'82 (NZ) Marina 1700 Estate

The propshaft squeak in reverse quickly became a squeak in all directions that got louder with each mile.
So - three propshafts in three days later we had a happy one.
I now have one with a dud centre bearing and one with a dud rear universal.






As the shafts are two piece and join aft of the centre bearing I can use the two good ends to make one good unit.
That will be a save for someone, as the centre bearings are expensive now and their rubber housings are falling apart.
The front seatbelts were proving to be a nuisance as they were reluctant to unlatch. The stalks were badly worn.
I fitted another pair that I found to be excellent in their operation. Small things like this make all the difference to the overall impression of using the vehicle.






The tailgate had a stupendous rattle. I had found both badges were loose and replaced them and their mountings, but it continued. I removed the trim panel and found the rear wiper motor was flapping about. The clamp was tight, but the motor was loose. The mounting plate had a depression beneath the motor that looked as if it may once have had some foam rubber. So I fitted some. Sweeeeet..!
I decided to complete replacing the plastic trim panels there by doing the roof one, so while it was out I greased and oiled all the hinge mechanisms. One hinge was not fastened correctly as all the bolts were loose. Glad I looked.
All came up nicely..






Having fitted a very bright LED lamp in the tailgate area it became necessary to make it turn off occasionally.
I fitted one of these up front and they are amazing - not only super bright but no heat generated to ruin the covers.
If you still have any...
I found a suitable rubber boot to extend the switch button and it now does what it should.






Another issue that had shown up, and which has plagued me on past Marinas, was the fuel cap. I needed to replace the locking/leaking one with a non-locking/non-leaking example.
Extensive trials revealed that every locking and non-locking cap I had - and there are indeed many - leaked under the slightest provocation.
Such as completing a left hand slide with a half tank of fuel. Or even just a spirited left turn.
Fortunately I found one cap that has nothing whatsoever to do with a Marina, but does not leak a drop.
Brilliant.!






The original door mirrors I have are only a few years old, and are fairly faithful reproductions.







However, I was wanting to try my new style Chinese sourced ones, as I did like the look of the body coloured items that were on the car when I got it.
These could be painted, but I wanted to see how they looked in place.






Hmmm.
Not sure really.
Would look quite different in 'jade green', but do they look right..?
Jury still out.
In order to run my Superlite wheels, the front guards have to be modified slightly to give more clearance at the front of the lower arch.
Both the chin spoiler and the inner guard foul the tyre as it turns inward, because the offset is all outward, and the wheel performs a larger arc when turning because of this.
In effect, this means that the wheelbase gets longer on the outside wheel and shorter on the inside wheel when turning.
I have no idea what this does to the geometry, but the car feels far more stable with the wider wheels under all conditions, so I am not losing any sleep.
This is one I just cut a bit off..






Fortunately none of this is visible from the outside of the car, so it matters not which wheels are on it after it has been modified.






Now that I have done both sides, and rolled the top inner edge of the left rear guard, I can safely fit the Superlites and enjoy the look.
The Marina rear axle is not completely central in the body, so the left rear Superlite will make contact with the top inner left guard if it is not altered in this way, but once again, the change is not visible from the outside.






Everything else looks different though..!
I would say - 'meaningful'...

Cheers.