Marcos Maniacs

Chuck,

A dedicated race car is pure and you can build it to the limits of the rules. A Marcos can be made very lightweight but this will require thin fiberglass body/bonnet/bootlid panels + lexan windows, and a ruthless gutting of any non-essential bits that add weight. My old Gullwing could have been made significantly lighter... but I was okay with retaining originality and history on her at the expense of more speed. That was a compromise I chose to make - it's a personal decision.

Your braking ability will improve with every pound you shed from the car.

Choose your gearbox ratios carefully + rear diff. A hot crossflow or ore- crossflow motor will excel if you match it with the right gear ratios.

Good luck and I wish you well.

Best, Andy

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 26, 2013, at 10:41 AM, "Chuck WATSON" <clw2000@msn.com> wrote:

Hey Andy -

Thanks for your comments. I've seen your car on the British Racing site and think it is fantastic. I am hoping to run VCDA, possible SVRA and others. My intention would be to scout out what regional orgs would accept which Marco. So my plan is essentially to find the best potential purchase and then run it up the various racing org's flagpoles. Obviously some will let you run anything (NASA) and others can be very strict. If Marco's were more common I would do it in the reverse order. I have enough "street" cars so this will be race only. That's the stuff that occupies my mind most of the time these days! If you have any info on the east coast orgs with respect to Marcos GT's it would be great to hear.

BTW, I've had a good response from potential sellers and am following up with everyone now.

Thanks,

Chuck Watson

To: MarcosManiacs@yahoogroups.com
From: aseward99@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 18:38:52 -0500
Subject: Re: [MarcosManiacs] New to the Group and Shopping

Hi Chuck,

With whom will you be vintage racing? Each sanctioning body's regulations and classification system differ here in the States. You might consider these when deciding, and a call to discuss what is allowed/ disallowed with Chief Scrutineer before you buy a car would be worth a great deal.

Generally speaking, a Marcos powered by a motor that is broadly tunable and for which strong support remains has some value. Race gas or pump gas -- power versus reliability...

Left-hand versus right- hand steering: are you comfortable with either?

Finally, you will also decide if this Marcos will be a 100% race car built to the full limits allowed by the vintage racing rules, or a race car built to historically correct "period" 1960s/1970s standards. Or instead perhaps a car you can still drive on the street occasionally and race every so often (but if street legal then probably a back- of- the-pack car on the track).

I wish you great fun in selecting and preparing your Marcos, whatever you decide. Please let us know how this turns out.

Best,

Andy Seward

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 25, 2013, at 1:41 PM, "Chuck WATSON" <clw2000@msn.com> wrote:

Thanks,

Chuck Watson


Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers
Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg & Lexington, SC

Group -

I have responded directly to everyone who contacted me about their Marcos. If you did not receive my reply please let me know. Some had problems receiving my email. I am interested in talking to any of you that are considering selling your cars.

Thanks to all for the responses and advice. Please feel free to contact me directly at clw2000@msn.com


Chuck

On Nov 24, 2013, at 10:47 AM, Chuck WATSON <clw2000@msn.com> wrote:

Hey folks. I've been bitten by the Marcos bug and am looking for a GT or similar for vintage racing. Anyone on this list racing their Marcos? So, it doesn't have to have a great paint job, interior, etc. But I would like it to be unadulterated. I'd love to find one of the Triumph-based engines as I already know the Triumph TR6 and have a TR builder. Were those ever exported to the USA? Otherwise a light-framed (wood) would be my prefence. I'm located in Greenville, South Carolina. Any leads or advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Chuck Watson


Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers
Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg & Lexington, SC