This has to be one of the nastiest cars I remember from my childhood. Still looks unique if a little expensive. Anyone going to be placing a bid?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BREATHTAKING-1981-MORRIS-ITAL-1-3-HL-GENUINE-300-YES-THREE-HUNDRED-MILES-/200762794095#ht_8618wt_1044

Don't let it near the Top Gear Team or park near a piano--looks fantastic and in its day not as bad as some think it was.

Over £4500 and reserve still not met!! Does look like it's well looked after but i wouldn't pay the amount it's probably got as reserve as it already seems high now.

would be a cheap "new" car ...what with the old a series engine and mechanicals its easy to repair and could just end up as someones next daily drive

I owned the rusty/ oil burning equivalent as my first car in the 80's. A not so sad parting followed 3 months later when I had a serious falling out with a tree! I then replaced it with an allegro (must now stop this post as in danger of returning to therapy)

The Ital was a sightly re styled Morris Marina, which was basically a Morris Minor with a different body. This one is a 1.3 automatic, so the performance will be...........

BL cars were truly awful, Austin & Morris (BMC) were OK in the fifties, but they never moved on as the rest of the world got off their ar5es and started to make better cars.

I delivered some new ones for a friend ,talk about terminal understeer.

My tired old mk2 ford cortina was a much nicer drive.

The Ital was a sightly re styled Morris Marina, which was basically a Morris Minor with a different body. This one is a 1.3 automatic, so the performance will be...........

BL cars were truly awful, Austin & Morris (BMC) were OK in the fifties, but they never moved on as the rest of the world got off their ar5es and started to make better cars.

It's a manual box, printing error

See pictures

It's a manual box, printing error

See pictures

Yeah, I looked at the picture and saw the big stirring stick.

It's a 1.3 manual, so the performance will be .............. just as bad.

My father had one as Company Car, the estate version in Chocolate brown with a Mustard colour interior

Mmmmmmmm.........Stunning

I learn't to drive in one of those, I used to use it 'unofficially' when showing off to girls as well lol (the words showing off and morris Ital wouldn't go well together these days)

I had the missfortune to own a Pagent blue Marina, it cost me £3000 new, I was push starting it when it was three days old (starter packed up). There was overspray under the bonnet where they had repaired pre purchase damage. I had to rebuild the engine to cut the oil consumption, and the top of the rear seat perished due to sunlight.

Oh and the petrol tank rusted through!

Brother was on the line @ Cowley on Marina and Ital. Remember him showing me the filler between the panels of new Itals on the dealers forecourt where the panels went together. He reckoned Press Steel (shells produced across the road from the line) were working in imperial and Morris were working in metric?

Used to say you could always tell when a saloon coming up the line was a workers order, always had the estate springs fitted as leaf springs were prone to breaking. The Aussies had a 121 bhp 2.6 litre version!

My first ever car! .... bought on 31st December 1989, 1 week after passing my test, aged 17. Mine was a (W) reg 1.3 HL in orange. Paid £295 for it from Northern Motors, Shields Road, Byker, Newcastle. Came with free terminal oil leak.

Loved that car, and wow seeing that pristine example brought back very happy memories. Thanks for posting!

Would never pay £5k for one mind ya!

My father had one as Company Car, the estate version in Chocolate brown with a Mustard colour interior

Mmmmmmmm.........Stunning

My dad had one aswell as a company car - it had an LPG conversion, and the only place we could fill it up was Leicester Forest East services so the fill up was a proper outing!

theres some proper history with that car... it will probably appreciate in value if kept like that!

a real trip to the past

theres some proper history with that car... it will probably appreciate in value if kept like that!

a real trip to the past

Probably better not to drive as my experience suggests a real potential for rapid deterioration :( However can't be many left like that!

I remember years ago we had a customer who had an AA inspection done on one. A line I remember from the report was:

'This car has suffered a respray'

They weren't bad cars in their day, on a par with what Ford and Vauxhall were making at the time and considered superior to the Eastern European makes of the day.

I had the Marina 1.3 "Super", from 1972, in 1992. Massive holes in the bodywork, swimming pool in the boot. Had 40,000 miles on the clock and ran like a dog...........for three months. Then it seemed to sit up and run right. Managed to get the needle off the end speedo (100mph), not bad for the old 1.3 on a 4 speed box. Shyttie leaf-spring rear suspension, some wierdy front suspension. Held the road like a wet bar of soap, even on a dry day.

Quite possibily (with the exception of an RS500) have been the most fun car I've ever driven.

I had the Marina 1.3 "Super", from 1972, in 1992. Massive holes in the bodywork, swimming pool in the boot. Had 40,000 miles on the clock and ran like a dog...........for three months. Then it seemed to sit up and run right. Managed to get the needle off the end speedo (100mph), not bad for the old 1.3 on a 4 speed box. Shyttie leaf-spring rear suspension, some wierdy front suspension. Held the road like a wet bar of soap, even on a dry day. Quite possibily (with the exception of an RS500) have been the most fun car I've ever driven.

Mine had very similar attributes but as it worked out didn't keep it in one piece long enough to see if any improvements could be made. Not sure about fun but it was definitely a real experience and seem to recall 0 to 60 was sometime that day

I had the Marina in harvest gold,oh and a mobile fish tank in the front foot weel,could not find ware the water was coming in,so drilled a few holes in the floor to let it out,those were the days,

I can all so remember seing an advert in the radio time for the Skoda Combi thnk the price was £650,but enough said.

Got a Paykan vibe off that one. Beautiful condition, but I'd never buy it. Even if the money or RHD wasn't an issue.

Wow, that's stunning condition.

Regardless of what your thoughts are about this car, this is definitely a one off.

Great piece of history.

The story behind it is a bloody novel!

I remember the Ital being launched - much hoo-ha was made of 'Ital' design - even as a 10 / 11 year old I could tell it was a Marina with lipstick. Used to collect car brochures then and can remember a friend having the Ital one.

My grandfather had a 'T' reg Marina - worst car I have ever driven - vague doesn't even begin to describe the steering. It was a brown coupe with tan vinyl seats.

Found this on youtube - I remember it originally being broadcast (seems like yesterday!) -

My dad had an Ital estate for a while and it had persistent problems with it's trunions, when we tried to find out what trunions were we kept coming across references to steam locomotives!

I remember a trip to the black country museum when me and my sister travelled in the boot as my grandparents came as well - as a safety measure we had a couple of cushions.

My grandfather had a marina - in yellow with a vinyl roof, it used equal quantities of petrol and oil but just kept going and going.