Unfortunately, just about all of the mechanicals of the Le Mans Mini Marcos have disappeared, but there are still some signature marks that have been saved. The fuel tank, the pedal box and the pick-up points where the roll bar was attached to the car's body shell. Let's have a look at them.
This is the fuel tank in its position. Hrubon said he made it himself and it could carry 80 litres of petrol
Picture Jeroen Booij
And this is what it looks like when you take it out. The base definitely is from a Mini Van, but the top?
Picture Jeroen Booij
The filler opening is huge, 120 millimeters in diameter - I can easily put my wrist in it
Inside it has wash plates to keep the fuel in balance in corners
Picture Jeroen Booij
The same tank is good visible in this shot, taken of the car in the Le Mans pit lane in '66
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
And again, on the same spot in that memorable summer of 1966
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
This detail shows the thing even better. The photograph was taken in 1975 when the car had been painted maroon and road registered. Note that the exhaust pipe is now relocated to the rear of the car. It had a side pipe at Le Mans. Roll bar also good visible
Picture courtesy Michel Tasset / Jeroen Booij archive
Here you see the tank again, plus the cut out left overs of the roll bar on the floor, where it was moulded into the fibreglass. The diameter of the frame is 35 millimeters. Not today's standard!
Picture Jeroen Booij
Detail shot of one of the four cut pout points in the fiberglass. I guess this was a factory option,
so there have to be more Mini Marcoses with a similar cage. More info is welcome
Picture Jeroen Booij
The roll bar is very good visible here thanks to the white background of the Dunlop sign behind
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
And that's the adjustable pedal box! Clearly home-made and very simple, but it may well have
been effective. Perhaps due to the size difference of the two drivers Ballot-Lena and Marnat?
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
On the pedal box, have the shortened the throw of the break pedal ?
ReplyDeleteLike Neil says; the brake pedal doesn't have the rounded end where the master is attached. I can't see how you would adjust this set. Do you suggest the pedals are lowered by one bolthole? Perhaps the rules didn't allow the pedals to be rewelded after alteration. I've found the brake pedal really close to the tunnel on Rikards 69 mk3. And this pedal is 5 mm closer. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteDennis van Eck