Any views or advice on building a Marlin Sportster please.

[Crayfordgt]

The old man's got the correct BMW donor car to build a Sportster. Any views/tips/advice from anyone who's built/is buliding one?? They look the dog's but want to be sure before parting with the old hard earned.. Thanks.

[singlecoil]

If you like the look of them, and are not put off by the cost, then I can think of no reason why you should not go ahead.

I don't know if they offer powder coating of the chassis etc (most firms do) but if you want that as well, enquire into it closely, the exact method, and who does it, and what the procedure is, a lot of kit car powder coating fails within a relatively short time, and is difficult to repair without full dismantling

[Crayfordgt]

Thanks for the tip. I've checked with Marlin and "all our parts come powder coated" was the reply. What type/process of powdercoating is the best?, or are there any questions I should ask about the process please. Thanks for your help!

[GinG15]

ask THEM to give you detailed information about the powder coating process...and than you will see how they reply.


if you ask them "is the powder coating done in that or this way" or "is it done by a company specialized in poweder coating processes"..or " if the pre-treament of the chassis was done in this or that way" ....they will always answer with yes, even when its not true!!!

because you can´t control it afterwards!


so its THEIR job to give you detailed infos and according to the given infos you can see if they lie or if they tell the truth...also you will see if the process is done in the "proper" or "cheap" way.

[jason61c]

There's a forum somewhere with lots of builders on, I was going to build one but was put off by the attitude of the company and the stories of long waits for parts and other such things.

They do look nice though!

[jgmadkit]

Sportster forum this way

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/forumdisplay...

John

[Crayfordgt]

Thanks for all the tips/advice/warnings. Just can't find anything else like the Sportster on sale anywhere built or self build, especially with the (hopefully) bulletproofness(word?)(except the ECU) of the BMW compared to the marina/cortina/other based Marlins up until now (plus want the front bicycle wings, can you modify a car with running boards to have just the front mudguards and do a decent job?). Would deffo buy a built one if they were around (and could afford it), but they seem to be like hen's teeth, is that good or bad? Still my favourite kit, bar the Maclaren reps. Thanks again. Will keep you posted.

[jason61c]

The ECU on the BMW engined cars is totally fine. The only issue is that marlin try to get around the EWS issues by using the whole loom which isn't needed. A bit of research/investment by Marlin would show that using EWS is totally fine on a custom loom. There's GKD equipped with EWS being built without a single issue and they've only been out a year or so.