Marcos plywood chassis. Company founder Jem Marsh drove it in .
Marcos plywood chassis Introduced in 1964, the Marcos 1800GT utilised a development of Marcos’ revolutionary marine-plywood chassis. Fuel System Fuel Safe Systems, Hamilton Beach CA. 7-liter Marcos is a British sports car manufacturer. Mahogany, spruce and birch marine plywood were used to build the entire body / chassis unit including the gullwing doors. Oct 27, 2017 · Founded in Wales in 1959, Jem Mar sh and Frank Cos tin named their new company Marcos Engineering. 1967 Marcos 1500 in Hope Valley, United Kingdom - For Sale | Car & Classic, £26,500 Marcos rebuilt by marque specialists to a high standard Plywood chassis correctly repaired Jun 25, 2023 · In 1959, Jem Marsh and Frank Costin (whose last names combined to form the Marcos moniker) created a company in England to build fast, sporty fiberglass cars for road and track. It seems that sports cars were being imported to the United States from all over the globe. Originally powered by a Brabham Repco F1 engine and built around a plywood monocoque chassis, only 1 was built which raced just once. Marcos 1800GT Oct 24, 2025 · Amazing - 1968 Marcos 1600 GT 🔥 The plywood chassis was no gimmick. The WW2-era de Havilland Mosquito multirole combat aircraft was one of the fastest and most feared 6 days ago · As the 1960s progressed, Marcos refined its designs – the Marcos GT of 1964 became the firm’s signature road model, pairing the famous plywood monocoque chassis with a body made up of sweeping curves – the engine bay could accept everything from Ford Kent engines to Volvo’s famously tough inline-four and inline-six units. May 25, 2020 · This example is a 1968 Marcos 1600, which after being left dormant outside for 24 years has recently undergone an extensive restoration. The British, who introduced their version of the… more» Mar 21, 2025 · Yes, that would be the work of Frank Costin. For real. It originally featured an innovative laminated plywood chassis paired with a lightweight fibreglass body. You get a pretty good insight here into the Marcos GT's plywood monocoque chassis. Around a hundred of the plywood chassis cars left the factory, of which just over 30 were of the De Dion suspension type. [5] This was to be the design that would become familiar to sports car enthusiasts for more than 30 years, even though the original plywood chassis would later be Sep 23, 2018 · Instead, the Marcos has a full monocoque chassis formed out of exterior-grade plywood, glued together. The company switched over to more traditional steel chassis as the 1960s progressed. Nov 15, 2021 · The Marcos GT is best known for the highly-unusual plywood chassis used on the first series of production cars that was made from 386 separate pieces all bonded together into a complex 3D shape. The majority of these sports cars were sold in kit form The 1600 proved to be the most popular model yet, with 192 cars built until early 1969. Produced from 1964 to 1971, the GT initially employed the same plywood monocoque design seen in the earlier cars. May 21, 2020 · The Marcos 1600 GT sports a hybrid construction method—with plywood!—that's arguably cooler than this little sports car looks. The lightness and rigidity of his creations allowed racing car manufacturers to produce cars with very high performance even whilst using a fairly small engine. Below is a bare Marcos chassis. Fuel Safe fuel cell plumbing. Apr 6, 2022 · This is a Marcos 1600 GT from 1968, a car that’s remarkable for a few reasons, the most famous of which is that its chassis is made from plywood. Saturnin, Lemans, France in 2017. Costin, using techniques he learned in the aircraft industry, constructed the monocoque-style chassis of laminated marine plywood, which proved to be extremely light and strong. Here is an in-depth look into the history of the Marcos GT. In 1964 the Marcos 1800 GT was introduced. (©️ Roger Young) The aluminium plugs, used to make the body moolds, have been put together to make the 'only metal bodied' car. Nov 30, 2024 · Through fits and starts, the Marcos name lived on until 2007. Costin had earlier worked on the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and from there he got the idea to use plywood for the chassis. Marcos Cars Jem Marsh and Frank Costin founded Marcos Cars in 1959 based on a plywood chassis using construction methods from Mosquito bombers. seen here at the Great British Wlecome, St. From his work on Mosquito combat aircraft, Costin drew inspiration for the unique Marcos plywood chassis. Metal chassis and engines big and small powered Marcos into and out of liquidation many times. Obviously some steel is required up front for supporting the engine and front suspension, but from the footboxes back, this baby sports a wooden monocoque chassis. The result was a 386-part bonded plywood structure that proved competitive in British