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The Checker Marathon is an automobile produced by the Checker Motors Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, between 1961 and 1982. It was marketed as a passenger car for consumers, as opposed to the similar Taxi, which was aimed at fleet buyers.

Checker Marathon
Checker Marathon sedan
Overview
Manufacturer	Checker Motors Corporation
Production	1960–1982
Assembly	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon
Layout	FR layout
Related	Checker Superba Checker Aerobus
Dimensions
Wheelbase	120 in (3,048 mm) 129 in (3,277 mm) (limousine)

History

Marathons were produced in both four-door sedan and four-door station wagon forms, and the rarer six-door 9-seater and eight-door, 12-seater "Aerobus" sedans and wagons.

The Marathon was introduced in September 1960 for the 1961 model year, alongside, and later superseding, the Checker Superba Custom and differing from the Superba with its better interior appointments. Originally, it retained the Superba's A10 body code, whereas A9 was the code used for taxis. The exterior of the Marathon had a full-width egg-crate grille, differing from the Superba's narrower grille and inboard parking lights.

After a minor facelift for 1963, chassis codes changed to A11 for taxis and A12 for passenger versions.[1] Also in 1963, the Marathon Town Custom, a limousine version on a longer (129 versus 120 in) wheelbase appeared. This version, which seated eight, received the A19E chassis code.[2] A few years later, this was changed to A12E.

Checker did not have a nationwide dealer network and sold most of its production for fleet service.[3]

Technical Changes

With the exception of United States government-mandated 5 mph bumpers in 1974 and ongoing mechanical changes, the Marathon remained virtually unchanged during its 21-year production run. However, Checker did comply with all safety and emissions requirements while in production. Notably, the Marathon's front suspension A-frames interchange with a 1956 Ford.

Some of these changes help in identifying the year of a Checker, and included:

• 1963: Front parking/directional lamps changed from white to amber
• 1964: Standard front lap belts
• 1965: Engines switched from Continental inline-6 to Chevrolet OHV-6 and small-block V8s
• 1966: Standard front and rear lap belts
• 1967: Interior safety package, including energy-absorbing steering column and wheel, padded dash, recessed knobs
• 1967: Dual-chamber brake master cylinder
• 1968: Side marker lamps on all fenders, amber in front, red in rear (round on all Checkers)
• 1968: Front shoulder belts for outboard passengers
• 1969: Headrests
• 1970: Locking steering column (Checker used full-size Chevrolet steering columns and wheels)
• 1974: Larger, heavier silver-painted "girder"-style bumpers
• 1975: Catalytic converter required unleaded fuel
• 1976: Radiator (AMC Matador), engine (Chevy 350 V8 2-barrel carb, cylinders were over-bored, requiring larger pistons and rings), transmission (TH 400: Turbo Hydra-Matic), rear end (Spicer 44), front lower A-frame (Ford 56 Thunderbird), front upper A-frame (63 Lincoln Continental), steering was rear draglink until 1980, pittman arm bushing tends to loosen and should be tightened every 10k miles.
• 1978: Parallel action windshield wipers introduced
• 1978: New "Delta"-style Chevrolet steering wheel (sans the Chevy bowtie)

Engines

The engines used were originally Continental-built L-head inline-sixes (OHV units for the wagons), but these were exchanged for Chevrolet sixes and small-block V8s for the 1965 model year.[4] These continued to change as Chevrolet introduced modifications, peaking with the 1969 L-48 350 V8 which produced 300 hp (224 kW) (gross).[5] In 1969, a Perkins 4.236 L diesel nonturbo engine was available as an option for all models, but for only one year. By 1973, power for the 350 had decreased to 145 hp (108 kW) and in 1975 catalytic converters were introduced. For 1980, the engine lineup was changed entirely, with a 3.8-litre V6 replacing the old inline unit, and a smaller 267 ci (4.4 L) standard V8. The big news was the Oldsmobile LF9 engine, a 350 cu in (5.74 L) diesel V8.[6]

