Are you madabout kit cars      
 "We've Got Kit Cars Covered" Information about Madabout-Kitcars.com Contact Madabout-Kitcars.com         Home of UK kit cars - madabout-kitcars.com Various kit car write ups All the latest kit car news Kit car related and general discussion

Search
Manufacturers
Kit Cars
Kit Car Data sheets
Picture Gallery
SVA Knowledgebase
Clubs & Communities
Build cost estimator
Kit cars for sale
Knowledge Base 
KitcarUSA.com
Classic-Kitcars.com
 

Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds

Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds Enthused or Confused about your vintage Marlin build? Ask away here or show off your build.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #141  
Old 7th November 2013, 16:33
timbo timbo is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bristol
Posts: 272
timbo is on a distinguished road
Default

Bad luck, Mike, but well done on being so close to a pass. After all your hard work you have a lot to be very proud of.
All the best
Tim
Reply With Quote
  #142  
Old 7th November 2013, 20:22
Patrick's Avatar
Patrick Patrick is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 2,495
Patrick is on a distinguished road
Default

Very close Mike - well done on everything looks like some fairly simple fixes
Reply With Quote
  #143  
Old 10th December 2013, 20:41
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default Iva Pass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today my Marlin Cabrio passed the IVA test!

For the photos - have a look here:

http://www.marlinownersclub.com/foru...s-Cabrio-Build

(why can't it be simple to copy one set of photos from one vbulletin to another?



I drove my Cabrio 120 miles without a number plate or tax disc........................and all quite legally! It was great fun. Several police cars passed me by, and I kept hoping they would stop me .............but none did!

Why was it legal? - because I took my Cabrio back for its IVA re-test today, and chose to drive it there!

It was pretty cold when I set off:




But I was well wrapped up, and with the heater on all the way the only part to get cold was my right hand - the centre heating vent has already shown it was worth the effort.

After a 90 minute drive I arrived back here:



This time I was an hour early - so I parked up, took a few photos and had lunch.





The ground clearance is pretty good as Marlins go........but that sump does look vulnerable.


I had arranged to have my Cabrio re-tested again by Martin, this time at 1.30pm to ensure I was not late! So after his lunch he began his inspection. As per last time, he was thorough in checking off the fail items, and within two minutes (literally) he ticked off the brake pivot pin clip, the matched rear tyre profiles, and window and bumper sharp edges, and so moved on to the final item - the handbrake.

Up on the ramps to see what I had done, and that when operated nothing now fouled - all was OK, and the test had now lasted all of 5 minutes.

Although I had added two steel adjusters into my handbrake cable, I still knew the efficiency test was, unfortunately, not going to be a formality.....................

Yesterday I took my Cabrio to the local MOT station to have them test only the handbrake efficiency, to make sure all was well, and give me the confidence to drive my Cabrio 60 miles over to Nottingham (and spend £90) for its IVA re-test.

Unfortunately it was much closer than I had hoped..............

Based on the 1600kg Design Weight I had filled in on my IVA application form this test only showed 17% - enough for an MOT pass (>16%), but a fail against the 18% required by IVA. Oh dear, not again!
Perhaps the pads were not bedded in and would be better after a 60 mile drive?

So, when I arrived at this part of the re-test I was genuinely nervous.
Martin set it up in the brake test machine, and I could see the back end squat down each time he applied the hand brake.



The good point to note at this stage were the exhausts clearing the centre plates even when squatting under hard braking.



However, I could also see the scores on the screen were just the same as the previous day, and a fail was the likely outcome.................

except................................?


(just teasing!)


..........I had agreed with Martin prior to my test that I would "re-submit" my Cabrios Design Weight to a more realistic 1300kg, which meant the efficiency now rose to a creditable 21% and a clear pass!

So - after 8 years, I have now achieved an IVA PASS!!!!!!!!!



The ride home was much more relaxed than the nervous one there and (in places) quite a bit quicker too! I thoroughly enjoyed it!



Although I had just achieved an IVA pass there were bits dropping off my car as I drove home!

