Fast Marina Magazine

***Have you wondered why you seem to see the same T.C's coming up for sale over and over again?*** Well here's my answer (and not everyone is going to like it)

When looking through the classified section of the forum when a Marina T.C comes up for sale, often someone will attach a post that will state the car was bought only a short period before,be it of Flea-bay or classified newspaper advert often the previous price is mentioned and owner history,infact that the reason for this post,as the samething happened this morning with Mk1 T.C coupe that i noticed was being resold....

One reason suggested was that of the cars handling not being to everyones taste, that plays a part in the puzzle but it's not the whole story.
The real truth is the T.C fails to live up to the expectations of the new owner and the high profile the car has been elevated to,in fact "it's mythical status" The T.C is seen by many as the bench mark of the Marina/Ital range and given the pedigree of a performance salon car,sadly this is not the case.
I for one have always been unimpressed with T.C performance and embarked on a program of engine tuning before residing to the fact a Marina is a Marina, and indeed whats wrong with that!!!

Any new owner expecting hot hatch performance,will be so very very disappointed as they see their new purchase out performed by base model Euro-boxes and are presented with a fuel bill akin to a that of a executive
sports salon.
I think this point has been proven by the work carried out by Ben on his own car,who has given up the "B"series twin-carb route,and abandoned Marina running gear in favour of a very drastic route to attain a far better
degree of handling, and performance to equate to fuel consumption.

By nature the average Marina/Ital owner is not the most affluent of car owners and many new comers wanting a 70's performance car at the low end of the collectors market will fall into the T.C trap thinking they are getting something different to what they have just bought..

As mentioned many times before these cars come from a different era
and cannot be judged by todays standards, the main problem is there slow
by modern standards and drink fuel.. yet the legend fails to mention this.

Let's disspell this T.C myth and enjoy all Marina's and Ital's for what they are FUN...

Russ

Beckett Bros " you've got to be cruel to be kind (in the right measure) :

I have to agree with you Russ. The majority of people that I have spoken too over the years that own Marina's have either owned them for a very long time or have owned them, sold, crashed or scraped and then brought another further down the road. They know the cars and are happy with that.

The flip side of that are people that have similar lines of thinking to me and want to adapt the whole 70's Marina experience. At the end of the day we are all out to look after the mark and keep having fun! That's what I do anyway! I just can't wait to get mine back out and driving it through the summer.

I think this goes for a whole range of classics. Maybe if things had been different years ago the Marina could have been up there instead of the nimble escort!

I like the cars and am happy that they are not in a "Scene" like the fords or VW's of the same era. That won't stop me playing my part in keeping the cars I enjoy owning alive!

Ben

I agree about the adapting to old cars, many (but not all) younger drivers don't have the mechanical knowledge or sympathy required to drive and run an old car, when their 'modern' does everything they want electronically.

One example of this is when I visited Piston-Heads forum the other day where one guy had never operated a manual choke before and when it was explained what it was and how it works said, "that's why the car always conks out when its cold, unless I rev the nuts off it then!" I thought he was joking, but it was clear from the rest of the string that he was being straight and a number of other contributors also admited the same thing.

So to the TC question, take a 35 year old car, twin carbs maybe out of tune, 4 speed gearbox, difficult clutch if it has been standing, likewise brakes, rear wheel drive, rather than modern "safe" front drive handling and you can see why some people don't understand them.

It's one of the reasons that Practical Classics and other magazines sometimes run noddy articles on how things work - their new readers genuinely don't know what some things are or how they work.

The new owner loses interest and the car goes back on Ebay.

I have to agree.
Much as I love my TCs, a 1.8 estate is a much more practical car for most folk wanting to own a Marina, with more modest fuel consumption & no problems with twin carbs getting out of tune.
The biggest drawback for most modern car drivers about owning a TC is that 4 speed gearbox making speeds in excess of 60 mph rather loud & high revving. I enjoy driving my TCs in country lanes where 40-60mph is the right pace or around the city where I can lift a rear wheel on tight corners and put my foot on the gas getting away from the lights.Which explains why they have been off the road since 1999 and each car goes out 2 or 3 times a year for a 30 mile blast when I can borrow a set of trade plates

I also agree...

I have a classis advertised on e bay at the mo [not marina] and I have had only five questions ,mainly how much to buy it now ,no mechanical questions what so ever...!!

Now if I was spending over 5k on a classic , I would have a bunch of questions....

I might even go look at it or even drive the thing...

Not todays buying public ....

