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Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Marlin 5exi builds

Marlin 5exi builds Calling all you sexi builders....sorry 5exi builders, show us your progress.

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  #1  
Old 5th October 2009, 20:31
EddAllsop EddAllsop is offline
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Default Another kit car newbie

Hi, just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. My name's Edd, I live near shrewsbury, I work as a vet and have a keen interest in surgery. I've dreamed of being in a position to buy a kit car for too long and hope I can finally muster the time and funds before my wife consigns both of these to children!! I've spent some time researching which way to jump, and hope the 5EXi is the way to go?!!!

I'd like to say a HUGE thanks to Richard Hope who took me out for a drive sunday and helped me see just how much I HAVE to get one!! I suspect I may have to spend some time on this forum picking peoples brains as tho I would like to consider myself fairly adept with most DIY etc, I fear a kitcar is a whole new ball game.

I'm hoping to place my order as soon as marlin come back off holiday next week!! I'd appreciate any advice on how to deal with Marlin and the sorts of things I should be asking etc. I'm looking at the SEAT leon donor car due to cost and performance, is there anyone out there that's finished one yet or are we still working out how they fit together??

Anyway, thanks in advance for your help
all advice greatfully recieved
Edd
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  #2  
Old 5th October 2009, 21:47
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bigrich bigrich is offline
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Hi Edd,

Welcome....I'm on the edge of Crewe, so not too far away, (1.6 K series that you are welcome to view if you want to...built Sept '06)

It's on SORN at the moment (tax has just run out) and I have a list of improvements to finish over the winter (you never actually finish building!)

....if you want to build a car, then I recommend it. Personally, I really enjoyed my build...but would have appreciated better build instructions and data settings (toe, camber, torque settings etc)...this forum helped A LOT!

Value for money ??......a used Lotus Elise (S1 or S2) or VX220 is a better deal, for a similar car, with much better resale value........but no good if you want to build it yourself!

Build costs vary from £9500 - £20K+ depending on spec. (this buys a lot of Lotus!)

...you pay your money, and take your choice.

ATB

Rich
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  #3  
Old 6th October 2009, 06:46
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As BigRich above. It is not a bolt togther job like some other kit cars. So don't think that. And if your going the Seat route, expect some big challenges. Especially for a new first time builder. But I think the correct choice if you want to go "bigger power" route. Or Type R route I would concider. Mr Dry is you man to compare VW and Honda as he has experience with both. Only thing I can guess is that the VW engine will be a less revvy engine. A bit on par with the T series turbo I would guess. Lower revs etc for power.

As you will be one of the first (a couple new builders just started). I think the only Seat based Marlin on the road at the moment is there race one.

I would suggest get out in as many different engined cars as possible before you decide. Speak to the owners about the car, etc

If you look here, you can find the EXI owners.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=3...9,77.34375&z=4

Only owners that have asked to be put on the map though. There's another Turbo owner near Colchester way. But your getting to the time of year where some people are taking there cars off the road for winter. So possibly bad time to get test runs.

We are a good friendly bunch here. And will help each other out along the way. Any questions, ask away.

To help you start, Mark Evans (Race car is born series) is a vet as well.
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  #4  
Old 6th October 2009, 13:53
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Greetings
With regards to the SEAT option. Its a new thing to Marlin. I am the first to have the factory approved SEAT package, I went for a 180bhp APP engine, the 225 BAM engine are out there but they are rare.
I also have the first factory installed 6 speed gearbox.

If you buy now you will also get the new GTR chassis, to highlight the difference the chassis is gery and not white, it has more bracing around the engine area, and the front is also beefed up.
Suspension is also updated, my kit is 4th gen suspension.

I am really impressed with the quality of what I have delivered.

To everyone else on the forum, my Kit (Modules 1 and 2) were delivered a week ago, and I have started my build. www.stsa.co.uk

Cheers Steve
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  #5  
Old 6th October 2009, 18:15
Ric H Ric H is offline
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Glad you enjoyed the ride out Edd! It was a great excuse to go for a drive.
For those who weren't there, I'd spent some of Saturday setting up a new alignment and altering my steering arms but hadn't completed a full bump steer check. Unfortunately this meant the handling was, ahem, too "interesting" to really press on, but the honda engine can still always get a passenger's attention in a straight line!
Richard
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  #6  
Old 6th October 2009, 18:44
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Welcome.

I echo Rich's comments above.

