The Marmon Wasp Rebuild
May 12, 2011
If you guys follow along with our blog, or Coker Tire in general, then you know we built a replica of the Marmon Wasp, the winning car from the inaugural Indy 500, which took place in 1911. That's 100 years ago, if you hadn't already done the math. So, with this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 it's the perfect time to unveil the Marmon Wasp in finished form.
[caption id="attachment_1347" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The old engine--A Ford inline six-cylinder....not exactly period correct!"][/caption]
Now, if you recall, the guys at Honest Charley Garage built the Wasp a couple of years ago, but left it in bare metal for a while. The car also had a late model inline six-cylinder engine, with a modern transmission and rear end. During the initial build, the car was being prepared for a movie, so it needed a worry-free power train, but now it's time to get serious with it.
[caption id="attachment_1348" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="This firetruck had a very close match to the original six-cylinder T-Head engine that powered the original Marmon Wasp."][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1349" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The new engine...ready to rock!"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1350" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="This engine has two distributors and two spark plugs per cylinder..."][/caption]
The Marmon Wasp originally used a six-cylinder T-Head engine, which is a pretty rare beast these days. Luckily, we found one in a massive firetruck, and immediately tore apart the vintage truck to get its engine and its transaxle. The engine is era-correct, and very close to the original Marmon engine, so we're pretty happy with it!
[caption id="attachment_1351" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Honest Charley Garage hand built this chassis a couple of years ago, but now it\'s time to get it ready for the new engine!"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1352" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Honest Hal welding in the extra thick frame supports, where the engine will be mounted."][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1353" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Before the boxing plates were installed, thick steel was welded to the frame rails to help strengthen it."][/caption]
The T-Head engine is huge, and very heavy, so the guys at Honest Charley Garage went to great lengths to strengthen the chassis. Boxing plates were installed throughout the frame, with extra thick steel plates in the front section, where the engine mounts. Hal, Richard and Delton tackled the chassis revamp, which also included mounting the new shifter and transaxle. There has been a TON of work done on the Marmon, but there's still a lot left to finish before the big unveiling at the 100th anniversary Indy 500, which takes place at the end of May. We'll be posting updates pretty much every day until it's finished, so stay tuned!