Cars That Used Chevy Power

[Chuffer]

British sports car manufacturer Marcos had considerable racing success with the LS6 powered Marcos LM 600 EVO seen here racing at in the Norwich Union 4 Hours series at Silverstone . The `full house ` state of tune produced 600 Bhp and 450 Ft / lbs torque .
Back in my Marcos days I knew the guy that owned the Orange Beast which was road registered B1G LM . See the beast arrive at events via public roads was quite a spectacle and drew attention like flies to a dung heap !!

 

[Roscobbc]

Look carefully and you can just about see the original Marcos shape........

 

[antijam]

I remember visiting the Marcos factory in Westbury back in the mid '90's when they were building the Mantaras. I can't remember whether the cars being built were the LM 600's - but they did look like a standard car on serious doses of steroids. What made a lasting impression on me was the dodgy quality of the welding on the space -frame chassis. I wouldn't have felt comfortable in one on the road, never mind on the track.

Just out of interest a friend of mine is building (not re-building since it was never originally completed) a very rare Costin Nathan race car. It has a space frame chassis designed and built by Frank Costin around 1965. It's quite a jigsaw puzzle since he has most of the parts but no assembly drawings or instructions.



Chassis looks almost as complex as a Maserati birdcage!
.

 

[Chuffer]

Look carefully and you can just about see the original Marcos shape........

Hard to believe it all started with the Xylon Gull Wing known as the ¬ Ugly Duckling ` for obvious reasons . Then the body shape started to morph from the classic GT shape into the wider style on later models with various depths of chin spoilers through the Mantula , Mantara, (like my M908 GPV with 4 litre V8 ) , then the LM 500 available with either a 4 litre of 4.9 Litre Rover V8 , then the even more extreme Mantis . I fell in love with the Marcos GT in the late 1960`s at the Earls Court Motor Show and dreamed of owning one one day .

 

[Roscobbc]

Chuffler - how do they compare re. quality, reliabilty and value compared with TVR's?

 

[Chuffer]

I remember visiting the Marcos factory in Westbury back in the mid '90's when they were building the Mantaras. I can't remember whether the cars being built were the LM 600's - but they did look like a standard car on serious doses of steroids. What made a lasting impression on me was the dodgy quality of the welding on the space -frame chassis. I wouldn't have felt comfortable in one on the road, never mind on the track.

Just out of interest a friend of mine is building (not re-building since it was never originally completed) a very rare Costin Nathan race car. It has a space frame chassis designed and built by Frank Costin around 1965. It's quite a jigsaw puzzle since he has most of the parts but no assembly drawings or instructions.

View attachment 22765

Chassis looks almost a complex as a Maserati birdcage!
.

Wow !! A Costin Nathan , that`s a very rare beast as only 6 were built . Frank Costin was a very accomplished engineer and designer and utilized a lot of aircraft technology from his days with De Havilland . Going round the Westbury Works must have been a great experience in the 90`s as Marcos were getting seriously into Le Mans 24hrs in that period . Interestingly too , a friend of mine was Team Manager for Marcos at that time and has just revently bought a C6 and joined the club .

 

[Chuffer]

Chuffler - how do they compare re. quality, reliabilty and value compared with TVR's?

No contest in my opinion , Marcos reliability was very good and so was build quality on factory built cars like mine . The glass fibre bodywork was to a high standard and so was the paint finish . Interiors of the Mantara era cars were classic British old school with walnut dash , Whilton carpet trim and beautifully comfortable leather seats despite being fully fixed into car tailored to the original owner . The pedal box was adjustable as per race cars and were manual worm and wheel adjusted on earlier cars and press of a button power operated on 1975 cars on like mine. The use of tried and tested engines , gear box and drive train from main stream manufactures helped the reliability and parts availabilty as well as costs of parts and servicing . Even the electrics were good in my experience provided cars were used regularly and well maintained . A friend of mine was a die hard TVR fan with a TVR S V8 at the time and really took the pee when I said I was getting a Marcos . He soon changed his mind when I took him for blast in it and was impressed with the ride and handling . Mine never missed a beat and had lots of use doing Dream Rides , events , track days and 4 or 5 day classic car tours in Wales and Ireland . My mate`s TVR broke down more times than I could remember .
I think TVR overstreatched themselves when they went down the self build engine route . The interiors were an acquired taste too and got a bit too gimmicky in my book .

 

[Roscobbc]

Was looking for a new car for 'er indoors' in the late 90's......there were several choices, MGF, BM Z3, Merc SLK230, Mazda MX5 and TVR Griffith500. Took a test drive in the TVR and I was really impressed with its 5 ltr/340 hp engine and the cars ability to handle all the power you could feed in to it......safely.....far less impressed with the exposed screw heads securing the trim, the constant machine gun din of stones being thrown up in the fender openings on country roads, and the overpowering smell of glass fibre. Steering was too heavy, gear shift much the same and the seat adjustment was so poor, with the seat forward she had to use TVR's optional bolster behind her......then the really heavy clutch was in an impossible position, steering wheel too far back in her chest and she had to reach behind her to attempt to grab the gearshifter. She ended up with the MGF.....but that's another story!

