The Merlyn racing car was the product of Colchester Racing Developments, established in 1960. Through the 1960s the company produced numerous interesting racing models, often around Coventry Climax, Ford, or Chevrolet V-8 engines, that competed in various classes of racing on both sides of the Atlantic. Their designs grew increasingly more audacious over time, with more and more componentry produced in-house at the CRD factory.

The Mk 8 of 1965 was a large two-seat racing car, with a mid-mounted 327-cu. in. Chevrolet V-8 engine. Only two examples were produced.

This particular car was built for William “Bill” Fuller of Oakdale, California, as documented by fascinating original build documentation, which is on file. Mr. Fuller wrote Merlyn inquiring “if you are coming up with anything larger than the Mark VI or something that will be competitive with the new Lotus 30 or do you have anything in mind that will be capable of handling a Ford or Chevrolet engine. Actually, my choice would be Chevrolet . . . ”

S.H. Hayward, one of the principles of the firm, wrote back that “we are at this moment building a batch of sports cars to be fitted with the 4.7 Ford V-8 engine. These cars should be entirely suitable for any other type of American V-8 unit and the first one should be available in approximately six weeks. The car is only slightly larger than our existing Mark 6 and we are confident will prove entirely satisfactory and compete favourably with the products of other British manufacturers.”

Construction was to be of fiberglass on a space-frame chassis with stressed aluminum panels, independent rear suspension by lower and upper wishbones, independent front suspension by unequal-length plated wishbones with coil springs and Armstrong telescopic dampers, and roll bars front and rear, as well as four-wheel Girling hydraulic disc brakes and rack-and-pinion steering. A Chevrolet engine was dispatched to Colchester Racing Developments so that the car could be tested around it, before shipment to the U.S. Further, modifications were made to the rear of the body, in which it was routed around the exhaust, in the fashion of a Chaparral that Mr. Fuller had admired.

The car was completed in the spring of 1965, and delivered to Mr. Fuller aboard SS Spreestein in August. Vintage photographs in the file show what appears to be the Merlyn running in SCCA competition at Green Valley Raceway in Smithfield, Texas, in 1966, carrying number 1. Interestingly, Mr. Fuller appears to have continued to compete with the car, running a Chevrolet 327 V-8 as intended, well into the 1980s, as receipts are on file for repairs to the rear body panels and installation of a rollbar in 1985.

The current owner acquired the car from Jeff Kramer in 1989, via Dallas Motorsport, and proceeded to have their shop restore it to the present appearance, in his own choice of livery and with a Huffaker four-speed racing transaxle. It is otherwise very much to its original configuration and “as raced” by Mr. Fuller, including the wheels that he specified for it in his conversations with Colchester Racing Developments in the early 1960s.

Among sports-racers of its era, this fascinating car boasts a wonderful story and superior documentation – and combines the best of European and American engineering in one fearsome package.