1974 Morris Marina 1.8 TC

The only surviving roadworthy Rheingold Metallic TC coupe in the UK - this is the Marina owner's holy grail!

Paint

The finish is very good throughout, with evidence of a decent lustre with no hazing, swirls or significant scratches. There is minor paint blistering seen on the scuttle and a few other places. The car is largely chip-free, with the exception of one noticeable chip on the leading edge of the bonnet.

Bodywork

As the car was subject to a detailed restoration and therefore meaning the bodywork is in good order, with no signs of corrosion. The doors open and close well, with decent panel gaps throughout, although the bonnet may benefit from a minor adjustment. The underside, sills, engine and boot bay all look to be solid. There is no evidence of rust forming under the vinyl roof.

Dashboard

The dashboard is in great condition, with no significant damage or misuse. The fascia is undamaged, with the switchgear, controls and dials in good condition too. It's highly likely that they were functional when the car was laid up. There is a 3mm jack plug in the glovebox suggesting that the stereo could be connected to a smartphone.

The drive

The 1.8-litre engine was quite lively, having been sourced from the MGB. While this one has not seen the open roads in a few years, the Marina was a typical production for BL, offering reliability, comfort and in TC form a little style.

Glass and trim

The glass is in good condition throughout with no damage of note. The windscreen rubber shows minor signs of perishing but that appears to be the extent. All the chrome is in good condition with no age-related pitting or dents - the trim is all correct and present with nothing to suggest they will need replacing. The vinyl roof is unmarked, with the Webasto sunroof fully operational.

Wheels and tyres

The Dunlop SP tyres are in very sound condition with a high level of thread evident, they were presumably part of the restoration and date from 2008. The distinctive TC only wheels are in excellent condition too.

Seats and carpets

The interior inspection proved to be a straight forward exercise in observing the decent condition of all of the fittings, including the seats. They are all free from wear and show no signs of rips or any other damage. The carpets are very good, with the mats showing limited use. The door cards follow the same story and are unmarked.

Engine and gearbox

The overall engine presentation is very good even though the car has been standing unused for around 5 years, but Mel assures us it was fully running when it was last put away.

During our visit we quickly tried the basics to get the car going, i.e. fuel and battery, however, there was no spark, so it's most likely a coil on this simple engine. The car is getting fuel and there is oil pressure. Also, the oil looks good and at the upper level. The fluids are correct but obviously would need the benefit of the fuel to be drained.

Update 05/03 - the car is now running after a local mechanic took a look. It was just the distributor / points that needed a clean - here's a video of it running:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjv02YOJPyg

Electrics and other

Due to its long term storage, the battery was dead. Once jump-started the spark was rather weak which might suggest an ignition issue.

History and paperwork

The Marina comes with two files full of documentation, notes, restoration photos and history for the car.

Bought in 2006, close to where the car was originally registered new in Nottingham, it needed a full restoration but its one family status along with original sales invoice, MOTs, evidence of maintenance and detailed verbal history from the owner's son made it worth saving.

The car was stripped to a bare shell and etched primed, then fitted with a webasto roof, with a retrimmed interior, along with an overhauled engine and transmission. The rebuild took around 2 years and was completed in 2009.

It's thought the 100k mile digit didn't tick around to 1 in 2009, or perhaps the car was zeroed after the restoration. Either way you can see from the records the car has most likely done 106k miles in total, e.g. there's an invoice 1994 with a mileage of 77,711.

We've actioned our usual checks; Seller ID, V5, HPi check.

Suspension and brakes

There might be niggling issues that are to be expected for a car that has stood motionless in storage for several years, but the visual inspect suggests that the physical condition and wear of the components are good.

Steering wheel gear stick

Both the steering wheel and gear stick are period correct for the TC model and are in very good condition with no obvious damage or wear.