Doreen’s ‘Husky Pup’: Duplicating a Legendary 4×4
Story and photos by John Gunnell
The late Donald N. Chew’s calling card identified him as a Board Member at-Large for the American Truck Historical Society (www.aths.org), but the Coloradoan was more than that. Chew collected trucks himself, restored trucks for other collectors and had accumulated reams of historical materials about Marmon-Herrington four-wheel-drive Ford truck conversions. He also replicated one of the rarest Marmon-Herrington models.
It was Chew’s interest in Coleman four-wheel-drive trucks that brought us to his home.But once we got there, it was a 1937 Ford truck with a Marmon-Herrington four-wheel-drive system that caught our eye. It was one of just a few fully restored units in Chew’s massive truck collection and he soon told us why – it was the only one like it.
Marmon-Herrington survives today and its website explains that the original company bearing the Marmon name was formed in 1851 as the Nordyke & Marmon Machine Co. It then specialized in the manufacture of flour mill machinery. As a top engineering house, the company entered the emerging auto industry around 1900.
The company first made cars. For three decades, Marmon produced some of the world’s finest luxury cars. A Marmon Wasp won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 andalso introduced the rearview mirror. A Marmon 16 was the height of luxury in touring sedans. The Great Depression hurt the luxury car market, so Marmon joined forces with Colonel Arthur Herrington, an ex-military engineer, to design all-wheel-drive vehicles.
Renamed Marmon-Herrington, the firm won contracts for manufacturing military aircraft refueling trucks, 4×4 chassis for towing light weaponry and some of the largesttrucks ever built at the time. In addition to large commercial and military vehicles, Marmon-Herrington recognized a growing market for moderately priced all-wheel-drive vehicles. This demand gave birth to the Marmon-Herrington Ford.The installation of commercial truck chassis to all-wheel drive remains the primary focus of the company to this day.
In 1937,Marmon-Herrington headquarters were located in Indianapolis, Indiana. An advertisement from that year pictured the type of truck that Don Chew owned,calling it the “amazing but true new track-laying tractor. “It whizzes down the road at 30 mph – goes right through three feet of water – and pulls like three elephants!” said the ad copy, which went on to boast about the “amazing facts”associated with the truck.
It was powered by the famous Ford “85” V8 and was said to develop “almost unbelievable speed and power, but with the fuel economy of 4-5 miles per gallon gas.” The admen also bragged that it could “climb steeper grades with ease and turn on a dime with a finger’s touch.” The newly-designed Track-with-Track suspension combined greater tractive power with quieter operation. The ad also mentioned“the cushioning effect of rubber combined with the strength and durability of steel.”
A second page of the ad listed all of the 1937 Marmon-Herrington Four-Wheel-Drive Ford V8 models, calling them “A Great Truck Made Even Greater.” There were four four-wheel models with a maximum gross capacity of 13,200 lbs. and two six-wheel models with a maximum gross capacity of 22,000 lbs. Models and prices looked like this:
PRICES (Tax extra) at Factory, Indianapolis, Indiana
Model C5-4 (four wheels driving, six tires, 132-in. wheelbase) $1,375
Model C5A-4 (four wheels driving, six tires, 112-in. wheelbase) $1,425
Model C5B-4 (four wheels driving, six tires, 122-in. wheelbase) $1,425
Model C6-4 (four wheels driving, six tires, 157.5-in. wheelbase) $1,425
Model C5-6 (six wheels driving, ten tires, 154-in. wheelbase) $2,425
Model C6-6 (six wheels driving, 10 tires, 179-in. wheelbase $2,475
Standard tire equipment 6.00 x 20-6-ply
Cab extra ……………………………………………………………….$90
Helper Springs (four-wheel models only)………………………………$12
If tires larger than 6.00 x 20 single front dual rear are desired, add the following to the above chassis prices:
7.00 x 20 8-ply……………………………………………………………………$97
32 x 6 10-ply…………………………………………………………………….$147
Additional fee (ten tires) changeover:
7.00 x 20 8-ply………………………………………………………………….$160
32 x 6 10-ply…………………………………………………………………….$210
RR blocking and loading fee for four-wheel models………………………$10
RR blocking and loading fee for four-wheel models………………………$15
We reserve the right to make changes without notice in prices, specifications and equipment at any time, without incurring any obligation. See descriptive folder for mechanical specifications in detail.
The truck owned by Don Chew is a C5A outfitted as a Weapons Carrier for the United States Army in 1937. The Army knew that World War II was coming and put out bids to truck manufacturers for a Weapons Carrier vehicle. Marmon-Herrington decided to use its 1-1/2-ton 4×4 chassis to fill the bill. It had the same 112 (Don always said 113) inch wheelbase as a 1937 ½-ton pickup.
For six months, the Army tested the vehicle and raved about its performance. Reports said that it out-performed all the competitors. “It excelled in all its task sand tests,” said one tester. Besides carrying a load of ammunition, the Marmon-Herrington even pulled the gun that the ammo was going in. At this point, the test truck was returned to the factory. On the report, it was noted that, if the truck was disabled on the road, two men could not get it out of the way. And that put the kibosh on full approval.
Of course,this was a rather strange criticism, because there was no truck of the type that two men could get out of the way. Army “bean counters” did not like the cost of the C5A and apparently, they looked for excuses to can it. The truck was sent to Belgium and Holland, and both countries wanted to order some if production ever commenced. Unfortunately, the German Army captured the truck. No civilian orders were ever placed either, because of both the Great Depression and the coming of World War II.
During the 1980s, Don Chew found two photos of the original C5A Weapons Carrier. Later, he found another. In 1982, Chew spent two weekends with Bob Wallace, who had been a Chief Engineer with the U.S. Army. He showed Wallace the photos and learned more about what he called “a marvelous workhorse of a truck.” In 2002, Chew started collecting the parts and pieces he needed to reproduce the truck. It then took him 10 years to build the exact copy you see in the accompanyin gphotos. He called it “Doreen’s Husky Pup.” Chew never explained that name tous, but we’re pretty sure that someone named Doreen must be pretty proud of the truck that bears her name.
