In article ews.net,
:Jerry: wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Steve Firth wrote:
I didn't say that, but if you want an up dated Minor the Marina
does
fit the bill

Errm wasn't the Marina more of an Austin Cambridge than a Minor?

Not really. The basic one (1300) was more Minor - engine and
suspension, etc. The larger one (1800) had a B Series engine.

In terms of interior space it was closer to the Farina range. The
estate especially was pretty spacious.


The silly thing is, with a bit more refinement [1], such as using
either the Midget or MGB front axle, a better gearbox and better method
of securing / suspending the rear axle the Marina could have been a
good car. Both the Maxi and the later Marina are prime examples of what
went wrong with B(L)MC. :~(

I'm not sure the MGB front suspension would have been any better in terms
of refinement. It after all dates from about the same time - but Austin
based rather than Morris. And still used that abortion - lever arm dampers.
The SD1 and Dolomite range had already got reasonable live axle rear
suspension - one could only assume it was too expensive or possibly too
intrusive in boot space for the Marina.

The Maxi was actually quite a decent car let down by the usual lack of
development before sale and dreadful build quality.

Perhaps the worst feature of the Marina was that even the bits it did use
weren't properly sorted at design stage - early road testers complained
bitterly about the understeer and forced BL to do something about it. Many
also suffered extreme clutch judder. Given the a bog standard layout such
things are unbelievable.

[1] relitive to what was then current.

--
*I wished the buck stopped here, as I could use a few*

Dave Plowman London SW
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