Sort the boot floor
On goes the body
Fitting the body went on after a little persuasion, when I did the trial fit some months ago this was before I added the cross bracing and the rear end needs to drop further down by a half inch to locate the trailing arm bolts with the body but is being restricted by the cross bracing on the boot floor, the current plan is to use a dremel tool to cut three sides in the boot floor, raise the floor slightly and then glassfibre it back in and paint to finish, will leave that for another day,
Martyn
31/01/2010.
Painting underbody
I must get round to ordering some chassis sponge to sit between body and chassis to stop it creaking and remember to fill the axle and gearbox with oil before the body is back on.
Will post some photographs when all done.
Martyn
17/01/2010
More underneath stuff
Had some fun with the Heatmat and glue, the instructions state you only get one chance to place it in place, I can confirm that !!
Looking forward to getting some paint on underneath so I can finally fit body to chassis and will be able to walk into the garage without constantly banging my head every time I try to get to the workbench, dreaming of a heated double garage, one day !!
Seasons Greetings
Cleaning underneath
Have a week off work soon so looking forward to getting covered in fibreglass,
Martyn
6/12/2009.
Old photograph
Underneath !
Gearbox, Exhaust and Brake lines done
Handbrake sorted
Fitting gearbox and exhaust
"Speed Bump" roads are going to be a certain "no no" with this car,
Martyn
27/10/2009.
Gearbox and Exhaust system
Waxoyled
Before I sent it off for powder coating I made a point of drilling lots of access points in the chassis especially around the usual problem areas where water is thrown up from the front wheels and along each side under the doors (not that it's going out in the rain!) and have now plugged the access holes with some tight fitting rubber blanking grommets. It's a real messy job but glad it's done and out of the way.
Martyn
11/10/2009.
A bit of history
Hi Martyn
Correct I did own the car.
I bought the car direct from John Eales, minus engine and gearbox rad, fans etc.
I was told that the car had had a rear end shunt into the barriers on the track and had been repaired by John, with I presume a rear section of bodywork from Marcos ( I think you will find that glass work on the rear is standard glass fibre ).
I was told that the main body tub material was Carbon Kevlar weave hence the light weight (must have been cutting edge back then).
Through my work we used to supply Morgan, TVR, Marcos etc with V8 engines and gearboxes, I have dealt with Rory and Marcos for many years even up to the ownership by Tony Steliga in latter years.
While I had it, the chassis only needed light cosmetic work to get it serviceable as it had not been used on the road at all.
I fitted the R380 gearbox that seems to be still with it, this box should take the power of your proposed engines as this is what we supplied for the LM500 track cars.
I also fitted a 4.6 performance V8 (built by hand myself)using 14CUX Lucas injection, I had to cut the hole in the bonnet to get the airflow meter to fit!.
This engine really made the car fly, i.e. tail out round Gerard’s at Mallory in 4th!!.
Glad to see you have fitted a tamer exhaust as I got black flagged at Donnington down shifting into redgate, the marshal jumped off the wall!!, I had the original straight through 8-2-1 with a 4” rear pipe from the Y piece back!.
Has it got side windows in it yet? When I owned the car no provision to fit windows had been made, as it was a pure track car.
Regarding the shocks, if they are the same as when I had the car they are really rather special. I did some research with the race department at Koni and I was told that they are Koni special ‘D’ this derivative was only used on the 6 wheel Tyrell formula one cars that ended up being banned.
The guy from koni told me that he only new of 6 in existence and they were on the museum car. Worth looking into!!!! They would have been a fortune.
I sold the car after lots of fun at Mallory, Donnington, and Thruxton, but sold the car to fund another project. I believe that Eddie had it after me, I unfortunately could not get him to buy it with the engine which was a real shame, as a lot of work had gone into it to wire it in, however sold the engine for £7000, happy days.
You look like you are doing a fine job to date, and the car will be a great drive when done. On the road the ride is very stiff, but put it on the track and it comes alive.
With the right engine you can feed the tail out just on the throttle, its scary but a real blast.
Hope this is of assistance
Regards
Tim
Hopefully Tim may be able to find a photo or two from the past for me, apparently it used to sport "Mobil 1" stickers on each door which may spark a few memories with other Marcos followers as well,
Martyn
02/10/2009.
Propshaft and Steering column
Martyn
Steering column Rose joints
A few photographs
Off with the axle stands
Slightly delayed by several attempts to get the wheels finished to the standard I wanted. Have gone for a silver metallic wheel colour and may perhaps re do them gold as previously however until I have decided on the interior trim colour it may clash so thought I would stick to silver. Will post some photo's soon and now need a sunny warm day to fill the chassis with wayoyl,
Martyn
21/09/2009.
Steering column
Wheel cleaning
50th Year Marcos celebrations
Money saved and soon spent again
In the end BG Developments decided that the discs I have did not need replacing as they have plenty of life left in them but did need skimming as the surfaces showed some pitting, this saved me some money however on further inspecting the Girling calipers they informed me that the pistons needed replacing which spent what money I was saving on the discs, ah well. New Mintex M1144 brake pads were also supplied at £111 +vat a set, gulp, so easy on the brakes then.
Yesterday I spent approx 4 hours trying to clean/scrape every last minute bit of muck from the Calipers, they were cleaned during reconditioning however as I intend to paint them with a bling bling gold metallic high temperature paint I wanted to get them as clean as possible, my fingers are now sore and cut but will be worth the effort. Also had a little bit of free time today so thought I would fit one of the hubs/discs onto the stub axle, new bearings went in okay, used plenty of grease, made sure it was all super clean and on it went like a glove onto the stub axle and low and behold I can't find either of the castle nuts to secure the hubs on. I have obviously put them somewhere safe, so safe in fact that I can't find them anywhere so have had to order some online delaying me for a few more days, roll on the postman,
Martyn
10/08/2009
Frustrated
Meanwhile just returned from the Isle of Wight and a most pleasant sunny week was had, got to say the roads there are terrible, so bumpy unlike the silky smooth mountain roads of the Isle of Man.
Martyn
03/08/2009.
Brake Caliper identification
Front suspension and brakes
Some progress
Steering Rack and Rear axle
Shiny shiny
Martyn
22/05/2009.
Pedal box done
Not a lot
I was hoping to spend a day in the garage over the weekend especially with the bonus of a bank holiday and a extra day off work but hopefully in a couple of weeks I can start putting some bits back together.
Whilst I have the benefit of my Marcos being fully rose jointed both front and rear to allow for precise setting up of the suspension it has approx 20 of various sizes on the car in total and I was a little shocked at the prices of these individual items. Sure there are plenty of cheaper ones on various online websites such as Ebay and all claiming to be hi-spec but I am very wary of going cheapo especially with the enormous torque that the 5.0 V8 is going to put on the rear end of the car. I will have to save up and invest in some decent units that will last the distance and try to get a buy in bulk deal from a specialised race supplier.
Martyn
02/05/2009.
New engine
50th Year Anniversary logo
Tubular suspension
Shiny stuff
Bits & Pieces
Pedal assembly box