The bumper edge covers fell off, but they were never really needed as I had radiused the edges, but I was not taking any risks..............



The gash dash fell off to leave a nice shiney one underneath!

[IMG]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5543/11314859854_0e7c6805e8.jpg

Although these are sold as asfter market alloy wheels, they will not pass the IVA - part of the rim has a radius of less than 2.5mm: so I had to remove it for the test, and cable tie it back on to get it home safely!



..............and this is what its all done for.............

IVA PASS certificate

Reply With Quote
  #144  
Old 10th December 2013, 21:16
peterux's Avatar
peterux peterux is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,075
peterux is on a distinguished road
Default

Great result, well done Mike!!

Let's hope the registration is straight forward but don't forget to keep a copy of your IVA pass certificate as the DVLA keep it!!
Reply With Quote
  #145  
Old 10th December 2013, 21:30
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post
Great result, well done Mike!!

Let's hope the registration is straight forward but don't forget to keep a copy of your IVA pass certificate as the DVLA keep it!!

Thanks Peter that is useful to know - I've scanned a copy.
If DVLA get it right it should come back with MAG 111D on the V5c.
Reply With Quote
  #146  
Old 11th December 2013, 08:58
Patrick's Avatar
Patrick Patrick is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 2,495
Patrick is on a distinguished road
Default

Well done, that's awesome
Reply With Quote
  #147  
Old 11th December 2013, 09:05
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default Iva Pass!!

Photos added


Today my Marlin Cabrio passed the IVA test!

I drove my Cabrio 120 miles without a number plate or tax disc........................and all quite legally! It was great fun. Several police cars passed me by, and I kept hoping they would stop me .............but none did!

Why was it legal? - because I took my Cabrio back for its IVA re-test today, and chose to drive it there!

It was pretty cold when I set off:




But I was well wrapped up, and with the heater on all the way the only part to get cold was my right hand - the centre heating vent has already shown it was worth the effort.

After a 90 minute drive I arrived back here:



This time I was an hour early - so I parked up, took a few photos and had lunch.





The ground clearance is pretty good as Marlins go........but that sump does look vulnerable.


I had arranged to have my Cabrio re-tested again by Martin, this time at 1.30pm to ensure I was not late! So after his lunch he began his inspection. As per last time, he was thorough in checking off the fail items, and within two minutes (literally) he ticked off the brake pivot pin clip, the matched rear tyre profiles, and window and bumper sharp edges, and so moved on to the final item - the handbrake.

Up on the ramps to see what I had done, and that when operated nothing now fouled - all was OK, and the test had now lasted all of 5 minutes.

Although I had added two steel adjusters into my handbrake cable, I still knew the efficiency test was, unfortunately, not going to be a formality.....................

Yesterday I took my Cabrio to the local MOT station to have them test only the handbrake efficiency, to make sure all was well, and give me the confidence to drive my Cabrio 60 miles over to Nottingham (and spend £90) for its IVA re-test.

Unfortunately it was much closer than I had hoped..............

Based on the 1600kg Design Weight I had filled in on my IVA application form this test only showed 17% - enough for an MOT pass (>16%), but a fail against the 18% required by IVA. Oh dear, not again!
Perhaps the pads were not bedded in and would be better after a 60 mile drive?

So, when I arrived at this part of the re-test I was genuinely nervous.
Martin set it up in the brake test machine, and I could see the back end squat down each time he applied the hand brake.



The good point to note at this stage were the exhausts clearing the centre plates even when squatting under hard braking.



However, I could also see the scores on the screen were just the same as the previous day, and a fail was the likely outcome.................

except................................?


(just teasing!)


..........I had agreed with Martin prior to my test that I would "re-submit" my Cabrios Design Weight to a more realistic 1300kg, which meant the efficiency now rose to a creditable 21% and a clear pass!

So - after 8 years, I have now achieved an IVA PASS!!!!!!!!!



The ride home was much more relaxed than the nervous one there and (in places) quite a bit quicker too! I thoroughly enjoyed it!



Although I had just achieved an IVA pass there were bits dropping off my car as I drove home!

