Finding this Checker wagon in the parking lot of this retirement facility was a bittersweet moment. I first encountered it in the parking lot of the neighborhood hardware store in May of 2009, and wrote it up here. While shooting it, its owners, a couple then in their eighties, came out and gave me its story. They bought it new in 1967, and it’s been their only car ever since. That’s 53 years! Truly the ultimate Car Of A Lifetime.
I’ve seen it a couple of times since on the road, but not in the recent past. Given their age, I’ve been wondering if its time with them had run out. But here it is, and it looks like it still gets driven, even with its manual steering and three-on-the-tree. It’s sort of the station wagon counterpart to my ’66 F100, except of course they’ve had it longer. I hope I’m still driving my truck when I’m in my nineties.
The owners told me that they’d driven all over the country and numerous trips to Mexico and Canada. Lots of memories were made on these seats. And that seat cushion looks to have been recovered, given all the miles that were racked up on them.
That headrest looks to be an aftermarket affair. And the rear seat legroom is very ample, befitting the Checker’s design brief as the ultimate taxi cab.
I’ve always had a major soft spot for these Marathon wagons. It really is a pickup with a wagon body, like the International Travelall. Of course someone is going to bust me for saying that. But that’s what makes it so appealing.
If it hadn’t been for COVID, I would have gone in and looked them up.
Great pictures. It looks to be a basic model. As I look at the gauges I wonder if they sourced them from where International Trucks sourced their gauges. And, yes, I owned two International Travelalls, a 1965 and a 1968. Great tanks that needed some updating. International’s 304 CID V-8 powered mine. As it was designed to haul up to 24,500 GVW, the 4700-pound Travelall never belabored the engine. To clean it out, a good run at sixty miles per hour for two hours did the trick. I grew up in New York City. We had plenty of Checker cabs, the older models and this newer model. Great transportation. The taxicabs had more room in the rear which was used to accommodate two folding jump seats. Seatbelts? Huh? We hung on when we knew that we were to come to a sudden stop. How did we know beforehand? 1) Driver hits horn hard. 2) Driver curses at other motorist who is out of reach of hearing. 3) Driver hits the brakes. Once past the problem, 4) Driver utters something again!
The gauges on the older IH’s were made by Stewart-Warner and I’d bet that these were too since they were the biggest US mfg of such items.
I hope these folks are well and their beloved Checker finds a good home when they can no long look after it. Would love here the story of their travels! Maybe a PN interview after the pandemic?
BTW, are the “big back” side glass pieces stock GM pieces?
Good for them, what a wonderful story, I just went back and read the original as well. True survivors, all three of them, at this point the owners (attendants) belong to the Checker as much as the Checker belongs to them. And huge bonus points for selecting the wagon in the first place as opposed to the (already capacious) trunked sedan.
The story of this Checker being driven by its original owners is one of my all-time favorite CC stories. I’m glad to see it’s still being driven!
The image of these folks driving this car remind me in some ways of my mother-in-law, who is in her late 80s and drives a stripped-down Jeep Wrangler. Not quite as hefty to navigate as a Checker, but with no power steering, a/c, and no modern amenities, it’s not exactly the type of car most octogenarians would choose. It helps to keep her young.
Count me as another who loves this story. I remembered the car and thought for a second that this might be a rerun, but so glad to get an update on this one. I hope someone is there to continue the stewardship of this fabulous wagon.
I am also another fan of both these and the Travelalls.
It is cool that he has kept it all these years and in such good condition. I certainly hope it finds a good home when the time for a new owner inevitably comes.
I have to wonder if he has all the records through the years. I would think that someone who bought it new with the intention of keeping it long term would have kept all the receipts, at least until he downsized and moved. It would be an interesting read for sure.
“…Moved to the Retirement Home With Its Original Owners”
It’s THEY!!!
Well since Paul didn’t go in and talk with them who knows if both of them are still with us. However considering their age it would have been the man of the household who almost certainly was the one who was responsible for taking care of the car whether doing it himself or taking it somewhere. So yeah I’ll stick with he not they.
Good to love it, and the story. Long may both carry on.
From what I recall from previous reading on this site, Checker specifically marketed these as a car that would last forever. For this particular couple it looks like it indeed has.
Amazing that hey kept it this long!
I’ve written about this before on CC, but a ’65 Checker Marathon sedan was my high school daily driver in 1972 through ’74
Dad bought it new in ’65 with Chevy 6, 3-speed manual trans with overdrive. Chroma black with a silver vinyl interior. The jump seats in back, too (good for about 100 miles before switching off with a rear seat passenger).
It went through at least 2 paint jobs and a rebuild after my former sister in law totaled it. My stepmom finally got rid of it in 1990 when it was nickel and diming her to death.
When I was 16 and getting my drivers license, my father was getting a new “used” car. The old family wagon had finally died and we had a new one. This would be his car. My brothers and I came up with all these cool cars for him to buy. My father decided to find a Checker Sedan. I was horrified. That was never going to be cool to drive to High School. I got very upset and my father unmercifully teased me about it for the rest of my life. He gave me all kinds of Checker memorabilia for years and years until he died. But he did it in a mean and mocking way. He never did find a Checker for sale. He ended up with a Volvo 144 sedan. Close.
It’s a wonderful tale, and the wagon has much more charm than the sedan, which is such a dour-seeming purchase for private buyers. Had it been that, I would immediately have pictured Mr and Mrs American Gothic peering primly out of that screen, but as an entirely more cheery (and handsome) wagon and in Tupperware green, it all seems far more inviting.
Long life to them both.
I’m more than a little embarrassed by this story but for some reason this reminds me of it.
There was a family who lived at the end of our street in the 1960s who still had older (say 1940’s) cars, which stood out, partly because the styling of cars changed drastically in the 20 years since the cars were new, but partly because “everyone” on the street had newer vehicles, it was an area of newbuilt construction, though we only lived there 4 years, my Father bought our house new, as would have been the case with other residents mostly since the street was fairly new. My father (and us in turn) were a bit snarky about them, he would say things like the lady of the family wore a sailor hat, and generally talk down about them…maybe having older cars allowed them to buy a newer home, but that didn’t enter into our comments about them.
Fast forward to the present, I now own (as my only car) one that is about to turn 20 years old, this November. Of course, car styling hasn’t changed as much in the last 20 years as it did in the 40’s to 60’s, so other than sharp-eyed individuals who keep track of different years of cars, most people probably aren’t aware of the age of my car, which though it has a few dings, has been kept in pretty good condition. Are people making (equally) judging comments about me for a similar practice? Guess a case of me being rather 2 faced, and of course I’m not at all proud of it.
I’ve probably been in Checker Taxis once or twice, and vaguely recall the vehicle that we were in for my Grandfather’s funeral in 1966…I think it was probably a Checker, I remember being really impressed with the jumpseats…but there my exposure to Checker ends.