Rear Suspension stripping
Inspired by the new shiny chassis sitting on axle stands in the garage today I spent a couple of hours stripping down parts of the rear suspension.
Redditch Shotblasting have said they will take a look at it to see if they can mask it sufficently to keep the shot bits from going inside the axle before attempting it so fingers crossed, if any bits did go inside then potentially it could ruin the internals of a expensive and hard to find LSD differential.
Cool Blue
Hello to all
Anyway I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to say hello to visitors from, and apologise if I have missed anybody out and in no particular order,
All over the UK
Belgium
Germany
France
Netherlands
Italy
Austria
Slovenia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Bermuda
USA
Canada
Russia
Bulgaria
Saudi Arabia
Japan
Australia
New Zealand
Thailand
Spain
Mexico
Finland
Sweden
but sadly none from the racing capital of the world (Isle of Man).
Please say hello next time you log on especially from overseas and tell me about your interest in Marcos cars,
Martyn
25/03/2009.
Slight delay
I changed my mind a couple of times about the two small 1ft upright tubes on the outer rails that sit just in front of each door. These two rails whilst both being solid metal are showing some early signs of discolouring and are concerned that even with shotblasting, rust could eventually creep through. I have therefore decided to replace these hopefully over the weekend and get the chassis in early next week.
For a few extra hours grinding away in the garage I will have piece of mind that underneath the fresh paint to be applied it will be all fresh metal in all the usual problem places,
Martyn
25/03/2009.
More preperation
Found a great article from November 1984,
http://www.marcos-cc.de/pdfartikel/Fast%20Lane%2011.1984.pdf featuring the Mantula model as it was first introduced, a great photo of a Mantula at speed and a lovely interior to,
Martyn
22/03/2009.
Chassis booked in
I now need to confirm the colour required, most Marcos chassis that I have seen have always been blue so unless I can think of any others between now and next week will be keeping to the same,
Martyn
18/03/2009
At last
The chassis is now sporting a few mods having done a lot of internet browsing recently regarding chassis stiffness and it's relevance to good handling paying particular attention to the rear end especially after a helpful conversation with Rory at Marcos Heritage, hopefully the few pounds in weight gained will be more than compensated for by the improved handling, we shall see ?
I have decided against galvanising as an option of protecting the chassis, even though this would have given excellent protection from our damp English climate the main reason I have decided against it is the extra weight gained as when a chassis is apparently dipped in the tank even with extra drain holes drilled in the chassis a lot of the liquid quickly turns solid and it is very easy for some of the chassis rails to become a solid piece of metal and can often double the total weight of a chassis, not good for a lightweight sports car such as the Marcos and especially this one being a lightweight track version, after all "Dpasrlow" is always quoting on the Marcos Forum "It`s not more power you need, it`s less weight and a few subtle mods !
I will make a some phone calls over the next few days to make enquiries re treatment and paint for the Chassis and weather permitting will also post some photo's,
Martyn
10/03/2009.
Old Track day Video
Many thanks to Eddie, previous owner of car (1997-2004) for sending this to me, update video was from 2001.
Martyn
27/02/2009.
It Fits !!!

