Quote:
Originally Posted by J i m s t e r
My dad taught me to drive on Spike Island in a Morris Oxford. He probably had bald tyres on it because the back end would come out on most wet roundabouts.
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Soon after passing my test, around 17 or 18, I owned an Morris Ital ('facelift' Marina) which did that all the time, regardless of tyre condition. In fact it would do it in the dry too with anything more than a sedate driving style. Thinking back, it seems like I spent more time going sideways than I did going forwards in that car, but it certainly taught me to drive and how to control a skidding car. It was like learning to drive on a skid pan.
The main reason the Ital/Marina was so bad (apart from the utterly terrible build quality and front torsion bar suspension) was that it had a 'live axle', with rear wheel drive and leaf-spring suspension. As a result, when cornering on anything but the flattest of roads, rear tyre contact was very poor. I suspect the Morris Oxford had a similar rear setup.
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Mark
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2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl
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Cars Owned:
The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present)
(Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability)
The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present)
The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo
The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust