This February has been one of the hottest on record in Warragul, with something like 7 days over 40 degrees which means there’s no way any work can be done outside or in the garage / workshop. There was, however a run of pleasant mild days which was spent at Warragul Panels doing all the labour intensive work in wet-sanding the Marcos bodyshell down between coats of primer and various guidecoats. It was finished off with 800 grit wet and dry prior to painting and sprayed with 2-pack solid colour. It hasn’t been polished yet – that will be done after I’ve put it all together so that any accidental scratches and blemishes can be buffed out. All in all it was at the shop for 2 weeks and is now resplendent in the 1960’s lighter shade of British Racing Green (GN25) that was used on some Austin Healeys and MGBs of the time. The broad orange stripe certainly lifts the green and matches the powder-coated subframes and roll bar structure. The colour combination is, I’d like to think, unique, but there are obvious similarities to Lotus (green/ yellow) and even the classic Brabham (green / gold) racing team colours.
From the paint shop it was transported around town to Warragul Auto Trimmers where Dave used the tatty old vinyl roof lining as a guide to make and glue in a light grey stretch fabric roof lining the extends down the A-pillars and to below the rear and side windows. With this in place it was then possible to squeeze the 4-point roll cage in through the doors and position it roughly in place so that the rear subframe can eventually be bolted up to it from underneath.
Whilst the body shell was away being fettled by experts, an old Cooper S engine and gearbox was dragged out of storage and partially stripped down for inspection. Unfortunately, the moly coating on both the 2nd and 3rd gears was worn away or damaged, so another spare box was broken down in search of a couple of useable replacement gears. Luckily the gears in the second box were OK, but the inside of the laygear showed wear on the case hardening so the best bits from either box will go together to make a good one. A list of new replacement bearings, baulk rings, shafts, lock tabs and gaskets has been drawn up and will be purchased as soon as I can finalize the requirements and find some money!
The engine is 1310cc, which is 0.040″ oversize. I don’t want to fully strip it down until the gearbox rebuild is out of the way; but the bores look good and measure up OK, so here’s hoping that a hone with new rings and bearings will suffice.
I’m pleased with the way the body shell has come up and am looking forward to the rebuilding process after 12 months of doing bodywork. The first parts to be refitted to the shell were the Marcos ID plate and the original importer’s tag (Competition Cars, Sydney) – the rebuild has begun!
Mini Marcos GT 