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. As the Chassis is almost finished now I have been giving extra thought to its protection against our British climate, not that it will be out much in the winter months anyway. I have briefly spoken to Marcos Heritage and really are struggling to make up my mind as to whether to go for their Hot-dip Galvanising or the Multi-Stage immersion option offered by Surface Processing, I do really need to make a decision soon but as there are advantages to either option it is proving difficult for me to make up my mind.

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

Made up some replacement seat belt mountings today, the old rail that housed the old ones were well rusty and needed cutting out. I first cut two rails of the length required and ordered two "seat belt boss's" at £5 each from Marcos Heritage Spares . The first job was to measure up,

fortunately i had taken measurements from the old ones before I cut them out, then it was simply a case of making a hole through the rail for the boss's to sit in and once lined up weld them in and then the rail onto the chassis itself, not the easiest of jobs as this short rail sits just inside the main outer lower chassis rail and very awkward to get to.

Another job done, off to work now,

Martyn

16/09/2008.

Still Grinding

Not too much to report this month other than still grinding away in the garage and replacing old with new and are happy to have replaced the crucial lower rail that runs parallel behind the seats that appears to hold everything all square. I have done the measurement's and everything is as it should be. I still have some cutting out to do and as I am doing more than originally planned I need to order some more metal.

A couple of the 3/4 inch box size sections on the rear I have replaced with the larger 1½ inch size and yesterday I did a temporary refit of the axle to ensure this larger size would not foul the propshaft and axle, seems to be okay. I still have the seat belt mounting to put back on along with some corner bracing but again need to order some steel to cut to size, roll on payday !!!

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

Started on the rear end today and I am now aching after a full day in the garage.

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.

Spent the rest of the day making the rails ready to fit hopefully next week and remembered that the halfmoon recess for the propshaft in the rail behind the seats does not actually line up with the propshaft when fitted. Having looked at the Atlas axle that I have and done some measurements the propshaft is not central to the middle of the axle and have therefore made a halfmoon cut out of the rail slightly on the drivers side for a better fit, I can only assume that with the factory offering various different running gear options they did a "one size fit all". Other slight differences I have spotted whilst browsing the many photographs on the www are that one chassis photograph I was studying did not have a supporting rail next to the Panhard Rod and mine also has some extra bracing panels that run the length of the transmission tunnel.

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.

Martyn.

21/07/2008

Still Welding !!!

This manual work sure is tiring !

I had the day off today so spent 5 hours in the garage and are still cutting out sections of the chassis and making new rails to fit. I have also ordered some more box steel, 28ft to be precise and fingers crossed it should arrive tomorrow, it took me several phone calls to eventually find a supplier that still does imperial sizes, the tubing being 1½ inch Sq (can you find the ½ key on your computer ? it took me ages ) so are relieved that I can carry on replacing old with new.

Hopefully in the next few weeks, time permitting I shall have completed both sides and then I can start to look at the rear end which also needs some cutting out, I will post some pictures soon once I have replaced most sections.

Here is a photograph of our new garden ornament, yes I know it's a Marcos Bonnet but it does look lovely and has more curves than a curvy thing. There just isn't room in the garage at present and I can't get it in the loft with all the other bits so when I am sitting in the garden it reminds me there's important work to be done inside.

If you are wondering why on the bonnet there there is a small square section missing, Nicholas the previous owner cut it out as one of the carburetters was touching on the bodywork with the intention of glassing in an extra air vent which would allow a little more room underneath, he never quite got round to finishing it so when I collected the car he gave me the original piece he cut out and also a extra vent, once glassed back in and painted it will be unnoticeable, I do recall that when I removed the engine there were several spacers (big washers) already on the engine mounts so with a few less of these spacers hopefully I can make it sit slightly lower and I can then put the original piece back in.

Martyn

30/06/2008.

Marcos Sales/Order form

After much searching on the web and chatting to other Marcos owners, Steve (OldNoccer) as he is known on the Marcos Forum who I finally met the weekend at Cosford sent me the attached copy from an old Marcos Brochure and interestingly details the "Competition Model" which mine apparently is, the only thing it does not mention is that the body-tub is made out of woven glass mat to save weight, it makes interesting reading even with the spelling mistakes and although it is not dated it is presumed to be between 1986 when the Mantula Spyder was introduced up to the late 80's. I also found this rear shot photograph of my car on the web, not sure who took the photo, but obviously another Marcos owner.

