Kilroynz

I was waiting for something else to happen before I could attempt a wof, so I decided to do something about the dashboard switch lighting.

The rocker switches have tiny screw in lamps in them, but they often manage to either fail or quietly unscrew themselves resulting in partial blackouts. That can actually be a bonus, because when they do work they get so hot that operating the switches can be a health risk. On top of that, they melt.

Hey. We got LED's these days...

The bits look like this..

 

I sacrificed a switch body to use as a jig and soldered up the LED plus a resistor whose value (820 ohms) I had chosen to give me the amount of bright I was after.

Bingo..

 

 

That comes out quite easily as one assembly and gets transplanted into a working switch, by pulling the rocker out of the switch body, swapping this with the original lampholder, then bunging it all back in again.

Happy with the level of bright..

 

 

And in the dark it is not over-bright which would be more annoying than it not being lit at all..

 

 

So that took ages, being 7 switches and all, but it is done forever hopefully.

Another thing that had to be done for a wof was to get the screen washers going. The front one did nothing at all despite having power. A rat around in the old manky bits dept elicited one that worked, so I mounted that up front.

 

 

All good there.

The rear one made noises but would not pump anything. It is hidden away near the spare wheel, but is still fortunately fairly easy to get at. I found it was wired backwards, so of course it was running backwards too. East fix then.? Nope. Won't run at all when wired correctly.

 

 

Ratted around for another, and after rejecting 4 or 5, found a goodie.

Pleasingly it primed up and was doing its thing in a trice. I admire the fact that they hid all the gubbings for this setup, while leaving them very easy to get to.

Does not happen very often.

 

 

Ok.

Next step warrantsville.

 

 

 

 

 

The front carpet finally got fitted - it was originally from a manual so had to be cut around the shifter which has a bigger footprint. Fortunately the console hides any bad judgement..

 

 

Yay.

Got seats. Brilliant. Well, the seats themselves aint, but having some at all is.

Tempted to get the vinyl repaired, being as they are the right colour and all. Really comfortable to sit on, so that's a win.

 

 

Some covers would also do the job. Considering options.

Next was the parcel tray. Bloody handy things they are too. Also contains the fusebox, in case you get bored at the drive-thru...

 

 

And just because I could, I fitted a well - traveled sports wheel. Its cheaper than fitting a higher geared steering rack, but magically feels like it has the same effect.

Manages to let you still see the necessary clocks as well. Life doesn't get better than this..

 

 

Next bit was to get all the various lighting doing its thing, as we are gearing up for a wof after all.

Managed to finally get both numberplate lights working at the same time. Not sure for how long though.

 

 

The rear bumper on these also holds the reversing lights, and a number of estates I have owned had fog lights fitted, although I never fired one in anger.

Bit over the top really, but at least they all work now.

 

 

Starting to look like a complete car now, and because I wanted to see them on it, I fitted an old set of hotwires that were factory fitment on the first Marina I ever owned.

Be nice to get them cleaned up and some fresh tyres on, but a lot of stuff would be nice I guess.

 

 

 

I thought better of having the fog lights. I have something else in mind...

 

 

This thing will have to go. Besides making it inaudible, it reduces in diameter about 5 times in as many inches, so all the gases have to squabble just to get out.

Hard to know what they were thinking.

 

 

Back to the lighting.

If its there it has to work, and as the plates have been on hold for 10 years I figure it will get a fair going over. One of the road lights had its plug chopped off, so that involved finding another and breaking out a soldering iron.

 

 

Been putting that off for a while. Such a lot of dicking about for small gain.

At least it got the front lit up properly for the first time.

 

 

And as you have noticed, the stock wheels have finally made the cut. The new tyres mean these are the best wof candidates, so can stay on here until that happens.

Sort of warranted another photo, so I actually washed the car for the first time.

Lawdy - it actually looks rather tidy.

 

 

The body coloured mirrors are gone too now. They looked pretty good on the car, and the style did not look out of place, but you simply could not see anything in them, which made it all a pointless exercise.

These are the factory mirror style and still come up on Trademe from time to time. I have bought a pair that will hopefully look more like the coloured ones, but they say they could take 10 weeks from China. At least we are covered for being legal meantime.

Cheers.

Final touches to the suspension and underside were now taken care of.

While it was an 'option' most NZ Mk3 Marinas had a huge swaybar fitted from new. This thing is 1.125" (28.5mm) so it makes all the difference in the world to cornering performance. Sedans also got a smaller one at the rear which doubled as a trailing arm arrangement, but the estate had stronger rear springs so there are no mounting points provided.

 

 

Also in the category of 'useful stuff' there was a factory sump guard.

It is made of quite sturdy plate, and in the absence of any crossmember it also helps to stiffen up the front suspension mounts a bit.

 

 

I had to modify the front mounts on this slightly, as the B series engine has its mounts in a different place to the O series this car came with, and there is a clash of locations.

