First off, I want to say that I have really enjoyed reading this forum. The story of the "barn find" Lola was so interesting that I read the whole thing in one sitting. My wife and I were in Atlanta recently to see the Blue Man Group, and we were impressed that Atlanta is such a nice place.
Next, a little background from me. I have been interested kit cars for years. When I was 15 I was in a doctors office reading a Popular Mechanics in the lobby. In the back I saw and ad for the Elite Laser 917 and my adolescent imagination took off. I ordered the brochure and dreamed about that car for years, but never owned one. In the mid 1990's I owned a Kelmark with a Chevy 350/olds trans-axle that was a rolling heap. I owned a couple of Toyota Supra's and loved them, but since 1991 we have always had at least one Toyota 4X4, mostly 4Runners. Now we have Land Cruisers, FZJ 80's to be exact. Three of them. Yeah, we love 'em.
For some reason, probably some kind of mid life crisis I suspect, I have gotten re-interested in kits. So I started looking back into them and discovered that the Laser 917 doesn't look nearly as desirable as it did 25 years ago. Go figure
So I looked at the Manta kits, and although there are some rare custom variations of them that are neat, they just don't click. The one kit that I am most interested in is the one that has the least amount of info available on the internet. That kit is the Marauder.
Ok, I know that this forum is a place for purists, and the Marauder is generally held in some measure of disdain by the members here. However, As nice as the GT40's are, I can't afford a car that cost $30k or more. We paid less than for that all of our Land Cruiser combined!
So I was wondering, is there anyone here who could give the good, bad and ugly regarding the Marauder? I am thinking of building something using the GM 3.8 S/C engine, and I just want something fun to drive, but not the same old kind of car, like my son's Integra.
Anyhoo, I appreciate any input, and I have thick skin so don't hold back with criticism regarding the strata of kits I am thinking about. Thanks.
Best regards,
Wes
Next, a little background from me. I have been interested kit cars for years. When I was 15 I was in a doctors office reading a Popular Mechanics in the lobby. In the back I saw and ad for the Elite Laser 917 and my adolescent imagination took off. I ordered the brochure and dreamed about that car for years, but never owned one. In the mid 1990's I owned a Kelmark with a Chevy 350/olds trans-axle that was a rolling heap. I owned a couple of Toyota Supra's and loved them, but since 1991 we have always had at least one Toyota 4X4, mostly 4Runners. Now we have Land Cruisers, FZJ 80's to be exact. Three of them. Yeah, we love 'em.
For some reason, probably some kind of mid life crisis I suspect, I have gotten re-interested in kits. So I started looking back into them and discovered that the Laser 917 doesn't look nearly as desirable as it did 25 years ago. Go figure
So I looked at the Manta kits, and although there are some rare custom variations of them that are neat, they just don't click. The one kit that I am most interested in is the one that has the least amount of info available on the internet. That kit is the Marauder.Ok, I know that this forum is a place for purists, and the Marauder is generally held in some measure of disdain by the members here. However, As nice as the GT40's are, I can't afford a car that cost $30k or more. We paid less than for that all of our Land Cruiser combined!
So I was wondering, is there anyone here who could give the good, bad and ugly regarding the Marauder? I am thinking of building something using the GM 3.8 S/C engine, and I just want something fun to drive, but not the same old kind of car, like my son's Integra.
Anyhoo, I appreciate any input, and I have thick skin so don't hold back with criticism regarding the strata of kits I am thinking about. Thanks.
Best regards,
Wes
