Marmon Motor Car Company built some incredible cars from 1902 until 1933, including the winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500--the famous Marmon Wasp. Based in Indy, the company produced a number of cars that were high end in nature, and that meant they were large cars with a lot of style. There aren't many Marmons left, but The Marmon Club has grouped many of the remaining cars together with annual meets, such as the Marmon Muster, which was held right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee this week.
While I was in Hershey, Pennsylvania for the big AACA swap meet, I visited the annual Mini Muster at the Marmon Club spot in the Chocolate Field on Friday. Clay Thomas, a longtime member of the Marmon Club, told me about his 1922 Marmon 2-passenger speedster while club members Lou Iaccino and Dave Cargill listen in. The Mini Muster has been a 3-5 p.m. tradition for decades at Hershey for Marmon lovers from all over the world and I'm one of 'em! This year it was attended by 25 owners and club members.
[caption id="attachment_2217" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Having a good time with great friends at the Mini Muster, during the Hershey AACA meet!"][/caption]
Of course, I had to brag to the club members about my
In case you haven't heard, we recreated the infamous Marmon Wasp, which was the winner car at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 back in 1911. It was driven by Ray Harroun, and it was the first racecar of its kind--it had a single seat, and a rear view mirror, as opposed to other cars at the time, which had a ride-along mechanic. This lighter design, in combination with strict guidelines from the engineers at Firestone tires regarding speed and possible tire failure, gave Ray Harroun the win with an average speed of nearly 75mph. By the way, the Firestone representatives allegedly stated that speeds over 75mph would result in tire failure...
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]
