10k: Sick of Lookyloos: 1969 Marcos 1600 GT

Marcos was a small Welsh automobile manufacturer, founded in post war Britian by two gents (Jem Marsh and Frank Costin) who were inspired by the plywood framed aircraft that helped them win WWII.  Their first car was an ugly beast, but was competitive in racing when driven by chaps like Jackie Stewart and Jackie Oliver.  The next version was a much prettier car, still goofy and wooden framed, but built in limited quantities with engines borrowed from Ford, Volvo and Triumph.  Find this 1969 Marcos 1600 GT for sale in Alpharetta, GA currently bidding for $9,800 via ebay.

The seller of this Marcos started with a brief advertisment and some ALL-CAPS shouting at LOOKY LOOS.  In the seller’s own words:

I DONT CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW ABOUT A MARCOS>>>THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN US …..IS…. I OWN ONE AND IM SELLING IT and You are JUST
TALKING!!!! IT TO DEATH

Anyone who has ever sold even a remotely rare car knows the feeling of frustration when someone contacts you to tell you the rear view mirror gasket is wrong. 

Interestingly enough, by his own admission, one of these looky loos showed up in person and cleared up some information about the car including the fact that it has a 1.6 liter Ford crossflow engine and a clean wooden frame. 

The seller continues a few days later in the “added comments section” to mention:

Due to the interest in this car… coupled with my lack of knowledge of the Marcos mark…I asked an expert to review the car.. He examined the car and ;

* It is a very early 69

* 1600 cross flow engine

*It is a wood car with zero rot.

*Said probably one of the nicest unrestored wood cars left

Hold on a second…how do you buy a car like a Marcos GT and have no idea which engine is inside or that the frame is made from wood?  Did he just stumble on it in the back lot of a Toyota dealer between Rav4s and say “gosh, that is pretty, how much?”  Or is this just a fantastic act from a guy who stores his Marcos in a garage with all sorts of other high dollar heavy metal?  Who knows…but a Marcos GT for the price of a used Kia is certainly tempting…

See a better rare find for $10k?  We already posted the Ghia the other day..sorry…  email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Checkout more info on Marcos cars here on the Marcos owners club website.