Marmon Motor Car Company  

The Nordyke and Marmon Company got into the automobile business in a unique way.

Howard began developing a car of his own design almost immediately after he purchased an automobile for his own use but found it lacking in durability and dependability. Howard and Walter, were dissatisfied with the automobiles of the day, and built a luxury car to satisfy their own demands. Being a very good engineering company, they built a very unusual and innovative vehicle.

Howard's first experimental car was designed and produced in 1902 with an air-cooled V-twin engine [90-degree V configuration] V-engine, two-cylinder, which featured the first use of a pressure lubricated crankshaft, rod bearings and overhead valves. He followed this with another experimental model in 1903 an air-cooled V-4.. It became so popular among his friends that he was convinced to build six more cars just like it and by 1904 the company was in the automobile business and it sold six cars, mainly to friends. Production increased to 25 cars in 1905, Nordyke, Marmon & Company officially began automobile production in 1905 and production was increased to 24 cars; and Howard began trying different engine configurations.

The Marmon automobile quickly became known for its reliability further demonstrating this in the 1906 Glidden Tour. While 13 cars finished with a perfect score, Marmon was the only one to do so without a single repair or replacement being required.

From Munsey's Magazine (February 1907)

The Marmon car quickly established a reputation for mechanical excellence. After an experimental V-6, and a V-8, he settled on conventional water cooled, inline designs in 1908.

It made extensive use of aluminum in the body and engine, Marmon introduced the rear-view mirror and extensive use of aluminum in auto manufacturing.

After an experimental V-6 and a V-8, he settled on conventional water- cooled, in-line designs. Several new Marmons were introduced for 1909, among them the Model 32, which also came in a racing version called the Marmon Wasp. In the late 1910s the Model 34 was noted for its use of aluminum in the body, hood and radiator thus making it much lighter than its competitors weighing 3,295 pounds and as powered by an overhead valve in-line six. Howard Marmon and his staff were leaders in automotive design pioneering. Marmon also experimented in designing 12 and 16 cylinder engines.

1911 Marmon 32, touring

The first Indy 500 took place in 1911 and the company produced the first Indianapolis 500 winner in Ray Harroun's Wasp on May 30th, 1911 averaging 74.31 MPH, a Marmon engineer. Stats for the 1911 race: Fin St. Car# Driver Car Name/Entrant* CET Running/Out Laps Led Prize $ 5 27 31 Joe Dawson Marmon Marmon/Marmon 72.365 200 0 $1,500 1 28 32 Ray Harroun Marmon "Wasp" Marmon/Marmon 74.602 200 88 $14,250

Also the No. 32 Marmon was the only single-seat car in the 1911 Indy 500 field - all others carried two occupants the driver and the mechanic. It also featured a futuristic nuance that was revolutionary in design rear-view mirror which historians say was the first of its kind used in the United States. Clessie L. Cummins, "father of the highway diesel" worked for the Marmon Automobile Co. at Indianapolis among his assignments was the first Memorial Day 500-mile race at Indianapolis in 1911; he and Joe Dawson worked side by side as members of the crew when Ray Harroun drove a Marmon creation to victory in the inaugural event. Howard C. Marmon designed the Marmon “Yellow Jacket” engine with the help of Louis Schwitzer, who was born Feb. 29, 1880, in Silesia in northwest Austria, earned master’s degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering from the Universities of Darmstadt and Karlshrue and immigrated to the United States. He met Howard C. Marmon and that powered Ray Harroun to victory in the first Indianapolis 500.

The Marmon sport vehicles were serious competitors at the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway from 1909-1913 and in 1911 the company produced the Wasp. The wasp derived its name from its yellow color and long pointed tail; and established Marmon as a reliable and fast racing competition machine. The Wasp driven by Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911

1911	1912 Model 32 Speedster
1913	1914 Model 41 Speedster

The Marmon car was first promoted as a race car but by the mid-1920's, it was considered an automobile for well-off families.

In response to an unanticipated market clamor, they went into the automobile business.

In 1916 Marmon designed an evolution of the Model 32, the Marmon 34. It was powered by an overhead valve in-line six made almost entirely of aluminum. The 34 also used aluminum in most engine components (including pushrods), body, hood and radiator shell. Thus this large car with a 3,429 mm (135 in.) wheelbase in the touring model, weighed only 1,496 kg (3,295 lb). Developments of this model continued as late as 1927, acquiring Delco coil ignition in 1920 and the option of front wheel brakes in 1923.