I figure this thing is worth having so I made it fit. I have in the past holed the auto sump pan on rocks, so this guard helps to deflect lumps before they make it to the auto.

All complete.

 

 

Time to do some more on the inside...

Well that was a happy thing.

After a bit of carb tuning it was much happier at idle, but I also had to retard the timing slightly. It was spot-on by strobe, but as the engine is running 11/1 the fuel is not up to it and needs to be slightly less advanced.

Despite the driving position being a bit plush I was keen to make sure everything worked as intended.

 

 

This is the steel side...

 

 

.. and this is the alloy side..

 

 

Beginning to look like something now.

I had cleaned up the carbs and manifold bits that came with this engine, so they all got fitted looking a tad fresher...

 

 

Don't be ridiculous....

I also found a powder coated rocker cover that I knew I had stashed somewhere. Somebody went to great trouble to have it powder coated with the existing dent still in it...?

Next obvious step was to refit the aircleaner, indigenous to Marina models that got all the otherwise MGB stuff, but which rather wisely drew their air from the cold side of the engine...

 

 

The next step involved adding some functionality which this car was never equipped for.

The twin carb 1800 engines had a propensity for 'running-on', due to various things, but because of this and the forthcoming US emission limits, a modification was done to ensure that fresh air was drawn into the inlet manifold at the instant the engine was turned off, to thus purge unburnt fuel, and also make the engine stop at a time it was supposed to do so.

This was achieved in a way that was both elegant and clumsy. A relay was fitted which received power when the ignition was turned off. However, the relay was not earthed unless oil pressure was still present, achieved by extra contacts on the oil pressure light switch. The relay operated a solenoid valve which allowed air to be delivered to the inlet manifold, thus delivering the cure for life, the universe, and everything.

To demonstrate I shall insert here the final video of this engine running in its previous body prior to the transplant. The water pump was entirely karked and made a hideous noise, but the engine was otherwise responsive and healthy as I knew it to be. Pay attention to how it stops.

 

Old yella

 

With a manual transmission you can drop the clutch and force a stall when the engine runs on, but with an auto that is not an option. The cure worked very well indeed. This same technology would need to be installed in this car. Besides some plumbing this would require a different ignition switch, extra wires in the wiring loom to the engine bay, and the relay and solenoid themselves, plus the weirdy oil pressure light switch. All of which it got. As can be seen here if you know what you are looking at. Both items are on the left inner guard above a starter relay that I install as a matter of course, but the large diameter hose through which air is delivered to the inlet manifold is obvious.

 

 

So that should take care of the niceties.

I had now to add wiring behind the dashboard, which is a mega-bitch from an access point of view, and I had already discovered that the dashboard was broken, missing a mounting on the left side which allowed the parcel tray to collapse, so as I had several (5) complete dashboards on hand, I decided to rip this one out and replace it.

This would make access to the wiring a cinch, but would also involve a great deal of work.

Sigh...

 

 

Well, it certainly did. But there are always advantages in providing a clean palette as a base working platform.

I was able to swap the necessary ignition switch wiring for the solenoid by using another already equipped connector, plus I was able to address all the shortcomings of the old dashboard before fitting the new one. This then began to happen...

 

 

As I was in an electrical mode, I decided it was time to fit a rear bumper, which contains various necessary lights. The car did not have one fitted when I got it, but the previous owner had obtained one and included it. The correct bumper would have been chrome, whereas this one was black chrome. I thought I had a chrome example I could fit, but found an interesting thing - the Estate bumper was wider than those from a sedan.

Bother.

I figured I would fit the black one for the time being, as there was some urgency to make this car road legal.

 

 

Having made progress here, there was only one logical next step.

Would it go..?

First start

The engine got its dulux overhaul, and the failed water pump was removed.

 

The estate was moved to the working space and its engine/gearbox dropped out.

 

 

So now we have two engine/gearboxes to deal with. Whoopee.

 

 

Before the swap can take place the car needs to be changed from manual to auto, so all the carpets come out. As the carpets have in some way been treated to look matte black they were destined for the tip anyway.

I had some carpets from a similar car stored so the rear set got fitted while the auto shifter was installed.

 

 

A few wiring mods and the swap could now go ahead. I cleaned the engine bay and stripped other bits that would require dealing to.

The engine and gearbox were now lifted into place and bolted up, and the propshaft refitted.

 

 

Major part of plan completed.

Minor part of necessary work completed...

 

 

 

 

 

The engine could apparently be started, but there were wiring issues to sort and the ignition key/steering lock was partially porked and would not return from starting position, so I decided to replace it and deal to a few electrics before attempting to see if it could make noises.
Easiest way to replace the ignition is to swap the steering column rather than drill out or nuke the anti-theft bolts with their snapped off heads.






