Advice needed

[stupott901]

Hi there

My brother in law has got the kit car bug after being in my cobra and wants a kit car now but cant stretch to a cobra.

He has seen a marlin 5exi with a 1.8 rover engine and was built, sva and registered in 2009 on a q plate and looks pretty well built by the looks.

As i dont really know about marlins couple of questions what would be a good price?

and what does he need to check on them or is there any known faults or issues?

many thanks stu

[Krazyken]

Hi Stupott

Having owned a Marlin5exi since 2006 and covered over 10,000 miles on track I know/have found every weakness. 

Firstly you need to check that the car has the Mk2 rear suspension design as the original design was flawed hence the upgrade to Mk2.  My car was one of the first and was registered in 2005 but had the Mk1 rear suspension but was corrected shortly afterwards, on a 2009 car you should be OK but may be worth getting the chassis no. and checking with Terry at Marlin Sports Cars.

If you are going to take the car on track regularly you will need to beef up the engine mounts with seam welding rather than spot welding the mounts to the chassis.  The clutch cable path can cause them to snap (mine went 3 times) but this is easily rectified by welding a small plate to change the cable path.

The 1.8 K Series engine is perfectly suited to the car (mine is a 1.8 VVC) being light weight and providing good power & torque.  The PG1 gearbox it is mated to is very robust and being Rover parts for the engine/gearbox etc. are cheap as chips and reliability is good.  I have never had any cooling/head gasket issues but then again I have a PRT Thermostat moved to the other side of the engine which is the recommended fix.

A realistic price would be £5-£7K depending on the quality of the build, if you can get it for under £5K then its a bargain.

Hope this helps

[Krazyken]

Stu

Should have mentioned above that on the positive side the Marlin is much more user friendly than a 7 type car.  The curved screen means you get real wind protection, no need to wear a helmet and you can hold a conversation with your passenger on the move.  As long as you keep moving you stay dry in a shower and the heater coming from the donor is superb.  Nothing like driving in a clear cold dark night under the stars warm as toast with the heater on full.  The 206 headlights also light up the road ahead really well.

Once the rear suspension is sorted, I would also recommend a proper set up at Track Developments, the handling is a revelation like a full size go kart for the road.  Cockpit and stowage space is generous for a kit car and the roof works really well keeping heavy rain out.  On track the car punches well above its weight, I have overtaken a Lotus Exige, Porsche 911 GT3, 8 litre Dodge Viper and an Aston Martin DB9.

If your brother in law wants to have a chat with me or see my car, PM me and I will send you my phone no.

[stupott901]

Ken

many thanks for your advice i have passed the info on I think he may buy it he is going to view on saturday I think he been offered it for £3750 so not a bad price.

Cheers Stu