The bumper edge covers fell off, but they were never really needed as I had radiused the edges, but I was not taking any risks..............



The gash dash fell off to leave a nice shiney one underneath!



Although these are sold as asfter market alloy wheels, they will not pass the IVA - part of the rim has a radius of less than 2.5mm: so I had to remove it for the test, and cable tie it back on to get it home safely!



..............and this is what its all done for.............

IVA PASS certificate

Reply With Quote
  #148  
Old 11th December 2013, 18:25
morris's Avatar
morris morris is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: South Wales
Posts: 378
morris is on a distinguished road
Default

Well done Mike, that's great news.

So, what's next, paint I guess? Or are you just going to direct all your funds for the next few months into copious amounts of petrol to burn tearing up the A roads of the local countryside.

Once I get through IVA (one day maybe) I think that a dry sump will be my number one priority. Every time I see a side on shot of a marlin cabrio or sportster with that M50 sump sticking out the bottom centimetres from the ground it makes me wince.
Reply With Quote
  #149  
Old 11th December 2013, 19:01
GreatOldOne's Avatar
GreatOldOne GreatOldOne is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northampton, UK
Posts: 1,891
GreatOldOne is on a distinguished road
Default

Huzzah!
Reply With Quote
  #150  
Old 11th December 2013, 20:27
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by morris View Post
Well done Mike, that's great news.

So, what's next, paint I guess? Or are you just going to direct all your funds for the next few months into copious amounts of petrol to burn tearing up the A roads of the local countryside.

Once I get through IVA (one day maybe) I think that a dry sump will be my number one priority. Every time I see a side on shot of a marlin cabrio or sportster with that M50 sump sticking out the bottom centimetres from the ground it makes me wince.
Sleeping policemen don't bear thinking about....



Dry sumps and a new pump are the best way, but very expensive.

When I built my Roadster I put a Triumph 2.5 straight six in it, and had the same issue. I made a special sump by cutting 50mm off the bottom, but then extending the deep part of the sump the full length of the engine to retain a similar capacity.

It has crossed my mind to try the same with the BMW?

Also I believe the deep part of the sump are at opposite ends in the 3 series and 5 series, which might give scope for cutting and shutting two shallower sumps together along the full length of the engine. The guys down at my local engineering company are dab hands at welding alloys - I often see two or three alloy wheels that have been badly curbed and they weld sections in them. So if it good enough for a wheel, I'm certain it'll be good enough for a sump.

Do you know what the oil pick up looks like? - can it be shortened easily enough? (The triumph one was very easy - just cut the end off a tube.
Reply With Quote
  #151  
Old 11th December 2013, 20:37
denniswpearce denniswpearce is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 287
denniswpearce is on a distinguished road
Default

Brilliant Mike, well done. A testament to your drive and determination.
Must be extremely satisfying.

Ground clearance is only a problem with roads having sleeping policeman and peoples drives with high kerbs.
Reply With Quote
  #152  
Old 11th December 2013, 21:48
morris's Avatar
morris morris is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: South Wales
Posts: 378
morris is on a distinguished road
Default

You can see the oil pick up arrangement here



On the 525s the pick up was right at the front under the timing gear.

I don't know how much scope there is for chopping out that main volume of the tank without just lowering the amount of oil you put in and risking starvation on a turn.



It's been designed to drain back into that big area at the back so any custom job that makes it shallower but also the same volume stretched forward would need a similar slope.

The dipstick also goes into that part so you'd either have to go stickless, carefully modify the existing one's bottom end length or fit an electronic one.

Dry sumps are expensive e.g.
http://www.ca-int.co.uk/single_prod.php?prod_id=2028
and I've better things to spend 4K on than that, like rebuilding and fitting an M70 V12. I'm sure if an M20 fits so easily the M70 is just more of the same on the opposite side of the engine bay
Reply With Quote
  #153  
Old 12th December 2013, 00:32
Cammy Cammy is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 24
Cammy is on a distinguished road
Default

Fantastic result mike, well done!