Six-cylinder engines
Model Years	Layout	Size	Fuel system	Power	Origin	Notes
1961–1964	L-head I6	226 cu in (3,707 cc)	single carb	80 hp (60 kW) at 3,100 rpm	Continental	Sedans only until 1963
1961–1962	OHV I6	226 cu in (3,707 cc)	single carb	122 hp (91 kW) at 4,000 rpm	Continental	Station Wagon only
1963–1964	OHV I6	226 cu in (3,707 cc)	2-bbl carb	141 hp (105 kW) at 4,400 rpm	Continental	$57 option
1965–1968	OHV I6	230 cu in (3,769 cc)	single carb	140 hp (104 kW) at 4,400 rpm	Chevrolet	base
1969–1970	OHV I6	250 cu in (4,095 cc)	2-bbl carb	155 hp (116 kW) at 4,200 rpm	Chevrolet	base
1971–1972				145 hp (108 kW) at 4,200 rpm		110 hp SAE net
1973–1975				100 hp (75 kW) at 3,600 rpm		low-comp, EGR
1976			single carb	105 hp (78 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.2:1
1977–1979				110 hp (82 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.3:1
1980	OHV V6	229 cu in (3,751 cc)	2-bbl carb	115 hp (86 kW) at 4,000 rpm	Chevrolet
1981–1982				110 hp (82 kW) at 4,200 rpm		LC3
V8 engines
1965–1967	OHV V8	283 cu in (4,638 cc)	2-bbl carb	195 hp (145 kW) at 4,800 rpm	Chevrolet
1966–1968	OHV V8	327 cu in (5,354 cc)	4-bbl carb	250 hp (186 kW) at 4,400 rpm	Chevrolet	10.5:1
1969				235 hp (175 kW) at 4,800 rpm		9.0:1
1968	OHV V8	307 cu in (5,025 cc)	2-bbl carb	200 hp (149 kW) at 4,600 rpm	Chevrolet
1969	OHV V8	350 cu in (5,733 cc)	4-bbl carb	300 hp (224 kW) at 4,800 rpm	Chevrolet	10.25:1
1970				250 hp (186 kW) at 4,500 rpm		9.0:1
1971–1972				245 hp (183 kW) at 4,800 rpm		9.0:1, 165 hp SAE net
1973–1976			2-bbl carb	145 hp (108 kW) at 4,000 rpm 145 hp (108 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.5:1, EGR catalyzed from 1975
1977			4-bbl carb	170 hp (127 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.5:1
1978–1979				160 hp (119 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.2:1
1977–1979	OHV V8	305 cu in (4,999 cc)	2-bbl carb	145 hp (108 kW) at 3,800 rpm	Chevrolet	8.5:1, 8.4:1 after 1978
1980				155 hp (116 kW) at 4,000 rpm		8.6:1
1981				150 hp (112 kW) at 3,800 rpm		8.6:1, higher torque (LG4)
1980	OHV V8	268 cu in (4,390 cc)	2-bbl carb	120 hp (89 kW) at 3,600 rpm	Chevrolet
1981–1982				115 hp (86 kW) at 4,000 rpm		L39, electronic feedback carb
1980	OHV V8	350 cu in (5,737 cc)	diesel	125 hp (93 kW) at 3,600 rpm	Oldsmobile
1981–1982				105 hp (78 kW) at 3,200 rpm		improved "DX" version (LF9)
: SAE gross figures, others are SAE net

End of Production

The final Marathon was manufactured in 1982, when Checker exited the automobile manufacturing business. The company continued operations for an additional 27 years producing body stampings for General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, until January 2009, when it entered bankruptcy liquidation as a result of the downturn in the USA auto industry.[7]

• 
  1971 Checker Marathon wagon
• 
  1972 Checker A12 Marathon sedan
• 
  1975 Checker A12 Marathon sedan
• 
  Checker Marathon badge

Fleet Usage

New York City

For decades, Checker was the taxicab of choice for New York City and many other American cities. The size of the car (seating many passengers), the robust construction, the lack of yearly changes to the styling (Especially the 1958 and later models, simplifying parts management), and the bolt-on rear quarter panels all contributed to the Marathon's ubiquity on the streets of Manhattan.

The last New York City Checker cab retired in 1999, operated by Earl Johnson from 1978 onwards. The Marathon covered over 750,000 miles and had three engine replacements over the years.[8]

Virtually any film set in New York City in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s will show a Checker Marathon. Many movies set in the 1950s and 1960s use Checker cabs built in the 1970s and early 1980s, since the bodies were virtually the same, and due to the lack of usable early specimens. Also, in works depicting the Soviet Union or East Bloc countries, such as the film Gorky Park ^{[citation needed]} and the original Mission: Impossible[9] television series, Checker Marathons were used to depict Soviet-made GAZ-13 Chaika automobiles.

Kalamazoo

Apart from taxicab use, Marathons were also bought by police departments, most notably in Kalamazoo, where Checker had its factory.[10]

The Vatican

In the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, some black SCV-plated (Stato Città del Vaticano - Vatican City) A12 Marathons were used to accommodate Pope Paul VI's entourage in motorcades.

References

External links

• Checker World, official website of Checker Car Club
• The Internet Checker Taxicab Archive
• The ICTA's Checker Taxi Stand, Youtube Channel

На других языках

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[de] Checker Marathon

Der Checker Marathon ist ein von der Checker Motors Corporation in Kalamazoo (Michigan) von 1963 bis 1982 hergestellter, weitgehend mit dem Checker-Taxi baugleicher Pkw für Privatkunden. Ursprünglich wurde mit Marathon nur die gehobenere der zwei Versionen für Privatkunden bezeichnet; die andere war Superba.

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- [en] Checker Marathon

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