulations on your first Marina! From your list it sounds like a strike week at Cowley, which was very common at the time for British Leyland. I’m sure that you could manage the slave cylinder job yourself as its not really that difficult, all you need is a jack (and an axel stand, just to be safe!) and also a thin crow bar or any other heavy bar that wont bend under pressure and a 7/16 spanner to disconnect the clutch pipe. If your really clever and the crow bar fits nicely you can twist the bar in the fork which leaves enough room to pick out the slave and replace it!

Now all we need to see is the photos!

[~Sam~]

I thought all those things on the list were optional on BL cars

[The General]

good lad josh, nice to see you got one at last.

[The Ancient Mariner]

Good stuff, nice to see someone else keeping these cars on the road, the clutch slave can be tricky, but like Sean says, all you really need is axle stands or ramps, a long and thin crowbar, and a nice vocabulary of swear words to make things easier, I did the cylinder on mine in April. I wish my car had retained all it's paperwork, it could've done because it was one lady owned it for it's first 32 years and she died, and whoever looked after her stuff for her lost the paperwork, at least that's what I was told!

[JoshWard]

Thanks for the kind words I hope to get some more recent pics done when we've brought her back to Stowmarket. I think it'd be easier to get the work done as soon as possible and get her MoT'd at the local garage because there is nowhere I can really work on her myself right now (still looking for suitable storage for that, she's going to a relatives garage in the mean time where she can literally just be parked as it's a tiny garage! Hopefully we'll be able to get her out very now and then for a drive...)

I'm not surprised about there being strikes... I'd be more surprised of a car was completed without strikes! I've heard stories of cars coming out with no trim down one side, absolutely no rust proofing etc.

It's nice to have the history although it's not all there. There's an MoT from 1977, some receipts from 75, 76, 88 and 96 and the last MoT from March last year. She does have all the original sales receipts and delivery forms though which is nice.

[ado28]

Hi Josh, it is nice to have as much paperwork and history with your car as it makes it that little bit more special I think!

Next on your shopping list (if you haven’t already got one) is a Haynes Manual! Get reading this and when you’re old enough to drive then you will be quid’s in keeping your car on the road. Marina is such an easy car to work on because of its simplicity and like most 70’s cars these were designed for the amateur mechanic to work on and tinker with unlike the modern trash we have on our roads today!

[MarinaCoupe]

Nice one Josh - well done - send thos pics in asap.

I may have missed it but what's the situation on the MOT or will you get that done as part of the package?

Also if she has been standing around a while the clutch plate is most likely stuck to the flywheel. Once the clutch slave is sorted, if you read some of the forum strings on here, you find ways of freeing her off without dropping the gearbox - if you garage says that it's the only way don't believe them. A gearbox drop is the last alternative, not the first.

[JoshWard]

I have 3 copies of the Haynes manual (one I bought at a carboot, one my dad got from work- Anglian Water used Marina vans, and one that cam with the car! I also have the Autodata manual)

Totally agree about ease of working on older cars. Non of that microchip crap here!

With regards to the MoT, i'm booking her in for the work to be done and for her to be MoT'd and she will be driven to the garage when the MoT slot is booked.

She hasnt been standing too long, she was driven to where she is now in March and we've driven her a little bit in Martin's back garden.

[The original northen boy]

Ay up Josh,
well firstly congratulations on you new purchase, and now on to your to "put right List" really if i would have bought a 33 year old car for the princely sum of £100 i would be more than happy with the jobs to do list as if thats the case you have done very well very well indeed.

A good days tinkering will bottom the bulk of them and i bet i'm not on my own here most of us have ran our cars on a daily basis that have wanted for more work (and of a serious nature) I held "Nell's" front bumper on for years with welding wire and fabricated a rear valance out of masking tape body schultz and paint in fact the last repair is still there.

So i'm sure you'll have many happy hours with your new toy (and a fair share of un-happy ones) the time you lavish on your new car will all fade into insignifcance and a swearing fit ensures as your first journey out goes sour as your points melt or the fuel pump gives up 50 miles from home at 2.30 in the morning, hey but that's all part of owning not just a Marina but any old car

Just try to resist the temptation to buy a sensible car (even though you your grand parents will give you money towards it)

Keep the faith

Russ

Beckett Bros "Because we've been there" :roll:

[Uncle Frank]

Hi Josh, well done mate, a Marina at last!, i saw on the other strand that you need a new bootlid, can somebody get one back to you from the IOW
if i was to offer to give you a good lid and paint it teal blue for you?...just as a welcome gift to the club for such a keen new member

[Marinanut]

Well done Josh and welcome to the crazy world of Marina ownership. I suggest you get your chuff over to Stonham Barns on Sunday and have a trawl through the autojumble there - I picked up a couple of bargains last year and its not too far for you. I'll be there later on in the Ital.

[JoshWard]

Russ- I will never ever even consider buying a sensible car! The list of cars I hope to own consists mainly of BL stuff! (Unless you classify a Jaguar XJS as sensible ). I am indeed very very happy with the lakc of faults, the faults listed are the ones which were on it when new and were rectified over 1975 and 1976.

Frank- I'd love a bootlid if someone can get it to me Although it's going to look strange compared to the rest of the car as it's faded through age and a lot of the paint is very flat (parts were resprayed in 1988 after being packed with filler ). However, once I've passed my test I plan to drive her down to the IOW, take a holiday and employ you to respray her which I think she deserves

Mike- If the weather's good I will be going to Stonham with my dad on his Norton but if it isnt good we cant go (my mum is away for the weekend and has the car!)

[~Sam~]

I wouldn't worry about the bootlid being a different colour the entire top of my car is a different colour