If you want to build a car, then the 5EXI will give you great satisfaction as it comes together, and puts a big tick in the "skills" box. You'll meet some interesting characters on your journey, and if you've not done anything similar before, you'll enjoy honing your skills and thinking your way through problems.

If what you want is purely to get a good cost effective, and capable track car, the better route is an Elise / VX220, which if too slow as stock, you could slot in a 1.8t or supercharged Honda K20.

I've driven a number of modified VWs with a 1.8t fitted, have experience of driving an EP3 Type-R, and my 5EXI has a Honda K20A2 in it coupled to a Hondata ECU. The power delivery of the two engines is very different, and the 1.8t definitely packs a serious mid-range wallop. For a given chassis mass, a 1.8t with the same peak power as Honda K20, will propel a car faster. The throttle response, and adjustability of the K20 is better than the 1.8t.... I'd prefer a track orientated car to have the K20 for purity, but for straight line wallop I'd go 1.8t, especially as extracting more power is quite easy.

Enjoy whatever you choose.

John.
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  #7  
Old 7th October 2009, 07:19
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A couple of choices then.

Honda - Revvy engine with plenty of knowledge with fitting it to the EXI. Plenty of people already been there and done it so you can get good advise.
1.8T - Nice engine and less revvy. More lazy I would guess compared top the honda. But unknown experience with builds outside Marlin. So basically solving problems together as the build prgresses, contacting Marlin a far bit or discussing with each other.

Cheapest way would be T series Turbo. Plenty of torque and been done as well. But years are catching up with it now as the engine has not been in production for a number of years. But still a cracking engine. At 200 BHP, the car felt very angry, hence me crashing it. Detuning it to about 170BHP, made the car feel more normal and acceptable for normal driving.

Geeze this has started to make me think again. What the hell I'm I doing going for 300ish BHP. But suppose disconnecting the N75 boost controller, will make the car about I would guess 200BHP.

Along any build, you will probably have an idea of how you would like to do certain things, deviating from the standard build.

What ever the build, it's not going to be a cheap build.
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  #8  
Old 7th October 2009, 14:22
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welcome
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  #9  
Old 7th October 2009, 22:41
EddAllsop EddAllsop is offline
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Wow, so many replies. Realy appreciate your comments, nice to hear from like minded people. I appreciate the warm welcome. To reply to specific comments:
BigRich, thanks for the offer of alook at your car, may well take you up on it depending time. 50% of this adventure is wanting to build a car for myself, so it sounds like I've picked a good enough car. The other 50% is wanting an exciting car in terms of looks AND drive. I figure its all about that big silly grin they give you!! But yes, I suspect it will cost a bit more than I want to pay, but hope this forum will help me try and pre-empt too many unexpected surprises.

Limpabit - Yes , just a little bit nervous about build skills, but I thrive on hands on jobs, of which I figure there will be no shortages. In terms of donor, the seat leon seems much more available, and cheaper than the civic. Plus thanks for the map of other marlin builders could come in handy.

Nutter- Good to hear positive feed back so far. I'm very interested how your build goes as I'm hoping you will come across and solve specific leon donor problems before I have to!!! I hope you wouldnt mind keeping me up to date with any specific issues you find? I'd really appreciate any help you can give.

Rich Hope, hope you've managed to tame the front end ok?

John, appreciate your comments. I'm really hoping to be able to use the car as much as possible, and even for the daily commute. I'm planning a doored version (yes the corrigated roofing look!!). I'm fairly set on the audi 1.8t version as long as there's no obveous hurdles. My only fear is my lack of actual mechanical experience and ability to iron out the 'kinks' of a relatively unknown engine layout. I guess we'll see!!

Thanks very much for you time replying to this.
Edd
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  #10  
Old 8th October 2009, 09:48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EddAllsop View Post

Nutter- Good to hear positive feed back so far. I'm very interested how your build goes as I'm hoping you will come across and solve specific leon donor problems before I have to!!! I hope you wouldnt mind keeping me up to date with any specific issues you find? I'd really appreciate any help you can give.
Sure No problem, follow my build on my website
contact me on the forum, PM, email. Your more than welcome.

Marlin have the VW range of engine in their race cars, and the differences between the new and older chassis is large.
People have said they couldnt get the 6-speed gearbox into the chassis, but Mark had no problem making it fit into the GTR chassis.

