1983 Morris Ital range compared to the 1982 range 

One of the most unique and entertaining channels on here. Great work!

Very much liked the Ital HLS. Tried to get dad to part ex our Cortina Mk3 for one in 1980. He decided to keep the Cortina, which I subsequently inherited in 83' on his sad passing.

Twin door mirrors indeed! Allegro, Maxi, Marina/Ital, and the Princess/Ambassador. Now we're talking lol. I have always imagined that the Ital was designed with the aid of a Lego set. I actually miss those clanky old BL machines. Many thanks.

A friend of mine's dad bought a brand new '84 (very last of the line) 1.3SL Estate in Nautilus Blue and he was so proud of it. I remember sitting in the boot with his brothers when we went to the beach one day, smelt of rubber in the back of this car, remember it was quite noisy! Happy days!

That curved dash was pretty bizarre. What were the designers thinking? 'Lets copy BMW's curved dash, only point it away from the driver'. 'Brilliant, lets do it'. Classic BL.

After a days slog at work, it's so relaxing to crack open a cold beer and enjoy your latest video. Thank you. P.S any chance of Vauxhall Magnum Brochure review one day?

I liked the Itals , the Estates were particularly nice looking

Cars of this era were still quirky and interesting, which I like.

There was an Ital 2.0 estate in red that sold on eBay earlier this year. I think it went to an enthusiast. These Itals had a "poor man's Volvo 200 series" look about it. I have to feel a bit sorry for BL at this time as project LM11 was still in development (Montego) and the new Vauxhall Cavalier was a sales hit.

The 83 itals got an upgraded front and rear suspension. That was part of the reason for the change in trim level names

Our local police force had quite a large fleet of them all registered MSO6--W

I had a white 1981 1.3L Ital (saloon) It was basic! Took the push button radio out and installed an Audioline radio cassette with 50W speakers in the parcel shelf - incredible upgrade!! No clock, not even a light in the boot! (I pulled an interior lamp out of an Austin Cambridge at a scrapyard and wired it into the boot - the only problem was it still had the on/off switch and if it was accidentally knocked when you were taking stuff out of the boot it would stay permanently on with the boot closed and you would then find the next day the battery was flat!) I remember my Dad subscribed to Which magazine, and when they did a review of best saloon cars etc the only positive thing they said about the Ital saloon was that it had a big boot....😂

Back in 1983 I had a company car Cavalier mk2 1.6L hatch, "the flyer," as it was known back then. The fleet manager was offered Ital's at bargain basement deals. So they brought some in for us to try out. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. They were pretty awful. Needless to say, the Ital's were returned within a few days.

The Ital was the facelifted Marina, and the Ambassador was the facelifted Princess. The wheels on the lowest spec Ital in 1983 are the same as the high spec Marina with its first update in 1975.The top Ital was HLS/ SLX, the top Ambassador was Vanden Plas, the top Maxi was HLS, and the top Triumph Acclaim was CD like Vauxhall cars. There is an Austin Rover advert from 1983, VFM Value for money presented by Emmerdale actor Patrick Mower.

Another good video. I learned to drive in a new very late 1980 Mk3 Marina 1300 (BGC918V) which was Dad's company car at the time. Then in my first job there was a fleet of hard driven white 1300 and 1700 Itals, 30 or more of them and I reckon I drove them all, it was my job to take them for a service. The 1700s were fantastically quick to drive. What let them down was the transmission, clutch judder was common the long gear levers used to bounce around all over the shop. Trying to beat a Capri away from the lights I managed to strip a rear axle! By 1983 they had all been replaced by Astra Mk1 estates which made the Itals feel like tractors. Incredible to think the Ital was launched after the Astra! No wonder BL failed.

I took the engine (1.3) out of an ital and put it in a moggy. 5 speed ford box, rear mg diff and disc brakes from a midget. Few other mods and it truly transformed the mog.

Who signed off on the dashboard design with a radio facing the passenger?? What an absolutely absurd concept just ridiculous. And how did the sales people justify it?? Not an era of British car production that should be celebrated.

