Fast Marina Magazine

A blue morris marina mk1 1.8 laid up in a wiltshire breakers in the Rust in pieces section of this months pratical classics
very rotten but maybe useful for spares if you are in that area and its still there!
mk1 bumpers are still on it in the picture.
Best regards
Barry

The March 2010 edition of Pratical Classics has a pop at the Marina, in their "Memory Lane Special"

The Marina makes it to number two in the list, behind The Allegro & ahead of the Lancia Beta. :?

Nice big picture on page 63

Not to sure about that fact on that article.
Yellow and white number plates Jan 1971! :? :shock:
Thought that was pre Jan 1973 hence you are legally allowed to have Black plates on a car older that Jan 1973!!!! :|

That is just bloody lazy journalism by PC again, they get more like the Top Gear of the classic world every day.

And on page 60 they say it replaced the minor..it replaced the A60. And they have a photo of a MK2 instead of a mk1.The article is about the launch so they should have had a J plate.......or am I nitpicking. 8)

Yes you are nitpicking, but rightfully so - there's enough misinformation out there without some lazy hack throwing together half-truths and rubbish over his teabreak.


Cool photo though. Love the van coming off the line after the MKII

That guy checking "If it's a Marina" could be a taller Ronnie Corbett.

No, you're not nitpicking - it's just lazy, crap journalism again.

Hi,

I read the article and was suprised by the number plate date, mine is an August 72 with the original number plate (about the only thing that is), black background with white peaked plastic numbers.

Why am I not suprised at the attack on Marinas, the strange thing is people often wait for me to appear at the car and say 'nice car mate, I had one of those'. The older general public seem to remember them with affection and I've only found one man who said it was crap because both the trunnions collapsed. When I asked him how often he greased them he said 'I can't be bothered with things like that'. Same people probably never change the oil in their present car and call that car crap.

Brian

"Where ignorance is bliss tis folly to be wise"

Also, with the production line photo, they are going on about poor panel fit/panel gaps around the bonnet. If only they looked closer, it is obvious that the bonnet isn't closed!

As for number plates, I think the yellow and white plates did come in around 1970/71, but you could still have the black plates if you wanted, until 1973. Correct me if I'm wrong on this!

Dave B.

Also, with the production line photo, they are going on about poor panel fit/panel gaps around the bonnet. If only they looked closer, it is obvious that the bonnet isn't closed!

Spot on there Dave!
At least Leyland worked out that leaving the bonnet popped would save time on the production line than keep having to open it from inside

You may be right with the colour of the plates Dave as I was only born in 1971 but always remember the 1973 was the change date or cut off.

Reflective plates were introduced in the late 60s as an option. (I had an original G reg Minor pickup a few years ago that had spent all its life on a farm so never messed, with and that had tatty pressed ally reflective plates on it - clearly original). Also remember seeing adverts in late 60s Practical Motorist mags showing a 1960ish A40 with NEW REFLECTIVE PLATES showing how you can make your car safer and look like a new one (!) etc etc.*
Whilst both types of plates were available from then on, reflective ones gradually became more and more the normal till finally they became compulsory from '73 on.

Top marks to PC for printing that brilliant Marina production line shot. Zero marks for the sloppy write up re number plate dates and panel fit comment. :roll:


* I'm not that old, I just buy old mags when I see them at shows and boot sales etc and rember seeing the ads in them!

Carcruiser is quite right - reflective plates were available throughout the 'sixties. By the time the old black plates were illegal on new cars ('73 L-reg I think) pretty well all new cars had been specified with reflective plates for years – or so I'm told.

I haven't read the article in PC (as you can't get it over here), but I do have a BL range brochure somewhere which does have some motors with slightly crooked panels!

Finally, can I mention that the various magazines from Future Publishing have a much more enlightened approach to cars with the famous blue roundel? :mrgreen:

I have a nice press photo of a Jubilee and they forgot to fit the Jubilee wing badges and the bonnet buffers were not adjusted properly! :roll:
Small details but easily seen.