1971 Marcos GT - Jay Leno’s Garage

[Music] lastly performance welcome another episode of Jay Leno's Garage the car were featuring today a 1971 Marko's to my eye this is one of the prettiest the most unusual sports cars of all time this comes from that sort of Golden Age of car building in the mid late 50s mid 60s in England there were so many manufacturers doing all sorts of unusual things this car has a lot of unusual features the styling being one of them it really is unique I think it's just great looking it used a variety of power plants let's bring in the owner he's a proper Englishman who should own a car like this his name is Fraser Douglas and we'll learn more about it Fraser how you doing hello oh yeah good to see ya thanks for having me well thanks for bringing this you know as I was saying this website the fun thing about having this YouTube show is I'll go to car shows and I'll see something like hey can we get this on my show sure and he was kind enough to bring it over could you just don't see these very often in America people are not familiar with the car and not familiar with the company the most unusual feature at least the early cars actually had a plywood chassis right that's right they had three hundred eighty six different plywood pieces that were laminated together though very strong yeah but in the end they had to switch to steel shutters because they were so expensive to produce those chassis yeah I just like the idea you can go to lumber Depot yeah and pick up some chassis pieces for your car they went to the hardware store and just need it all together but the advantage of the plywood was it was extremely light yeah I mean this is before carbon fiber fiberglass was heavy well fiberglass couldn't make a chassis out of it really but it worked they were strong they were very strong and the reason they did it was because one of the founders of the company Frank Austin Wright worked on the de Havilland Mosquito fighter bomber during the war and so a lot of cars in that era were were based around wooden chasis and and of course this famously was one of them well I've got a 27 litre Merlin engine I have one mosquito oh I was a little familiar that I know the name and he wasn't he an aerodynamicist well he was he did this shape with the cam back tail it really is truly a striking sports car and if you get the size of it well I'm not quite 6 feet you are so you can judge from how small it is just some us standing next to it and what is it weigh maybe sixteen seventeen hundred pounds yeah they're very light and it is actually only officially forty three inches off the ground as well so it's a very low car as you'll find out when you try and get in it well I haven't got it yet so we're gonna save that and I remember they came with a variety of powerplant some of the early cars used the volvo four-cylinder and what engine does this one have well this is a Ford 3 litre v6 aren't big motor big motor because this was one of the last variations of the car before they went out of business in 72 but you're right they started off with the P 1800 engine with the wooden chassés back in 1964 in wet Volvo gearbox as well Volvo gearbox as well and then they evolved with volvo engines and also with pre cross-flow engines the engines got slightly bigger this is the 4 3 litre v6 during this era they also had the 3 liter Volvo engine the B 30 hound as well which is also a very good engine did they run triumph motors at one point I remember seeing one when I was a kid it's just not a car you see every day on the street and when I saw yours at the show I mean there were all these Ferraris and Lamborghinis and I went along coast and I went over to him right away and I was just so impressed with it because when you see this I mean a modern Lamborghini Ferrari it looks like some sort of crossover pickup or something there I mean they're way up here there are battleships oh yeah yeah this thing just kind of slithers in under the radar oh no it's just fantastic yeah can we open the hood and I see you've got the hood locks here do we need to unlock those or no no they should be open why that's it why they get that engine in there don't say and I imagine modern v6 is this size you could get a lot of horsepower out of this yeah absolutely I think the horsepower on this is only at about 155 something like that not huge but of course it's it's a very light car now obviously later incarnations of this the man Chile's had Rover v8 very Range Rovers and things which is you know very very high speed a 4-speed this is a full speed with overdrive oh okay oh okay very nice yeah so it's fast enough now what is this box here what does that do well this is one of the most interesting things about Marcus is that the seats are not adjustable they're fixed a Jim Marsh who was the founder of the company the co founder was a very tall man he was six foot four so to account for different size of of drivers the pedal box is adjustable oh there's a dial underneath the dash don't you move and the pedal box move smooth it'll have a bang okay oh that's yeah I know when I got my Dodge Viper in 92 they had that feature oh that's very cool in that yeah yeah I have a feeling Marcus was the first one yeah yeah well yeah just brakes in front what drums in the back exactly so the front is triumph Vitesse and gt6 suspension as is the steering but they use a lot of component parts for these cars as well yeah so this is like boutique manufacturing they go and they get the brakes in this and the engine from Volvo and he goes and they were just that's why I love that era of English sports cars when there weren't a lot of federal rules you can just build whatever you wanted and there were so many little shops in in Wales and dotted all across the country guys just building Caterham xand various cars in TRW of TV our TV our rather you know just all these small companies building their own unique sports cars and this is certainly one of the most unique its body is fiberglass car yes full fiberglass yeah yeah you know you got a couple little stress marks here yeah I think this is from the heat although I've only just bought the car actually I only