10-4 Magazine April 2023

10-4 Magazine / April 2023 79 as a VIP edition. This fact is how Ryan came up with the “Limited Edition” name for her, because she truly is. When Ken Matuszak contacted Ryan about this cabover, which he was selling for the wife of the owner who lived in Wisconsin, William Carr, Ryan was more than interested. In fact, he bought it sight-unseen, so it was coming home with them no matter what. The truck was in pretty rough shape, and it had been driven fromWisconsin down to Ken’s place in McKinney, TX where it was left outside, with the windows down, and critters had made it their home. Driving to Texas in 2012 with his wife Cindy and their sons Daniel and Coltin, Ryan brought an assortment of tools to fix the truck along the way, if need be, on the trip home. The trip home was pretty uneventful besides a leaking wheel seal, two mice who had a problem with their home being moved (which scared his son Daniel), and the fact that they got stopped in every state along the way because of the temporary plate on the truck. Daniel rode with Ryan while Cindy and Coltin followed in the pickup truck. Once home, it took four years to bring her to her present glory. Unveiled at the 75 Chrome Shop show in 2016, where the truck was being displayed for the first time, Ryan chose the Marmon’s paint based on options and stripe schemes in old brochures. The colors are Dark Jade Green, Bright Gold, and Bright Lime. The truck was painted by Ryan’s friend at AAA Painting in DeLand, Florida, and all the custom pinstriping was done by Darrell at Doctor D Pinstriping. The truck has original Marmon gauges and logos, as well as the original fans by the windshield, original Donaldson air dryer, heated fuel tanks from the factory, original air-perforator (this is used to keep air out of the fuel lines), and the original bumper. She has 953,226 miles on her, but Ryan knows the engine has been overhauled twice, so he guesses the truck probably has over two million actual miles on her. Getting help from a shop with the custom parts that he could no longer get or find, Ryan added the dual breather system, the wing, new horns, mirrors, ladder bars, lights, and other custom touches throughout the truck. Steve at Roadsknz refinished the grill, while the interior, which is now all new, was made to look as it would have been when it came out of the factory when new. Ryan also overhauled the engine and has done most of the tearing apart and putting back together of everything himself. While talking to Ryan on the phone, I mentioned our friend Mark Harter, who has owned two Marmon trucks over the years, so we got him on the phone, too. Listening to Ryan and Mark speak Marmon was amazing, and we learned a lot. Marmon was founded in 1902 by Harold and Walter Marmon and they initially built luxury cars. Today, a vintage Marmon automobile is very rare. The most famous Marmon in the world is the “Wasp” – a six-cylinder car with a single seat that won the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 driven by Ray Harroun. During practice, there were complaints of a potential safety hazard because the one-seater could not carry a riding mechanic to help watch for approaching cars. In answer to those concerns, Harroun rigged up what is believed to be the first rearview mirror used on an automobile. With the onset of the Depression, the luxury car market collapsed. In an effort to keep his business going, Walter Marmon teamed up with ex-military engineer Arthur Herrington. Their idea was to focus on building all-wheel-drive