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  Author    Marcos Mk VI should I?  (currently 7,741 views)
Tim_Greenhill
Posted on: August 17th, 2013, 08:22:05 Quote Report to Moderator
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Hi All,

I'm thinking of investing in a Mini Marcos MkVI kit from Marcos Heritage.

The idea is to end up with a road car suitable for every day use possibly including a 25 mile each way commute to work plus I might be tempted to take the car on the track from time to time just for fun.

Do you have any advice like don't do it?

To start with I'm working on a budget to at least have some idea of what cost I'm letting myself in for.

So, out of all the extras offered by MHS which ones are a must?

Are there any other upgrades I should plan for?

Are there any key items that are not included in the build manual?

Any other advice will be most welcome; I will of course trawl the forum here and the Internet for information.

Many thanks to all of you who post their experiences.

Regards,

Tim
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Simon Robinson
Posted on: August 17th, 2013, 10:32:27 Quote Report to Moderator
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You can always keep your eye out in the MMOC magazine or ebay and buy one that's already been built. It all depends on what spec you're looking for, and how far your budget can stretch.

I was lucky enough to get a Mk IV a couple of years ago at a decent price that didn't need too much work doing on it. I drive it every day similar commute to what you're looking for, only a 998 engine but does over 40mpg!

D&H Mk IV 8313, KGV 215V (aka George) - 75,000 miles and counting since restoration in 2011.
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Graham Bichard
Posted on: August 17th, 2013, 12:21:40 Quote Report to Moderator
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Tim - absolutely.  Go for it!
If you have had and enjoyed mini's I think (and hope) the MM will take this enjoyment to a new level.
If you've previously built a kit or have an interest in that side, similarly you'll enjoy it.  I'll be honest, the enthusiam does wain at times - I'd love to just jump in and drive the thing.  But luckily the time I can get to actually work on the car occurs in spurts too - as long as the work time coincides with the enthusiasm we'll be fine   (and if I don't feel like going into a cold garage on a January evening I don't!).  I am looking forward, one day, to driving the car that 'I built'.
I too intend to use the car as a daily commuter.  I currently use my MPi mini everyday and since recently moving jobs my daily commute is around 110miles a day (yes, 20,000+ a year.  Although I do have the use of the other car and my motorbike occasionally).  I'll also be able to use my winter tyres on the MM too in the winter of course.  I used to get 42-ish mpg at 70-75mph.  I've slowed down to 65-70mph in order to miss the end of the rush hour traffic and this has seen mpg rise to circa 50+.  Not too shabby, and I'd like to think the MM can match if not beat this (lighter weight, more aerodynamic but with a 2.9FD, not the MPi's 2.7).  Also, despite the car being 'look at me orange' I hope it'll have more of a restrained GT type feel, comfortable for the longer distances.
I can't really comment on the options from Marcos Heritage as my Mk6 was bought incomplete, second hand.  But Rory has given me plenty of advice in the past (I used to live nearby) and I have found that the components, which Heritage can supply, can be sourced cheaper from the other mini suppliers.
Where are you based?  You're more than welcome to look at my car if it'll help you make a decision.  Send me a PM if this would be helpful.  And I'm sure Brian can add his experience of recently purchasing a new build Mk6 shell.
And of course it'd be good to see yet another Mk6 around  .
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Brian
Posted on: August 17th, 2013, 17:33:13 Quote Report to Moderator
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Yep, I'm glad to share my experience! First of all, have a quick read through my thread, http://minimarcos.org.uk/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?b=MM,m=1358207043. It has a lot of my questions re: decisions to make.

First off, it will be cheaper, easier, faster to buy an existing car. For myself, I was interested in the challenge to build it myself.

If you're going to build a car, make sure you have space. If you're going to use a donor car, then you'll need double. I bought a bunch of parts and a shell, and I just fit into a 10' x 20' storage space. If I had a donor car, I wouldn't have room it.

The garage folks, you'll mostly deal with emily, are amazingly helpful. I have hundreds of emails with them over the course of my project, and they're always prompt and informative.