To gain publicity, in 1916 Howard Marmon's team of drivers drove a Marmon 34 across America in pursuit of the trans-continental record. They did it in under six days, beating the legendary Cannon Ball Baker's Cadillac time by 41 hours. (click image for large view)

The company expanded, and it contributed to the First World War effort by manufacturing 5,000 Liberty aircraft engines. Marmon was also in charge of the government's feasibility study on mammoth multi-cylinder engines for aircraft use until the end of WW1.; and was impressed by a Bugatti aero engine of the day. It was made by coupling two straight-eight engine blocks to a common crankcase.

1918	1919
1920 Model 34 Roadster

But Nordyke and Marmon began losing money in the 1920s. The Model 34 remained in production until 1924, and as the revised Models 74 and 75, and was produced until 1928.

This is a vintage Marmon L-27C Service Manual Issued by the The Marmon Motor Car Company, Indianapolis Indiana.

1921 Marmon Wasp

By 1924 Marmon car sales were flagging and the company was facing financial trouble. Also new New models were this year to replace the long-lived Model 34.

Lot 041: 1924 Marmon Special Racecar Big 6

1924 - Marmon model 34C Touring Car - Panorama Top and a 6 cylinder motor.



Franklin Hall Marmon chief test engineer, was killed on October 11th 1924 when the two-seater roadster he was driving hit some loose gravel and overturned. The roadster was equipped with a new braking system developed by his uncle Howard Marmon. It is said that the damaged prototype was duly recovered to the works. But that its fate thereafter remains uncertain some say that it was scrapped except for its unique engine and some believe that it was sold and converted it into a single-seater racer around 1928-9

Marmon Model D-74 Service Manual Issued by the The Nordyke and Marmon Company, Indianapolis Indiana, September 1925

New money from George Williams, the former president of the Wire Wheel Corp. of America, helped rejuvenate interest. Williams entered the scene around 1925 and provided financial backing to the struggling Marmon Corporation. With his financial support he also brought new ideas on making the company more competitive. Williams suggested that the company being producing low-cost automobiles to attract a wider segment of the market and rejuvenate sales. Sales rose from about 2,600 in 1924 to almost 4,500 in both 1925 and 1926.

Howard Marmon went on to develop the Marmon Motor Car Company and build a high quality and dependable car. In 1926 the name of the company was changed to the Marmon Motor Car Company. Marmon's automobiles were exquisitely designed and catered to the wealthy

The original Nordyke and Marmon Plant 1 was at the southwest corner of Kentucky Avenue and West Morris Street. Plant 2 was at the southwest comer of Drover and West York Street. Plant 3 was a five-story structure measuring 80 x 600 feet parallel to Morris Street (now Eli Lilly & Company Building 314). The Marmon assembly plant was built adjacent to the Morris Street property line with Plant 3 behind and parallel to it (also part of the Eli Lilly complex).

Walter Marmon continued to run the Nordyke and Marmon Company until they sold sold the milling equipment part of the business to the Allis-Chalmers farm implement company in 1926. In 1926 the name of the company was changed to the Marmon Motor Car Company. The Marmon automobile was manufactured from 1902 to 1933.

1926 Marmon 75 roadster

Howard Marmon had also begun working on the world's first V16 engine in 1927.

The Williams influence resulted in the 1927 Marmon Little Eight; it lasted only one year and selling at a reasonable price of around one-thousand dollars.

In 1928 two eight-cylinder models were offered, the cheapest L-head Model 68 selling for $1,395.

This restored 1928 Marmon comes equipped with a straight 8 cylinder engine, duel side mounts, cowl lamps, luggage rack, four doors and a three speed manual transmission. Sales of 1928 were 14,770.

1928 Marmon race Car

In 1929, Marmon went exclusively to straight-eights, the year in which its sales peaked at more than 22,000 cars, sparked by the addition of the low-priced, eight-cylinder Roosevelt -- The 1929 Roosevelt had the distinction of being the first eight-cylinder car in the world to sell for less than $1,000. The Roosevelt appeared in the 1930 catalog as the Marmon Roosevelt and only lasted one more year. The 1929 Marmon warrants a listing in the Guiness Book of Records for factory installed radio.

1929 Roosevelt

1929 Marmon 78, 3-window coupe

1929 Marmon Straight Eight, rumble seat 5-window coupe

This was followed by the Roosevelt in 1929, the first straight-eight that sold for less than $1000. It helped raise sales from 14,770 in 1928 to a record of 29,216 vehicles in 1929.

1929 Little Marmon 8 Owners Manual Issued by the The Service Department, Technical Division, Marmon Motor Car Company, Indianapolis Indiana, February 1929. Marmon 89 Manual Issued by the The Service Department, Technical Division, Marmon Motor Car Company, Indianapolis Indiana, January 1930 and the Marmon Roosevelt Owners Manual Issued by the The Service Department, Technical Division, Marmon Motor Car Company, Indianapolis Indiana, March 1930.

