For most of the second half of the 20th Century, if you flagged down a Yellow Cab in a big city, there’s a fair chance you got to ride in a Checker. Built like tanks, these beasts were big, spacious, and remarkably uninteresting. Lesser seen, but built mostly the same, was the Marathon sedans and wagons that targeted the limited consumer segment. The seller offers a 1966 Marathon station wagon, which we’re told is one of only 1,600 units. This is a project that the seller has been putting off for many years. Located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, this bulky box is available here on eBay where the reserve has not been met at $1,525.
The Marathon arrived in 1961 and stuck around until 1982 when the company got out of the assembled automobile business. These rolling sewing machines were usually powered by GM engines, which was a 283 cubic inch V8 in the case of this wagon. It’s assisted by a 3-speed manual transmission (which comes with overdrive and a funky lever the seller was never able to figure out).
We’re told the seller is the third owner of this Checker (the first one had it for 34 years). It began life in California and comes with black CA plates (if the seller can locate them). In the 20 years the seller has had this wagon, he/she drove it daily for two years before the alternator crapped out, and it then went into storage. The seller began taking apart the interior, which was a goner, but it needs to be put back together.
While there isn’t any rust to speak of, one of the rear quarter panels got whacked. The seller took the insurance money and bought two NOS quarters that sport taxicab yellow. Also, the front floor pans have been replaced, and some wiring work will be needed. The seller is unsure if the car will start or not, but you might get lucky with a can of gas and a hose running to the carb. If you have the time and energy to put into this Marathon, you could end up with an attention getter at Cars & Coffee.
These things were always kinda weird to me my only knowledge of them is from the movies and TV as taxi cabs in New York City
Practical and unassuming, great minimalist statement to be sure.
Except now you will be the talk of the town ‘Look at that’ (you add your own tone of voice)
Sometimes you just gotta look at it.
Hated these back when I was 14. Pops bought a used ’67 in ’68 which my mother promptly totalled. Yes, you really can total a Checker Marathon but it takes a lot! The way she did it was to hit a mountain, drive up it about 30 feet and then roll the Checker down on its roof. Yeah, wasn’t pretty. She was ok, though. Crawled out the rear window.
Pops replaced it with a brand new 1970 Checker Marathon.
The only big difference between the two was the chrome headlight bezels were painted body color, the parking lights were bigger, you got an extra red taillight because it replaced where the backup lights were and moved the backup lights down flanking the license plate, and if course, federally mandated side marker lights and reflectors.
The steering wheel was replaced with a Chevrolet steering wheel and the engine was now a Chevrolet 327 V8. That’s about it. The ’67 had the Chevy 283.
Angel, you may have hated these, but was the Checker the reason why your mother survived the crash when she hit the mountain, or was it the reason WHY she hit the mountain? As Philbo427 says, they weren’t permitted in demolition derbys, along with Imperials, for a good reason.
It’s only about 8 miles from me. Glenside is in Montgomery County just outside of Philadelphia. When I had my TR3 back in the 70’s and also a variety of Volvos, this area was a hotbed for foreign cars and oddities such as this Checker. Some of these were a result of owners that were middle class or professionals that wanted something different. Sociology 101. I attended Triumph or Volvo club meetings near there.
When I look at this, I like it, but at the same time, I don’t like it. I don’t know how to explain it. It just looks like a decent vehicle but very un assuming and doesn’t have any one thing that attracts me. It’s nice that it’s a wagon but when I see it, it just doesn’t do anything for me, but at the same time it does? I have no idea how to explain it.
Very interesting that these were not allowed in demolition derby‘s. When I looked at some of the rules, I guess Chrysler imperials were not allowed as well. Very interesting.
Angel, you may have hated these, but was the Checker the reason why your mother survived the crash when she hit the mountain, or was it the reason WHY she hit the mountain? As Philbo427 says, they weren’t permitted in demolition derbys, along with Imperials, for a good reason.
Hi Dave in PA
I hated these because I was ALWAYS a flashy Cadillac Diva. Lots of chrome and shine, long, low and wide. Checkers weren’t any of those things.
But, as you pointed out, that’s why my mother survived the crash with only bruises. Not even a broken bone or her glasses. That tank saved my mother’s life. I know this.
Which is why I like them now. They are tanks! They have a frame. They’re up high. I still love my Cadillacs, Lincolns and Imperials, anything that qualifies as a land yacht, but the way people drive now? PLEASE give me a Checker.
hammered at $9100. IMO a good buy. I only wish I had known about it.
I own this car. The buyer from Chicago backed out of the deal in a very unscrupulous manner, even wants his deposit back. The second highest bidder bought a different car and is probably as unhappy as I am with the situation. I had about 4 people ready to look at it locally when it “sold”.