Quite scary to think I might have another 6 years to go - partly because of the work involved and partly because of the ear ache I will get from her indoors!

Cheers

Cammy
Reply With Quote
  #154  
Old 12th December 2013, 13:37
MartinClan's Avatar
MartinClan MartinClan is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,890
MartinClan is on a distinguished road
Default

Well done that man. At least you have a windscreen. When I drove the Sportster to the SVA (as it was then) in February all I had was a pair of goggles. I think they gave me extra points for trying....

I went through an actual Police road block at the time - they never batted an eyelid at the lack of numberplate or tax disc.

I never found the sump a problem. The sump being relativity close (latterly) to the front wheels goes up and down at the same time and avoids the worst of the obstructions.
Its the central exhaust mount on the gearbox which is smack in the middle of the car that I get a problem with. You can always ask your passenger to get out although I find that doesn't go down well with her indoors haha

Cheers, Robin
Reply With Quote
  #155  
Old 15th December 2013, 17:36
Simon's Avatar
Simon Simon is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Daventry
Posts: 83
Simon is on a distinguished road
Talking

Congratulations Mike !

It's a fantastic feeling when you finally get the car on the road.

I agree that the centre heating vent is great for keeping your left hand warm on colder days.

Simon
Reply With Quote
  #156  
Old 16th December 2013, 18:57
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by morris View Post
You can see the oil pick up arrangement here



On the 525s the pick up was right at the front under the timing gear.

I don't know how much scope there is for chopping out that main volume of the tank without just lowering the amount of oil you put in and risking starvation on a turn.



It's been designed to drain back into that big area at the back so any custom job that makes it shallower but also the same volume stretched forward would need a similar slope.

The dipstick also goes into that part so you'd either have to go stickless, carefully modify the existing one's bottom end length or fit an electronic one.

Dry sumps are expensive e.g.
http://www.ca-int.co.uk/single_prod.php?prod_id=2028
and I've better things to spend 4K on than that, like rebuilding and fitting an M70 V12. I'm sure if an M20 fits so easily the M70 is just more of the same on the opposite side of the engine bay
After a bit more research, I agree it will be difficult to alter the sump depth without running into oil starvation issues. I've measured my sump clearance with my new wheels at 125mm, which is not too bad.

Picking up on Robin's point, it may prove beneficial to swap to a 5 Series sump, at the front of the engine, to bring it much closer to the front axle line:then only middle of the road humps will be an issue. Trouble is, if I do then I'll have to abandon my front Anti Roll Bar and buy adjustable
compression joints as this sump would pass directly over the ARB.

I may just make a sump guard and hope for the best!
Reply With Quote
  #157  
Old 31st March 2014, 11:20
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default Never believe what you are told, nor make assumptions.......

When I bought my Cabrio kit, Marlin had only built one demonstrator using the BMW M50 engine, and sold one kit to a builder. In order to fit the engine width in the engine bay they had both cut 3" out of the width of the entire inlet manifold, requiring 6 individual inlet tubes to be cut, sleeved and joined. So, although I was nervous about doing it, I accepted the perceived wisdom of the time, and did the same.

Inlet manifold Cut and Sleeved



Although I felt I had made a good job of the modification, I always had a niggling doubt that this could prove to be its Achilles Heal - making the engine unreliable sometime down the road.

Several years later Jeremy created a solution to the issue in his Sportster by fitting the intake boot back to front, trimming it down where it fits to the throttle body, and facing the boot back towards the bulkhead. Very simple, very cheap, and the two ports molded into the elbow (to the ICV and sump) both faced downwards - perfect.
I began to wonder if the same might be possible in a Cabrio?
Initially I assumed the Sportster engine bay was bigger than a Cabrio - I always felt it looked wider.

But, never make assumptions................!

Over time, talking to Danny Nelson, and seeing other Sportster builders achieve the same solution I began to ask about Cabrio/Sportster similarities, and asked for comparative measurements. I have come to understand the original Ford based Sportster shared the same chassis as the Sierra based Cabrio, and though it has undergone bulkhead and rear end changes to accommodate different BMW donor rear subframes, the front chassis/engine bay still shares the same original Cabrio DNA.

