Fast Marina Magazine

I work part time at an auto parts store, and today a face came in that I recognised. We started talking and it turned out he owns a few Marinas and I nearly bought one off him a couple of years ago. Of course I asked him if he still had them, and finding out he still had two sedans and a coupe, asked if he was willing to sell one. Time and date arranged, I spent the rest of the day wondering what I had gotten myself into. I'm going to view the car this Friday, planning to buy it cheap (hopefully) without motor or box, but with live plates and a rough enough body.

I have an engine and box to put into it, and all other required parts to make it road legal in theory. But taking a brief look around my garage I know purists already hate me, so should I be trusted with another one? I currently have two Marinas and an old Skyline. Ive been working on the skyline for quite some time to get it on the road to commute in until my pride and joy Marina is finished.

If I get this car, Ill be flicking off the Skyline, and plan to daily the Marina. Is that crazy? I'd use the money from selling a car to put into the Marina, but unfortunately that wouldn't be much as its "defective" currently. I have no experience with driving one daily so some opinions would be great. I don't care what other people think, fitting in is boring anyway!

Sorry if this is a lot of writing :roll: I just figured this would be the best place to hear what its like dealing with one daily? And if I have permission to "ruin" another one...

And a picture of my car to make sure this is Marina related

Do it !

I don't think you have "ruined" the car, you have personalised it to your taste. If a car is in your possession the you have the right to make it into what ever you want.

Driving a Marina on a daily basis is good fun. I drove my coupe through the summer months and it always put a smile on my face.

The only problem was I kept finding things to do on it when the weekend came. Nothing serious but bits and bobs (respray, new floors, brakes, seat belts, sills, alternator etc etc)

I get stick about my cars and what I've done to them but they are my cars. It is better than scrapping them or having them locked up deteriorating in a garage surely?

Keep us posted.

Ben





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go for it
i have allways modded mine and have found them reliable on a plus side if somthing dose go wrong there a piece of cake to fix and no massive garage costs.
trev

Go for it, don't let it bother you what the purists might say, you will be driving around in a marina ,that means you have saved one,brilliant.
I have a coupé and I am fitting a twin cam engine into it,I haven't got as far as yours in the photo,my plenum is on the other side and will be quite close to the bulkhead if I can get the engine and gearbox sitting where I want to he he.
I have had marinas in my younger days,while they never let me down ,a 1300 saloon and a 1700 saloon,they didn't stick in my mind as one of the great cars I have owned in the past.Like if I came across a Peaugot 505 ti 2 litre injection drool drool,I wouldn't change a thing because it's a car I would gladly drop everything for now.
Stick to your guns put whatever motor in you like and use the car with pride.
I have the coupé because I like the look of it,if British Leyland would have put a motor in it to suit it's looks I wouldn't be complicating things fitting a modern twin cam motor in it would i.
Go for it because I can see the smile on my face now when mine hits the road.
Gary

Go for it 8) If it's your car do whatever the hell you want to it, if somebody else wants to keep a car perfectly original they should buy it themselves and do that.
So long as there are a few original Marinas still out there then I won't be complaining if others get modified, if it helps keep cars on the road then I won't be complaining and (dare I say it) modifying a car usually shows a hell of a lot more technical knowledge and skill than restoring a car. Besides how many restored Marinas are original? New panels, replacement engines, new gearboxes etc soon add up to actually only having an original chassis, which is no different to a modified car...

As for using a Marina daily, I have been using mine as an only car since January and for the first few months there were plenty of faults (due to the fact it had been sitting unused for two years and still had many original mechanical parts to fail) but in the last month it seems to have started being rather wonderful to drive everyday, in fact the best part of my day is usually the driving

Yep you should, anyone saving Marina's and useing them is definitely ok in my book
I've driven heaps of Marina's as my daily smoke and they have been great, the 1.3 are really economical but the 1.8 are the way to go for sheer enjoyment factor, try to go for a better spec car as the 70's creature comfort make it feel a little less basic.
Oh unless its a van, ute or coupe they are great in any spec.

Hi Chris. I don't mind guys modifying their Marinas (is that a Nissan SR20DET you fitted? :twisted: ), but if you can put your "new" one back to to stock that would be brill 8) ! Also makes putting it on the road easy, as you don't have to get anything cert'ed.

How are you going with your "paddock" rebuild? You need to post some pics for all three in the "Readers Project" section.

Cheers for the advice everyone, my Skyline is officially for sale now, so its on! 8)

Went and viewed the car this morning, it has a few little bits of rust (nothing I cant sort) and is generally a bit rough, but its a lovely burnt orange colour and the interior is so nice! (black vinyl)

Also viewed a Minor 1000 this morning, its $800 more expensive than the Marina, but is completely road legal and I can just drive it away. Now its time to make the decision...

If I got the Minor, itd most likely get a Datsun engine with a turbo on the side (already have one half built here :twisted: ) But if I got the Marina, it would probably be near standard, maybe lowered with some nicer wheels, try tidy up the paint, and mildly worked TC 1750.

My main worry is that the Marina might fail its warrant on something pretty serious that I havent picked up on (damage underneath the car in worst case scenario) whereas the Minor has just had a new warrant put on, so I know its sound.

Obviously the Marina is cooler though... :mrgreen:

Opinions?

Well rather obviously it has to be the Marina!

If you buy the Minor you say you will modify it to make it a practical usable car, why not get a car that is great to use everyday as it is? :P

Or get down on your back and have a good look at the Marina's chassis.

Thought I'd get that reply, and right now Im thinking "why did I even consider the minor?"

For the record the chassis thing was just an example, I tend to have bad luck with these things. I have actually crawled around in the dirt and wet grass under the car and checked every bit that I consider a possible problem, everything checks out perfectly fine.

Over here at least, every man and his dog has a Minor, and about half of those are modded. On the housing estate where I live (150- odd houses) there are two Minor saloons in daily use.

Marinas are far more unusual 8)

And a Marina you can use easily everyday without pissing around modifying it 8)

I know a couple of other young folks who have had Minors as daily cars and they soon realise whilst something that was designed in the 1940s is fun to drive on a summer's weekend it's a bit different on a freezing cold dark winter's day. At least with a Marina although it may not be 100% practical it's not too far off from being so.

Yup - I use my Marinas every day - all weathers - all seasons.
The demisting device can be a bit inefficient, and its so hard to keep a Marina watertight - but they dry out eventually, and I think everyone in the entire country knows its me..

I've found my front window demists ok but my heated rear window is next to useless, although that might be due to broken tracks. I know there is continuity across the whole thing but not sure how many of the tracks are intact

I don't believe there is such a thing as a watertight Marina....I just keep a sponge in mine and dry it out once a week

I love using mine everyday, I was thinking about getting a newer car to use everyday in a few years' time but I think I'll just get another Marina or an Ital 8) (I would use the current one everyday forever but I don't want to chop it about and fit a five speed gearbox into it, which is something I would quite like)

I think it's a very nice mod. I plan to go with the 5-speed kit soon. I drive my coupe and my saloon all the time. The saloon is my "shop car." The coupe is my fun car. Keep up the good work.