Hi Dano and the rest of the Marcos Maniacs,
Four is the most Marcos Cars in the USA in one location at one
time that were owned by different people (so it would not include Wire
Wheel)that I know of in recent memory. Does anyone else know of more?
My comments about Don's car... First let me say that Don has a VERY
nice car and considering what he paid for it he should be arrested for
stealing! Other than my own Marcos, Don has the only other Marcos that
I have ever driven. So I don't know if Don's car with the V6 or my
car with the highly tuned Volvo inline 4 are true representatives of
these two variants of the Marcos Cars but assuming that they are...
Don's car is quiter. There are a number of reasons for that and some
of the noise in my car I have "created". My car, for example has a
highly tuned engine running stainless steel headers which created a
lot of noise. The sound proofing matting is missing from behind the
seats and on the shelf under the rear window. I have also removed the
rug from under the rear window. All of this allows a lot of rear end
noise to penterate the cabin. Is the wooden chassis also a factor to
being noisier? I don't know. But I do know that Don's car is a lot
quieter. Don's car seems a bigger although I don't know if it really
is since they use the same windshield. The sight pattern out the
windshield is definitely different. On Don's car you notice the
louvers and the hood bulge and bump a LOT more than on my car. The
ride is softer and more comfortable in Don's car. The seat cushions
are thicker and more comfortable and still maintains the same amount
of headroom (I checked). My car needs to have the original cushions
rebuilt. The foam rubber has lost most of its "bounce". But even
after I get the cushions remade, they can't be as thick as Don's car
and still have any headroom left. As the cushions are now I have
problems wearing a crash helmet because of lack of headroom. The
suspension seems less harsh and less "twitchy". Riding behind the
other Marcos cars including Don's, it was apparent that they either
have softer spring and/or heavier cars since they were experiencing a
lot more suspension movement than I was. I was expecting to experience
steering wheel "kick back" with Don's car since Rory sells a kit to
correct the problem. And although I didn't drive Don's car a long
ways, I didn't experience any "kick back" despite the fact that Don's
car has a small steering wheel which should make the problem worse.
The V6 in Don's car is more "relaxed" than my tuned 4 cylinder Volvo.
The V6 has tons of torque for the weight of the car. Touring around in
the upper gears is no problem at even low speeds. The gear shift throw
on Don's car is less than ideal, but better that I had expected from
the articles I had read. After a short time the gearshift fades into
the background as a "problem" as you quickly get used to it. The
electric window also lend a feeling of "more modern" and civilized.
All in all, Don has a very nice car that I wouldn't mind owning. I
would say that Don's car is more refined without being "soft". My car
has, through my ownership, a slightly different "mission profile". I
have elected to have a Marcos that is more on the "go fast" end of the
scale and less on the confort (refinement) end of the scale. Many of
the choices I have made have contributed to the "less civilized"
nature of my car. My Marcos does what I made it to do. It goes fast
with no excuses. Eventually I will sort out the interior and perhaps
move it a little closer to the refined end of the scale. But it will
never, under my ownership, go very far in that direction if it means
giving up some of the performance. Don's car, in many ways has the
best of both worlds. His car has good performance and good comfort in
a properly balanced proportion.
Mike Denman
1966 Marcos 1800
Chassis # 4079
--- In MarcosManiacs@y..., Dan Orie <dorie@s...> wrote:
> When 4 Marcos cars get together does that set a record for the most
gathered
> in one place in the US?
> I was curious about your comment about Don's car being more
civilized - in
> what way do you mean?
> I can't wait for the article!
> Thanks,
> Dano
> 70 Essex 3M/5463
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: marcos18001966 [mailto:marcos18001966@y...]
> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2001 11:08 PM
> To: MarcosManiacs@y...
> Subject: [MarcosManiacs] British Car Magazine Photo shoot
>
> Hi Marcos Maniacs,
> I have posted two new photos. These photo's were taken today at the
> British Car Magazine "photo shoot" for an upcoming article on Marcos
> cars. Pictured by their cars are Don Lattimer (foreground blue
> Marcos), Stephan Spalding (left side Yellow car) Mike Denman (that
> would be me! Right side red car), Mark Petrinovich (background,
yellow
> car with burgandy accent stripes). We all met in Novato which is 20
> North of S.F.. Then we toured over to the coast on some twisty
roads,
> being led by the British Car Magazine people, Gary and Travis, in an
> XK8. They had the top down on the Jag and were taking pictures. We
> stopped in a somewhat senic area and they took some more photos. At
> this point Don Lattimer and I switched cars so we could compare them
> for the Magazine people. Don has a really great car. Much more
> civilized than mine. I really enjoyed the experience of driving
> his... thanks Don! Then we stopped for lunch and had a great meal
and
> a lot of Marcos conversation (food for the soul). After lunch was
> more touring and more photos. The two people from the Magazine,
Travis
> and Gary, took turns driving the different Marcos cars. Finally we
> were through and we stopped one last time for desert and more
> conversation. All in all, a great day. The weather which had been
> bad all week, cleared for the day. I got to meet Stephan Spalding
and
> see his very rare Triumph power Marcos which is really neat. It was
> fun getting together and comparing the four cars and the company and
> conversation were outstanding. I had a great time and I think
> everyone else did as well. Stay tuned for the upcoming article. Oh
> yes, the back end of my car is finished and painted but I forgot to
> take a picture of it for the Mike Denmans project album.
>
> Mike Denman
> 1966 Marcos 1800
> Chassis #4079
>
>
>
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