I'm pleased to be the new owner of 7213. The prior owner had the car from 1985 and it was registered in March 1969.

It needs a full restoration, so I thought I'd post pictures as it goes..

Looks nice..

Interesting badge

Nice face..

Inside.. after vacuuming

Cool...

Inside..

Special fuel tank float..it's a digital internet ready OLED capable external float.....

Special twin pipe exhaust, shortened to lower weight for racing.

Another cool badge... I keep these..

So what comes next.. i think the petrol tank will be first to get attention.

Also i want to cut back the paint to see if i can get anything. Otherwise John Campbell used a roller to apply Rustoleum. After a couple of coats, he sanded back, then put on a few more coats and then polished. It came out good.. so I try the bonnet and the panel in front. Ferrari Rosso refld if I can get some.

I don't like the dash so hopefully Mike Brown helps me with a cool one.

Lotus colours not sure if it works or not but I've seen an awful lot worse. Couple of weekends and that'll be ready to go.
Mike

Cheers Mike, Do you have any hints on exhaust?
As loud as possible as it doesn't need MOT and we want people to hear the car, as they wont see it..

I think i found exhaust ...
Richard Porter on FB said... "On foggy it's Maniflow throughout (came as seven bits in a sack) ... exits RHS... "

So from MiniSpares:
C-ARA339 - MANIFLOW VAN AND PICKUP T...                     £117.00
C-AEG376 - MANIFOLD LCB EXHAUST STAG...                     £92.80
                                                                               £251.76

It looks like this 5 bits though.. & I need to look at what is on car now...

Looks like you have a rear anti roll bar on the MM as well.
What sort of condition is it in and do you have any photos or close ups you could post.
From what can be seen of it looks like it could be one of the Speedwell anti-roll bars offered as an option on the MM.
Regards
Gary

My last Marcos had an extended mini van system but the Mk3 shouldn't need the extension. Single box will be loud without being illegal (regardless of no mot requirement).
Mike

Gary, I thought you were pulling my leg...but there is one.. maybe the engine is a cooper?? 🤔

Other side..

Thanks Mike

So the engine has five studs facing front, not seven. I can't see tappet covers on the back of the block.  It has aluminium plate on the back saying 1275. It has long arm on clutch release lever...

So it is pre A+ pre 1980 1275cc but not a Cooper S of any size.... oh well, it was nice dreaming...

Still might be something reasonable inside?
Even if it isn't with the relative weight and shape of a marcos it should still go well when finished?

A standard 1275cc is very spritely in a Marcos. Yes more is nice but I would build it with that then drive it and go from there assuming it's serviceable.
Mike

The car hasn't moved for many years, hence the rusted out exhaust + fuel tank and the engine bay looks really rough. However the pistons are not seized.

I think I will take the head off and if the bores look fine, change oil and see if it runs (without exhaust, but I need to buy fuel tank...  )... If not, I've got a 1 litre A+ that was running until recently to go in.

This 1275 has twin 1.25 carbs on it so maybe it was tuned. I'm going to look for anti roll bar on front subframe tonight as well.

I don't know how bad the subframes are...

Got some of these... need seat belts because the car goes so fast!!!.. we have three point harnesses, possibly fifty years old and very crusty and  rusty. They were soaked in the bath for a day and the webbing is like new now but the metal fittings need attention.

And we have a fuel tank to go in. The perspex rear screen had to come out to get some access to the fixings.

We will have to go to Stoneleigh now to get more rubber seals from the club .... can't wait!!

At this rate you'll have it on the road in no time.
Mike

Thanks Mike!

i did a bit on Sunday..This is all that is left of the fuel tank...

Next step is to test the sender, get some 2" ID fuel neck tube (no idea where from...) and jubilee clips.

Im not sure whether the flexi fuel rubber pipes need replacing under the car... and then d-clips are needed...

Great to see another car with a keen owner and under restoration.  Be prepared, you will spend a lot more than you bargained for!