I was going to spend an evening in the garage tonight but was reminded by Mrs P of the noise so will have to wait till the weekend,

Martyn

12/06/2008

Marcos Annual Rally

Had a entertaining weekend at the Marcos Annual Rally both at Curborough Sprint Circuit near Lichfield on the Saturday and at RAF Cosford on Sunday, quite envious of those actually driving their Marcos, one day !!!

I also had the opportunity to speak to some of the members there who knew of my car and some of it's history and was urged to get it finished for the 50th year Anniversary of Marcos next year, sadly with the amount of work to do and only really wanting to work on the car when it suits rather than to a timescale realistically it won't be ready for then, an option for me will be to take the car on a trailer.

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.

Re chassis work I have been busy and I have now almost completed one side and as it's quite warm now and working in the garage with the doors down to keep in the noise it really is very tiring work so are taking it nice and easy.

Martyn

09/06/2008.

Off with the rust

Bought myself a new MIG welder a couple of weeks ago, shame really as I had one which was quite suitable about 10 years ago and sold it thinking i would never need one again, decided I'm going to keep this one !!! I have also been doing a lot of reading up on the world of Marcos and learning lots which is giving me the confidence to move the project forward.

I'm now having a week off work which is actually last years annual leave carried over, I was planning going on a little cycling trip for a couple of days but the wet weather has decided otherwise so in between family outings I have been spending a few hours away in the garage, fortunately the neighbours both side's have gone away as the angle grinder sure is noisy.

Now't to do with Marcos Cars but just as loud and still on a high from Tuesday after seeing the excellent "Quireboys" at JB's in Dudley, who you ask ? must get a CD player for the garage.

I have finally started on one side of the chassis and having cut out the worst of the badly rusted sections I have cut new rails to fit and after a little practice with my new welder have tacked them into place ready to weld them fully over the next few days, the photograph shows only a few of the rails replaced as there is more cutting out to do, it sure is a nice sight to see fresh metal in place of the rust.

When the chassis is finished (eventually) it will either be galvanised or dipped in a tank and through a multi-stage immersion so it is important that there are no blocked off sections of tubing that can't be accessed by the sticky stuff, I have therefore made a point of drilling a access hole in any of the new "T" joints so that any fluid to keep the rust away can flow through all the inner sections of the chassis. It seems that in line with other Marcos cars the chassis were not very well protected (if at all !) other than a coat of blue paint as they left the factory and it is always the outer rails that rust which is where all the muck is thrown up from the front wheels, the centre and upper parts of the chassis are all sound.

Out of curiosity I did speak to Marcos Heritage Spares who do a lot of repair work on these cars and after they first tried to sell me a new chassis at £4500 they then quoted me approx £1200 to replace just the side rails, it will cost me probably no more than £100 in fresh steel. When the sides are finished I intend to then look at the rear section as i feel that some cross-bracing could eliminate any rear steer when cornering under pressure, I need to do some more reading up first to get some ideas for this.

I am now looking forward to the annual Marcos Rally which this year is over the weekend of the 7th June and it could not be more local for me, on the Saturday they have hired the Curdborough Sprint Circuit near Lichfield so are looking forward to seeing (and hearing) a few cars in action and on the Sunday they will be meeting at RAF Cosford, well worth a visit for just the museum alone.

Roll on the 7th, and a Hi to Wolfgang, http://www.marcos-cc.de/index.htm who has lots of useful info and because he has given me a plug on his website,

Martyn

26/05/2008.

Stripped chassis

Chassis now fully stripped and ready for welding.

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.

We got the car on axle stands as high as possible and with two of us over the rear wheel arches and two just ahead of the door hinges we started by lifting at the rear of the car and trying to pull it up and backwards so the footwells could clear the chassis, no it would not budge....few minutes rest and to ponder and onwards deciding that the rear end needed to go higher to get the right angle.

Try again and despite the creaking and groaning (car not us) we lifted the rear end at almost a 45 degree angle to enable the front footwells to hinge downwards to clear the lower footwell chassis rails and then each taking a corner we slowly edged backwards to finally clear the chassis.

