Greeting from the attic!
Man, is it HOT up here! But I'm going to take a few moments away from my constant fanning to share yet another item!
Yay!
Today I have a Corgi Toys Marcos Volvo 1800! These were made from 1966 to 1969 and I had one as a kid...although not this one. What happened to the old one? Let's just say that fireworks and toys don't mix (although it's about the most American kid thing ever to try to combine them, sadly). I found this one, an exact match to mine, on eBay a few weeks ago...
Now this one isn't in the best of shape either. That windshield crack alone is pretty tough. Still it HAS a windshield, which as I recall is better than mine ended up. Still, I paid under ten bucks for it, and it rolls well and a cheap "roller" is good enough for me!
As a kid, I bought it because it looked cool. I had no idea what car (if any) it was actually based on. So, I decided to do a little research. This is what I found:
" It is a die-cast model (roughly 1:43–1:44 scale) of the Marcos 1800 GT, a British sports car introduced in 1964 by Marcos Engineering.
Key real-car details:
Fibreglass body over a unique plywood (marine plywood) chassis in the early cars.
Powered by a Volvo 1.8-litre B18 four-cylinder engine (from the Volvo P1800), producing around 96–108 hp, with an overdrive gearbox and (initially) a de Dion rear axle.
Very low-slung design with fixed seats and an adjustable pedal box; top speed roughly 116 mph (187 km/h).
Only about 100 of the Volvo-engined 1800 GTs were built before Marcos switched to Ford engines (the later 1500/1600 models). The 1800 remains the only Marcos eligible for many historic racing series and is highly regarded today.
Wikipedia"
Now fiberglass over plywood doesn't exactly sound safe, and I'm pretty sure airbags were out of the question. Also, at 86-108 hp, this was NOT a muscle car by any means, but it was probably very light, quick, and maneurverable, which is more important than raw power in European racing.
Corgi released this car in two colors, blue and white. Obviously, this is the blue one, which is slightly rarer than the white version.
More research (how DOES he do it?) shows that even in this condition they go for 20-40 bucks, so I got a good deal, I guess.
All in all, it's a pretty cool car that fills a whole in my childhood Corgi collection, blown there by an "errant" firecracker! Kids are dumb.
Anyway, keep searching for treasure (and don't blow it up!)
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