broken marlin, still

[patkins]

hi everyone, this is my first post so hello!

I have a 1.3 marina based marlin, 1974, which was given to me by a friend, its been on a driveway for some 3 yrs now and is still broken! it was sat in his garage for 16yrs so I had the usual issues of will it wont it start etc, changed the fuel lines, cooling system, new rad, converted to electronic ignition, new headlamps and bulbs all round and so on, we got my mate, who owned the car, to come over and service the carbs, twin SUs, and finally got it running smooth, on tick over, no over heating , Success!!
Then a scraping / knocking sound started in the engine which got worse and worse, big end bearing??
totally deflated at the prospect of engine rebuild or new engine, feels like i'm back to square one
my main question is, is it worth carrying on or am I better off selling it on as a project for the next guy?
What sort of value would the car be as a non-runner and what sort of cost would it be to get it on the road?

help, advice, support much needed !

many thanks
phil

[listerjp2]

Re: broken marlin, still

Hi Phil

Parts are plentiful if you want to re-build your A Series, I got most of mine from AllParts.

But as you can see there are a number of engines on eBay.

Have a look at these.

251894250576 and 161653286890 and 151620829181.

Or you buy a complete runner like this one 151630210742?

I'm biased, so I would always say give it a go, you may find, like a lot of us, that you fall in love with it.

As far as price to sell a none runner, it really depends on what state the rest of the car is (rust etc.)

I would say you may be able to get around £300 to £650 buts that's only a guess.

Good luck.

Keep us informed.

Adrian

[stevejgreen]

Re: broken marlin, still

hi everyone, this is my first post so hello!

I have a 1.3 marina based marlin, 1974, which was given to me by a friend, its been on a driveway for some 3 yrs now and is still broken! it was sat in his garage for 16yrs so I had the usual issues of will it wont it start etc, changed the fuel lines, cooling system, new rad, converted to electronic ignition, new headlamps and bulbs all round and so on, we got my mate, who owned the car, to come over and service the carbs, twin SUs, and finally got it running smooth, on tick over, no over heating , Success!!
Then a scraping / knocking sound started in the engine which got worse and worse, big end bearing??
totally deflated at the prospect of engine rebuild or new engine, feels like i'm back to square one
my main question is, is it worth carrying on or am I better off selling it on as a project for the next guy?
What sort of value would the car be as a non-runner and what sort of cost would it be to get it on the road?

help, advice, support much needed !

many thanks
phil

After 16 years in a garage who knows what might have be tight/seized. But parts are readily available.

The value of the car will be in the paperwork and its condition. Presuming it was registered at some time, is it registered as a Marlin Roadster? Without an MOT it won't have been taxed, was it declared SORN, if not DVLA might try and claim back tax when someone tries to re-tax it.

Nothing is impossible.

Check out the last line in my signature below.

[dcunn]

Re: broken marlin, still

Private message sent
Rgds DC

[b_caswell]

Re: broken marlin, still

Got to be worth ago where in the world are you situated, perhaps we can drum up some help and support.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: broken marlin, still

Carry on - its only nuts and bolts and there would be all the advice and support you need on here Just shout up for what you want and we will find it!
As far as value goes - prices above seem about right but once MOTd and polished they go for a hell of a lot more...that being said you wont sell it once its going

[listerjp2]

Re: broken marlin, still

I agree, you would be looking at £1800 to £2700 for an MOT'd version.

Adrian

[andyf]

Re: broken marlin, still

If you haven't already it might be worth treating it to some engine flush to clear out any sediment that may be in the oil system. If nothing else it will make it easier to clean up when you strip it down. I don't mind lending a hand if your down south

[dogoncrazy]

Re: broken marlin, still

Drop the sump if you really think it is big ends, should take less than an hour to have a look. You could try running engine without fan belt and eliminating water pump /alternator etc.

[patkins]

Re: broken marlin, still

hi Adrian
thanks for my first feedback!
im hoping for a quick fix and on the road but then aren't we all !

keep you posted

[patkins]

Re: broken marlin, still

I have all the paperwork from new, it is registered as a marlin, I have the v5 from previous owner still in his name, he said dvla have never sent any tax requests or sorn requests, sounds like a can of worms to me, many thanks steve

[patkins]

Re: broken marlin, still

hi I assume it quite obvious if the bearings have gone? like the idea of disconnecting the fanbelt
cheers

[patkins]

Re: broken marlin, still

hi Cameron, hope to go over on easter weekend and have a tinker given all advice given so far, tanks for your reply

[b_caswell]

Re: broken marlin, still

Phil, SORN was only introdced in Jan 98 so if your car was off the road before that it wouldnt have got reminders. Make sure you take a copy of the existing V5 before you send it off just incase it goes missing. Another bit of advice is to make sure the car has a vin plate that matches the vin on the log book before you take it for its MOT because the car probably wont be on the current system.

[patkins]

Re: broken marlin, still

Hi ben
thanks for info, ill check plate next time im over, do you think writing a letter to DVLA with basic details to test the water might be a good idea?

Phil, SORN was only introdced in Jan 98 so if your car was off the road before that it wouldnt have got reminders. Make sure you take a copy of the existing V5 before you send it off just incase it goes missing. Another bit of advice is to make sure the car has a vin plate that matches the vin on the log book before you take it for its MOT because the car probably wont be on the current system.