Needless to say the first person with 9 grand in hand, that is planning of loving it, can take it home. I don’t think it will be on ebay again.
I spent my teen years in a group home and this looks exactly like the car we had. Then the “group parents” bought themselves a Porsche 914. But if any of the kids had to be transported, the Checker was what we were driven around in
My dad seriously looked into getting a Checker Wagon for our family of 8 kids back in the mid-60’s. I thought it was an ugly wagon back then (we ended up with Mercury wagon), but my view has mellowed long since.
Item sold on Wed, Sep 17
US $9,100.00
32 bids
I am glad I didn’t see this until it was sold. I have family in Jenkintown who would have gladly let me park it there while I resolve the myriad logistical problems of getting it home…starting with my wife.
Hi Angel 😇! I wondered if you’d seen this yet. At least you had some say when your Dad ordered
that ’70 Checker he bought. At least that took some of the sting
out of being seen in such an uncool car when you’re a teen ager. But you know honey 😘, the older we get, the smarter our parents get. And that’s why you want one now. Wait a minute…idea is coming…idea is coming…idea is here! We find a
good Checker shell, swap in a 472 Cadillac mill, a T-400 auto tranny, hang a 12 bolt 🔩 posi
rear from a ’70s GM wagon, and
Presto! You’d have a car that satisfies both of your cravings.
Shoot, we could put some Cadillac emblems in it and call it a Checkillac! But if you’re gonna
do it, do it right. Bolt on a set of those big ‘dozer type bumpers they used in the ’70s. Now THAT’S intimidation for you! Oh
yeah, don’t forget the Crash and
Smash Road Rage Bumper Kit by
Ronco! Oh my God I can see it now! Traffic parts like the Red sea as they try like hell to get out
of your way! Imagine the fear in their faces when the Checkillac
roars up behind them! That does
it! Gotta make one just to see what it would look like LMAO 😂!
WOW! What a dream! Think I’ll go back to 🛏️ and see how this one turns out!
You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you? 😅 you’re sassin’ me!
Actually, you’re not far from the truth. I always wanted a Checker with one of those wood bumpers you see on tow trucks, about 2 or 3 inches thick and 24″ wide. A battering ram.
Now if I can just graft on a clamshell tailgate from GMs 70s wagons……..
No dear, just stating the facts. You want a Checker and a Cadillac, so why not marry the two of them together and build a
Checkillac? You could equip it with Cadillac seating, your favorite Cadillac dashboard and so on. And as for the front bumper, I’d enlarge that outward by about six inches and build it from some really stout steel. Next would come a grille guard to
protect the radiator and headlights. And again, a similar
bumper would be made for the
rear as well to protect the rear of the car from some oblivious a-hole that’s looking at their phone
instead of driving. Then you paint it a really sinister color like
black or dark blue, maybe even
charcoal. Then, tint the windows
to increase the fear factor. When I get done with the mustang I’m
doing now, I’ll sketch one to show you what it looks like. Went back to bed 🛏️ but didn’t dream of the
Checkillac. Just slept til I woke up. Wanna have fun with the Checkillac, but that damned mustang’s in the way! Bye for now 💋
Ken, your fantasy dream works for me. Very funny too in its over-the-top manner. How many of us have thought similar things in the past with the aggressive drivers in our midst, certainly here in Philadelphia and other cities around the globe. This is the extreme for defensive driving alone as we are older and wiser perhaps. I discovered this a couple of years back when I had a front accident with my 66 Ford F-100 not long after I acquired the truck. I replaced the bumper, grille and right fender myself, but the new bumper was much heavier gauge steel. Thanks to LMC truck parts.
Ken,
We had a small travel trailer in the 60s and 70s and my father, being a mechanic and machinist made his own heavy duty trailer hitch. Not gonna say how many but a few lesser vehicles got their radiators impaled quite severely. Not sure I’d need the rear bumper with one of his trailer hitches
Speaking of looking sinister…….
1) there’s a paperback book I read in grade school called “Car Sinister” still have that book to this day. Several car stories that were quite fascinating.
2) ya’ll know the movie “The Car” with James Brolin? They used a modified and custom Lincoln. Maybe they should have used a stock Checker? LOL
Angel Cadillac Queen, How many cars have you owned? Just askin’. (BTW, in the late 70s I owned a ’64 Imperial Crown. Talk about being ‘built like a tank’!)
@Loving Imperials
I love Imperials, also. Just too stupid to realize their potential early enough in life. I was so hellbent on GM machines I really didn’t give Mopar a thought. Now that I’m old and older, I see how much I’ve missed out.
I too, had one Imperial. In 1973 I had a 1971 LeBaron on white with a burgundy interior and a burgundy paisley vinyl roof.
