Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

I am new to this forum but have enjoyed reading tons of posts written by you guys. Great ideas!
A few weeks ago, I bought a 1957 (or so) Marketeer car (cart). These were built in the Autoette micro car craze of the 50's and 60's. I'm not sure of the exact year but I do know that the door handle and mechanism are from a 1956 to 1957 Ford Thunderbird interior door handle (and probably other Fords).
I was happy to find that the Marketeer was complete and not trashed. It took several days of working on the electronics and having an auto electrician friend make sense of it all. Everything was basically in working order. I replaced a few switches, cleaned all electrical contacts, worked on the lights, and removed the 80's non-functioning battery charger.
I have taken it for a few rides around the neighborhood. It runs! It tops out at around 12mph and about 7 on a slight incline. I have a feeling that was what the original design was since these were legal to drive on sidewalks in Long Beach (until a few people were killed) and other communities in the 50's and 60's.
Restoration so far:
The wheels were in need of a paint job. I stripped the multi layers of paint off, applied metal etching primer, and finished the wheels with duplicolor Arctic White. They turned out really nice. All bearings were re-greased. New high speed tires (overkill?) and tubes replaced the wheelbarrow tires.
The plexiglass windshield and rear window were broken and scratched. I went to a plexiglass company in Los Angeles and picked up the back window to shape, drill, and install in the fiberglass roof canopy. I left the original windshield with them so that they could bend the plexiglass (slight bend in the middle of the windshield). That should be ready Friday. I will need to drill several small bolt holes in the plexiglass to attach it to the canopy and dash. YouTube videos helped me to understand plexiglass drilling so I won't crack it in the process. I hope it goes well.
I pulled the old charger out and tossed it. It was permanently installed with a timer attached. The new one is a 10 amp 24 volt automatic. Nice upgrade! I will install a new female plug port so that I can just plug the cart in and charge the batteries. The charger will be permanent. I will cut off the alligator clips and replace them with ring terminals to attach to the battery. The 10 amp charger may be a little slow, but I don't mind the overnight charge. Besides, I don't plan on going more than a couple of miles with it each time I go out. For that reason, I am using two 12 volt batteries that I recently purchased rather than four 6 volt batteries (Pricey little devils!). I may need to eventually buy the four if I run out of juice too early. By the way, the motor is a 1 1/2 hp with timing chain drive to a fat sprocket attached to one wheel.
I have burned through a few hundred bucks so far in addition to the purchase of the car. I will have to wait on the body work and paint for another day.
It certainly has the semi beater patina look. It looks its age.
I will update the restoration as time goes by.
Nice to be posting a thread on this site. Marketeer restoration... new hobby!
Chris
Glendale CA

Here are a few pictures of the Marketeer.

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Hello Chris. :sign3:

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Wow! Great find! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Man, I would love to have that in my collection. Keep us posted on the work.

FYI: If you decided to give that cart just a bit more ooopmh, you could but 4 8v batteries in there to run at 32v versus 24. I have done this to 2 old 24v carts now. I have a motor guy who inspected / refurbished each motor (1/5 HP each) who made that suggestion. He is sure that those old motors can handle the extra Vs without issue. So far, so good.

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Nice! I have one also. Mine is an earlier one from what I can determine. I am beginning the work at the moment. Mine has a much different drive system with the motor connected by belt drive to a narrowed light truck axle (war surplus) and the earlier front suspension. The speed control uses wood components and the later ones are Micarta. That's interesting about the door handles. I would like to see a photo of them to compare to what I have as one of my flat coiled springs has broken.

There are very few of these around. With exhaustive searching I have found photos of 5, I think. A fully restored one sold a couple of years ago for $10,000. These are the precursors to the golf cart. They should do over 20 mph.

Dennis

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Hey guys. I have been working on the Marketeer all week. I have cleaned up the wiring quite a bit and completed painting the canopy. The window and windshield installation will happen today or tomorrow depending on the cure of the paint.
I still have to restore/replace the seat. Wherever this car lived, mice decided to take up residence inside the seats. Very mousy smell! The springs and boards are all there so I might be able to salvage what is there.
The batteries (2 12 volt in series) are working but seem to discharge pretty quickly. When I get the $500 for new ones, I think I'll upgrade.
The original floor mat was in place below a rubber mat installed by the previous owner. It is painted a copper color. I believe that copper was the original color of the car since it is everywhere on the car. Ugly! I will probably paint it blue with the yellowish beige canopy.
After that, I think this car will be complete. Here are a few pictures of the canopy.

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Mixdenny! I was hoping someone with a Marketeer would post a reply. I see that your motor compartment is filled with a completely different drive train than mine.
I'd love to see more pictures of your car of the outside (front, side, rear, dash, seats). I have found 8 of these on line. With yours and mine, that makes 10.
My car has the 51-56 Ford interior handles on it. All of the Marketeers I have found have the same handles on them. That's why I think these were from fifties. Yours almost seems like a prototype. Check your door handles. Here is a picture of my handle.

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Hey guys. I've been working on the Marketeer and have finished what I wanted to do for now.
It's running! All systems are a go. I am running two 12 volt deep cycle batteries since I had them. The four 6 volt batteries were a little pricey right now for me. I got a nice 24 volt auto battery charger that works well. The canopy got a new paint job over the last couple of days. Lots of dust! The windshield and back window are new plexiglass. New tires and tubes. Body and paint later. New restored seats later. Pricey batteries later. For now, I'm pleased! Here is a picture of the Marketeer today.
By the way Mixdenny, do you have pictures of the Marketeer from different views? I wonder how ours compares. Your motor looks like one from a Marketeer Towne Deville.
Anyway, nice to chat with a Marketeer owner!
Chris

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

Thats going to look cool at a campground with the vintage camper :thumbup:

Re: Restoring a 1957 Marketeer
 

I do plan on taking this car to trailer rallies. The next one is at Ocean Mesa (near Santa Barbara). I might not take it there since the property isn't on flat land. The inclines are kind of steep. I have noticed that this car really doesn't like hills. I have a feeling that I might bog the motor down, put too much stress on it, and toast it.
My driveway has an incline to it. If I stop the cart on the incline, the motor doesn't have enough juice to get the car going. There are some places around my house where the steets have a similar incline. I plan on taking the car there and giving it a test drive.