READER ADVENTURE
Steph Holloway wonders if the City of Light was just one adventure too far for her Marina
Paris in a Morris Marina. Was it really a good idea? Well, up until the point it all went wrong… yes, it absolutely was! I’m sure you’ll have shared moments of anxiety and thrills in equal measure on a road trip such as this. In my case, at the time it went pear shaped, I was heading into the city with friends in my Marina. Laughter filled the car as we danced across the cobbles on the French capital’s beautiful boulevards, the warm glow of street lamps flashing by and music blaring from the tinny portable speaker. Then somebody dealt the fatal blow: ‘This car has been so reliable, Steph!’ Moments later, an almighty bang was heard on depressing the clutch and we coasted into a dark side street. The car refused to move, despite shoving the stick into every gear and pumping all pedals. There was a collective silence in the car as the reality dawned on us. Our crossing back to England was in seven hours, so the odds of a fix weren’t in our favour. Could it be fixed in Paris – or perhaps it was to be a test of my breakdown cover? This would prove to be an entirely new experience!
A few days before, I’d been preparing the car with my friend Kev. The engine had been rebuilt months earlier than that, by another friend, Mark Boldry. The oil pump had failed and left me stranded with a seized engine on a country road and I didn’t fancy that kind of nonsense in France, especially as this kind of thing only gives British Leyland naysayers more ammunition. I was determined to get things right and prove that a Marina can take on the world and win, too.
These things take time...
My first mistake was to dramatically underestimate how much time I’d need to get things finished in time for the trip. I had a rough idea of what needed doing, such as ensuring those drum brakes were spot on. I needed to know the engine was fully run-in and that I could iron out any little problems with lengthy shakedown tests. The car fought me all the way to completion, from seized brakes to lumpy running once Kev and I spent hours marrying up the engine to the ’box.
PREP Pre-trip preparatory jobs were numerous… including re-fitting the engine with pal Kev!