I know it seems like I’ve had dozens and I guess I have. Early on I changed cars every six months. Then in my 40s and 50s I owned multiple cars at once. To give a figure I’d say in the area of about 50 to 60 cars cars from 1966 to 2025. Many of the I cars I refer to in my stories also aren’t mine but my aunts and uncles or cousins. Remember I’m NY metro Italian and we had MANY Cadillacs and Lincolns in the family. Rick W always like to refer to “uncle Vito.” LOL
You should become a member. I’d love to hear about your automotive stories and your Imperials.
Chow bello
Having been born legally blind, I’ve never been able to drive a car,
but I’ve watched my family and friends and brother lemme tell Ya’, I don’t know how they do it. With all those clowns on the road today, it’s a wonder that I haven’t
seen or heard of more accidents
these days. Now just because I’m legally blind doesn’t mean that I couldn’t get involved in the
car hobby. The bug bit the day I
help my Dad rebuild a V-12 engine in a family friend’s ’37 Lincoln sedan. That was nearly
60 years ago this month and I haven’t looked back. I went from
fixing cars for people at the church I went to Saturday mornings. On Sundays, you could
see me walking inside with my large
print Bible in one hand, and my tool box in the other. By the time I was in high school, I was helping Dad fix up old jalopies we
found in the want ads and selling
them to kids I knew in school. And when I wasn’t playing music 🎵 🎶 over the road, you could find me in our garage with my hands in someone’s engine or working on cars that I bought for
myself. In the last 60 years, I’ve
built five, maybe ten cars for myself or my family with all the others being repaired for friends
or folks my parents knew. Had to
give it up in the ’80s when a major heart attack forced me to hang up my tools. Nowadays, I teach young people how to maintain their cars and trucks. I show them how to change a tire,
check their oil and water. Dave,
you wouldn’t believe how many kids don’t know how change a tire! Right now, I’m working on a
self charging mobility scooter for
those who need them. Do I wanna drive? Yeah, but I know I can’t so I’m waiting for a driverless car LOL!
this is tops for me, along w/the OM617 equipped 300TDi. Today both are too big (120inch WB this 1, 110 for the MB W123) so Wagon man (locals call me) has a ford fox-bodied (106 inch WB) LTD.
We had 1 (wagon) owned privately in my lill town growin up and a fleet of 3, 4? in a cab/livery co “Goody” drove & hired others for (all sedans).
As i can remember from almost 60 years reading car magazines this is one of the funniest comments ever “It’s assisted by a 3-speed manual transmission (which comes with overdrive and a FUNKY LEVER THE SELLER WAS NEVER ABLE TO FIGURE OUT)!
Sounds like a good book Angel 😇. I’ll see if my niece can find it
for me. Hey, that’s not a bad idea
to use a Checker in a spook flick!
We could call it “The Cab”, a terrifying yarn about a possessed cab that kills people it doesn’t like
in NYC. It would show the audience how the cab stalks it’s
victims and kills them and how
NYPD tries to stop it. I’ll run it by my neice and my SIL to see if they have any ideas as to how the
cab kills it’s victims. They watch a lot of modern scare flicks and
maybe, just maybe, I can write ✍️
a good script. Oh yeah, I found a
song about our government that
you might like. It’s called “The
Government Can” by Tim Hawkins. Ran across it up on
YouTube. It’s a real hoot and I know you’re gonna like it. I’ll see
if I can’t find it and send it to you.
I found out about him from a friend of mine I used to do shows
with at Old Man Frank’s in Winter Haven a few years back. He did a
karaoke 🎤 show there and sometimes when he had no singers, the girls and I would drive from Melbourne just to help him out. I’d sing back up and/or
play behind either him or the singers to keep folks entertained
He sang the song Piano Man and would redo the chorus. And it
went like this:
🎶 Sing us a song
You’re the piano man.
Sing us a song tonight,
for we’re all in the mood
for a melody,
’cause we’re all gettin
eff’d up tonight 🎶🎵
Oops! Kinda got off track there
for a minute. Well honey ❤️🍯
it’s getting late and I’ve got some
errands to do before work tomorrow night and I’ll need a nap 🛏️ before I go in. Good night Dear 💋. Night all!
I own this car. The buyer from Chicago backed out of the deal in a very unscrupulous manner, even wants his deposit back. Needless to say the first person with 9 grand in hand, that is planning of loving it, can take it home. I don’t think it will be on ebay again.
To be fair, I knew how to use the overdrive lever…I was just afraid to! It’s a t handle cable pull that goes down to two huge solenoids on the transmission. It’s been awhile but I’m sure there are instructions in the original owners manual I have.