1935 Ford Marmon Herrington

[marko39]

Is that the original engine? Looks like a 24 stud in the picture.

[EJOWest]

I sent a bunch of photos to Chuck to get his opinion. He said the data plate and engine are not original to the truck but the running gear looks correct for the truck.

[truckdog62563]

Well, those things don’t really matter, and are replaceable. What matters is the fact of it being a unicorn that’s been found and saved. What are your plans? Might be almost as hard to recreate/relocate the fire apparatus. Stu

[EJOWest]

Yes, I’ve been doing research on the fire truck apparatus as well. I plan on getting it back to representation of a 1935 Fire truck possibly one that served at an Air field since I’be been told it first served at an Air Field.

[1952henry]

Appears to be 2 piece transfer case, but not quite the same as my Wisconsin. Also pictured is a Fuller.

[petehoovie]

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Originally Posted by 1952henry

Appears to be 2 piece transfer case, but not quite the same as my Wisconsin. Also pictured is a Fuller.

[Model51]

My advice is to be careful jumping to conclusions. While this is a killer truck and I'd love to have it in my driveway, there doesn't seem to be a way to be sure when the four wheel drive conversion was done on this truck. So, perhaps it was done in 1935, but it could have been done at a later time.

I think the four wheel drive conversion was influenced mainly by the buildup to WW2. I think MH and other manufacturers were trying to convince the government to purchase their equipment. I read somewhere that MH converted one 1935 Model 51 truck to FWD late in the model year and then converted more in 1936. I would have been easy in 1936 or 1937 to convert a 1935 truck to MH FWD. Cunningham did the same thing with their Caterpillar rear drive unit (think half-track) for both the US government and the Canadian government. The key would be to have paperwork linking this truck serial number to a MH conversion order. I know I'm being picky, and I want to believe that this truck is a true 1935 era conversion, but for now I just remain envious. Perhaps the conversion was done during WW2 when new trucks were just not very easy to obtain?

Anyway, it's a great truck and I hope to learn more about it.

[1952henry]

Hmm, another mystery, the shift pattern plate signals a T98 reverse pattern, whilst the hand drawn diagram on the floor board signals a T9, which would be right for a ‘35.

[1952henry]

Chuck Mantiglia would be able to shed light and unshroud the mystery.

[rotorwrench]

The engine is later so it was changed. The 1935 would have had coolant pumps in the heads. It has 24 stud heads so it's a 1939 or later. It's likely a post war 59A type. No telling what else was changed out. It seems like 1935 was the year that MH started to really work with Ford products.

[Model51]

Perhaps the attached 1935/6 Marmon Herrington sales brochure will help answer questions such as the MH model numbers.

The two pictures on the top and bottom left of the second page provide details on the location and arrangement of the components. I noticed that the battery is relocated from the left to the right side but still under the floorboard.

There are four 1935 Model 51 trucks shown in the brochure. Most of the images appear to be military trucks. Also, the prices quoted are a lot of money in the day since the base truck from Ford is well under $1000, so a MH conversion doubles or triples the cost of the truck. I also read that a two-speed auxiliary transmission is included with a low range. These trucks must have been rather slow on the road but could probably go anywhere.

[Model51]

Got my page numbers mixed up. The two images I mention are actually on page 5.

[EJOWest]

Thanks for Sharing the sales brochures! Good info!

[EJOWest]

I tracked down the Fire station that the 1935 Ford Marmon Herrington Fire truck last Served and the fire Chief sent me some photo of the truck while in Service. He's getting better copies and digging up any history he can find on the truck.
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[1952henry]

Those photos are neat to have!

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by 1952henry

Those photos are neat to have!

[Model51]

What a great find to add to the history of your truck. It's certainly a rare original version.
It's nice you are able to track some of your truck's history - congratulations!

[38 coupe]

Those are great pictures. Once again they show how hard a Marmon-Herrington Ford got worked back when they were new. That fire truck has no doors and a somewhat mangled rear fender in one picture and the truck isn't particularly old.

[1952henry]

I would guess the door was purposely removed since the ladder made it inoperable. The rear fender looks to have been modified for mounting the water pipe.
The late 40s early 50s half tons were produced in fewer numbers than the F2-3 3/4 tons, but more survive since the 3/4 tons were beat to death. I was shocked to only find 2 cracks, both in crossmembers on my 52 F3. I know others who had frames cracked so bad they were beyond salvage.