There are lots of marathons that you can run in — Boston, New York, etc. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe has a Marathon that's not only big enough to run in, but one that you could also drive.
Eyeballs met computer screens yesterday as the slammed Rat Rod Datsun blew not only the minds, but the indignation of 76% of you. That truck was so heavily customized that you'd be likelier to have a Proust-quoting monkey fly out of your butt than see another one on the street. Today we have a contender that's a little more common a street sight, or at least it was at one time.
Wearing a mohawk and a fatigue jacket won't make you Travis Bickle, but buying this 1967 Checker Marathon will bring you one step closer to the classic Robert De Niro character, and all its pimp-splattering pleasure.
Built in Kalamazoo Michigan, the Checker Marathon enjoyed a 21-year run with almost no changes, and a near legendary reputation for durability and the ability to withstand nearly any bodily fluid that could be thrown at it. The A12 Marathon supplanted the Superba Special in 1961 and has become an icon of the American urban landscape, as well as every film made about NY from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Wide doors, a cavernous trunk and un-boltable fenders at all four corners endeared the Checker to hack shops from New York to San Francisco. Sadly today, the cars - which ended production in 1982 - have been mostly replaced by Crown Vics and Minivans.
This '67 is claimed to have never seen service as a hack, and the straight body and lack of any significant missing trim bears out that claim. The 129-inch wheelbase provides acres of leg room in the back, or room for a pair of barstool-like seats that appear as comfortable as riding a sawhorse back there. The Chevy 230-cid OHV six dates from the pliocene and is claimed to have been rebuilt 20K ago. That means it could power you to the moon and back and still have some life left over to get you to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes.
The only thing that keeps it off the meter is the douchy wheels, but the seller indicates that the original steelies come with the cab. At less than 37,000 miles this Checker is still an infant, and that's reflected in the asking price, which is $11,000. For that you get a car for which parts are still readily available, is iconic and which might earn you a couple of bucks should you be hanging around the clubs at 2AM. It would also help you with that Andy Kaufman impression you've been working on- Here he comes to save the day. . .
So, for $11,000, would you hail this cab? Or does that price make this taxi too taxing?
You decide!
eBay or go here if the ad disappears.
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