What about the infamous Lancia Beta? According to popular mythology there is a pit full of them in Cornwall. If I recall correctly,the engine/tranmission support strut rusted through in a couple of years. The aforementioned components would then promptly drop on to the road!
I used to own the coupe version and it lasted for several years until the head gasket went (a problem with the Fiat twin cam of that era).
If i remember rightly,this car was the reason why Lancia stopped being imported to the UK,which is a real shame.
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There's an awful lot of the Marinas in New Zealand........according to thei e-bay equivelent.
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Kiwi-bay?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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NZ equivalent of E-Bay is TradeMe. Searching www.trademe.co.nz for Morris Marinas, we get : tinyurl.com/hsnz5
So that's two cars, nine workshop manuals, and a grille. Hardly a lot, is it? So even here, the last refuge of BL, they are despised, except by a few enthusiasts. After all, we started getting Toyota Corollas here many years ago, and that's not a fair fight.
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What about the infamous Lancia Beta? According to popular mythology there is a pit full of them in Cornwall. If I recall correctly,the engine/tranmission support strut rusted through in a couple of years. The aforementioned components would then promptly drop on to the road! I used to own the coupe version and it lasted for several years until the head gasket went (a problem with the Fiat twin cam of that era). If i remember rightly,this car was the reason why Lancia stopped being imported to the UK,which is a real shame.
I have read a book by an informed source that the rusting Lancia Beta storey was largely a fabrication by the Daily Mirror, who failed to offer any hard evidence when challenged by both the importer and the dealers. Attempts to find those owners whose engines were supposed to have fallen on the floor bore no fruit.
Marinas may top the list of melting cars, but you do still see some about. I know of at least two still running locally, but i haven't seen a Hillman Avenger for donkey's years, and they were quite a popular car from around the same era.
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Robin Reliant, formerly known as Tom Shaw
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And by the way everyone: the list starts in 1971 (I know that seems ages ago to some of you but it isn't) and by then cars were a bit better although still seriously disgraceful in many ways. But for seriously rusting carp you have to go back to the late fifties and sixties.
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1971? That's AGES ago!
(14 years before i was born)
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1971? That's AGES ago! (14 years before i was born)
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my goodness!! that makes you a C reg!
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I've been called a lot of things in my time but never a C reg!
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My first car (a Fiesta) was a C Reg. Struggling to find a car before I started my first job, and after buying it my mum said there was always one with my name on it. Spooky it was on something like Robert Street and had JWN on the plate.. my mum being June.
Rust bucket mind.
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Saw a C plate Fiesta a few weeks ago in factory fresh mint condition, light purpley / bluey colour (oldman will know the name of the colour ;-), it even still sounded tight having the raspy standard exhaust they came with. I learned to drive in one.
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Saw a C plate Fiesta a few weeks ago in factory fresh mint condition, light purpley / bluey colour (oldman will know the name of the colour ;-), it even still sounded tight having the raspy standard exhaust they came with. I learned to drive in one.
I taught people to drive in them. What a god awful car, the clutches were either like an on/off switch or they slipper like crazy. Everything rattled and creaked after a few thousand miles and if you over-reved they would cut out and not re-start. Sticking throttle cables were another bugbear, and if you got that combined with the sharp clutch life became very interesting.
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Robin Reliant, formerly known as Tom Shaw
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>> (14 years before i was born)
Nobody, but nobody is THAT young.
vbr.........................MD
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"1971? That's AGES ago!"
Not that long! In 1971 I was 2 years older than you are now! (that took some working out!)
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Phil
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In 1971 my Mum would have been 13.
Sorry to make you feel old Gents!
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>>in 1971 my Mum would have been 13>>
To be pedantic, she was 13...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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To be even more pedantic, she was only 13 for part of the year, unless her birthday falls on January 1st.
Hey, in 1971, I passed my University Entrance exams! The great part is that people of my generation have been able to watch and participate in the greatest technological revolution ever. There are even better things yet to come.
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Adam.
You're old enough to be my son !
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>>Adam.
You're old enough to be my son !<<
I'm keeping my mouth shut!
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In 1971 my Mum would have been 13. Sorry to make you feel old Gents!
Makes your mum 48, dont invite BBD round whatever you do.
In 1971 I had my first proper job, and was lusting after capris.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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"I have read a book by an informed source that the rusting Lancia Beta storey was largely a fabrication by the Daily Mirror, who failed to offer any hard evidence when challenged by both the importer and the dealers. Attempts to find those owners whose engines were supposed to have fallen on the floor bore no fruit. "
I had a friend who bought one new (he was a lawyer). Your book is wrong: my friend had extensive welding to the gearbox mounting brackets : when the car was just 2 years old.
