Oldest survivor? What and where?

[locost_bryan]

YHS19 0000552 should be a 4door super 1750 manual car number 52!
YHS18 0000834 should be a 4door super 1500 manual car number 334
YH2S2 --------- should be a coupe deluxe 1750 manual
YH2S4---------- should be a coupe T.C 1750 manual (very desirable :P )
YHS2- --------- should be a 0 at the end which make it a 4door super 1750 auto
your car number 504 is actually car 4 of the line in that model/trim combo

These are the four oldest cars I can find that are still on the road :-
GE7520 26 Jul 72 MH4S9S126983M (English 1800)
GD1398 10 Aug 72 YH2S4914 (should be YH2S400000914NZ?) 1750 (TC Coupe?)
GG4233 23 Nov 72 YH2521105 (should be YH2S200001105NZ) 1750 Coupe
GH9096 08 Dec 72 YHS200001185NZ

Of the others I checked, there are 8 active but "on-hold" :-
3 1750 saloons
1 1500 saloon
1 1750 coupe

Plus 3 with details too incomplete to classify.

I found this code for a Marina 262 - 02SA452C261289. The other 5 I have found only 4 digits in the chassis number field - 1229, 1483, 1568, 1673, 1674. Registered between 24/9/74 and 17/10/75.

[bigcarle]

GD1398 10 Aug 72 YH2S4914 (should be YH2S400000914NZ?) 1750 (TC Coupe?)
GG4233 23 Nov 72 YH2521105 (should be YH2S200001105NZ) 1750 Coupe
GH9096 08 Dec 72 YHS200001185NZ

YH2S4 914..........should be the 414th manual T.C coupe that rolled of the assembly line original engine No 1400-1500
YH2S2 1105........should be the 605th marina deluxe coupe with a 1750 motor original engine No around 1600-1700
YHS2? (0)1185.....should be the 685th marina super 4dr with 1750 & auto original engine No around 1650-1750

I found this code for a Marina 262 - 02SA452C261289

025A4S2L 261289.............should be the 289th marina 4 dr super 6cyl manual 3 speed on the floor engine No around 1200-1300... please note this is my take on how the number should read this is due to the numbers no being stamped properly and the age/ condition of the car trying to read them
when leyland australia went to the new numbering system the Leyland Marinas started their body count at 1000

ie; my T.C coupe is YH2S3 609 which is the 109th T.C ayto to roll off the line and the engine No 1102

[locost_bryan]

YH2S4 914..........should be the 414th manual T.C coupe that rolled of the assembly line original engine No 1400-1500
YH2S2 1105........should be the 605th marina deluxe coupe with a 1750 motor original engine No around 1600-1700
YHS2? (0)1185.....should be the 685th marina super 4dr with 1750 & auto original engine No around 1650-1750

YH2S4 914 engine # 17021435
YH2S2 1105 engine # 17066089
YHS2? (0)1185 engine # 17013202

025A4S2L 261289.............should be the 289th marina 4 dr super 6cyl manual 3 speed on the floor engine No around 1200-1300... please note this is my take on how the number should read this is due to the numbers no being stamped properly and the age/ condition of the car trying to read them
when leyland australia went to the new numbering system the Leyland Marinas started their body count at 1000

ie; my T.C coupe is YH2S3 609 which is the 109th T.C ayto to roll off the line and the engine No 1102

025A4S2L 261289 (02SA452C261289) engine # 26212050

These were the numbers written :roll: on the registration forms when the cars were first registered, so could be incorrect (either written down wrong, or read wrong , or entered incorrectly when records were computerised). Some have had the full engine and chassis numbers recorded, but most seem to have only the last 3 or 4 digits recorded.

Presumably Leyland changed the chassis numbering when they launched the re-engineered Leyland range, with the larger transmission tunnel for the 6-cylinder (and the myriad of other changes).

[bigcarle]

yes they went to the longer leyland number arounfd the change over time from morris 024
to leyland 025 bodies. i have had a mid '73 morris body car with the leyland number.
so when you look at body number and it starts with 024 its a morris and 025 signifies its a leyland.
the engines in the previous post all seem to marry up with the bodies fairly well

[locost_bryan]

I went to Huntly (about an hours drive south of Auckland) to have a look at a "clean and tidy" Marina 1800 wagon yesterday (the "Citron" green one I posted photos of a wee while ago), but it turned out to be full of rust (sill, door, guard, patched floor) and worth a fraction of what the guy wanted :x . Mechanically sound, so good for a restore at the right price.

