The Marina was a car manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland throughout the 1970s, a period of great turbulence and difficulty for the British car industry. The model has been widely identified as symptomatic of the problems facing the industry at that time, with poor build quality and outdated design, especially in its post-1980 Ital incarnation, which over-extended the lifetime of the design.
[] Development
The Marina was developed under the ADO 28 codename. It was in production from 1971 to 1980 and thereafter as the moderately facelifted Ital until 1983 when the Morris name was consigned to history. In Australia, it was known as the Leyland Marina, in New Zealand as the Morris 1700 (for 1979–1981, in facelifted O-Series form), and in South Africa as the Austin Marina. It was also, briefly and unsuccessfully, sold in North America, as the Austin Marina.
In the early 1970s, BL decided that 'conservative', traditionally-engineered cars would be released under the Morris name, while more adventurous cars would be released as Austins. As a result, the Marina was unadventurous, being based on tried and trusted BMC components taken straight from the Morris Minor and MGB. Intended as a stop-gap design until new product was ready later in the 1970s, it was designed by Roy Haynes, the same man who designed the Ford Cortina Mk II, with which it shares some stylistic similarities. The engines were the venerable A-Series and B-Series units in 1.3 and 1.8 litre capacities, respectively, with rear wheels being driven through a live axle. It featured torsion bar suspension at the front and leaf-spring suspension at the rear, and five body styles, saloon (sedan), estate (station wagon), coupé, pickup and van, the estate coming about almost one and a half years later in late 1972. The TC versions were equipped with a twin carburettor engine similar to that found in the MG MGB for extra performance. A 1.5-litre diesel version was offered in Europe.
The car was popular with families and undemanding car buyers, and was available in the typical BL colours of the day—brown, beige, dark limeflower (tundra) green and a funky metallic ’70s purple. It was intended to be a competitor to the generally similar Ford Cortina, Vauxhall Viva and Hillman Avenger and Hunter.
BL was beset with problems including industrial action throughout the period, and the Marina was one of a number of models that suffered. While the BL workers gradually eroded their own employment, manufacturers in Europe and Japan introduced innovative designs (such as the VW Golf) that the Marina and its like were never likely to compete with. The problems were compounded as the cars which were to replace the Marina and BL's other mid-size offerings were delayed again and again (eventually appearing as the Austin Maestro and Austin Montego only in 1983-4). By this point, the idea of separate Austin and Morris ranges had been abandoned: there was not enough money to develop a full range of rear-wheel-drive Morris cars and an equivalent front-wheel-drive (FWD) Austin range and FWD was becoming increasingly acceptable across the market.
There were changes however, albeit small ones. A small facelift in 1975 gave the Marina new radiator grilles and dashboard. The overhead camshaft O-Series engine (that also was also used for Leyland Princess) appeared in 1.7 litre form in 1978 to replace the larger B-Series 1.8 models. A changed grille, including driving lights, and a front spoiler were added to all models.
Under severe financial strain, BL was bailed out by the government in the late 1970s, and Sir Michael Edwardes was brought in to oversee the company. Under his leadership, BL made an attempt to update the Marina, by enlisting the help of Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign. ItalDesign, however, did not design the car, which was an in-house product—it merely productionized it. The result of this exercise, the 1980 Morris Ital features large rear lamp clusters and a new front end, but the 1971 vintage of the design was obvious. The Ital was short-lived and was replaced by the Austin Montego in early 1984, thus bringing to an end use of the Morris name on passenger cars. The Marina's distinctive door handles were fitted to the Land Rover Discovery until 1998.
[] Popularity
Despite its heavy criticism from the media and motoring press, the Morris Marina was a very popular car in Britain and was among the country's best selling cars throughout its production life, peaking at second place – only surpassed by the Ford Cortina – in 1973.
Marina production lasted almost 10 years, and in that time no less than 807,000 were sold across Britain, though it was less popular on export markets.
A survey conducted by Auto Express magazine in August 2006 revealed that just 745 of the 807,000 Marinas sold in Britain are still on the road, making it officially the most-scrapped car ever to be sold in Britain. This was surprising even for a car which had ceased production 26 years earlier.
[] Engines
* 1971–1980 - 1275 cc A-Series Straight-4, 60 hp (45 kW) at 5250 rpm and 69 ft·lbf (94 Nm) at 2500 rpm
* 1971–1978 - 1798 cc B-Series Straight-4
* 1971–1978 - 1798 cc B-Series Straight-4 Twin carburettor
* 1977–1980 - 1489 cc Straight-4 Diesel
[] Timeline
* 1971: Marina 2-door Coupe and 4-door Saloon range launched in UK: 1300 DL, 1300 SDL, 1800 DL, 1800 SDL and 1800 TC. 1300 DL and 1300 SDL have 1275 cc A-Series engine, while 1800 DL, 1800 SDL and 1800 TC have 1798 cc B-Series engine. All have 4-speed gearbox (optional 3-speed automatic transmission on 1300 SDL, 1800 SDL and 1800 TC).
* 1972: 1800 SDL 5-door Estate launched in UK.
* 1975: Mark 2 range launched in UK: 1300 DL, 1300 Super, 1800 Super, 1800 Special and 1800 HL 4-door Saloons, 1800 Super 5-door Estate and 1800 GT 2-door Coupe. Optional 3-speed automatic transmission available on 1300 Super, 1800 Super, 1800 Special and 1800 HL Saloons and 1800 Super Estate. Super models replace previous SDL models, HL saloon and GT coupe replace previous TC models.
* 1976: 1300 DL 5-door Estate launched in UK.
* 1978: Mark 3 range launched in UK: 1300 Base 2-door coupe, 4-door saloon and 5-door estate, 1300 L 2-door coupe and 4-door saloon; 1300 HL, 1700 Base 4-door saloon and 5-door estate; 1700 L 4-door saloon and 5-door estate; and 1700 HL 4-door saloon. All have 4-speed gearbox (with optional 3-speed automatic transmission available on 1300 L, 1300 HL, 1700 Base, 1700 L and 1700 HL saloons and 1700 Base and 1700 L estates). 1700 models have new 1695cc O-Series engine.
* 1979: 1700 HL 5-door Estate launched in UK,
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