Still not made my mind up about the engine options, decisions decisions.
Winter break


Haven't really done anything over the past month productive, I have just been really busy and it always seemed a little chilly when venturing out into the garage. On the positive side I finally sold my MG after 24 years of loyal service to me and the funds will go a little way towards restoration costs for the Marcos. So now the MG has gone I have had a big tidy up in the garage and the chassis is now sitting right way up on axle stands awaiting it's final few pieces of new steel. Here's a few photo's of other Marcos I have found on the web which always are a source of inspiration for me, click on any photograph to enlarge, oh and must also mention again went to see the most excellent "Quireboys" at JB's Dudley.




Decisions Decisions
Just back from sunny Scotland on my annual cycling trip doing the Coast & Castles route so I have had a week away from the garage.
Hopefully in the next few weeks I will do a trial fit of the main body to make sure it sits okay and then I need to make a further major decision on the various available engine options that has also been on my mind for some time. Catch 22, I can't get the chassis treated until I decide which engine route I am taking even though any prospect of getting a engine to sit in its resting place is some time (and $$$) away. So do I go for the usual Rover route and uprate the existing block I have or be temped by the more powerful engines as fitted by some other owners, leave it with me to ponder.
Martyn 18/10/2008.
P.S. Found a great photo on the www which just shows how low these cars are.
Seat belt mountings
Another job done, off to work now,
Still Grinding
We also managed to get our summer holiday in this month in not so sunny Braunton, North Devon and have just dried out, definitely would not have been Marcos weather,
Martyn
31/08/2008
Busy day
Decided that the main lower chassis rail that runs parallel behind both seats is in need of replacing, I did ponder on just part replacing this rail by cutting out the outer sections of it just outside of the transmission tunnel area and welding in a new section each side which would have saved me having to make a recess for the propshaft and handbrake cable attachment and more importantly worrying about all the other chassis sections that attach to this rail and keep the rear end all square.
After much thought and coffee, the main concern being stopping it moving out of shape once I start chopping bits out, (albeit one at a time) I decided make up a temporary brace which runs across the width of the car and also to the rear keeping it all in place. I did notice that when the chassis sits on the ground the rear section raises slightly at an angle and it is this angle that I also need to keep exact otherwise when the body is replaced the holes for the axle trailing arms will not line up properly.
I made some more enquiries a couple of weeks ago with Surface Processing who fortunately are quite local to me and have provisionally booked it in for the first week in January (their choice not mine) as they have a several month waiting list, this will give me ample time to finish all the metalwork required and also do a temporary refit of the bodyshell to make sure it sits as it should.
Still Welding !!!
Marcos Sales/Order form


Marcos Annual Rally
Bargain of the year was had by me this week, I was never quite sure about the rear lights on a Marcos and had noticed that some owners had replaced them with circular units which seemed to suit the classic style, thanks to Ebay again I was the only bidder on a Wipac set from a UltimaSports still in their original bag, their website lists them for the current model at £305 + VAT (what, you must be joking !!) I got them, albeit the old Ultima style for £29.96 inc postage being the only bidder, I think they will look the biz especially if i part recess them in the bodywork.
Off with the rust
Stripped chassis

