What v8 motor came in a new york cab?
 

I know one did and does nhra have specs on it?

well in 1955 - 1956 I think they had Chev & Ford, I even think they had some Chrysler 'hemi'....then later they had some Dodge 318's and then they.........OH, it would help to be a bit more specific...

He who dies last, must pay the bills....
Is that a 'Hemi'?

Im pretty sure that Checker Marathons came with 283 Chevies and a `glide in the 60`s................

If you are speaking of Checker Cabs, the very early ones (around WWII )came with lycoming and continental motors.
Then later most that I know of were straight 6 and then later, V-8 GM motors. I never saw anything except GM motors in the ones I worked on.
I did some work for Checker Motor Co. in the late.....well, several years ago. And I can tell you that the story of the Checker Motor Co. is pretty intriguing. It seems at times everyone that was anyone had a hand in the Car Co. From E.L. Cord, to...can't remember the name, but the guy that designed the Tucker.
Checker actually built tracked vehicles in WWII, jeeps, and a neat looking convertable. They built trucks, and bullit proof cars for government officials. I think Bonny and Clyde or someone like that always used a Checker.
The big three wanted a bigger share, and tried to squeeze them out in the 60's, with rumored payoff's to senators to change some gov. regs. and etc.
It was rumored by insiders that the Union put pressure on the owner ( family owned since the 30's ) including death threats if he didn't copitulate to their demands ( what they were--I don't know ) so they shut the doors in the early 80's.

OK damn, what was the question ? Oh YEA...........GM motors.




Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

More details? Gm made a v8 in the 90s installed in cabs--FI motor with a small Cubic inch--thats all i know--anyone running a cab motor? Dont know if it was a checkered cab or yellow cab--I took a cab from Buckwheats steak house to the bronks and the guy laid at least 1/4 block of rubber--would like any info

The engine comes in 1994-96 full size Chevys. It is a smaller version of the LT1. Cubic inch is 265 with horsepower of 200. According to the NHRA class guide it falls into J/FIA.

The Checkers I worked on in the early 80's were built in Battle Creek, Michigan. They had 350 engines with 400 transmissions.

ss3011

Don't forget the COPO Checker with the aluminum 495 Can Am motors.

I think they'll fit in SS/A stick ! http://www.classracer.com/html/happy.gif

Sounds like you were in a LT1 powered Caprice. The 265s are not quite that strong.

The mayor of NY declared today that ALL NYCity cabs will be switched to hybrids asap. No joke.

So......somebody looking to pick up some cores?

I miss step.

Or could we get a good deal on a fleet & "FLOOD" NHRA & IHRA with Checkers in Stock/Super Stock?

Adger Smith

At one point, a long time ago (1963, maybe?) I read a road test in a magazine in which they tested a Checker Marathon which had a 283 2bbl (dunno if they ever came with a 4bbl; why would they?) and a THREE-SPEED Borg Warner tranny,
I remember thinking at the time (this was before you could get a decent hi-stall converter for a 'glide), why doesn't somebody run one of these cars in Stock Eliminator? The transmission would have been a huge advantage over a stock-stall 'glide.

The Checker Marathons were available to consumers for daily-driver transportation, so maybe a 4bbl WAS available.

Dunno if they were in the Classification Guide back then, Probably not...

Bill

In 1969 the Checker Marathon had as an optional engine the Chevrolet 300 HP 327 !
And in 1971 had the Chev 245 HP 350 CI with a Rochester 4 bbl.
And in 1975 had as an option the Chev 145 HP 350 CI with the Rochester 4 bbl....
They were built into the 80' but my book oonly goes to 1975.
Info comes from the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 given to me by a good friend from Arkansas ! THANKS....

The 1971 Checker with the 245 HP 350 CI engine and Shipping Weight of 3,800 pounds should fall right into P- Stock !!!!

The 265 is the baby lt-1...Its actually not a bad combo...There is a guy running in GT/MA with it in a grand-am...Can think of his name. The motor is a short stroke, smaller headed LT-1...Could be an interesting project in a caprice wagon!

New york has a bazillion Crown vic's, and they want to go eco friendly! Ok, load your family of four and luggage from a two week vacation into a prius (one of the cars OK'd) and we'll see how you make out!
Just another kick square in the nuts for detroit. The approved cars are a couple of toyota's and a honda, and a couple hybrid suv's including the escape.
When foreign content is mandated, there's a problem, a very big problem.

Am I bitter? DAMN RIGHT!!!

Nitrous is like an old man with viagra, as soon as the bottles empty, your all done!

Oh, and Mike, the guy who designed the Tucker was...Preston Tucker.




Nitrous is like an old man with viagra, as soon as the bottles empty, your all done!

Ron Roddel runs this combination with the little black Grand Am.
It is probably the fastest GT/MA in the country on any given day. It went 1.13 under this past weekend at our S/SS race in not real stellar air and I'm willing to bet it could have gone faster.

That's a combo that needs some Hp adjustment! hehehehehe

See ya at BIR!

See ya in Staging!

Actually, Preston Tucker was the Obvious Brainchild and Owner of the Tucker, but he wasn't the design engineer. The Chief design engineer was Alex Tremus, but Tucker also hired design engineer Ray Dietrich away from Checker.
Checker had earlier hired Ray Dietrich way from Chrysler. They created the Tucker look. I believe Tucker was an engineer but maybe not a design engineer. Oh, and they say Dietrich would not take credit/responsibility for the ugly front end of the Checker.
And yes, I did go look up the names just now as I wrote everything I remembered about the Checker yesterday. [:-sunglasses-:]
The Checker motor Co was a very interesting Co. though, more than just ugly cabs. If you like automotive history it's worth learning a bit about.
Just like the Tucker, great story, and the Big Three tried to squash both of em.


Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

There was a lady customer at my brothers Sunoco station, in the mid 70's, with a Checker Marathon. It was powered by a 350 Chevy 2 brl. and a Borg Warner 3 speed on the column. It ran like top, never had any issues. Some women told a friend of mine ( he drove a 55 Chevy) that all the cabs in NY were 55 Chevys. This was in 1980! LOL!! True story.

yep Johnny -

the Checker Cabs did have a strong resemblence to a mid 50's chevy... they stopped producing them around 1982. They were all over NYC when I was a kid. You very rarely see them around anymore.. I had my first ride to the hospital in a Checker Cab for some stitches. It was a nice riding vehicle and very roomy. They had these nifty round shaped ... bar stool looking kind of folding seats in them for additional passenger seating. For some reason I remember noticing that during that first trip. Anyway years later I learned that they did have SBC's in em.

An aunt and uncle near Boston had a "civilian" Checker Marathon. I remember riding in it and there was enough rear seat room with those jump seats to fit about seven of us. I didn't look underneath to see if there was space for good 4 link since it never crossed my mind to want one as a Super Stocker! http://www.classracer.com/html/happy.gif

If I am not mistaken many of the body parts on a checker could fit in multiple positions for example the left front fender could be used as a right rear and the doors could be swapped side for side, same with bumpers and windshield and rear window glass. They were indestructible!!!!!! the cabbies in the Chicago area would beat the hell out of them and they would just keep running. Rattled a lot but they served the purpose very roomy inside too ... Comp 387

As a kid in the early 70's I work at a Skelly station in S. Minneapolis.I remember doing an LOF on a Kermet the frog green Checker with a 250 Chevy 6,T400,and 12 bolt posi.....Bullit proof or what?lol