Orange 1968 Marcos 1600 GT Is a Barn Find That Gets Second Lease at Life

A stunning 1968 Marcos 1600 GT in Lotus Orange is up for auction for the second time in as many years on Bring a Trailer, but looking at photos snapped on both occasions, you wouldn’t even know it’s the same car. Once best described as a barn find in quite a deplorable condition, it has since been fully repaired and restored, and would now do any car enthusiast proud.

This GT was acquired by the seller in 2018 for a little under $5,000, a price tag explained by the fact that it’d spent the past 24 years out on a field in Fresno, California. Two decades’ worth of exposure to the elements had caused severe damage to the whole car, from the plywood chassis to the engine, so it was sold as a non-working / restoration project.

The seller spent the next two years working on it, and he’s now putting it back on the market. The current bid sits at $38,000, with two more days to go in the auction.

Designed by brothers Dennis and Peter Adams, the Marcos was first introduced in 1964 as Marcos 1800 by Marcos Engineering in Britain. It would be sold on and off between 1964 and 1990, mostly as a kit car: a very low and light coupe, thanks to the fiberglass body and the plywood monocoque chassis.

Because of the damage done to the original body, this item comes with a replacement body sourced directly from Marcos Engineering. It’s been painted a vivid Lotus Orange, which adds a certain elegance to the distinctively-shaped body. For the fixed-position seats, the seller opted for custom leather upholstery from Porsche with black metal grommets, and matching carpets for the interior.

The seller also installed dual Weber carburetors, an aluminum radiator with electric fan, Restomod Air HVAC System, rebuilt Ford Kent crossflow inline-four engine, minilite-style 13″x7″ wheels, rebuilt brake calipers, and power windows. The clock shows 69,000 miles (111,044 km), 20,000 miles (32,186 km) of which were added since the restoration was completed. However, total mileage is not known.

The GT comes with spare parts and a clean Arizona title in the seller’s name, with the video available at the bottom of the page offering a narrated, detailed tour of the project.