club racing despite skepticism about wood. This chassis was stiff, strong, and lightweight, but time consuming to produce. Aug 7, 2021 · This 1968 Marcos 1600 GT was acquired by the previous owner in a February 2018 BaT Auction, was subsequently refurbished, and was acquired in a May 2020 BaT Auction by the seller. Eventually, the plywood chassis gave way to a more conventional steel framework. The work included an all new fibreglass body and plywood chassis sourced from Marcos, a rebuild and overbore of its Ford Kent crossflow engine, new orange paintwork, and custom leather upholstery. The GT Dec 11, 2017 · While the Marcos team suffered from indecision on the drivetrain front, their first serious attempt at a production car design managed to make a strong and decisive first impression on the public. A variety of other engines, mostly from Ford, but also from Triumph and The plywood chassis was glued together from 386 separate pieces and was not only light and strong, but also required a minimum up front investment to construct. The GT Mar 18, 2019 · If you haven’t had that feeling in a while, savor the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage featuring a bright blue 1971 Marcos GT. Founded in 1959 by Jem Mar sh and Frank Cos tin, Marcos (get it?) was a British manufacturer that got its start making tiny sports cars with four-cylinder Volvo engines and laminated plywood chassis. Nov 30, 2024 · Intact Plywood Chassis: 1969 Marcos 1600 GT You cannot say that sports car buyers had few options in the late sixties. 0 liter four-cylinder engines. It used an advanced plywood composite chassis with a Ford four-cylinder engine of various capacities. May 20, 2020 · Two decades’ worth of exposure to the elements had caused severe damage to the whole car, from the plywood chassis to the engine, so it was sold as a non-working / restoration project. In 1961, brothers Peter and Dennis Adams (ex RAF) developed the Marcos Fastback GT, which in 1963 dazzled the London Racing Car Show with its futuristic aerodynamics. The Xlylon's successor, the 1800GT, was powered by a Volvo 1800 1968 Marcos 1600 GT 🔥 The plywood chassis was no gimmick. The company. It was a sleek, fast, modern sports car with a chassis made from 386 bonded plywood panels. The result was a 386-part bonded plywood structure that proved competitive in British club racing despite skepticism about Nov 30, 2024 · Intact Plywood Chassis: 1969 Marcos 1600 GT You cannot say that sports car buyers had few options in the late sixties. Apr 20, 2023 · Marcos pioneered the use of plywood chassis in their vehicles, which offered a lightweight, durable, and cost-effective platform. Company founder Jem Marsh drove it in A lovely example of the original wood-chassis ‘GT’ shape, this 1965 1800GT sports beautiful metallic blue paintwork and sits on genuine knock-on minilite wheels. Increase the power output by all means but limit the forces transmitted through the chassis by keeping the tyre size to a minimum. The Marcos GT is a sleek, low-slung British sports coupe first introduced in 1964 as the 1800 GT, designed by Dennis and Peter Adams. Oct 25, 2019 · The plywood chassis wasn’t just a feature in the early Flying Splinter; it was a design feature in many of the company’s offerings, brought about as a result of Frank Costin’s faith in wood as a key material in the construction of the aeroplanes he designed, such as the de Havilland Mosquito. Filter King fuel filter with integral pressure regulator. The Xylon remains as the very first Marcos built and was also used as a crucial stepping stone in the career of a driver who would become a three-time World Champion. The unique design included a notch-back rear window, four-piece windscreen, gullwing-doors, fiberglass body, and frog-eyed front end. Feb 3, 2024 · When it was released in 1964, the Marcos 1800 GT caused a sensation. Power comes from a modified 1. Caution: Use 100/130 Aviation Grade Fuel or Higher, Usable 10 Gallons. A replacement body and plywood chassis were sourced Marcos Engineering Ltd, and the car is finished in orange over black. Marcos GT 1800 Marcos 1800 Volvo's at Prescot Revival 2014, including Chassis number 1 (White Car), as seen at the Racing Car Show in 1965. Mar 2, 2015 · This is a later Marcos chassis, which appears to be predominantly 6mm single-skin plywood: Albeit with the floor made as a double skin panel, and with internally braced torsion boxes as the sills, as per this sketch (apologies for double posting a pic from the carbon fibre thread): The Fastback/Breadvan The next step was to design a new car around the existing wooden chassis and this was to be a convertible or Spyder in Marcos speak. Jem Marsh and Frank Costin founded Marcos Cars in 1959 based on a plywood chassis using construction methods from Mosquito bombers. Frank Costin had earlier worked on the De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and