Possible silly project involving a Marcos
Discussion
Firstly, I didn't post this in Marcos Ted because I need advice on whether or not to get rid of the integrale too 
Right, seeing as I had a very busy day today I have been mostly looking at Autotrader. Whilst there I saw a car that I have not previusly noticed. This car is a Marcos Martina. Basically it is like the V8 Mantula but has a Ford 2 litre engine plopped in it. Now, the question is, if this is a 2 litre ford engine, it will probably be the same basic block as a Cosworth. A very nice Martina could be had for 6k. The idea would then be to drop in a big BHP cosworth lump and go searching for Mantulas to trounce
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Genius? Or mental? Because it would mean getting rid of the integrale which has had much money spent on it and is very sweet at the moment. I could drive a crappy car (probably the Corsa) in the interim until the Marcos was sorted. But how viable do you guys think this is?
Right, seeing as I had a very busy day today I have been mostly looking at Autotrader. Whilst there I saw a car that I have not previusly noticed. This car is a Marcos Martina. Basically it is like the V8 Mantula but has a Ford 2 litre engine plopped in it. Now, the question is, if this is a 2 litre ford engine, it will probably be the same basic block as a Cosworth. A very nice Martina could be had for 6k. The idea would then be to drop in a big BHP cosworth lump and go searching for Mantulas to trounce
. Genius? Or mental? Because it would mean getting rid of the integrale which has had much money spent on it and is very sweet at the moment. I could drive a crappy car (probably the Corsa) in the interim until the Marcos was sorted. But how viable do you guys think this is?
Firstly, I didn't post this in Marcos Ted because I need advice on whether or not to get rid of the integrale too
Right, seeing as I had a very busy day today I have been mostly looking at Autotrader. Whilst there I saw a car that I have not previusly noticed. This car is a Marcos Martina. Basically it is like the V8 Mantula but has a Ford 2 litre engine plopped in it. Now, the question is, if this is a 2 litre ford engine, it will probably be the same basic block as a Cosworth. A very nice Martina could be had for 6k. The idea would then be to drop in a big BHP cosworth lump and go searching for Mantulas to trounce
Genius? Or mental? Because it would mean getting rid of the integrale which has had much money spent on it and is very sweet at the moment. I could drive a crappy car (probably the Corsa) in the interim until the Marcos was sorted. But how viable do you guys think this is?
In theory it's good however..
Brakes, drivetrain, engine mounts etc, etc...You might have to do an awful lot to it to make it work properly. I'm not trying to piss on your chips just trying to help.
D.
I know matey, the problem is that I can't find any info on these items. I would replace the engine mounts when swapping the engine. But the brakes and drivetrain are the main worry. I think the chassis is a Mantula Chassis so that should hold up ok.
davidd said:In theory it's good however..
Brakes, drivetrain, engine mounts etc, etc...You might have to do an awful lot to it to make it work properly. I'm not trying to piss on your chips just trying to help.
D.
Any Marcos chappies enlighten me?
Any project that involves selling an Integrale is silly. And that comes from a Marcos chappie. 
Not being of a technical bent, as it were, I can't really help any further. You could try posting your queries on here:
http://pub72.ezboard.com/bmarcossportscarenthusiasts
There's quite a few technically minded bods on there.
Not being of a technical bent, as it were, I can't really help any further. You could try posting your queries on here:
http://pub72.ezboard.com/bmarcossportscarenthusiasts
There's quite a few technically minded bods on there.
Well Marcos did do a 2-litre turbo version of the MantaRay, though that used a Rover engine.
Chassis is indeed same as Mantula apart from front end which was modified to take Cortina crossmember. Don't know how easy engine would be to swap as you've got exhaust, turbo and intercooler to sort out, plus wiring loom, engine management etc. Can probably be done, but sounds like a lot of work.
Should also be able to get larger front brakes from one of the specialist companies who offer conversion kits, and Capri Club used to sell a rear disc brake conversion kit that could probably be made to fit the Cortina axle.
Chassis is indeed same as Mantula apart from front end which was modified to take Cortina crossmember. Don't know how easy engine would be to swap as you've got exhaust, turbo and intercooler to sort out, plus wiring loom, engine management etc. Can probably be done, but sounds like a lot of work.
Should also be able to get larger front brakes from one of the specialist companies who offer conversion kits, and Capri Club used to sell a rear disc brake conversion kit that could probably be made to fit the Cortina axle.
One thing to bear in mind is that you probably end up spending Mantuala money to get similar performance/brakes/handling etc. You would then be in a position of having a car with little resale value.
It rarely makes ecominic sense to go down this route of moficications, it is better to buy the car you really wanted in the first place. I mean by the time you've spent 6K on the car and say another 6K on mods (remember there will be some custom parts in there) you could have bought a Griff or Chimaera 500, probably at the bottom of its depreciation curve. (And buy the time you've finished the project real Manutalas will have dropped in price as well)
However if your heart is set on the Cossie Marcos and you are going to keep it until you depart from this world, then best of luck to you.
davidy
It rarely makes ecominic sense to go down this route of moficications, it is better to buy the car you really wanted in the first place. I mean by the time you've spent 6K on the car and say another 6K on mods (remember there will be some custom parts in there) you could have bought a Griff or Chimaera 500, probably at the bottom of its depreciation curve. (And buy the time you've finished the project real Manutalas will have dropped in price as well)
However if your heart is set on the Cossie Marcos and you are going to keep it until you depart from this world, then best of luck to you.
davidy
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