had it for about five months okay so I'm not really sure where this originated but it looks like heat doesn't it on base oh yeah it's character I think it's good that's what I said now yeah you've been searching for a marker I mean what what did you have previous to this it made I've had quite a lot of cars all let's say budget sports sports cars and and I've been searching for the perfect one that I can use every day so I've had Datsun 240z z-- low cess spree mg s triumphs and all that sort of thing and Porsche 911s right I've never quite found the one that I can fix myself that's sort of practical to use every day so I've ended up with this this isn't practical to use every day so now why is it had practical in LA it's too low because the trucks don't see you yeah I think that's part of the problem yeah you go to the wheel yeah and jumping in and out of it at supermarkets you know you end up sort of falling in and out because if ya can't make a graceful exit yeah but I do think it takes a lot of boxes for me and you know it looks beautiful you can't you can fix it yourself it's so simple and compared to those other cars you mentioned this is the one that really stands out I mean when you drive this just as I approached you and I imagined and I knew what it was imagine most people have no idea and they come up and what do they think it is I think it's a kid car what do they think it is you know there's a tradition in LA as you know of guys shouting at your traffic lights hey what is it yeah you get that all the time well see I don't mind that you know what I hear it's nice how much and I go you know what it is no but how much you want for it why don't you ask me what it is first there before oh how much is that worth I say it's a million yeah yeah yeah million yeah yeah easy to say get that all the time it's a rare car especially here in the states I mean they only made 1200 GTS in total and fewer than 200 with a steel chassis okay and only a handful made it to America yeah no is the steel chassis considered the most valuable I think that's open to debate yeah I think a lot of people want steel chassis ones because of the bigger engines right but but actually the earlier wooden chassis ones are very sought-after yeah yeah well the purists are probably like that yeah but still it's 1,600 1,600 pounds I think around about that yeah it's pretty amazing right let's let's close this smoker down again let's go around to what I think is a I love the rear of this thing I love that that cam back which was not controversial but unusual back in the you know there was prior to this all cars had that sloping tail they thought that was more aerodynamic and then I think Pete Brock introduced it remember in the in the in the Cobra coupe yes and they realize are dynamically this is much better mmm and it's a sexy looking car it's nice isn't it I I do like the back of them yeah not a lot not a lot of bumper protection no no no but they didn't have bumpers didn't it they did they had tiny little bumpers yeah thin things but it's not the kind of car you want to come to a crashing halt in no no no it's just the word crashing and then this you don't want to be there yeah just this straight they would have to take you out to the sunroof yeah so the company had a business in 72 yeah 72 and partly because of the US federal ization Act oh yeah yeah no just that's pretty good I'll be you show up with this they go daddy here's exactly why you're not gonna reach remember headlights had to be a certain height so there'd be literally higher than the car yeah it was a shame I I love this era when you could just design something it was pure design you can put it on the road now oh the taillights are too low the headlights aren't high and I mean every conceivable kind of I realize it's all for safety but yeah this is a car show and it's about the style and and this is really I think a stylish car and a really unusual car it really doesn't look like anything else you know you look a lot of other cars you go the front is kind of Jag and the rear is kind of alpha and this does not look like anything else I've ever seen that's that's what's sexy and fun about it it's really really cool and they're affordable aren't they oh very much so very much so yes I mean after I saw you I went I went to the classifieds and under $50,000 yes 20 to 40 depending on was it but you look at it if this had an Italian name plate on it it might be $250,000 this was an Alfa you know sprint speciale or something oh my god me I'm 50 so it's it's it's really unique it isn't I think you do get the power and you get the performance and the handling and the Italian looks and the rarity right for you know as you say a tenth of the price so I think it's at the moment I think it's a bit of a bargain fifty thousand buys you're a really good one no is this the original color no it was originally chrome yellow this one chrome yellow it doesn't sound like in English oh good American one yeah yeah yeah bit brash yes we're actually yes that's exactly yes head of chrome yellow does seem a bit odd but this is a very nice color this is much that a lotus color it is a Lotus Kyle cast yeah yes now those taillights look familiar to me but I don't know what they're from obviously something English what what were they off of the Lotus Elan oh okay and your gas filler right there yeah that's that's pretty cool to have that there this looks like the gas filler that would have come the early Cobras had that with the key and this this button right here to open it yeah oh yeah they just bought whatever parts were available they did they had as you say a parts bin and what it was whatever was available at the time I mean the the bonnet catches our eye remember from when I had a triumph GT so yeah oh the GT 6 I like those others yeah yeah now is there an active owners club for this very much so and they're very dedicated following both here and back in the UK mainly in the UK you in the club okay and actually I must say it's the 60th anniversary of Marcus this year okay so it's cause for big celebration and there's gonna be a huge rally in the UK a huge rally well big blast on booze