Driving my old 1982 Checker Marathon

Had a chance to reunite with my former car today, and try it out after the new owner fixed it up. Drives as well I had always dreamed it, and lots of character! This is a daily driver, doing long commutes successfully every day weekly, 18,000 kms since December 2019. This car is a total survivor car, and hands down you will not find a 38 year old car from the modern era working as well as this. The secret? Simplicity.

[@mntsam1930]

Hard to believe this is an 80s car. Pretty cool nonetheless

[@ralphabreu5022]

When a car was a car Not today's plastic fantastic car's

[@thechenrezig2988]

Truly! Today's cars are meant to be thrown away after use. This one can be rebuilt endlessly.

[@user-yc2oz8kc5k]

Was hoping to see the car as well. Very rare 40 years later.

[@DeLorean4]

The 1950s steering wheel is a great touch.

[@thechenrezig2988]

I think so too, since there is a lot of 1950s aesthetic in a Checker as it stands!

[@duryadhanagaming8325]

Very nice video and vintage car

[@Michka1001]

That's gorgeous

[@HIDHIFDB]

Get the 4 speed transmission from a Suburban/caprice/impala, that engine needs a overdrive

[@sambo9855]

I know some people get tired of hearing " this needs an LS, that needs an LS. I'll say it again someone should LS one of these.

[@thechenrezig2988]

I did have an LS that I was rebuilding for it, but the lad that bought the car didn't put it in as he had a 350 ready to go. That said, yes the LS is in my view the perfect match for a car of this weight!

[@gojoe2833]

These old Checkers were great cars! But what's with that steering wheel? It's definitely not the original..it looks like a late 1950s or early 60s Chevy...

[@thechenrezig2988]

I will ask the new owner about that. Just about any old Chev steering wheel fits these things, so he likely just swapped one in from the junkyard.

[@wesgregg6451]

@@thechenrezig2988 Checker used Chevrolet steering columns and steering wheels from 1970 onward. That's just a "Checker thing" - for example, the vehicle in this video very likely has a front lower A-frame from the 1956 Ford Thunderbird, a front upper A-frame from the 1963 Lincoln Continental, and it's likely that Checker was still using AMC Matador radiators. An "if it aint broke, don't fix it" attitude is fine, much of the time. However, attempting to adhere to such a strategy regardless of circumstances can be... ruinous. Much of Checker's tooling was arguably worn out (and I used the term "arguably" only because manufacturers in the former USSR and East Germany - along with Checker, lol - would have continued to use them for as long as Checker did). That's why many of Checker's later vehicles required manual door/fender adjustment before leaving the factory. I always liked Checkers, especially when I was a boy and you could still find the fold-down jump seats in their taxi cabs. But the company refused to upgrade (or at least replace) things when the money was rolling in. At the end, it was wholly unprepared for an automobile world in which vehicle designs are changed, sometimes significantly so, over a relatively short period of time. Checker and General Motors actually had discussions about replacing the iconic Checker sedan body with a (then) current GM one. The early 80's Citation, maybe. That would have been some time around 1980, if I remember correctly. Things fell through, though, when it was explained that GM planned on replacing that body style in 1985, I think. Factoring in the time needed to make such a major change, that would have only given Checker approximately three years, then it would have had to have a different automobile body. Not really feasible, considering the "Tucker way" (and, by then, the company's financial situation). Then, labor disputes came to a head - and, after being unable to get a judge to set aside the labor contracts, David Markin, son of founder Morris Markin, basically shut things down, not with a bang - but with a whimper (one that was largely unheard by the rest of the world). Which is even more sad than you might think - at one point in the early years of the company, the owner's house was actually firebombed, and that didn't stop him. . . .

[@brianlemaire4221]

Is this a manual or automatic? How is the cornering?

[@thechenrezig2988]

It's a 3 speed automatic (typically the GMC 350 cubic inch engines are mated to a Turbo400 transmission. Cornering is pretty good, for such a heavy vehicle.

[@Thinker669]

You drove it 60 miles a day?

[@thechenrezig2988]

Young fellow who bought it from me and completed the restoration does that on his commute, yes.

[@wiscgaloot]

15 mpg tops, hmmm?

[@thechenrezig2988]

Could be right, though I have heard a standard 350 GMC engine can clear 20 mpg highway if tuned right.

[@mattwoody1089]

Amature

[@thechenrezig2988]

Armature? Or Amateur? What English word are you trying to write, my friend?

[@Comrade_Devyatyarov]

вы тоже подумали что это Мартиросян?