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Alchemy.
Mini Marcos.
 This month we review the Mini Marcos, the most successful of all cars based on Mini components. It was the only British car to complete the Le Mans 24 hr race in 1966, however its purpose was mainly as a kit car in the UK where many of these coupes were sold. The success overseas resulted in their being manufactured in Australia by Competition Cars at Double Bay in NSW. Kits were available for completion by owners wishing to be seen in something different that had good performance and road manners, this was the only excuse one needed to own one.
The Marcos had a similar design philosophy to the Jem, which we featured in an earlier issue, the body/chassis unit was a monocoque structure with wood and metal sections bonded into critical areas to give immense strength to the shell.
On first sight the height is the one thing that gains your attention, standing just one metre high, it looks like you could trip over one in the dark, but overall the design ends up looking quite good. The body was designed as a 2+2 with adequate accommodation for two adults and two children and a bit of luggage. Some cars were built with polished timber dashes and good trim and were presented as quite an upmarket mode of transport.
A problem that arose was that engine cooling and interior ventilation had to be managed correctly to overcome the shortcomings of inadequate air volume. Caused by the slippery shape, this was cured by using a high capacity radiator and thermo fan to allow the motor to keep its cool, for the occupants a good deodorant was desirable!
The Mini Marcos is recognised as one of the best kit cars using Mini bits and it would be good to see some of these finished to a high standard to take their place in Mini history.
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