Chances are the winning bidder will know sod all...

Yeah, all good points. I think people expect far too much out of the older cars - they think a 1.8 TC is going to be like shit off the shovel and my 1.2 fiesta is faster to 60 and with a higher top end - not to mention fuel economy.

At the end of the day unless you fall in love with the driving experience and all the crazy quirks they have (and for me personally the club atmosphere and the people aspect) you are not going to keep them on their mechanical aspects alone.

The other thing is that traders know if they can pick them up cheapish they can make a quick profit. I can think of a few TCs that were picked up for under £800 and then sold for around £1200.

I have to say as well that I had never driven a manual choke before the marinas and did have to ask my dad at what point I needed to turn it off! At the end of the day though, if you are not prepared to hold your hands up at these things and get help and want to learn about these things then you are always going to find it difficult to, perhaps, the point when it becomes too tiresome.

It is annoying seeing the same cars come up again and again, but at least they are not disappearing off the radar...

The TC is certainly not a quick car by 2008 standards, it pulls well because it has a solid amount of torque low down which is rare to find in todays high revving 16v units, but apart from that it's no better than many smaller engined cars of today, the 1400K series produces more HP than the twin carb B and in a light car such as the 214/25 it makes for a car with comparitive performance.
Plus there are other reasons why the same cars keep cropping up, the first is that there are only a few TC's left, so the choice will be limited, secondly many people probably don't realise just how much of a problem it can be obtaining original parts to bring these upto TC spec, tail pipe trims are the infamous one, but even parts like good/NOS Mk1 bumpers can be both costly and troublesome to find, so the 'sell it for a profit merchant' is up against it with these things. Throw in a tatty inside and other missing parts and the temptation to sell on is enormous.
Finally, yes the handling of the TC can make the nerves a little fraid! Lever arm shocks, no anti roll bars and a live rear axle will never flatter any driver used to a modern Focus or Astra, throw in the much needed attention these cars need to keep them upto form and the Marina quickly seems like a prospect many 'life on a plate' kids can't be bothered with.

8) Probably that is the reason why they are sold on.Many just want things put on a plate as you say.The marina is too much bother they would rather muck about with rs2000 escorts and 5grand glorified sierra taxis. That leaves the marina and others like it to ourselves to keep on the road or in many cases to end up in minors and the rest of the car thrown in the scrappies. With the price of scrap going through the roof many more will end up scrapped because its not the done thing to be seen running around in a marina or an avenger and such like. its more fashionable to be seen in an escort than a tc.

The Escort scene has created a large problem for itself in the fact that there are so many RS/Mexico copies about, and some are so good they are fooling the experts. The later Mk2 is easier to copy but some Mk1 versions are worth so much now it is becoming a nightmare in telling if a car is genuine.
Why has this got any impact on the TC? Well 99% of TC's are genuine, plus there are so few around it would be difficult to ring one, plus Marinas are not the most commonly used car in motorsport so the chances that a cars identity can be lost is less, something which has caused chaos in the Escort scene.

8) If 99% of tc s are original whose 1% isnt ???...oops better not go down THAT road again eh!!!

And talking of cars not living up to expectations, one of the companies i deal with offered me a 1977 R reg 1500 MG Midget,In British Racing green,for the bargain price of £2500.

Why you ask?

The daughter of one of the directors wanted a cheap sports car after passing her driving test,trawled through the wondrous pages of Flea-bay for a suitable purchase,and was finally taken by the said MG she became the successful bidder,did the deal and now was the proud owner of a small British
70's sports car.

She had only viewed the car via Flea-Bay photos,until the day of collection,not given it a test drive,or had even driven a similar model or car before that day,in fact not having ever sat in this Midget or any other one for that matter.

Needless to say the car wasn't what she expected and after just three weeks of usage it was being re-sold

Russ

Beckett Bros " down on Devil Gate drive"

i read somewhere that on average a person interested in classic/older cars tend to focus on cars approx ten years up & down from his birthyear.
So lets just face it we are a sad bunch of all gits and the marina will die with us :P
Well at least when i', put in a home for the elderly i will fill the parking place with old marinas - if i'm lucky i the nurses would accept to join me for a trip in my hot TC

That is quite an interesting fact Jan, my TC is 13 years older than me, but my dream car is a '69 Mustang

10 years ?? I wish !! My marina is " 30 " years younger than me

Well Larry this has not been the best of weeks for us two.
First petrol prices and now manufacturing dates. I am off to walk the dog.