A few minutes to relax, a few photo's then back to work, each of us again taking a corner and up it went again, we walked straight into the garage and onto two wooden joists suspended from the garage ceiling.

Job done and no cracked windscreen.........phew.........
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

Had a bit of a sort out in the garage over the last couple of days trying to make some more room, it's only a single garage and with work bench, pushbikes, motorbike, lawnmower and all the other usual stuff that accumulates in a garage it's all a bit tight, it's all the room I've got so i shall have to make the most of it.

Yesterday i started on removing the interior from the car in preparation for the body removal and whilst a lot (or all of it !) of the trim is in need of replacement I've made a point of not throwing anything away as i will need them for templates later on. So out it all came, the roll cage, dashboard, trim, steering, pedal assembly, seat pods and it's all now in the loft out of the way. Beyond the dash it's a bit of a "spaghetti" with all the wiring, it appears to be all labelled but haven't had chance to study it yet to see if it makes sense. Had a look at the fibreglass inside the car and i can see why it's a lightweight, it does look very thin in places behind the seat pods and some cracks to the fibreglass transmission tunnel cover, this will be a ideal place to learn some new glass fibre skills with some out of sight flat areas to work on.

Next on the "bit to remove" list will be the doors but i need roll the car back out of the garage for this and more importantly i need to know if the doors will go through the loft hatch and out of the way for storage, that loft is going to come in handy.

After that i will be ready to remove the body from the chassis so i can really get to the bare bones of the car and see what needs doing, I've thought about putting the body in storage whilst working on the chassis but really don't want the body shell out of sight, I'm getting attached to it all ready !! One option for me could be to make four "A" frame posts out of wood, one at each corner of the body with a beam across each one for the body to rest on at almost roof level in the garage which should hopefully give me enough room to work on the chassis underneath and allowing me to roll it in and out of the garage sunshine permitting. I shall have to have a chat with my carpenter brother Steve to see if this will work (and if he has any spare wood ?).

Still can't believe Ive finally got one of these cars and have been looking at some you-tube clips of some Marcos in action and do they sound lovely !

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vfyTl2Px57M

21/03/2008.

What's a Marcos then ?

Ask any petrol-head over the age of 30 the question and they will reel off the usual,

"Well it's called a Marcos because of Jem MARsh and Frank COStin hence the name and they're bloody fast".

So with my excuses here to those already in the know about the Marcos history i will tell the abbreviated story again especially having mentioned to a few younger guys at work about my new toy they mostly had never even heard of the great Marcos name, by the way it's pronounced MarCOS and not CUS.

Jem Marsh and Frank Costin founded the Marcos marque in 1959. Their first cars drew on Costin’s aviation experience as Costin had earlier worked on the De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and from there he got the idea to use plywood for the monocoque body/chassis unit and being lightweight and with good aerodynamics they gave outstanding performance from the relatively modest engines they used. Wooden cars eh, remember Morgan still do them even now.

As with so many of the smaller British manufacturers of that time, Marcos earned its pedigree on the racetrack. Notable early customers include Jackie Stewart, who gained his first racing experience in a Marcos, Derek Bell, Jackie Oliver and Jonathan Palmer and now me (ha ha)......

In 1966 the Mini Marcos was introduced; a fibreglass-bodied car using trusted Mini mechanicals. It sold extremely well despite being described as “ugly as Hell”. Subsequently the Mini Marcos earned its spurs and reputation on the track, especially at Le Mans in 1966 when it was the only British car to complete the 24-hour race.

In 1969 the Adams brothers were commissioned to design a steel chassis replacement in an attempt to cut down on manufacturing time, this appeared in the form of a square section space frame that cut some 15 hours off each build. Power units were generally Ford and Volvo, encouraged by a healthy order book, the decision was taken to move the manufacturing plant from Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire to a new factory nearby in Westbury. Relocation to a new factory caused considerable delays which combined with a collapse in the UK market and problems involving the US importer resulted in the closure of the company in 1972.