The engine bay was a bit squiffy. Cables had been routed in interesting ways, the airfilter was removed, and the coil had been wrapped in a soft drink can - presumably to give it some fizz. Being a total unknown quantity I was not sure how far I should persevere with the engine as I had other options, but I figured it was worth trying it to see what might happen, so I would just do what was needed to get to that point.






Carbs seemed to be in working order but I refitted the airbox anyway, as much to make sure I had all the bits than because I might be driving it far in the near future. Replaced choke and accelerator cables and coil. Tried to check the distributor timing but it was totally seized in the side of the block and could not be moved. The retaining clamp was well bent so somebody had already had a go at this. I dumped the petrol/oil mix from the sump and put some fresh 20/50 in it in case we got lucky. Ready for the off.!







Well, I gave it all the battery had, but it did not even fire. The starter motor was struggling and I found the terminal on the solenoid was heating up because the nut would not tighten. I dropped the starter motor out then thought better of it. How far should I go before deciding this was wasted effort.?
Hmmm.
Sitting on what I laughingly call 'lawn' is a terminally rusted Marina sedan with a very good engine of similar origin to this one. It is however connected to an auto, the usual Borg Warner 65 which were also fitted to large ships as ballast. At least they are mounted midships and low in the Marina, so act as a form of added stability. Mind you - this one is quite low mileage since a full rebuild by a very skilled chap who set it up to work very well with the engine it is joined to.
Despite having now outlived no less than 3 Marina bodies, this engine still runs great and develops respectable grunt thanks to being bored out to take modified Mk3 Zephyr pistons. It now displaces 1903cc and has 11/1 compression ratio, so having an anti run-on device is mandatory, because being an auto you simply can't stop the damn thing.
As the gearbox in the estate is also looking like a pile of problems waiting for a pension I could swap the whole lot over and turn it into an auto.
So that is now the plan.







I will drop the engine and transmission out of this, give it a spruce up, then drop the engine/gearbox out of the estate and swap them over.
What could possibly go wrong...

Hey all.

I have owned more than 20 of the most hated cars on the planet. That has a great deal to do with why I did so. I am not a follower, so I go my own way. I don't care what you drive, and I don't feel the need to leave things standard - as many of you don't - but I figure that if I turn the lowliest cars into something that other people now see value in, then I have done a good thing.

In todays world I think that the most ecologically friendly thing you can do is to keep using something old. And I make a living by repairing old things for other people. So that is my mode.

I swapped my first Morris Marina for a used washing machine. It turned out to be a great car, although it was rusty as hell and would never come back from that. So I bought another body and transferred the good stuff into that. That's where it began.

I guess this might be Marina #23 for me, but I am no longer concerned about numbers.
I got contacted via a UK Marina website that a New Zealand Marina owner was looking for help with his project.
I was unable to supply him with a correct O series engine for his estate, and the B series engine his car came with was in trouble.
Over a period of time we communicated until he decided the project was beyond him and decided to part with it.
He offered it to me for free as he really wanted it to be saved.
Having seen photos of the body I agreed - it really needed to be saved.
To retrieve it from where he lived was going to cost me at least NZ$1000, so I did not see that I could justify it, even though I did have an engine and transmission that would revive it.
Sheesh.!
As it happened, I was in charge of a local ex-competition rally coupe that belonged to a friend, and which a buyer had been found for, and as he also lived in the NZ North Island as did this estate, I asked if he would be willing to pay for a one way ferry trip if I trailered his car north in order to drag mine south.
He agreed, so the game was on.
Despite the continuing road issues which cause traffic stoppages, we made the pilgrimage north with the rally coupe.




That actually worked, albeit a day later than intended as the ferry company cancelled my sailings on the Saturday, but I was able to get the same sailings on the Sunday and extend the trailer rental by a day.
I met a really cool Dude at the place I dropped the Coupe off, and such events make you realise that it is all a part of some greater plan.
Love it when that happens.
From there I found my way to the place where the estate lived, and was chuffed to finally meet the owner who I had spoken to at great length by email.
I had decided that I would have to give him a few hundred dollars for the car even though he had offered it for free, as it had cost him money and was a viable project.
When he showed me all the stuff he had bought for its repair, and which he was now giving me, I felt like a total tightarse, but he seemed to be pretty happy that I was giving him anything at all.
One of the reasons I love working with these old cars. The people are just the best.
I have made a promise that he gets first dibs if I decide to sell it after I have completed it.
We loaded the estate up and I dragged it back to the ferry. 7 hours of ferry crossings in one day can seriously damage your humour.
Never mind.
We have a challenge here.
Stayed with friends at the southern end of the voyage, as I arrived close to midnight.
Here's how things looked in the morning..



Next day we dragged this back to Christchurch which was about 300 miles by the route we took.
I was concerned about the auto in the Volvo being under stress so was trying to adopt an easier route, but it turned out to be more difficult than the northbound coastal one.
But we survived.
Work on the estate began the next day.