Anyway my name is Josh, I'm 18 and I live in Suffolk. I am a student (freeloader) studying history at UEA. My current car is a 1975 Marina 1.8 I bought for £100 in 2008 aged 15 and I have been slowly restoring it ever since, it's my only car so is used everyday, a bit of a rolling restoration.
When I first got her it was clear she was going to need a fair amount of work, she had done 112,000 miles (most of which were towing a caravan!) so the B series was just about knackered and the bodywork wasn't looking too sharp either (still all original panels except the wings, and all original paint). However minus a few areas the chassis was rock solid and she is a very late MK1 with one owner from new until a few months before I bought her, and came with nearly all of it's history from new. I have since been in contact with the original owner several times and he has been sending me more stuff he's found. He still has the Morris 8 he bought as his first car in the 1950s so he obviously likes to get the most out of his vehicles!
Anyway, it would take forever to go into detail about what I have done so far but here is a rough list:
Rebuilt an MGB engine block and fitted it in the car
Front jacking points welded up
Clutch slave cylinder rebuilt
New water pump
New clutch
Electric fuel pump (MGB camshaft wouldn't drive the original)
New steering rack (well actually it's on it's second new steering rack now...
)Rear N/S inner sill welded up
Rebuilt clutch master cylinder
New bonnet release cable
Replacement courtesy lamp cover
Rear spring hangers welded up/replaced
New set of tyres
New accelerator cable
New rear brake cylinders
Replacement fuel sender unit
New temperature sender unit
New battery
Replacement gearbox (the one that was fitted to the car packed up a couple of weeks after I started driving it, it was a 'Silver Seal' unit
)New gearbox oil seals
Polyurethane steering rack mounts
New thermostat
Accuspark electronic ignition
New oil pressure switch
New rear wheel bearings
New brake discs (Brembo)
New brake pads (EBC)
Rebuilt brake calipers (not bought! Rebuilt myself with a £7 seal kit
)New chrome windscreen inserts
Replacement rear screen seal
New side window weatherstrips
Replacement windscreen wiper motor
Replacement fuel filler cap
New ball pins
New track rod ends
Polyurethane tie bar bushes
New door seals
That just about brings us up to present
It's usually a case of drive her all week and do work at the weekends and each weekend she gets slightly better. All the work (apart from the welding) has been done by myself and my dad (he's an engineer and loves classic motorbikes) I've still got a few more mechanical jobs to do, the carb is very worn so I will be getting a rebuild kit from Burlen, she is leaking oil out of one of the side tappet covers. I have a new gasket but will change it when the carb is out of the way. She is also burning a fair bit of oil through the valve guides so I have another cylinder head I will hopefully be getting rebuilt in January (with unleaded seats) which should solve the problem. Once that is done I plan on fitting some braided brake hoses and halogen head lamps to make her even more practical. Eventually I will also be replacing the rear leaf springs as they are getting worn as well as fitting poly bushes on the rear. She already has uprated springs due to her previous towing life.Next summer she will be having some more bodywork done. I have recently bought a MIG welder so once I've practised enough I will start patching all the holes up. She needs patches to the front inner wings and rear inner arches and some along the tops of the sills. I also have some new panels to go on, namely a new valance, outer sills, rear arches, headlamp panels and I will be getting some GRP wings. Once all that lot is done she will be getting a fresh coat of 2K Teal Blue.
She has cost about £1200 so far and I don't regret spending a single penny. She is a wonderful car to drive, cheap to run, economical, reliable, fast and comfortable. I love all classic cars, especially BL tat but Marinas will always be my favourite and I certainly never want to part with this one.
Anyway, time for some pics. The work in chronological order, oldest first.
This was the state the old gearbox was in!
Spring hanger before it was welded
My cat (Smokey) also likes the car, and the replacement panels
I also have some suitable 1970's in car accessories, including an 8 track player (which I have fitted a jack plug too so I can play an iPod through it as well)
And a motorist's grooming kit!