well see that's what I love about English car one day when I bought my tatra I saw an ad in a British magazine touch her owners club forming bicep so I call the guy what's it say oh yes we we have a pot scheme who put in a magazine and we have a Christmas party every year okay I'll join Oh wonderful wonderful yeah no thanks sorry I said the guy yeah how many people in the club isn't with you four yeah four so without suddenly four or so okay so I I said when you pull the Christmas party is your garage is concerned I thinking he's got a hundred Simona's he goes with you that makes four oh four okay well fine put me down I guess I'm one of the founding members wonderful so they've got a table in a pub yeah exactly exactly that's the way we do it over there now tell me about the wheels are the wheels from something else as well know that there are original Marcus wheels actually oh we're they made their own wheel they made their own magnesium wheels and you can see the inserts they have the little marker slogan got you know I mean they really were conscious of weight saving I mean I mean a steel wheel would have been a huge cost savings this but obviously they went with my DS and they really were intent on keeping weight down really dedicated to that it yeah it's such a great looking car mmm and it's a shape that you could actually make even bigger if you wanted to because of it holds up well the proportions are nice I agree I think the proportions are great and you know as I said the federalization helped kill this car because they were impounded at the ports in I think 71 or 72 right which which had a pretty devastating effect on a small company like Marcus I bet you imagine now if they yeah I'm surprised they didn't sell it as a kid you know oh they did yeah Oh some what some were sold as kids yes so that would get past the federal regulations and across the engineman meat-eating smog and oh god it was a shame but yeah it really is that Aero specialist car building and this is plastic correct yeah it's perspex yes okay yeah we call a PEC Plexiglas really collects a glossy or perspex perspex all right Brianna and this is a Lobosco is that how you say that's a yes Andrew was just kind of okay yeah well that's their sunroof yeah now is that an option do they all come with that most the ones I've seen have it right so I'm gonna say that that was a factory standard yeah and you get a lot of engine heat from there so they've got a terrible amount oh really it is very hot now because of this engine I think there's an option to put our conditioning in because the engine is actually quite short right the Volvo engines it's more difficult because it's a long six cylinder and train so that could be something to do for this oh it had a six cylinder well yeah the Volvo engine ones or a five strikes it illustrates it oh that's interesting okay well this is probably the most desirable model isn't it steel chassis the Ford v6 which of course in England that's like 327 Chevy here is everything's available for it right it's a very popular engine it was any give a Weber's on you can do whatever you want yeah so cool cool yeah well can we take it for a ride yeah I'm anxious do you think I'll fit in this thing I don't know let's see if I can fit in this thing okay what's the idea one leg in first yeah all right there you go hang on hang on once let me get my leg oh there we go no problems comfortable Oh actually once you're in actually this is very comfortable actually not bad at all now I have to shut the door well you look down that long hood I love the long hood you feel like you're rocking a Ferrari Daytona no company with that long hood up there I love the look at the component bulge and they strive you're like you're bounding over the way is with the fun of this dip going up and it's a perfect day for this car cuz it's a little cool today in Los Angeles probably around 50 degrees something like that it's just enough engine heat jiggle it's very enjoyable it's perfect the waiting's of April May and it's it's unbearable yeah yeah bearable to be a but it actually is 377 until ya got money a power some heat in the engine now fine you got quite a bit of metal drum funny it seemed like this should be so much more expensive than a PR three-year an enemy because it seems more exotic that's really not maybe a few bucks more but not crazy what's top speed about 120 maybe I think it's officially probably something like that - feels a bit shaky - shake that that kind of speaker yeah guys throw it you go through that I think it up yeah what about potholes well yeah you got a but with that football which makes you look like it from the gyrus see if they can get a big 427 overhead cam engine in there the people have shown this engine to figure where is the engine they think you small because in America here the big three big engines right but I think at the time you know to be Sixers no that's Ameen the novel has a v6 so I know they call this the Essex of love yeah look because it was so big - to us Brits back in the day but in England obese the v6 is like our VA right yeah I mean it's it's it's and v6 is are becoming more popular now the Ford GT is a v6 it's fantastic yeah I like it very much I love the Smiths dials it's nice you don't want to get hit by a semi anything with those switches of is that so yeah we're the switches in here oh I think you want halfway down they go half which I think is plenty I guess not bad you don't need windows still all the way down now like that the Countach generally goes down this machi if you go to wendy's you got to get this single patty because you can't slip a double burger through this absolutely the slide you know and he can't get the drink now all you get Amanda go to the top of the sunroof yeah you know to me it's all about how our car makes you feel when you drive and you feel like you're in something bigger and more substantial you know what I mean I mean it it's a real racy soda feeling you get a lot of Road feel through the car and it's and you put your foot in and look up and then the other English car has been that would be second year you know what I mean and yeah I mean it pulls