In 1982 was the rebirth of the Marcos and in 1984 the Mantula Coupe was announced fitted with a 3.5 litre Rover V8 later followed by the Mantula Spyder a convertible version of the car, the last of these using the 200 bhp 3.9 Rover V8 engine up until 1991.
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 last car to be produced was the outrageous Mantis GT, the style being somewhat controversial with it's bulges all over, this was powered by a 4.6 quad cam Ford engine but boosted to an amazing 500+ bhp by the addition of a super-charger, the resulting power is described as awesome. Less than 10 GT cars were built before the doors were closed again with
the appointment of the receiver in early 2001.

In 2002 the name was revived again by the announcement of the TS model backed by a US backer and revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, in 2004 production was moved to Prodrive in Warwickshire and power uprated to the 5.7 chevy V8 however in October despite rave reviews Marcos was back into Administration blaming high costs and lack of investment.

15/03/2008

Tech info (and a few pic's)

The Marcos Mantula, now a very rare car and of approx 170 ever made very few were actually built as "factory built" cars, the majority being sold in component form and it is unknown how many actually still survive today, there are owners however spread all over the world with a healthy "owners club" who meet up a couple of times a year and a on line forum with a wealth of information available.

I will be doing research with my car's previous owners and also Marcos Heritage who have the original build files available for each car (update they haven't got one for this car !!) and hope to be able to get as many pictures, stories, history about the car in due course.

The unconfirmed info i have been given is that the car was originally built in 1986 for the Alexander Palace Motorsport show as a track car and was owned by John Eales (well known in the Rover world for his engine work) who used it for sprinting, the log book still refers to its TVR 5.0 engine and it will be interesting to know what success it had and how many bumps it suffered during it's time on the track.

Interestingly as it was built as a track car it is a lightened version and the body is constructed from a lightweight woven glass mat as opposed to the normal fibreglass. At 43" tall in their standard form and weighing approx 900kgs these cars with their various Rover V8 power options and light body are usually very quick cars with times quoted of approx 5.7 secs to 60mph and double the UK speed limit however with this special lightweight version and blueprinted engine i am certainly looking forward to driving this car.

In 1996 it was sold by John Eales minus engine and converted to a road car and registered with the DVLA. As it was originally factory built it was allowed a age related registration plate with a "B" suffix as opposed to a "Q" plate which many home built cars display, this again makes the car more special.

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.

A new dual exhaust system was fitted new in 2005 with a balance pipe (kinda loud apparently !!) and a new Custom Alloy Fuel Tank.

Now for the bad bits, the car was taken off the road by previous owner Nicholas as it needs 2 outer chassis rails replacing and access to these are only gained by removing the body from the chassis. The body is presently sitting back on but once i have some garage room sorted to store the body i will remove it again and repair as necessary, it may be that other chassis work is required but until the body is removed this is a bit of a unknown. An option for long term Marcos owners is to get the chassis galvanised but sounds expensive and is best left to the experts. The interior is very tired and whilst functional in a yuk dark blue this will need re doing with a full leather interior (of course) along with a new dash and headlining, options could be to keep to the race theme as the car was built or go for a more lux version, it will be some time before i have to worry about that option !!. The bodyshell needs some minor repair work all over to correct some minor defects and is generally looking tired, once repaired a full paint job will be needed, no idea about colour yet, suggestions on a postcard please !

Unique to Marcos cars and worth mentioning is the pedal assembly, as there are no actual seats in a Marcos, the leather seat cushions surround the driver and passenger and simply rest against the shape of the body inside the car which works well holding the driver well supported especially with the huge transmission tunnel and to adjust for different drivers foot reach the whole pedal assembly moves forward or backwards as one by turning a small dial inside the car.

So basically it's a all out racer with no coffee cup holders in this car, no heater, no air-con and no radio, with its 4 exhaust system you probably would not hear it anyway. I've got a lot of work ahead of me but getting this one off special car at the price i paid was reflected in the work that needs doing, i am somewhat excited and are looking to getting the body off to take the first step in making this a great car again.

I've taken some pictures today after giving the body a bit of a wash, Mother in law also gave the car a look over and simply said "wow it's a beast" what more can i say.......

A Youtube clip of a Marcos restoration (i wish my garage was that big)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=viGSr_BpMJA

Martyn

14/03/2008

Getting home

Tuesday 11th March 2008.

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.

13/03/2008

At last

Hello,

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.

09/03/2008