Marcos Martina Spyder - now reduced start price

Relisting. there's been quite a bit of interest. including someone who is coming to see it next week. but the starting price must have been too high.  So I've dropped the price and it's up for grabs again.

One question that a few people have asked is how is the car registered on the V5;  it is shown as a Marcos Martina. date of first registration 1981.

  For sale as a project is my Marcos Martina Spyder.  If you're interested in this car you probably already know the following but it's worth mentioning for those that might be thinking of a Marcos but don't know the marque that well.   The Martina has the body style of the Marcos Mantula of the 1980's/90's. with a full steel space-frame chassis and fibreglass body but uses Ford Cortina Mk4 running gear to reduce build costs.   It offered the chance of getting a Marcos kit without having to pay a fortune for the V8 version. which was the only other kit on offer at the time.   After only a short while and a production of only about 80 (?) Martinas the company stopped making kits altogether in 1993 and eventually went out of business 2007 when their turn-key cars failed to sell in the required numbers.

 This car was first purchased from Marcos as a new kit by me in 1992. The donor for the running gear was an ‘X' reg (1981) Cortina Mk 4; it was registered with that car's number later in 1992 when the kit was completed and put on the road.   At the time of the initial build everything from the Cortina was replaced or renovated except for the engine. gearbox and back axle; this kept down the costs of getting it on the road.

 Over the next three years the following items were replaced

1.         The engine was swapped for a rebuilt Vulcan Engineering 2. 1 litre. 135 bhp. Ford 4 cylinder. It was reconditioned to run unleaded fuel and has electronic ignition.

2.        New Weber Synchronised twin-choke carb

3.        Custom built straight through Exhaust with Cherry bomb silencer

4.        The gearbox was swapped for a rebuilt 5-speed Sierra custom box with a long first. giving a close ratio gearbox.

5.        The rear axle crown gear and bearings were renewed; the new crown gear installed by an axle specialist was supposed to be a 3. 9:1 diff. but I cannot guarantee that as I have no way of telling!

6.        New high-ratio steering rack; I cannot recall the number of turns from lock-to-lock but I think it is two and it's certainly less than the original Cortina.

7.        New Alloy Wheels

8.        New drilled font discs

9.        The original screw-on front wheel arch extensions were flared into the body by Marcos and the car sprayed by me… the paint job is ‘OK'

10.    New mohair lined hood was fitted

In other words. virtually everything was replaced as new or reconditioned.

IIt was used regularly but not often by me over the next few years. The car was put into storage in a dry garage. on axle stands. in the summer of 2002 when I went to work overseas. (The axle stands have always been on the chassis so the springs have not been under any weight from the car). Unfortunately. the car was not properly cleaned after the winter before and when it went into storage the chassis was showing signs of corrosion and much of the powder coat had started to flake off.   It was then moved to Perth (current location) by trailer in 2006. where it has sat on axle stands in my dry garage ever since.  

I started to strip the car down and intended to take off the body and repaint the chassis but I have kept putting it off and now can't face the job any more.   Before it was stored in 2002 it had done a total of about 15. 00 miles. but new clocks fitted in 1995 means that cannot be verified.   At the moment the speedo shows  6541 miles.

Everything is there to rebuild and the car. including all the running gear. interior. bodywork and hood. It just needs renovating to get it back on the road.   The only missing bits are the battery and the starter motor. which packed up about 2 months before I went away in 2002 and I could not locate a replacement from the scrappy.  The rear lights (from a Suzuki Jeep) may also need replacing as they have started to crack around the fixing screws. (they were supplied with the original kit and probably not of great quality!) Most of the chassis looks like it's just surface rust. butI have found a couple of places where the corrosion might mean that pieces of the square section tube might need to be cut out and replaced. However. until the body is off it's not easy to tell.   As for everything else. it is in roughly the same condition as it was 11 years ago but obviously things like bushes. seals and pipes might need changing.   Again. I can't really guarantee anything as it's been standing around for a while. but it all looks in a condition in which it can be fairly easily renovated. There is no body damage or vermin/insect damage.

As you can see from the first five pictures of how it looked in the 1990's. it is painted  blue with full grey leather Marcos interior. walnut dash etc.   It has all the Marcos luxury bits like tinted electric windows. heated windscreen. movable pedal box (not the turn-wheel found on the Mantula but it needs a spanner to move the pedals). I can provide some receipts and sight of a full build picture album as well as the original Marcos build manual.  A custom cover will also be included.  It is properly registered as a 1981 ‘X' suffix car (Not a 'Q' plate) and is currently under a SORN.   I have also included five pics of its current condition. [Note that the bonnet is stacked on top of the car simply so that it fits in one half of my garage. ]  It will be sold as ‘as seen'

The car would have to be collected from Perth by trailer but it is a rolling chassis so a regular car trailer would suffice.

The decision to sell has been a hard choice for me as. if I got my act together. it could be fairly easily put back on the road. But I can no longer summon the enthusiasm to do it.   I have built it once and I can't face doing it again!!

The burning question is “What's it worth?”.   I've seen some horrors sold on ebay. requiring major renovation work. which have sold for a lot more than my starting price. But who knows….   It's really worth as much as you're willing to pay.   But with a bit of care and TLC this car could be back on the road. looking stunning again and turning heads wherever it goes.

Viewing is recommended…ring me on 01738 813116 to arrange.   Bankers draft/ cash on collection although I would appreciate a good faith deposit of £500 on Paypal at auction end.   If you're not really interested please don't waste our time by coming to have a look or bidding.   Finally. you are bidding to buy. not to view.

Couple of things I forgot. The engine runs on unleaded fuel and has electronic ignition.

UPDATE:  Trying to be an honest as I can here. have had a closer look at the chassis and there are a couple of spots where the square section tube might need to be cut out and replaced.  It doesn't look that bad but I thought I ought to mention it and also offer a lower start price to cover possible cost of any repair.  

Want to buy this car?