Ten things you might not have known about pre-1970 Marcos
A pdf version of this article can be downloaded here...
Trivial Pursuits anyone?
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Many thanks to Richard Falconer for this list of quirky facts about Marcos.
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1 |
The screw drive for the adjustable pedals originates from a window opening device
for greenhouses.
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2 |
Insulation board was used as a floor fill in later wood cars: balsa wood was used
in the first 1800s – don’t worry it rots just the same.
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3 |
Marine ply was never used in Marcos: only external quality WPBP but the difference
between the two can just be down to the selection of the veneers.
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4 |
The floor width of the original Marcos 1800 was determined by the size of a standard
sheet of 3mm ply, 1220mm or 4ft. Each sill is glued to the outside edges, 12mm wide.
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5 |
The multi tubular front subframe weighs 13½ kg, the square tube frame 17kg.
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6 |
The doors differ radically from side to side around the front of the rear wheel
arches and the door shuts because of mistakes when the Hartin Brothers made the
original aluminium buck in Ealing.
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7 |
There are over 60 drawings to cover the original Marcos 1800 design including a
sectional drawing of the body, but none of the chassis components as these were
made from full size jigs.
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8 |
Pop star owners have included the two lesser Walker Brothers, Andy Fairweather Lowe
and Rod Stewart. Edwin Star had a wooden 3-litre with the US licence plate ‘MARCOS’.
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9 |
Ford Escort pads fit the later Triumph Vitesse calipers and give greatly improved
braking.
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10 |
The expensive Rose joint for the Panhard rod can be equally well substituted with
a rubber-bushed adjustable end similar to that used in the adjustable leading arm.
Such a system was used in 1500s and 1600s, as well as the late Volvo 3-litre.
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PS: the Rose joint was developed from a control joint found in a downed German aircraft
at the start of the war. Cadbury’s Roses are named after that same company who also designed sweet wrapping machinery. |