[OT] Prius bashing

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I don't see why - they're still used for other things. But then most market 'tool' stores don't sell tools. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Modern pre-engage types can stick too.

Inertia types like on the Minor usually respond to a good clean - they're pretty simple devices.

[Steve Firth]

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

[Steve Firth]

I used to use the wheel brace on the Land Rover for the same job. Ideal shape, long, heavy with a right angled bend that allowed it to reach around "gubbins" to hit the right spot.

[Steve Firth]

Lots of choice at agricultural suppliers. I got mine from SCATS which sadly seems determined to turn itself into a pet store these days.

[clot]

Agreed. I knew intuitively which spanner or part of the socket set to grab.But now, I cannot recall, is it a 7/8 BST or not?

[clot]

Made me smile!

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (Steve Firth) saying something like:

No, same dreadful torsion bar and lever arm damped suspension (directly derived from the Minor), cart springs at the rear, same engine family in the cheaper ones, a dreadful Triumph gearbox, and cheap and nasty trim.

They could be made to handle (proper coilovers at the front and some form of anti-tramp at the rear) and go reasonably well ('B' tuning tricks on the 1800s), but not a patch on a decently sorted Avenger or Scrote of the day.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Adrian saying something like:

You'll find grease guns a-plenty at your local farmers' store.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Julian" saying something like:

Just what Von Braun said.

[Adrian]

True - it's not quite the same range as Screwfix

I'll have to ask my neighbour - as well as spending lots of time 'playing' with old farm machinery he also runs the local 'Folk Museum' (no - not lots of old bu**ers with tie-dye t-shirts and cheap guitars

- local history stuff).

I'm sure he knows where to I can get one

Off to the markets again today - weather forecast is for heavy showers, possibly thundery - but, at the moment, there's hardly any wind and not a cloud in the sky !

Don'cha love the Irish weather forecasts ?

Regards Adrian

[Adrian]

Now that's a fine idea ! There's a big agri suppliers just over the hill near Bantry - nextdoor to the 'builders providers' (what you might call a builders merchant).

Now why didn't I think of that ??

Thanks Adrian

[:Jerry:]

Not mechanically, although the marketing men tried to market the

1800cc Marina as a A60 (range) replacement, most people who replaced their A60 bought into the 1800 'Landcrab' range as the Marina didn't have the kerbside weight to be a replacement for the Cambridge.

[:Jerry:]

Unfortunately it's reflecting the improvements made in the design of farm machinery and at the same time the problems of the farming industry - can't blame them for trying to survive in a though market, far to many agricultural suppliers / engineers have gone under in recent years. :~(

[Dave Plowman (News)]

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.

[dennis]

Rockets are simple.. they only used them for a few minutes out of the three days it took to get to and from the moon. Keeping the crew occupied was the hard part.

[Andy Burns]

Please tell me more about your father ...

[:Jerry:]

His name was Bill, or was it Ben...

[:Jerry:]

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. :~(

[1] relitive to what was then current.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not really. MGB and Midget front axles were high maintenance abortions: McPherson struts were cheap and OK, and a live rear axle was no worse than an escort.

The real problem wasn't design per se, but manufacturing quality.

They rusted faster than an escort, and all the switches and knobs broke (off)

At the time when the Europeans were coming in with galvanized bodies, full underseal etc etc it simply wasn't acceptable enough (for a private buy)or cheap enough (for fleet use).

Its amazing that in a world of "me too" cars you juts have to be slightly cheaper or slightly better to capture a huge slice of the market. The Ford Escort was slightly cheaper and slightly better IIRC.

So was the Vauxhall Viva. A very decent little McPherson strut live rear axle thing. Or its bigger brother..the one before the cavalier..