Marmon seemed to be on the right track, but alas, that was the year the stock market crashed. Marmon, like other manufacturers, experienced a serious sales decline.

1930 Marmon Big Eight, 4-door sedan	1930 Marmon Big Eight, 4-door sedan		1930 Marmon Big Eight, 4-door sedan
1930 Marmon, victoria coupe	1930 Marmon Big 8 Dual cowl Phaeton

When the Great Depression drastically reduced the luxury car market, the company innovated again. Walter C. Marmon as representative of the Marmon Car Company joined forces with Arthur (Colonel) Herrington, an ex-military engineer involved in the design of all-wheel drive vehicles. Thus getting into the military truck business with A. W. S. Herrington Company, in 1931 he formed a partnership with Arthur W. Herrington in the manufacturing of trucks under the name of the Marmon-Herrington Company.

Its straight-eight Roosevelt, the first American eight priced under $1,000, and named for former U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, suffered the same short-lived fate as the Little Eight. It lasted only a couple of years. With the onset of the Great Depression, sales fell to 12,300 in 1930, and to under 6,000 in 1931.

1931 Marmon 16	1931 Marmon 16 convertible	1931 Marmon V-16
1931 Marmon 16 convertible coupe	1931 Marmon 16 limousine	1931 Marmon 16 coupe

While Marmon had kept going with Williams's less expensive models, Howard Marmon had grander ideas - was determined to pursue the upper echelons of the market creating . He had been designing his dream car, the Marmon Sixteen, that appeared in 1931 launched as "The Worlds Most Advanced Motor Car" this splendid vehicle featured an aluminium V16 engine of 8049cc and many pioneering features such as Bendix duo-servo brakes. Eight body styles were produced by Le Baron, each car was test driven around the famous Indy circuit for at least 210 miles during which 100 mph was exceeded for ten miles.

1931 Marmon Brooklyn 96	1931 Marmon Brooklyn 96	1931 Marmon 88, 4-door sedan
1931 Marmon Sixteen, 3-window coupe by Lebaron	1931 Marmon 70, rumbleseat coupe

The handwriting was on the wall for the company, but Howard Marmon had one more ace to play. Since 1926, he had been working on the design of a "super car" with a V16 engine, although Cadillac beat him to the punch. Cadillac had sold almost 3,000 V16s by the time the Marmon V16 reached showrooms early in 1931.

1932 Marmon Sixteen, convertible sedan, V16-cyl. In 1932 Marmon produced 1365 cars

The Marmon Sixteen was Marmon's best car and was a fabulous car; but only 390 of them were made. Its 8.0-litre (491 cu in.) overhead valve, aluminum V16 engine had a high 6 to 1 compression ratio and developed 200 horsepower, was compared with the Cadillac Sixteen's 175 and second in America to only the mighty Duesenberg's claimed 265. Because its cylinder block and heads, rocker covers, oil pan, dual water pumps, oil pump and bell housing were aluminum, the V-16 weighed only 422 kg (930 lb), a then remarkable power-to-weight ratio. The cylinder banks were set at 45-degrees, which resulted in a narrow engine to fit under the slim hoods of the day. It had wet, pressed-in hardened steel cylinder sleeves sealed at the bottom with rubber O-rings and by cylinder head gaskets at the top which held the pistons in; and used fork-and-blade connecting rods rather than the side-by-side type that became universal in V-type engines. The engine heads were also aluminim and had inseted valve seats. It had pushrod operated overhead valves, but it was the first use of a single Dual downdraft carburetor on an intake manifold inside the vee, feeding cross-flow heads with the exhaust manifolds mounted on the other side of the head, on outside of the vee. The low end torque of the engine also allowed it to go from 5 mph to its top speed in top gear. The Marmon V-16 was 18'2.4" long, one of the longest production luxury cars ever built, and even with an aluminum block engine, weighed in at just over 5500 lbs curb weight. The Society of Automotive Engineers was so impressed by the V16 that it gave Marmon the Society of Automotive Engineers' annual design award in February 1931.

The new Marmon proved its durability, too. During a test run at the Indianapolis Speedway, a Sixteen covered more than 2,900 km in 24 hours -- a record that was to stand for for 22 years. In a simulated road test of a 1932 Sixteen it was estimated that the V16-powered Marmon could hit 96 kilometres an hour in 14 seconds and reach a top speed of 169 km/h. In spite of its magnificence, being a wonderfully engineered car and fast, the Marmon Sixteen came just too late - it had arrived at the worst possible economic time -- the depth of the Depression. but set the format for v-type engines that continues to this day.

