When it comes to nice and slightly unusual wagons, this 1965 Checker Marathon Wagon probably fills both criteria. It has undergone an extensive renovation (as opposed to restoration) and the result of this is a really nice looking vehicle. It is now up for sale, and you will find it listed here on Bring A Trailer. It comes with a clear title and is located in Milford, Ohio. The bidding currently sitting at $13,000 for the Checker.
It is a nice looking vehicle, this Checker. It went through a pretty extensive refurbishment back in 2012. During this process, the car underwent a bare-metal repaint, and the paint color was changed from its original Briargate Beige to this attractive looking Shalimar Blue. The repaint looks to have been a quality job. The car presents well, and the multiple shots of the underside of the car indicate that it is rust-free.
The interior of the Checker has also come in for some TLC during the 2012 refurbishment. The seats wear new upholstery, new carpet has been fitted, along with a new dash pad, and new seatbelts. The original radio remains in place in the dash. The interior looks really good, although there are some scratches in the paint on the lower dash, but these should be easy to fix.
The original owner decided that he needed a bit more get up and go from the Checker, so the original 283ci V8 was consigned to history, and in its place is a 350ci Chevrolet engine and Hydramatic transmission. During the 2012 refurbishment, the car received a new engine bay wiring harness. The car has also received a new 4bbl double-pumper carburetor, a new electronic ignition, and the radiator has been re-cored. There are still a few detail items to be attended to, but there is nothing major.
This Checker Marathon Wagon is a pretty hefty sort of car, and it was designed to sustain years of heavy loads and hard work. The recent refurbishment has made it look like a really attractive vehicle, and the few details that need to be completed are quite minor. The wagons don’t come onto the market that often, but when they do, the nice ones usually start at around the $25,000 mark. It might not be everyone’s ideal car, but as an unusual classic that will stand out, it’s right up there.
Good Uber car…
Or for someone with a B&B in the Hudson Valley or out west. Very cool.
Don’t Uber and Lyft vehicles have to be relatively new? Like less than 5 yrs old?
Love this. I’m a sucker for red leather. Even red non-leather. Wish it were a manual too.
When I was a young kid there was a family in town who drove nothing but Checkers………always thought that was weird……….my experience as an even younger kid was with New York City taxis, Nice looking Checker but not original so as a custom build a different animal…….probably will benefit form BaTflation.
I grew up in CA and my dad bought several of these in succession. Only family car I ever knew.! He liked the headroom, the low bump on backseat floor (so one kid could sleep stretched out on long trips), the simple easy to repair engine, etc. Every six years he would order a new one( always light blue)and we would drive 4 hours to LA to pick it up. I was embarrassed by it then but wish I had one now!
Imo back when cars were done by 100k these were the beasts that went the distance and beyond. Heavy duty and roomy.
just add AC….. The perfect ‘do anything’ machine! Love the British inspired color combo ~
Nothing But Love.
The Mighty Checker wagon!