As for options: you can get heated screens from the club. And any "mini marcos" badges will need to come from the club, as the heritage folks can not use the "mini" name.

The stage 3 with all interior seems to make sense. I haven’t opened that yet, but it was nicely packaged, and is supposedly cut to fit. I expect some minor alterations will be needed.

The club is out of stock on the perspex headlamp covers, so if you want those, order from heritage.

The electric fan radiator kit, I think it was called, was just a radiator and hoses. And will hold your fan. It seems nicely made, though i haven't fitted it yet.

As for timelines, they quoted 12 weeks to build a shell, and it took every bit of that. So plan accordingly.

They will need your color selection up front, so be ready with that. I didn't want the stock colors, so I needed to check color chips. Their provider is llewellyn ryland, and you can order a page with color samples through a form on their web page. At first, I was really attached to one color, but then I tried it out on a model, and it really didn't work, so I ended up going with another...

Feel free to ask away!

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admin
Posted on: August 19th, 2013, 11:04:07 Quote Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Brian, posted August 17th, 2013, 17:33:13 at here
And any "mini marcos" badges will need to come from the club, as the heritage folks can not use the "mini" name.




I don't think this has anything to do with BMW. The Mini-Marcos predates the registering of "Mini" as a trademark by British Leyland in around 1968, a so Marcos could claim prior art. However following the liquidation the rights to the Mini Marcos name were acquired by a Marcos owner which is why Heritage can't use it. The club has a long-standing concession to use the logo for badges etc.
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Brian
Posted on: August 19th, 2013, 21:18:52 Quote Report to Moderator
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Quoted from admin, posted August 19th, 2013, 11:04:07 at here


I don't think this has anything to do with BMW. The Mini-Marcos predates the registering of "Mini" as a trademark by British Leyland in around 1968, a so Marcos could claim prior art. However following the liquidation the rights to the Mini Marcos name were acquired by a Marcos owner which is why Heritage can't use it. The club has a long-standing concession to use the logo for badges etc.



Ah, cool bit of trivia. I had been assuming that it was BMW related, since I had been hearing of garages here in the States that were forced to remove Mini from their names to avoid legal action.
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Brian
Posted on: September 18th, 2013, 21:28:01 Quote Report to Moderator
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Tim, any more questions re: the mk6 option? I was really busy the last few weeks, and am sure I left some useful info from my note above.

I'm back from being busy, and am working on my own MK6 again now. I can send pictures or answer some more questions, as well if you need.

I mentioned picking a color before. I'd recommend, well in advance, going to:
http://www.llewellyn-ryland.co.uk/contact.html and getting a color swatch. They will mail you some cards with samples of each color. I believe that you can choose from the standard and Polychromatic/Metallic color charts, so request both. I ordered Turquoise off of the standard chart. Even if you order one of the cheaper standard colors from heritage, I presume they will match colors on the chart.

Do you have a bit more info about your plans? Do you have a donor? What is your mechanical skill level? Do you have access to workspace and tools?
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Tim_Greenhill
Posted on: September 24th, 2013, 20:48:09 Quote Report to Moderator
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Hi,

No more questions just yet, have been way too busy with work  

For colour, I'm thinking of going with one of the standard MHS colours as at least that limits the choice and should improve decision making.

As for plans, I need to secure some more work before spending out on a shell.

However, I do have a potential donor in the form of a 1972 registered mini with a 1275 A+ engine.  This car is currently road legal and running so I'm using it most days for the daily commute to see how it goes.

Tools should not be a problem, space is a bit of a problem, but the biggest problem is time so some jobs will have to be farmed out.

I'm told by Rory that there is an approx. 4 month wait between order and delivery so am considering when would be the best time to order for a delivery outside of the winter months.

I'm also thinking of going the fuel injection route so may fit that to the existing car before the conversion to a MM.

Meanwhile I'll keep checking the forum and gathering information.

Thanks for all the replies and other stuff everyone posts.

