New Find! Checker Marathon!

Just brought this home last night, been sitting for some years, put a hot battery & fresh gas and she fired right up! It's a 1981 Checker Marathon, I can't get over a car built then with a 40' or 50's syle X frame, bolted together multi piece control arms, this thing is straight out of the way back machine!
I bought it from the original owner who bought it as a left over in '87 with no miles on it. It was never used for Taxi service but was built to be a Taxi.

I know it's too new to be here but I figure since it is virtually unchanged from it's first year of production ( 1961 ) and is such a time warp....maybe it would be ok.

Hope so!

Cheers!

 

Really? A Checker? I don't know if I'd admit to being as happy about owning one.

 

I think a Checker would make a very different custom. What power-train is in it?

A nice chop and lowered would probably help lose the boxy look too! Maybe even section it.

My .02

 

I'd detail it, stripe it up and roll the heck out of it.

Keep us posted on the updates...

 

You blew it, you should have said it was a 61. and seen how long it would take for someone to point out that it's newer.

 

I suppose in that year they were using a SBC and GM auto. With todays gas prices, keep the Taxi livery and get fares........... Great find !

 

What SQUIRREL said.

 

I would love to own one.

 

Insane. Used to have one along time ago. We could get at least half dozen chicks in the back seat. Party. Slim

 

theres a guy in my town who has a bunch of those, i never realized the years they spanned. with a look like that, you'd think it was older.

 

Put that thing back in service! I miss those cabs around here.

Nice score! I'm pretty sure you can still buy the full NYC Checker taxi decals for it. Making a chopped and slammed Checker would be cool as shit!

 

Biggest physical difference in them over the years is the 'railroad tie' bumpers to comply with the '73 & later safety standards. I think they always had Chevy or GM drivetrains. They looked same since '58. Go to YouTube and search for "vintage checker cab collection" there's a GREAT video of them

Here's a pic of a '66 I found on the 'net:

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I nearly bought one last year on eBay. It was local and I was bidding on it, and my wife started in with the "are you sure we have the money to spend on it right now" speech. I let it go. The next day she asked what it went for and asked why didn't I bid more on it.

Then I got in the truck and went after my 61 Suburban!

My plans were for a mild chop and slam it on the ground. It had a 250 and a TH400, indestructable drivetrain.

 

The earlier models (late 50's) had nicer, rounder bumpers...

 

I've been waiting to see when someone would try and roll a Checker thru the HAMB turnstiles.
My California upbringing makes me wonder: 'With all the attention being paid to the outside, what're they smuggling?'
Maybe after 20 or so make the sanctified annals of the HAMB, it will be obvious.
They were smuggling Checkers.

 

Not in the early years, they had Continental engines before about 1965

 

I tend to agree. It would be a cool daily driver though.

 

I worked for yellow/checker cab in 1980 as a mechanic/shop foreman. All our cabs had either 250, chevy 6 bangers or 350, 4 bolt main, 4 barrel engines and all had 400 turbos with a dana 44 rear axle. Those cars are tough as nails but can be worn out. WE found the weakest links are control arms and steering linkage. We'd occasionally replace a transmission but the only time we had to do engine swaps were when the cabbies ran them out of oil when they got over 150,000 miles on them. Keep the ball joints and control arm pivots well greased because there are no more available.
WE used to take ol number 169 to lunch every day because it had the strongest 350 in the fleet. Has a posi too. That big pig would lay rubber for 1/2 block easily with 3 guys in it.

 

it would make a good taxi cab for mom

 

I'd restore it and rent it out to movie companies.
You're right in my neck of the woods here in Jackson.I cruise through Cream Ridge a lot just to relax and enjoy the horse farms.Such a beautiful town.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for ya.

 

Used to have a guy that was a vendor next to us at Hershey PA. that had many an obscure car over the years that was chopped including a really cool Checker Cab that was chopped about 8", mean looking as hell too!

 

Awesome find. There is a dude around here with a collection of Marathons in various states of decay. I unsuccessfully tried to buy one from him. That car is on my list of cars I'd like to own one day.

 

This is probably the best, keep it nice and rent it out.

 

I guess its ok to post about it here then... It has a chevy 350 and th400 with a dana 44, big weird truck drum brakes in the back, normal Gm discs on the front.
Got QQ plates today, going to replace some rotten brake lines and be cruizin tonight!

I'm thinking just going stock for now, found a hood and trunk deck lid out in Cali, windshield is gonna cost 435.00 with shipping ( ouch!).

I like it for a daily driver in my mind right now but, sorta thinkin it might be a home for the '96 Cummins turbo diesel sittin on a shelf I have. A guy I know makes custom intercoolers.... with a OD auto trans, might turn into a mileage master...

Making dinner then back out to the shop, gonna ride it tonight!

cheers!

 

Oh, yeah, it came with a 229 V6 originally, the guy said it was incredibly underpowered, but then it was built for driving in NYC. He took that out and put the 350 in 30k miles ago.
He gave me all the original paperwork with it, cool stuff. He paid 10,750 for it in '87 it has 4 miles on it.

I love this thing!

 

Is that a 5.9 Cummins? I think it might be a pretty tight fit under the hood of that Checker. If I were to go diesel I'd use a 4BT. Lighter and easier to fit but just as tough.

 

Just back from the shop, Drove it around the block the long way, Drives really nice, has that " I am a tank" feel but solid. I had to replace all the brake lines, bled em out and thats sorted. minor electrical issues now and it's a driver...

Going to be rolling it to Englishtown Swap meet this Saturday

 

I dig it. I used to sell coatings to a factory just up the street from the original Checker factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan and always liked to drive by the old buildings. Years ago, the paint company I worked for supplied all of the original paints for Checker. I think I even have some color charts still around. Will have to take a look!

 

Ha. Just checked my photo files. I think I sold one or two of these on the auction site a few years ago and I still had the photos. Here ya go!