1992 Holden Barina MG 1.3 Carby SOHC from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Great potential hot hatch or low cost reliable runabout, with some maintenance
Faults:
Starter motor: required a new shaft sleeve-bearing.
Small oil leak: needed new plastic cups top of cam belt area.
A new fuel hose at the carby that was splitting.
New wheel bearings after driving on a rutted country dirt road.
Replaced clutch and cambelt at 200,000km for preventative maintenance, but did not need to; looks like they were good to go to 400,000km (thumbs up to Suzuki engineers).
Outer CV joints changed also due to a bit of clicking when turning. And water pump leaked at 200k, replaced with a new one.
Aircon stopped working; not able to fix due to old style gas no longer available and 3,000 PSI system; new systems use 6,000 PSI and less efficient but enviro friendly gas.
General Comments:
Great small car which was detuned from the factory I found. As a former designer and engineer, I have been improving the tune.
Great little 1.3L motor, carby has worked perfectly, gearbox has not worn, still works very good.
The main issue I have had is when I have got mechanics to do work for me like the clutch, bearings, CV specialist people; they have all done something wrong, and I have had to fix or redo their work. On average I have spent AU$300 maintenance per year, throwing in some of my labour, excellent (my Celica was $700/year).
A bit slow when I bought the car (0-100km/h in 10.3 seconds), and handling was a bit slumberland; now with my designer knowledge, amazing handling, and acceleration rapid, ie. about half when I bought it. Fuel consumption now is 6.9l/100km average (originally 8.4 when I bought it). 'That's with almost all standard factory parts folks!'
Facebook: Luke Marzola
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 10th May, 2018
12th May 2001, 01:30
I have an example of the MH Barina that is 9 years old and still runs and looks as good as day one. They are a fantastic run about with very few mechanical repairs required in that time.