from there he got the idea to use plywood for the chassis. The British, who introduced their version of the… more» Born in 1959 from the meeting of Jem MARsh and Frank COStin, Marcos is the fruit of the good understanding between two engineers with a passion for cars, who wanted to enter competition cars with an unprecedented design. The GT is interesting because the original chassis was made from high-grade plywood. The first production model was officially known as the Marcos 1800, but Marcos also applied the GT name to all vehicles it built before 1970. In fact, Costin was inspired by aeronautics and developed chassismade of wood! Surprising as it may seem, the use of plywood combined with lightweight, particularly The first product of the Jem Marsh and Frank Costin partnership was the Marcos Xylon of 1960. Wood always seemed to me like a heavy chassis material, but in fact they were quite light and very strong. The second and only other real problem with the wooden chassis is water. Aug 14, 2016 · I don't know if marine ply is any better than other plywood, it's about twice the price of ordinary ply and presumably will last a bit longer, a wooden chassis car just sold on ebay today,1600 GT An example of this is the Marcos GT, which was crafted by Marcos Engineering. Aug 22, 2019 · It was replaced by increasingly more conventional cars, although the unique laminated plywood chassis was retained. Mar 13, 2016 · Learn more about Early Plywood Chassis 1966 Marcos 1500 GT on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. The company was founded in Luton, in Bedfordshire, England, in 1959 by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin. Made up of over 350 individual pieces glued together, the wooden tub was both lighter and stiffer than its steel counterparts, which, when paired with Volvo’s B18 4-cylinder engine, provided a unique driving experience. The firm produced cars through 1959 using plywood for the chassis until 1969, wh Mar 14, 2006 · The man for the chassis in the Marcos in these days did restore & build new chassis on his own around 10 yrs ago. Facet fuel pump. This 1968 Marcos 1600 GT was acquired by the previous owner in a February 2018 BaT Auction, was subsequently refurbished, and was acquired in a May 2020 BaT Auction by the seller. He went on to use his knowledge and experience to create a chassis made from plywood, with all the weight advantages over steel, and over this he would fit a lightweight aerodynamic body. Dec 17, 2019 · Credit the seller of this 1965 Marcos 1800 GT in Middletown, Ohio with his or her appreciation of irony, as the listing here on eBay touts this rare opportunity to own a car with a roll bar bolted "into genuine wood. Marcos was founded in Dolgellau, North Wales, in 1959, by Speedex cars' Jem Marsh with aerodynamicist Frank Costin. By 1969, Marcos replaced the plywood monocoque chassis with a steel frame. Production took off after the Marcos GT designed by the Adams brothers had been exhibited at the 1963 London Racing Car Show. 7-liter Oct 18, 2011 · Marcos semi-monocoque plywood-chassis/bodies, especially the GT-1800, and I found, in Herb Adams' excellent book on chassis design, a stressed skin "2 box plus integrated monocoque side sills and bulkheads" design very much like that of the Marcos GT1800. A choice of engines from Volvo, Triumph and Ford were available with most in the 1,500 to 1,800 cc range. For quite some time now I have been wanting to do a scratch build of a Costin Nathan complete with actual wood chassis, but I know it is a project 1968 Marcos 1600 GT 🔥 The plywood chassis was no gimmick. Grand Prix Metalcraft Limited fuel swirl tank. The company used this design until 1969 The roof structure supported the gullwing doors. Discover the history of Marcos Cars and find details on each of the cars produced by the iconic British motor company. It seems that sports cars were being imported Apr 6, 2022 · This is a Marcos 1600 GT from 1968, a car that’s remarkable for a few reasons, the most famous of which is that its chassis is made from plywood. Initially, the Marcos GT had been powered by sub-2. Adams' design is in steel, and was used for a high-end Cobra replica that Marcos Mantis XP Group 6 1968 reconstruction 2022 Antwerp Concours - Wijnegem (B) A remarkable design by Dennis and Peter Adams for British sports car brand Marcos, intended to take part in the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours race. May 20, 2020 · By now you’ll recognize the Marcos as the car with the famous plywood chassis, and that’s no joke. [4] It was a sensation when first shown at the 1964 Racing Car Show. The WW2-era de Havilland Mosquito multirole combat aircraft was one of the fastest and most feared warbirds of its time In 1964 the Marcos 1800 GT was introduced, using the four-cylinder Volvo 1800 cc unit