Marlin Expert Needed

[alegwi10]

Hi everyone! New member here. My Granda started building a Marlin when i was born, and after his passing, I have inherited it. This car means a lot to me. I always worked on it with him as a kid, but I am a bike guy (Triumphs), not a car guy and don’t really know much. It has not been touched for many years and in mint condition still, but i want to get it checked out, running, and have anything replaced that needs it. I don’t know a lot about it, it has a 2.0L Fiat engine in, and I believe is a roadster?

Please let me know if you are in (or willing to come to) the Cheshire area (obviously you will be appropriately compensated). My Granda was a long time member of the club, Keith Ferriday for anyone who is still around. I’d love to get it road worthy again. I live in california now, and may bring it over here. Wanting to learn about maintaining it long term, but due to not being there now, and not knowing anything, I need your help.

Thanks in advance,

Alex

[dcunn]

Welcome Alex. As archivist for the club I can confirm that the car is a Marlin Roadster, built from a Morris Marina donor vehicle, and fitted with a Fiat engine.

The kit left the factory in April 1988 sold to K Ferriday.

The DVLA site says the car was first registered in Nov 1992, it is correctly on a SORN and it's last MoT expired Mar 2012

This is a scan from our Pitstop magazine, Aug/Sep 1999 - regret I do not have a better copy of the pic, and I leave it to other more knowledgeable members
to reply to your questions.
IMG_0009.jpg

[alegwi10]

That is fantastic! Even made me well up a tiny bit haha. That all seems about right. I was born in 1989, just after he got Lizzie and started building it when I was born.

It still looks exactly the same as that image I’d love to get it back on the road, and would massively welcome any advice you could offer on if where I have posted (here) is the best place to get the help, or whether I should reach out to someone specifically/post in a different part of the forum or perhaps social media, to get more eyes on this.

[MOC Chair]

Hi Alex
Welcome to the club. I think that you will need to give it a bit more time for Roadster owners to reply. We have owned one in the past but that was sold 19 years ago and I know more about Cabrios and Berlinettas than Roadsters. Unfortunately I am not familiar with Fiat engines either.
Hopefully someone with Roadster knowledge will be able to help you.

[A_Hogg]

Welcome to the club and what a great gift from your grandpa. Personally I have no experience of Fiat twin cam engines and only limited time spent with a Alfa twin cam in a Roadster , but there are other members in the club who have that motor in a Roadster who I'm sure would be able to help if needed. Enjoy it ,it needs to be driven!

[alegwi10]

Hi Alex
Welcome to the club. I think that you will need to give it a bit more time for Roadster owners to reply. We have owned one in the past but that was sold 19 years ago and I know more about Cabrios and Berlinettas than Roadsters. Unfortunately I am not familiar with Fiat engines either.
Hopefully someone with Roadster knowledge will be able to help you.

Oh yes, of course. I know I only posted the other day so wasn’t expecting a flood of responses. I think I mostly wanted to make sure I had posted in the right place for such a thing. Seems like it’s gaining a bit of traction now so that’s good. And no problem, I’m learning more and more about this all the time. I’m sure someone will come along and be like “I can help, I know exactly what that is”

Let me ask you this. Based on what you DO know about it, can you suggest any particular reading material that might help me?

Thanks,

Alex

[alegwi10]

Welcome to the club and what a great gift from your grandpa. Personally I have no experience of Fiat twin cam engines and only limited time spent with a Alfa twin cam in a Roadster , but there are other members in the club who have that motor in a Roadster who I'm sure would be able to help if needed. Enjoy it ,it needs to be driven!

Thanks for the warm welcome! Hopefully a few of them come through and see this. It seems to be gathering a bit of traction now. I’d be curious on any particular reading material I can get as well, so that if not, at least I can get up to speed a bit on what to do with it. Right now I haven’t a clue, and I agree, it needs to be driven!

[dcunn]

Look on this site and download the Roadster Build Manual and Roadster Tech Tips, also on the main site front
page there are various histories and other stuff to have a look at..

There are also "Build Diaries" in the Forum which may help you understand the mechanics of what you have inherited

[jon_cox]

Hi Alex
I can help with Fiat Twin Cam stuff but due to being the other end of the country to you it will have to be via this forum or email etc....
They are brilliant engines if looked after properly. Parts are becoming tricky to find.
How long has the car been standing? Engine has a toothed timing belt that if snaps will cause catastrophe.
Water pumps can also be an issue,a long with the external thermostat sticking (if you have one).
Jon

[ggrum]

Might be worth trying to source a Fiat 132 twin cam Haynes manual, possibly from Amazon or similar, for future reference. Assuming the rest of the car is standard Morris Marina based there are a number of club members in addition to those who have already replied who should be able to help and advise.

[phild]

Hello Alex, I am at present working on a Marina based roadster build again, What I can suggest is look at the marlin build section, there is a Marina based build near completion, It along with the archive is well worth going through, I have used it a lot . For many reasons not worth mentioning work had stalled but now I am getting ion with it. I do not know the condition your car is in but I have just gone through a rebuild of the Brakes etc. As I have just gone through this, I can let you know the places that have the parts. It may be better to buy parts hear , I also have a old rougth alfa, and know where to source some alfa parts, If you need them let me know and I will mail you there sites. Cheers Phil D