Finished removing the last few bits from the chassis this morning after a head scratching moment over the weekend.
On Sunday i tried to remove the rear axle (which weighs a ton) and once i had removed the Koni Shocks/Panhard rod and trailing arms i was left with a axle that was sitting loose inside the box chassis and due to the oversize brake's the backplates still attached to the axle were too big to let me slide the axle out either side of the chassis. Knowing that Nicholas (previous owner) had previously done this i sent him a email and 10 minutes later i had his answer, impressed as he was the other side of the world now living in Canada. It was simply a case of remove the brakes, undo the 4 bolts that hold the backplate's on and then slide the half shafts out each side, i was expecting oil to come gushing out all over the garage floor which didn't so must remember to empty completely and refill with some new oil when ready. Once the Halfshafts were out of the way the axle (still very heavy) could then be manoeuvred through the box chassis safely onto the floor.
On inspection of the chassis, the middle area and upper part all appears sound protected from the elements by the bodywork and nice warm engine however both outer sill rails that run the length of the car along with the 4 outrider rails each side are as good as rotten, most probably from water thrown up by the front wheels, i could probably get away with just replacing the outer sill rails only but intend doing this body-off job once only so will be doing a thorough job and then look at ways to protect it from the British weather, so much for global warming.
Martyn
28/04/2008
Engine out

It's out !!!
Lifted the engine and gearbox this morning, it was easier than expected and with the added bonus of no cuts or bruises.
A big thanks to Andy from work who kindly loaned me his crane. In preparation for this I asked a couple of other Marcos owners the best way to approach this job i.e. split the engine from the gearbox or remove as one whole unit ?, the main problem appearing to be a chassis rail that runs across the upper bulkhead over the middle of the engine/gearbox which could foul it on lifting, basically i needed to lift the engine end, push car backwards to get the gearbox under this rail and then lift again, a big plus was that i had no shiny bodywork to worry about scratching.
Using an old seat belt, i tied this onto a lifting eye already attached to the front of the engine and also onto the Alternator bracket on the other side and having undone the 2 engine mounting bolt screws and gearbox bolts i tried to raise the engine however the car started to raise with it, the chassis being stuck on the engine mount bolts, i then removed the engine mountings from the block and immediately the engine swung free and was supported by the crane. We (me and Louis) then raised the engine end as high as we could and let the gearbox rest on the floor at about a 60 degree angle , it was then a case of raise engine an inch, push the car backwards a bit, raise another inch and again wheel the car backwards until the gearbox passed under the bulkhead chassis rail. It was suggested to me that i might have to remove the crankshaft pulley but managed to get enough angle on the raised engine to avoid this problem.
Over the next couple of weeks i shall remove the rest of the running gear from the car and can then start to look at getting the chassis repaired and the options on keeping the dreaded rust away.
Martyn
19/04/2008.
It's off !!!

Body off time and got to say i was slightly worried !!!
Waited for a gap in the clouds and finally wheeled the Marcos out of the garage and as planned my assistant mechanics duly arrived who i must say a big thank you to, Steve Colin and Connor, without them this would not have been possible.
12/04/2008
The Business end

Sunday morning and sunshine most welcome.
Despite only getting home from work at 5.30 (am not pm) and being up again at 8.00 to take Louis to football (won 3-1) on my return i made straight for the garage.
The bonnet is now off, wiring loom moved out of the way and reveals a rather business end of the car, the radiator and twin fan unit is safely in the loft making sure it was completely empty before walking up the stairs with it, i think i would have been shot if it had leaked mucky green water all over the stairs carpet.
Whilst off the complete Bonnet/front end assembly which also houses the twin headlights and pod as one complete unit was weighed and came out at a amazingly 41 pounds, this is one light car !!
I have been pre-reading the Marcos "forum" which is full of useful guides on previous restorations and the body tub is held onto the chassis by some 50+ self tapping screws and as the previous owner had already temporary removed the body just before being sold i have been saved a lot of work in having to drill these screws out. According to a Marcos Owners Magazine from 1997 that i have it recommends at least 4 willing people to help with the body removal with one on each rear wheel arch and two on the front bulkhead guiding it around the chassis and checking for snagging points, fingers crossed then raising the body slowly at the rear upwards at an angle and then backwards leaving hopefully a chassis complete with engine and full running gear still in situ and being most careful not to stress the body shell, if the shell is not handled carefully the front windscreens have been known to crack under the pressure, at £470 each fingers and toes will most certainly be crossed.
Another youtube clip of a Marcos in action
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj-pcvWpoks&NR=1
31/03/2008.
The strip begins


What's a Marcos then ?

