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Marina Story on Youtube

Why in this day and age do journalists insist on using 'hearsay' to peddle crap about the Marinas suspension. Torsion bars and leaf springs are the only similarities to the Minor. You might as well say the Marina took its suspension from an A body MOPAR since Chrysler used torsion bars in all their 67-74 models with V8s and straight 6 engines.

Just looking at the comments you get the usual twoddle about rust, rear ends breaking loose and reliability. If you don't look after a car it will cause you pain and embarrassment! Regardless of what it is and who is driving it!

If only we could get a proper story out there that showed how Marinas weren't as bad as these poorly researched journalists made them out to be.

In recent years, comments on the show circuit have been very favourable and even now cars are commanding better values and enthusiasm. I was asked at the BL Gaydon show if I had 'sorted' the suspension on my modified marina, I simply said that I had only improved in it with bolt on aftermarket parts. I have no issues with axle tamp, understeer, wheel hopping or shaking at 93+mph...

Started watching and gave him a thumb down. Couldn't even watch the whole video.

I stuck with it if only to to give a fair review. His research seems to be based on nonsense.

Carl spoke with him. His 'research' consisted of Wikipedia and ARonline which says it all. Hopefully when the book is done we can get some common myths ironed out!

How about where he says about the Morris brand being seen as "staid rear wheel drive cars" ! Doesn't he realise that the Morris badged 1300 and 1800 were at the time marketed as technically advanced front wheel drive cars. Even the Mini had been badged as a Morris Mini Minor!
The decision to market Morris as dependable easy to maintain engineering and Austin as advanced and technically sophisicated came about with the Marina not before it!
If the guy took the trouble to do some actual research he would find that most articles in the contemporary motoring press were very favourable towards the Marina.

I think a number of journalists who write for the print magazines are no more knowledgeable, about any car they write about. I actually enjoy this guy’s presentation style, but have stopped watching anything by another YouTuber because of glaring errors even in his powers of observation about the vehicle he has been loaned to review. And I think he writes for Practical Classics. I did comment on the Marina video that it doesn’t share any Morris Minor parts. Not sure if it was read. In one of his early videos he kept on about the Triumph V6 engine when reviewing the Rover SD1! Watching Jay Leno the other week I learned the 1955 Packard Caribbean had advanced (for the day) self levelling torsion bar suspension controlling the front and rear springing, the ride height being settled by electric motors turning the torsion bars. Despite Jay Leno going under with a camera, I still couldn’t quite figure how it all worked, but he kept going on about how it gave the Packard superior ride and handling compared to all its contemporaries. But you mention torsion bars to anyone today and they think they’re rubbish. All the 60s and 70s Renaults had them and they had a superior ride.

mickthefitter wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:39 pm All the 60s and 70s Renaults had them and they had a superior ride.

And Peugeots for even longer. My 405 has torsion bars at the back. I don't know enough about suspension systems to say whether torsion bars react differently when going widthways across the car or whether they work better at the back or at the front. Certainly the front suspension on a Marina is always rather crashy over bumps but when it's a solid metal bar mounted under your seat it's not surprising really.

405’s handle good!

I had a 405 GRI in the late ‘90’s and my mate had, on paper, a superior Astra GTE

We used to erm, ‘follow and try to pass’ each other at speed on the coast road from Torquay to Teignmouth

One time I set off first and when we got to Teignmouth he had a right paddy as he couldn’t keep up on the very twisty bits. He was a very quick driver but the 405 was just that bit better than his GTE!

I've managed to outrun a few things on the twisty roads around here- Porsches, Lotuses etc. Not bad for an old family saloon. How they manage to handle but also ride so smoothly is beyond me.

I have the use of an 08 Citroen Berlingo van through work. It rides more smoothly and has more comfortable seats than either my 98 Escort or 2015 V40, through the gearchange is a bit like a wooden spoon in porridge. Actually the V40 has good seats, but the suspension on the Berlingo is remarkable for a small commercial. Apologies for being off topic.

The V40 is based on the Focus platform isn’t it? But with a Peugeot engine?

Rover P5 B was another with fnt torsion springing & rear leaf springs... i used to fit them [back in the day] ...Gil...

balmy wrote: Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:15 am The V40 is based on the Focus platform isn’t it? But with a Peugeot engine?

I used to have a C30 that was fitted with the Ford/PSA Group 1.6 diesel engine. Yes I think the V40 still has a Focus based platform, but uses Volvo’s own diesel and petrol engines.

Yeah most modern Volvo’s use the Focus floorpan & suspension & the diesels are the dreaded notoriously troublesome Peugeot HDI engine, god they are crap turbos go after about 40k then they are scap.


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mickthefitter wrote:

balmy wrote: Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:15 am The V40 is based on the Focus platform isn’t it? But with a Peugeot engine?

I used to have a C30 that was fitted with the Ford/PSA Group 1.6 diesel engine. Yes I think the V40 still has a Focus based platform, but uses Volvo’s own diesel and petrol engines.

Volvo don’t make there own engines anymore haven’t for a long time, still PSA for the diesels & I think the petrols are GM


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