Discussion
One of my friends had a Marcos 3000 GT, just like that one in the pic. It was a superb machine, very low, very loud, very fast. He's just finished restoring it and has it back on the road but I haven't seen it yet - although we've arranged to meet after the holidays.
I see them at car shows etc and they look very nice - despite the general perception of "kit cars" that you hear from passers-by (you hear the same at TVR stands as well though so you learn to laugh).
I see them at car shows etc and they look very nice - despite the general perception of "kit cars" that you hear from passers-by (you hear the same at TVR stands as well though so you learn to laugh).
I have a 1970 steel chassis Marcos GT at my workshop awaiting chassis replacement. Very pretty cars, but the earlier wooden chassis cars are the real deal and good race cars are valued accordingly. They all have a live rear axle up to the very late cars, so as a track car they are great, but as a road car less so on a bumpy surface. The cost saving steel chassis is sadly a piece of office furniture compared to an early TVR, with it's partly bespoke all round independent suspension. The body on our Marcos was a force fit into the chassis too, so removal means visible glassfibre damage and repaint, whether you like it or not, very annoying, unless one just cuts the chassis away from the body. Also, the TVR chassis, with it's neat suspension lugs and round tubing, seemed to be quite affordable last time I checked, almost a service part. The Marcos chassis is however far too expensive for what it is. Apart from that I think Marcos have just had too many ups and downs to keep the potential customer confident.
portas young said:
I have a 1970 steel chassis Marcos GT at my workshop awaiting chassis replacement. Very pretty cars, but the earlier wooden chassis cars are the real deal and good race cars are valued accordingly. They all have a live rear axle up to the very late cars, so as a track car they are great, but as a road car less so on a bumpy surface. The cost saving steel chassis is sadly a piece of office furniture compared to an early TVR, with it's partly bespoke all round independent suspension. The body on our Marcos was a force fit into the chassis too, so removal means visible glassfibre damage and repaint, whether you like it or not, very annoying, unless one just cuts the chassis away from the body. Also, the TVR chassis, with it's neat suspension lugs and round tubing, seemed to be quite affordable last time I checked, almost a service part. The Marcos chassis is however far too expensive for what it is. Apart from that I think Marcos have just had too many ups and downs to keep the potential customer confident.
Interesting opinion of old Marcos chassis. The new car (TSO) is very different. Superb chassis quality that's had serious torsional stiffness work done and it uses struts all round. Body lift on / lift off is simple. Ironically, it's easy to do ...ironic because you're unlikely to need to do it due to the quality of chassis treatments/finish. Similarly, the engine in/out time on a TSO is (according to their engineers) only a couple of hours or so each way. Ironic again given how unlikely such a scenario is with an SB Chevy (unless of course you're taking a stocker out for a hotrod version
). The gearbox is easy to remove too. Generally, a piece of p1ss to work on - something which IMHO makes the TSO a great ownership prospect from a service cost viewpoint. Also, for 2nd/3rd owners down the line, home maintenance is possible so there is no prospect of ruinous [in proportion to car value] main dealer service costs killing residuals of cars a few years old. TVR had serious ups and downs pre-Wheeler - in fact in the 70s Marcos was the stronger of the two IIRC. Marcos is on the way up again, no question. And it's hard to see a down coming after it IMHO. Stelliga is perhaps Marcos' Wheeler?
rich 36 said:
Love that shape.
Mate had a ford IIRC powered one in the 80's took me to meet someone who had one in the same colour as above,
but I seem to recall it may have been VOLVO powered, would that be right?
There were indeed a few Volvo 1800 marcos' produced.
Ford, Triumph, Volvo, Rover, Ford US, you name it, it's powered one model of marcos at some point
IMO Damian McTaggert did a splendid job. Everyone who thinks the TSO looks like a TVR ought to have a look at previous Marcos models . . . The TSO is a great step forward for Marcos in the quality and looks departement.
Volvo & Marcos, 4 and 6pots.
With Rover V8.
Look at those fine beasties at the racetrack.
Decent value too . . .
prated 2.0 Litre V4 engine with fast road cam . . .
3.5 litre V8 engine, uprated to around 200 bhp. 5 speed gearbox . . . look at the 1970s one again . . .
5 Litre cross bolted V8 engine, race prepared by NCK producing around 400 bhp. dry sump, 4X48 Dellorto
Carburettors, 6 speed X Trak gearbox, twin disc Tilton clutch F1 type, Quaife rear diff, Cosworth HD drive shafts, full roll cage . . . 
Volvo & Marcos, 4 and 6pots.
With Rover V8.
Look at those fine beasties at the racetrack.
Decent value too . . .
prated 2.0 Litre V4 engine with fast road cam . . .
3.5 litre V8 engine, uprated to around 200 bhp. 5 speed gearbox . . . look at the 1970s one again . . .
5 Litre cross bolted V8 engine, race prepared by NCK producing around 400 bhp. dry sump, 4X48 Dellorto
Carburettors, 6 speed X Trak gearbox, twin disc Tilton clutch F1 type, Quaife rear diff, Cosworth HD drive shafts, full roll cage . . . BossCerbera, your description of how the new car goes together is very encouraging, Marcos really deserve the success. With regard to the seventies cars-dont get me wrong, I'm definitly a fan, but for anyone who wishes to buy one, it's important to make sure that the previous owner has suffered the cost of chassis replacement, those tubes are very very thin, and they wanted £3500 for a chassis last time I asked, and they told me that at that time they couldn't find the V6 engine mount jig, er, hello? Not very encouraging.
There were indeed a few Volvo 1800 marcos' produced.
Ford, Triumph, Volvo, Rover, Ford US, you name it, it's powered one model of marcos at some point
thank you,
thought i'd mis-remembered for a bit there.
Also had some old piccys that I took at the time but theyr'e proving highly elusive right now,
the volvo powered car, was as I recall, all chrome this and (then)max-powered with colour coded hoses etc, I think purely to win concourse events.
My mates ended up in a garage somewhere in a million bits following a missguided DIY renovation
and heaven knows what happened to it ultimately, quite sad end for a distinct looking car
dinkel said:We all know what old Marcos cars look like becaus ethey haven't changed much for 30 years but... there is no denying tha the nose of the McTaggert cars is a straight copy of the TVR Griffith Speed 6. Rich...
IMO Damian McTaggert did a splendid job. Everyone who thinks the TSO looks like a TVR ought to have a look at previous Marcos models . . .
I don't let the whole 'kit car' thing get me down. British sports car success revolves around kit cars, mainly because before VAT, in the days of purchase tax, it meant that cars could be bought and sold more cheaply because you weren't buying a 'car' so much as a 'kit'. Also, in the fifties, no specialists really had the capacity to make their own engines, so it was only logical to poach them from existing cars.
And what a heritage British kit cars have built - Marcos, TVR, Ginetta, Lotus, Ultima, GTM - the list is endless. And kit cars have influenced production cars too - wasn't an Ultima GTR used to test the suspension componants for the McLaren F1? And the Ultima really is a spectacular race-ready supercar capable of dicing with a Zonda, it's just that you can build it in your shed if you want.
Kit cars - the most maligned British institution!
And what a heritage British kit cars have built - Marcos, TVR, Ginetta, Lotus, Ultima, GTM - the list is endless. And kit cars have influenced production cars too - wasn't an Ultima GTR used to test the suspension componants for the McLaren F1? And the Ultima really is a spectacular race-ready supercar capable of dicing with a Zonda, it's just that you can build it in your shed if you want.
Kit cars - the most maligned British institution!
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