At the 1993 Motor Show Marcos unveiled the GT Le Mans that brought the famous name back onto the racing circuits of the world. With a top speed of over 200 mph being the company’s contender from the new GT class. Under the Team Marcos-Computacenter with the LM500 race cars competing in the UK BRDC GT Championship, returning in 1995 with the brand new LM600, where the LM500 was impressive the LM600 was astounding. It took pole position first time out, achieved a GT2 class victory in its next race and then outright victory as an encore against all classes. The LM600 went on to dominate and finally win the 1995 BRDC National Sports GT Championship. In June 1995 the team went to France for the famous Le Mans 24 hour race, finishing the gruelling event seventh in class quite an achievement for such a small manufacturer.
the appointment of the receiver in early 2001.
Tech info (and a few pic's)



The present power plant consists of a blueprinted Rover V8 3.500cc with twin SU's, no fuel injection issues to worry about then, a crane camshaft, anti pump lifters, HD springs, power pulley, comp gaskets, a 5 speed gearbox. The car retains it's full roll cage (with a car so wide and only 43" tall it's got to be near impossible to roll) and has a fully Rose Jointed Tubular Suspension, adjustable rear anti-roll bar, Koni 8212 Shocks, 4-pot Girling Calipers and vented disks front, oversize drums rear and dual master cylinders with a balance bar, a Limited Slip Diff, live axle with rose jointed trailing arms and panhard rod. Inside the car is a Sparco four point harness and the car is finished with attractive purpose looking Compomotive split rims on Bridgestone tyres.
Getting home

What a journey, 2 days later i am still tired.
Left home at 7.00 in the morning to collect my brothers car (thanks Steve) and trailer and then off i went down the M1, Kent bound arriving early afternoon and a bit concerned about all these windy weather warnings and stories in the news of overturned lorries etc, especially with the Dartford Crossing ahead of me. I haven't towed a car-trailer for some years and when i arrived at Gravesend, Kent to meet Nicholas who was passing the car onto me I was struggling to reverse the car and trailer around a corner into a spot where we could get the Marcos onto the trailer, after some rubbish attempts by me i was offered a quick lesson on the art of trailer reversing which is basically don't look over your shoulder, use your side mirrors and steer the car the opposite way to which you want the trailer to turn, looks easy watching !!.
After a lengthy chat with Nicholas who seemed genuinely sorry to see her go however he and partner are emigrating to Canada next week and he had tried to export the Marcos with him but with apparent restrictions due to the age of the car he was refused and would have had to store it here in the UK for 3 years and try again, not wishing to wait 3 years in case the rules changed again he reluctantly decided to sell.
The Marcos was duly loaded and strapped down securely, papers in hand i started on the long journey home, unfortunately i did not plan the route back as well as the route going and knew that i had to get on the M25, no problem, then the M10 and then onto the M1, i got slightly confused here and did the M25 and forgot my numbers and went for the M11 instead of the M1 (very similar when your tired) so off i went in the general direction of Cambridge and only realised some time later when i then had to divert and go cross country lanes to get back to the M1, still the number of thumbs up of approval i received from passing motorists made me smile, if you have never seen a Marcos in the flesh before they really are quite a sight.
Finally got home in the dark and then I had problems getting the Marcos back off the trailer due to the low body and exhaust, eventually with the help of Kim who did not moan once whilst on winch duty even when the rain and the hail started.
We finally managed to get the Marcos in the garage about 10 o'clock, god knows what the neighbours were thinking of us.
Marcos in garage, me in the bath, beer in hand..............Result.
At last

Welcome to my Blog, or Rather my new "car" blog.........
It has to be at least 25 years since i saw a Marcos for the first time and immediately fell in love with the marque however with family and houses etc taking priority i could never quite justify the expense of ever actually buying one and having owned a MG Midget for the past 25 years this satisfied my "car" needs of having something other than the usual euro box.
Fast forward to March 2008 and purely by chance I saw a Marcos in bits offered for sale on the very addictive E'bay and having got the prior approval of the good lady i waited and waited until the very last minute of the auction and "won" right on the price limit i had set myself, excited ? you bet I am !!!
Roll on Tuesday, i have a trailer hired, my brother Steve has kindly loaned me his car (with tow-bar) and off i go to Kent to collect her,
What shall i call her ?,
How much restoration work does she need ?
How much will it cost me ?
Can i do it all myself ?
Will it fit in my garage ?
What colour will it end up ?
How does it sound ?
It's going to be a bumpy ride at times but climb aboard and join me,
Martyn.
The above photograph is of the car when last on the road some 2 years ago.