Loads of different cars used the Marina door handles, like Range Rovers to Lotus Esprit's yet the Ital didn't. It uses unique door handles. I do think the Ital looked ok for its time in 1980, it looked a bit like a Cortina. You got a lot of car for the money, also they did sell well and that kept the lights on before the Montego and Maestro came to save the day. I think the SL and SLX was just like you say, to just help the sales people sell them. Nice video and well edited.

Well personally I can't get too much of ITAL brochures. Still one of my favourite cars!

Another great vid, I was always under the impression that they adopted the SL/SLX lettering was to bring them in line with some of the Japanese brands which tended to use the same system, (Bluebird SLX etc) whether that’s accurate or not I have no idea but I think by this stage they would try anything to sell them ! My first car was a 74 1.8 Marina so I’ve always had a soft spot for them, that odd later dashboard sums up some of the peculiar thinking at BL at the time…

They were no different to the trash Renault etc were churning out. But I guess by this stage the damage was done to their reputation.

Interestingly, "SL" and "SL/X" were trim level designations on many Aussie General Motors Holden models. Back in 1983, they would have applied to the Camira and the Commodore. The top spec models were called "SL/E". I hadn't seen the Morris Ital before, but obviously it was an update on the Marina. The 1.7 litre SLX Estate would have been my choice. I have to say that I wasn't a Marina fan, so I'm not sure how I'd have liked the Ital really. At least the estate version was practical.

I had a 1.7 ital great cars back in the day reg XBY 6X in dark blue 💪

Last throw of the dice for what was basically a rehashed tarted up Morris Marina, on that car's platform, which was hopelessly out of date. The public could see it for what it was, and those who did buy one, proceeded with caution. Having said that, the very practical Ital estate was the shining light in the line-up.

I had a Morris Ital in the early 1980s and i quite liked the car, but when the Austin Montego came out I replaced the Ital with one of these and I found it to be very disappointing. I think that is because I liked the cars of the 70s and the Ital fitted the bill but then we all have our own tastes.

Is it true it was designed by Italdesign? And who thought pointing the dash away from the driver was a good idea?! In any case I always found the Ital a curious note in automotive history.

I would have the wagon, spilt tailgate would been nice, behind wheel cover n fuel pipe cover i would place cubby box holder maybe drink holder with power/light socket as extra features to attract more family lifestyle buyers.

I think they could of done with a 5 speed gear box

I used to lust over the Ital brochure when I should have been lusting over Escort magazine.....;)

Pity they didn't fit the Princess 2.2 litre to the Ital in a North / South for RWD for a little bit more get up & go 😮

To Mr. QUARTERLIGHT. Your favourite is the estate! Do you also like the similar AVENGER ESTATE?

Were Itals cheaper or more expensive than Allegro's? (Model for model)

Do we call this Morris Monday ?

2nd

That later dash always reminds me as if it was designed for a left hand drive car but they simply moved the glovebox over for a RHD model and said "its fine as it is".The whole front end grille and headlight styling for the Marina Ital and Ambassador looks like a cheaply tacked on idea, which it really is, the original front end styling still looked better to me even though it was nothing to rave over. The Wolseley version of Princess with the trapezoidal headlights but using the Wolseley bonnet and grill would have looked so much better than the four round headlight units they used. Left hand drive pattern wipers on their RHD cars was so very typical of BL, the whole company was always a design nightmare. WE could all see the demise coming due to their lack of models and worse of all, limited features. The Japanese were coming faster and better every year as BL got slower and worse.

Ital > Marina 1969 > Minor 1948. Like selling a 1979 design right now!

Plenty of baby Volvo 240 vibes coming off the Ital, or is it just me?

Absolutely miserable interiors, it didn't matter what spec it was, just awful. I enjoyed the presentation, it was entertaining.

how grim!!!

I'm sorry but i can't see the point of comparing a 1982 ital to a 1983 model: i don't find it interesting at all. I used to really love your reviews, we covered Morris Ital's a few months back, with the Austin rover broucher review do, we really have to go through it all again. You must have more interesting broucher's.