Look at Car Builder Solutions for your hoses.  Seat belt eyelets and spreader plates are easy to come by (7/16 thread iirc).  

Looking at the tank, I would fit a new sender & gasket but you may get lucky with the sender.  

cheers Craig,
I'm feeling the pain already.. i put a Fluke on the tank sender and it has no resistance and no continuity reading ...so a tank sender and all the fittings are needed....

It'll all have to wait til pay day as I'm not giving up going out for beers   :-)

Nice project, can I ask where you bought the petrol tank? Ill be looking for one myself soon.

Cheers

Colin

“ Quoted from Philip_Davenport, posted March 18th, 2019, 12:32:45 at here ” Cheers Mike, Do you have any hints on exhaust? As loud as possible as it doesn't need MOT and we want people to hear the car, as they wont see it..

I had a Minispares LCB manifold and an RC40 2 box exhaust system on my old Mk2 which just required a chrome tail pipe extension to make it exit clear of the rear panel.

The paint will be cellelose so will respond to 1200 wet&dry and fercela G3 compound. touching in any damage will be easy too if you can get a colour match

Van tank in stainless from Minispares about £160

Colin
My van tank was £95+ £10 delivery from Gumtree (seller is daytonaracebits) on  0121 4333 176.
It has a good paint on the outside but I think nothing inside, so it could rust from the inside out.


Thanks for the hints on the exhaust. The car has an LCB manifold already but I need to see whether it is any use, or scrap. I get the rest soon.

About the paint, I'm confused so far .. I post some pictures to show why...  

All tanks are bare on the inside the idea is the fuel stops it from rusting.
Mike

I was lucky enough to buy a pair of galvinised van tanks that were made in Canada back in 2004 at the IMM in Norfolk. Back then they were £95 each too.

My original tank rusted on the inside and through the tank, just above the line of the fuel that was left sitting in the tank, fortunately have another new one that I bought many years ago and is sealed so should be fine when I finally get onto it.

I might regret it but i ordered a tin of Rustoleum paint and some rollers ...i reckon i can lay on some coats and cut it back...

I'm practicing on the front panel and bonnet first. Here's a picture.

I share the garden with the dog so stuck a vacuum cleaner on the sander and didn't cover hhe garden in old paint..

All cars were hand painted once. I've seen good results with a roller and cutting back it's edges and corners that will catch you out. A soft pad on a DA is great for flatting back the paint ready to polish up.
Mike

The lenses on the rear lights are cracked so i thought replacing the lenses could be an easy job..

There are no number plate lights at the back, so i noticed that there is a clear bit on the red lens. Not sure if you can see it.... This is number plate light.

Anyway i tried to find replacement and it turns out these are lights for an IFOR trailer.. not a car...

So ... i tried to unscrew the lens and it is seized. The screw is soft so just gets mashed up. I had to buy two new full units, for a trailer...  eeek!

Nothing is easy..

Those lights say "trailer"! Get some Mini Van rear lights and fit them upside down. Then a repro Lucas number plate lamp or a die-cast Mini one.

Craig said earlier: Be prepared, you will spend a lot more than you bargained for!
My wife has noticed that she is not getting invited to the Ritz for Sunday high tea anymore  
It might be a bit crass to talk about it but the car is costing a few quid and it is a rusty heap on the drive at the moment ..

£1050   Paid for car
£170     View & fetch car (Petrol for 2 visits then diesel + transporterhire.co.uk 120 miles)
£15       T-Cut & Polish
£105     Petrol tank
£25       Seat belts (8x Racing eye bolts & 4x Harness snap hooks)
£40       Paint (2.5L Rustoleum Combi-Colour & quality rollers)
£25       Trailer lights
£75       Fit petrol tank (Tank sender, screws, sealing rings, Monza fuel cap, Hylomar gasket, fuel hose, stainless fittings..)

So we're at £1500 so far .... eeek!

