"Nice car"

Was hoping the postman was going to deliver the screws on order but all he could manage to deliver was a "nice car" comment as he wandered straight past today so thought I would give the Marcos a bit of a clean to inspect the paintwork, certainly looks okay on the photograph but close up there are so many dings and scratches and other blemishes that will need lots and lots of attention and the bonnet will need some more adjustment but will wait till everything is screwed down before I attempt this, also noticed when raising the bonnet from one side how much flex there is as I lift it, presuming this is due to the bonnet being of very thin material being a lightweight hence the extra flex, it seems easier if I actually lift the bonnet from the middle where the bulge is right ajacent to the windscreen but there is nowhere to grip onto and having seen on other track cars some small 3-4 approx 1" holes there for extra vents this could be a ideal place to be able to insert fingers to help lifting the bonnet easier and without straining from each side, another job for another day.


Martyn
15/03/2010

Body stuff

Just waiting for some self tapping screws that I have ordered from Marcos Heritage Spares so that the body can finally be held secure to the chassis, and today I have finally moved the bonnet out of the garden and loosely fitted it in place and once more although minus the doors it actually starts to look like a car again, albeit a very dusty one.

What I want to do over the next couple of weeks is to concentrate on the other main panels being refitted i.e doors and rear bootlid (still stored in the loft !) and remove lights etc so that I can make a decision on all the repairs that need doing to the outerbody.


Martyn
14/03/2010

Hole in the bonnet

Thought I would get that hole fixed in the bonnet, having seen an article in a Practical Classic's Car Magazine re glass fibre repairs it recommended securely fixing the panels in place so that they can be lined up as close as possible without any risk of movement. This did mean drilling a few extra holes in the body but they can soon be countersunk and filled in. With the sun shining I applied a first layer of fibreglass to the back taking care to leave gaps where the plates were so they didn't stick to the body, hopefully tomorrow I can add some more fibreglass strips to the inside and then apply some filler to the gaps to smooth off,


Martyn
05/03/2010.

Work resumes

Re-fitted the boot floor and decided it's got to come out again as I still think the rear end of the body-tub can drop further by another couple of mm. Decided on this after noting that there is a very slight gap between the original chassis rail at the very rear of the car (the one that the exhaust brackets hang off) and the recess in the boot floor that houses this rail, having seen other glassfibre cars with stress cracks in the gel-coat (no Marcos ones) I think it's important for the body to be well supported in all the appropriate places so will be a job worth doing.

When I've repaired the boot floor from the inside (for the second time) there is still the outside of the boot that will need smoothing off and repainting and whilst the 2 sides of the boot are hidden by a steel plate on each side and I won't actually be able to see the repaired area it will be on my mind if I know it's there and will only regret it later if I leave it so will have to lift the rear end up a couple of feet so I can get to it and again will need the help of my brother Steve for this (he doesn't know yet !)

I have a few days off next week so hopefully will get it sorted then,


Martyn
28/02/2010.

Slight delay

Slight delay whilst man flu is in charge,


Martyn
21/02/2010.

Sort the boot floor

Little bit of free time today so started on sorting out the small problem at the rear and having cut into the boot floor area on 3 sides the rear end of the body then dropped into place lining up the holes where the allen bolts on the trailing arms pass through the body, just need to glassfibre the gaps up and then I can start on tidying up the inside,

Martyn

06/02/2010.

On goes the body

Yesterday sun was out, day off work, many spare hands, so decided to refit the body tub, thought I would make a video of it using Louis's Creative Vado HD which is a mini video recorder no bigger than a mobile phone and really usefull for carrying in your pocket, should come in handy for this summer's cycle trip.

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.

Underbody photographs

Just finished applying final coat underneath.

Martyn

18/01/2010

Painting underbody

Finally decided on some paint for the under body and settled on some HCF (Hard Coat Finish) by Plasti Dip UK in a smart black. The paint is really easy to brush on (as easy as it can be bent over double getting covered in the stuff) and have applied primer and the first coat of black, hopefully if the temperature is suitable tomorrow morning I will apply the final coat.

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

Been busy over the last few days making progress with the repairs underneath and have also made a start on fitting the "Heatmat". The inner rear wings where the panel that sits directly above the rear wheel meets up with the inner wing now look a lot better as I have simply filled in the untidy gaps with Isopon P40 and smoothed it off and also repaired several small holes on the seat floor area by first laying some fibreglass strips on the inside of the seat floor to give it strength and when dry smoothing over with some more filler from the underside and it's all ready for painting now. The prop shaft tunnel has also been done by first making a flat section of glass fibre from a cardboard template and then fitting in place and finishing off by laying a couple of strips over the tunnel area to make it stronger. There was also a 5 inch circular hole that had been cut in the outer side of the passenger foot well for some reason unknown to me so I have again fibre glassed it in (all good practice) and now need to order some black paint specifically for glass fibre tomorrow.

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 !!

Martyn

03/01/2010.