So far I am into week one of my build, and am still cutting, glueing and rivetting panels to the chassis. In terms of moving forwards with the engine, not got there yet.
I also have to figure out the wiring loom, as there is not a VAG loom available for the EXI, not a challenge I feel being an electronic/electrical engineer by trade. I will be feeding back my loom into Marlin.

Another thing to note if going the VAG route, is the ECU, the immbolizer can be disabled, and the ECU re-chipped.
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Old 8th October 2009, 13:54
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Have you seen this news?


http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=20758

In brief...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Devon-based racing and kitcar maker Marlin is planning to introduce a new 'ultra-modern GT' next year, with a roof and a raft of aerodynamic upgrades that will be honed on the race track.

The new car is a development of the 5EXi, a 600kg lightweight racing and/or road car that Marlin has been campaigning in the Castle Combe GT Championship for the last three years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There may be more intrinsic value in the new model would be my imeadiate thought.

To be sure there is no market for built 5exi's so you got to really want one to buy a new kit. MikeR's car is an outstanding build, but Mike cannot find a buyer.

If anyone offered me my outlay to date I would sell and buy a Cat D.
I am 95% to road legal complete but the IVA will add little value to the car.
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  #12  
Old 9th October 2009, 09:55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nutter View Post
People have said they couldnt get the 6-speed gearbox into the chassis, but Mark had no problem making it fit into the GTR chassis.
You hit the nail on the head there. It's a pitty Marlin could not cater for the older Marlins as well. Could be work in progress I guess.
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Old 9th October 2009, 11:41
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I think it is all down to the big differences in the rear end on the later chassis.
Which are noticeable, but that is down to "evolution"
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Old 9th October 2009, 14:25
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Interesting looking at your delivery photos the design of the front has changed in front of the petrol tank is now a bolt on section, that looks to have changed where the rad mounts etc.

David.
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Old 9th October 2009, 15:46
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Not sure if the rad mounts have changed postion, they are in the front bolt on section, I think the mounts may also be bigger, to hold the intercooler as well.
From what I recall the biggest change is at the rear. There isn't a removal bolt on section at the back, so the engine cannot "slide" out it must now be lifted out.
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Old 9th October 2009, 17:33
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Looking at the chassis there are a number of differences, but in terms of fitting the 02M gearbox, the biggest difference between your car and John's is the inclination of the engine. John's is at a stock angle, whereas yours looks to be leaning forward by a fair angle. Are you going to fit a baffled sump? Presumably Marlin do this on their race cars, to avoid any starvation issues resulting from decreasing the effectiveness of the pickup.
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Old 9th October 2009, 18:24
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yeah the rear is same as mine, I didnt have a removeable back section.

I agree the engine looks to be fitted more level than mine. Although the K series can be canted at quite an angle without issue, I had more issue in that it had moved back and some things dont reach where they used too e.g. ECU could not reach to rear bulkhead. I dont think I will have an issue with the oil pickup, but have fitted a pressure guage so I can monitor it and baffle the sump if necessary such as with caterhams.

D.
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Old 9th October 2009, 22:30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nutter View Post
Greetings
With regards to the SEAT option. Its a new thing to Marlin. I am the first to have the factory approved SEAT package, I went for a 180bhp APP engine, the 225 BAM engine are out there but they are rare.
I also have the first factory installed 6 speed gearbox.

If you buy now you will also get the new GTR chassis, to highlight the difference the chassis is gery and not white, it has more bracing around the engine area, and the front is also beefed up.
Suspension is also updated, my kit is 4th gen suspension.

I am really impressed with the quality of what I have delivered.

To everyone else on the forum, my Kit (Modules 1 and 2) were delivered a week ago, and I have started my build. www.stsa.co.uk

Cheers Steve
Looks like your going to have fun building that but your engine looks very rusty and corroded for such a new donor?
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Old 9th October 2009, 22:46
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post
Looks like your going to have fun building that but your engine looks very rusty and corroded for such a new donor?
rusty? you think so? Maybe the photos dont do it justice.
The engine is spot on from I have seen so far.

No baffle needed, the pickup is fine.

I know my ECU wiring will reach the rear bulk head, in fact I may end up shortening this part of the donor loom

Last edited by nutter; 9th October 2009 at 22:50..
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  #20  
Old 9th October 2009, 23:40
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The corrosion is nothing remarkable to my eyes - it's about what one would expect for a 9 year old car? The 1.8t engines I've tinkered with have generally had rusty blocks, and a reasonable amount of pitting of the aluminium.

Here's an example:

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