 

[Chuffer]

The Griffith 500 sure was a beast of a car and much more `balls out ` than the Mantara which had just 189 bhp from the 3.9 Rover V8 but it was still good for 0 - 62 mph in 5.4 secs and a max of 140 mph with just 2370 lbs curb weight to haul about . Mine had a few tweeks and a fast road cam and was nearer to 215 bhp . The brakes had no servo assist and took a bit of getting used to at first but the the steering was assisted and pin sharp . I had a smaller Momo steering wheel and was 1 & 1/2 turns lock to lock . Going round sharp bends and roundabouts was almost telepathic on its lowered adjustable Koni`s . Even my wife at 5 ft 2 ins could drive it with the pedal box wound right back but she did need the optional padded booster ( In matching cream leather ! ) . Oh ! I forget to say that the toxic smell of hot resin came as standard after a long hard drive . I squeezed in an extra layer of foil backed insulation to the underside above the exhausts but it still ponged . Hot feet was the order of the day too with such a reclined driving position and your legs almost up engine block level . I did however have the optional extra luxury of a cooling fan built into the inner wing to blow cool air into the drivers foot well . The passenger just had to suffer !

 

[phild]

Gordon Keeble for me, only 99 ever built and featured the 327 small block Chevy motor.

 

[Roscobbc]

Its all too easy to admire and think "how did someone make such a beautiful car from glass fibre"? ........and then remember the comparative beauty of the Corvette over the years!

 

[Chuffer]

Its all too easy to admire and think "how did someone make such a beautiful car from glass fibre"? ........and then remember the comparative beauty of the Corvette over the years!

The Gordon Keeble has elegance which is the difference IMO .

 

[antijam]

Gordon Keeble for me, only 99 ever built and featured the 327 small block Chevy motor.

View attachment 22795

The Keeble in your picture is currently for sale by the Hairpin Company. They're not far from me and I have to say I'm sorely tempted, but something would have to go to give it garage room - decisions, decisions.........

 

[phild]

The Keeble in your picture is currently for sale by the Hairpin Company. They're not far from me and I have to say I'm sorely tempted, but something would have to go to give it garage room - decisions, decisions.........

Me too. I shamelessly nicked the picture from their site as it looks so good in that colour in my opinion.

 

[Roscobbc]

Me too. I shamelessly nicked the picture from their site as it looks so good in that colour in my opinion.

How much I wonder!

 

[antijam]

How much I wonder!

£88k

 

[Roscobbc]

Perhaps makes a C1/C2 almost seem good value........

 

[antijam]

Indeed! Low volume performance classic cars always demand a premium. If they've been produced by a short-lived small company they can not only cost a lot to buy, they can be very expensive to maintain; it depends on how much the manufacturer raided the parts bins of large volume producers. I'm unsure how much of the GK is bespoke but in the case of my onetime Gilbern Invader Estate, a car also made in small numbers (104 units) most parts other than the body and chassis were pretty easy to find and usually relatively cheap.


The engine was a 3.0L Ford Essex V6, the gearbox Mk 4 Ford Zodiac, the rear axle MGC, door handles MGB, tailgate glass Ford Corsair Estate (a car possibly even rarer than the Gilbern!) and the bonnet vent trims Hillman Imp. The electric window mechanism was Vauxhall and the bumpers were modified Triumph units....and so on. Rather oddly, Gilbern chose to produce their own alloy wheels; these were sand-cast aluminium and an absolute b*gger to balance!

We know where GK sourced their engines - and gearboxes? , but the de dion rear end was certainly bespoke and it shares its rear brakes only with the Aston Martin DB4 GT and the Daimler SP250 - not exactly mass production cars themselves!

Both cars were glassfibre bodied on a bespoke space-frame chassis, but the Gilbern certainly wasn't in the same league as the GK. Nevertheless performance and handling were very good for the day and although it suffered from something of a 'Kit Car' image, the build quality of the factory built cars was very good - and the walnut dash bestowed a real air of quality.


With almost the same number built You can buy a Gilbern these days for a fraction of the cost of a GK and while certainly not matching the speed of the Keeble, in terms of handling the Gilbern would leave an original Keeble in the dust!

Still I've had the Gilbern, and the Gordon Keeble is an itch still to be scratched......

 

[Roscobbc]

Reliant Scimitars tend to leave me cold..............with the exception of the older SE4 Coupe with the Ford straight six. When equipped with Raymond Mayes ally head, 12 port head, twin or triple carbs with its light weight it was quite a 'tool' and far more characterful than the later V6.

 

[antijam]

With you on the SE4's Rosco. I spent many months looking for one before buying my C3. Although they're quite rare now I found a few - all V6's unfortunately and all either very rough or very modified - and in the end gave up the search and bought the 'Vette instead. A few weeks later I was talking to a local enthusiast I hadn't met before - he lives only a couple of miles away - who told me he'd just sold his SE4a with the 2.5L straight 6 Zodiac Mk4 engine...for half what I'd have paid for it! Just goes to show, it's only a bargain if you find it...