with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle. Jul 30, 2017 · Plywood & Fiberglass: Restored 1969 Marcos 1600GT This 1969 Marcos 1600GT is described very briefly as a restored car in 2+ condition, but it looks great in photos and may even be early enough to feature the Warwickshire-based marque’s interesting plywood chassis. The steel chassis was In 1964 the glassfibre-bodied Marcos 1800 GT was introduced, using the cast-iron four-cylinder Volvo 1778 cc B18 unit with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle. Aug 8, 2018 · Marcos finally hit it right with their fourth creation, the Marcos 1800 GT. The company moved to a converted mill in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, in 1963; in 1971 they relocated to a £125,000 purpose-built factory at Marcos continued manufacturing the GT with a plywood chassis through 1969 and only changed over to tubular steel because it was less labor intensive to build than the wooden chassis that contained over 300 parts. Frank was also the genius behind the Nathan Costin wood chassis. They set out to build cars with a plywood chassis, similar to the World War 2 fighter bombers Coslin once worked on. Plywood perfection The Marcos 1800 was introduced at the 1964 Racing Car Show and featured a wooden chassis and Volvo P1800 Aug 23, 2025 · Introduced in 1964, the Marcos 1800GT utilised a development of Marcos’ revolutionary marine-plywood chassis. The chassis was fabricated from laminated 3 mm thin sheets of marine plywood, giving the cars a strong monocoque and low weight (the GT was internationally homologated with 475 kg), so they performed well in sportscar competition. Later models had a steel chassis and commonly Ford engines although others were also available. Frank Costin, who helped develop the wooden de Havilland Mosquito fighter during WWII, co-founded Marcos with Jem Marsh in 1959 and applied those aircraft construction techniques to this sports car. This model is known as the 'Breadvan' because of Mar 5, 2020 · With its frog-eyed front end, four-piece windscreen and notch-back rear window, the gullwing-doored Marcos was no oil painting, yet beneath its glassfiber skin was a plywood composite chassis, the latter's monocoque construction representing advanced thinking for a competition car at a time when steel tubing was the norm in Formula 1! The British Marcos was founded by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin in 1959. Key alterations included swapping the pricey independent rear suspension for a Ford-sourced live axle (a benefit was gaining rear discs) and replacing the plywood chassis with one constructed from conventional steel. It might sound like something from an ad in the back of Popular Science magazine, circa 1962, but it was a serious approach to building a sports car, and a logical one, too. Jun 28, 2022 · Marcos evolved the specifications of the GT up through its end of production in 1972. However, the demand from racers for a roof, caused Dennis Adams to hurriedly design a roof for the car, which is not a million miles away from the design now so familiar to Marcos afficenados. The extremely low Marcos required a nearly supine driving position and fixed seats, mounted lower than the floor of the car. " That's right, folks; this pint-sized coupe uses supercar-like monocoque construction, with strong, lightweight plywood 1969 Marcos 1600GT This is a Marcos 1600 GT from 1968, a car that’s remarkable for a few reasons, the most famous of which is that its chassis is made from plywood. This was to be the design that would become familiar to sports car enthusiasts for more than 30 years, even though the original plywood chassis would later be replaced by a steel chassis. The wooden chassis Marcos is a finely balanced instrument and will not adapt kindly to “gross appendages” (wheels). The GT was first introduced as the Marcos 1800 in 1964, with a wooden chassis and a Volvo P1800 engine. Building a car with a plywood chassis sounds like madness now but it made sense when this car was developed in the early 1960s. Dont know if he is still in business, but have his adress if anyone is interested. Most early Marcos models competed in national and international events. The car you see here is a 1969 Marcos 1600 that found its way across both the Atlantic and the North American continent to land in an area southeast of Los Angeles, California. Intact Plywood Chassis: 1969 Marcos 1600 GT You cannot say that sports car buyers had few options in the late sixties. A glass fibre nose, and rear quarters were developed as an alternative to the original design – which was to laminate the double curvatures in plywood, but this proved too Marcos continued manufacturing the GT with a plywood chassis through 1969 and only changed over to tubular steel because it was less labor intensive to build than the wooden chassis that contained over 300 parts. Another fuel pump.