Seasons Greetings

Managed to spend a few hours in the garage over the past couple of days but as it's been very cold here (not much snow compared to some parts of the country) I have concentrated on a few of the smaller repairs underneath the body with some Isopon P40 and then rubbing down in preparation for a coat of paint, It looks a lot better now although I now have a garage full of dust (Yes Mom I was wearing a mask) and a even more dusty motorbike to clean. I do have some glassfibre work to do from inside the car mainly around the tunnel area where it's cracked and the seat floor where it is very flexible but as it's too cold and still suspended from the garage roof I will wait until it is lowered onto the chassis and a little warmer as recommended for when laying fibreglass. I was also planning on cutting and fixing the 2 metre sq of Heatmat that I bought for the inner footwell and bulkhead area but again was concerned with the temperature being too low for the adhesive to set so will wait for a few days. Have decided once the body is lowered I can sort out the garage with a better access door and also put in a radiator.

Meanwhile Chris (Red Mantula) has loaned me a few old Club Magazines and was pleased to find in issue number 78 of spring 1998 a feature on my car, makes for interesting reading,

Martyn

24/12/2009.

Cleaning underneath

Not a lot to report other than spent a fair few hours over the past week cleaning off all the grime and muck from the underside of the body shell in preparation for some minor repairs, I wanted to remove every last bit so that I can paint it a smart black to match the inside of the bonnet and also plan to line the inside of the transmission tunnel with some heat shield material as it does apparently get very hot inside the cabin during the summer months.

Have a week off work soon so looking forward to getting covered in fibreglass,


Martyn
6/12/2009.

Old photograph

Just recieved a old photograph from Tim (previous owner) from it's track days before it was road registered,




Martyn
20/11/2009.

Underneath !

Here's a few photo's as promised re the present state of the bodywork, my knowledge on working with glassfibre or "woven glass mat" as in this car is a big fat ZERO so need to speak to a few people and where better to start learning than patching up the underneath,

Martyn

15/11/2009.

Gearbox, Exhaust and Brake lines done

With the exception of putting some oil in the gearbox and axle I think that I have done as much as I can on this part of the rebuild and hopefully can now start on the body tub next, I know its the slowest restoration going but only want to work on the project when I want to so that I enjoy the moment rather than it becoming a chore. Will upload some photographs later of the bodytub underneath to show what I need to attend to before It can be refitted to the chassis,

Martyn

15/11/2009.

Handbrake sorted

Have been trying to sort a replacement handbrake cable for ages now and finally found one to fit. I did lots of searching on the www but with all the variables of Marcos models and various axles and rear brake arrangements I could not get a definate answer as to which one so after much searching of various photos on ebay the best I could see was a Quinton Hazell automotive part No BC736 and £4.99 later ( bargain) after cutting of the short "U" bracket at the end of the cable and replacing with the 4 inch "U" bracket already on the car it appears to fit perfectly, another minor job done but it seems that these are the ones that take ages to resolve. Recently also made a start on fitting the copper brake lines.

Martyn

07/11/2009.

Fitting gearbox and exhaust

Have fitted the gearbox in place however slight hiccup in that the extra rail I put in just below the bulkhead area is very slightly fouling against the top of the bell housing and whilst with some adjustment could probably get away with it I am guessing that with the engine running it may vibrate against this rail so I have decided to remove it. Also in fitting the exhaust system to the car the extra cross bracing on the floor at the rear means that the exhaust will now have to sit about 1 inch lower than previously and will have to make some extra brackets to fit. It will be interesting to see how the exhaust will now sit at the rear in relation to the bodywork in that there may be too large a gap between the tail pipes and the bottom of the bodywork and spoil the appearance, one solution for this would be to make and fit a rear diffuser to bridge the gap, another job for another day.

"Speed Bump" roads are going to be a certain "no no" with this car,


Martyn
27/10/2009.

Gearbox and Exhaust system

Been trying to make a bit more room in the garage ready for the "body on" so separated the gearbox from the old engine I have and after speaking to Nicholas he assures me it was all in good working order when last used so have gone for a clean up/repaint and a oil change and will see how it goes. I plan to put it on the car less engine (not yet built up) to give me a little bit more floor space in the garage and likewise the one piece exhaust system. Having looked through some old paperwork that came with the car it shows that the exhaust was purpose built for the car in May 2005, the paperwork does not say who made it but does confirm the cost of £470. I have spent a few hours with a grinder and having removed the surface rust find it to be rock solid with no wear showing and should be good for some years yet, today I gave it a couple of coats of heat resistant paint and with the quad 3" chrome tail pipes will certainly look (and sound) the biz.

Martyn

24/10/2009.

Waxoyled

Bought a big 5ltr can of Waxoyl and mixed with 10% white spirit as recommended and using the extension probe I have just spent a couple of hours in the garage filling the chassis tubes as best I could.

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

This Marcos was originally owned by John Eales from 1985-1996 and was not registered for road use originally with the DVLA as it was for track use only and John eventually passing it on to Tim H*******N who road registered it with an age related plate and was in his possession from December 1996 to October 1997. I have recently been in correspondence with Tim who whilst only owning the Marcos for a short period he certainly seemed to have plenty of fun in that time, Tim has given me permission to paste the text of a email he sent me recalling his happy times.


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

Fitted the propshaft today which I cleaned up and re painted a few weeks ago, none of the joints were stiff so will just refill it with grease. Have also made a start on fitting the steering column although not sure if this will get in the way when I get to fit the engine so it may have to come out again at some point.

Are enjoying putting shiny things onto the car for a change as opposed to spending so long getting covered in grime although I suppose it won't last long having a clean garage etc when I move onto the body tub, I wonder when that will be ?

Martyn

27/09/2009.