Marmon Parts Needed in Boston

[Guest aseraphin]

Good evening all!

I am a student at Emerson College in Boston and I am putting on a production of Arthur Miller's first play, The Man Who Had All the Luck. This script calls for a Marmon, 1930's model or earlier, on-stage that is tinkered with by two mechanics. Based on the venue and our small budget (the production is entirely student-run) I have no hope of getting a full car on stage, but I was wondering if anyone in the Boston area had antique car parts I could borrow in order to build a representation of a car? I'm looking for a radiator grill, hood, fenders, front wheels, and potentially a towel and working front car doors would be great. Pieces could be returned to you undamaged. The show will be taking place April 11 & 12, so I have six weeks to try and get something together. Hopefully, things will be easier to transport then and we'll be done with all this snow!

Sam Barnett, President of the Marmon Club, directed me here and said you were the best car guys around. Please let me know if you have any leads on where I could find what I'm looking for, I would be forever grateful to you. Thank you!

Best,

Audrey Seraphin

Boston, MA

[Rusty_OToole]

I could loan you the towel.

Kidding aside this is a praisworthy project and I hope someone comes through for you. Given the boxy shapes of a 1930 Marmon you could probably fake up a convincing car, all except the fenders and wheels.

Or someone has a parts car or half finished project that is already in pieces.

Your post suggests you don't have a lot of room on stage. This could be a problem as the Marmon was a large luxury car. You might do better to use a Model A Ford, Chevrolet, or other small car and make up a Marmon radiator shell.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I built something very similar for our small town's production of Grease. A simple wood frame out of 2 by 2 scraps that you can cover with cardboard, a couple of 2 by sixes for the frame and a piece of plywood for the floor. 2 pieces of 7 or 8 foot pipe for the axles. ( A 2 by 8 block with 3 carriage bolts works pretty good for a hub) and with it drilled in the center actually rolls fairly well for moving it on and off stage. Doors are easy. Just a couple of door hinges for a house door do the trick. just use a block of wood for a latch.

If you can borrow a set of 4 wheels or atleast 2 for one side that look old. Probably old model A wheels would work. Remember 99 percent of the people who see it won't realize what is and isn't correct for a 1930 marmon. Any late 20's -early 30's parts will be convincing enough, especially from 75 feet away at the closest. If you were closer to Upstate NY I could help you out. I probably have everything you need. A few well placed old parts on a mock up is pretty convincing.

I couldn't bring myself to cut it up when we were through with it and it went in the garage. A town an hour away found out about it and borrowed it for their production. I guess that's quite a compliment. Unfortunately it finally got put out to pasture and hauled away when I needed the garage space for a real car.

Too bad they still didn't have a Vo Tech department. They would be the guys to build something up for you.

All you need for tools are a skill saw, drill, and a sabre saw. You will need a hack saw or saws all if you have to cut the pipes down for the axles. Alot of mine was built from scrap stickers that came with our lumber deliveries for the construction company I was working for.

I'll try to post a photo if I can find one of it.

[Dandy Dave]

I agree, make a mock up. The running boards on a Marmon are part of the frame. Dandy Dave!

[auburnseeker]

One other thought. If you end up mocking something up, our art department had a roll of chrome looking paper with adhesive on it like a sticker. I wrapped that around the windshield frame and posts which were 1 by 1 pressure treated scrap rippings off a deck we built and from the audience you would swear it had a real chrome metal windshield frame. As I mentioned with most play type sets and props. You are only trying to create an illusion.

[R Walling]

Asking someone to loan an important valuable part is no small request.

If the part is lost there is no way to replace it for love or money. (which you don't have)

[Dandy Dave]

Asking someone to loan an important valuable part is no small request.

If the part is lost there is no way to replace it for love or money. (which you don't have)

Say, Who say's this Lady does not have Love??? The more I think about it, the more I think you should just make a mock up. Marmon parts are not light. The running boards make up the frame and are very heavy to move around never mind things like a radiator. You can do a lot with Styrofoam for a stage prop. And as Auburnseeker say's some crome paper and wood out of a scrap pile. Dandy Dave!