If it makes you feel better I finished building a long wheelbase foers ibex last year. That cost me £15k over 5 years when you consider that if I'd bought the kit new (mine was an un-started kit off ebay) it would of cost £12k for the kit alone.
Mini marcos/Jem are cheap to build....
Mike

much respect !  

IBEX looks a cracking car... complete opposite of the tiny little Mini Marcos ..

I'm currently banned from starting my Jem until I've finished the house and another little project (building a caravan using a lorry fridge box).
Mike

Hi Mike,
Your partner sounds very sensible..  wants the caravan holiday and a place to send you when you strip an engine on the kitchen table..

I'm glad you're not banned from making dashboards.

it looks fab !!

Many thanks!

Glad it arrived safely. To be fair she owns a Jem that needs restoring as well so I've actually got two to do.
Mike

Had to grind a lot to get 30 year old nuts off... painted new one.. just need to get the rest of the bits together and screw it back on..
.

First coat of Rustoleum went on... now i see it needs some filler..

Not orange peel...

Roll bar and front panel...

i love working on the car on a sloping ..not flat..driveway.. and a tiny shed at the end of the garden..

If you want some inspiration YouTube channel soup classic motoring. https://youtu.be/h0LAPH4QHtw
Sorry I haven't linked to episode 1. It's not Marcos or even mini but a guy with not money restoring cars.
Mike

fantastic project,keep up the good work
£1050 for a rust bucket marcos seems like a good price to me

Cheers Mike
Just took quick look & the guy is repairing his car by the roadside and his welding skills are worse than mine .. he says the way to improve crap welding is to stand 10 metres back and close one eye... brilliant !

These are interesting --- novice fibreglass repair on Lotus Esprit .. chapter 16 & 17 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqtb2fQHhgQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjnJAR-MBiQ

The guy making the videos is good ... the camera skills are top..

:-)

cheers Simon ... let's see who is on the road first   :0)

i'm hoping to get it running before winter sets in and it gets cold.... then make improvements from there..  

hoping to get mine done for summer,got it running yesterday

Yippeee..... Looking forward to a trip to Stoneleigh at the weekend !!!

Gonna try to get there Sunday afternoon if possible, with wife Melanie.

;D

“ Quoted from Philip_Davenport, posted April 30th, 2019, 11:33:37 at here ” Cheers Mike Just took quick look & the guy is repairing his car by the roadside and his welding skills are worse than mine .. he says the way to improve crap welding is to stand 10 metres back and close one eye... brilliant ! These are interesting --- novice fibreglass repair on Lotus Esprit .. chapter 16 & 17 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqtb2fQHhgQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjnJAR-MBiQ The guy making the videos is good ... the camera skills are top..

He is using a gasless mig (he's ordered a new mig I believe) and he films it in stop motion which doesn't help.
Mike

I like the stop motion as he takes himself out of the film and just shows his work. The problem with this though  and with Wheeler Dealers etc is that it it makes things look easy. I bet he spends a couple of weeks behind his computer editting a 20 minute clip.

I just spent 4 hours sticking 8 nuts and bolts on... it isnt easy!!! Ed and Mike probably have 5 more mechanics in the background...

I have a theory ... that the wondow rubbers from a Mini can be used on the Marcos... i hope so as i have a full set! Lets see..

And side window

Got some dials for Mikes dash...

A bit rough on the back ..but might polish up...

So anyway, spent the day putting the rear subframe back together.. took ages!!!

Hi tech....

Not sure if this is right...maybe too much rubber??

lump hammer,love it phillip

Hi Simon, it was good to meet you on Sunday. Lump hammer is a change from angle grinder ... none of the bolts/nuts come off... grr!

Had to empty out the boxes in the attic, the boxes in the shed and ....lots of other boxes to find these.. (they were no good from the old sub-frame, and they were all the smaller dia ones anyway)

So happy today :-)

Bought some 50mm snap hook clips for the seatbelts from ebay..

