Take a look on this? Marauder?
On
www.mclellansautomotive.com you can fine Collectible literature for those cars.
[b]60's Mystery Monocoque RaceCar[b]
Somebody must have ideas. The pictures are available on hyperlink, clik, hang on for some seconds and they will be displayed on your screen by
http://hem.passagen.se/hanshallberg/...e/index_3.html
Have you seen it before? It must have been running a lot according to all
oil and mud around engine. The car is purchased as a burned-out wreck from a "Jaguar dump" in Sarasota, Florida in late 80's. There was no legible readable identification on the vehicle, nor did the seller know its history, except that it dated from the 1960s, and that it came to the wrecking yard from an insurance company in late 70's.
Complicating the puzzle is the glass fiber nosepiece, the only large piece of bodywork that came with the car. I believes it's an actual front end off a Ferrari 312P, the enduro racer of the early 1970s, altered to fit this chassis. Since the original tail section was missing I have fabricated a new one to match the style of the nose.
Visible in the photos are the curved glass fiber rocker panels that originally covered the chassis sides. They were painted in red and white horizontal stripes "just like a GT40."
The chassis, it is a full-length monocoque carrying the engine between rearward extensions. The primary tub material is aluminum, with steel subframes front and rear. The monocoque is held together with glue and more than 4000 rivets. Fuel is carried in either side for a total capacity of 26 gallons. Wheelbase is 97.5 inches. Suspension is all-independent, using Carrera springs and Koni shocks. The brakes are Delco Moraine, with an Airhart master cylinder. Wheels are 15-inch Keystones, with 8-inch rims front, 10-inch rear.
There was a Holley-carbureted 350 Chevy in the car when I got it, but I could sees signs of different original mounts for some other powerplant. The transaxle is a 5-speed ZF. Curiously, because this is unusual in such racers, the driver sits was on the left side. Today on right side.
Many of these details suggest a machine built in the USA or Canada. Most likely it was built as a racer, rather than a streetcar, because of the high-grade equipment -- fuel cells, braided hoses, adjustable springs and shocks, brake bias adjuster. And evidently it was built by someone knowledgeable about the state of the art in the latter half of the 1960s.
What about that 1972-style body? Is it original to the car? I don't know, but if so, it means construction lasted several years. The project must have been launched by an individual or a small, underfunded group, and been obsolete before it was done.
On the other hand, if the original brand of engine was changed, the same could well be true of the bodywork. And this car did experience enough adventure to result in a fire.
"If you have any information of the car or perhaps a picture of LeGrand's Mk 14 or Mk 16, please email me on [hans.hallberg@swipnet.se].
Thanks / Hans, Malmoe, Sweden