This 1970 Marcos GT was cut in half (!) to clear customs when it was imported 21 years ago from England. Just the body shell, which is fiberglass anyway, but still! It’s said to have been sitting in a trailer for 8 years after being driven into it, and is only missing the trunk lid, windshield and back glass. The car is located in Stratford, Connecticut and is being offered for sale here on eBay with a buy-it-now of $7,000 and no-reserve bidding starting at $2,200. I’m confused why the seller states that the glass is needed when both windows appear to be present in the pictures but not installed. These Marcos are powered by a Volvo inline 6 that is said to deliver adequate performance given the light weight of the car. Exposed metal frame members look to have heavy surface rust; I’d recommend an inspection or some more undercar photos before going too high on this one, but at least the body panels themselves won’t be rusty. I love the Cosmic wheels and overall low, sleek look! How about you?
Shouldn’t be too hard to rejoin the halves, it’s not like the early War Surplus Jeeps where they removed a 6″ transverse section out of them, thus preventing butt welding it back together
Cut it in half…….why?…………..geez people do stupid things. What did it prove?
Now, if Customs cut everything in half coming across the boarders then we could reduce a certain percentage of crime in half…………but no, they cut a car in half……….gawd………
Its pretty easy to see why it was cut in half… It was imported 21 years ago (my guess is that is inaccurate, probably 31 years ago, but 21 works fine) which would be 1994. The car was 24 years old, and therefore did not meet the 25 year rule. The only way it could have been imported was ‘as parts’. I’ve heard stories of cars that couldn’t be imported that were entirely dis-assembled and shipped, shipped in boxes, but the shell was too obvious and seized. I’ve heard of spraying the bodyshell in old oil and packing it full of garbage. And I’ve heard of cutting them in half. In general, cutting them in half works best if its feasible. In a car like this, it is. A uni-body car (like say a Cosworth Escort) you fill full of garbage and hope for the best. Uncle Sam, keeping us safe. Ugh.
Hey, there is a thought.
Maybe if they cut it in half they can get $4000 for the first half and $6000 for the second which the buyer of the first half will need to complete the project.
Stored inside ? with that rust on the engine ?
It will take a hell of a lot more than new screens and a boot lid. The brake pedal box, pedal assembly, front inner fender mud guards lower fan shroud, steering column and wheel, headlight covers plus extensive rework to secure the topo at the lower windscreen and rocker panels, not to mention the floor pan, the upholstery and door panels, carpet, headliner and sunroof all will need to be replaced. and the frame will most likely need the outer bottom rails and some of the lower uprights replaced from the looks of the exposed potions that can be seen in the photo’s. Some one is looking at 30,000 to 40,000 dollars worth of restoration at the least, depending on the quality of the paint job (4,000 to 8,000). I would expect that the engine will need a complete overhaul. Most Volvo powered Marcos were originally equipped with the BW automatic leak boxes. There is a good chance that the rear axle has pitted crown wheel and pinion gear which are no longer available.
I have converted 3 of these cars over to 4 speed with O/D and the parts are expensive and hard to find.
Sorry for rambling, but if I was 20 years younger, I would still hesitate to take on another 3 year project.
Regards,
Larry
3v5536
Greetings All,
Not going to attempt to profile why a customs officer does anything as I’m a logical being.
That being said…..the Marcos had a plywood monocoque that the fiberglass body was bonded. We have had wood import issues before the current stupid ones but cutting it in half would not have kept any of the things that they were worrying about from happening.
Putting it back to make it’s structural integrity to what it was originally, most likely every bit as labor intensive as a metal vehicle, especially with the fiberglass body mounted/molded around it.
Volvo 6 cylinder? Had a 164E, not a bad car cruised well but seems like a lot of weight for minimal horsepower. Better HP to weight ratio’s out there, guess Marcos couldn’t get any other supplier to commit to their numbers.
The 1970 cars have a square tube steel frame. 1969 and prior did have the plywood ‘unibody’ construction.
Larry
The Volvo with automatic were made for export to the US to meet the emission standards of the day.
Larry
If you like small (both physically and production numbers) one of these will do the job. Not much higher than waist high. But I agree that this one is too far gone for anyone but the most fanatical Marcos fan. I wouldn’t bother…life’s too short.
RE: performance… I knew a guy who had one. Bought and drove it across Europe on the Autobahn before bringing it over here, and said it was fantastic. His had the Volvo 6 with a Volvo 4-speed + OD, and he said it would cruise at well over 100 all day. I guess the small frontal area, good aero, and light weight had a lot to do with it, in addition to that 3 liters of Volvo torque.
This story sounds fishy about cutting it in half to get through customs especially when the car has Sebring Racing car Club sticker and a Professional Ski Instructors of America sticker on the back. Who overseas would put those on? This car was chopped up and hidden away in a trailer parked in a swamp while here and maybe as a result of theft. Dis-assembling and sending in separate boxes to different ports consigned to different parties would have been the normal route to get it in. Priced far above the market considering condition.
I have been helping the person that purchased this car to get it back together again. I did some research on this car and found that it was on e of the 14 Marcos cars that were brought in by a dealer on NY and was not able to pay the duty by the gov. Required deadline so we’re confiscated and supposedly disposed of. The car has been resurrected an Will be driving over the American road soon again. I want to congratulate the man restoring the car for bringing it back to Iife.