The depression caught up with the Marmon Motor Car Company in 1933. The $5,000 price tag was beyond the reach of most everyone at that time and the company went into bankruptcy. By the time it went into receivership in May, 1933, it was only producing an expensive, but well received, 16 cylinder car and produced 86 cars.. Marmon was unable to maintain sales enough to continue production, until at last, only Howard Marmon and his Vice-president Jack Rodgers, and some office help were all that was left of the car company remaining to sell off the last of their inventory

1933 Marmon Sixteen convertible sedan, V16-cyl

1933 Marmon V-16

At the very end, Howard Marmon built, at his own expense, a prototype auto with 150 hp V12 engine, independent front-suspension, DeDion rear axle and tubular backbone frame, with styling by Walter Dorwin Teague. HCM was singular—in every sense of the word. The only thing not unusual about the car was its name. The final sketch of the HCM design was drawn on an 8-1/2 by 11 sheet of paper by Howard Marmon and handed by George Freers to an associate engineer named Joe Felts. Howard Marmon had thought that the the HCM might save his company from the jaws of the Great Depression and unlike those antecedents, this car would not see; the five-thousand dollar price tag and a struggling economy was the reason less than 400 examples were ever produced.



The Marmon HCM - the last Marmonl, however, never saw production.

Although race car engineer Harry Miller and entrepreneur Preston Tucker tried to revive the Marmon in 1934, they were unsuccessful.

That was the end of Marmon cars, but not their automotive connection. Walter Marmon and Arthur Herrington teamed up to produce a Herrington-designed four-wheel-drive system for trucks that was particularly popular in Fords.

The Marmon-Herrington Company remained in business after the motor car company went into receivership, after 1933, the Marmon Motor Car Company became the Marmon-Herrington Company and produced trucks and all-wheel drive vehicles,

Marmon-Herrington Company

When the Great Depression drastically reduced the luxury car market, the company innovated again. Walter C. Marmon as representative of the Marmon Car Company joined forces with Arthur (Colonel) Herrington, an ex-military engineer involved in the design of all-wheel drive vehicles. Thus getting into the military truck business with A. W. S. Herrington Company, in 1931 he formed a partnership with Arthur W. Herrington in the manufacturing of trucks under the name of the Marmon-Herrington Company, the truck production division of the Marmon Motor Car Company. This company was formed by Walter C. Marmon and Arthur W. Herrington to develop all-wheel-drive trucks, initially for military purposes. Production began in March 1931 when the company received an order for 33 T-1 4 x 4 aircraft refueling trucks powered by 6-cylinder Hercules engines. These were followed by a variety of 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 vehicles for the US and Persian armies used as general load carriers, mobile machine shops, wreckers and balloon winch trucks. Reconaissance, scout and armored cars were also made, some with 4-wheel-steering as well as 4­wheel-drive. In 1932 Marmon-Herrington built the first all-wheel-drive truck and trailer combination for oil pipe construction in Iraq.

In 1963, the Pritzkers acquired the Marmon-Herrington Company, successor to the Marmon Motor Car Company. According to the manner in which Jay Pritzker structured the deal, the L.A. Darling Company, which was headed by Robert Pritzker, paid approximately $2.7 million for 260,000 shares of Marmon-Herrington's 580,000 outstanding shares of stock. This acquisition gave the Pritzkers's industrial holdings their permanent name, The Marmon Group. Marmon discontinued the company's production of heavy-duty tractors, transit vehicles, and bus chassis. The most significant addition to the Pritzker holdings was the Long-Airdox Company, a division of Marmon-Herrington that added a broad range of coal mining equipment to Darling's display equipment and fixtures, along with foundry operations and and became a member of an association of companies which now operates under the name "The Marmon Group." and manufactured commercial and military vehicles. It later acquired and moved to the defunct Duesenberg Company plant on West Washington and Harding streets in Indianapolis. The company continued producing heavy duty, all wheel drive trucks until it ceased operations in 1963/1964 - I have been told this is inaccurate that they are still very much alive alive and well in Louisville, Kentucy and never ceased operations.

At the Indianai History Organization collection can be found: MARMON MOTOR CAR CO. RECORDS, 1917–1953 (BULK 1924–1933) (PDF)

The Nordyke and Marmon Company was considered one of the finest engineering houses of its time. There are about 500 Marmons left in this country.

There is probably much more that could be added here - but I think that I have pulled enough of the history of the Marmon Automobile onto on page to give one an idea of just how great, and magnificent the company was as well as the car itself - I have not found many pages that put more than maybe on but just 1, 2 or 3 of the cars under one heading - I hope that I have done justice to the topic and provided an interesting insight to the occupation of the Mormon's of Lake Maxinkuckee

Sources: Various internet sources.

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