Fast Marina Magazine

Hello, just thought I would post some pics of my Marina here.
It's a 1973 1,3 Coupé Deluxe which was bought new by my granddad. When he wanted newer car in the late eighties no car dealaer would take a Marina so my dad bought it for, I think about 100GBP. The car was sprayed with Tectyl and put away for storage. Maybe 10 years later we started a slow restoration but apart from a respray there wan't much work needed on the car. New piston rings were fitted. Ok the engine is increasingly clattery now so perhaps we will have to do an engine rebuild at some point. In 2003, the car was scrutinised for the finnish "vintage" car test, which you means you're tax exempt and the insurance is about a tenner a year. You only get to drive 30 days though but that's not a problem (since no one is counting the days...).

The Marina now lives a cuddled life, spending most of it's days in a heated dry garage. This time of the year is quite active though with different shows and rallies. In february, we attended the vintage winter rally in Jyväskylä (350 kms one way) and in about three weeks time there is a national rally in Helsinki (430 kms one way) which we will attend. No trailer - we drive!

Apicture from our winter adventure:


After a wash and polish today. The NOS daytime driving lights give a nice period feel. In the 70's and 80's almost all cars in Finland had those.


I found new old-stock hubcaps on eBay. However, they seem too small! Or maybe I should just grease them up and use more violence?


And I'm still thinking of buying that TC that is for sale in Sweden.

Hmm, I don't know if it is his forum or photobucket that is cropping the pictures in a silly way...

Hi Fille

It is the forum software, it can only handle pictures up to about 800 pixels wide. I spoke to Ben about it and there is no easy fix. There are two possible things you can do;

1. Reduce the size of your pictures before posting on photobucket or flickr or whatever, using Photomanager, MS Picture Manager or whatever software that may have come with your camera. I usually reduce mine to about 650 pixels wide.

2. Go into your camera menus and reduce the picture size when the camera takes the shot, the advantage of this is that your camera will then be able to take more pictures as the smaller pictures take less memory.

Your car looks like it has driven here from the 1970s - wonderful to see an uncommon colour on what is today and uncommon model. Even though your car is a deluxe it seems to have the export spec opening rear windows, perfect for those hot summer nights when mosquitos as big as butterflys abound
I hope you do buy the Swedish TC before some banger racer or MGB owner gets their hands on it. I know that I dont have enough spare cash and my wife wont tolerate another Marina under our current budget restrictions when in fact I need to upgrade my van for work which is proving challenging........
Perhaps the owner of the swedish TC likes his car enough to want to chat about it on this forum??? I wonder how it has survivied so well in sweden when rust gets almost everything before its 10 years old so far south

Thank you for those kind words.
The idea with this Marina was always to keep it as original and "period" as possible. It has never even had a radio fitted! We have tried also not to over-restore it, but to let the years show in some areas. Although the years are starting to show too much in the headlining for example.
Export spec? Ok. It has dual circuit brakes with front discs, opening rear windows but no heated rear screen and the interior is all vinyl and rubber. Not a carpet in sight!
When it comes to the TC: yes I'm getting more and more tempted. I do have the cash needed, but not the space. I also have the wife problem and if that wasn't enough also the parents and in-laws problem. So I would have to buy it secretly, bring it home and tuck it away somewhere and then slowly tell the truth. My uncle has developed this into a three-step-model: Quarantine - implement - deliver which he used when he bought a '44 Willys Jeep. Maybe I should try it.

nice to see those driving lights , it was a common sight in norway as well, and i have some sets tucked away, really should be putting them on some car one day....
the hub cap is the correct one just give it a whack with a flat hand and it should pop on.
how far north in finland are you ??

Fille wrote:Thank you for those kind words.
The idea with this Marina was always to keep it as original and "period" as possible. It has never even had a radio fitted! We have tried also not to over-restore it, but to let the years show in some areas. Although the years are starting to show too much in the headlining for example.
Export spec? Ok. It has dual circuit brakes with front discs, opening rear windows but no heated rear screen and the interior is all vinyl and rubber. Not a carpet in sight!
When it comes to the TC: yes I'm getting more and more tempted. I do have the cash needed, but not the space. I also have the wife problem and if that wasn't enough also the parents and in-laws problem. So I would have to buy it secretly, bring it home and tuck it away somewhere and then slowly tell the truth. My uncle has developed this into a three-step-model: Quarantine - implement - deliver which he used when he bought a '44 Willys Jeep. Maybe I should try it.

Front discs not drums on a Mk1 1.3 deluxe - luxury! Dual circuit was mandatory in Denmark too in the 1970s, and probably Sweden.........
No carpets and probably no reclining front seats really does show the authentic spec was on the basic side for the early 1970s even.....
I like your uncle´s way of playing politics , a very good way for you to become the Morris King of Finland when you add a Mk1 TC to your collection.Everybody will in time understand how much you like and want the car if you do buy it in the face of opposition. Parents and inlaws disapproval is routine par for the course in many families where as they get older they feel little more than baby sitters in the eyes of their grown up childeren.......

The hubcapswill not pop on with a whack of a flat hand. Believe my I have tried. Today I managed to get one hubcap so sit on the wheel with the help of a rubber mallet. It stayed put for a full 400 metres, luckily I had the windows open so I heard the hubcap depart!
The problen is with the lip on the inside of the hubcap. it is too thick and round, I compared with the old ones and there is a sharper edge on them. Add to this my rims have been painted a couple of years ago so the paint is probably thicker than on original wheels as well. Should i try to straightn the inner lip of the hubcap?
I'm in Vasa so not that far north. Actually in the southernmost quarter of Finland
Marina distance today: 90 kms.

Those look like original hubcaps for Mk1 (no black paint) so rather than ruin the chrome I would suggest removing exces paint around the lips on the wheels where the hubcaps are held on - and perhaps leaving the hubcaps in the warm sunshine for a few hours before trying to fit them