I suggest no prior owner will ever admit to owning such a pos.:-)
madf
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Not suprised about the Cortina given the dates. My grandfather bought a brand new one 'P' reg so around 1976, after less than two years the sills were rotting through! I see an L' reg one quite regularly - brown with a vinyl roof. Must be a top spec though as it has twin headlights.
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There is a tidy-ish P reg Marina 1800 in hearing aid beige just around the corner from me. Awful looking thing.
An old guy in the next street has an immaculate D reg Cavalier 1.8 CDi. I was out walking the dog last summer and he was out cleaning it so stopped and had a chat (as a fan of the mk2 Cav). He seemed surprised anyone would pay the car any attention at all, but was happy to chat about cars and life in general, and let me have a look around it.
This thing really is mint. The velour trim still has its pile, the carpets are unmarked under the mats and the body and paint are all original. He's had it from new, with a genuine 77,000 on the clock, and he still has it serviced annually at the local Vauxhall dealer. He proudly told me it had never had a non-genuine part fitted to it, and apart from the front CV joints, and the steering rack was all pretty much original! It's even got the original Philips stereo in it. Never been pranged or had paint, and the bodywork is still immaculate. He fired it up and it was as smooth and sweet as a new car.
I was almost in tears by this point. Just a brilliant thing to look around. I even told him to give me a shout if he ever thought of selling it, although what I would actually do with it is another question.
Cheers
DP
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I saw a beige Morris Ital estate car on Sunday, on the road. It was in appalling condition with big holes everywhere.
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Moskvitches were imported here in the early to mid 70's. It must be at least fifteen years since I last saw one.
Is it right that they became extinct here when they were found to be incapable of passing an MOT test even in tip-top condition, or is that an urban myth?
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The Lancia Beta saloon story wasn't a fabrication, unfortunately. The letters pages of Motor Sport carried many stories from angry owners whose cars had failed their first MOT on difficult to rectify structural rust, long before the company (or importer) admitted something was amiss.
I am sure a number of Beta saloons were bought back and crushed, some - I think - at a scrapyard in south Somerset, but my memory may be faulty here.
Just to give Lancia some credit, I owned a Beta HPE up to its seventh birthday that didn't have a spot of rust anywhere and was a very good motor indeed. And a couple of years ago, here in France, I went to look at a 1977 Beta saloon that was the cleanest, most original car I think I've ever seen. (Didn't buy it though - it was white!).
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I regularly see a mint Marina 1.3 L coupe', it overtakes me around the outside of a tight right hander then I wake up sweating and all is well again, phew!
No, seriously a mint looking Marina cant recall the plate, must be about 76/77.
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>>a beige Morris Ital>>
Beige doesn't show the Ital in its best light - the imperfections come to the fore...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>a beige Morris Ital>> Beige doesn't show the Ital in its best light - the imperfections come to the fore...:-)
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Its best in the dark, in the fog, with sunglasses ................
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i borrowed this for you all but i do remember the problem and i also remember lancia buying rotten cars back off owners
1. Cam Belts
Gammas have an unenviable reputation when it comes to their toothed camshaft drive belt, and not without reason! The camshaft serving the nearside (left- hand) pair of cylinders also drives the power steering pump. A lack of development, in early cars in particular, showed itself when unsuspecting owners would start their Gammas on a cold morning with the steering on full lock. This would cause the cambelt to break / jump with the load from the steering pump, resulting in one pair of cylinders firing-up whilst the other pair tried to destroy themselves, at the least causing bent valves. Later models have revised belt tensioners, but are still known to suffer from this problem.
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Friend of mine had a Gamma coupe (I preferred the armadillo look of the saloon myself) and it was a really nice motor. He didn't keep it very long though, can't remember why. Perhaps he swapped it for the Alfa GTV6 he had about the same time.
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Friend of mine in the trade bought in a Gamma coupe some years ago. Failed to get it back from Plymouth to Weston-super-Mare with the engine in one piece.
I think he got over-adventurous after taking in and making money on a Maserati Quattroporte!
Yes, the Gamma coupe did look nice.
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>>a beige Morris Ital
Theres a Morris Ital on ebay, and someone has bid on it at £99.99: snipurl.com/vzu9 . Feast your eyes on that dashboard! The seller also has a pic of an old Skoda but the text doesn't mention it. Is it supposed to be a buy one, get one free deal?
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