So, maybe this meant I could use the same solution as the Sportster builders? It was an intriguing thought, but was going to involve some serious engine surgery just to even find out, so I held the thought until after IVA.

Well, this weekend I finally took the plunge. I had been prompted by a very small water leak under my bell housing, which I had traced back to somewhere under my inlet manifold, but was impossible to get at unless, and until, I removed the inlet manifold.

Another factor was that I was not happy with the cobbled up Smiths sender I had been obliged to fit to make my standard Smiths Water Temperature guage work, as it was too short and didn't extend deep enough into the waterway.

So, with three jobs to do, off came the inlet manifold!



Once removed the culprit for the water leak was soon located (the rear head water port)



At the back of the head is the port which feeds the internal heater, and the rubber pipe had not sealed properly despite the jubilee clip being tight.
This was easily resolved by fitting a smaller diameter piece of rubber hose.

Whilst the manifold was removed I changed the water temperature sender back to to the original BMW VDO sender: this will have to be connected to a new Smiths Classic VDO based guage.



It's the sender on the right of the two - the blue one on the left is the engine management temperature sender which feeds into the ECU.
I had to buy a new Smiths VDO guage to match the BMW VDO sender, so there is a knock on to all this which means the dash will have to come out again to replace the water temperature guage: oh the joys of kit car building!!

Once these two minor jobs were done, the moment of truth had arrived - could I fit a full width inlet manifold and keep it all within the width of my engine bay?





............and the answer is, Yes........... JUST!

By fitting the inlet elbow back to front, and trimming it down to the bare minimum where it fits the throttle body, it just fits. This is exactly how it had worked out in the Sportsters - very very cosy, but just possible.

I am delighted, as this means I can now run my engine normally with a standard inlet manifold.
One of the things I am hoping for is that the torque curve will be shifted back down the rev range a little with the longer inlet runners: only time will tell?

(I do have two other changes in mind which will have an impact on the torque curve of my Cabrio, but they will be have to wait).

I didn't get a chance to put all my pipe connections back on this evening so have not had the chance to run my engine yet - I'm looking forward to that almost as much as the first start, as this will hopefully be the final engine configuration for this year, and will give me a lot more peace of mind.
Reply With Quote
  #158  
Old 31st March 2014, 11:50
Patrick's Avatar
Patrick Patrick is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 2,495
Patrick is on a distinguished road
Default

Very nice, that longer intake will sort the torque out! Cutting is just a bodge without other work to the engine / engine management
Reply With Quote
  #159  
Old 31st March 2014, 15:53
morris's Avatar
morris morris is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: South Wales
Posts: 378
morris is on a distinguished road
Default

Good news mike. I had to trim may intake elbow right back to get it to fit and I think I also removed one of the throttle body springs so I could squeeze it on that bit further.

Have you already bought your new gauge? I ask because I'd hoped to use the original BMW sender with an off the shelf VDO gauge but when it came to it I needed to buy a matching sender as the resistance range was well out (and back to front I think). The new one matched the length of the old so wasn't an issue in terms of its reach into the head.

Reply With Quote
  #160  
Old 31st March 2014, 16:57
Mike Mike is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 932
Mike is on a distinguished road
Default

Hi Ian

Thanks, it was your engine bay dimensions that suggested that it was going to be possible in my Cabrio. And like yours I have trimmed the elbow back as far as possible. One thing that did help was to put a cable tie around the two hoses that come up into the elbow ports and slightly pull them from below back towards the car, which created the last few mm of clearance.
I may even move my engine mounts over by 10mm towards the offside, as I have much more space on that side (all of 20mm!)

I received my VDO guage some time ago - I bought a special from Caerbont (they make the Smiths Classic range) which is a VDO guage to match a BMW sender, but with the Classic face and bezel.
I have not calibrated it, but guess I should so that I can have some confidence in it.

Thanks for your help with both.

Mike
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +0. The time now is 08:06.

copyright © madabout-kitcars.com 2000-2024
terms and conditions | privacy policy