In two weeks time I guess, give or take a few days. I pick up my replacement engine for the Mantula.
Its going to be the Chevy LS1. (Wanted the LS7)
This time round its having an auto box. Probably the 4l60e or the 4l80e depending.
The running gear is going to be Jag 2.88:1 diff and custom back end.
Mounting craddle is in production as I type.
The front is either going to be custom made in Berkshire by one of the hot rod houses or bought in from the states possibly from TCI 'total cost involved'.
( www.totalcostinvolved.com/index.cfm )
Even then the 'clip' will have to be modified to suit.
I have been told most of the original front end is going to have to go to make way for some beefier chassis rails. We'll see what happens just after xmas.
Bought the wheels last week. Torq Thrust D 15" rims, 7" wide on the back and 5" wide on the front (the originals were the Revolution five spoke, so its in keeping).
Learnt a lot about tyres from this exercise. But as I didn't want to mod the arches at the back anymore than I have done, then 225 wide tyres was the max I could go to.
The body I have inhereted is shyte. Which was a bonus.
The boot space has turned into an IRS boot, after the side walls were removed. The body was originally a live axled affair.
The petrol tank shelf was never bonded to the parcel shelf and virtually fell away. The doors have been hit with something very hard, and have cracks all over them. The top of the rear arches have dings in them that are coming out this week.
The body goes back on the chassis (temporarily) so that the position for the diff can be sorted. This will also be a good time to check out how good the glass fibre work that has currently gone into the shell has been.
The coupe body never did fit the Spyder chassis. So much for Marcos never changing the jigs.
The tunnel was cut and seperated and widened to allow for the strengthing plates in the spyder tunnel. Gapping holes in the foot wells still have to be corrected, but the front end is being worked on over this winter.
I am on MK2 sill mold manufacturing. The first mold was to boxy. this new one has more curves and follows the line of the car much better.
The sills are to be removable to get at the exhausts which will sit behind them. The standard 2 x box section rails that normally sit under the door sill don't exist anymore so plenty of room for side pipes and no bulgey fairings. (I hope. ;0) )
Anyway, as I am running out of time this evening. I will call it a night here. More when I get five minutes.
Anyone who is interested, you can see pictures of the rebuild on picasaweb.google.com/tvma...AANREBUILD
I haven't updated it for a few months but a whole heap is still going on at the moment.
The aim is to keep the car as stock looking as possible.
I have seen the pictures in the recent issue of Club Marcos International's magazine of the Jag V12 car.
By the looks of it, the Jag back end has not been modified to fit the body profile of the original Marcos, but rather the body has been extended to meet the full width of the Jag Axle. I didn't want this. There will be some conssesions to the bonnet. The LS1 has an inlet manifold system that sits lower (so it seems) than the rocker covers, i.e. it sits neatly in the valley. So even if the engine is slightly taller than the old rover it probably wont reach the hieghts of the twin carbed SU unit I had on the 3.5. The plenum chamber on the injected models also seem very high, and by the looks of the mods done to this car...
www.rory.uk.com/marcos_ga...arcos9.jpg
I don't think I will need to alter the bulge I have in my bonnet at all. I will be seriously thinking about flowing the air over the bonnet from the radiator, so vents will be needed. and the original louvres towards the windscreen will disappear to make way for matching sets, but more louvres per side. All this however is in the future. For now, its back out the garage and, work work work.
Body goes back on this weekend.
Pending available time, I am aiming to have the car back on the road for June 2009. Its a tough one, but I got to keep going. I can't stand the flak anymore, Isobel. ;0)
ttfn.
Its going to be the Chevy LS1. (Wanted the LS7)
This time round its having an auto box. Probably the 4l60e or the 4l80e depending.
The running gear is going to be Jag 2.88:1 diff and custom back end.
Mounting craddle is in production as I type.
The front is either going to be custom made in Berkshire by one of the hot rod houses or bought in from the states possibly from TCI 'total cost involved'.
( www.totalcostinvolved.com/index.cfm )
Even then the 'clip' will have to be modified to suit.
I have been told most of the original front end is going to have to go to make way for some beefier chassis rails. We'll see what happens just after xmas.
Bought the wheels last week. Torq Thrust D 15" rims, 7" wide on the back and 5" wide on the front (the originals were the Revolution five spoke, so its in keeping).
Learnt a lot about tyres from this exercise. But as I didn't want to mod the arches at the back anymore than I have done, then 225 wide tyres was the max I could go to.
The body I have inhereted is shyte. Which was a bonus.
The boot space has turned into an IRS boot, after the side walls were removed. The body was originally a live axled affair.
The petrol tank shelf was never bonded to the parcel shelf and virtually fell away. The doors have been hit with something very hard, and have cracks all over them. The top of the rear arches have dings in them that are coming out this week.
The body goes back on the chassis (temporarily) so that the position for the diff can be sorted. This will also be a good time to check out how good the glass fibre work that has currently gone into the shell has been.
The coupe body never did fit the Spyder chassis. So much for Marcos never changing the jigs.
The tunnel was cut and seperated and widened to allow for the strengthing plates in the spyder tunnel. Gapping holes in the foot wells still have to be corrected, but the front end is being worked on over this winter.
I am on MK2 sill mold manufacturing. The first mold was to boxy. this new one has more curves and follows the line of the car much better.
The sills are to be removable to get at the exhausts which will sit behind them. The standard 2 x box section rails that normally sit under the door sill don't exist anymore so plenty of room for side pipes and no bulgey fairings. (I hope. ;0) )
Anyway, as I am running out of time this evening. I will call it a night here. More when I get five minutes.
Anyone who is interested, you can see pictures of the rebuild on picasaweb.google.com/tvma...AANREBUILD
I haven't updated it for a few months but a whole heap is still going on at the moment.
The aim is to keep the car as stock looking as possible.
I have seen the pictures in the recent issue of Club Marcos International's magazine of the Jag V12 car.
By the looks of it, the Jag back end has not been modified to fit the body profile of the original Marcos, but rather the body has been extended to meet the full width of the Jag Axle. I didn't want this. There will be some conssesions to the bonnet. The LS1 has an inlet manifold system that sits lower (so it seems) than the rocker covers, i.e. it sits neatly in the valley. So even if the engine is slightly taller than the old rover it probably wont reach the hieghts of the twin carbed SU unit I had on the 3.5. The plenum chamber on the injected models also seem very high, and by the looks of the mods done to this car...
www.rory.uk.com/marcos_ga...arcos9.jpg
I don't think I will need to alter the bulge I have in my bonnet at all. I will be seriously thinking about flowing the air over the bonnet from the radiator, so vents will be needed. and the original louvres towards the windscreen will disappear to make way for matching sets, but more louvres per side. All this however is in the future. For now, its back out the garage and, work work work.
Body goes back on this weekend.
Pending available time, I am aiming to have the car back on the road for June 2009. Its a tough one, but I got to keep going. I can't stand the flak anymore, Isobel. ;0)
ttfn.
How much heavier is the Chevy than a Rover? And will that extra weight over the front axle compromise the turn-in and general handling?
interesting project!!!!!!!!!!
More soon.