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Graham Bichard
Posted on: September 25th, 2013, 07:54:59 Quote Report to Moderator
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Tim,

If you do decide to go the FI route, get in contact.  I may have at least some of the part you may need.  
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Brian
Posted on: September 25th, 2013, 20:33:44 Quote Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Graham Bichard, posted September 25th, 2013, 07:54:59 at here
Tim,

If you do decide to go the FI route, get in contact.  I may have at least some of the part you may need.  



Graham, are you not doing FI any more on yours? Or do you just have spare parts?
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Graham Bichard
Posted on: September 26th, 2013, 11:59:11 Quote Report to Moderator
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Brian, still going the FI route and yes, I've got a few bits surplus.
I wouldn't sell them on the open market/ebay, but if I know they would be of use to Tim I'd be willing to part with some bits.
I know the Canems FI system was developed utilising the MPi inlet manifold and injectors (I have a couple of manifolds lying around somewhere) whereas the SC system (which I think someone else is using - sorry, can't remember who) is totally different.
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Tim_Greenhill
Posted on: October 16th, 2013, 18:17:43 Quote Report to Moderator
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I will probably go the Specialist Components route as my eldest son is very happy with the SC setup in his FRA Mini, the only trouble is the cost of all these things  

The other thing I've been thinking about is wheels n tyres.  Talking to Marcos Heritage, they (well Rory) suggest 13'' rims to best fit the Mk VI arches.

What's the verdict for a Mk VI - 10", 12" or 13"?
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admin
Posted on: October 16th, 2013, 23:07:48 Quote Report to Moderator
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If you use 13" wheels you'll need low profile tyres which will give a harsher ride. I'd go for 12s with Metro vented discs and superfins. I like 10" rims but I don't think they would look right on a Mk.V or VI.
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Brian
Posted on: October 16th, 2013, 23:45:54 Quote Report to Moderator
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I'm doing 10"x6" mambas. I believe Graham is doing 12s. Granted, neither of us have our cars on the road yet, so it's hard to say for sure until it's loaded up, but Graham's is at least a roller at the moment, so he can speak for more.

I put the rear subframes in with wheels a while back, while the car was upside down...they seemed like they'd be fine. The big trick is keeping the wheel+tire combo narrower to keep the tire inside the wheel well (the wheels will stick out further on one side than on the other).

As a little side note, at least with the Mamba wheels, they come in 5" and 6" versions. From my research (I haven't seen any 5s), it seems that the extra inch goes towards the center of the car, not to the outside. Therefore, I suspect that the 6" rim, with the same tire size (It wants a 4-6" rim), will result in a net smaller amount of tire outside the fender wells (the road surface of the tire doesn't change, just the sidewall shape/location).
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Brian
Posted on: October 16th, 2013, 23:51:37 Quote Report to Moderator
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Quoted from admin, posted October 16th, 2013, 23:07:48 at here
If you use 13" wheels you'll need low profile tyres which will give a harsher ride. I'd go for 12s with Metro vented discs and superfins. I like 10" rims but I don't think they would look right on a Mk.V or VI.



I'll update in hopefully a few weeks as to how the 10s go .

My engine builder strongly recommended 10s, which is why I'm starting there.

Between the 3 sizes, there is a pretty small difference in outer dimension size. According to http://www.7ent.com/categories/wheels-and-tires/tire-size-comparison-chart.html, the total tire diameter is about 3/4" from a 10" to a 13" rim. And more rubber == softer ride.
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Brian
Posted on: October 22nd, 2013, 09:38:00 Quote Report to Moderator
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Tim, I think that was your letter to the autumn magazine?

You were mentioning that MHS has the headlamp kit on 4 month backorder...the shell will take 2 months for them to produce, and you won't need the headlamp kit right away, unless you're going for a record build speed .
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Tim_Greenhill
Posted on: October 22nd, 2013, 17:41:52 Quote Report to Moderator
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Yes, my email is in the autumn magazine, didn't expect that so will have to be really careful with what I email in the future  

MHS say that the lead time for the kit is 4 months.

You're correct, I will not need a whole load of items for ages but am obtaining as much information as possible for the overall plan - occupational hazard of being a project manager  

Meanwhile the potential donor is being used most days to help ensure that any mechanical defects are identified prior to making their way to a MM.
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