However, as I walked in I noticed the nose of an Aussie 6-cylinder Marina sticking out of his carport. Had a look at it, and it turned out to be a manual sedan and in much better condition (rust in one sill and the driver's A pillar). Talked to the guy, and he mentioned he had a dozen cars in a shed in Auckland, and one of them is a 32,000 mile manual 262 Coupe :shock: . Could've knocked me over with a feather . The guy said it was a GT with twin carbs . Think they must have been fitted later (off a Kimberley), as I have never seen any mention of twin carbs as a factory option on the six. :?

Will have a look at it when the guy's in Auckland in a couple of weeks. 8)

[bigcarle]

if this is a factory job check to see if it has a 4speed gearbox as well
it could be a 'alleged' GT4 and maybe worth it

[locost_bryan]

if this is a factory job check to see if it has a 4speed gearbox as well
it could be a 'alleged' GT4 and maybe worth it

Pretty sure he said 3-speed, but the same thought crossed my mind 8) . Has anyone ever found proof from Leyland that the GT4 was ever built, and not just an aftermarket retrofit?

Darren (NotTheMarinaman iirc) did say fitting the 4-speed was simple, as it was an option in the P76. From my research, Ford used the same 3 and 4-speed Borg Warner boxes (and model 76 diff) with the same ratios as the P76 in the XA Falcon, and the 3-speed kept the same ratios right through to the XF Falcon. The 4-speed got different (wider) ratios from the XB Falcon, and the 5-speed from the XE Falcon appears to be the 4-speed with an extra overdive cog.

262/P76/XA 3-speed 2.95/1.69/1.00
P76/XA 4-speed 2.78/1.93/1.36/1.00 (close ratio as standard 8) )
XF 3.3 4-speed 3.47/1.96/1.26/1.00 (very close to English Marina ratios)
XF 3.3 5-speed 3.47/1.96/1.26/1.00/0.79

Not sure if the 3-speed and the 4-speed have the same bellhousing, but the fact the 4-speed and 5-speed in the XF 3.3 share the same ratios, leads me to suspect they use the same bellhousing. So, that could be an easy 5-speed conversion for the 262 , combined with a 3.08 or 3.23 diff would give about the same revs in 1st gear and a whopping 1200rpm drop in revs at 100kmh . Even the 3.50 ute diff would drop the revs by 900rpm, and the 10% lower 1st would give a bit more squirt off the line 8) . In gear speeds (at 5500rpm) for the 3-speed are 55/96/161kmh, for the 5-speed with 3.50 diff 49/87/135/171/216kmh, and the 5-speed with the more common 2.92 diff 59/104/162/205/259kmh :shock: (or a leisurely 2100rpm at 100kmh, barely half the 1.3's 3800rpm ).

[bigcarle]

i had a 4 speed from a P76 wanting to put it in a ford and found out that
the 4 speed boxes had more in common with the box in a charger when they finally went to 4 speed. :shock:
and i have done the bell housing conversion froma 3 speed B/W gearbox to the 4speed B/W box :?
3 of the bolt holes line up to the 4 speed so you have to drill and tap one also
the front bearing hole is a couple of MM smaller in diameter so you have to machine/file it down to fit
not thatmarina man has a 5 speed supra box in his original project that fits nicely and
i have put the TR7 5 speed (LT77) in a marina which was great

[locost_bryan]

A mate of mine did the Supra thing too, with a Dellow bellhousing iirc.

Ford use a different input shaft, 10 splines x 1 1/16", where Leyland and Chrysler used 23 splines x 1 1/32", and a different release bearing. That's according to one of the clutch manufacturer's website.

Clutch cover assembly - Ford R950-554, Chrysler/Leyland R950-523
Clutch Plate - Ford R9564W, Chrysler/Leyland R9534W
Release Bearing - Ford GSB319 or GSB360, Chrysler/Leyland GSB303

So, it looks like the XE Ford Falcon 5-speed with the Leyland 4-speed bellhousing, and a Ford clutch, might work.