quite well it's I feel enjoy it and this seems very Italian with the leather-covered transmission tunnel with the ashtray up here little s I like the ashtrays that holds one ash one little ash you want to add sense but I can see driving this cross-country you know it's myself if the country is English and out with a lot of freeway I mean it's quite comfortable it's not really that loud I don't find it impressive and aerodynamically just sort of feel the wind gone homey you know there's a lot of wind noise in this thing but it's amazing how how huge little Honda's and stuff look doing when they pass yeah very funny really I imagine dryness in England you know it's a bit chilly and foggy and rainy so you're sort of coffee are in here you're in this car you know and it just it's just a comfortable place to be I like the seats are part of the chassis is it it's literally cut into the frame yeah [Music] but I know in England I think there's a lot of rain in England crying I don't know if I'd like to be driving this at the rain too much now the waterproof resin take without power the fiberglass is out kind of rust and we have one with the wood frame whether the deter might see that no problem that's right not craft the car feels much bigger in size than it is and your relationship to the windscreen it's about what it would be in any other cars not like you're right here you know period the best driving if they ever build any left-hander oh yeah they did yeah they don't specifically for the states and they tried to ignore them and then they succeeded in importing some and then again a subtle stock investor go crazy driving under that doesn't bother me [Music] when I go to England and I Drive and I get to the roundabout think it'll sit on the other side all right I go to step off the curb I'm looking yeah we click to the cars I'm gonna get away you know there's a nod to having and I'll find the heat unfair not that much heat coming out of it this is one of those cars you never seen in motion you know most time to deceive it with the static picture so you get no idea how big or small it is that's right I mean Oh before I fold this side actually never driven woman I was slow to school right right but I can't find it okay i'm fairly tall yeah yeah a very comfortable seat well I grew up in the 60s and I was a play button time to play one when it said no whether you guys are called a CAD scar that would you know what's the antidote to me the real proper sports car there's a playboy would buy something that looked like a sports car but really was and you know was more for picking up girls whatever race car that you could drive on the street they were be more racing with these and as that remember they did quite well did they all right I think they did as I remember I remember reading is tracking those magazines back in the 60 outside anymore by Jackie stood right Oh leo I like Jackie he's a great guy you know I did a couple of TV things when I'm a couple of shows he's always got the proper Scottish tartan Tulsa yeah yeah my mother's from Scotland so I always like I always enjoyed the Scottish and they always have that real sense of pride and Scottish heritage and all that yeah yeah he's a he's a character those alcohol fires Taylor a to put out you can see the fight always wearing you know graceful and and classy how I was seeing it there it did it you know Laguna Seca very friendly to everybody very cordial you know none of that get away from you nonsense yeah I mean Andy 0yz a real car guy you know I mean I guess that goes without saying but you have a real gentleman I like this guy's very enjoyable like no really it's exactly I'm glad I was not disappointed because again a lot of cars and there's an amp and kitten cart hit courage feel to it you know big slab of wood for a dashboard the property I mean this feels like this was built by engineer now even though it's a an inexpensive car which is what I love to or what the some $100,000 thing you can make an expensive car easier they can inexpensive just get the best stuff you know when you have to use your head you know use a lot of tail lights and somebody else's break somebody else in front end and it all works that's really good engineering I'm glad to hear you say that I think I think mark our students that we flatted and especially on the 60th anniversary year it's great that you and winners are named Marcos come from well it's a important man to Jim marsh power card costume all right much up quite you know yeah that's right yeah Austin yeah put this outside initial I go too damn fast you know shoe collection you know she came off to my right [Music] well I think you'll hold on to this car for a long time I don't think you'll find anything else in this price range that can match this everybody was tweaking you get quite a bit more out of my time I guess praise your dentist thank you for bringing this wonderful piece of classic English engineering to my garage only in England for this has been felt and that's what I find so fascinating it really is everything I thought it would be I was not disappointed at all you know that old sometimes you don't want me to beat you heroes to get your armor what Heights fall back handles well classic style classic engineering thank you so much out here when I saw you at the car show and all these people gathered around it and I got to go to that guy and see if he'll come to the garage thanks a lot Thank You Jay and we'll see you guys that next week [Music]

Channel: Jay Leno's Garage

Views: 601,320

Rating: 4.929379 out of 5

Keywords: Marcos GT, Volvo P1800, British cars, classic cars, rare cars, original, unrestored, I-4, 4 cylinder, Ford, Jem Marsh, Frank Costin, Dennis Adams, Peter Adams, De Havilland Mosquito Bomber, car porn, Jay Leno, Jay Leno's Garage, car reviews, compares cars, vintage cars, sports cars, super cars, cars, car gear, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Camaro Z28, jay leno garage, jay lenos garage, car collection, cnbc, episode, motorcycle, ford, corvette, tour, dodge, lexus

Id: gJvF8o93WWk

Length: 28min 31sec (1711 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 17 2019