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Marlin Sportster

TheKench - 27/4/10 at 10:47 AM

Hello all,

First post on the Forum but have been reading for a while - thought i'd get amongst it! Not building anything yet but can always dream. Need to get the garage sorted, then get some cash, and we're laughing.

http://www.marlinsportscars.co.uk/sportster

Has anyone had any experience of building one of the above? The thought of the classic shape with a BMW 6-pot fills me with joy! I did a forum search but couldn't find anything particularly significant.

If i ever get round to building one then i'll make sure i start a diary!

Cheers in advance,

Kench

StrikerChris - 27/4/10 at 11:04 AM

first car my dad built was a marlin,i can just about remember it.think his was based on a marina tho!not my cup of tea but he still regrets getting rid of it,and i think he's going to do a bmw based one now he's retired and my cars finnished.let us know what you think of it if you go ahead.

Irony - 27/4/10 at 11:08 AM

I don't no anything about them other than they have quite a active owners group. Also I think the purple one they have on there website looks sweet.

geeksandlies - 27/4/10 at 11:14 AM

I really like the 5exi had a blast in one a few years back when they Marlin had just realeased it, i know nothing about the roadster other than its a classic with a cult following

David Jenkins - 27/4/10 at 11:15 AM

It's another one of those "you get what you pay for" things - Marlin are not cheap, but their stuff seems well made and they have a long history as a kit company.

I do like the look of their Sportster...

[Edited on 27/4/10 by David Jenkins]

franky - 27/4/10 at 01:27 PM

As a side note, I very nearly bought one but was put off by way it goes together.... Donor subframes bolting to the chassis with donor suspension arms etc, very heavy! Also feedback from current builders about support issues and prices. Even when I called direct they didn't fill me with joy, they seem to support that melted ford ka thing well though!

MikeRJ - 27/4/10 at 01:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by franky
As a side note, I very nearly bought one but was put off by way it goes together.... Donor subframes bolting to the chassis with donor suspension arms etc, very heavy!

It's certainly not equivalent to a 7 style car, it's much more of a tourer.

TheKench - 28/4/10 at 11:26 AM

I had heard they were relatively heavy (given that ANYTHING is heavy compared to a seven!) which lends them nicely towards the tourer end of things... It's a bit of a debate for me, i have very little experience with this sort of thing and i think having good support would be invaluable.

they say around 800kg depending on which engine you drop in, i reckon with a 2.5l six and maybe 200bhp (is that unreasonable?) it would be fairly handy in a straight line. Corners are different, but then why go for a tourer, why not go for an out and out seven?

Oh, the choices! Part of my decision is biased by what my fiance would happily cruise around in...

iank - 28/4/10 at 11:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by TheKench
I had heard they were relatively heavy (given that ANYTHING is heavy compared to a seven!) which lends them nicely towards the tourer end of things... It's a bit of a debate for me, i have very little experience with this sort of thing and i think having good support would be invaluable.

they say around 800kg depending on which engine you drop in, i reckon with a 2.5l six and maybe 200bhp (is that unreasonable?) it would be fairly handy in a straight line. Corners are different, but then why go for a tourer, why not go for an out and out seven?

Oh, the choices! Part of my decision is biased by what my fiance would happily cruise around in...

To put things in perspective 800kg is 40% more than a really light 7 but around the same as the last of the classic mini's or a micra so it's hardly going to be a slouch on the road. On the track only kits and supercars are gong to get close with 200bhp.

Keeping SWMBO happy will certainly mean you get to drive it more. Too many 7's get less than 1000miles per year due to not being able to use them for either work (most cheap insurance policies) or 'normal' weekend driving.

TheKench - 28/4/10 at 04:47 PM

SWMBO - Nice, had to get the old urban dictionary on the case there!

Keeping Her happy is always a good thing. She loves driving but is more of a sunny-day-roof-down driver than a hard-core-round-the-corner-sideways driver.

If I can make it daily drive territory then that is a winner on all accounts too... has anyone got any knowledge on the weather gear that comes with it?

franky - 28/4/10 at 09:20 PM

they do sell a 'kit'... have a look on the owners club for feedback on the bits and bobs and get your cheque book out!

mds167 - 30/4/10 at 10:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by TheKench
Keeping Her happy is always a good thing. She loves driving but is more of a sunny-day-roof-down driver than a hard-core-round-the-corner-sideways driver.

If I can make it daily drive territory then that is a winner on all accounts too... has anyone got any knowledge on the weather gear that comes with it?

I was looking at the website recently and think the weather gear is limited, there's a tonneau available ut I don't know about much more.

The Roadster was the forerunner to the Sportster, now marketed by Javelin Sportscars and based on the 3 series. Marlin might even still make the chassis. It looks much more like an old tourer. There's a lovely lemon yellow one near me. For a kit I think they have a high Wife Acceptabilty Factor (unit of measure normally applied to home-built hi-fi) having 'doors' and a full hood.