Fast Marina Magazine

with 6 or 7" added into the doors.



Anyone know if anybody's ever tried anything like this in the metal?

My own coupe's far too good to start cutting up, but I'd love to have a go some day if I ever got my hands on the right (already needing welded up) car...

Good drawing. I've always wanted to build a 4 door 6 seater limo coupe, am I mad ?????

Thanks, I think you probably are mad, but I know for sure I am...

d13ker67 wrote:Good drawing. I've always wanted to build a 4 door 6 seater limo coupe, am I mad ?????

Phil and I had that idea awhile ago too.........

Fantastic sketch

Hmmmm, so you would need two extra front doors to cut up, new side glass, interior door panels, move the seat belt points back.

If it was good, an MOT inspector wouldn't even know that it had been done.


Chris
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And so as if to try and prove that I'm not mad, I've been rummaging through some 40 year old magazine articles… Autocar said, in 1974, whilst testing the Mumford Marina -

'Because, presumably to save production costs, the two-door uses the same front doors as the four-door, it turns out to have unusually short doors - in fact the smallest of any current two-door, according to Crayford. For comparison, the Allegro and Escort two-door door length is 43in., the Austin 1100 is 44in., the Ford Capri is 46in, and the Marina 41in. Incidentally, this is one reason why the proportions of the two-door Marina seem to many eyes too rear heavy.'

I think the welding would be straightforward enough for anyone that's handy with a mig welder, couple of spare doors should be easy enough to come by, and interior trim couldn't really be too difficult. Only real problem I can see is getting glass to fit, although I suppose this would really be less of a problem than simply just an expense. Could make a fine looking Coupe though…

Been thinking about these doors again. Am i right in thinking Special Tuning used to offer fibreglass doors (along with bonnet and boot lid) as a weight saving upgrade? I don't suppose fibreglass would be seen as any kind of an upgrade these days, but could be a neat way of doing this.

Fibre glass doors were outlawed in rallying (side impact crash protection). I think you would have the same issue with the MOT tester if they noticed. I think also that the mod would be classed as a major body/chassis change and could need IVA testing.

Still an interesting idea though.


Chris
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https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=565BFED5

you mean like this ?...






sadly just photoshop, but something i'd love top do one day

That's cracking Eammon


Chris
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Certainly had me fooled there for a minute! I was just about to say 'Yes, exactly like that! Does this car still exist?' And then I was going to say 'but how does the door handle work when it's set so far back so close to the shut line?' Good rendition though, I'm more old school with my pen and paper - stuck back in the seventies!

lol yea I too am lost in the 70s teenage years hence my love of Marinas, yea that car is still about but with standard doors.. one day it may grow a few inches although the idea of bigger does is good I think the fact that the doors are shared with saloon coupe estate van etc makes it a odd ball, and hey anyone who loves Marinas have to be oddball eh ?
roll on the Nats this weekend when the odds meet again

Yeah, I'd love to be going this weekend and meet a few fellow oddballs.. fingers crossed maybe next year.

Re. fibreglass and MOT issue, I'm out in the wilds of the West Fermanagh boglands, and I'd say the MOT men here are about as relaxed as you'd hope to find anywhere, I don't really think they'd notice, or even care if they did notice! Other option, seeing as I'm just right on the border here, might be to do a car on southern Irish plates. MOT (NCT it's called) only came into existence in south in year 2000, and cars built pre 1980 are exempt.

I did a google search for pictures of any early coupe prototypes (as if you believe everything you read on wikipedia, think it says car was originally designed with longer doors in mind) but all I could find was this.



Which does perhaps look a bit more balanced without the quarter lights, but still isn't the thing.

Or in a different vein, this.



Which is interesting to look at, but isn't what I'm looking for.

Phil will confirm but doors don't come into a MOT test as long as they securely close.