The old ones had been eaten by a mouse..

Or maybe a big scary monster

Look okay but need two more clips..

.

“ Quoted from Philip_Davenport, posted May 7th, 2019, 15:17:50 at here ” Hi Simon, it was good to meet you on Sunday. Lump hammer is a change from angle grinder ... none of the bolts/nuts come off... grr!

and you too phillip,good luck with the build its coming on nicely and i will see you and your marcos soon

No pictures .. but was working .. wanted to finish rear sub frame, petrol tank, rear windscreen and the stuff at the back...  

-Not sure whether to open up rear brake pressure regulator valve to see if it looks okay... or leave it until I see that it is broken and the rear wheels lock up under hard braking.. I'm replacing all the brake pipes so it will be easy to maintain the valve later.

-Not sure if I should get B&Q silicone bathroom sealant and seal the tank... maybe just before the carpets go down. I will seal from underneath.

-Thinking about how to route rear to front fuel pipe and brake pipe, to stay away from exhaust. Probably go high, to avoid scraping it on road..

-Couldn't finish fitting fuel tank: fuel pipe that exits tank had an (old-style) square-ended brass male fitting, seating on a tapered female seating on tank. It didn't tighten up... so got to buy a new petrol pipe with newer fitting.  

-Couldn't finish fitting rear hand brakes on sub frame as missing one split pin ..£0.05 from Mini Spares.

-Finally last two snap hook clips arrived for seat belt, then I was told we should get new harnesses.. eek ! At least new harnesses won't have wrong sized (75 mm) clips.

yippee.... The registration doc arrived today... No checks or hassle... just lots of waiting … I was worried ..

So back to the monster on the driveway :-)

Congrats :)

thanks Neil.  Just saw that the car has not been taxed so used on the road since 1986 so 34 years .. and a lot of this was stood outside judging by the extent of rust..

So the brand new V5C log book did not say that the car is 'historic' so I need to apply to change 'taxation class' and register as 'off-road' (SORN) to avoid fines for not taxing it...

DVLA website says to take the logbook and some forms to a Post Office that can deal with vehicle changes. I did this, but they said their computer says no... so back on the phone to DVLA again..

They needed me to complete & send:
-V5C (log book) Section 1 to change taxation class to 'historic'
-V112 (declaration that car doesn't need MOT) Otherwise I need to send in MOT that I don't have..
-V10 (apply for vehicle tax) Ask in here to change taxation class to 'historic'
Finally I need to send to special section of DVLA (Taxation Team) with SA99 1DZ

excellent now you can crack on. get it done for imm in august.
thats a load of rubbish what the dvla is telling you, i just went into the postoffice and signed a form to declare my hornet tax and mot exemp.
the dvla are an absolute bunch of idiots who havnt got a clue what there doing,why send a logbook back for a 1969 car and not have it listed as historic.
i dredd to think what iam going to get on my logbook when it comes back,thats if it comes back

Only managed to get an hour on the car.. started fitting front light covers and clearing space for the radiator... which was not easy as every bolt needs grinding off and i trashed the Dremel mandrel thing..


Removing headlamp bowl for access to underneath.. Ground out screws...

Glued the bracket first  to get right position, then drilled through later..

Nuts on from top as access through headlamp bowl wasn't great.

Put blue stuff on to stop nuts rattling loose..

So the car is historic now

no need to be SORN anymore ..

After getting inspiration from
-talking to Mike Brown & he built me some big red seats
-talking to lots of MM owners at "Marcos on the Moor" at the home of Ewen Sergison and Rachel
-Goff taking me out for a ride and talking to me about his two Jems
I'm now getting back onto my project after two years under cover.

--talking to lots of MM owners at "Marcos on the Moor" at the home of Ewen Sergison and Rachel

-Goff taking me out for a ride and talking to me about his two Jems. This picture is from Goffs page as I took my photos on Sunday after Goff went back to Maltby.