I just happen to have a spare assembly manual, make me a bid on it!  

I recently purchased a Marlene for my wife and I am interested in upgrading to a small V8 but I don't know how to go about doing it.  Are you using the same C4 transmisssion with your new 302 motor or are you having to make some modifications?  Also, are you having a motor built or did you buy a used motor in good shape?  

I assume you have the 2.8, not a real good choice.  I am putting in a 4.0 since that is a drop in conversion basically, same block.  I will ring the bell of the fella who is having a 302 put in his.  Capacity of the transmission and differential are questionable with the 302, but I think it is an easy transplant.
When you are talking about 170hp in a 2200 lb car, I think the 4.0 will be more than I need, and I also wanted the fuel injection, four speed overdrive transmission with lockup torque converter.  

This looks big enough to me!  I just pulled it out of a Ford Explorer two wheel drive model.
 

Yes, the motor that I have now is the 2.8 V6.  I am not very mechanically inclined so I don't know what all might be involved in changing the engine to a small V8 like a 302.  On one hand I would love to have a modern fuel injected engine with an overdrive transmission, as well as power brakes, power steering, and air conditioning as I have seen other Marlene kits equipped, but I am afraid that the cost would be pretty steep to convert everything.  

Not really.  The advantage of the 4.0 is that it is the same block as the 2.8 and therefore is a simple drop in replacement for modern FI and lots more power and torque.  Classic Roadsters still has a lot of left over stuff, you might find an AC kit there, if not the street rod crowd has lots of add on AC units.  I have the power steering and brake option laying here, but think I will not do that yet, others report they are not needed.  I am an old duck, had a lifetime of carburetors, but FI is the way to go for sure.  What part of the country do you live in?  My friend in El Paso is just about done with having his converted to V8, he will be able to tell you of the cost and complexity of the changeover, but I don't really think it is all that complicated, he elected to stay with a big ol fourbarrel carb.  

Where do I contact Classic Roadsters for there left over parts inventory?  I am looking for the side mount covers for my Marlene  

Tom, I'm in the process of having a garage convert my Marlene from the 2.8 to a crate 302.  Used the original C4 but had the shop beef it up to handle the 302.  I don't think I will need the 302's power and probably would have been happy with the injected V6 like TxDon is using, but I'm kind of a hot rodder at heart and wanted a "retro Cobra".

I should get it from the shop in January...at that point I can let you know if it needs power steering, etc.  

My car has Vintage Aire on it.  Lot of customs and hot rodders use that and so far, it's been a good unit.  I think they make them to fit almost any power plant.  

I like a car to have some guts so I would probably like to put at least a small v8 in the car like a 289 or 302.  I currently have a 2007 Corvette Z06 and have had other pretty quick cars as well so I like to feel the car go when I ask it to.  Unfortunately, the little 2.8 in the Marlene is not nearly potent enough to make me happy.  I am also dissapointed in the lousy fuel economy it seems to get since it only weighs about 2200 pounds.  Perhaps the old technology of the engine along with the fact that the C4 transmission has no overdrive are the primary reasons.  I have had to install a new alternator because the headlights seemed pretty dim and they are a little better but I am still not happy; maybe I could get some kind of brighter headlamp.  I need to get the calibration on the speedometer looked at because I swear that I am going faster than the speedo reads.  On hot days I have enjoyed turning on the air conditioner in other convertibles that I have driven in the past.  I don't know if any aftermarket units could be added to this Marlene that would put out enough volume of cool air to make any difference or not.  I definitely would not try to add a unit while I still had the little 2.8 motor but I might consider it more if I had a small v8.  Lastly, I was told that not having power steering and brakes was not very important since the car is so light.  Many people have said that the car may steer too easily as you go faster if it had power steeering; I don't know about this or even what I might have to do to convert it.  My wife does have a bit of a time stopping the car from a good speed in a hurry so I think that having power brakes might be helpful.  Again, I know nothing about what might be invovled in doing this.  

I had a '68 Mustang with a 302 and a C4 tranny for 25 years until I gave it to my daughter 2 years ago (or was it 3?).  It got about 17mpg.  My best guess is that I'm getting that with the 2.8 in the Marlene.  It ran in 2nd a lot to keep me up to speed going over the mountain and I think the gearing was designed for the 88hp and no torque of the 2.8.  I may have to change gearing in the differential or maybe I'll run in 3rd gear more.

My speedometer is off by about 10%.  An indicated 70mph is actually 77 - 78.  The Vintage Aire has worked well except that it's hard to maintain highway speeds with it on and the engine gets hot.  The garage will have a much bigger radiator built to fit the car so I and the engine can stay cool in Texas summers.

As an aside, I'm not doing the work on the transplant, I've got a good garage that likes the challenge of building.  Of course, it's not cheap but I've seen their work and know that it will be done right.  

Classic Roadsters has a web site, you can get their phone number and name to talk to there.  Don't bother right now, the warehouse with the Marlene stuff is snowed shut!  Check back in the spring!
http://www.classicroadsters.com/forum/index.cfm  

If power and budget are what is needed, you can get an engine AND transmission from a wreck that is low mileage.  Buy the whole wreck, you will need a lot of its stuff, and will cost far less in the long run.  Power assisted brakes are cheap and easy.  Before doing that, you know you have to adjust the  rear brakes on the Marlene, right?  It is simple hydraulics, you can get a master cyl with a smaller bore to make the brakes more powerful.  Disc pads that have a higher drag is an option.  A power assist brake unit is again very cheap and easy, you might get it off the same vehicle you get the engine and tranny from.  I am saving mine from the Explorer just in case.
Power steering would be much more complex spelled costly.  Tire pressures may help.  

Thanks for the good information.  Power is important and so is budget, however, I am also trying to find the engine/transmission setup that will work best in the car and make me happy.  I want the engine to have lots of guts and look good under the hood.  I want it to be reliable and that is why I may be interested in finding a more modern drivetrain setup if everything will work properly with the other components on the car.  Regarding the rear brakes; I have very limited mechanical knowledge about cars in general and I did not know that I have to adjust the rear brakes.  I am going to take the car to a speed shop when the weather gets a bit better here in Ohio just to get their opinion on my different possible options.  

The Marlene has some limits, the front suspension can only handle so much weight, and the narrow engine space makes the Ford 60 degree engines more desireable.  Many V engines are a 90 degree angle, and they are too wide as a result, so you are limited to souping up a smaller block.  I think 300hp is easy with a 302 though.  

Tom, I posted some information that was not true earlier.  It was my understanding that the rear brakes of a Marlene needed manual adjustments, that is incorrect, at least on mine they do have self adjusters.